Month: August 2007

Today’s blog is guaranteed to generate response that is completely unrelated to my point. So I decided to review again one of my favorite public service films of all time. It was called Duck and Cover and the film featured a turtle named Bert. You can enjoy a couple of chuckles by watching this film here.

The film spent nine terrifying minutes telling you a nuclear bomb could detonate at any moment. To be fair, the film primarily advocated finding appropriate shelter. But if such shelter was not readily available the very serious announcer suggested you should duck and cover when you saw the bright flash of detonation. While I guess such an action is better than nothing it seems ludicrous that this would be of much value in the event of nuclear attack. When I took a break from being terrified I wondered about some important questions. Like why does a turtle wear a safety helmet? How could the helmet fit inside the shell when Bert ducked and covered? And how did the monkey in that tree get his hands on dynamite? Hopefully today’s post will raise some questions even more important than those vital queries.

Yesterday I came across the type of story in The Dallas Morning News that used to make my blood boil. It was a report about a lawsuit filed by a disgruntled parent in a Dallas suburb. Here is the report:

David Wallace Croft says he is fighting against the influence of “Judeo-Christian monotheism.” He defines himself as an atheist, an “optihumanist” and a Libertarian. Over the past several years, he has fought any signs of religion at the Carrollton school his three children attend. He complained about Boy Scout rallies held during school, fliers sent home about Good News Bible Club meetings and the inclusion of “Silent Night” and a Hanukkah song in holiday concerts. The rallies and fliers stopped, and in some cases the songs were removed or altered, angering other parents.

There was a time when reading that would have made my blood pressure soar to dangerous levels. Now it just makes me perplexed. I do not understand the level of anger and/or paranoia that drives people like Mr.Croft. The overwhelming majority are affected because of a handful of squeaky wheels. My kingdom for some reason and and ounce of common sense.

Mr. Croft, 39, often stopped by the campus looking for violations. He took photos as evidence of “In God We Trust” posters hanging on the wall and complained about a teacher wearing an Abilene Christian University shirt.

How about stopping all cash transactions at the school cafeteria? Every time a coin is used the student is exposed to “In God We Trust”. I cannot imagine how many humanists/atheists have come to a profound faith after reading a nickel.

His largest fight to date is set to play out in federal district court in Dallas (this week). He and his wife, Shannon, are suing Gov. Rick Perry and the Carrollton-Farmers Branch school district, arguing that the state’s minute of silence, in effect since 2003, is unconstitutional and amounts to state-sanctioned school prayer. The lawsuit says a Rosemeade teacher told Mr. Croft’s son that the minute of silence held each morning was specifically for prayer. She then bowed her head, clasped her hands and began to pray.

If the school crossed the line I am sure they will respond appropriately. Lawsuits like this one have put the fear of God (or whatever force you happen to fear) into educators. This would be what small minds like mine would call a “mistake” and not a state sponsored agenda to convert Mr.Croft’s son. Teachers will learn how they should handle the minute of silence and we move on. Right? No! Because that would make sense and would not get your name in the paper.

Here comes one of the most ridiculous arguments I have ever encountered.

“Moment of silence bills have been popping up in additional states,” Mr. Croft wrote on his blog. “To have millions of public school children waste a minute of education each day for a practice that has no secular purpose seems to me like a great sin.”

If Mr.Croft is really prowling the halls of his local school he knows that that the one minute of silence is not the biggest time waster in our educational system. And I could suggest that wasting my tax dollars for law suits like this might also be a great sin.

Mr.Croft gives me tired head. Another story that crossed my electronic desk struck as being a far bigger issue. Christian parents seemed surprisingly unconcerned about their spiritual condition according to researcher George Barna. The Barna Report noted that evangelical parents seem most concerned about the culture.

Evangelical Christian parents were three times more likely than other Christian segments to identify responding to the declining morals and values of society as a major challenge. They were also notably more likely than other Christian parents to feel they failed to devote enough time to their faith – even though they invest a larger share of their time each week to faith-related activities.

