Reactions to Tuesday's elections, Congressional ping pong continues, the Federal Reserve's big announcement and other top news for Friday, November 5th, stay informed while remaining focused on Christ with the pour over.

Here's the quote of the day.

We live by faith in a prayer hearing, soul converting, soul sanctifying, soul restoring, soul comforting God, Francis Aspery.

Let's get started with some espresso shots.

If you don't usually keep up with one-off elections, we understand. They can feel a bit like preseason games, but results from these state elections have implications for 2022, especially in New Jersey and Virginia.

While both states have been reliably blue, Glenn Youngkin, a Republican from Virginia, defeated Terry McCullough in a surprising upset, and Philip Murphy, a Democrat from New Jersey, only narrowly defeated Jack Chatterle by a mere 1.6 points.

Republicans are feeling good about their chances of winning both the House and Senate next year, focusing their campaigns on education and the economy.

Democrats are feeling the pressure to quickly figure out what went wrong in Virginia and New Jersey, so that they can course correct before next year's elections.

Whether you get invested in political outcomes or not, it's important to remember that our political affiliations don't trump, and there's no pun intended, are allegiance to Jesus.

If you can fast with your mouth, that Jesus is Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. Romans 10-9.

The Federal Reserve is tightening its purse strings. In the spring of 2020, the Fed pulled out all the stops to try and keep the economy afloat, dropping interest rates to effectively 0%, launching a $120 billion per month bond buying program, and supporting Congress's aggressive stimulus bills.

Many officials say that those policies worked, but that they're the cause of inflation. On Wednesday, the Fed announced it would phase out bond purchases by next summer, but Chairman Powell said, quote,

we don't think it's time yet to raise interest rates. Inflation is at a 30-year high, 4.4%. Powell thinks it's primarily due to supply chain issues, not low rates, and fears that raising rates would choke job growth.

The stock market responded positively to the news of tapering stimulus. All three major indexes hit record highs on Wednesday.

Regardless of what stimulus programs exist, followers of Christ should always be seeking to give generously to those in greater need. Reach out to your local church to see how you can get involved.

Don't neglect to do what is good, and to share, for God is pleased with such sacrifices. Hebrews 13-16.

Surprise! Paid family and medical leave is back on the table for the build-backed better bill. Say that five times fast. A quick recap.

12 weeks of paid leave was originally included in the mega-sized social spending bill. Then it was reduced, then removed, and recently a four-week version was re-added.

The ping-pong hasn't necessarily been over whether Americans should have paid leave, but rather who should pay for it. Most Republicans want businesses to pay, and most Democrats want the government to pay, and then their Senator Manchin, a Democrat from West Virginia.

His vote is critical for Dems to pass the package, but he's still not convinced that paid leave shouldn't be addressed separately. Both the BBB bill and the $1 trillion bipartisan infrastructure bill, which passed the Senate last month, might see votes as early as this week.

The poor over is sponsored by Christianity today. Pretty soon the pumpkin spice lattes will be replaced by peppermint mocas, and the slight dip in your savings from candy and costumes will be replaced by a much larger dip caused by gifts, trees, and travel.

In short, we know the Christmas season can often be dominated by distractions and stressors, but Christianity today has a resource to keep you reminded of the gospel during this Christmas season. The gospel of Advent is a four-week devotional to help individuals, small groups, and families journey through the 2021 Advent season.

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