Progressive Movement: Trading One Master for Another!

     Most movements of the masses start out with the best of intentions, only to end in a power struggle between a new elite class.  The Progressive movement is one such movement.  Beginning in the late 19th century, farmers were beginning to feel the pinch of new technology, as new methods of farming were requiring far fewer hands.  This led many young farmers to migrate to the larger cities in search of work and a new way of life.

     The more efficient and larger farms were also having another dramatic effect on their way of life.  As their products flooded the markets, the prices began to drop, making profitability even more difficult.  A southern journalist of the time wrote, "The landowner was so poor and distressed that he forgot that he was a capitalist...so weary of hand and sick of spirit that he imagined himself in precisely the same plight as the hired man..."  While a pure free market believer like Adam Smith would say that this was market forces working to precision, the agrarian population fought back with Populism (the beginning of the Progressive Movement).  The majority of the population felt thgt since America was blessed with such great resources, then everyone should be able to enjoy them and be prosperous.  While this sounds like a great idea to many, when you look at its consequences you can see the folly of such thoughts. 

     During this same period of time you had the rise of the great industrialist such as Rockefeller and J.P. Morgan.  With little government influence, they were able to build massive empires that employed hundreds of thousands of workers.  The technological improvements they established helped the United States to become a world power on par with the greatest nations of the time.  There were many that did not see this growth and concentration of power as a good thing for the country.

     William Jennings Bryant was the vocal head of the Progressive Movement during the late 19th and early 20th century.  His main mission was to take down the 'Titans of Industry' and bring equality to the common working man.  The question is...what if the industrialist would have never been able to build their empires?  The grim reality is that the hundreds of thousands of farmers and poor city folk would've been without work and the country would not be established as a world power.  The unrestrained free market created the greatest economic boom our country has ever seen and led to greater prosperity for all.

     But that was not enough for the Progressives.  Early in the 20th century (Teddy) Roosevelt assaulted the industry's, and was successful in breaking up what they had built.  The result of this was not what most people had hoped for.  Government began to grow in power and the economy began to slow as the nation headed toward 'The Great Depression'.  This national calamity gave the Progressives an opportunity to expand governmental power to even greater extents.  With national building projects and the enactment of Social Security, the government was firmly entrenched in the average Americans life.

     As our nation moved forward in its fight against Communism, secretly and slowly, the Progressive Movement was leading our nation toward that very end.  With the gradual destruction of the dollar, due to an overspending government, and the greater dependency on the government by the average American, the enslavement of our nation was almost at its completion.  Each year that goes by our government spends more and the average worker takes home less on each paycheck.

     This is the main problem with the Progressives and their Socialist agenda, when they are given an inch, they will seek the proverbial mile.  As of the writing of this article, the government already controls the following; your retirement (through Social Security), up to 39% of your income, your moral choice in where your tax dollars are spent, your free speech (if you're a Christian), and many other areas that we hold dear, but still not enough!  Now the Progressives seek to control our health care, right to be armed, how much greenhouse gasses we emit, where we go (with the GPS monitoring black boxes being mandatory in every vehicle by 2014), and what we say on the radio or TV.  What started as an honest, but foolish, attempt at leveling the playing field, has turned into a power grab by government.  So in the end we have traded the free market and industrialist system for a government that has enslaved us in a much more effective and controlling way.  Wake up America!  We are a FREE nation!  

Jeffrey Brandon Lee

A Few More Thoughts on Grace!

     As we grow in our Christian faith many questions can dominant our thoughts and hearts.  Although we are born again as new creatures in Christ, we are still living in the flesh and continue to battle against desires that fly in the face of our true spiritual nature.  Why do we still get angry, lust after others, or embrace greed?  Contemplating these shortcomings, frustration can set in as we feel as if we are failing God in some way, and are no longer deserving of His love or Salvation.  But this is not what or Lord and Savior Jesus Christ intended for us.

