My entire week since Election Day has been one big weekend, but for those of you sane enough to work in normal professions, “welcome to your weekend”!

Speaking of elections, this weekend’s edition will be dominated by politics, though there are some other interesting and helpful items below as well. So put on another pot of coffee and enjoy encouraging blogs, informative articles, and funny videos!

On Tuesday Republicans won back the U.S. Senate and increased their majority in the House of Representatives by 13 seats (as it currently stands).  Here’s a cool interactive graph that shows the new balance of power.

Here is my own (very short) analysis on the election and why winning the Senate is important for Republicans (and Christians).

Here’s a pretty decent overview from a professional political pundit.

Here’s National Journal’s race tracker, which I really liked.

Could this be the blueprint for GOP victories? John Wayne might think so…(h/t Greg Ungru)

The level of ticked-offedness at our Narcissist in Chief was rising pretty high prior to EDAY, and though the Dems normally count on the female demo to carry them over the finish line electorally, perhaps they’d have done better among females if the President wasn’t actively insulting them prior to ballot casting activities! (h/t Katie Wenzel)

Much more than just the Federal races were on the line Tuesday, control of state legislatures proved to be the story behind the story, as many fell into GOP hands.

The wave was big enough that 18 year olds were winning State Delegate seats in West Virginia…(h/t Ed Pfaff)

Despite the historic gains, the map for Republicans in 2016 looks very difficult, and Dems are already plotting their revenge…

In the meantime, Chris Matthews is not a happy camper…(but as Jim Gaffigan says, is anyone?)

Now on to other matters…

It was revealed that ISIS has been honing ancient Islamic rules pertaining to the sale of women and children as (sex) slaves. New evidence came to light on this front earlier in the week…and it seems that Imams from around the Islamic world are cool with this stuff (since they are the religion of peace, after all).

Perhaps the goings on around the planet are best captured in FP.com’s week in photos which you can find here. I like these because there’s short blurbs at the bottom of every photo and it gives you a sense at least for what’s going on outside our standard frame of reference.

On the technology front, Amazon sought to take marketshare away from Apple and Google et all when they announced a new benefit for Prime customers – unlimited photo storage. Don’t know about you, but how to store pictures is always a big challenge. You see guys standing around talking at their kids’ recitals or birthday parties and this is usually a pretty big topic of confabulation.

The best link anyone sent me this week was a follow up to Reformation Day, and its called the ‘Lutheran Insulter’ – simply keep clicking to get a fresh insult from the sharp tongued Reformer! (h/t Alex Wenzel)

And in case you missed it amidst the hubbub of Election coverage and celebrity twitter activism, One World Trade Center opened up for business. 

Also in the news is Robert O’Neil’s claim that he was the one who shot Osama Bin Laden. His claims have been disputed by fellow Seal Team Six members, which begs the question: Who cares?! The guy is dead right? Okay…that’s what I thought…thank you for your service and bravery…now carry on soldier.

And since its a very political issue of the Weekend Reading, check out this sketch of the ideology of our cities. Do you live in a conservative or liberal area?

Now leaving you on a more positive note, check out my good friend Matt Parker’s blog post titled ‘Where Can We Find Power?’ It’s a good reminder that 1, 2, 5 or 10 steps to this, that, or the other thing don’t always have the power or direction we need to solve life’s problems.

And a final note to those who have sent me articles this past week or so, I promise I’m reading them, though I have many unfinished. My focus this past week was very political (obviously), and I’ve also been submerged in the theology surrounding eschatology (end times study) as I teach through the book of Revelation. Now that the election is over, you can once again expect a wider diet of theology, tech, foreign policy and news that isn’t so politics-centric (I promise!).

PJW