9-year-old boy told he's too good to pitch

This one comes from the "hard to believe file"....

Jericho Scott is nine years old and plays baseball. He possesses a blazing fastball and is so good that local little league officials in New Haven, Connecticut have told him that he cannot pitch anymore.

Here's the story.

Playing sports is about winning and unfortunately losing. Banishing a stand out athlete sends a powerful message that mediocrity is more important than excellence.

Let's hope this call gets over turned.

The Pelosi Deception

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is at it again.

Now I will cut the esteemed Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives a break as to her intentions and grant her a naviete pass on this one.

Here's what Pelosi said on Sunday's Meet the Press....""doctors of the church" have not been able to define when life begins and that "over the history of the church, this is an issue of controversy."

Really. Nancy Pelosi self-describes herself as "an ardent, practicing Catholic." One would then assume that she would be very knowledgeable about the teachings of her church. Apparently, for whatever reasons, she is not. Now again, I don't want to accuse her of untruth, but only hold her accountable for her words...

The Catholic Church for a millenium has held the view that life begins at conception. Denver Archbishop Charles Chaput added that "Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi is a gifted public servant of strong convictions and many professional skills. Regrettably, knowledge of Catholic history and teaching does not seem to be one of them."

He adds the punchline: "Abortion kills unborn, developing life. Its is always evil, and so are the evasions employed to justify it. Catholics who make excuses for it- whether they're famous or not-fool only themselves and abuse the fidelity of those Catholics who do sincerely seek to follow the Gospel and live their Catholic faith.


Could Pelosi's statement be more about politics than intellectual honesty?

Archbishop Chaput Nails the Abortion Issue

Hoorahs again to Denver's Archbishop Charles Chaput and his clairvoyant column on abortion.

With the backdrop of this week's Democratic National Convention looming, Chaput issued a clear and concise statement on life and abortion.

Here it is. You don't want to miss this one.

Finding Life in Death

This very powerful. It was written by a man who died last month. Copy and keep this one....


Tony Snow was a television commentator who eventually became President Bush's press secretary. He had several bouts with cancer and he recently lost his battle with the disease. Last October, during the midst of his illness, Tony Snow shared what spiritual lessons he had been learning through his ordeal. Here are Tony Snow's own words:

Blessings arrive in unexpected packages--in my case, cancer. Those of us with potentially fatal diseases--and there are millions in America today--find ourselves in the odd position of coping with our mortality while trying to fathom God's will. Although it would be the height of presumption to declare with confidence "What It All Means," Scripture provides powerful hints and consolations.

The first is that we shouldn't spend too much time trying to answer the "why" questions: Why me? Why must people suffer? Why can't someone else get sick? We can't answer such things, and the questions themselves often are designed more to express our anguish than to solicit an answer.

I don't know why I have cancer, and I don't much care. It is what it is, a plain and indisputable fact. Yet even while staring into a mirror darkly, great and stunning truths begin to take shape. Our maladies define a central feature of our existence: We are fallen. We are imperfect. Our bodies give out.

But despite this--or because of it--God offers the possibility of salvation and grace. We don't know how the narrative of our lives will end, but we get to choose how to use the interval between now and the moment we meet our Creator face-to-face.

Second, we need to get past the anxiety. The mere thought of dying can send adrenaline flooding through your system. A dizzy, unfocused panic seizes you. Your heart thumps; your head swims . You think of nothingness and swoon. You fear partings; you worry about the impact on family & friends. You fidget and get nowhere.

To regain footing, remember that we were born not into death, but into life--and that the journey continues after we have finished our days on this earth. We accept this on faith, but that faith is nourished by a conviction that stirs even within many non believing hearts--an intuition that the gift of life, once given, cannot be taken away. Those who have been stricken enjoy the special privilege of being able to fight with their might, main, and faith to live fully, richly, and exuberantly--no matter how their days may be numbered.

