“Not that I speak in respect of want: for I have learned, in whatever  state I am, therewith to be content.” (Phil. 4:11) I confess. More than occasionally I dream of living in a state other than muggy Mississippi.  Okay, so I think about it more than occasionally, and in my search for greener pastures, I came across these tidbits. Mississippi has more than 2 million people, Alaska has approximately 700,000 people. Mississippi is nearly 49,000 square miles while Alaska is a sweeping 663,267 square miles.  In winter, Mississippi is green, Alaska is white. Mississippi borders four other states, Alaska borders none. Mississippi’s highest point is a hilly 807 feet but Alaska’s is a majestic 20,320 feet. Alaska's Kenai River (photo by Rick Small) Mint The Restaurant’s mint julep chicken and waffles is a Mississippi favorite, and while Alaska has no Mint, they do have a Nordstrom’s, my favorite department store for those stuffy-but-work-required business suits. Want to taste Mississippi’s mouth-watering catfish? Going once… going twice… wait, maybe you’d prefer Alaska’s healthy Omega 3-rich King Salmon. Residents of both states enjoy the great outdoors. Mississippians water ski while Alaskans snow ski.  Deer hunting in Mississippi or moose hunting in Alaska… take your pick. Line your pockets with Mississippi “white gold”, cotton.  On second thought, it’d be more profitable to line them with Alaska gold. So what am I driving at?  Here’s the bottom line. Both states have their unique landscapes, local color, and differences… much like people. Governor Sarah Palin has made a life in Alaska. I’ve made a life in Mississippi. We’ve both decided to “bloom where we were planted”, or maybe grow where we landed. No matter, we both have a home, family, friends, and fun things we like to do. We are using our skills, gifts, and talents to make a mark where we live.     Sarah Heath is Warrior #22 Looking to Governor Palin, she made a mark on Wasilla High School as point guard for the Warriors basketball team leading them to their very first state championship. She made a mark on Alaska small business by slaying salmon on Bristol Bay alongside her commercial fisherman husband Todd. When not knee-deep in fish slime, the self-described sports enthusiast was making her mark on the pageant world winning such titles as Miss Wasilla and Miss Alaska Congeniality, all for the sake of scholarship money for college. As a mom, Governor Palin made her mark on the community by getting involved with the PTA at her children’s school. And no one --- and I do mean no one -- can refute the indelible mark she made on the Mat-Su Valley as Wasilla City Councilwoman and Mayor or as the Alaska Oil and Gas Commissioner and Governor of the Last Frontier. Reaching beyond Alaska, Governor Palin splashed her mark across America as the 2008 Republican Vice Presidential nominee. Today she continues to make her mark as a wife, mom, and “Na Na”… a daughter, sister, niece, friend, prayer warrior, caribou-hunter, best-selling author, political analyst, keynote speaker, travelogue star via "Sarah Palin's Alaska", and endorsee of commonsense conservative candidates running for office, to name just a few of her providential “marks”. Sarah Palin was the mayor of Wasilla 1996 - 2002         Governor Palin of the great State of Alaska 2008 Vice Presidential Candidate Palin Are you making a mark where you live? Your circle of influence has eternal ramifications, you know that... right? God is looking for people to stand up and make their mark. He’s waiting for somebody who will be a leader in this hour—someone who’s not just waiting for the door to be opened, but who’s opening the door and pressing through. This is not the time to sit back and just watch what’s happening. Follow Governor Palin's example. It’s time to make your mark!  

  Going rogue and taking America by heart, a new film is scheduled for a June premiere in Iowa as a prelude for a possible presidential run by Governor Sarah Palin. Entitled, "The Undefeated", the feature-length film, "is a call to action for a campaign like 1976: Reagan vs. the establishment," says conservative filmaker Stephen K. Bannon.  From Real Clear Politics: When it premieres in Iowa next month, the film is poised to serve as a galvanizing prelude to Palin's prospective presidential campaign -- an unconventional reintroduction to the nation that she and her political team have spent months eagerly anticipating, even as Beltway Republicans have largely concluded that she won't run. Read more here Governor Sarah Palin. Political Genius. Any questions?

