Guest Post -- "At Sunrise on Graduation..."

I am very tickled to be able to share this guest post from a dear friend and sister Hannah. She is not only an excellent writer but an amazing poet as well, I highly encourage y'all to read some of her work!

I read the following post this morning with tears welling up in my eyes because this is exactly how I felt when I left home a few months ago. I felt like I had left something undone, I needed to go back and help more, ect... but God is bigger than me and He will raise up people to take my place as He has me doing His work elsewhere.

That said, thank you, Hannah!


And without further adieu....

♥_______________________________________________♥




With a quiet and thoughtful spirit, I awoke the morning of my graduation day. My eyes rested absently on the walls around me, and my mind sought to grasp the reality of the last thirteen years of my life. My heart was still beating; my mind still reeling; my eyes still seeking; my feet still moving; my hands still working; my breath still whistling; my life still continuing.

My childhood lived in the days when adulthood was the one and only desirable attainment in this world. My numerous public schools attended sufficed to represent a prison full of cells and walls that had no escape. My young adult years sent everything and anything I held as important and worthy of my time scattered and lying bare for all to see. My high school years struggled to be anything but of the world. My identity had suffered shattering into fragments and only being able to be put back together by the One. The me sitting there that morning was not the me I was a decade ago, a year ago, a month ago, a week ago, a day ago, a hour ago, a minute ago, a second ago. I was changing; I was being reshaped.

My heart warmed with an unspeakable joy. My friends, I was free! I had been trapped in the public school system for so long and with little to hold me steady to His word other than my mother. The cells I thought had no opening had broken and crumbled at my feet. The burdens of the last thirteen years were finally able to be fully dumped at the Cross. The oppressing atmosphere was lifted and carried away. I was never going to return, I vowed. How could I return to the place that held so much torment and anguish for me? Even before I was a Christian, the public schools shock my confidence to the core, pushing me into the realm of the outcasts.

I closed my eyes again, my mind drifting into an unconscious dream. I saw myself standing in the middle of the school building, patiently waiting for the escape I knew I would be provided with. My eyes watched the cracks forming on the walls, and the pieces crumbling all around me. The laughter and joy radiated from my face and my arms reached to the sky. And with little more than a simple thank you, I took off, running and leaping over those crumbled walls. I made it past the last piece of brick, and felt myself unwillingly coming to a halt.

My heart screamed that I must look back. I did not want to, but I did. My eyes turned and beheld names written on the pieces of stone, names that told of those that left those walls just as I had with no hope, joy, or future; they did not know Jesus. My eyes could only stare at the names so numerous that there was not a blank space. My lips let the only sound I could utter escape my lips, "Noooo...." I saw it now. I saw it then. I saw it from the outside, yet missed it while inside. Slowly an invisible pen began to cross out names, names that I had been able to talk with about Jesus. They were so few, so few. Then it all vanished into whiteness.

My eyes jumped open and my heart was pounding. I could only breathe, no words would come. How could I run and jump and be glad for freedom when there were so many more in that school that had not been reached? How could I leave the missions field God had placed me with such neglectance and gladness for that neglectance? Gently, He spoke to my heart: "My child, I am caring for that place; there will be another of my children there to care for it. You have been given a new mission field. I do not want you to look back and wish you were back there; I want you to look back and realize how much those people need Me." He knew me inside and out. He knew my desires to move on with life. At that moment, I realized that every moment I lived out in that school could have been for Christ, yet my selfish core always demanded recognition. If only His work in my heart would drive me to have more moments for Christ than for myself.

With my thoughts traveling in a million directions, my heart cried out to Him with one and only one desire for this day: "So the, just as you have received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live in Him, rooted and built up in Him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness" (Colossians 2:6-7)

-Hannah "~The Trickling Waters~"

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Guest Post: -- "God's view on Gun control"

This guest post is by request per my sister-in-law and for any of you who would be interested in a young man's biblical take on gun control.


