QUANDRY

Citizenship comes with an obligation to vote after due diligence and thoughtful consideration.  Sometimes research is complicated if the media outlets cheerlead for only one side.  Don't we need ALL the facts if we are to be wise?

Both candidates for the November, 2012 presidential election are pleasing to the eyegate.   Both are family men.  And both would have us follow them.  Perhaps a broader look at each man would be helpful.

BIRD'S EYE VIEW
Did anyone get to pick their parents or place of birth?  Our choices begin when we decide what to do with what we've been given.

The Republican was born to wealth and privilege.  Then he chose to give up his inheritance and use his own worklife to earn his family's provision.  His personal behavior choices are spanking clean (no caffeine or drink or drugs or divorce or affairs) and he is faithful to his church.  All of his life he has chosen to give away much of his energy/expertise, and he also gives millions of his dollars (over 16%) to his church and charities.

The Democrat was born into hard circumstance which causes us to laud his ability to overcome.  He had no worklife to demonstrate his business acumen, but his ability to "speechify" (as Abraham Lincoln would have said) has carried him far.  His personal choices included drugs, drinking, smoking, and a life of searching...after being bounced around by the adults in his life.  His early associates were genuine radicals and men who have gone to jail.  He described his own church life at Rev. Wright's church as not consistent.  That also would define his church life since being in the White House.  Last week he walked across the street to St. John's Episcopal Church; before that there was a Christmas/Easter visit.  His giving was about 1% (2000-2004), 4.7% in 2005, and 6.1% in 2006.  When the president won the Nobel prize of $1.4 million in 2009, he gave those proceeds to charity.

MIND CHANGE

Both men have changed their minds about women's issues such as marriage and abortion.

The Republican has always been solidly for marriage between a man and woman, but his pro-life views grew stronger as he became more of a proponent for life.

The Democrat won an election with a traditional stance on marriage, but of late has changed his mind.  His view and vote on abortion while an Illinois State Senator...was to NOT protect the life of a baby born after a botched abortion.  That view could be characterized as tough to defend, and his strong views have continued into the White House.  On his first day at work, he broadened the scope of abortions.  On August 1st this year, his HHS mandate put our public kitty toward funding abortion procedures, which delivers culpability to everyone's door.

FAITHFUL TO HIS WORD
We presume both men have been faithful to their wives, but how do they do with other promises?

The Republican candidate promised to use Bain Capital to help failing companies, come alongside the scandal-ridden/budget-burdened Olympics, and lead in the state of Massachusetts.  He kept those promises.  He reduced Massachusetts' debt without increasing taxes, he improved education and balanced the budget, and the state ended up with a surplus.  Governor Romney reduced joblessness in Massachusetts.  The state was 50th in 50 states for job growth his first year in office...then it rose to 28th by Romney's last year in office.

The Democrat promised MANY things in 2008 that have not happened (see five pages of examples).  One promise that would have been nice to keep was his promise to cut the deficit in half during his first term.  Excuses are thick and sticky like peanut butter on this candidate. When his party had a majority for his first two years,  he could have had any legislation, but did nothing to fix what the voters said were their two main concerns, the economy and joblessness.  Our law REQUIRES a budget, but when this president finally produced one, the vote in favor was 0.   Curiously, now as our country is being swallowed by debt and spending increases...a recent poll said people still blame President Bush.  Huh?  The current president spent more than all other presidents combined, yet spending is not his fault.


VISIONARY
A president needs to lead.  Which man knows the way forward?  Who can be decisive and not just vote "present"?

The Democrat's idea was to spend until the economy was stimulated.  Over a year ago he declared the recession to be over,  but joblessness tells a different story.  His idea for the future is to stimulate again.  That seems like electrifying heart paddles for a two-day-old corpse.

The Republican has been tested and proven in his ability to fix problems.  Why is this not an obvious choice?  What is the criticism against the Republican?

It is said his wife didn't work a day in her life, he put a dog crate up on the car roof, and when he was in high school he pushed a guy down.  And he's mean.  He doesn't care about people.  He's fake.  He only likes rich people and wants to make them richer.