  The gloves were off and the game was on in Madison, Wisconsin on Tax Day, Saturday, April 16, 2011 where Governor Sarah Palin declared, "And the 2012 election begins here... Mr. President, game on!" during a rousing speech aimed at the debacle of Obamacare and other left-wing policies crippling the American economy. Governor Palin's supporters were out in droves-- and in the sleet and snow-- to see the woman they believe (and I do too) will be the next President of the United States. In true Sarah-style, she wowed the crowd with her message of American exceptionalism and "we can do it" spirit. The following is Governor Palin's speech in its entirety as written on her Facebook page, with photos added by me for emphasis. ____________________________________________________________________ Hello, Madison, Wisconsin! You look good. I feel like I’m at home. This is beautiful. Madison, I am proud to get to be with you today. Madison, these are the frontlines in the battle for the future of our country. This is where the line has been drawn in the sand. And I am proud to stand with you today in solidarity. I am here today as a patriot, as a taxpayer, as a former union member, and as the wife of a union member. What I have to say today I say it to our good patriotic brothers and sisters who are in unions. I say this, too, proudly standing here as the daughter of a family full of school teachers. My parents, my grandparents, aunt, cousins, brother, sister – so many of these good folks are living on teachers’ pensions, having worked or are still working in education.   A pension is a promise that must be kept. Now, your Governor Scott Walker understands this. He understands that states must be solvent in order to keep their promises. And that’s what he’s trying to do. He’s not trying to hurt union members. Hey, folks, he’s trying to save your jobs and your pensions! But unfortunately some of your union bosses don’t understand this, and they don’t care if union members have to be laid off. No, they want to protect their own power, and if that means forcing a governor to lay off union workers, then so be it; they’ve proven that is fine with them. But that’s not real solidarity! Real solidarity means coming together for the common good. This Tea Party movement is real solidarity! Well, I am in Madison today because this is where real courage and real integrity can be found. Courage is your governor and your legislators standing strong in the face of death threats and thug tactics. Courage is you all standing strong with them! You saw the forces aligned against fiscal reform. You saw the obstruction and the destruction. You saw these violent rent-a-mobs trash your capital and vandalize businesses.  Madison, you held your ground. Your governor did the right thing. And you won. Your beautiful state won. And you know what – people still have their jobs because of it! That’s courage. And that’s integrity. And that’s something that’s sorely missing in the Beltway today. Because let me tell you what isn’t courageous: It’s politicians promising the American voters that, as we drown in $14.5 trillion debt, that they’re going to cut $100 billion out of this year’s budget. But then they cave on that and they reduce it down to $61 billion after they get elected. Then they get in there and they strike a deal and decide, nah, they will reduce that down to $38 billion. And then after some politics-as-usual and accounting gimmicks, we find out it’s not $38 billion in cuts. You know that $38 billion – we don’t have it; we’re borrowing it. We borrow from foreign countries to give to foreign countries, and that’s insanity. We find out it’s not even $38 billion; it’s less than $1 billion in real cuts. Folks, that $352 million in real cuts – that’s no more than the federal government is going to spend in the time it takes us to hold this rally today! That is not courage; that’s capitulation! Now, there’s a lesson here for the Beltway politicos, something they need to understand; the lesson comes from here in Madison. So, our lesson is to the GOP establishment first. And yeah, I’ll take on the GOP establishment. What more can they say about us, you know?  So, to the GOP establishment: if you stand on the platform, if you stand by your pledges, we will stand with you. We will fight with you, GOP. We have your back. Together we will win because America will win!  We didn’t elect you just to re-arrange the deck chairs on a sinking Titanic. We didn’t elect you to just stand back and watch Obama re-distribute those deck chairs. What we need is for you to stand up, GOP, and fight. Maybe I should ask some of the Badger women’s hockey team—those champions—maybe I should ask them if we should be suggesting to GOP leaders they need to learn how to fight like a girl! And speaking of President Obama, I think we ought to pay tribute to him today at this Tax Day Tea Party because really he’s the inspiration for why we’re here today.  That’s right. The Tea Party Movement wouldn’t exist without Barack Obama.  You see, Candidate Obama didn’t have a record while he was in office; but President Obama certainly has a record, and that’s why we’re here. And hey, media, it’s not inciting violence and it’s not hateful rhetoric to call someone out on their record, so that’s what we’re going to do. We’re going to do it to be clear. That’s right: we’re here, we’re clear, get used to it!  Candidate Obama promised to be fiscally responsible. He promised to cut the deficit; but President Obama tripled it!  