Friday Tidings

Wanna Be Rock Stars Long, long ago as financially strapped newlyweds, our dreams gave us hope for a future we couldn’t see. Our day job wasn’t what we wanted to “do with our lives”. It was just the means to pay our bills and buy music gear so we could “do what we really wanted to do”—which was to be famous musicians. How easy it is to look ahead and forget to appreciate where we are. While our music dreams would mean working together, making money at what we loved doing, we often overlooked that we were already working together and making money—even if it wasn’t writing and performing music.   Could we appreciate what we had even if it meant never making it in the music world? I gave up first. Playing music in a lounge wasn’t my idea of success. Writing catchy advertisement jingles seemed to cheapen it even more.  I won’t even discuss my brief stint as a DJ. My music dream wasn’t just delayed; it had died. Music

God’s light came into the world, but people loved the darkness more than the light, for their actions were evil.                                                      John 3:19      Each summer I’m blessed with carefree days with my grandson. At ten, he’s busier than before. Soccer, chess, and basketball camps dot his calendar. Playtime with friends, summer reading, and approved video games fill his days. Like most kids, he’s computer savvy and can connect to a larger world I never imagined at his age. That can be scary. What’s worse is that one in three 10-year-olds access porn. This is the worst news for any parent or grandparent. Recently health experts gathered in Washington DC to discuss the epidemic of pornography. Children are the youngest victims. Now over half of 12-15 year olds are accessing online porn. And it’s warping our next generation. According to sexual trauma expert Mary Anne Layden, “ Sex is casual, r

Donald Trump is running as a Republican, but a list of his past political donations indicate he could be a closet Democrat. But regardless of the confusion, the polls show Trump on top among Republican contenders.  One commentator called him a circus act. Others say The Donald as an equal opportunity offender.   For some Americans, his brand of honesty works—hence the poll numbers. As a nation, we’ve gotten weary of political speak—doubletalk that tells us what we want to hear. Trump has no need for that. Trump built an empire on American ingenuity and incredibly wise investments. You can hate the man but you can’t argue that he’s been successful.  Trump's the richest person to ever run for president. No need to make promises to garner financial support. The media doesn’t scare him. And with zero political correctness, he lambasts poor political performances and tells our nation’s enemies what he’ll do once elected. National security is a huge concern—as it sho

Whether or not you’re following the Greek economic mess, one glaring warning light is blinking—we have a similar bloated government.  While Greece argues about the right solution to its bankrupt system, their biggest issue is unemployment. Not enough people are working to pay the bills. Our lower unemployment numbers look good on paper, but the reality is that 100 million Americans are NOT working.  The largest reduction in our workforce isn’t retiring the Baby Boomers; it’s the unemployed millennials. In the late 1990’s 66% of that age group worked. Now it’s down to 55%. In Greece, half of their young people don’t work either. Experts disagree on why this is happening, but higher labor costs and welfare policies that incentivize unemployment aren’t helping. Mike Rowe, from Dirty Jobs says, “We’re churning out a generation of poorly educated people with no skill, no ambition, no guidance, and no realistic expectations of what it means to go to work.”

At 6’10” he was the tallest bellhop we’d ever seen. His ebony skin was in stark contrast to his brilliant smile—which shone every time he apologized for his broken English.  He carefully managed our suitcases and guided us to our hotel room. We asked where he was from. He’d traveled from Kenya—wanting a new beginning in America. Working nights, he went to college during his days. “Take years to learn enough.” (Smiling broadly again) “Hard work brings good life.” He pointed to the ground and said, “America is my chance.” America is our chance too. Let’s celebrate the opportunities and work through the challenges. We are America, one nation with many shades of the same color. And that color is called freedom. Let’s celebrate liberty—together.