That highlights a critical mistake that I have made and many other Christians make. We spend time on causes instead of time with Christ. This brings me to the change in my walk with Jesus. I care about cultural issues. I am involved politically. But my biggest point of emphasis is learning how to follow Jesus and what that looks like in my daily life. Jesus gave us a very short to do list.

“Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.  Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”

Making disciples means you have to live your faith out. Living your faith means that others see Jesus in your life. I wonder if we don’t fight the wrong battles when it comes to spiritual matters. George Barna, who directed the survey, emphasized the importance of so many parents listing the challenge of spiritual training for their children.

“Our studies show that the faith principles and practices that a child absorbs by age thirteen boldly shapes their spirituality for the duration of their life,” the researcher stated. “Parents have a greater impact on that process than anyone else.” Barna also expressed surprise that the percentage of parents indicating such concern was so small. “This was a study exclusively of Christian parents with young children in their household. Given companion surveys showing that such parents often convey dismay over the eroding cultural environment for raising children, and how difficult parenting is these days, we anticipated a broader emphasis upon the challenges related to bringing up spiritually whole and healthy children.”

Parents are the most important factor in a child’s faith. I wish that we didn’t have to worry about every little offense that might irritate those who do not have faith. But their influence on our children’s lives is insignificant compared to our own. Let us not lose sight of the real battle. That is putting on the armor of God, living for Him every single day and modeling that for your children.

 

 

Parenthood is a tough gig. We have been blessed with three wonderful sons who are, thank God, grownups. My gratefulness that they are grown relates to the current hyper-competitive race to give babies an edge. Today I read a story that may bring a little sanity to infant competition.

Parents hoping to raise baby Einsteins by using infant educational videos are actually creating baby Homer Simpsons, according to a new study reported by The Los Angeles Times.

That made me chuckle. Can you imagine spending a couple of hundred bucks on baby DVD’s and junior becomes Homer Simpson.

Mommy: What do you say when you drop your bottle?
Baby:  D’oh!
Mommy: Are you hungry?
Baby: UMMMMMM….Donuts!

Perhaps the babies don’t literally become Homer but the study did find that for every hour a day that babies 8 to 16 months old were shown such popular series as “Brainy Baby” or “Baby Einstein,” they knew six to eight fewer words than other children. Parents aiming to put their babies on the fast track, even if they are still working on walking, each year buy hundreds of millions of dollars’ worth of the videos.

Unfortunately it’s all money down the tubes, according to Dr. Dimitri Christakis, a professor of pediatrics at the University of Washington in Seattle. Christakis and his colleagues surveyed 1,000 parents in Washington and Minnesota and determined their babies’ vocabularies using a set of 90 common baby words, including mommy, nose and choo-choo.

Are you ready for the amazing discovery?

Christakis said children whose parents read to them or told them stories had larger vocabularies.

Amazing. Who knew? Reading and interacting with your baby is better than watching a video? The whole trend to fast track toddlers is disturbing. I suppose every parent dreams of having a child that is really special. We need to start believing they are special the way they are designed and not by how we can “improve” them. 

Gary Smalley wrote a book some time ago called “The Blessing” in which he encouraged modern fathers to pass spiritual blessings on to their children. He said that it’s more than taking them to church or praying with them or setting a good example. He talks about five practical ways to pass on a blessing.

1. A meaningful touch. Jacob embraced and kissed and laid his hands on his sons and grandchildren. By giving a hug or a touch or an arm about the shoulder, we communicate love and a blessing. When children get loving touches from their parents, they are less likely to seek touch from harmful sources later in life. The Bible affirms this concept too. It relates this incident about Jesus:

   People were bringing little children to Jesus to have him touch them, but the disciples rebuked them. When Jesus saw this, he was indignant. He said to them, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. I tell you the truth, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.” And he took the children in his arms, put his hands on them and blessed them. (Mark 10:13-16)

   One study has shown that it takes eight to ten meaningful touches each day to maintain emotional and physical health. If you can find ways to do that, your own children will be blessed.