Candidate Obama promised that fiscal responsibility; but President Obama flushed a trillion dollars down the drain on a useless “stimulus” package and then he bragged about the jobs he “created” in congressional districts that don’t even exist! That’s right; on this, White House, you lie. The only thing that trillion-dollar travesty stimulated was a debt-crisis and a Tea Party!  Now, the left’s irresponsible and radical policies awakened a sleeping America so that we understood finally what it was that we were about to lose. We were about to lose the blessings of liberty and prosperity. They caused the working men and women of this country to get up off their sofas, to come down from the deer stand, get out of the duck blind, and hit the streets, come to the town halls, and finally to the ballot box. And Tea Party Americans won an electoral victory of historic proportions last November. We the people, we rose up and we decisively rejected the left’s big government agenda. We don’t want it. We can’t afford it. And we are unwilling to pay for it.  But what was the president’s reaction to this mandate for fiscal sanity?  Less than 90 days after the election, in his State of the Union address, President Obama told us, nah, the era of big government is here to stay, and we’re going to pay for it whether we want to or not. Instead of reducing spending, they’re going to “Win The Future” by “investing” more of your hard-earned money in some cockamamie harebrained ideas like more solar shingles, more really fast trains – some things that venture capitalists will tell you are non-starters. We’re flat broke, but he thinks these solar shingles and really fast trains will magically save us. So now he’s shouting “all aboard” his bullet train to bankruptcy. "Win The Future"? W.T.F. is about right.  And when Wisconsin’s own Paul Ryan presented a plan for fiscal reform, what was Obama’s response? He demonized the voices of responsibility with class warfare and with fearmongering. And I say personally to our president: Hey, parent to parent, Barack Obama, for shame for you to suggest that the heart of the commonsense conservative movement would do anything to harm our esteemed elders, to harm our children with Down syndrome, to harm those most in need. No, see, in our book, you prioritize appropriately and those who need the help will get the help. The only way we do that is to be wise and prudent and to budget according to the right priorities.  Now, our president isn’t leading, he’s punting on this debt crisis. The only future Barack Obama is trying to win is his own re-election! He’s willing to mortgage your children’s future to ensure his own. And that is not the audacity of hope. That’s cynicism!  Piling more debt onto our children and grandchildren is not courage. No, that’s cowardice!  But did you notice when he gave that polarizing speech last week there was a little gem in the speech. Maybe you missed it. But he spoke about the social contract and the “social compact.” Well, Mr. President, the most basic tenet in that social compact is adhering to the consent of the governed. That would be “We the People.” President Obama, you do not have our consent. You didn’t have it in November. And you certainly don’t have it now. You willfully ignored the will of the American people.  You ignored it when you rammed through Obamacare.  You ignored it when you drove up the debt to $14.5 trillion.  You ignored it when you misrepresented your deficit spending.  You ignored it when you proposed massive tax increases on the middle class and our job creators.  You ignored is when you went to bat for government-funded abortions and yet you threw our brave men and women in uniform under the bus, Mr. Commander in Chief.  You ignored it when you got us into a third war for fuzzy and inconsistent reasons, a third war that we cannot afford.  You ignore it when you apologize for America while you bow and kowtow to our enemies, and you snub our allies like Israel.  And you ignore when you manipulate the U.S. oil supply. You cut off oil development here and then you hypocritically praise foreign countries for their drilling.  And when hardworking families are hit with $4 and $5 a gallon gas and your skyrocketing energy and food prices as you set out to fundamentally transform America, you ignore our concerns and you tell us we just better get used to it.  Well, Mr. President, we’re not going to get used to it. Not now. Not ever. You ignored us in 2010. But you cannot ignore us in 2012.  Mr. President, you and your cohorts threw all the hatred and all the violence you could at these good folks in Madison, Wisconsin. But you lost here.  And Madison, you defended the 2010 electoral mandate. You are heroes, you are patriots, and when the history of this Tea Party Movement is written, what you accomplished here will not be forgotten.  Your historic stand brought down the curtain on the last election. And the 2012 election begins here.  We will take the courage and the integrity that you showed all of America. We will take it and we will win back our country!  God has shed His grace on thee, America. We will not squander what we have.  We will fight for America! And it starts here in Madison, Wisconsin!   It starts here! It starts now! What better place than the state that hosts the Super Bowl champs, to call out the liberal left and let them know: Mr. President, game on!  God bless you, Wisconsin, and God bless America!