Third, we can open our eyes and hearts. God relishes surprise. We want lives of simple, predictable ease--smooth, even trails as far as the eye can see--but God likes to go off-road. He provokes us with twists and turns. He places us in predicaments that seem to defy our endurance; and comprehension--and yet don't. By His love and grace, we persevere. The challenges that make our hearts leap and stomachs churn invariably strengthen our faith and grant measures of wisdom and joy we would not experience otherwise.

'You Have Been Called'. Picture yourself in a hospital bed. The fog of anesthesia has begun to wear away. A doctor stands at your feet; a loved one holds your hand at the side. "It's cancer," the healer announces.

The natural reaction is to turn to God and ask him to serve as a cosmic Santa. "Dear God, make it all go away. Make everything simpler." But another voice whispers: "You have been called." Your quandary has drawn you closer to God, closer to those you love, closer to the issues that matter--and has dragged into insignificance the banal concerns that occupy our "normal time."

There's another kind of response, although usually short-lived a n inexplicable shudder of excitement, as if a clarifying moment of calamity has swept away everything trivial and tiny, and placed before us the challenge of important questions.

The moment you enter the Valley of the Shadow of Death, things change. You discover that Christianity is not something doughy, passive, pious, and soft. Faith may be the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. But it also draws you into a world shorn of fearful caution. The life of belief teems with thrills, boldness, danger, shocks, reversals, triumphs, and epiphanies. Think of Paul, traipsing though the known world and contemplating trips to what must have seemed the antipodes (Spain), shaking the dust from his sandals, worrying not about the morrow, but only about the moment.

There's nothing wilder than a life of humble virtue--for it is through selflessness and service that God wrings from our bodies and spirits the most we ever cou ld give, the most we ever could offer, and the most we ever could do.

Finally, we can let love change everything. When Jesus was faced with the prospect of crucifixion, he grieved not for himself, but for us. He cried for Jerusalem before entering the holy city. From the Cross, he took on the cumulative burden of human sin and weakness, and begged for forgiveness on our behalf.

We get repeated chances to learn that life is not about us, that we acquire purpose and satisfaction by sharing in God's love for others. Sickness gets us part way there. It reminds us of our limitations and dependence. But it also gives us a chance to serve the healthy. A minister friend of mine observes that people suffering grave afflictions often acquire the faith of two people, while loved ones accept the burden of two peoples' worries and fears.

'Learning How to Live'. Most of us have watched friends as they drifted toward God's arms, not with resignation, but with peace and hope. In so doing, they have taught us not how to die, but how to live. They have emulated Christ by transmitting the power & authority of love.

I sat by my best friend's bedside a few years ago as a wasting cancer took him away. He kept at his table a worn Bible and a 1928 edition of the Book of Common Prayer. A shattering grief disabled his family, many of his old friends, and at least one priest. Here was an humble and very good guy, someone who apologized when he winced with pain because he thought it made his guest uncomfortable. He retained his equanimity and good humor literally until his last conscious moment. "I'm going to try to beat [this cancer]," he told me several months before he died. "But if I don't, I'll see you on the other side."

His gift was to remind everyone around him that even though God doesn't promise us tomorrow, he does promise us eternity--filled with life and love we cannot comprehend--and that one can in the throes of sickness point the rest of us toward timeless truths that will help us weather future storms.

Through such trials, God bids us to choose: Do we believe, or do we not? Will we be bold enough to love, daring enough to serve, humble enough to submit, and strong enough to acknowledge our limitations? Can we surrender our concern in things that don't matter so that we devote our remaining days to things that do?

When our faith flags, he throws reminders in our way. Think of the prayer warriors in our midst. They change things, and those of us who have been on the receiving end of their petitions and intercessions know it. It is hard to describe, but there are times when suddenly the hairs on the back of your neck stand up, and you feel a surge of the Spirit. Somehow you just know: Others have chosen, when talking to the Author of all creation, to lift us up--to speak of us!