Color me flabbergasted that people find those things plausible.  Why would this gentleman give tons of money to charity if he doesn't have a heart for others?  Why give away his initial inheritance if he's a money grubber?  Why would he even bother to run for office if he didn't care about people?  Running for office is a major aggravation.  As my friend Marilyn would say "hey...I don't need that aggravation!"  We are blessed that there are still good men who will put up with rancorous accusations and run for office.

AT DAY'S END
If you want a Sunday golfer, I know your man.  If you want a smooth promiser, I know your man.  If you want someone who vacations and runs for office during his workday, I know your man.

But if you are ready to give the other guy a turn at bat, let's see what the Republican can do.

LIFE IN THE FOOD LANE

  I'm learning to take cereal from a spoon.

          Say...that's not bad!  

And people seem so pleased about it... 

                                            Yum.  That was great, too.  I like squash.

                                       Wait.  What was THAT?  Green beans?  I don't think so.
                                                     Note to self about green food...

                         ARE YOU KIDDING ME?  COLD PRUNES?  THAT'S AWFUL!

                                                  Carrots?  My compliments to the chef.
                                              I'm thinking orange is my favorite food group.

                "For words are tested by the ear, 

as food is tasted by the mouth."  Job 34:3

UBERFORCE FOR GOOD

He was small and sickly, so he could have pulled back from life; he was born into wealth and privilege, so he could have coasted through life.  He did neither.

Born in Yorkshire, England on August 24th, William Wilberforce (1759-1833) was an uberforce for good.  When the books are opened and the rewards distributed, this man's finger will be shown in many a righteous pie.

Most people may know Wilberforce to be the champion of the abolitionist movement in England.  In the late 1700's slavery was an entrenched economic reality and not many people thought it could be budged.  Wilberforce said "The objects of the present life fill the human eye with a false magnification because of their immediacy."

Before he could change the minds of people whose livelihoods depended on slavery, William Wilberforce had to show slavery for the atrocity that it was.  So he began an uphill battle which lasted his entire career and included many setbacks.

Tirelessly, Wilberforce gathered information, held meetings, distributed petitions, lobbied and wrote letters.  Because he became the target of anti-abolition forces, he was threatened repeatedly and publicly ridiculed (both for his size and frailty).

William Wilberforce would stand in Parliament to read the letters from the ship captains about the conditions on the ships...only to have his peers vote down his legislation time after time.  One day Parliament heard him say "You may choose to look the other way, but you can NEVER again say that you didn't know."

...an embroidery in the Wilberforce home

Wonder where William Wilberforce got such a passion for a life of service?

When he was 26, Wilberforce came to Christ.  Then friends said they observed a dramatic change in his lifestyle.                              

He weighed the call to preach versus the call to be involved politically.  William Pitt (his best friend from college days) helped convince him that God could use him to reform a nation.  And the Lord laid a burden about the slave trade on William Wilberforce's heart...a burden that would not let go.

"So enormous, so dreadful, so irremediable did the [slave] trade's wickedness appear that my own mind was completely made up for abolition. Let the consequences be what they would: I from this time determined that I would never rest until I had effected its abolition."  William Wilberforce

In 1807, largely because of twenty years of Mr. Wilberforce's effort, beginning legislation (called The Slave Trade Act) passed Parliament.  Nineteen years of more effort went by before Wilberforce finally had to resign from Parliament because of his poor health.  That meant he didn't get to lead the charge when the Slavery Abolition Act finally passed in 1833.  William Wilberforce died three days later.  God generously allowed this man to see the fruit from his labor accomplished.

Slavery was not the only cause that Wilberforce considered valuable.  At one time he was active in supporting 69 philanthropic causes.  He gave away a quarter of his annual income to the poor.  Toward the end of his life, he had a houseful of servants too old to serve, but he was not willing to send them away.  Instead, he served them.

His desire to hold religion and morality high caused him to support the Society for the Suppression of Vice...he also saw to it that the British East India Company's charter included money to go to missionary work in India...he worked to create a free colony in Sierra Leone...and he helped to found both the Church Mission Society AND the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.

Wilberforce's wit and generosity made him popular although poor health dogged him all his life.  He and his friend William Pitt (who went on to become the youngest Prime Minister of England), worked together to influence England for good.  They are buried close together in Westminster Abbey.

