The Life Given

I wanted to take a step back from the particular subject matter of the blog and zoom out to the general.  This post helped to stir the pot. A couple were driving to Dallas, December 15, when they were pulled over by a State Trooper for a non-speeding violation.  When asked where they were headed, the couple said that they were going to Dallas due to a death in the family.  Eventually, the officer asked if he could pray with them.  This moved the couple to tears, and inspired them to share this story. This struck me, obviously, as a wonderful story and served as a reminder for the broader context.  In a time when the culture seems to be aggravated politically during the push to impeach President Trump - it is good to remember that our King will always be on the throne.  More specifically, our King is on the throne and cannot be impeached by any party.  Nor is he a capricious ruler that brazenly tweets out his every thought.  It is  import...

In an article written by Stephanie Kramer she explains research done by the Pew Research Center which shows that out of 130 countries and territories the  U.S. has the highest rate of children living in single-parent households . The article goes on to explain that even with the US leading in this category, they are much less likely to live with extended family: "While U.S. children are more likely than children elsewhere to live in single-parent households, they’re much less likely to live in extended families. In the U.S., 8% of children live with relatives such as aunts and grandparents, compared with 38% of children globally." There are quite a number of things that could be drawn out of this, but the most pressing is the overall fact that America is in an ever-rising need for stable-homes.  Whatever the social-political reasons there are for this statistic, an answer is creating stable families.  Which, primarily, comes down to you.  This is why...

Senior Minister of Claremont United Methodist Church, Karen Clark Ristine ( per her FaceBook profile ), says she was stirred to tears by the nativity scene that her church put up.  She wrote on Facebook Dec. 7, "The theological statement posted with the nativity: In a time in our country when refugee families seek asylum at our borders and are unwillingly separated from one another, we consider the most well-known refugee family in the world. Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, the Holy Family. Shortly after the birth of Jesus, Joseph and Mary were forced to flee with their young son from Nazareth to Egypt to escape King Herod, a tyrant. They feared persecution and death."   She goes on to ask the reader what would happen if the same were to seek refuge in modern-day America? (Answer: probably would be in a waiting room, waiting for slow bureaucracy to sort itself out.) Actual answer: we don't know.  If they used the right channels, they would be allowed into the US....

In early November , Delta Airlines began showing unedited versions of the films "Booksmart" and "Rocketman."  These unedited versions scenes include lesbian sex and masturbation.  The airline, which had previously been showing an edited version , changed their stance after director Olivia Wilde, of "Booksmart", took to Twitter to express her disgust saying: "I finally had the chance to watch an edited version of Booksmart on a flight to see exactly what had been censored. Turns out some airlines work with a third party company that edits the movie based on what they deem inappropriate. Which, in our case, is ... female sexuality?" The edited version of the film is not a form of discrimination, but rather a stance of appropriateness.  As an airline cannot control who sits next to who on a plane, it is easy to imagine a young child being exposed to what is basically pornography by just sitting next to a less than a conscientious viewer. ...

This past week, I launched a current events discussion group that goes hand-in-hand with this blog.  It's purpose is to be a platform for further discussion of politics, religion, or any other current event.  It is targeted to not be a discussion about this website, but rather for a separate discussion that everyone is participating in.  I have come to the realization that a blog is not the most beneficial for discussion, so this is a step to rectify that. I believe Pastor Douglas Wilson wrote it best, "We have noted that the foundation of every form of free government is self-government.  Fools and blockheads cannot build a free society.  We cannot govern ourselves collectively unless we know how to govern ourselves individually.  And we cannot learn self-government apart from a work of the Spirit of God."  Part of impacting the culture around us, is learning how we should act, and then from there to interact (or counteract) with the culture. To p...

This past week, Mike Bloomberg announced that he would be running for the Democratic Nomination for President.  Still a year out from next years election, this is considered late to enter the race.  Although this isn't surprising - to have someone enter a very crowded Democratic race - the ensuing discussion does shine some light on the panic that is in the democratic party.  The slogan for the Democrats should be, " Beat Trump."  If you have time, I'd recommend listening to the attached clip to give you some background to the state of the Democratic Party. "The problem that they have is that they fail to make it about the people, they keep making it about Donald Trump." - Heidi Heitkamp

A short video where I explain another reason why we should be in tune with the ever-changing political landscape.