     Since the very beginning the Apostle Paul sought to assuage these fears with his preaching of Grace and Forgiveness.  He gave us comfort by confirming it is not by our works that we are saved, but by our faith in the sacrifice of God's only Son, Jesus.  When reading his letter to the church in Galatia, Paul rebukes the people for their falling prey to the false apostles that preached that you must not only have faith in Jesus, but also must keep the law in order to be justified.  Paraphrasing Paul, he went so far as to say, "If you seek to be justified by the law, then Christ died for nothing."  These chilling words must have struck deep into the heart of the Galatians as they contemplated their own faith.

     So does that mean when we accept Christ as our savior that we are free to sin as much as we want?  Paul exclaims, "Certainly not!".  So now we must attempt to understand what the difference is between doing what is right because of Grace, and doing what is right as an attempt at justification through the law.

     Martin Luther wrote the following on the subject, "When the apostle (Paul) says, Abraham, the man of faith, it is as if he is making a distinction between two Abraham's and saying there is a working Abraham and a believing Abraham.  We have nothing to do with the working Abraham, for if he is justified by what he does, he has something to rejoice about, but not with God.  The Jews may glory as much as they like about that ancestor who is circumcised and kept the law; we glory in the Abraham of whom the Scripture says that he received the blessing of righteousness through his faith, not only for himself but also for all those who believe as he did.  And so the world was promised to Abraham because he believed.  Therefor, all the world is blessed-that is, is credited with righteousness-if it believes as Abraham did."  When reading this carefully we see it is not what we do, but what we believe that accredits to us righteousness. 

     So now that we know that we were saved by faith in the Grace of God through the sacrifice of the Lord Jesus Christ, we seek to do what is right out of gratitude and reverence, not out of fear of the law.  Remember that Grace is undeserved favor.  You can do nothing to earn it!  All you must do is believe in Jesus and you will be saved.  So when you fall into temptation and sin, and feel that God is mad at you, remember He looks at you through the saving blood of His son Jesus.  You don't have to earn your way back into His favor and blessings, only believe.  God's arms are always open and eager to embrace the prodigal son that returns to his Father.  So when the devil tries to convince you that you have done too many evil things to be forgiven, remind him that you were saved by Grace and not by works, and that where Jesus is there you will be also!  God Bless, and live in the victory and love of Jesus.

Jeffrey Brandon Lee

Arguments Against Global Environmental Organizations

             With the recent growing influence of the environmental movement, it seems plausible at first thought, to include organizations such as NGO’s (Non Governmental Organization) in WTO negotiations and dispute settlement processes.  The problem is that the WTO does not seem to be the proper international body to discuss topics of this nature.  Nor does it seem wise to allow an NGO to initiate formal complaints before the Dispute Settlement Body.

            The WTO has many critics these days and most complain of a lack of transparency or inefficient processes.  So what would be the point of widening the scope of an already embattled international organization?  The better course of action would be to leave these issues to the United Nations and the relevant body that oversees them.  Also, there could be some interaction between the WTO and the United Nations, if the United Nations finds the claims of a plaintiff NGO to be substantiated, and in the best interest of global welfare.  For now though the WTO should adhere to its basic principals and that is trade liberalization. 

            That brings us to the idea set forth by Mr. Charnovitz that claims NGO’s should be allowed the power to initiate complaints and bring them before the dispute settlement body.  This is a very dangerous idea, and contrary to Mr. Charnovitz, I believe undemocratic.  The idea that NGO’s represent the people is highly questionable as far as I’m concerned.  Organizations such as Greenpeace and other radical NGO’s represent the fringe rather than the majority.  If these organizations were given the power to bring cases before the DSB it could be economically disastrous for the global economy.  Furthermore, the implication that these organizations are far more informed about environmental issues is irrelevant.  The WTO was not created to help mother earth maintain her ‘greenness’.