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The year was 1984. The cloaked Arab slid through the dense Jerusalem crowds. His heart would have been pounding, but his religion and experience in this sort of thing overruled his more natural nervousness and fear. He glanced across at his partner on the other side of the square; he was ready. Where was the third? Panic gripped his heart, but then he saw the other member of his team. Why were his palms sweaty? He brushed them off, leaving dirty smudges on his hands. He had mowed down crowds of innocents before with no qualm, why would now be different? He gritted his teeth against his urge to hesitate, and threw back his cloak. The bark of his machine gun exploded across the dusty street, sending death biting into the Israeli populace. His two team members opened fire on his signal and joined him in what they thought would be carnage. Suddenly flashes and sharp cracks echoed around him, and a burning pain ripped through his chest. Six shop owners had returned fire with their sidearms. His two comrades fled as he lay in a pool of his own blood… and died. Only one Israeli had fallen with him. After that, terrorists preferred long range attacks on Israel: machine-gunning armed civilians was too risky.

That is my rendition of a true, historical, factual event that really did occur. ‘The Seven Myths of Gun Control’ by Richard Poe was my source for the history of the event. This book is highly recommended by me to help you to understand clearly, from many statistics, logic, and history, how gun control increases crime.

Here is my article on the subject.

I could go about this in the same way that the aforementioned book did. I could use perfect logic, irrefutable statistics, and solid research, gleaned from reputable sources. But that has already been done quite well, and the best I can do right now is refer you to them. I am instead going to take a different tack.

I am going to look at it Biblically.

Basically I am going to be examining the question: Is it a crime to own and carry weapons?

If it is a crime, then of course government should punish those who do so.

If it is not a crime, then what sort of justification does government have to prohibit it?

Basically put, a crime is a sin that government can punish. Many sins it cannot punish (if you disagree with that, I hope you get out of the lunatic asylum soon ). Many sins it can (if you disagree with that, you are an anarchist, and that is a whole different discussion). The debate is which sins it can and cannot punish, for the most part.

Of course, if something is not a sin, it cannot be a crime. This is something that is painfully obvious, but which many many people miss utterly.

If God does not tell us that something is a sin, it is not a sin.

If God commands someone to do something, it is not a sin.

So, if God tells someone to carry a weapon, or if He does not tell them not to, then it is not a sin for them to carry a weapon.

And is therefore also not a crime. And government cannot punish them for doing so.

Now, of course, it is impossible for someone to prove that something is impossible or non-existent (theoretically). And so of course I might have missed it…

But.

The Bible does not forbid people from bearing arms. And there are very few passages that might be even construed to say that. I might be forgetting some, so if I am missing a couple, let me know in the comments and I will do my best to address them. Thanks!

In reality, the Bible consistently assumes that people have weapons, or that, in a normal situation, they would. And in one place, Jesus actually commands his disciples to carry swords (Luke 22:36-38)! I am pretty sure those weren’t for plowing or making fancy shish kebabs. And of course guns are the modern equivalent of a sword.

God gives several laws to the Israelites regarding their swords, such as the one mandating that they all have a special tool on the back to serve as a digging implement (Deuteronomy 23:13). This was to prevent the camp from being defiled, and is thus a sort of ceremonial law, and should not be construed as license for governments nowadays to mandate the manufacture of weapons.

It was assumed that every man had weapons in several places (i.e. Genesis 34:25, Exodus 32:27, Deuteronomy 1:41).

Granted, when Jehoiada masterminded the overthrow of Athaliah and set up Joash in his rightful place as king, he had to arm the Levites who were to guard him (2 Kings 11:10, 2 Chronicles 23:9). But realize however that Athaliah was a murdering tyrant who was mortally afraid of revolt (which is a valid fear for every tyrant), and she might very well have banned weapons (like the vast majority of other tyrants in history), which would explain why Jehoiada had to arm them out of the treasury.

There are multitudinous passages that could be examined on this subject, but they all come to the same conclusions as above given: the Bible assumes that in normal situations the average man owns and carries weapons.

Now I know of two passages that people generally bring up when weapons are mentioned. The first is in the Sermon on the Mount (which is representative of the other similar passages that they bring up), and the other is when Jesus was arrested. First we will talk about the arrest.

