Demonstrating Joy: Oklahoma is OK with Palin
"And my speech and my preaching was not with enticing words of man's wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power..." (I Corinthians 2:4)
Not one to just talk-the-talk but instead to walk-the-walk, Governor Sarah Palin and her husband, Todd, demonstrated their belief in God's abundant life by giving birth to a precious baby boy with special needs. Trig Paxson Van Palin made his world debut on April 18, 2008 at the Mat-Su Regional Medical Center in Palmer, Alaska.
Gov. Palin and her son Trig soaking up some sun in Arizona on November 5, 2008
"The moment he was born... my heart overflowed with joy... I felt a love I had a never felt before and a compassion I didn't even know was there... Trig is a miracle", Gov. Palin often says of her fifth child.
Speaking to more than 9,000 at the Women of Joy Conference in Oklahoma City on April 15, 2011, Governor Palin made it known in no uncertain terms that when it comes to Trig, "There are our standards of perfection, and then there is God's standard of perfection."
Women of Joy worshipping the Lord in Oklahoma City where Gov. Palin made the keynote speech
Governor Palin continued demonstrating God's goodness to those present with her encourarging faith-building words of wisdom. The following are excerpts from her message of exhortation:
"Your passions and interests were given to you for the service of others and our Creator.”
“In Matthew [Chapter] 5, Jesus taught something… ‘Bless those who are hurt and mourn’, and He said they would be comforted… they’d be blessed… when people insult… and make things up about you, or say false things because of His Name.”
“Jesus’ blessings are directly tied to getting out of self and risking our hearts in service to others for His sake. That is what our purpose is, and He didn’t promise it would be easy.”
Gov. Palin demonstrating God's power and grace to Oklahoma's Women of Joy
“Our road… I know the Palin’s road, hasn’t been easy… if you were to ask people like my parents or your parents if their most important growing years were their easiest years, they would tell you ‘no’, because with trial and struggle comes significance and the power to live with purpose.”
“My prayer for all of you through this conference, starting tonight, is that this year you’ll really hone in on seeking opportunities to focus on taking the steps forward into what God’s prepared for you… to grow more tender to Jesus [and] to really listen to his voice… forgo any role of victim to pursue the role of visionary.”
“You’ve got to learn to deal with unnecessary criticism because the critics will always be there.”
Dance, Sarah, Dance!
“The bottom line, gals, is to be a ‘woman of joy’, you might as well dance.”
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Palin on Reagan: He was "America's Lifeguard"
by Sarah Palin as published in USA Today, January 24, 2011
"We were told that we must accept that the era of American greatness was over; but with his optimism and common sense, President Reagan held up a mirror to the American soul to remind us of our exceptionalism."
I had the privilege of coming of age during the era of Ronald Reagan. I like to think of him as America's lifeguard. As a teenager, Ronald Reagan saved 77 lives as a lifeguard on the Rock River, which ran through his hometown of Dixon, Ill. The day he was inaugurated in 1981, a local radio announcer famously declared, "The Rock River flows for you tonight, Mr. President."
The image of the lifeguard seems to represent what Reagan was to America and to the freedom-loving people of the world. He lifted our country up at a time when we were in the depths of economic, cultural and spiritual malaise. We were told that we must accept that the era of American greatness was over; but with his optimism and common sense, President Reagan held up a mirror to the American soul to remind us of our exceptionalism.
Reagan as lifeguard on Rock River in 1926
Reagan showed us that despite a deep recession, there could still be morning in America. He could speak to the economic troubles facing ordinary Americans because he understood what it was like to live through a Great Depression where families scraped to get by. And yet, he saw us recover from our Great Depression, and under his leadership we experienced the greatest peacetime economic boom in our history. He could speak to our fears that our years as a superpower were over, because he understood what it was like to see America at war and really fear that we might lose. And yet, he saw us win two world wars, and under his leadership we won the Cold War without firing a single shot. Reagan's belief in American greatness was rooted in historic fact, not blind optimism. He was a sunny optimist because he knew that our best days are yet to come.
Reagan at Brandenburg Gate, West Germany, 1987
Today, when we hear the worry in the voices of Americans wondering where the jobs will be for our children and grandchildren and wondering if the world will be safe and prosperous in the years to come, we should remember Reagan's faith in our inherent heroism and greatness. When we see people around the globe looking to the White House for leadership, we should remember Reagan's steel spine. He understood America's purpose in this world and what we need to do to secure liberty. As Margaret Thatcher said of him, "He sought to mend America's wounded spirit, to restore the strength of the free world, and to free the slaves of communism." He sought those things and he succeeded.
