Making America great... Again?

Make America Great Again... The positive (and incorrect) message from a very vile person. Looking at this phrase out of the context of the man who said it, I just don't understand how we can be making America great again when it was never great to begin with. Now, don't get me wrong, America has had great moments and accomplishments, but it has never been great for everyone. To this day, women, people of color and varying ethnicities, those who practice religions other than Christianity, different sexualities, and immigrants (excepting some of the wealthy) have all faced continuous discrimination that upholds even in today's modern, progressive world. An outstanding amount of these people have not found America great at all, and America has not given them a reason to find it great. So I agree, let's make America great, not again but for the first time. And let's do it by loving and accepting everyone, with equal opportunity for all, no matter what the insignificant differences are.

(And not by electing a man trying to build a wall to keep people out and all the minorities oppressed)

It's not about me

Some time ago after I finished working, I was hanging out with one of the Kid's Ministry staff members at our church, Topher.  He was working on prepping the materials for the next month's unit, which included printing a set of round labels.  As we went to pick up the freshly printed labels, we noticed that they were a bit off center.  Topher was a bit discouraged and moved to recycle them and try again.  I didn't think they were too bad, and I pointed that out.  That's when he said, "If I were just doing it for me it would be fine, but I'm not.  It's for the church so I want it to be perfect".  That has resonated with me so much now the past few months, especially at work.  When I'm getting discouraged or losing motivation, I remind myself that it's not about how I'm feeling but instead the work is for God, and I should be honoring Him by putting my all in.  That reflects across other areas of life too, from instrument practice to tidying up around home.  Even if not for God, all of those tasks honor others in my life too.  So, as I continue on my life, I just need to remember that it's not about me, so I need to do everything to the best of my ability for God and for others.