Here is a harmony of the gospels (a compilation of a passage from each of the gospels), showing in context with each other everything that is said to have happened in this passage under question:

“When they which were about him saw what would follow, they said unto him, Lord, shall we smite with the sword? Then Simon Peter having a sword, stretched out [his] hand, and drew his sword, and smote the high priest’s servant, and cut off his right ear. The servant’s name was Malchus. Then said Jesus unto Peter, Put up thy sword into the sheath: for all they that take the sword shall perish with the sword. Thinkest thou that I cannot now pray to my Father, and he shall presently give me more than twelve legions of angels? But how then shall the scriptures be fulfilled, that thus it must be? The cup which my Father hath given me, shall I not drink it? And Jesus answered and said, Suffer ye thus far. And he touched his ear, and healed him.”

The passage that most people quote, out of context, is Jesus’ words: “all they that take the sword shall perish with the sword.” Or, as it is sometimes put: “All those who live by the sword shall die by the sword.”

This last version is either absolutely wrong, or not absolutely true. David lived by the sword (which is why he could not build the temple, 1 Chronicles 28:2-3) and he died not by it, but peacefully with his son on the throne. The same for many others (Samuel, who hewed Agag in pieces, and did other similar things, died peacefully of old age), although many of those who lived by the sword did die by it (Joab for one).

In the context of this passage, it is very clear what Jesus was saying: it was God’s will and His will for Him to be taken away. He was laying down His life willingly. God would not fight on His behalf, and He would not ask Him to. And a handful of fishermen would be slaughtered by the trained soldiers if they tried to resist. It is actually very simple: Jesus was protecting them.

As for the other passage, it is in reality the strongest argument that I have found against bearing weapons, although it is weak enough.

Matthew 5:38-47 Ye have heard that it hath been said, An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth:
39 But I say unto you, That ye resist not evil: but whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also.
40 And if any man will sue thee at the law, and take away thy coat, let him have [thy] cloak also.
41 And whosoever shall compel thee to go a mile, go with him twain.
42 Give to him that asketh thee, and from him that would borrow of thee turn not thou away.
43 Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy.
44 But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you;
45 That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust.
46 For if ye love them which love you, what reward have ye? do not even the publicans the same?
47 And if ye salute your brethren only, what do ye more [than others?] do not even the publicans so?

This is more against using a weapon than having one, but of course they are connected.

The context here is talking about behaving unselfishly, being charitable, and being longsuffering. Now, of course it would be not very charitable or longsuffering for you to shoot someone merely because they called you stupid. That would be merely proving their point. But is that really the question?

In NT Israel, a back-handed slap was an insult, an attack on your pride. If you are slapped on your right cheek, then that is a back-handed slap: an insult. Which you are to ignore… and turn the other cheek.

A palm slap is a direct challenge to combat. A serious threat to your life. It is a clear overture of intent to kill. This is a slap on your left cheek: your other cheek.

In other words: ignore insults, but check to make sure that the person isn’t really about to kill you. But what then?

Each of these things listed here are merely superficial, things that are “less than your life” (Matthew 6:25), not your life itself, which is interestingly excluded from the citation of lex talionis: An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth. The original included Life for Life. The original was also directed towards the government, not towards regular citizens. So it seems that we are supposed to forgive and let things slide as much as possible… up to a certain point.

Which is when we would need a weapon to defend ourselves.

Exodus 22:2 If a thief be found breaking up, and be smitten that he die, [there shall] no blood [be shed] for him.

Intriguing…

Genesis 9:6 Whoso sheddeth man’s blood, by man shall his blood be shed: for in the image of God made he man.

Important.

Now of course at about this point people start panicking: “But then there will be chaos!” “Everyone will be shooting instead of being nice!” “All the criminals will have free rein!” “There will be anarchy!”

Notice that all those are gut reactions, not stemming from any sort of experience or research, but merely from propagandist hype that has embedded its sophistries into the natural instincts of the populace. The fact of the matter is that the exact opposite of all of the above exclamations are true. The reasons why are sadly outside the scope of this article, and I must again refer you to something like ‘The Seven Myths of Gun Control’ by Richard Poe.

