Governor Palin Heart to Heart in Haiti
Governor Palin Heart to Heart in Haiti
It's Christmastime. The lights, the carols, and the beautifully wrapped packages are all part of the sights and sounds of this magical holiday season. To some, Christmas is the shepherds, the magi riding their camels, and the angels singing “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men” (Luke 2:14). But we must not allow the sights and sounds of the season to take away from the true meaning of Christmas.
As I thought about all of the gifts that would be given and received during this festive holiday celebration, my thoughts drifted far away to Haiti to the recent compassionate visit by Governor Sarah Palin, her husband Todd, and their daughter Bristol, as volunteers with Rev. Franklin Graham's humanitarian outreach, Samaritan's Purse.
Following the January 2010 catastrophic 7.0 earthquake that struck Haiti, the photos and news from that nation have been mind-boggling. The images have been inescapable from the quake-cracked structures to wars and rumors of wars to a deadly cholera epidemic.
Gov. Palin and Bristol Palin comfort a cholera stricken infant in Haiti
Yet in the midst of this country's great devastation, Governor Palin and family reached out to hundreds of Haitians by sharing comforting smiles, speaking kind words, lending helping hands, opening compassionate arms, and yes, even distributing Christmas gifts.
Governor Palin distributes Christmas gifts to Haitian children while volunteering with Samaritan's Purse
As the Palins and other volunteers were lovingly handing out gifts to Haitian children, Rev. Graham commented that, "For most of these kids it is the first time they've ever had a gift in their life. Some... just sat there and didn't know what to do." He went on to say, "It just breaks your heart. But at the same time it fills your heart to know that there's so many people behind this program that have prayed, that have worked, that have given."
"The kids don't have much", observed Governor Palin, "yet they have smiles and they're looking around for... I think for some little bit of compassion that the rest of us can provide."
"It's quite sobering, puts things in perspective, reminds us as Americans who have so much, that we were put on this earth to reach out and help those who are less fortunate", Governor Palin tells Fox News Channel's Greta Van Susteren after seeing the devastation first-hand.
The Palins, Greta Van Susteren, and Rev. Graham inside one of the 10,000+ Samaritan's Purse shelters
Shaking my thoughts back to the present, I pondered how over the past few days and weeks, the stores were crowded with shoppers who purchased many gifts that will be placed under Christmas trees. As these gifts are opened, there will be lots of bows, wrapping paper, and boxes strewn around the tree—all because this is the season for giving gifts.
But as we open gifts in celebration of Christmas, let us remember that Jesus lived and died for one purpose—to redeem the world from the devil’s tyranny. God gave his greatest gift, His only Son, and we can pass the gift on by following Governor Palin's example of giving of ourselves to those in need.
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Sarah Palin's Pioneer Spirit
There isn't anyone who doesn't want to live a life of freedom... a life of freedom that is full of joy, peace, and fulfillment. Sarah Palin understands that freedom doesn't happen automatically. She knows that freedom is the result of making the right choices- choices that are in agreement with God's Word.
Deuteronomy 30:19 says, "I call heaven and earth to record this day against you that I have set before you life and death, the blessings and the curses, therefore, choose life, that you and your household may live."
Just think what America would be like today if the Pilgrims had not made a choice for life and freedom. Their decision to seek freedom caused the birth of a nation... a nation founded on God's authority, and we are still reaping the harvest of their pioneering faith today.
Vice President Henry Wilson- 18th U.S. Vice President under President Grant said: "Remember ever; and always, that your country was founded... by the Puritans who made the deck of the Mayflower an altar of the living God, and whose first act on touching the soil of the new world was to offer on bended knees thanksgiving to Almighty God."
Sarah Palin has this same pioneering spirit and revelation knowledge of freedom. She chooses freedom and life which is the seed that will reap a harvest of life, liberty, and freedom.
I have always believed that the temperment and atmosphere of our nation is a reflection of our leaders. This is why we need Sarah Palin and other leaders who share her values on the national stage.
Our vote is a seed we plant into a candidate's life, and we will reap the harvest of that vote.
God bless Governor Sarah Palin as she fights the good fight of faith with her pioneering spirit. Her words are plowing the field where she will plant the harvest that will continue to reap freedom for America.
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New Hope... New Change... New Orleans
Who dat? Who dat? Dat be Governor Sarah Palin in the Big Easy where she wowed the crowd at the 2010 Southern Republican Leadership Conference this weekend. The 2008 Republican Vice Presidential nominee lived up to her billing as the main draw as she electrified thousands of supporters with her clarion call for common-sense conservatism and smaller government. “There is no shame in being the party of no if the other side is proposing an idea that violates our values, violates our principals, violates our Constitution.”
Governor Palin’s passionate delivery addressed several policy issues and challenged the current administration’s position on the nuclear arms reduction treaty questioning why an enemy like Iran was being “coddled” while a friend like Israel was being “alienated”. She also made the connection between energy and security calling for domestic, reliable and environmentally sound energy to secure freedom for America, and she reminded the audience that, “The party of Lincoln, the party of Reagan is back and we have our eyes wide open going into 2010.”
Another hot-button topic Governor Palin discussed was President Obama’s proposal for off-shore drilling that is nothing more than a decoy to attract votes for a larger cap-and-trade energy bill. “I hope the Senate Republicans tell him, ‘You can drill all you want off the shores of Virginia, but you won’t find bi-partisanship down there.’”
Characteristic of her personal charm and wit, she held up her left palm on which was written, “Geaux Saints”, declaring that there is nothing wrong with saying to those who oppose, “We win, you lose”, to an eruption of thunderous applause and another standing ovation as Governor Palin praised New Orleans as an inspiring city.
She mentioned her last visit to the Crescent City to attend an oil and gas conference, thanking those who had “rebuilt”, “restored” and “revitalized” in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, and my thoughts drifted to a passage in her best- selling book, Going Rogue: An American Life, where Governor Palin talked about being in New Orleans when she discovered a new change… a new beginning… a new life on the horizon for the Palin family. It was while attending this conference in late summer 2007 where she learned the Creator was perfectly forming her fifth child, Trig Paxson Van Palin. I noted to myself the significant correlation of that exciting news of new life for the Palins and the exciting anticipation on this visit of a new hope… a new change… a new birth for America with the upcoming 2010 elections this November.
As a delegate to the Southern Republican Leadership Conference in New Orleans, I witnessed Governor Palin’s rousing speech to an audience jazzed with elevated excitement ready to “kick the bums out” in 2010. We must keep the momentum going by taking that same energy and excitement to our neighbors, our friends, our families and to our nation not letting it fade with the conference spotlight because in Governor Palin’s own words, “There’s nothing… that a good old fashioned election can’t fix.” Reload, baby, reload.
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