I take a short diversion in this post by talking a little about the elections coming up. In reality, it is not that much of a diversion because the freedom we have to live our country lives, with the ability to steward the land and our children as best we can without intervention, is a cornerstone of our nation.

Our family just finished listening to the Missouri Senatorial debate. As I listened, I meditated on the thought of how blessed we are to live in a nation where we can debate the issues in free and open forums without the threat of violence. No matter what your political leaning, this is still a great privilege for which we all can be thankful.

I enjoy following John G. Miller’s QBQ blog and wholeheartedly agree with his personal accountability message. I believe much of our problems today have been a result of many years of individuals in our nation abdicating personal responsibility and accountability and looking to the state to fix our problems and provide all our needs. Yes, there are the powerful that take advantage of the poor and weak, and this should not be tolerated. Yet, we must be accountable for ourselves. That is what made our nation great – work hard, take risks, be creative, experience both failure and success. This is how we grow strong. Bailouts breed weakness and victim thinking.

This is much of the essences of country living. In the country life, we work hard to build and improve the land, raise our own food and teach our children to work hard, sweat and reap a harvest from fruitful labor. Sometimes there are droughts or pests or storms that hinder or destroy what we worked so hard to produce. But, we get back at it and keep on going. We learn. We grow. We get stronger with the Lord’s help.

In this election season, I encourage all of us to get out and vote. Make a vote for personal accountability and getting us back to our founding principles of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. From my perspective, that is what the country life is all about!