2. Verbal affirmation. Children long to hear their dads say, “I’m proud of you.” “You’ve done that well.” “I love you.” That is hard for many men. Get outside your comfort zone and learn to say those things but be sure you mean it. Kids have finely tuned sincerity (bovine excrement) meters. Don’t be phony.
3. Pass along a blessing by attaching value. To bless means to honor. We honor our children by letting them know that they are valuable to us-they’re the most important people in the world to us. That means we sacrifice time for them. That means we look them in the eye when we talk to them, and we stop and we listen to them. When I surveyed my sons about their favorite memories all three related simple things like playing catch or coaching their teams. Those things mattered because they felt valued by the time spent with them.
4. Picture a positive future for them. Jacob pronounced a positive future on Reuben and Judah and Dan and Asher and the others. We can bless our children by attaching high value to their gifts and then picturing for them a positive future.
   “You really love people. You’d make a great salesman some day.”
   “The way you love animals, you’d be a good veterinarian.”
   “You want to be a policeman. That means you’re courageous.”
   “The way you love church, you may be a great church leader some day.”
   We have always tried to celebrate the uniqueness of our children.
5. Bless your children is by an active commitment. It’s not enough to speak the words. There has to be a willingness in the parent to sacrifice for the child, to pray, to spend time in helping develop their gifts, to spend money for lessons and for higher education.

I came into this dad thing wanting a star athlete, a brilliant scholar or an amazing musician. I never stopped to consider how they were supposed to acquire those genes. I deepened my gene pool considerably when I married Joni but she could only contribute so much. They still have my genetic strand gumming up the mix. What I got were three guys ranging from average to good athletic ability. Intelligent but not Einsteins. What God gave me was three godly men of integrity. I have been blessed beyond my grandest dreams.

Allow your children to be who God designed them to be. In Deuteronomy we read these instructions.

Make sure you stay alert. Keep close watch over yourselves. Don’t forget anything of what you’ve seen. Don’t let your heart wander off. Stay vigilant as long as you live. Teach what you’ve seen and heard to your children and grandchildren.

Follow that simple advice and you will give them a blessing and receive many in return.

Saturday was a fascinating day in professional sports. Two enormously gifted men achieved personal milestones. One superstar received adulation and praise. The other generated a mixed response of praise and open disdain. Michael Irvin was inducted into the Football Hall of Fame this weekend. The other superstar, Barry Bonds, tied the revered home run record of Hank Aaron on Saturday.

Barry Bond’s story has been well chronicled. While the accusations have never been proven it is overwhelmingly suspected that Bonds benefited from performance enhancing drugs. Bonds has been defiant, arrogant, angry, and sullen as he relentlessly closed in on the record. Fans have taken to wearing asterisk shirts at San Francisco Giant games to make the statement that any records set should have an asterisk attached to denote that the mark is tainted. Barry Bonds has not made it easy to be a fan of his.

But the fascinating juxtaposition from Saturday was the adulation poured on Michael Irvin. Irvin was also once an angry, arrogant, and defiant athlete. He was reviled by many fans. He made some very poor judgments that hurt him, his team, and his family. So how did Irvin find himself being showered with affection this past weekend?

One word. Redemption.

Michael Irvin seems to be a changed man. On a day when he was being recognized as one of the best football players to ever take the field you would expect that Irvin would display more than a little pride in his athletic giftedness. He chose to humbly confess his sinfulness. I believe it took more courage to utter some of the words Irvin spoke Saturday than it took to catch a pass knowing that a linebacker was drawing a bead on his chest.

Irvin started with a prayer. He alluded to the success on the football field. But the comments that won my respect were his up front and honest confessions at a event that rarely sees such moments. This excerpt from The Dallas Morning News is a sample of Irwin’s amazing speech.

Then came some very personal and emotional apologies for his failures off the field during the 1990s – the parties, the women, the drug arrests. He spoke directly to his wife, Sand, bringing a tear to her eye.

“For better or worse – those are the vows we take before God in marriage,” Irvin said. “It’s easy to live with the ‘for better,’ but rarely can you find someone who sticks around and endures the ‘for worse.’