This is love of a very special order. But so is the ability to sit back & appreciate the wonder of every created thing. The mere thought of death somehow makes every blessing vivid, every happiness more luminous and intense. We may not know how our contest with sickness will end, but we have felt the ineluctable touch of God.

What is man that Thou art mindful of him? We don't know much, but we know this: No matter where we are, no matter what we do, no matter how bleak or frightening our prospects, each and every one of us who believe, each and every day, lies in the same safe and impregnable place, in the hollow of God's hand.

The New Purity Tidal Wave

All over our nation, parents and their daughters are taking up the cross of personal purity. Reacting to a teen culture that is in the gutter regarding sexual purity, father-daughter purity balls are sweeping across our country.

Check out this great story and be encouraged!

The Latest Batman Flop...

I am not sure whether to laugh or cry about this movie...We are all familiar with the genre of the ongoing Batman saga. Unfortunately, today's movie writers tend to delve into the dark and sublime of the Batman character, portraying him as being just a touch above the criminals he pursues in Gotham City.

The latest installment surely fits this bill.

While some will tout its value as a morality play between good and evil, this is one you and your family need to skip.

Children need to see evil as evil and good as good. This is an adult movie where these differences get blurry.

While Batman retains a certain altruistic fascination by many, this one flops.

Philippians 1:10 tells us "to discern what is best in order to be pure and blameless until the day of Christ."

Bad News for the Brits- More Babies Out of Wedlock

This might be a blip on the radar for most but its big news...British media is now reporting that the new D-Day in Britain has arrived- where more babies are born out of wedlock than in marriage.

While some will hail this as a breaktrhough to a whole new world, in reality its a tragedy that will eventually redefine Great Britain.

Americans need to be careful. This virus is already on our shores....

The Righteous Will Live By Faith

“The righteous will live by faith.” Eight of the most important words for believers are found in the Old Testament book of Habakkuk (verse 2:4). This verse seems straight forward and pretty easy to do. But, the idea of trusting God when everything else is going wrong is often tough and counter-intuitive to how most of us think. If anything, our strongest urge may be to grab the wheel of life and start steering. Yet, that conversion of thought is an ongoing and compelling message of Christianity.

In Habakkuk’s era, the Jewish nation was coming to an end. Corruption and religious hypocrisy were at their zenith. God tells the prophet that He would not only bring swift judgment on Israel soon but it would be delivered by the hands of the Babylonians, the renowned cruel and barbaric warriors of that age. Habakkuk was stunned. From his perspective, his people deserved God’s judgment but not to the level that would be inflicted by the Babylonian army. Yet, somewhere within the fabric of his being, Habakkuk finds the answer to the imminent storm of destruction and judgment- “the righteous shall live by faith.”

Life is not storm-less. Most of us will not experience the brutal end of our nation or a terrifying end of the life we know each day. But, there are still major challenges that will come through our lives- illness and death, loss of a job, the rebellion of a child, a failed relationship, etc. Christians have never been immune from suffering, illness, poverty or any of the deprivations of life. For many believers, there seems to be an extra portion of these pestilences at times.

Noted Christian author Francis Schaffer posed the question that we must each answer- how then should we live?

Habakkuk got it right. Will you?

Unmarried Men A Growing Threat in China

Today's post comes from our good friend Chuck Colson and his Breakpoint commentary. Here is the link to the article....


In late June an angry crowd, estimated at 10,000 people, set fire to a government building and police cars in southwestern China. More than 150 people were injured, and it took 1,500 paramilitary and riot police to restore a semblance of order.

The crowd was protesting the “alleged cover-up of a teenage girl’s rape and murder” by three young men, including the “son of a local politician.”

While news agencies cited the incident as an example of unrest over corruption and injustices, there is another Chinese problem highlighted in this story: “China’s testosterone problem.”