            The problem with NGO’s is that most often they wish to enter into forums that were not created to deal with the issues they present, and are often ideas that the majority of people disagree with.  These organizations should be allowed to voice their opinion and on occasion be consulted if the need arises, but in no way, shape, or form should they be given any power on the international economic scene.  Leave it to national governments to negotiate among themselves on issues such as the environment, labor, and other NGO interest.

Jeffrey Brandon Lee

Organized Movements Can Lead to Chaos

            In these times of global uprisings the study of crowd behavior has become more relevant and necessary.  Crowds form for various reasons and purposes, but it is their behavior once they have been mobilized that will be the focus of this paper.  Over a hundred years ago Gustave Le Bon posited that crowds, once formed, became open, “…to suggestion, credulity, mobility, the exaggeration of the sentiments good or bad, the manifestation of certain forms of morality, etc.”[1].  The individual according to Le Bon, “…became an automaton who has ceased to be guided by his will.”[2].  While the author gives many examples that attempt to persuade the reader, it appears that the truth is not that simple to arrive at.  Another author by the name of George Rude attempted to solve the question of crowd behavior in his great work The Crowd In History.  Rude asserts, “…the nature of disturbances and of the crowd’s activities are intimately connected with the composition (social, occupational, and other) of those taking part in them.”[3]  While his argument is more persuasive that Le Bon’s it appears to also be to extreme in its claims.

            It is the purpose of this paper to show that crowds don’t adhere to an exact set of behaviors, but that their behaviors are specific to the social environment in which they occur.  Examples from the “Rebecca’s Daughters” uprising will be used to show that crowds formed for a specific purpose have the ability to largely maintain focus on their primary objective.  On the other hand, examples from Nazis Germany will be used to illustrate Le Bon’s hypothesis, as man losses his consciousness and morality and the horror that was the Holocaust occurred. 

            The years 1839-1844 were interesting times in southwestern England as unemployment and the introduction of tollgates began to stoke the fires of rebellion in the common man.  Beginning when, “…the Whitland Trust decided to build four new gates between Narberth and Haverfordwest on the Carmarthen-Pembrokeshire border.”[4]  This act had immediate consequences as a certain number of men dressed in women’s clothes, with faces blackened commenced in destroying two of the new toll gates.  These events were not violent in nature and ended the confrontation for a short period of time. 

            In 1842 the riots began again and their scope was much larger than before.  The focus once again was on the toll gates that had been erected and that were raising the cost of transportation greatly.  The important aspect of this movement was the selective nature of the ‘crowd’ involved.  George Rude writes, “She was remarkably discriminating: only toll gates considered to be “unjust” were dealt with, particularly those studding the side roads, which, through their proliferation, placed heavy extra cost on the carting of the line.”[5]  This sort of behavior is in stark contrast to the assertions of Eric Hoffer in his work The True Believer: Thoughts on the Nature of Mass Movements when he writes, “The fully assimilated individual does not see himself and others as human beings.”[6]  The very fact that crowds, that at times were in excess of 250 people, could maintain to a large extent it focus, purpose and morality seems to fly in the face of this line of thought.  Throughout the whole campaign there was only one death attributed to ‘Rebecca’s Daughters’.  This movement was disciplined in nature as George Rude points out that, “Rebecca (as her historian reminds us) was strictly Sabbatarian: she never worked on Sundays and even studiously avoided late night sessions on Saturdays and Monday early morning.”[7]  These are hardly the actions of a mindless automaton.

            On the other end of the crowd spectrum we have the Nazi Party and its’ rise among the Germans.  This movement started as a very focused ideology that had grand aspirations to turn the downtrodden of Germany into a people with nationalistic ambitions.  Hitler knew that there were certain dangers when a movement began to grow too large when he wrote the more, “…posts and offices a movement has to hand out, the more inferior stuff it will attract, and in the end these political hangers-on overwhelm a successful party in such a number that the honest fighter of former days no longer recognizes the old movement….When this happens, the ‘mission’ of such a movement is done for.”[8]  The Nazi’s held true to these beliefs, as the majority of Germans were not members of the Nazi party and yet many followed blindly without a true knowledge of what the movement consisted of.

