One Word about Going Rogue

By Adrienne Ross - www.motivationtruth.com

Just finished Going Rogue. Closed the book--and wept.

It wasn't the first time I wept while reading Sarah Palin's bestseller, but it will be the part that will remain with me.

I have given my word to those still reading who were afraid I'd give something away that there was nothing to fear; I won't give anything away. I don't like when people cheat me like that. It drives me nuts. So I will offer no details on content, just express my reaction. If you don't want to hear even that much, now's the time to log off!

I couldn't help but be overcome with emotion at various points throughout, but especially so at the end. This book speaks a word to me that Sarah Palin's life has spoken to me for over a year now: Destiny.

When she showed up on the scene as John McCain's running mate and I got to learn about her life, I was overwhelmed with a sense of destiny. God began to deal with me specifically about destiny. I still tell people today what He showed me through her life. I have always expressed it this way: "Here was a woman who was minding her own business, loving her God, adoring her family, governing her state. Simply as she was faithful to do that, God (not Senator McCain) tapped her on the shoulder and said, 'Come up a little higher.'" I have been in awe of that for more than a year now. It still speaks to me.

As I read the book, particularly the ending, I could see destiny tied up in every aspect of the Governor's life. She was just living her life, enjoying it--content. But the plan of God was about to unfold in a way that she may never have expected--at least not at that time. How incredible is God's plan.

But even as God spoke to me about Governor Palin's destiny over a year ago now, He added: "Don't get so caught up in stargazing, in watching someone else fulfill her destiny, that you miss your own. I have a plan for you, too."

I found myself for a time consumed with the concept of destiny.

I have always known that God had called me to, dare I say, greatness. I say that humbly, for I knew, even at a pretty young age, that God's hands were upon my life. How strange it is now to remember that I could never find words to describe what I was feeling until I heard...of all people...Oprah Winfrey say many years ago that she had known she was destined for greatness. When I heard her say it, I said, "Yes, that's it! That's what I've been feeling!" I was amazed when just a few months ago, a friend from church used Oprah's life as an example of what she felt God was doing in my life (not her politics, just her story).

When the world got to meet Sarah Palin, I was reminded of the big picture, not just about her, but about me. And one thing I feel the Governor has done is incite people to rise up and take a stand in their own lives. I knew that it was good to support her--which I do wholeheartedly--but with an understanding of how God works, how He desires to lead all of us into the specific plan He has for us. My pastor always says, "God's plan is Plan 'A' for your life. There is no Plan 'B,'" and I believe that. I began to feel stirred up to live out God's plan for my life. It's not good enough to watch someone else fulfill her call; we've got to desire to fulfill our own great call, as well. To be honest, greatness is simply doing what it is you're supposed to be doing, no matter what it is. Sometimes that call is helping someone fulfill theirs. Whatever it is, I am determined to live out my life with God's original intent.

I was truly overcome with destiny at that time, and recently that awareness has returned. I am seeing God do things that only He could do. I am watching in awe at His favor, His grace, His blessings--and I see that it all flows from the destiny that He's had in mind all along.

My church has prayer service every Saturday night. This evening, as we prayed, I was again bombarded with that word: destiny. I began to pray aloud about it, to voice what I felt in my heart: We existed in the mind of God before the foundations of the Earth were laid. God has been fashioning us and forming us. We were created in exquisite detail to fulfill His divine purpose. Our likes, our dislikes, our passions, our personalities, even the things we've gone through, all serve a purpose. He had already determined how He would cause even the most unpleasant circumstances, those He would've liked to shield us from, to work together for our good, for His purpose. It is a thought too intense for me to fully wrap my brain around, but I have a decent handle on it.

I came home from prayer and set out to read the rest of Going Rogue, and the closer I got to the end, the more the book screamed, "DESTINY!" That's really what it speaks to me--that and how human Sarah, the person, is. I see her life traveling down this road to that road to another road--and the journey continues. I see someone who has the imprint of God's hand all over her life as He takes her where He wants her to go. No, I am not saying we are robots or puppets in His hand. Far from it, but when we decide to be soft and pliable clay, He molds us and shapes us, and we end up being what He always intended. We arrive at the place He had already prepared: Plan 'A.'

I see that in Sarah Palin.

The end of her book brought me to tears, as it speaks what I know to be true: when we are open and available to Him--in spite of the challenges that are sure to come, in spite of those who seek to destroy us, in spite of the unexpected--we can't help but be in a good place, make an impact, and, most of all, fulfill the destiny God has for our lives. And sometimes, just sometimes, it's much bigger than we could have ever anticipated.

I finished the book--and I wept. I wept because of the goodness of God in the life of Sarah Palin--past, present, and future. But I also wept at the potential of my own.

It all comes down to one thing for me: Destiny.

Sarah Palin Talks About Her Faith During Her Visit With Billy Graham

Governor Sarah Palin has often spoken of her faith in God as her source of strength in the many challenges she has faced in life. In the video below (h/tp Martha at @JoinTeamSarah), she refers to her faith in God, her family, and her freedom in America as the most important things in her life. It is her faith that has set the moral compass that has guided her life and her career.