This year, as we celebrate the centennial of Reagan's birth, let's remember the lifeguard from the Rock River who rescued us with his optimism and common sense. We need more lifeguards like him.
-Sarah Palin
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Author's Note:
Prayer is our spiritual oxygen, and just as oxygen is vital to natural life, so is prayer vital to spiritual life. We need to pray regularly and continually for Governor Sarah Palin and her family as she "lifeguards" to protect our country's future. Her message of American exceptionalism breathes new life --- oxygen --- into our belief that we are the greatest nation on earth. God bless you, Governor Palin.
Governor Palin is "America's Oxygen"
"Pray at all times --- on every occasion, in every season-- in the Spirit with all manner of prayer and entreaty." - Ephesians 6:18
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Ain't No Mountain High Enough
Known by its Athabascan name “Denali”, meaning “Great One”, majestic Mount McKinley is located in Alaska’s Denali National Park. With a peak at 20,320 feet high, Denali is the tallest mountain in the United States. History tells us that the first settlers are believed to be nomadic hunters and fishermen who developed villages and fish camps on the rugged terrain, and by the early 1900s, settlers came to Denali for the prospect of finding gold and striking it rich.
President Eisenhower signed the Alaska Statehood Act on July 7, 1958 which made Alaska the 49th state of the United States of America, and Old Glory was proud to boast seven rows of seven stars.
Despite the destructive earthquake and subsequent tsunami that struck south central Alaska on Good Friday in 1964, hard working Americans with pioneering spirits from the Lower 48 continued to pack up their belongings and move north to Alaska in search of adventure and a better life.
Chuck Heath, Sr. and his family from Sandpoint, Idaho were no exception.
Can you imagine what the Heath family thought as they soared above the Rocky Mountains and the Yukon in a Grumman Goose marveling at the lofty summits and snowy peaks of the Land of the Midnight Sun? Never becoming dismayed at the enormity of their challenge or the uncertainty of their future, the young family pressed onward to Skagway via Juneau when others would have turned around and headed back home.
Just as the Heath family encountered physical mountains upon their move to Alaska, our nation today is confronted with figurative mountains: energy dependence, illegal immigration, socialized healthcare, record-high unemployment, disregard for the unborn, the debt crisis, and the war situation. These troubling issues can seem daunting and permanent. Never learn to live with a mountain of difficulty. Instead, like the Heath family, move forward in faith without fear or intimidation.
As Chuck, Sr. moved his family into a small house in the tiny town of Skagway, he had no way of knowing that his infant daughter, Sarah Louise, would grow up to be a city councilwoman, a mayor, a governor, a vice presidential nominee, a best-selling author, and a serious contender for the American Presidency.
Fast-forward to Fairbanks on July 26, 2009, as the infant daughter is now Governor Sarah Palin bidding farewell to the Alaska governorship by wholeheartedly thanking its citizens for allowing her to serve and challenging the media to respect freedom of speech and honor the American soldier by, “Quit making things up.” Governor Palin may have walked off that Fairbanks stage into an unknown political future, but she had mountain-moving faith in that, “The steps of the righteous are ordered by the Lord.” (Psalm 37:23)
Governor Palin stepped out of one realm and into another as she has effectively endorsed common-sense conservative candidates like Alaska’s Joe Miller, Washington’s Clint Didier, and California’s Carly Fiorina, who are ready to take the U.S. Sentate by storm, and gubernatorial candidates like Iowa’s Terry Branstad, South Carolina’s Nikki Haley, and New Mexico’s Susan Martinez who are principled leaders and know what is right for their state.
Encountering mountains--- difficulties, problems, hardships, the unknown – in life is inevitable. Like the Heath and Palin families, we all come across them. Some of our “mountains” are big like the Rockies, and some are as intimidating as Denali. The secret to moving mountains is to never become separated from our statement of faith. We must keep our words connected to our faith as we stand alongside Governor Palin to take our country back in the 2010 mid-term elections.
America’s best days are ahead, and there ain't no mountain high enough that can't be conquerored as we move toward conservative victory in 2010!
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