If something is outlawed, only outlaws will get it.

No limitation of righteous liberty can bring about anything but tyranny and rampant crime.

With joy and peace in Christ,
Jay Lauser

Jay hails from Ireland and has an excellent blog chock full of thought provoking ideas and discussions! Find this and more here : Sir Emeth Mimetes

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Guest Post: -- "President Obama and Hasty Vows"

A learned guest post for all of my politically inclined friends and readers. :)

"Hello all!

Today, while reading (and watching) some material covering questions of whether President Obama has been as transparent as he promised during his campaign, I was struck by a few things that I would like to “throw” out for y’all to take or leave. :)

Without getting into all the nitty-gritty details of the charges and response (which I will admit I am not as familiar with as I would like to be) I believe that during the campaign Senator Obama made more than a few rash vows, and as a result I think the accusations have a lot of merit. However, with that said, I also can easily understand and agree to the statement made by White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs that, “Not everything the President does is for the cameras and for the press.”

To my thinking, the real problem here is not that the President isn’t allowing the media to cover all the things they want to cover, or think should be covered, — the real problem is/was the rashness of the vows made by Senator Obama on the campaign trail. As a Christian, I believe that the Bible clearly teaches that a rashly made oath is foolishness. Leviticus 5:4-5 clearly teaches that rashly making an oath, be it for a good purpose or with a good intent, is a sin:

“Or if a person swears thoughtlessly with his lips to do evil or to do good in whatever matter a man may speak thoughtlessly with an oath, and it is hidden from him, and then he comes to know it, he will be guilty in one of these. So it shall be when he becomes guilty in one of these, that he shall confess that in which he has sinned.”

Proverbs 20: 25 says…“It is a trap for a man to say rashly, “It is holy!” and after the vows to make inquiry.”

I believe that the promises made by Senator Obama were in large part good and I understand that in a campaign you are trying to paint a best case picture of what your administration would be and would do. However, Senator Obama should have more prudently and/or thoroughly considered the ramifications of his rash vows and considered whether the promises made by ‘Senator Obama’ could be upheld by ‘President Obama’. His promises of transparency were clearly more than could have or should have been reasonably promised. Perhaps the problem is that President Obama has never differentiated between the things that should require transparency, the things that ought to be kept and done out of the view of the public and simply promised over-arching transparency in general. I can see this being the case, but at the very least the President created an impression (purposely, I assume) and never clarified or defined the exact intent and extent of his stated purpose and goals.

Probably no segment of our society demonstrates the ease and carelessness with which rash promises are made (and broken) more than the political world. As Christians, it is our responsibility to clearly advocate for integrity and prudence in vow making and then to hold our elected officials to their word. Most importantly though, it is up to us, in accordance with God’s word, to demonstrate the integrity and prudence in our own lives that we expect of people around us and representing us.

God bless and veritas supra omnis!"

You can find the original post and a wealth of other insightful details here : 'Mark Hutchins Weblog'

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"My First Love"

My First Love

Tessa Kate Rayner



"A long time ago, a prince came to the village where a young peasant girl lived. As she sat out on the cobble stones playing with her wooden toys, the prince rode up beside her and reached out for her hand. As he gazed deeply into her eyes, he glanced over her shoulder to where her father stood, protectively watching over her. Slowly, he came forward and shook the prince’s hand, bowing slightly. Then the prince spoke to the young girl’s father in a compassionate, yet authoritative tone, “Thank you my good and faithful servant. You have raised this child, that the King my father sent to you, in the way that she should go and when she is old she will not turn from it.” As the prince then knelt down before the young girl, he softly spoke, “I love you, dear child. Will you let me be your first love? Will you give me your heart and when you are of age leave all that you know to follow me?” The child studied the handsome prince for a few moments before turning apprehensively towards her father. He gave a nod of his head as tears of joy trickled down his cheeks; this was the moment he had been waiting and praying for. The young girl turned back towards the prince, widened her big brown eyes and replied, “Yes, I would like to give you all of my heart.” The prince then returned to the castle, until the day when the young girl became of age that she would be able to fulfill the purpose that the King had prepared her for. But even as the young girl continued to spend her days in the small village playing with her toys and helping her father, she knew that in the castle her prince was waiting, watching her and that he would come again someday soon. But for the mean time, she felt the warmth of his compassion and never forgot that her heart has been given to him. He was her first love.