In 2007 a film called "Amazing Grace" was released on the 200th anniversary of the Slave Trade Act.

The movie tells the story of William Wilberforce and this LINK is to a good review of the movie.  I loved  the witty repartee between William and Hannah as their love story played out.

Eric Metaxas has written a book about Wilberforce...also called "Amazing Grace".  The book's title is a reference to John Newton, the slaver who came to Christ, became a minister, wrote the familiar hymn (by the same name), and mentored William Wilberforce.

Newton wrote to encourage Wilberforce... "it is hoped and believed that the Lord has raised you up for the good of His church and for the good of the nation."

Another mentor to Wilberforce was the man who had led him to Christ, John Wesley.  Wesley's last letter before he died was written to William Wilberforce (February 24, 1791)..."O be not weary of well doing!  Go on, in the name of God and in the power of His might, till even American slavery (the vilest that ever saw the sun) shall vanish away before it."

Hats are off to William Wilberforce on his birthday, August 24th.  I look forward to meeting this stalwart man of God.  And as I considered his life, I want to remember that...

   God equips the ones He calls.  

Who could have guessed that a small and sickly man would have a lion's heart?

When cacophonous voices deny God's place in the public square...

we listen for the still and quiet Voice.

Mr. Wilberforce's body did not cooperate, but he persevered

and finished the course.  Another more cooperative body now awaits him. 

I like to imagine William Wilberforce, standing before the Lord and hearing the words "Well done, good and faithful servant.  Enter into the joy of your master."

MISCONSTRUCTION

You've heard of the pirate Johnny Depp, but what do you know about the Barbary pirates?

This is a LINK to a January 09 blog explaining how the Barbary pirates are connected to today.  This information might be helpful for context.  But if you're short on time, here's a paragraph summary:

During the presidency of John Adams, pirates from the Muslim Barbary Coast (Morocco, Tunisia/Tunis, Algiers, and Tripoli) preyed on American merchant ships in the Mediterranean.  If America didn't want to be attacked, the pirates offered us a "temporary peace" (with a year guarantee) for $66k, plus a 10% commission.  Or we could have "everlasting peace" for a payment of $160k, plus commission.

Thomas Jefferson was then Ambassador to France, and he strongly objected to payment of the "please don't rob me" bribe by these early terrorists.  But Congress allotted the money and President Adams paid it.  Later when Jefferson became President, he was determined not to continue paying the tribute.

Now you may be asking...soooo how is that eighteenth century story important today?

Please consider this LINK to a YouTube of President Obama hosting an Iftar dinner for Ramadan in the White House last week.

Watch as the President speaks about what he calls "our country's freedom of religion that runs through this White House...a place where Americans from many religions can come together to celebrate their holiest of days."  The President went on to say he hoped his guests had noticed the Koran that was on display as they came in...a Koran belonging to President Thomas Jefferson.  President Obama said President Jefferson had held a sunset dinner with an envoy from Tunisia...and perhaps it was the first Iftar in the White House.  This Koran, the President said, was the one Congressman Keith Ellison called for and laid his hand on to pledge to serve in Congress.  And then President Obama said that Islam is part of our national story.

No, sir.  I respectfully disagree.  Understanding history in that context would be misconstruction.

1.  Did Thomas Jefferson have a Koran?

Yes.  He called for a copy of the Koran during the Barbary War in order to understand the people with which he was dealing.  Here are the exact words from the State department's eye-opening records LINK.

When President Jefferson understood this logic, he sent in the Marines (as we sing in the Marine hymn) to the "shores of Tripoli".

President Obama's words seemed to imply that the Koran was Jefferson's statement of faith or treasured possession, but that clearly was not the case.

2.  Did President Jefferson hold a sunset dinner in the White House for the Tunisian envoy?  

Yes, there was a dinner and it was the first time the White House had hosted a Muslim envoy.  His invitation was for an afternoon meeting, but upon understanding the man's religious need to keep the Ramadan fast, the White House moved the meeting to sunset.