“Sand, my wife, I have worked tirelessly to give you the ‘for better.’ But I also gave you the ‘for worse’ – and you didn’t deserve it. You didn’t deserve it.”

Irvin broke down in tears about 21 minutes into his speech when he addressed his sons, Michael and Elijah.

“That’s where my heart is,” Irvin said of his sons. “I say to God, ‘I have my struggles, and I made some bad decisions, but whatever you do, don’t let me mess this up.’ I say, ‘Please help me raise them for some young lady so that they can be a better husband than I.’ ”

And suddenly a night dedicated to football had nothing to do with football at all.

I did not used to be a fan of Number 88. He is winning me over. Partly because he could play at the highest level of professional sports. But mainly because he was man enough to recognize his mistakes, humble himself before his Savior, realize what really matters, and confess all of that when he really did not need to.

Most men have also caused some (or many) ‘for worse’ moments in their marriage. Most of us have fallen short now and then from what we should have or could have been as dads. But Michael Irvin modeled something far more important than football on Saturday. He showed us what redemption looks like. Michael and his family demonstrated the power of love. The amazing grace of Jesus. And that humility is the greatest strength that any man can possess. Some other blog sites have questioned his sincerity. I believe his comments were honest and real. That does not mean he will be perfect for the rest of his life. But I have learned that when you realize the depth of your fallen Ness you are ready to begin your journey toward Christlike Ness.

My thoughts turned back to Barry Bonds. Perhaps I should extend a little grace to him. Maybe someday he will stand before us as a changed man. Maybe I should pray for that miracle instead of praying that a hamstrung injury will preserve Apron’s record. I never would have believed that Michael Irvin would move me so much while he was living his former life. That is what redemption is all about. A Savior who stands always ready to meet us at the moment we turn to Him. Michael Irvin did it. I did it. Barry Bonds is not a bigger sinner than me or Michael Irvin. We are all the same in the eyes of a Holy God . All of us, whether rich or poor, famous or anonymous, face the same question about how we can be reconciled to God. Paul summarizes it nicely in Romans.

This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.

Paul goes on to say that we can not take credit for any of this.

Can we boast, then, that we have done anything to be accepted by God? No, because our acquittal is not based on obeying the law. It is based on faith.

Redemption is available for all of us. Even super stars.

 

Today is a travel day so there is no time to write. I hope you enjoy this gently read post from the past.

When I used to visit my family in Kentucky I remember the saying they used when someone thought a little differently.

“That boy ain’t right!”, they would note with a smile and shake of the head.

That is how I feel today after my “ain’t right” brain somehow linked two widely disparate stories. Story number one was found in The Week Magazine and told about a growing number of multimillionaires who are leaving their money to themselves in the hope they will someday be brought back to life. The Wall Street Journal had originally reported that these very future investors are having themselves cryogenically frozen with the hope that medical advances will allow them to be revived. I don’t know about you but I am really not interested in coming back to life on this planet. Woody Allen’s classic line comes to mind when he said, “I refuse to believe in reincarnation because I don’t want to have to sit through Ice Capades again.” According to the story, these assets are frozen (just like the investor…sorry, couldn’t resist) in something called “personal revival trusts” that will be waiting for them when they wake up in a century or two. Predicted first words…”Is it just me or is it really cold in here?”.  I can add these people to my “ain’t right” collection. I believe what is written in Hebrews.

Everyone has to die once, then face the consequences. (Hebrews 9, The Message)

Story number two that my brain oddly linked was about a man I have always admired. USA Today had a feature about the German pastor Dietrich Bonhoeffer. If you are not familiar with the story Bonhoeffer was a Lutheran theologian and pastor in Germany who was deeply opposed to Adolf Hitler from the beginning of his rule. He broadcast against the Nazi movement and joined a Christian resistance movement called the Confessing Church. In 1939 he left Germany to be a teacher at Union Theological Seminary in New York but he left the safe haven of America to return to his home after just a month.

“I have come to the conclusion that I made a mistake in coming to America,” he wrote. “I shall have no right to take part in the restoration of Christian life in Germany after the war unless I share the trials of this time with my people.”