            What then would cause the majority of Germans to follow Hitler as if he were a god?  In this case Le Bon’s hypothesis seems to more prevalent when he stated, “We see, then, that the disappearance of the conscious personality, the predominance of the unconscious personality, the turning of feelings and ideas in an identical direction by means of suggestion and contagion, the tendency to immediately transform the suggested ideas into acts;”[9] This idea of contagion coupled with the defeat in WWI and the poverty that was devastating the nation made the German people ripe for any movement that gained momentum.

            In the end, when history had declared Germany defeated in WWII, many of the atrocities that the average German committed he himself did not feel responsible for.  As Eric Hoffer again writes, “It was not sheer hypocrisy when the rank-and-file Nazis declared themselves not guilty of all the enormities they had committed.  They considered themselves cheated and maligned when made to shoulder responsibility for obeying orders.”[10]  The simple fact that Germany was able to regain its’ national pride soon after the war is evidence of the fact that the people truly believed they were simple pawns in a much larger game.  An idea had come along that promised to bring them out of their circumstances creating a future that would forever make the Germans the envy of the world, and they were simply swept up in the frenzy. 

            Before the rise of the National Socialist Movement in Germany most Germans would have cringed at the thought of lining up their fellow Jewish citizens and firing a bullet pointblank into their head.  The idea of rounding up young Jewish boys and girls and feeding them into furnaces would have flown in the face of their Christian ideals.  It is hard to imagine, when we look back in history, how someone could change so dramatically in such a short period of time, but Le Bon’s contagion had run its’ course.  These actions can be explained when Le Bon writes, “As the result of the contagion the perversions are of the same kind, and take the same shape in the case of all the assembled individuals.”[11]  German’s began to blindly follow what was being suggested and eventually became devoid of virtually all moral instinct.  Pulling the trigger and ending the life of an innocent person became just an act with no psychological repercussions for the individual performing the act.

            When looking at the two movements there are some differences in size and scope of their movement, but one thing is clear, and that is crowds behave differently in each situation.  There is no overarching theory that can be made to fit every social movement of individuals.  The Rebecca’s Daughter movement was characterized by the lower working class of England and had very clear objectives that in many case once the goal had been achieved the movement ended until it was needed again.  They were moral in nature as they used mostly acts of intimidation and rarely reverted to violent acts.  Germany and the Nazi’s were also based on the idea of class warfare, but their movement had a much larger and tragic result on all of Europe.  Whereas in the Rebecca’s Daughters riots there was only one reported death, WWII cost the lives of millions.  Applying Le Bon or Rude’s theories to both instances of mass movements would disprove both claims in the end.  The reality is when a crows begins to form there is no guarantee of the outcome of their actions or behaviors.  One may end up with a non-violent peaceful movement such as with Ghandi, or one may end up with the Protestant Reformation and the mindless killing of people whose beliefs are nearly the same. 

Jeffrey Brandon Lee

Where's Daddy?: The Importance of a Father in a Child's Life

     America has been on a slow, but steady, moral decline that has destroyed families across the country.  One of the most painful decision a married couple can make is to decide to get divorced.  Although there is definitely pain felt by the adults, the pain and damage to the children is far greater and can last a lifetime.  For people that may be considering getting a divorce, or for children who have suffered through one, this article will shed light on some of the statistics children who grow up without father's face.  Also, it will show that there is hope if you find yourself with your father no longer present.

     When a young boy grows up without the authority that comes with a father figure he is twice as likely to go to prison.  To those who had a father, you know how it felt to hug your dad and the power you felt in his embrace.  That strength naturally translated in to a healthy fear when it came to dicipline.  When a young man never has that powerful presence in his life there is an inherent lack of fear of consequences, which leads to unlawful acts.