Did that mean he was invited to celebrate the first Iftar?  Hardly.  LINK  They were reading the envoy the riot act over paying the tribute.  Tunisia's man said if he went home without the money, they'd cut off his head.  So we compromised and the envoy was given an indirect payment.

(Note:  if you read the link, you'll see the envoy was also supplied his request for concubines while he was in Washington.)

3.  What were President Jefferson's words concerning the Muslim faith?

Jefferson's own words (taken from the book by Joseph Wheelan, Jefferson's War: America's First War on Terror)..."The Ambassador answered us that it was founded on the Laws of their Prophet, that it was written in their Koran, that all nations who should not have acknowledged their authority were sinners, that it was their right and duty to make war upon them wherever they could be found, and to make slaves of all they could take as Prisoners, and that every Musselman [Muslim] who should be slain in battle was sure to go to Paradise."

4.  What holy days have "always" been celebrated at the White House?

Have we celebrated Buddha's birthday?  Or a Sikh holy day?  No. The holy days celebrated have been Judeo/Christian holidays...and this supposed tradition to celebrate Ramadan began with President Clinton.  That means three presidents have honored the holiday.  Let's not enlarge a tradition to make it seem as though it is 200 years old.

But this LINK takes you to a truly important Iftar dinner that was held only weeks after 9/11.  President Bush was extending America's face of generosity and peace to Muslims as they were invited to celebrate Ramadan after the death of over 3,000 of our citizens.  The audience might have heard a pin drop as President Bush explained that our country offered no ill will to Muslims as a people.

5.  Islam is part of "our story"?

Muslims did not write our founding documents.  They did not play a role in our country's most severe testing, the Civil War.  Muslims did not found any hospitals or universities or contribute to our system of law, which is based on Judeo/Christian values.  They have not served as President or Supreme Court justices or military generals.  The story of our nation has nothing to do with Muslims.

However, our country welcomes all people who would want to make "our story" become their story; America offers equal opportunity to become one of us.  That offer does not include the possibility of US becoming YOU, so please leave behind all your Wahhabism or Baathism or Sharia law or Islamic fundamentalism.  "The bosom of America is open to receive not only the opulent and respectable stranger, but the oppressed and persecuted of all nations and religions; whom we shall welcome to a participation of all our rights and privileges, if by decency and propriety of conduct they appear to merit the enjoyment." (George Washington)

*****

Curiously, President Obama made his remarks at the Iftar supper with these words "of all the rights we hold sacred, foremost is the freedom of religion".  He holds religious freedom sacred?  Those words are the height of irony, coming from a man who has denied freedom to Christians in the new HHS mandate which went into effect the first of August.  Now multiple Christian entities such as universities, charities, Catholic dioceses, and family-owned businesses are having to sue for their violated rights under this President.

The President says people have First Amendment rights he describes as "freedom of religion" or "freedom to worship".  Actually, our First Amendment PROHIBITS GOVERNMENT from coming between a citizen and the free exercise of their religion.  "Government shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof...".  The HHS mandate, causing Christians to choose to dishonor God and their conscience, comes to mind.

Never before has the need for discernment been so great.

FRESH BREEZE

July was a beast.  We had triple digits that changed Arkansas' drought from severe to extreme.  Our water bill just came and it caused our eyeballs to bulge when we read $325!  Gag a maggot.

The water saved the perennials, but even with those sprinklers constantly slinging, the poor old grass still crunches underfoot.

We've had to cut seven huge oaks, including some doubletrees.  They were finished off this summer after having been stressed by weather extremes for two years.  It also made us sick to lose six mature dogwoods.

Even so, there has been a fresh breeze that blew through several times this summer.  We call our upstairs bedroom "the Doubletree B&B", where Mike and I have been privileged to host friends who are home visiting before they return to their outposts.

We got to spend time with this veteran whose family has relocated in Texas after seven years in East Asia.

Back in the 90's, this fine man mentored a group of smelly college guys, our son included.  We very much appreciate the time he poured into the students on the UofA campus and the time he and his family spent overseas.

Now we're cheering on their work stateside as they mobilize volunteers/staff/American students to reach international student leaders.  Those leaders will then return to their home country with influence.

