Daniel Skognes

I have been blessed to have had the opportunity to travel to various parts of the world.  Having been to numerous countries, it does not matter how rich or how poor the country is, I always have come back home with the realization that we are one of the few countries in the world that has a large middle-class, and we live very well according to world standards.

Most countries have the very wealthy and the very poor, with a few middle-class people making up the difference.  The USA is a beacon in the darkness to what life can be, and that is why we are both blessed and in danger of being cursed.  We are blessed to have so much.  Our standard of living is far above most of the world.  Where else do you see overweight homeless people and they have cell phones?

Our country is at a crossroad.  We have some tough decisions to make that will either make or break us as a country.  If we make the wrong choices, our children and our children’s children will see a very different future than the one we currently face.

What has to change?

• We have to get the debt of this country in order.  That goes for government spending as well as personal debt.  It is out of control and throwing more money at the debt is radically opposed to Economics 101.  You can’t spend your way out of debt.
• We have to take responsibility for our actions.  Here again, it starts at the top with our President, Congressmen, and Supreme Court who make and enforce the laws.  Too many laws are put in place that are short-sided and do not take into account long term ramifications.  The “pork-barrel” spending and greasing the palms of special interests has to stop.  We have to take personal responsibility as well to elect people that have our interests as a people as a priority rather than electing career politicians who merely seek to get re-elected.
• Put the Congressmen, President, and Supreme Court under the same laws that we all have.  If they had to live with Obama-care, would it change?  Most likely it would.  If they did not have life-time benefits, would they treat our Social Security differently?  Most likely they would.  This probably will never happen unfortunately, because the people making the laws do not want to lose their power, prestige, and lifestyle.

If we do not change and choose to instead continue down the road of self-indulgent leadership, we will find our children and children’s children being in one of two camps….the haves, or the have-nots.  I hope it does not come to that.  Time to wake up and smell the coffee, people.  We have some important decisions to make that will change the future of generations to come…not just our own generation.  I pray we make the right decisions.

Shalom!

Dan Skognes

It has been said that no man is an island, yet many people try to make it through life as if they were the only ones on the planet.  I have a great wife.  She is my friend, my lover, my encourager, my safe haven.  I know if someone started to talk me down to her she would defend me, as I would her. We have each other’s back.

I also have been fortunate to have some very good friends.  These are guys that I have known for years that I could pick up the phone and call day or night with anything that was troubling me, and they would be there for me in a heartbeat…as I would for them.

How great is that?  That is a sense of peace that gets me through the tough days.

But there is someone that has all of our backs….and often we forget about Him.  God is always there for us, believing in us, pulling for us, encouraging us.  He is our protector and our provider.  He is always available, 24/7.  You never get a busy signal or answering machine.  Now THAT is security we all need.

I am thankful for all the people that have my back, but I am most thankful for God and that He has my back.  He will never leave me or forsake me.  We have all had friends or relationships that have gone south.  People that we thought we could trust….people we believed in who betrayed us or abandoned us.  God, however, will never do that.  He is there regardless of how many times we screw things up, regardless of how many times we make the wrong decisions.  His grace and mercy are amazing to me because I don’t deserve that.  What I deserve is judgment, but what I get is His grace and mercy.

That, my friend….is Shalom.  So, who has your back?

Dan Skognes

It is pretty easy to see the flaws in the American fabric, but I want to take a moment and think about the greatness of this country. Too often we concentrate on what is wrong vs what is right.

• We still have freedoms that most countries only dream of.
• We have the ability to create wealth and work in the field of our choosing.
• We have one of the most diverse and beautiful counties in the world.
• In spite of what the media says, we have the best healthcare in the world.
• Our standard of living is far above the norm for most people on this planet.
• We have education facilities that are the envy of most counties.
• We are still a country of givers and give billions to help other countries.
• We are still a country founded on faith in God.

Even with all the flaws, we still have a great country.  I am thankful to have been born here and to live here.  I am concerned about the future of our country, but one thing I know, we are a resilient people who have been through a lot in our short history.  We have come from all over the world and found a home that embraces our diversity.  We cherish freedom partly because we have had so much of it, we see the lack of it in other countries, and we recognize that God has His hand on us and is blessing us.

That is a double-edged sword of responsibility.  If we take our freedoms for granted, or worse…abuse them, then they will be taken from us.  But, if we protect and value our freedoms and use them for the betterment of not only our country, but the world, then I believe our future is bright.  We have hope for tomorrow as long as we don’t self-destruct.

God Bless America.

Shalom!

Dan Skognes