      It takes more than horsepower to win the world's longest toughest snowmachine race over an unforgiving Alaska landscape, just ask four-time Iron Dog Champion Todd Palin. Drivers also need skill, knowledge, and the determination to stay in the race.  Iron Dog contendors also race with perseverance. Perseverance means “the ability to bear difficulties calmly and without complaint.” Perseverance keeps going and moving forward no matter what opponents say or do.  I once heard someone describe perseverance as "stick-to-it-ness".        Todd Palin is a world class snowmachine racer Four-time Iron Dog Champion Todd Palin   Team #22 Davis/Palin ready to hit the Iron Dog Trail, the longest toughest snowmachine race in the world Like her world class snowmachine racing husband Todd, 2008 GOP Vice Presidential nominee Governor Sarah Palin personifies perseverance. No matter how the mainstream media elite, the liberal political pundits, the late night talk show hosts, or even the nosy neighbor peering through a wooden fence may slander her, Governor Palin consistently perseveres. She forges ahead endorsing commonsense conservative candidates, speaking the truth with boldness at fundraisers and rallies, and shares personally from her heart at pro-life events without giving a fleeting thought to inevitable media backlashes and hit-pieces. In contrast to the Iron Dog Champion's perseverance and Governor Palin's "stick-to-it-ness", how then shall we describe the liberal agenda of this generation? It is like children calling to their playmates: "We wanted to play wedding, but you didn't want to be happy; so we wanted to play funeral, and you didn't want to be sad. So, in other words, what DO you want!?  What would make you happy!?"  The answer is, sadly, NOTHING! You might as well not even try, and thus Governor Palin does not TRY to accommodate the liberal agenda.  No doubt she provokes furious responses from those who oppose, but at the end of the day, I am certain that their spitting, their foaming at the mouth, their wide-eyed carryings-on leave them confused as to why they are going so insane over the self-proclaimed hockey mom from Wasilla. Here's how I'd like to apply it to commonsense conservative freedom-loving Christian Americans. Jesus said in John 15:18-27 that the disciple is not above his master, nor the servant above his Lord. If they were so offended with the Master, do you really think Governor Palin, a woman of devout Christian faith, can get by without getting anybody riled up? Well, she CAN'T.  In fact, she does everything exactly right, and she does it well, and humbly, and patiently, and with a good motive... and the liberal elite get so upset that they blame her for every ill on the planet. According to them, she must have had a hand in planning the September Attacks in 2001 and the Wall Street plunge last fall. She is the one causing the ice caps to shrink! She caused the deadlock in Congress, she engineered the Bird flu virus in her basement, and in their minds, there never WILL be peace and security as long as Governor Palin is on the loose. (Yes, it really is as Mahalia Jackson sings in Sweet Little Jesus Boy:  That's just the way things are down here below).  Silly, isn't it?     Gov. Palin with FL AG candidate Pam Bondi Endorsing Miller for AK US Senate Campaigning with Nikki Haley for SC Governor So what do we do? We vote for Palin-endorsed commonsense conservative candidates on November 2nd. We smile with both good humor and a heart of trustfulness, and pray, "Dear Lord, You know—much better than we do—how things are 'round here. Continue to give Governor Palin the bold strength to expose the socialist agenda seeking to take over our country. Protect her from the scornful enemies who plot to stone her dead! Keep her alive and her voice loud, Lord, and send her as many faithful supporters as can be gathered together across the nation. And one more thing dear Jesus: HEAL THEM ALL!"  