Writer G.Jeffrey MacDonald writes in USA Today about Bonhoeffer’s return.

Bonhoeffer used family connections to gain a post in the military intelligence unit, where he operated as a double agent. There he helped arrange for a bomb to explode at the Führer’s headquarters on July 20, 1944. But Hitler was only wounded, and Bonhoeffer, 38 and engaged to be married, was among the dozens arrested. He was hanged April 9, 1945, just days before American troops liberated Flossenbürg.To many, Bonhoeffer’s name is synonymous with moral courage and with the importance of thinking deeply about right and wrong.

That was the inspiring aspect of Bonhoeffer’s life. His thoughtful anguish over how to deal with evil in this world is more than applicable today. As I struggle with the concept of grace and Christ’s love for all sinners I am challenged by words like these from Bonhoeffer. “How can I possibly serve another person in unfeigned humility if I seriously regard his sinfulness as worse than my own?” Applying that principle alone would turn the American church upside down. But it was the way that Bonhoeffer faced death that caused me to relate his story to wealthy people who are trying desperately to deny the reality of death and judgment. Again quoting from the excellent story written by Mr.MacDonald.

For Bonhoeffer, being authentic meant facing death as destiny. His most famous line highlights the sacrifices required in Christian life: “When Christ calls a man, he bids him come and die.” His final act was to celebrate Communion with some fellow prisoners. Witnesses reported his final words. “This is the end for me, the beginning of life.” 

You see Bonhoeffer knew that truth of Phillipians when Paul wrote to live is Christ, to die is gain. I like the rendering of Paul’s words in The Message.

Alive, I’m Christ’s messenger; dead, I’m his bounty. Life versus even more life! I can’t lose.

Indeed.

 

Johnny Cash had a big hit with his song about a “Boy Named Sue”. Unfortunately it seems like our society has adopted “Sue” as it’s collective middle name. Regular readers of these humble ramblings know my disdain for ridiculous lawsuits. I chronicled the case of the judge who sued for $54 million dollars when a dry-cleaner misplaced his pants. Apparently his pants and mind were both lost in the transaction but sanity finally prevailed and the case was dismissed. Of course, the grieving victim of trouser trauma (can I say that?) is appealing.

Then I find a story about a woman in Illinois who is suing a Joliet, Illinois bar. The Chicago Tribune filed this report:

A woman who tried to dance atop the bar at a Joliet tavern is suing the establishment after she fell and shattered her ankle. Amy Mueller — a Joliet-area resident in her early 20s, according to her attorney — is seeking more than $50,000 in damages in Will County Circuit Court for her injuries at Samy’s Bar and Grill, 3131 Voyager Lane, on May 19, 2006.

She fell while trying to climb up onto the bar and is suing Samy’s for “allowing [her] to climb upon the bar without a step-stool, ladder or other device used for safety.”

Let this be a lesson to all taverns. Be sure to install ladders, railing, non-slip bar surfaces, safety rigging (a bar bungee), and padded landing areas in case your patrons decide to try out for So You Think You Can Dance at your establishment. The attorney, Frank Cservenyak, assures us that his motives are pure. And I can assure you that my ten cup a day coffee habit is not caffeine related.

“I wouldn’t take a case I believe is frivolous. She completely shattered her right ankle. This isn’t, ‘I fell and bruised my back.’”

Right. In my experience…uhhhh…I mean from what I have heard it is never a good idea to mix alcohol and climbing. The attorney claims that the bar encourages patrons to climb on the bar so her bad judgment is really the fault of the tavern. Apparently the thinking is that as long as someone encourages you to be stupid it is not your fault. My parents covered that objection with the “if they jumped off a cliff” line of parental reasoning. So my word of advice to my tens of readers is simple. Avoiding alcohol will prevent most bar top dancing mishaps and will stop ninety percent of tragic karaoke embarrassments.