A couple weeks ago, a jury ruled in favor of Planned Parenthood in a suit against the Center for Medical Progress (CMP) and David Daleiden.  David Daleiden and CMP were involved in a multi-year sting operation to expose Planned Parenthood's dealings when it came to abortions and harvesting baby body parts.  LifeSite News, which reported on this story , said that the jury meted out the amount that Daleiden and co. owed to Planned Parenthood,  "The total amount awarded to Planned Parenthood is over $2 million, according to the Thomas More Society, which includes punitive and compensatory damages as well as attorneys' fees. Local San Francisco reporter Helen Chistophi tweeted from the courthouse that the punitive damages totaled $870,000." The jury ruled against Daleiden and CMP saying that they broke a number of laws.  Which an article on the New York Times  mentioned, "The jury found that he had trespassed on private property and committed fraud, according...

This Flannery O'Connor quote throws into relief the current state of our culture, " We live now in an age which doubts both fact and value, which is swept this way and that by momentary convictions."  When political correctness and "cancel culture" dictates what people should think and how they should feel, then we lack a culture made up of men and women who do not have the backbone to say anything definitively.   But before we start developing a political opinion, we should make sure that we are standing on a firm foundation: "Blessed is the man     who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners,     nor sits in the seat of scoffers; 2 but his delight is in the law of the Lord,     and on his law he meditates day and night. 3 He is like a tree     planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season,     and its leaf does not wither. In all that he doe...

There is a line in the sand that readers and listeners need to be aware of when catching up on current events.  On one side, you have journalism and on the other side you have activism.  The rubber meets the road when someone states that they are delivering the news, but may intentionally be leaving out a piece of information that does not look good for the argument, or ideology, that they are trying to advance.  This is what we call "activism."  This is not a negative term at all.  It becomes negative when a journalist or a news outlet claims to be delivering the unbiased news, but then delivers biased news. It is really easy to blur the lines between journalism and activism, without knowing it, but that is the responsibility of the author to make sure that that line is made clear at the outset. For the record , this blog is written with an ideology, although I do try to summarize issues as fairly as possible. 

I would recommend viewing this short video to freshen up on your respective party histories.  Video credit to PragerU.

If you have been anywhere near social media in the last couple of weeks, you may have come across the news that Kanye West has become a Christian.  The first thing that I believe that we should remember is to praise the Lord for taking this soldier for His kingdom.  The other thing is to beware the doubt that can creep into our minds when we hear a celebrity or politician profess the name of Christ.  I understand caution, but only God knows the hearts of man: "7 But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him. For the Lord sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart.” - 1 Samuel 16:7. What should we do then?  The answer lies in Galatians: "Brothers, if anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness. Keep watch on yourself, lest you too be tempted. 2 Bear one another's burdens, and so f...

Recently, there has been a developing controversy around the Hong Kong protests that featured LeBron James, Daryl Morey, the NBA, and the Chinese Government.  It is a sticky situation that has the struggle for free speech written all over it.  But, if you look closer, there is a struggle for more than just free speech - it is the struggle for the independence of Hong Kong. The beginning of this struggle dates back to 1842 when the British defeated the Chinese, and won Hong Kong in the Treaty of Nanking.  In 1997, Hong Kong was to return to China, but with a slight twist. Under a special agreement, although they would technically still have Hong Kong, China was to allow Hong Kong to operate under it's own government. This is known as the "one country, two systems." Hong Kong was to be given it's own legal system with many of the rights that we celebrate here in the US.  They had the right to vote, the right to freedom of speech, press, and assembly.  But ther...

