True North

Good morning God.

It is a lovely morning. The snow has frosted all of the branches of your trees, giving the world a classic, Christmas look. Almost Currier & Ives. I half expect to see a horse-drawn sleigh jingle-belling down my street.

It's almost Christmas, Lord. Winter Solstice and all that. The days start getting longer now and I can fool myself into believing Spring isn't that far off. I understand why the early Church put your Advent at this point on the calender. It's a time for hope.

Since it's Christmas I want to send you my list of things I would like to see in the new year. It's my wish list. It's not very long, and there are some big ticket items, but it doesn't hurt to ask, does it? I know you do things in your own time and your own way, but if I can be an influence on any of these points I would be grateful.

We have to pick a new leader next fall. You know how important this decision is. It affects pretty much the whole world. Sadly, the pool of candidates is limited to Humans, so that person will be one of us. Please Lord, help us pick the best possible pereon for the job. You know I'm in the Romney camp (even if that Mormon thing is pretty wacky), but I'll settle for someone who genuinely wants to preserve this great nation and not turn it into a socialist gulag.

I'm not going to pray for "peace on Earth". You must get really tired of that. We haven't had one day of peace on Earth in Human history. We do have episodes at times and in places, however. They seem to be brought about by victory. So I'm going to be a little presumptuous here Lord, and pray for victory. I want the people of Iraq and Afghanistan to have peace and freedom. The only way I see that happening is if they are given a chance to overcome the religious tyrants that want to enslave them in your name. Help us give them the gift of peace and freedom, Lord.

On the same note, please bless all of our service people around the world this Christmas. My family all live in another state, so I know the feeling of being separated from those you love at this special time. It sucks. But there are millions of us out here praying for those good, brave people. They are far from home and those they love, and that sucks. They truly are the Peacemakers, and I thank you for them. Give them a special blessing this Christmas.

Lastly I want to pray for prosperity. It's not the dirty word some people think. It's also not an easy thing to accomplish. Poverty can be achieved with little or no effort. Prosperity requires endeavor. Lord, please instill in all of our hearts the desire to achieve. The desire to both gain and give. The faculty to make this blessed land even greater than it is now. My favorite President (say hi to the Gipper for me) called it "a shining light on the hill". Help us make it burn brighter.

So thank you for everything, God. It's been a good year, and I'm looking forward to a better one in 2008. May anyone who reads this prayer be blessed and know your love.

Amen