In July we hosted newlyweds.  The "missus" is a sweetheart of a friend who has spent the last five years in the far east, only to come home last year to marry.  The couple spent a year stateside to "get to know one another" and take further training.

Now they are returning this month to blaze the trail together...he in language-learning and she with special needs children.  What a dynamite pair!

This month also has included a couple of sparkly lunch-and-listen times.

Mike and I ate with a friend (right) who serves a long way from home in the desert.  His message has never been heard there.

As we ate and listened, I had a wildly random thought (imagine that).  As we ate barbecue, I couldn't help but wonder how long it had been since he had enjoyed such a meal.

Last week I got to have lunch with a girl teaching at a Christian school in Palestine.  She explained just how universal the hearts of a young girl can be (with giggles and Justin Bieber). 

It was a tremendous privilege to get to hear all their stories.  God crafted each of these persons to tell His story...as He creatively adapts circumstances to reach the ones He loves.  It's exciting to realize that the globe is filled with myriads of connections being made.

You know, it's a major challenge to flourish in an unknown culture...and even more challenging to learn a new language.  We smile to think how these friends will have a seat "on the fifty yard line" one day.

Jesus said to Peter  "And not only you (Peter and disciples), but anyone who sacrifices home, family, fields--whatever--because of me will get it all back a hundred times over, not to mention the considerable bonus of eternal life. Matthew 19.28

MORE GRACE, LESS RACE

How can we get more GRACE and less RACE?  Not by stoking racial fires.

Dr. Martin Luther King used to say he looked for a time when man would be judged by the content of his character and not the color of his skin.  Was he speaking of heaven or the here-and-now?

Dr. King, you knew the Savior.  We need you to explain to us (again) that color is not the most important thing.

Surely there are times when race is irrelevant...

...like when Tebow rares that arm back.  Think he cares what color his receiver is?

Or what about these two?  Think they gave much thought to color when they were jamming?

Race leaves the drivers seat WHEN SOMETHING ELSE IS MORE IMPORTANT.

Like giving a home and love...

...or making a new friend.

To be able to be "race-less", we cannot keep returning to division.

Leadership should call us up to something bigger and better...and challenge us to find commonality that binds men together.

Being an American is a great call to oneness.

And protecting Americans is another great call.  Soldiers know what it is like to serve side-by-side with the same sacrificial, warrior spirit.

Such valor drops race down to the next tier of importance.

This soldier has just joined an even higher calling where color doesn't matter a whit.

Baptism illustrates this soldier's acceptance on the level field of Calvary.

At the cross, ALL can admit/submit and receive God's love.  Can't get more equal than that opportunity.

Imagine being one of these 280 voices led by Carol Cymbala in the Brooklyn Tabernacle Choir.  Does God assign this praise to color-coded files?  Nah.

Our God was so creative when He designed animals and birds and fish and insects.  I can just see Him stretching the giraffe's neck and applying long eyelashes...before standing back and smiling.

The Lord loves everything He made, but it's the PEOPLE that He died to save.  He calls to each person and a response is everything.  Salvation unlocks the place MLK spoke about; that same place became Dr. King's forwarding address.

Based on Martin Luther King's last statements, the Lord must have pulled the curtain back for him to see into his immediate future.  He marched ahead faithfully like another great leader, Moses.  Thank you, Dr. King, for your example to exalt Christ over the cares of this world...and for telling others to do the same.

There is only ONE "most important" thing.  And it's not race.  It's knowing the One waiting at the end of the race.

CHIEF-IN-COMMAND

When the Lord's finger carved stone tablets on Mt. Sinai, His first four commandments explained vertical peace.  The next six commandments were for horizontal harmony.  In all, He gave us ten ways to live abundantly.

You might surmise that He would start with the most important.  He did. "No other gods before Me" is the command at the headwaters of such living.

God knew there would be competition for the top spot.

Mankind tends to think righteousness is holding all things equally relative/valid.  We say...you want to worship Allah?  Sure!  Same God.  Follow Buddha?  Whatever works for you.  Such open-mindedness seems to earn a tolerance t-shirt, but doesn't satisfy the first commandment.