A few weeks ago, Greta Thunberg, 16-year-old climate activist, berated politicians for their lack of action in Climate Change policy.  There are a number of things that makes me raise my eyebrows at the speech that she delivered, but there are a couple of things on which I want to hone in on.  The first is her youth.  The second is the message she is touting.   To begin, I am not picking on her for how young she is, but rather how elevated she has become.  Because of how young she is, the left go into an uproar whenever someone criticizes her.  Which is very difficult when trying to have a conversation on such a controversial topic, such as climate change.  The fact that someone is a certain age should not make them invincible to questioning. My second point is that of the rhetoric that she uses .  It is extremely radical: "You are failing us, but the young people are starting to understand your betrayal.  The eyes of all future g...

This video is a Babylon Bee article come to life.  I was listening to a podcast and they mentioned this video: Students Sign Petition To Change 'White Man' CrossWalk Sign .  It was shared by CampusReform's Youtube channel, in which they begin this fake petition asking students to help them create "more inclusive" cross-walk signs.  There were some of the classic lines and phrases of the left such as: "We just don't want to offend anyone."  "We're trying to be pioneers."  ". . . in the name of diversity and inclusion."  Although this strikes me as just a silly petition/borderline prank, it was met with almost unanimous applauds - at least of the interactions we saw.  This just goes to show the lunacy of the left as they seek to change every minute thing that they can get their hands on.  They aren't seeking for an environment of inclusion, but rather they are trying to govern as much they possibly can.  And although, this...

In response to a few well-known Christians walking away from the faith, amongst them Joshua Harris, John Cooper wrote a lengthy Facebook post .  He expressed disbelief at these leaders' apostasies, "It is time for the church to rediscover the preeminence of the Word. And to value the teaching of the Word. We need to value truth over feeling. Truth over emotion. And what we are seeing now is the result of the church raising up influencers who did not supremely value truth who have led a generation who also do not believe in the supremacy of truth."  I could not have said it better myself.  Cooper, who is the lead singer for Skillet, is spot on in his assessment.  I must confess that I was skeptical, for I have read these kinds of posts before and it just sounds like virtue signalling.  But as I read it for a second time, he seems very genuine. In a follow up interview with CBN News, he re-iterated again another gospel truth:"You know what, if I'm struggling wit...

On the most recent Patriarchy  podcast, they played this video that  The Guardian  shared a few years ago on Youtube.  The title is a dead give away as to the video's agenda: "Women, Face It: Marriage Can Never Be Feminist."  Julie Bindel, the speaker in the video, opens up with this statement, "Dress it up, subvert it, deny it all you want - marriage is an institution that has curtailed women's freedom for centuries.  But instead of rejecting the patriarchal and outdated tradition, some feminists have decided to reclaim it."   Bindel is coming after the "feminists" that claim to be feminists, but still have the audacity to get married.  To Bindel, marriage is an institution that is repressing women from achieving their full equality with men.  Now, this isn't new nor surprising, but we are finally getting the honesty of the feminist movement.  I don't think any sane person would want to oppress any other, like how feminism c...

This afternoon at work, I was listening to "The Dave Ramsey Show" podcast and was momentarily stunned by a story that I heard unfolding as a listener called in and asked for Ramsey's advice on a situation that she was in.*  This caller's situation is that she was working a $85,000-year-job in "Corporate-America" where she was the sole bread winner for a family of four (due to her husband being disabled.) They decided to quit her job so that she could pursue God's calling in her life.  She told Ramsey that she didn't want to be running the rat race that so many people seem to run.  The fall out of all of this is that her family is now on food stamps. Dave's eventual response was perfect: "24 hour a day meditation is not feeding your family." I think his answer is the key to this situation, and to an even greater narrative that has swept the church today.  It has been a common trope in the church to find "the Lord's calling i...