     One of the saddest statistics pretaining to fatherless children is the suicide rate.  63% of all suicides come from children suffering from this epidemic.  When a child has one parent missing there is a natural tendency for them to feel abandoned and unwanted.  Related closely to suicide is behavioral disorders, and 85% of all children with these disorders have no father in the home.  A balanced home with father and mother give a child a true sense of who they are as a person.  They see how two adults interact and are able to learn how to behave socially in a more effective way.

     Education, one of the most important areas of a young child's life, is one of the hardest hit areas in this discussion.  71% of all high school dropouts come from fatherless homes, and this derives from the parents not being able to supervise their child's homework, which also leads to lower expectations on the part of the parent.

     There are several other troubling stats when it comes to the subject at hand, but the few stated are a clear picture of the problem we face as a society.  To the parents out there who are considering ending their marriage please look at your child and see that they are worth making the effort to work things out.  If you need to go to counseling, then really try what they suggest.  If there has been marital unfaithfulness, spend time in prayer and ask Jesus for the strength to forgive your partner.  The bottom line is that there is nothing on this earth more important than to give our children the best opportunities in this life.

     To those children who are facing life without a father, I would like to encourage you to let Jesus be your father.  Seek Him in prayer and know that He loves you so much and wants to embrace you as a father would.  Find yourself an older male figure who you respect and learn from them.  You've read the statistics and now you know that you don't have to become one of them!  Have courage not to be a victim in this life and to know that God works out all things for your good.

     Lastly, to the father's who are still at home.  It's time for us to stand up and be the men that God wants us to be.  We must be willing to sacrifice anything for our wife and children!  We were given the awesome responsibility to provide for and protect these precious gifts from God.  So next time your child asks for you to go outside and play, or your wife asks you to sit down and watch a movie with her, take a second to think about how much it would mean to them and put your own desires aside.  I hope this article blesses any who read it and have a wonderful 2013.

Jeffrey Brandon Lee

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Against the WTO and A New World Order

   

             Does the world need an international body that constantly reacts to changes in the global economic system?  In “The Evolution of a Trade Regime” the authors argue that very point and with historical evidence show the ‘evolution’ of the organization as a whole.  In what the book commonly refers to as the WTO/GATT the authors engage in a detailed analysis of the widening scope of that international body.  While they argue this is necessary and should continue, I don’t believe this to be the case.  Sovereignty is not something the world is ready to do away with and pointedly shouldn’t do away with. 

            National governments are given the responsibility to look after and protect their citizens.  Constantly allowing more and more regulatory power to flow from nations to international organizations is cause for alarm.  The authors give plenty of examples of the WTO ability to now reach ‘behind the borders’ and force governments to accept international law.  At what point do the citizens of a country stand up and ask their politicians to stop selling their national identity down the river and start looking after them. 

            To argue for more power to be delegated to the WTO, The Director-General, and the Secretariat is absurd if you value freedom.  Consolidation of power is never a good idea when there is no other mechanism to fight against it.  The optimal idea at present is to pursue PTA’s and FTA’s in an attempt to limit the cost of trade.  Let the national governments negotiate with each other in the interest of the citizens and not just for the purpose of creating global free trade.  The FTA’s that have already been negotiated have their own rules that exist between the contracting parties and I believe this to be sufficient.

            The biggest issue that the authors did a very poor job of contradicting was the fact that countries not participating in the WTO experienced greater gains in trade than the countries that did participate.  Maybe that is because the countries in question acted on behalf of their country and had no restraints placed upon them by a global governing body.

            The race to consolidate global governance in the fewest forms is a frightening scenario.  The history of humanity has shown that absolute power corrupts and with global governance who will be there to check the power of that government? 