In Chicago there's a controversial preacher of Black Liberation Theology named Jeremiah Wright.  You may be familiar with BLT...it basically puts RACE in the numero uno spot as it seeks social/political/economic justice for blacks.  Let's unpack that.  Of course the "seeking justice" part is Christlike, but elevating race has never been either the function or purpose of the church.

Christ's church has many functions (prayer, teaching, serving, fellowship, worship) but only one purpose.  For each function...heaven is a promotion.  We pray here, but THERE we will speak directly to Jesus.  We are taught here, but THERE we will be taught at the feet of the perfect Rabbi.  We serve here, but THERE the service (as well as fellowship and worship) will be so much easier without the presence of sin and with the dazzle that our eyegate will be taking in.

Our God does not leave us here for functions that could better be experienced in heaven.

So why ARE we here?  We're here for the purpose of living a signpost life.  Our desire is to reach those who do not know the Savior, the One who is NOT a regarder of persons.  God sees hearts, not race.

Reverend Wright's incitement to anger doesn't point to Christ's meekness.  Reverend Wright's instruction to envy and discontent does not match the Bible words "contentment is great gain".  Reverend Wright's emphasis on this life doesn't point his flock to the coming kingdom.  But sadly, that's not the worst.

Black Liberation Theology is a crooked path which has a doctrine of collective salvation.  That means my salvation is dependent on another's salvation.  Such confusion could not be farther from the Good News because we do business with God individually.  He did not make us alike and we get to go through His turnstile one at a time.  But that's sure is not what BLT teaches.  Not convinced?  Listen to this scary 20 second CLIP.

That is why someone's worldview MATTERS.  It matters that our President understands life through Black Liberation Theology...and through a Communist mentor (Frank Marshall Davis)...and through a family of radicals...and through felonious Chicago friends who have bombed the Pentagon.  These realities are all puzzle pieces woven into his fabric.  

Black Liberation Theology taught him that politics IS religion...and he can ensure and complete his salvation by saving the country through these social changes.  By our vote, the country said it didn't matter where a man went to church or what hatefulness he sat under for twenty years.  We voted because he was so smart (#Harvard) and because he sounded so good and looked so cool (#Joe Biden, "clean and articulate").  And we thought our vote bought racial progress (#first black president).  

We thought "change" meant a change in Washington politics, but we got the Chicago way.  We thought "change" meant civility because we were so tired of the tenor in Washington.  But the first rattle out of the box, he called us bitter clingers to guns and religion, and repeatedly called opponents before him publically while he berated them like a third world dictator.  We longed for "change" in getting something done in Washington, but his imperial style of governing by executive order and unelected czars eviscerates our liberty.  Now the "change" even punishes achievers and calls us up to the disabled roles.

In totalitarian countries the leader does not respect the rights of those who do not support him.  Is that us now?  If I ran a Catholic hospital, I would feel that.  If I ran a small business, I would feel that.  If I sold insurance, I would feel that.  If I had a nest egg that was melting, I would feel that.  I feel that.

We ascribed goodness to his promises the first time and followed like sheep.  In November, hopefully we will recall broken promises...and tremble at his statement "I want to fundamentally change our system."  Or we will get what we ask for in spades.

LAST THOUGHT

My Oasis friend is in her EARLY eighties and is married to a good man named Jack.  Jack has a birthday next month and his odometer turns over to 89.  Yesterday they went to the mall to eat chicken because...after all, they didn't get to be in their eighties without acquiring some prudence.  You see, the mall is air-conditioned.

Bobbie reports about 80 people in line at the food court.  She expected a line; she took her place and her husband pushed his wheeler over to a table and got out a book.

Do you know how long my friend stood there in line?  Right at an hour.  She says she was determined to finish that course.  Why?

That's a good question.

Was she standing for God?  I'm sure.  She has loved Him passionately for 71 years.

Was she standing for marriage?  Well, she believes God meant what He said.  But of course, so did the president when he ran for office.

Was she standing for Chick-Fil-A?  Yes, she believes an American has the right to conduct his business as he sees fit.  (I heard someone else say...if you quit eating at a chicken shack because the owner thinks homosexuality is wrong, then you might want to consider not buying gas, since the owners of OPEC put homosexuals to death.)

