My husband and I lived in Houston, Texas during the oil crisis in the late 70's and early 80’s.  We were a young married couple living the good life.  We had just purchased our first home and our first baby was on her way. 

We finally had enough money to also purchase a second car.  We were excited and looked forward to a new chapter in our marriage.  We had been married five years and felt ready to take on the parental challenge.

Shortly after we bought our home and the second car, something happened in the economy.  We had not paid much attention to politics and all that stuff that affects your everyday life.  Why?  Because life was good and we were doing fine.  The grocery prices were rising but it hadn’t hurt too badly – Yet.

Then all of a sudden – and it seemed it came without warning – we watched as everything escalated in costs.  I vividly remember watching a gas station clerk make a poster board with the $1 on it.  Gas was finally hitting a dollar and the gas stations were not prepared for a three-digit number on their signs!  That was 1979.

Panic was setting in and people were losing hope.  Jimmy Carter was President and he seemed unable to neither fix the rising costs nor strongly address the world issues that played on the nightly news.  People were uneasy and fearful without a strong leader.  For the first time in my life, I realized the importance of leadership and how it can affect a business and a country.

Houston was especially hit hard and we watched as one by one our friends left to find work elsewhere and some walked away from their homes.  Houston was becoming a ghost town and houses were For Sale in every area of the city.  My husband worried about his job as we heard that layoffs for the first time in the history of the company would occur. 

At a time in our life when we should have been excited about the birth of our first baby, we were instead wondering if next Friday would be the Pink Slip Friday for him.  

In November of 1980, Ronald Reagan was elected President and one month later our first baby was born.  We felt a little more at ease BUT President Reagan had his work cut out for him.  He went to work and brought a renewed hope to a hopeless and leaderless society.

The economy took a while to turn around.  We had another baby 18 months later and the costs of diapers, food, gas and everyday living was still high and salaries were not increasing to match the costs.  The gas stations put up new permanent signage with three spots for gas prices.  We knew then, the days of gas under a dollar were gone for good.  We adjusted to paying more for everything.

My husband was recruited to a new position and we returned to North Florida in 1983.  We left our Houston house with a For Sale sign in the front yard and a few months later sold it at a loss.  We were happy to find a buyer and to get out without too much out of pocket. 

Thirty years later – here we are:

• Jobs are scarce and Pink Slip Fridays are common place.
• Gas prices are now nearing $5 a gallon and will settle down to $3.50 according to Economists.  Gas Prices Rising
• People are edgy and feeling “poor” because of the rising costs 
• Homes are selling at a loss or people are walking away from them 
• The price of food and other commodities are rising higher each week 
• The world stage is scary and the nightly news is still filled with wars, killings and acts of terrorism 
• Our President is weak and he provides no hope – only changes that we don’t want 

History is repeating itself.  I had hoped to never experience those times again yet here we are. It was tough to live through it then and this time around – it is even harder.

It’s harder because although Jimmy Carter was a weak leader, he seemed to love America.  He didn’t have the necessary skills to be our leader and we suffered for it.

This time around our President gives us great concern about his patriotism and love of American values. He is haughty and mean-spirited.  He has used bullying tactics to get his agenda accomplished and the people surrounding him are bullies too.

These are trying times and our souls are thirsty for a leader who:

• Is filled with compassion for his fellow man
• Can bring parties together for the good of country
• Believes in personal responsibility and helping others achieve through giving them a hand up – not out
• Will stand up to evil influences
• Will stand with our allies
• Can continue the fight for liberty no matter how tough it gets
• Has a sense of humor
• Will choose the best people possible to offset his/her weaknesses
• Never, ever, ever gives up
• Remains true to his core principles which should match those of our culture and heritage

It was a great day for the American people when we watched Jimmy Carter wave good-bye and Ronald Reagan take his place.  The world’s attitude towards us changed when Ronald Reagan became President.  The world once again looked to us for leadership and the American people were energized and passionate about life again.  (See more about Ronald Reagan’s Presidency here:  http://www.reaganfoundation.org/the-presidency.aspx)

It’s time again to send another President packing.   Barack Obama has done to this country what no other President has done since the beginning of America.  He has spent more money than we can print.  He has created hostilities between our fellow men.  He has made fun of us.  He has mocked us.  He has pushed down policies that do not match our heritage or culture.  He has belittled our founding fathers and our documents.  He has embarrassed us.  He has created a culture of hopelessness after running on one of hope.

Jimmy Carter and other weak, misguided Presidents created chaos and problems for the American people.  Ronald Reagan and other great American Presidents stepped up to the plate to fix these misguided Presidents’ messes.   

We’ve been here before BUT this time is different.  The financial chaos is so huge that it will take a man or woman with wisdom, courage and a “butt-kicking” attitude to fix this.  The people are bruised and hurt from this economy and businesses are barely holding on after years of regulatory abuse and a poor economy.  We have no time to waste with politics – or politicians - as usual. 

There is a leader who has been called to this time and he/she needs to step up now.  Too bad if he doesn’t want to do it – no great leader ever does.  A new leader is coming and a restoration of our country will follow. 

Ronald Reagan said, “The future doesn’t belong to the faint-hearted, it belongs to the brave.”  May we all be brave as we face the future and pray for “that leader” to show up soon and heed his call to serve.