Obama to increase Title X funding?

First, a little light reading:
http://www.onenewsnow.com/Politics/Default.aspx?id=356962
http://www.reproductiverights.org/pub_fac_titlex2.html
http://catholicnewsagency.com/new.php?n=14645
http://www.cnsnews.com/public/content/article.aspx?RsrcID=40949
http://otrans.3cdn.net/3b21d35e246c18a427_d7m6bw2o1.pdf

I am not surprised to read about the potential for increased federal funding for abortions. I am surprised to hear that there are Christians who are still surprised that Obama wants to make abortions more easily accessible. After all, he did promise that the first thing he would do as president is sign the Freedom of Choice Act.

Here's my point. The issue of abortion is a moral one and laws can not be called upon to enforce morals. Even if abortion was illegal, and the punishment for aborting a fetus was punishable by death, people would still find a way to do it. How many murderers do you think are on death row today, who knew in advance that the crime they were about to commit was wrong? Yet they did it anyway. The law can only condemn.

To quote one of my favorite singer/songwriters, Rich Mullins:

"The church is the only institution in this world who can bring about a change. The government can not do it so stop depending on the government. Education systems can not do it so stop trusting education systems."

The most powerful way we can impact a woman who's considering abortion is to love her and her unborn baby with the same kind of love Jesus shows us. Reveal God's grace to her through your life. Reach out and listen and care for her. We're not going to convince her that abortion is wrong by writing letters of protest to our congressman or picketing up and down Main Street. Not that writing letters to your congressman is bad. Write all the letters you want, but don't hold your breath.

I can understand if you're upset that your hard-earned money is funding something you believe is wrong. I'm not happy about it either. I'm guessing our money is funding a lot of other things we would think are wrong; probably more than we could even imagine. But guess what. If less and less women want to have abortions because they have found grace and truth and life in Jesus Christ, eventually less and less money will go towards women who want to have abortions. It's not rocket science.

Merry Christmas!

Commentary Pending

In case you haven't seen it yet.

But he hasn't done anything yet

Our president-elect, Barack Obama, has just been announced as Time's Person of the Year for 2008. I don't know. You couldn't have selected somebody that actually made a tangible difference in the world? Of course, if you look at the runners-up and their idea of people who mattered, the competition was not overwhelming.

To answer your question, no, I don't have anyone better in mind.

Feliz Navi-gation*

Some folks are gettin' serious about protecting their religious-ness.

Giving up on old-fashioned padlocks and trust, a number of churches, synagogues, governments and ordinary citizens are turning to technology to protect holiday displays from pranks or prejudice.

"They took the family Jesus," said Gloria Herrera, 48, a Catholic. "How can anybody do that?"

Or, you could just not display the scenes at all. I guess I don't get the point of "telling the story" during Christmas when you ignore the story throughout the rest of the year.

*Thanks to Karen for the creative title.

Forgiveness and Grace

A man who just lost his entire family is praying for someone else not to suffer.

"I don't have any hard feelings," Dong Yun Yoon, 37, told reporters near the rubble where his home once stood. "I know he did everything he could."

"Please pray for him not to suffer from this accident," Dong Yun Yoon said. "I know he is one of our treasured for the country."

Dong Yun Yoon, who left Korea in 1989 and became a U.S. citizen, wondered aloud how he would persevere after losing his family.

"Please tell me how to do it," he said, surrounded by his pastor, sister, brother and church members. "I don't know what to do."

Jeff, is that really you?!

One of my favorite bloggers, pastor Jeff, put up a new post today; his first in over three months. Welcome back, Jeff!

A (Sad?) Realization

I've come to a realization and I'm not exactly sure what to make of it yet. I think I'm beginning to care less about how much people perceive I care about them. I don't know if I'm making any sense by saying it that way but it's the only way I can think to say it at this point.

I guess I just want to be honest in everything I say to people. I used to want to be very politically correct and diplomatic but I think that's changing in me and I'm not sure why or when that transformation started taking place.