~

As winter turned into spring, summer into autumn and the years briskly moved on by, the young girl began to blossom into a beautiful young woman. She spent her days serving people around her and still remembered that day many years ago when the prince had come to call – the day her heart was won. But because it was so many years ago, the young woman had become very familiar and carefree about the prince. She knew deep in her heart that he was still there watching her, but she was growing restless waiting for him to come and take her to fulfill her role in the kingdom. So as she waited day after day, she began to get distracted. One day, as she was talking with her mother a young man from the village approached her. As she gazed into his eyes, she was overwhelmed by the feelings that began to stir deep within her soul for this young man with the captivating pale blue eyes. She was quickly caught in the obsession of trying to please the young man, hoping that one day they would be married. However, she could not seem to get her first love out of her head. As she went about her daily chores, she was torn between what she knew was rightfully hers and what she selfishly desired. As weeks turned into months she battled these emotions, all the while the prince observed – his heart twisting with jealousy and compassion for the young woman. He desired to intervene, however, he knew that the decision that was to be made could only been made by the young woman. As she began to reflect back on her times with the prince and the purpose for her in his father’s kingdom, she began to discover that the village boy could simply not compete with her first love. He would make an amazing friend, however, she had a purpose to fulfill and the prince would be coming one day soon to welcome her as a servant into the king’s kingdom. As she looked over at the village boy she smiled with joy as she declared the promises made so long ago. He nodded with sincere understanding as she bowed down on her knees, lifted her hands to the heavens and said, “Speak Lord. Your servant is listening.” With the power of that wistful prayer the gates of the castle opened and the prince rode down the cobblestone path to welcome the young woman into his father’s kingdom, where she would serve him with all of her heart.



People may ask what happened to the young village man. He too went on to serve the king’s kingdom and he too loved the prince with all of his heart."

Tessa is a member of the Rebelution forum (which is where I found her excellent story). I would encourage you to add her blog to your "Follow" list if you can! God's Gospel Girl

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Guest Post: "“Like the Air They Breathe” — The Online Life of Kids"

Dr.Albert Mohler, wrote an excellent article that I thought was worth passing on. I would encourage not only parents to take his challenge in guiding your children, but youth, stand up and take the challenge yourself! With that in mind; read on!

______

"The fact that children and teenagers now spend a good deal of their lives connected to electronic devices is hardly news. We are now accustomed to the knowledge that teenagers are seldom seen without wires in their ears and a cell phone in their hand as they multitask their way through adolescence. Now, however, there is good reason to believe that these young people are far more connected than we have even imagined.

The Kaiser Family Foundation has just released a new study on the online lives of children and teenagers, and the statistics are simply astounding. America's children and teenagers are now spending an average of more than 7 1/2 hours a day involved in electronic media..."

Read the rest of the article here: "Like the Air They Breathe"

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Mexico Prayer Request's (Guest Post)

I am posting an email that was sent out by our trip coordinator, Daniel Osborne



Friends and family,

As we leave for Mexico, all of us on the team greatly value your prayer support. We fully know that we cannot do these things on our own and we need His help 24/7! Below are some specific prayer requests... when He brings us to your mind, please take the time to lift us up in prayer. Throughout the trip, please be praying that our hearts would be focused on Him... that He would open the hearts of those to whom we are ministering... and that He would keep us safe! (Feel free to pass this on to whoever may have not received it... the more prayers the better!)

The people that are on this trip:

Joanna Rust

Hillary Hipps

Beth Magnuson

Christian Logerstedt

Mr. Logerstedt

Alex Poythress

Mark Hutchins

Daniel Osborne

Specific prayer requests:

Currently (Dec 28): Alex and Mark are driving from Texas to Colorado... pray for safety on the roads and a profitable time of conversation. Pray that He would be preparing the hearts of the people to whom we will be ministering to.