Jeffrey Brandon Lee

Against the Destruction of the Nation State

            What Wolfgang H. Reinicke may have intended to read as a utopian, hand holding, peaceful way toward a safe global marketplace, read more as an economic version of Dracula.  Whether one is dealing with his ideas on the ‘safe’ transfer of dual-use technologies, or the idea of the destruction of the nation state, a feeling of dread and fear is likely to set in.  The ideas expressed by Reinicke are naïve and don’t take into account human nature.

            To deny globalization is happening is to bury your head in the sand and live in a state of denial.  For those who see what is transpiring the question is how best to regulate and maintain safety in areas such as dual-use technology transfers.  Reinicke claims that, “By far the best and most effective export controls are a company’s sales and marketing agents.”   It’s hard to imagine that was written with a straight face, but not only does Reinicke endorse this idea, he argues that governments should join with business (with business having a greater amount of influence) and in essence regulate themselves.  There is an 800lb gorilla in the discussion that was not dealt with by Reinicke, and that is human nature.  It is nice to believe that corporations and individuals will act in a moral way, but history has shown that man has an inclination to act in a way beneficial to himself.

            The idea of the elimination of the nation state is absolutely terrifying.  Global governance by one body, and that body being subservient to the needs of corporations, would destroy individual liberty.  No longer would there be a ‘police officer’, in the form of a nation, that one could look to for help when they are being exploited.  What form of law enforcement would regulate this global no borders world?  What form of government would overlook that law enforcement body?  And what body would keep an eye on that global government?  Reinicke’s idea that the nation state is on its’ deathbed is hopefully for us all a stretch.

            Although I disagree with almost every aspect of Reinicke’s article, it does address some very important issues.  In contrast to the article, dual-use technology transfer should be in the hands of government and not in the hands of a corporation who could stand to profit from it.  Also, the blissful way in which Reinicke referred to the end of the nation state should send a chill up the spine.  Globalization in time may destroy personal liberty and individuality.

Jeffrey Brandon Lee

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Eliminate the International Monetary Fund and Let Free Markets Work!

            The International Monetary Fund is one of the most controversial international institutions of our time.  It has been accused of anything from bailing out rich investors to forcing countries to open up to foreign companies.  In “Argentina and the Fund: From Triumph to Tragedy” by Michael Mussa another flaw is made apparent, and that is the IMF’s ineptness in enforcing its own policies.

            The Argentine crisis of the late nineties and early 21^st century was a clear example of the complex nature of international trade.  As was mentioned in the reading, I do believe that sovereign default is a necessary occurrence in capitalism.  While I do think that Mussa was a little biased toward the fund, he did make clear some of the shortcomings that occurred in the IMF’s policies.  One of the main flaws that nearly jumped off the page was the continued lending by the Fund even when there was little hope that the help would change the course that the country was headed in.  With all the knowledge that resides at IMF headquarters you would think that a red flag would have been raised before lending the additional billions of dollars.

            One idea I don’t think Mussa dealt with effectively is that of corporate inertia.    The pride that was initially felt with the ‘triumph’ of the Funds efforts in Argentina must have solidified its purpose in the minds of its directors, but I’m sure that changed once things began to take a turn for the worst.  With Argentina facing possible insolvency and the restructuring of its debt the directors of the fund were probably willing to throw as much money at the problem as was necessary, because if their efforts failed there would be questions as to usefulness of the fund.  So as happens in many companies, the executives will do just about anything to prove their necessity and legitimacy. 

            Since the fund was Mr. Mussa’s former employer it is understandable that he maintains a little bias in favor of the Fund, but many readers of his work will ask the question of whether its existence is necessary.  In my opinion it is not.  Countries of the world need to enact more effective fiscal and monetary policies, and if they fail to do so there should not be the parachute, that is the fund, there to save them.

Jeffrey Brandon Lee

small faith, Great God (Published 2010)

     Have you ever wondered if God was listening to you during those dark times in your life? My wife and I are living proof that although His timing is not our timing, it definitely is the right time!

