Bartlesville City Charter Election Results are in – Huge win for the People!

In my previous post there was a sample ballot, but when you look at the election results you really need a side by side of the proposition with the results. So I am going to attempt to do that for you here with a little bit of commentary.

My deep gratitude to all those who worked diligently to defeat the worst of these propositions. Please continue to pray for repentance in our city and in our land.

My thoughts: Proposition 1 was one of the most egregious items on the ballot and it was soundly defeated! Voting should be in November when more people vote. Increasing terms was totally uncalled for and had the appearance of a pure power grab attempt.

.

My thoughts: Proposition 2 makes very little difference either way.

.

My thoughts: Proposition 3 was an unnecessary constraint on the people and was narrowly defeated.

.

My thoughts: Proposition 4 was further constraints on the people and was soundly defeated.

.

My thoughts: Proposition 5 was a huge blank check! We don’t need any streamlining for giving away our tax dollars or additional authority for an unelected City Manager – for his own protection! We need more citizen input on all these matters! Very glad it was defeated!!!

.

My thoughts: I was a no on Proposition 6, because we can replace them at the next election. This may cause interim special elections. I am not sure of all the ramifications of this and hopefully the situation does not arise often.

.

My thoughts: Proposition 7 is already required by state law and is redundant in city charter. Passing it is ok but not necessary.

.

My thoughts: Proposition 8 would have eliminated things that should stay in place and the people said no overwhelmingly.

.

My thoughts: Proposition 9 looks to me like it was hoping for staggered terms and makes very little difference since that did not pass. Not a big difference either way.

.

My thoughts: Proposition 10 was deeply disturbing to me. A Code of Ethics should rarely change! Glad it failed.

Sandra Crosnoe for

Finding Gems & Sharing Them

Bartlesville City Charter Changes – Vote No! on April 2nd

In November of 2010, the people of Bartlesville voted to install a Council-Manager style of city governance. I know people who were involved in that process and believe that charter has served us well. Now suddenly, we are being asked in an April election (low voter turnout) to approve a number of revisions to that charter by the same people who permitted drag queens in our city square. They were not recalled as they should have been, but they did become fearful of losing power and these changes are arguably about that fear. They are not changes that are in the best interest of the people and preserving their rights. If we were to make a change, it should be in a November election by many more voters than will turn out in an April election. All that being said, you get to decide whether you approve these changes on Tuesday, April 2nd. I recommend a NO on everything because it is inappropriate to modify the charter in an April election.

In other areas of the state, people are working to move local elections to the November ballots to both save money on elections and involve more people in the decision process.

Here is a sample ballot:

sampleballotDownload

I hope you have already seen our flyers going out door to door by neighbors who care about our city and your continued voice in matters! Here are more detailed talking points:

april-2-talking-points_final-2Download

The Bartlesville City Charter can be downloaded and reviewed here: https://www.cityofbartlesville.org/city-government/administration/city-charter/

People are actively discussing these matters online and with their neighbors. If you would like to get vote reminders on matters like this, I encourage you to sign up for email on NEOKGrassroots.org (more local matters) and OKGrassroots.com (statewide matters).

Special thanks to so many who have done so much to make people aware of the important issues before us locally. A special shout out to Pamela Zora, LaShelle Griffith, and Sarah Burnett. Thanks to all those walking blocks and attending city council meetings!

As always, pray, study, and ask for wisdom in these matters before voting!

Blessings,

Sandra Crosnoe

Finding Gems & Sharing Them

There is no political solution – so Pray then Vote!

Every political cycle this gets harder and harder to write. We as a nation have fallen so far! While I do not believe there is a political solution, I am quite sure we are to pray for our leaders and certainly that would include doing all we can to protect both the election process and our communities. That said here are my thoughts on the election set for November 8, 2022.

The choices on the ballot are dismal, most of the bad decisions were made in the primary selections. There was a lot of dark money floating around and a lot of deception by the media. So what we are left with in general is the R’s vs the D’s. I am libertarian leaning in philosophy but I searched high and low for a libertarian on the ballot that was even kinda sorta pro-life and opposed to sexual perversion. I found none.