That’s the term the New Republic used to characterize the social problems caused by the male-female imbalance in China. As writer Mara Hvistendahl tells us, China “has the largest gender imbalance in the world . . .” There are 37 million more men than women in China; and “almost 20 percent more newborn boys than girls nationwide.” In some parts of China, there are 60 percent more male children than female!

The imbalance is the product of China’s infamous “one-child policy,” in which the government told villagers, and I quote, “YOU CAN BEAT IT OUT! YOU CAN MAKE IT FALL OUT! YOU CAN ABORT IT! BUT YOU CANNOT GIVE BIRTH TO IT!”

Many villagers complied, but with a twist: They made sure that the “one child” would be a boy, who could earn more than girls could. As a result, a researcher at the Chinese Institute for Social Sciences estimates that 10 percent of Chinese men will be unable to find wives.

Of course, frustrated men will make their presence felt, as Beijing is learning. After the first generation of “one child” boys hit adolescence, China’s juvenile crime rate more than doubled. Chinese officials complained about young men committing crimes “without specific motives, often without forethought.”

Sound familiar? History teaches us that unattached, unmarriageable males are “disproportionately responsible for drug abuse, looting, vandalism, and violent crime.” This was true of “frontier towns,” “immigrant ghettos,” and our own inner-cities. There is no reason to think that China will be any different.

And the worst is yet to come as the imbalance grows larger. Government officials worry about the “hidden threat to social stability” posed by a cohort of “hopeless, volatile men.” Wars have often started, historically, when men tried to find wives elsewhere.

But the best the government can come up with are slogans like, “Boys and Girls are both treasures.” Meanwhile young Chinese men gather in bars where they pay $15 a minute to assault the waiters. Yes, you heard me correctly. Even more ominously, if the customer prefers, the waiter will dress in women’s clothing. No wonder ordinary Chinese are worried for the safety of their daughters!

It is hard to find a better example of the consequences that arise from defying the moral order that God has written into His creation. China thought it could create a harmonious society where every child was wanted; now unwanted men threaten its very stability.

China fears its own sons and worries about its daughters all because it followed a false worldview, ignoring God’s design.

The Obama's on Homosexual Marriage

They're for it. At least they are today. Here's the link to Michelle Obama's speech to a Gay and Lesbian group...

If elected, Barack Obama and his legislative cronies and judges could overturn 3,000 years of human law and history on marriage. I am not trying to scare anyone, but marriage as a the human icon of relationships would be changed forever.

In a blog last week, I mentioned what a vote for Obama would mean. One of those prognostications would be the advent of (and your acceptance of)gay marriage nation wide. Michelle Obama's statements confirm this troubling notion.

Arizona Legislature Vetoes Marriage Amendment

What's up in Arizona? Attempts to get a marriage amendment on the AZ state ballot was defeated yesterday.

Seems as though a key supporter of it was on vacation...Keep your fingers crossed that it will come back again. In light of the judicial fiat in California re gay marriage, state constitutional amendments are the firewall against homosexual marriages...

Here's the AZ story.

Colorado Dems Explain SB 200

State Rep. Bernie Buescher has a problem. You see, Rep. Buescher is a liberal Democrat representing a Republican state house district in Grand Junction. How he got into this position is another story. Often, Bernie will tell his constituents one thing in Grand Junction, yet will vote much differently with liberal Front Range Democrats at the Statehouse in Denver.

You might be interested to hear how Rep. Buescher explained his vote for SB 200, the new law the gives men the right to be in women's bathrooms....

Men using the women's bathroom?
Business owners believe discrimination bill crosses line
By By Emily Anderson
Grand Junction, CO Colorado,
GRAND JUNCTION — Allowing men in women’s bathrooms is not what Rep. Bernie Buescher, D-Grand Junction, envisioned when he voted for Senate Bill 200 in May.

A sign in front of Mike’s Auto has been telling drivers on North Avenue differently for more than a week.