Recently, YouTube recommended a video to me that was entitled: "Bill Burr Thinks Women Are Overrated."   (Sometimes, content just wanders across your path.)  For those of you who don't know, Bill Burr is a comedian.*  Something that I've noticed in the last few years is just how much of a cultural commentator comedians are.  Yes, they can make you laugh.  But it is normally because they can pack a little bit of truth in with their joke that everyone recognizes and laughs at it.  (At least good comedians do.) In his interview with Conan, he said that he misses two things: "Tougher parenting and evidence."  Burr went on to mention just how bad it was by pointing out the crowd's reaction, "You feel how nervous everyone just got in here the fact that I just suggested due-process."  He is right.  On social media, it is so easy to jump onto someone or something and pass judgement without doing our due diligence, and looking into the subject matter....

VICE  recently released a  video  of a panel of people that represents the LGBTQIA+ community as they discussed what the term "queer" means, Trump, and a number of other topics.  (Yes, I and A have been added to the alphabet. They mean "intersex" and "allies.")  I listened to the video and was struck by the confusion and weariness from the sexual movement.  As you watch, you begin to see the left running their own into the ground.  Identity politics is moving so quickly that it has left its former champions (homosexuals and lesbians) in the dust.  The lack of standards and objectivity is beginning to dizzy them, which should encourage Christians.  It is really easy to look around and be  discouraged  at the current state of the culture, but if you look closely you are beginning to see that the whirlwind is fighting itself. From one of their own: "Sometimes it just becomes too many damn letters."  To quote Psalm 1 again:...

I was recently at a conference this last week as a counsellor, and it was there that one of the speakers mentioned that the Reformation Wall in Geneva was vandalised with multiple vibrant different colours.  It isn't that far of a stretch to put it together to realize that this is the symbol of the rainbow that the LGBTQx1000 camp proudly waves.  For some, this could raise a similar reaction to that of people when Notre Dame Cathedral went up in flames this last year.  Instead, I would encourage Christians to see it as a sign of exactly what the "left" is doing.   Don't mistake it, the far left isn't playing around.  They are going for the jugular of western civilization.  And the heartbeat of that is the Christian religion.  For too long, we have allowed the culture to go unchecked.  Now it has become rampant, and the church is spineless.  It is time to gird up our loins and call out the culture's madness.   How are ...

Sometimes I need to go looking for an article that sparks a fire, other times I just open up CNN.com and NYtimes and issues will leap off the screen at me.  I found an article entitled 'Heather Has Two Mommies' Is Still Relevant Thirty Years Later under the genre of . . . parenting.  The article opens up with this paragraph: "Three years ago, when my daughter Marty was born, a queer friend gave me and my spouse a copy of Lesléa Newman’s iconic lesbian children’s book, “Heather Has Two Mommies.” It was meant as a joke about how heteronormative I’d become, getting married and having a child after years of firmly identifying as queer and aspiring to a life that challenges the norm. At the time, I threw the gag gift on a bookshelf to gather dust, only to realize later how valuable its lessons would be for my family." There were a number of things that struck me throughout this column, but it was this sentence that seemed to sing Romans 1: " It was meant ...

Even memes can help us to remember simple doctrines about our faith.  These being grace and new life. Enjoy:

There is a saying in writing and screenwriting that goes something along the lines of "show don't tell."  If you hold true to this proverb, then your writing treats the reader or audience as intelligent beings that can piece two-and-two together.  You rely on their cognitive abilities to figure out details that once told, the story becomes primitive.  (I confess that I do this too much with my creative fiction writing.)  But I want to push against this proverb briefly. A lot of Christians today, the reformed world included, rely on their actions to speak for themselves.  Which I hold and adhere to.  Actually, the community I live in now is the strongest I have seen.  And the college I attend challenges me to live out what I preach.  It is very challenging, yet you can see the fruit of it everywhere in the community and around the world.  But there is a ditch to this road.  And we often steer ourselves into it.  It is a quiet ditch...

Yesterday, an article by Rann Miller came out on theProgressive entitled "Education Reformers Still Don't Understand Racism."  It is an interesting read that I would encourage you to take a look at for one of two reasons.  The first is that this is a common mistake our culture makes.  They will look around for an answer to the problems that our country is facing and begin to worship a false idol.  The second is, I do believe that there is still racism in the United States, and I believe Miller picks up on one of those elements.  The reason I say this is to point out that I am not ignoring the argument this article makes, but rather contradicting the underlying assumption it is built on.  Rann Miller starts off his article with a quote from former President Barack Obama, who commented on a study done by Nick Hanaeur: “the article is a reminder that education reform isn’t a cure all.” This obviously grabbed my attention, but then Miller quotes Hanuer in th...