Therefore, I will be voting for the R’s because their platform has some fiscal conservative planks, some moral values, some sense of border control, a leaning to free speech and at least here in Oklahoma a strong right to bear arms stance. Even the worst ones can be reminded of the standard to which they have conceptually agreed.

The judicial retention items on the ballot are a little tougher to discern, but often you have to look no further than who appointed them to determine how they legislate. And yes I meant to use that word! For more in-depth analysis, I recommend Muskogeepolitico.com where Jamison Faught discusses each one and links to some other opinions as well.

Here are my picks on the judges:

So pray then vote:

Sandra Crosnoe for Finding Gems & Sharing Them

Twisted Sisters in Christ – a dialogue with you!

by Anita Yvonne Schneider

Twisted Sisters in Christ (free to read on Scribd) – click on this link to read the book!

This publication actually occurred in July of this year (2022) but I have been wanting to do a blog on the topic because it was such a special event in my life! You see Anita and I grew up together in the Houston area in the 1970’s timeframe. Our parents were friends and we were best buds. Working on this book with her was an absolute delight – a trip through scripture together and a project formed out of our lives. It is now in print or at least online free to all to read, share, and download. I believe that it will bless your life!

From Anita as we were working on the book: “I am sharing a dialogue written over the years … a one on one conversation between the Holy Spirit and myself … others … and now you. If you have difficulty following, keep reading until you become wrapped up in the conversation. That’s when The Golden Cord will twist.”

Anita is a Follower of the Way, Daughter of the Faithful, Wife of the Honored, Mother of the Strong, Deemaw of the Precious. Lover of the broken, the lost, and the found. 

Called to be the Light in the darkness, to share His Truth and Hope for the hopeless. 

To stand with Wisdom as a standard against the wiles of the evil one … for our battle is not against flesh and blood but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the world powers of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavens. 

Her greatest accomplishment is knowing who she is in Christ … and in Christ alone.“

I’ve known Anita for most of my life. We were twisted sisters before we knew what that meant. We had adventures together, shared the Lord and many friends together growing up. We were both blessed to have believers for parents who taught us fundamental biblical principals. One thing not mentioned in the book is that she could sing “Amazing Grace” like no one else! This book is for everyone, at any phase of life. It is so unique, so Anita, so important, and so fun. It is profoundly simple and flowing too. It is indeed a conversation with her, but our prayer is that it will spark a life long conversation between you and our Heavenly Father through Yahshua(His Son)“ 

Sandra Crosnoe, Editor in Chief and a Twisted Sister for Life 

Finding Gems & Sharing Them

The Prayer of Jabez – old prayer / new project

Recently I discovered a bunch of cassette tapes in my closet from 1960s forward. I took on the project to digitize a few of them. This is my first success story. You can listen via these links via anything that will work with mp3 files:

Prayer of Jabez Side 1.mp3

Prayer of Jabez Side 2.mp3

The files are too big to attach so these are links to the files on one drive.  Each side is about 30 minutes long.  I thoroughly enjoyed this presentation and have listened several times in the process of digitizing the tape.  You should be able to listen on your phone without downloading but you can download the files as you wish if that works better for you.  The files should be available to share with others if you want to do that also.

This presentation was originally given at an Association of Christian Schools International (ACSI) meeting around the year 2000 about the same time the book Prayer of Jabez came out from comments made.  Here is a picture of the book and author I found online.

Bruce Wilkinson is a delightful speaker and shares personal stories that make this teaching come alive – it was rich when I first heard it and richer this time as I rediscovered it.  Moreover, I have been praying it more consciously this week and praying it over others as opportunities arose for me.  I hope it is as timely for you as for me and you will let me know your thoughts.

I am also interested in better ways to share things like this with you so let me know if this method works for you.

The passage being discussed is found in I Chronicles 4:10

Two additional passages have been coming to my mind as I have pondered this verse this week.

First the parallels with the Lord’s prayer found in Matthew 6:9-13.  And the incident wherein Jacob wrestled with the angel (I believe it was Yashua) and said, “I will not let you go unless You bless me.” Genesis 32: 22-31

All that to say be fervent in asking for the Lord’s blessing and praying it over others as well!  His storehouses are never-ending and His delight in you unparalled.

Hope you enjoy!

Love,

Sandie

Finding Gems & Sharing Them