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My sons, do not be negligent now, for the LORD has chosen you to stand before Him, to minister to Him, and to be His ministers...2 Chronicles 29:11

In 3 hours I go on call and begin my "work" for the next 2 days. Since 2004, I have worked with the Wake County Board of Elections. After the first two years, I went from a general worker to the "Help Table" (meaning I got to deal with all the non-traditional voters....names not in the poll book, unregistered, lost, etc).  I actually enjoyed that position. Then last year they asked me to step in as Coordinator while someone was on leave. In theory, it was for one election. Tomorrow will be my second election in this capacity, and I'm still a tad uncertain how I feel about it. It's one thing to follow step A, B, and C on a laptop with a phone by your side and a private number to dial should you have any questions. It's another thing entirely to drive from place to place and check out polling sites and assist workers with any problems they have, sometimes re-training workers on the spot. I'm praying I feel more confident and competent than last year when the phone starts ringing at 5:59am tomorrow.

Confidence...it really makes a difference in how we do our jobs. I've been thinking about that a lot lately, as North Carolina is gearing up for one of its most controversial and divisive election campaigns ever. For those of you not from NC, we have a marriage amendment on the ballot in May 2012. The rhetoric has already started, though the NC Values and Christian community is being somewhat silent. This last week I've seriously been thinking about ways I can be involved in doing my part. I am very concerned about the infringement upon religious liberties, and I fear that if we continue to be complacent and apathetic to the unscrupulous world of politics then within ten years we will find ourselves facing a quandary of openly serving God or being persecuted.

We all have areas in which God has enabled us to serve. I'm challenging you to join me in praying that God will directly show you how you can best serve Him in our ever-changing world. Our areas of service seldom look the same as another person's, but that doesn't make it any less vital. I'm looking forward to seeing what God has in store for us.

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