Tomorrow (Dec 29): Beth leaves at 7 am for Colorado (driving)... pray for safety on the roads and a blessed time with those she travels with.

Wednesday (Dec 30): I leave at 8 pm for Colorado. Please pray that He would continue to work in my heart to prepare me for the trip... specifically that He would give me wisdom in making safe decisions and be a good spiritual leader. Pray that my time spent with a good friend of mine (Micah) is profitable and God-honoring.

Friday (Jan 1): Pray for Hillary as she flies to Denver, that her focus would remain on Him and that she would stay safe.

Saturday (Jan 2): Joanna leaves in the morning and will stay in AZ with a couple for the night... pray for her safety and encouragement as such things can be somewhat lonely. Also pray that the five of us are an encouragement/blessing to Alex Harris and the others at the wedding. Pray for us as we drive down to AZ all night. Pray for the Logerstedt's as they travel from CA over to AZ that it would be a blessed father/son time and that He would keep them safe as they travel.

Sunday (Jan 3): Pray that everyone arrives on time in AZ and that we catch the bus without issue. Pray that we don't have any issues crossing the boarder and that we can get our FM-T passes with ease and without wasting too much time. Pray that He keeps us safe and guides our discussion as we ride the bus through the night.

Monday (Jan 4): Pray that we are well rested despite the non-pleasant resting conditions and that we will be ready to get going on Monday! Also pray that we all get there safely with all of our stuff. :)

Tuesday - Tuesday (Jan 5-11): Pray for safety as we work on the house and travel to where we need to go. Pray that we would stay united in Christ and that God would give wisdom to each of us guys as we lead the team in devotions. Pray that He would give us exactly the words that need to be said. Pray for safety as we leave for AZ.

Wednesday (Jan 12): Pray that we would all get back safely and back to AZ in time for the 5:30 pm flights. Pray that getting across the border would not be an issue. Pray that we would be a blessing to the missionaries as we leave and to each other.

Thank you very much,

Daniel Osborne (and the team)

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Guest post...The single most important reason I am voting for McCain/Palin

This was written by a friend of mine; Mark. I will second his sentiment; If you disagree...bounce your ideas! I would love to hear them.


Hello all!

I recently received an email from a friend asking for my take on John McCain, and I replied in some length. Most of the email was of relatively little importance as we (I) mostly dialogued about things not necessarily related to core moral values…but I did want to pull the part of the email (modified and lengthened) in which I explain the most important reason I am supporting McCain. I have posted it below and hope that agree or disagree, you find it edifying in some way.

In Christ,

Mark

P.S. I would welcome any comments, but would especially welcome disagreeing comments. I didn’t touch on everything and didn’t explain everything I did touch on in full, so disagreeing comments might touch on something that would call for addition elaboration. You can judge for yourself if that is a good thing. ;-)

Why I believe those supporting the pro-life agenda should vote for John McCain

Over the past four years the American people have been so pre-occupied with things like the war in Iraq and the economy that we (as a group) have tended to overlook one thing of vital importance; the advancement of the pro-life agenda. Love George Bush or hate him, it seems hard to deny that he, when all is said and done, has been true to his pro-life position. Not only has his appointment of Justices Roberts and Alito to the Supreme Court (both strongly pro-life) opened up the opportunity to challenge the validity of Roe v. Wade at the Supreme Court level, but his many appointments to the lower judiciaries have made it possible to keep lower courts from legislating pro-choice laws on the people and likewise made it possible for conservative pro-lifers to defeat organizations like Planned Parenthood. In short, the grass roots pro-life movement has not faced anywhere near the government sponsored impediments under George W. Bush they have faced for years. As a result, the pro-life movement has been advanced and thousands upon thousands of babies have been saved from grizzly deaths (don’t forget the partial birth abortion issue). 10 years ago it would have been almost unthinkable to think that we would have such pro-life legislation on the ballot as Amendment 48 in Colorado. Today it is not unthinkable. Even the Republican Party platform has become more conservative on the abortion issue thanks to grass roots activists.