     It all started during the third year of running my own courier company in the Colorado Springs area. Though sales growth had leveled off because of the slowing economy, I hoped that some of my new ideas would gain some traction in the business sector.

     About this time, I began a desperate struggle with anxiety—and, at times, I was sure I would lose the battle. Rapid weight loss followed, dropping me from 225 to 180 pounds.

     One day while sitting in my home office looking at the beer bottles from the night before piled in the trash can, I shook my head disgusted with myself. Suddenly, a deep feeling moved within, a feeling saying I was to stop drinking alcohol that day. It’s not that I see anything wrong with having a beer or glass of wine, but I felt God was laying it on my heart to give it up. Without a second thought, I never picked up another alcoholic drink. 

     God helped me through that period with relative ease as the desire to drink was just no longer there. I started attending church more often and spending most of my waking days listening to Christian music, reading the Bible, and attending every possible church function I could. But two things didn’t change: first, my business slowed even further as my best client ended its partnership with my company; second, my anxiety worsened as I began thinking negatively about myself as a husband and provider. And then the best thing any man could want happened—my wife became pregnant with a baby boy.

     The challenging time for our family continued as I finally had to close down the business, file bankruptcy, and look for a job in a struggling economy. Anxiety dominated my thoughts as I watched my wife’s abdomen grow with our son. At times I would be excited; but when alone with my thoughts, I was terrified about how I was going to provide for them.

     We managed to make ends meet with help from family, all the while remaining in prayer and slowly ridding ourselves of everything sinful in our lives. Everyone encouraged us that God would reward us for what we were doing and assured us that He heard our prayers.  Personally, I wasn't looking for things to get better, I was just hoping they wouldn't get worse. But then came the prayer…. 

     I prayed while I drove (eyes open), “God, I will serve You no matter what!” At that moment, I looked down for a second and then back up again—just in time to see my front end ram the back of the vehicle in front of me. My first response was to think, Are you kidding me? Relying on my faith, I refused to give in but praised God for whatever His purpose was in the accident. The owner of the vehicle happened to be a Christian and because I didn’t have insurance at the time God led him to forgive me for the expenses. Thank you, Jesus!

     Soon thereafter, my brother Preston came to live with us while he worked on a job site in the area. He is a hardworking man who, when a teenager, was in love with God. Life has dealt him some rough hands and he was just trying to hang on. Now there were two of us trying to encourage each other and I continued to proclaim my faith in God through everything.

     One night on the way home from picking up Preston from his job, a truck made an illegal turn in front of us and my car was totaled. I was at a loss. Why had God let this happen? Here I was trying to serve Him with all my heart and that same heart was about to break under the stress of events.

     Finally, the sun began to shine and our Lord showed up (although He had always been there). I was offered a tech support job with a major telecom company and the pay was more than enough to get us by. Soon after the offer, our son was born, bringing great joy into our lives. The only problem still remaining was the fact that we had no cars.

     One night, my wife’s mom called to say that she would co-sign for us on a car. With that blessing, we bought a brand new vehicle with a great interest rate. We were so thankful to God for His having met that need, but we knew we needed another car for my wife.

     Our credit was so bad after the bankruptcy that few would lend money to us. We had one offer at nearly 22% interest. In our frustration, we decided to check one last dealer. In another awesome way, God gave us favor with the dealer and we got a loan for another brand new car at 15% interest, still high, but drastically lower than the previous rate.

     While walking through these tough times, we learned a great lesson: when you’re crying out to the Lord, remember He is ALWAYS listening. He will answer your prayers! His answer may not be in the way you expect, but not only will it be the right time, you will look back on it with a greater faith as He brings you through tough times. 

     My wife and I want to encourage you to keep pressing forward, being faithful, and praising God in all things.

Jeffrey Brandon Lee