This transformation is especially obvious in the emails I've been writing to people lately. I'm so busy with the tasks I have to do at work such that email has really become something that I spend way too much time on. People ask questions that I think they really should be able to figure out the answer to, if they just think about it for a little bit. But it seems like they don't think about it before asking me and then I have to move away from what I'm doing and answer this question (that I think is a stupid question to ask in the first place). It's not that I don't want to be helpful. I just want people to think for themselves more than it seems like they want to.

Am I making any sense here? Somebody tell me what's going on? Am I becoming a cranky old man? I really want people to know that I care about them and I want to help them solve their problems but I don't want to beat around the bush either.

I'll have the Obama plate with a side of sarcastic onion please

Good news for disgruntled Republicans!

If you think that America is going to hell in a handbasket now that Barak Obama is your president, think again.

How did it happen?

The folks over at The Official Quicken Online Blog have spent some time laying out the details surrounding the current financial situation.

I like their explanation because I was not willing to do too much research on my own and I have just been operating under the impression that too many people who shouldn't have been borrowing money, borrowed money from people who shouldn't have been lending them money. Essentially, irresponsible lenders lending to irresponsible borrowers. Quicken's explanation is more detailed but still palatable for the financial layperson. Go directly to their PDF diagram by clicking here. If you're not able to read the PDF, click here to download and install Adobe Reader.

If you have other thoughts and opinions on the current financial situation, please do share in the comments.

Inagua - Letter Two

As promised:

Good morning from Inagua!

What an incredible weekend!!!!!!!!!!

Looking back on the trip, it is amazing to me that we have almost completed 6 roofs. This is indeed a miracle, as none of us are roofers by trade. We also had the opportunity to do a neighborhood sweep/clean up. That also opened doors to share the gospel with people who were curious about the Americans picking up trash on their streets. God's favor has been upon us despite the heat and our inexperience. One of the families went all out to bless us as we worked on their home. From cakes to curry chicken to pleasant conversation, we have been lovingly "adopted in" to different families on the island.

Yesterday certainly was a day of needed rest and re-fueling. In the morning, we split up to attend two churches. I visited Zion Baptist, which is the church that is allowing us to sleep in their large fellowship hall. Reverend Bain exhorted the congregation to continue to celebrate, despite their situation, because God is worthy of our praise all the time and has indeed spared the people from a lot over the past couple of weeks. Another group headed to the Methodist church where many of the locals we have met attend. In the afternoon we were invited to a BBQ with John Nixon's family (he's here assisting with the government's disaster relief organization, called NEMA). He's from Inagua and his whole family came out to serve us with food and FUN. I believe some of the guys speared fish, while others played volleyball with the children or just enjoyed great company and the aqua waters of the Caribbean.

This morning, the door opened for us to go back into the schools to present a high school assembly on sexual abstinence. The message of purity and God's heart for relationship through the book of Song of Solomon was very well received by the students and teachers alike. We are also back on the roofs beginning the 7th and 8th homes, and we are eager, Lord willing, to accomplish the goal of 10 before Friday. Please continue to pray for protection, favor, and a move of God's spirit among the people here. Some are still in "shell shock" and others are just trying to make it a day at a time, rebuilding their lives. Thank you for co-laboring with us!

The last night in Inagua left us speechless...sincerely.

We had gone to simply work hard...that was our focus. We climbed on top of many elderly, widowed and disabled people’s roofs to rip up shingles or rotted wood and replace them, so that their homes would no longer leak or be vulnerable to rain damage. We accomplished our goal, but didn't realize the greater goal God was accomplishing through us, until the very last night.

The representative head of social services in Inagua, along with other community leaders, reverends and locals stopped by last night to say "thank you." Although that in and of itself was unexpected and would have been greatly appreciated, they went "over the top." Bringing homemade gifts, their own Boys Brigade band as well as delicious baked goods and sandwiches, we were in awe of their hearts to bless us before we packed up to head home.
Several of the leaders gave speeches that shared how they experienced the Lord through our unity, sacrificial love and hard work. We were welcomed back as family at any time and enjoyed the sweet time of fellowship together with all the Inaguans, young and old.