All these advancements, though significant, are precarious at best and small at worst. If a liberal government and court system imposed their pro-choice agenda once they can and will do it again.

In Barak Obama we have the most radically pro-choice Presidential Candidate ever. If elected to office he will undo all the progress made by the pro-life movement in short order and will further cement the security of the pro-choice agenda. In short, if the pro-life movement doesn’t want to see all they have accomplished go by the way-side…they must defeat Barak Obama. Enter John McCain. John McCain is not 100% pro-life. His support for abortions in the case of rape and incest is troubling in light of the fact that those babies deserve to live just as much as others, and his support of embryonic stem cell research has rightfully raised red flags for many (I don’t happen to have as much of what I call a working concern with his support of embryonic stem cell research as some, but in the interest of time I’ll leave that issue untouched for now).

McCain is not the candidate the vast majority of the pro-life movement supported in the primaries, but unfortunately, he won anyway. Now, pro-life advocates are faced with two sets of consequences if they vote for either Obama or McCain, assuming they will hold true to their word.

If they vote for Obama the consequences will be:

-the legalization (again) of partial birth abortion

-continued tax payer subsidies for Planned Parenthood and their sister organizations

-the continuation of Roe v. Wade

-the appointment of young, pro-choice, liberal judges to the US Supreme Court and the various lower courts

-increased government support for sex education in public schools

-government intervention in the adoption field, including the disallowance of discrimination on religious lines for adoption agencies

-no requirements for parental notification and/or consent for minors in obtaining an abortion

-the death of hundreds of thousands (if not millions) more babies

That isn’t even an exhaustive list of the consequences of an Obama presidency. The consequences of a McCain presidency (also not exhaustive) are:

-the overturn of Roe v. Wade

-the freedom of the states to pass such legislation in regards to abortion as they choose

-no more tax payer support for Planned Parenthood and their sister organizations

-possible government support for embryonic stem cell research (I say possible because I don’t think it will happen if it hasn’t already)

-exception clauses in anti-abortion laws providing for abortion in the case of incest and rape

A McCain presidency would not allow for the total advancement of the pro-life movement, but it would A) fight for the overturn of Roe v. Wade, the first all important step in allowing straight up pro-life legislation, B) allow the opportunity for states to pass outright bans on abortion (it is not clear if states would be forced to include McCain’s exception clause), C) cut the funds abortion clinics use to prey on young girls.

In short, John McCain has an imperfect pro-life stance, but the pro-life movement would still have tremendous opportunity to advance their cause under a McCain presidency, and most importantly, they would not lose the ground they have already gained and their opposition would not be strengthened.

Many people would call support for McCain a compromise on the life issue because he isn’t as solid as others. There is some amount of truth to that position, but I would remind all who believe such that this is not about us the living; this is about the unborn. This (abortion) shouldn’t be considered the same way as taxes…I would be happy to pay more taxes if I was confident that it would somehow result in the betterment of unborn babies…if I need to compromise on things like taxes, immigration, etc. in the interest of preserving the gains of the pro-life movement then I would be more than happy to, and (at the risk of being repetitious) I believe John McCain represents the best chance we have on the ballot for preserving the gains of the pro-life movement. As John Piper has said, the issue of life is always the foremost issue for our consideration. Everything else is secondary. If you would like to throw your vote to a perhaps more solidly pro-life candidate like Chuck Baldwin at the risk of Obama winning the presidency (or being emboldened by a significant popular vote victory) then I would encourage you to think of how you would explain to an aborted baby that the reason you didn’t support their best chance was that the chance was imperfect. I am sure the millions of babies that will lose their lives by way of abortion under an Obama presidency and the subsequent battles to undo the damage will understand. I am much more willing to pin my chances of lower taxes or immigration reform (to name a couple for instances) to a lost cause (the Baldwin presidential campaign) then I am the chances of unborn babies.

The pro-life movement must support John McCain. If they don’t, I believe they will be indirectly responsible for the deaths of hundreds of thousands of additional babies under Obama’s radical agenda and for not saving the millions of babies that would be saved by McCain’s policies.