The sign, reading “Bernie Buescher, Shame on you, Men in girl’s bathrooms,” refers to a new state law designed to prohibit discrimination based on a person’s religion or sexual orientation in several places, including “facilities.” “Facilities” include hotel and public accommodations, not bathrooms, Buescher said.

“It prohibits discrimination — it says nothing about men using women’s bathrooms,” Buescher said. “Should it be interpreted that way, I’d be the first to lead an effort to modify it.

“The use by the wrong person of a bathroom is illegal, it is still.”

The owners of Mike’s Auto, Mike and Susan Gregg, said they read about the bill on a citizen link on Focus on the Family’s Web site and believe “facilities” include bathrooms. Susan Gregg said she was outraged a transgender man might be allowed to use the same bathroom as her granddaughters.

“It opens the door to men that are transvestites, cross dressers, whatever,” Gregg said.

The sign went up June 11 and has already prompted a few phone calls, messages and caused a few people to pull over and drop into the store. Most of the comments are positive, said Gregg.

Orville Powders, a Mike’s Auto employee, said he’s taken about four calls a week since the sign went up. Callers are evenly split on the issue, Powders said.

“The ones that like it really like it, the ones that don’t like it really don’t like it,” he said.

Senate Bill 200 became law May 29. It passed the state House with a 38-26-1 vote and the Senate with a 20-15-0 vote. Grand Junction Republicans Rep. Steve King and Sen. Josh Penry voted against the act.

Jonah and Reaching Today's Ninevites

We all know about the fish that ate Jonah.

But there is much more to this fish story. Its a story that has a lot of modern-day application to the public square.

At the heart of the legendary Old Testament story is the ministry of Jonah. Other OT passages refer to Jonah as a prophet who lived around 750 B.C. The Jewish nation was divided between the Kingdoms of Israel and Judah. The ruling Israelite king was likely Jereboam II and it was time of prosperity and international influence. Yet, storm clouds were on the horizon. The rising power was the Assyrian Empire, home-based in Ninevah in modern day northern Iraq.

Throughout the entire saga of Jonah catching a ship for the far-side of world and being thrown overboard and swallowed by a fish, a couple of salient facts emerge which are relevant for us today in the public square. The story may be from antiquity but these principles are timeless.

First, God is creator of all. He has made the rightous and the unrightous. He brings rain and sun on them equally.

Second, as creator, He alone will determine each human's fate. To assume that God wants to eliminate someone for their political or social beliefs is presumptive.

Third, as creator, God has allowed human wickedness for centuries. While the issues are different, today's immoral and unrightous humans are no different than the Ninevites of Jonah's time.

Fourth, like Jonah, we need to be reminded that God's priority is not politics. God did not call Jonah to be a spectator at the destruction of Ninevah. Instead he called him to instigate a revival. God is not that concerned about one's political equation. He is more interested in one's spiritual condition.

Jonah's problem was inside of him. Like many Jews of the time, he believed that Yahweh God was Israel's alone, relegating wicked people like the Ninevites to destruction. God wanted to dismiss that prejudicial view.

There is an election in 4 months or so. Americans will line up on the right, left or in the middle. It is tempting to go down the path of wishing ill for our political opponents.

But would that be what God would want? In light of Jonah, the answer would be no.

More on SB 200-Its Bad!

Over the last several weeks, I have chronicled and commented on the signing and implementation of Senate Bill 200, soon to be the law in Colorado.

This is the worst piece of social legislation that I have seen in my years as a lobbyist at the state legislature.

Below are comments about SB 200 from my good friend, State Rep. Kevin Lundberg from Berthoud. Read it and weep. This law infuriates me....

"SB 200, which the governor signed despite thousands of calls urging a veto, adds sexual orientation to the list of groups covered under civil rights legislation. Governor Ritter has given assurances that SB200 will not force businesses to accept clients that compromise their moral standards, but from what I learned when we debated this bill in the House I know he is completely wrong. That is the very purpose of this far-reaching legislation!