The final lawsuit involves a young man who started his own religion. So far the church has doubled in size to include his mom. After that initial explosive growth the church has leveled off and the current membership is still two. His lawsuit involves his religious right to wear clothing appropriate to his new religion. The San Antonio Express picks up the story that began in 2004:

Daniel A. Lorenz regularly wore a collared shirt to work, but it clearly wasn’t the type expected in the Wal-Mart Supercenter’s dress code. He says he was fired after reporting for duty in his priest’s shirt with Roman collar, an Arab headdress and six crosses. Supervisors had warned Lorenz that his job was at risk over his appearance, which they said violated dress codes and upset customers and fellow workers, particularly Catholics.

But Lorenz, 20, ignored requests to shed the shirt and collar — the main bones of contention — claiming they reflect his unique spiritual beliefs. In a year at the store, Lorenz said no one complained to him about his Muslim-Christian hybrid image, which he says reflects his nondiscriminatory philosophy about world religions. “I don’t believe in any one religion,” Lorenz said in his EEOC complaint. “I do believe in God, but I don’t attend any one church. There is no title to my religion other than a universal belief system.” Lorenz’s ponytail and fuzzy chin reflect his belief that hair should not be cut because he is only “borrowing” his body. He won’t date or marry, because all humans are family, he said, and that would make it incest.

This looks like a one-generation movement based on those beliefs.

Lorenz’s mother, who works at Wal-Mart, said she’s the only other adherent to her son’s spiritual doctrine, which is now being put to paper. “We haven’t found anybody who believes as strongly as we do,” said Catherine Lorenz, 44.

As hard as that may be to believe I noted with interest that a few weeks ago the case finally came to court. Again, the San Antonio Express has the story:

A U.S. District Court judge granted Wal-Mart a summary judgment motion to dismiss the federal case in August, but Lorenz is appealing. Wal-Mart argued his desire to wear a Muslim headdress, a Catholic priest’s shirt and large crucifix necklace to work as a night stocker reflected his personal preference, not a religion. Lorenz was seen outside work in secular clothing, Wal-Mart’s pleadings said. Lorenz said work is “ongoing” on scripture explaining the faith he formulated after visiting the Middle East in 2001. “Our belief is ever-evolving.” Lorenz said.

It would be so easy for me to dismiss Lorenz and his unusual potpourri of beliefs. But the sad truth is that millions of American Christians have a confused blend of beliefs as well. I wrote a tongue-in-cheek ode to our Christian ignorance in When Bad Christians Happen to Good People. I did a little rewrite of the lyrics of Sam Cooke’s classic song “Wonderful World” and came up with this.

Don’t know much about theology,
Don’t know much Christology.
Don’t know much about Leviticus,
Don’t know why they had the Exodus.
But I do know that God loves you,
And I know that if I’m real good too
What a wonderful faith this would be. 

You have to buy the book to get the rest of my lyrical genius. But buried in the light hearted poke at our lack of knowledge is a very serious problem. A blending of faiths also infiltrates the church. And I would suggest that a part of the struggle of the church in America is that we don’t really have a clear understanding of what we believe. George Barna has done considerable research on this topic and the results are appalling. For example, here are some examples of widely held beliefs among Christians that are clearly in opposition to the Biblical view. Barna found that 74 per cent of respondents (apparently no one with a two year old in the house) thought that when people are born, they are neither good nor evil; they make a choice between the two as they mature. Forty two percent believe that when Jesus lived on earth, He sinned like other people. Fifty nine percent thought that Satan was just a symbol of evil. The list goes on and on but it identifies a major problem. When Christians don’t have a fundamental and basic understanding of Biblical theology we go through the buffet line of beliefs and select what looks or smells good. Not much different from the “ever-evolving” comment from above.

Barna writes that “because we remain a largely Bible-illiterate society, few are alarmed or even aware of the slide toward syncretism – a belief system that blindly combines beliefs from many different faith perspectives.” In other words we are becoming a society of blended faith. How about three-quarters of Americans believing that God helps them that help themselves is a Biblical teaching? (instead of a quote from Ben Franklin)

I first became convicted of my need to solidify my Biblical and theological knowledge when I realized that I could name the starting lineup for the 1961 National League Champion Cincinnati Reds but I could only name slightly more than half of the Apostles. We must know what and why we believe. The resources are out there. Most of us have Bibles laying all around. And the sad and very convicting truth is that we make time for what is important to us. I spent twenty minutes with the sports page today and yet I am prone to say I don’t have time for Bible study. 