Is that too extreme a statement? Perhaps…I certainly don’t want to appear judgmental towards those who don’t support McCain as I recognize that different people of equal sincerity will often arrive at different conclusions…but I do feel that the burden of responsibility is heavy and in the case of abortion we must be as clear as possible in articulating our views. So, I have.

This is the reality of where this election stands. The only person on the ballot with a more conservative stated position on abortion is Chuck Baldwin. Baldwin is polling what? .5%? 1%? 2%? You can decry all you want that Baldwin is not polling better then he is…the fact of the matter is that he isn’t and we owe it too the unborn to do the best we can to protect them, and “the best” in this case isn’t voting for Chuck Baldwin. I don’t personally feel comfortable playing political chicken with baby’s lives. It’s good to hold to principle; but when innocent lives are lost because of it by way of abortion then I would suggest the principle should be seriously re-examined.

Until recently I was seriously contemplating withholding my vote on the grounds that there was no candidate I would feel good supporting. I didn’t like the thought of walking away from the voter’s booth feeling anything less than glad support for whoever had received my vote. Frankly, I just differ too much with McCain on things like McCain-Feingold, immigration, the environment (and the political ramifications), and other important issues to “feel good” about voting for him. But this last Sunday, I shared my thoughts and feelings with one of my church elders, Mr. Hale. This is the essence of the council he shared (I will try not to put words in his mouth).To conclude: I don’t think I need to say anything else. But again, please don’t take this post as a harsh condemnation of everybody who doesn’t agree with me. I don’t expect everyone to disagree with me…but I believe the things I believe for reasons, and if those reasons aren’t worth putting forward in no uncertain terms then they aren’t worth believing.

We all want to feel good about who we vote for. This is not a wrong desire, especially if feeling good is determined by how closely we agree with the person in question. But, if we operate on a feel good basis we operate on selfishness and naivety. Neither of us wanted McCain to be our nominee and neither of us will “feel good” if we vote for him. Due to our disagreements with him on policy issues, it would probably feel better if we voted third party (then we wouldn’t be responsible in any way for what happened under a McCain presidency if he won) or didn’t vote at all (for the same reasons). But our decisions should not be based on what feels good…they should be based upon what is best for others…not our feelings. The ability to separate our feelings from our decisions when they threaten to mar our decision making process is the mark of a good leader and a wise person. At the end of the day, when all is said and done, McCain represents the best hope for the unborn, and that is the overriding issue of importance. If we seek to protect those who can’t protect themselves then we should vote for their best hope.

I agree with Mr. Hale 100%. I am not making a negative judgment on people for supporting Baldwin; but understand that the reason I support McCain is not because I agree with him as much as I would like or that I will skip out of the voting booth whistling and with the best of feelings. I support him because I believe he is the best hope for the unborn in seeing that their immediate needs and threats are dealt with. The life issue is far too important to take out grudges on the GOP for not being the party you want them to be or that they claimed to be…and unfortunately I believe many people are.

Again, I won’t “feel good” voting for McCain, but I will vote for him nonetheless with the conviction that it is the right thing to do for the sake of others who need protection more than I and the preservation and furtherance of the gains made by the pro-life movement is of monumentally greater importance than taxes, immigration, etc.

God bless!

Mark

Y'all can find Marks Blog here : www.veritassupraomnis.wordpress.com

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Dress Like a Home schooler!

This is a blog post from "Gardner Brother Creations". Thank you "Uncle Dan" for letting us share your humor :-)
Yes, The Gardner's were Home schooled...

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Proud to be homeschooler? Then why not dress like one? Introducing Homie Highwear for the Homeschooler™, inspired by the Homie video!

Notice the 1950’s Sunday-school hair style, the Nerd Oldschool© glasses, the “Dad wore it to his prom too” Bowtie, and the AirpitTighty® pants - guaranteed to never hang lower then your waist! Closeup:

They’re pants! They’re cutoffs! They’re Homie’s patended age-resistant technology® - guaranteed to fit no matter how old you are! Plus, cover your ankles with our black-rimmed LadySocks and walk comfortably in LessIsMore™ shoes! Closeup:

What are you waiting for? Join the revolution! :^)

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