An Intro to the Series: REAL or FAKE
Inspired by the 2023 South Washington County School Board Election and The Apostle Paul
There are plenty of articles you can read by writers who look to people for solutions, point at people for problems, and worry themselves over the thoughts of people. I know what it’s like, to try living up to the standards of people ; Impossible.
I begin this series knowing that I am not in control of The End – not mine, not yours, not anyone’s. Nor do I stumble upon any wisdom that is my own to claim. I release myself from the self-inflicted gravity of knowledge weighing me down, and I hand that over to my Lord.
The Real or Fake Series builds on my poem, “The Maker IS” published December 15th, 2023.
Dear Reader,
It is no coincidence that I am in the position I am in today. The Lord called me into this space: to run for school board, to start a blog, to run for school board again, and to fail.
Why? Why call me forward for this most difficult job to have me fail? Because I know that God NEVER fails. He allows leadership and he denies leadership, and it is not because of our works or our deeds or our lack thereof.
And yet, failure refines like a tool put to use. It perfects and it shapes and it promotes human growth. Without failure there would be no success. And that is the beauty of God’s fullness. Some call failure a prerequisite for success. Failure has to be embraced and learned from though in order for it to mature into success. Refusal to admit defeat, while trying again and again, is foolishness.
My mind automatically goes to the School District’s failure to meet achievement goals. The 2023 WBWF report came out in December and looks even worse than 2022 (See the Summary HERE which can be found on SoWashCo Schools – Academics – Assessment and Grading. Scroll to the very bottom). And yet FAKE somehow wins elections for incumbent candidates incapable of producing the SEED.
Thrashing around and changing everything doesn’t work. Failure is a tool, but it has to be taken out of the dark shed and put to work in the light (acknowledged, turned over, studied, and reshaped). Success does not exist in a vacuum. For something to be labeled, “success” it has to fulfill its makers intent.
- What material is it made of?
- Who made it?
- What is the makers end goal?
- What purpose does it have to fill?
- How full is its dimension?
There was a beginning, and there WILL be an end, whether you believe that to be in death or in the second coming of Christ. The End will come, and the Bible describes the corrupt leadership that will rule over those times. In the mean time we can be intentional about protecting the seed that is REAL.
I embrace my lot to be shaped and refined
by the fire of failure. I welcome it with open arms and sing praise to the Lord for knowing what is best!
Is there anything unsettling to you about the world we live in right now?
Does something seem off to you? Because it does to me.
Has REAL become fake and FAKE become real?
Maybe it is in the destructive laws passed during this last Minnesota legislative session, too rampant in number to list.
Maybe it is in the depressive mental state of a child you love whose public school is allowed, by the state, to be dealer of her political division, arbiter of her blame, canceller of her culture, and cure for her resulting mental state.
Maybe it is in the entitled character displayed by a Senator elected at large to represent you, or the theatrics of a superintendent, or the bitterness shown by a school board member toward members of her own community (SoWashCo Schools vs City of Woodbury during removal of SRO’s).
Maybe it is in the intimidation and censure of two pro-parent elected officials by their superintendent and fellow school board members (Elk River).
Maybe it goes back to riots in the streets of Minneapolis : the suppression of vital information, lies told while under oath, theatrics played out on local media channels, and the reckless spread of misinformation by those in powerful positions of authority (Source: The Fall of Minneapolis. Watch the movie HERE).
And yet, through the failure and through the suffering, a special kind of light shines brighter and multiplies faster than anything we’ve EVER seen before. It was out of the disastrous election year of 2020 (one wrought with pandemic regulations, isolation, fear, riots, death, shame, and a shady election process) that MY faith was ignited. To failure, I give many thanks!
It is truly amazing how, in my suffering I have grown more obedient to the Word and stronger in His ways. Jesus is The Constant in my life, and the perfect definition of REAL. It is possible that this last election cycle has brought me closer to God in my failure than it would have in my success.
The Lord is now calling me to speak into that unique experience, working through a political framework of lies in order to represent REAL people with REAL problems and REAL solutions. Running for public office is one of the most difficult challenges I have faced in my lifetime, and yet I have raised my hand for the job and confront the ensuing opposition.
What I have to say, as a parent who has run for a public school board position, is absolutely relevant to the conversation about education in SoWashCo, Minnesota.
Calling out fakery
It was very early in the month of December, and after the election, when I began to noticed the abundance of fakery I was surrounding myself in : fake garland, fake wreaths, fake candles, fake trees, fake gas fires, fake Christmas villages, fake santas, fake stories, fake figurines … It made me look at my traditions a little closer and the foundation of my faith in Christ.
I learned a lot about the history of my own Christmas traditions because of this exercise. What a great idea for the homeschooler, I thought! If only I had known sooner in my children’s development how fulfilling schooling from home could be. This activity became a game for me, and I shared parts of that process with my 15 year old daughter. It expanded into January as I consciously made a point to recognize every situation for what it was: Real or Fake.
In this series, I want to start simple by taking a look at some of those objects, and the attributes of a REAL thing and a FAKE thing. This will be a jumping off point to apply those characteristic traits to more abstract subjects – relational, political or religious points of view – moving into future articles on policy.
An Exercise in Choice
Purpose:
To recognize real for the priceless diamond it is. A call to embrace the miracle of rEAL which is perfection. No improvement necessary.
Discovery
Observation:
All things are made.
By a maker.
Who has an end goal.
All things known on earth have a purpose.
And exist within time and space.
Question:
Real or Fake? Which do we choose in our freedom? Have we sold priceless for a knockoff?
Hypothesis:
Reality comes first, and mimicry follows, like a copycat, only cheaper and flashier. The more a REAL thing, which is priceless, chooses a FAKE thing, which is not, the more trickery absorbs the one who is Real. Fake equates to bondage freely chosen at will by you who are priceless.
The next article to publish in The Real or Fake Series is
Beginning with real
Thursday, January 18th, 2024
“Find what is real. Start simple. Study that. See its Genesis. See its birthplace.” – Journal of JAiME, January 2024
District 833 Update
Please help me welcome the newest addition to District 833 School Board !
Ryan Clarke took his Oath of Office on January 4th. Congratulations, Ryan!
Publishing my policy research will have to wait for now, but I watch the meetings on a regular basis, and I ask for clarity from administration where clarity is needed. I’ll give updates every now and then.