We're back home safe and sound, filled up to overflowing in our hearts with the memories of God's grace, faithfulness and protection during our time away. For those who held us up in prayer, God did above and beyond all for which we could have asked and hoped. From the inception of the trip to its fulfillment, I believe we've realized more how we serve a "miracle God" who loves the world passionately and wants us to be His tools of love for the lost and hurting around the globe. The rewards FAR outweigh the "sacrifice" of being filled with and led by the Holy Spirit of God.

Inagua

One of the students who grew up in our church recently departed for a four month stint with "Patmos: Reality Discipleship". The organization is based in Nassau, Bahamas.

Here is one of the letters we've received from someone he's serving with there. This letter, and another which I will share in a different post, are such an encouragement to me so I thought I'd share them here.

Hello from Inagua!

We obviously arrived safe and sound! We met our first miracle at the airport. When we realized how "overweight" our luggage was, Pastor Chet called the team to pray. Shortly thereafter, BahamasAir waved ALL of our "excess" baggage fees for the sake of the cause in Inagua. Every piece of luggage that we sent ahead and brought with us was here when we arrived. God is so GOOD!

We were surprised in seeing the extent of devastation on the island, and also thankful to arrive to comfortable accommodations. The people are very grateful for our presence and surprised that we would be willing to "volunteer" expecting nothing in return, just to assist them in a time of need. This has opened many doors already to share the love of Christ.

So far, we have been able to complete almost 3 roofs that were torn up by hurricane Ike. The first one is the roof of the church we are sleeping in together. The second is that of a handicapped family. And the third belongs to an elderly couple. Our goal is to complete 10 roofs by next Friday, when we head back to Nassau.

The students are very excited about this opportunity and are continuing to live "flexible" as they wake up each morning ready for whatever challenges may come. The sun has never felt hotter (Inagua is located right on the equator), mosquitoes have never seemed so large and "hose showers" have never been so appealing as in these last two days. Everyone is giving 100% to the tasks at hand, and we're thankful for overall health and protection.

Please continue to pray for us. That we would have a mind to work, heart to serve and that God would be glorified in and through us among the people here. To HIM be all the glory!

For nothing is impossible with God! --Luke 1:37

Read more about Inagua and the Bahama islands here, here and here.

Hey Chicago baseball fans

Do not boast about tomorrow,
for you do not know what a day may bring forth. -Proverbs 27:1


Ain't that the truth!

Tellin' it like it is

Jeff's Authoritative View on the Stock Market & Economy

A friend of mine, Jeff (not Rhinelander Jeff. Lima, Ohio Jeff), posted this note on Facebook. Just some insightful thoughts that I feel are worth sharing here. This is verbatim except in the one instance where I substituted a pronoun for a name.

"Jeff's Authoritative View on the Stock Market & Economy

Organized by spontaneous thought-

1. God is Lord over all, sovereign, and is working out His plan for His story.
2. The Christian is a child of God & is under His care.
3. The Christian is not at home here on earth but is looking for another place.
4. We are to help people in need, with their needs.
5. People are responsible for carrying their own burdens.
6. I don't know if a bailout would hurt or help...in the long run. My gut is to say, "No bailout!".
7. I don't believe the poor should own a home that they cannot afford.
8. I believe that people should live within their means. In other words, if you can't afford a $1200 a month house payment, buy a smaller house or wait until you save up enough to put down a large enough deposit so you can afford monthly payments.
9. I don't like the whole credit system. Aren't we suppose to owe no man anything but the debt of love?
10. The borrower is servant of the lender. Want to be enslaved? Go into debt.
11. [We] haven't had a credit card in over two years and although things are tight, we are doing it...with God's help.
12. www.daveramsey.com
13. A good economic crash may be good for the world. It would help us to remember what is really important (cell phones, cable tv, SUVs, stuff like that).
14. Grandma's favorite memories came during the Great Depression.
15. Watching the Senate is like watching two people with different worldviews discuss things...the only thing they can agree on is that they fully disagree with one another.
16. God's economy- work for your food, if people are in need help 'em.
17. The poor person who went bankrupt is AS GUILTY as the fat bankowners who lent them the money...if not more guilty. So don't just blame the rich folk. The poor were dumb for buying outside their means.
18. Instant gratification is NOT a moral quality.

I could go on. But in all honesty, I am not educated enough on economics to know if a buyout would be good for our nation's economy or not."