Another troubling part of this law is the censorship it imposes on printed materials. The section banning anything published that condemns homosexual behavior could be applied to anything, even the Bible. I don't expect anyone to force this conclusion soon, but the law is so open-ended that a judge could use this law to censor the Bible and any other published information he finds objectionable.


Finally, SB200 stripped away the people's constitutional right to review this bill at the ballot box. They included a "safety clause", declaring that it was necessary for the law to take effect immediately for the "preservation of the public peace, health, and safety." This removes the people's constitutional right to demand a vote on the legislation. In my opinion this abuse of the constitutional rules for lawmaking should on its own make this law illegal. We might see if any judge has the courage to agree"

Pro-Life Plans to Demonstrate at DNC..

Its starting to heat up, that is with pro-life demonstrators. It will be interesting to see how Denver handles these protestors.

Here's the story.

Pray.

A Vote For Obama....

There is no need to wait any longer. Normally, I don't chime in about the presidential election until the dust settles from the conventions in September, the candidates pick their veeps and the 2 month, 24 hour a day sprint to the election begins.

But, here is my summary of what a vote for Obama will mean:

-More abortions.

-Lose the war in Iraq (so much for the 4100 or so Americans who died there).

-Higher taxes.

-Advocacy for gay marriage nationwide under the guise of civil rights.

-More government including government run health care.

-Higher gas prices.

-More intolerance of Christianity in the public square.

-More international confusion, ie will USA talk directly with the thugs in Havana, Tehran, etc?

-Unprecedented clout to the labor, education and other unions.

-Repeal of the Bush tax breaks.

And the best for last---daily doses of Obama's messianic commentary of "change we can believe in."

The Belly-Button Factor

For all the things that separate us as humans, one small item unites every human being- your belly button.

This year, Colorado voters will have a historic opportunity to define the beginning of life in the November election. Recently, our friends at Colorado Equal Rightssuccessfully placed a proposed constitutional amendment defining life on the November ballot.

Their goal: To see that the Colorado's state constitution is amended to include pre-born from the moment of fertilization as having their "person hood" clearly established, so that they may enjoy equal protection under the law.

We heartily endorse this measure for many reasons. The one that stands out though is this- life begets life. When life becomes cheap, society suffers. Recognizing and conferring person hood status on unborn humans validates life.

By the way, Psalms affirms unborn person hood. Check out Psalm 139:14-16...For you created my inmost being: you knit me together in my mother's womb. My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place. Your eyes saw my unformed body."

Teenage Disaster!

This story breaks my heart.

Rersearchers at the National Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recently released a new report that one in four teenage girls has a sexually transmitted disease. Here's the report. Read it and weep.

This report alone should stoke a parent uprising in our nation. What are we doing? What are we allowing our young people to do and experience? A generation ago, people winked and patted you on the back if you and your girlfriend visited the local "overlook" on Friday night. But, back then, there were very few nasty diseases one could catch. Today, the price for premarital sex could be your life.

Despite the self-promoting comments by abortion providers like Planned Parenthood, stating that the numbers reflect a failure of abstinence only education, the fact remains that a lot of young girls will be scarred for life.

What the reports fails to mention is the importance of parents in this battle. Parents need to be the main provider of sex information for their kids.

Obviously we are failing at this important issue.

California Gay Marriage Polls

The first of many polls measuring voter support for the California gay-marriage ban is in. With no surprises, the results are mixed.

I could be wrong, but I still believe that this voter referendum to reverse the California state supreme court's ruling last week to legalize gay marriage, will be successful in November.

You can bet though that we will see a lot of opposition to this citizen initiative from Hollywood and other anti-marriage forces in California as we head towards the election.

FYI. In California in 2000, 61 percent of the voters approved Proposition 22 which defined marriage between a man and a woman.

Your thoughts?

Great New Movie-Coming Soon

Facing the Giants in 2007 was one of our favorite movies.

Now, there is a new one coming soon, Fireproof.

Check it out here...