I am not able to take the “fifth” in my journey with Jesus. A lack of theological and biblical knowledge is an incriminating fact that can be changed. I have been guilty of not having a real knowledge of what and why I believe. I am on a determined course to correct that. I want my faith to be ever evolving but always and completely based on the truth of God’s Word.

Your humble “Bad Christian” took a little summer hiatus from the daily ramblings last month. July featured a countdown of the top twenty most read articles in the two year life of this blog. The countdown finished with a piece written just a couple of days after hearing about my wife Joni’s diagnosis of breast cancer. That post was called “Sentences That Change Your Life”.  Sixteen months later I can verify how much one sentence changed our lives. It was an odd coincidence that the story was delivered to many of your electronic mailboxes on the same day that ABC’s Robin Roberts announced her breast cancer diagnosis on ‘Good Morning America’.

I saw Robert’s brave optimism and strength. But I also saw the emotion and fear of the unknown battle that loomed in the days ahead. It is not an easy journey. But I am sure that Robin Roberts will be an inspiration to women across America. The message that Robin emphasized was the importance of early detection. With early detection there is a 95% five year survival rate for breast cancer patients. Please do not ignore regular checkups.

The reason for hanging up the “Closed for July” sign at the old website was a good one. Joni and I took a big chunk of last month to embark on a celebration cruise that marked the end of her treatments. We flew to London and met up with two other couples who had shared our journey and now shared our joy. On July 4^th we journeyed to Southhampton, England to begin a twelve day cruise around the British Isles. We tried not to dwell on the fact that Southhampton was the port that Titantic departed from ninety-five years ago. That little factoid did make me pay a bit more attention to the mandatory safety drill that all cruise ships have before departure.

During Joni’s long journey through chemotherapy and radiation she often talked about getting “postcards” from God. When she would get a bit down or discouraged she would inevitably receive an unexpected visit, note or blessing. I cannot tell you if the following event was a “postcard” from God for us. But the timing was indeed remarkable. We had started planning this cruise just after Joni’s diagnosis as a way to celebrate the eventual end of treatments. After a long and difficult cancer journey we finally reached the celebration journey departure.. This was the scene as we pulled away from Southhampton.

That is not an enhanced photo. That is how the rainbow actually appeared from our balcony. We were as awestruck as Noah must have been when God made His promise to him.

Then God said, “I am giving you a sign of my covenant with you and with all living creatures, for all generations to come.  I have placed my rainbow in the clouds. It is the sign of my covenant with you and with all the earth.  When I send clouds over the earth, the rainbow will appear in the clouds, and I will remember my covenant with you and with all living creatures.”

I will never forget that rainbow. Joni and I had adopted a song called Praise You in This Storm by Casting Crowns as the anthem for our journey. The lyrics are a powerful reminder of the need to trust God in all things.

I was sure by now
God You would have reached down
And wiped our tears away
And stepped in and saved the day
Once again, I say Amen, and it is still raining

As the thunder rolls
I barely hear you whisper through the rain
I’m with you
As your mercy falls
I raise my hands and praise the God who gives
And takes away

I’ll Praise you in this storm
And I will lift my hands
You are who you are
No matter where I am
And every tear I’ve cried
You hold in your hand
You never left my side
And though my heart is torn
I will Praise You in this storm

For Joni and I the storm has passed for now. I am reminded of a quote from author G.K.Chesterton: “And when it rains on your parade, look up rather than down. Without the rain, there would be no rainbow.”

We have had some rain and dark clouds. Now we have a chance to rest in Him and savor the rainbow. On our trip we visited the beautiful country of Ireland. I will leave you with this Irish blessing.

“May God give you…For every storm a rainbow, for every tear a smile, for every care a promise and a blessing in each trial. For every problem life sends, a faithful friend to share, for every sigh a sweet song and an answer for each prayer.”

Amen.