  I believe America is at a pivotal moment. Like the Israelites, we can choose to either go into the Promised Land -- the "shining city on a hill" -- or be satisfied with wilderness living. ___________________________________________________________________ "In the hour of my favour I gave heed to you; On the day of deliverance I came to your aid. The hour of favour has now come; now, I say, has the day of deliverance dawned.” (II Cor. 6:2) Some years ago the Mills family, long time friends of mine, ministered the Word of God at the Fairbanks Inn in Fairbanks, Alaska. Fairbanks was experiencing an ice storm; the temperature was between 15-20 degrees below zero. They had never experienced such cold weather. About 11:15 a.m. an Eskimo couple came into the room fully dressed for the cold weather. They had come 26 miles from a small village populated with only 10 - 12 families. They were the only Christians in the village, and the husband functioned as the Constable. Both were very concerned about the spiritual condition of their community and were discouraged by the lack of response to God and His Word. Pastor Mills ministered to the couple saying, "The Lord will create over your dwelling place a light! A pillar of fire by night and a cloud by day. This covering shall be a canopy and a defense." (Isaiah 4:5). The message was given at 11:45 a.m.. At that same moment in the couple’s village, a light appeared over their home. Light phenomena in the North Country is not unusual. Such terms as "Northern Lights", "Prismatic Refractions" and "Aurora Bourealis" go with the territory. However this light over their home stayed and stayed. The next day, the couple returned home and were greeted by the ladies in the village saying that the light over their home appeared shortly before noon Saturday (the men of the village were away hunting caribou). The Constable’s wife showed the women Isaiah 4:5 and told them the message they had received from the Lord. All of the villagers became Christians. The village became a missinary outpost, and two years later when the Mills returned to Fairbanks, the whole village came and gave their testimony. The thrilling conclusion happened when one of the women said, "When we left yesterday the light was still there!" America, the light it still here. And like the light seen over the village near Fairbanks, it comes from the North Star in the voice of Governor Sarah Palin. She is like a bright light illuminating the darkness of the current White House Administration. Don't despise the light, and don't confuse it with darkness. That is what America's enemies do.    Like President Ronald Reagan, Gov. Palin sees a strong, prosperous America as an example to the rest of the world. She unapologetically and unconditionally loves our country and believes that the best days are ahead. Gov. Palin connects with people. She "gets it". Remember the Israelites? After the death of Moses, the children of Israel once again stood at the edge of what God had promised them. They had wandered in the wilderness for 40 years and were about to enter the Promised Land. The last time they’d stood at this place, they had refused to cross the Jordan River. But 40 years later, they were finally going to step into the blessings of God. During the Israelites’ time in the wilderness, they had to rely constantly on God to provide food and water. They had only just enough to get by and never came into the fullness of what God intended for them. Unfortunately, many of us today feel as though we are living in a wilderness. We need to realize, however, that God wants us to have everything He promised in His Word. He wants to do some wonderful things in our lives. Before the Israelites crossed the Jordan River, Joshua told them, “Sanctify yourselves: for tomorrow the Lord will do wonders among you.” (Josh. 3:5) Joshua was telling the people to get ready, because they were going to a new level of living. They were going to experience a new level of provision and blessing. This was the hour they had been waiting for. This was a new day—a pivotal moment for them.     I believe America is also at a pivotal moment. Like the Israelites, we can choose to either go into the Promised Land -- the "shining city on a hill" -- or be satisfied with wilderness living.  It's time to cast off the darkness of the past and realize that the dawn -- the light -- of a new day is here. "This is our time for choosing... how we answer will be our glory or our shame." - Gov. Sarah Palin speaking at Reagan Ranch Center on February 4, 2011.   

“And of the children of Issachar, men that had understanding of the times, to know what Israel ought to do…”  (I Chronicles 12:32) Never would I describe myself as a great theologian, a professor of God fascinated with historical events of Biblical proportions. I’m far from it. My faith is rather simple. God said it. I believe it. Jesus did it. I receive it. That settles it. But somewhere along the way of my private personal pursuit of God and all things Holy, the twelve tribes of Israel and their various identities caught my interests. One tribe in particular had a unique identity. The Tribe of Issacher were men who understood the times which gave them great wisdom and knowledge (I Chronicles 12:32). They were aware of what was going on in their day and in their lives, but they also knew what to do about it. The timing of God is KNOWING and DOING. Once you know His plans and purposes for your life, you can confidently go forward putting them into action. He will make you time sensitive so you can cooperate with His guidance. I remember reading a story that came out of the hippie era at Haight-Asbury in San Francisco about an overdosed young man who wrapped an alarm clock around his arm with duct tape. All it had was twelve numerals and a face but no working parts. People would stop him and say, “Hey, what time is it”? He would stare at the clock and say, “It’s RIGHT NOW man, that’s what time it is!” The time is RIGHT NOW for we who support Governor Palin. Like the Tribe of Issacher, we are aware of America’s time and we know what to do about it. We know what is taking place on Capitol Hill, and We the People are the voices (and votes) needed to steer our nation toward conservative principles such as smaller government and energy independence. It is 2010… a new year, a new day, a new beginning. We have the opportunity this year to stop that out-of-control liberal socialist machine during the mid-term elections. Purpose in your heart to stand up for our nation alongside Governor Palin by letting your voice and vote be heard. Don’t sit on the sidelines. Get in the game! The time is NOW.