Was she standing for you and I?  Now the discourse elevator has brought us to the ground level.  My friend lives in a country that allows her to share Christ, and sharing Christ is her purpose in life.  When we quench the First Amendment, we become like the rest of the godless world.  Our stewardship of the God-given treasure of life in a country that recognizes Him as founder and freely proclaims Him...is on the line.  My friend can remember days gone by.

I am able to remember those days, too.  I'm sad for my countrymen that they take lightly the generous responsibility laid in their laps to preserve freedom.  Perhaps this incident has unlocked some passion...not to be right, but to be free.

Meanwhile, back at the food court, Bobbie said her favorite part of the lunch was just being with those people and listening to their conversations.  Talk had a special tenor and there was a commonality of strangers.  Young moms had to juggle their kiddos because the children were hungry.  They did it gladly.  People said "Well, I guess I'm gonna be late for work", but there was no fussing.

Another family asked to join our friends at their table.  Bobbie and Jack bowed their heads as the couple prayed and Jack added "amen".  That's how it will be in the coming kingdom.

One day God proved conclusively that He loves every person that He made.

That Proof extends a free offer of a way to please Him and then spend forever with Him.  What an amazing invitation!  The One who spoke the world into being...desires our company in eternity and would have us flourish here.

Breaking down barriers in this world is a noble cause.  But this world is fallen and the only place that it TRULY happens is at the foot of the cross.  That's because Someone there is more important than anything here.

Bobbie has a saying "there's room at the foot of the cross for us all...and some of us are bowing".  If you haven't bowed, would you consider that option today?

ANTI WHO?

This morning the sun rose on the day to eat more chicken.

The line that wrapped around the place was about average for lunch, but a bit long for 7:25a.m.

By the time I had my Chick-n-Minis for the Oasis girls...traffic was picking up.

But this blog is not about "rubbing it in" because of a turnout.  That would be pitching one side against another and this is not an anti-anything.  This is a FOR thing.  I want to be FOR what God says.

You know, I doubt Dan Cathy woke up this year and wrote down his values.  They have been in place since ChickFilA's founding in 1967.  He's not alone; many Americans run their businesses founded on biblical principles.

So why the fuss now?  The forces behind alternate lifestyles have inched into our culture and now feel the time is right to tump over the foundation of Western civilization.

Please take note.  The Cathy family has peacefully gone about their business for 45 years before they became Public Enemy #1.  So who is the aggressor...and who would "live and let live" in this dust-up?

 Dan Cathy did not say he was anti-ANYONE.  The media framed that position.  Mr. Cathy said he was FOR what God said.  I can remember when that was a good thing.

God has other things He says, too.  He says to love one another.  I'm called to do that, but it's getting increasingly harder.

Over and over we look up to have new lifestyles in our face with no options.  We extend grace while textbooks are changed...TV and movies are monopolized...the Armed Forces are compromised...and now a 4,000- year-old law about marriage is challenged.

Finally it just seemed like time to say "I appreciate a good man who wants to honor God in his business".  That's all.

No one is forcing anyone to eat at Chick-Fil-A.  Or go to church.  Or be a Christian.  The Cathy family just cooks chicken while they mentor employees, provide jobs, and support charities.

And I might add...those people in the long line which wound around the building...who stood a long time in Arkansas' 100 degree heat...did NOT subject themselves to that because they are haters, but because they are lovers.

Just for the record, as uncomfortable as those people must have been, there were no cranky folks.

Out on the packed parking lot, there were no honking horns or policemen.

 I don't know how the cars figured out how to go past the restaurant turn and snake back toward the building to turn right.  Someone civic-minded soul must have directed traffic.


There was a lady standing beside her car when I got out to take a picture...who came over and hugged me (a perfect stranger) and said "isn't this wonderful?"

I told the hugger that I was blogging and she said "oh, good, cause there's no media here".  Guess that's another
reason to write about it.


Chick-Fil-A puts books in their kids meal and this picture of the cover (left) exemplifies their good will.  We need more businesses like Chick-Fil-A.

I hope today's statement encourages the Cathy family after their persecution for righteousness.