Governor Palin met with Billy Graham and his family at Reverend Graham's mountaintop home in Montreat, North Carolina last Sunday evening. While she was there, she recorded a video segment in which she talked about her faith in Christ. Here is the first clip from that session:

According to the BGEA website, additional video clips will be posted on their website on November 30 and December 4. More details about their visit can be found here and here.



See also:

Sarah Palin Talks With BGEA About Faith
http://www.billygraham.org/News_Article.asp?ArticleID=730

Franklin & Billy Graham Meet with Sarah Palin
http://www.billygraham.org/News_Article.asp?ArticleID=727

Sarah Palin dines with Billy Graham
http://blogs.usatoday.com/onpolitics/2009/11/sarah-palin-dines-with-billy-graham.html

YouTube Video:
Sarah Palin Talks With BGEA About Faith
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VUOhFPLpwnQ

YouTube Video:
Sarah Palin comes to Asheville NC to have Dinner with Billy Graham & Family http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ADWQlRZlPag

'Going Rogue' by Sarah Palin Is #1 on NYT Best Seller List for Nonfiction Titles

We knew it was coming! And here it is! Going Rogue is now officially #1 on the New York Times Best Seller List for nonfiction titles! (Mike Huckabee's A Simple Christmas is #5.)

Here is a little closer look:

NYT Best Seller List: http://www.nytimes.com/pages/books/bestseller/index.html?adxnnl=1&adxnnlx=1259441743-bG+OK6UgMOHV2zbacfkZmA

NYT Hardcover Nonfiction List: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/06/books/bestseller/besthardnonfiction.html?_r=1&ref=bestseller

Transparency is a Beautiful Thing

Sarah seems to be watching the Glasswing Butterfly (Greta Oto) appearing to take wing from her folded hands. The tissue between the veins of its wings looks like glass. Transparent wings on a butterfly represent Sarah Palin’s transparency as a political servant.

Obama’s transparency looks a little like this:

Obama’s Transportation Sec'y Meeting Behind Closed Doors With Union Officials Who Want to ‘Fix’ the Airline Industry - Thursday, November 12, 2009

Obama, Bibi meet behind closed doors - November 10, 2009

Obama’s ‘Transparency’ Behind Closed Doors? - October 26, 2009

Obama and Democrats: Deceptive Actions Behind Closed Doors! – November 9, 2009

Obama's day: Behind closed doors – November 9, 2009

“Democracies die behind closed doors.” – January 23, 2009

End the Practice of Writing Legislation Behind Closed Doors – February 11, 2009

Obama, Reid, Pelosi burn billions behind closed doors – February 11, 2009

Obviously, we know there are times when it is legitimate for the President to have meetings behind closed doors. I fully expect our national security to be handled with kid gloves behind closed doors for example. The samples above may or may not be legitimate, but that was just one page of one search using the keywords “Obama behind closed doors.”

This is not to specifically point a finger at Obama. Who am I kidding? Of course, it is to specifically point a finger at Obama. It highlights the difference between Obama’s style of governing and Sarah Palin’s style of governing.



Gov. Palin’s open door policy - November 14, 2008

Governor Palin Takes President Obama to School – September 20, 2009

These are just two of the examples I found using the keywords “Palin’s open door policy.” From her book, “Going Rogue: An American Life” comes the best example of her stance on transparency in government.

During our first week of conferencing with the oil executives, every man – and they were all men – who entered that room knew things had changed. I made a point of saying, “We’re leaving the door open.” (Page 128, Going Rogue: An American Life, Sarah Palin, Harper-Collins Publishing)

The oil executives who marched into Governor Palin’s office that day were not expecting to hear that. They were accustomed to “the good old boys” club that had existed with other administrations. Palin fooled them. Just as she fooled many from the old school while she was Governor of Alaska.

This is the kind of transparency we as citizens of the United States have a right to expect from our elected officials, from the seemingly least important election to the most important. Most of us are not stupid. I do question the intelligence of some of the people who voted for Obama, but that’s another story. We can understand almost anything you tell us. All we ask is that you tell us the truth.

When I think of keeping things from the American people, one of the first things that comes to my mind is whether or not an alien spacecraft actually crash landed near Roswell, New Mexico, in 1947. It is totally irrelevant to me whether it did or not. What bothers me is that if it did, our government has hidden the facts from us.

I suppose at some point in our lives we have all played the game of “Secrets.” One child will whisper a word or a short phrase to the next child who passes it to the next and on down the line. It almost never happens that the word or phrase that comes out at the end of the line is what started at the beginning.

That is the truest example of all those behind closed doors meetings that formulated what the “Harry Reid Troupe” calls “Affordable Health Care for All Americans.” Both the end of the game and the health care bill are misrepresentations of the facts. Why was that done behind closed doors? Why wasn’t one Republican asked for input? What makes Harry Reid think he will be reelected?

We need to return a little transparency and trust to our elected officials. I take that back. We would settle for ANY transparency and trust in our elected officials. Right now, we have none of either. That’s exactly what they’ve asked us to do by holding entirely too many closed door meetings.

Come on, Ladies and Gentlemen in the American Congress. Pull a Sarah Palin.

Go Rogue with the American people. Try some transparency on us and watch us fly with the truth.