Mrs. Smith came to her neighborhood funeral home on her birthday.  She was making her final payment for her own funeral in a pre-paid plan.  Mrs. Smith seemed both excited for the last payment and exhausted in the endeavor.  The funeral director was surprised when she told him she had driven herself to the funeral home.  The funeral director looked down at the records and said, "Mrs. Smith, if you were born in November 1906, that would mean you are one-hundred-years old today."  "That's correct," she said.  Then she winked one eye at the funeral director, sighed and said, "It hardly seems worth the effort to go home."

Maybe you're feeling like Mrs. Smith about the November election, not sure the effort is worth your time and energy.  Your time and energy are worth it, especially for this upcoming mid-term election.  I would never tell you which candidates to vote for, but I will tell you to get out there and vote!

Depending on which school district you live in, there are school levies to consider.  There are local fire and mental health levies.  Some levies are renewals and others are increases, so study is required to know how you are voting.  Candidates for congress, state offices and local  offices also need to be elected.  There is also an issue about funding education, which is really about having slot machines throughout the state.  There is a state constitutional change to eliminate the possibility for having local municipalities become non-smoking.  There is another issue for making public places across the state non-smoking.  This citizenship responsibility is real and will require our effort.

The Apostle Paul wrote "authorities that exist have been instituted by God." (Romans 13:1)  In our democracy, it is our right and our responsibility as both as citizens and as Christians to elect candidates and vote on issues.  Sometimes those elections don't seem that close or that important, and we don't want to make the effort.  This election seems to be one of those     elections that will make a difference, if we make the effort to vote.

Your partner in ministry,

Bill