Whenever I listen to debates from the pro-choice side or read some of their writing, I am always struck by how determined they are to ignore the elephant in the room.  This article,  The Endless Cost of Maligning Abortion , writes on all the hurt that our country endures, that is socially, politically, or economically.  Within their article, they cite that about 90% of counties in the US lack an abortion clinic.  And it seems that the author wants to build on this premise - showing the retardation of these counties.   This is one of the opening paragraphs: "In the case of Americans' reproductive health, such numbers clearly show that denying women contraceptives and wanted abortions has a substantial toll on their lives and livelihoods, their children and families, and society as a whole. Evidence in favor of giving women full access to family planning is extensive and varied, with many pragmatic aspects, from the costs of Medicaid-paid births to com...

I was scrolling through my newsfeed the other day and came across this video embedded in an article that a friend of mine had shared.  In it, it records a father outside the "Hope Clinic for Women", which is an abortion clinic in Illinois, begging for the mother to not abort their baby.  The original video shared by John Ryan can be located  here .  This was actually shared on Father's Day, which just points a big, bright spotlight on this issue. Why am I sharing this? 1.  To weep with those who weep. 2.  To keep the memory fresh in our minds and in our prayers as we fight this war. "There is a time for everything,     and a season for every activity under the heavens: 2     a time to be born and a time to die,     a time to plant and a time to uproot, 3     a time to kill and a time to heal,     a time to tear down and a time to build, 4     a time to weep an...

Last night at my family's Sabbath meal, we were discussing a situation in the UK that has surfaced recently.  A British judge is ordering a mother, who happens to have a learning disability, to abort her child.  The mother is 22 weeks pregnant.  Right there, every red flag in our minds should be raised.  This is what happens when a nation has strayed from the laws and the Word of the Lord, as they seek to make up their own dictionary.  This includes the definition of life.  Life can now be done away with if it is inconvenient. I recommend you read the  article and sign the petition to spare the child's life.   There are two major things that stand out to me in this article: Classic brazen government intervention: "Mrs Justice Lieven said that she believed it would be too difficult for the grandmother to look after both her daughter and her grandchild. The Judge said it was an “enormous” decision and that she was “acutely conscious of the f...

Yesterday, I wrote a post about the importance of Christians living out their calling and mentioned just how impactful it can be.  I also brought up the anchor for this kind of life: faith.  Or more correctly: God.  He is the reason that all this works.  Without Him all of this craziness that we call life would spin out of control.  He is the anchor of the galaxies and the weighty calm in our spinning minds.  The life that we have received was given by the Son.  And that should shape and mould all of our thoughts and actions.  When we live our lives like we have just been saved from hellfire and rest in the peace of God's grace, we act like very different people. As I was pushing around the idea of starting this new blog, I listened to the most recent CrossPolitic podcast episode in which they rehashed a topic that was brought up in one of the other podcasts on CrossPolitic Studios (I believe it was the Theology PugCast.).  They mentioned ...

I've seen it lived out.  That's how I know what it looks like, and the fruit that it bears.  When men act like men, they can change the world.  At least, that is what has been preached to me since I could remember. Whether it was in sermons I listened to growing up, or in the books I read for school, or in the Scriptures, I have  known  what it is supposed to look like.  But it is a very different thing to put it into action. Father's Day was this past Sunday, and it reminded me of two fathers that I know.  One of them is my father, and the other is my brother-in-law.  They have both laid down their lives for their families, sacrificing what is comfortable for what is right.  For my dad, he was deployed twice overseas, risking everything to provide for us.  For my brother-in-law, he spent three months driving between two different cities to work in one town and be with his wife and son in the other.  All the while, being stro...