On Will and Kate

AUTHOR JORDAN LORENCE - ADF SR. VP; SR. COUNSEL

ADF Senior Vice President; Senior Counsel - University Project

Many on the right are critical of the fawning over the Royal wedding ceremony for Prince William and his bride, Kate, broadcast around the globe today. They point to the American Revolution and our endeavors to shed the tyranny of the Crown, and they mock the stodginess of the Royals while noting the irony of several failed marriages among the recent crop from the House of Windsor - most notably, William’s parents.

But whatever one thinks of the Monarchy, in an increasingly pathetic MTV world - the ceremony today was extraordinary, and a good thing for the world to see. It was nothing short of impressive - timely, carried out with precision, dripping with military, christian and royal traditions. The music was magnificent - there were actual hymns rather than gaudy “praise music” rock bands, a church that looks like a church, and the participants and guests were dressed not just appropriately, but perfectly… The procession was extraordinary, with hand-sewn uniforms and white and black horses leading the carriages - the Union Jack lining the streets.

The event was broadcast to an estimated 2 billion people. And in my view - that is a good thing. It can hardly be bad - for whatever flaws of the people involved - to remind people through the broadcast of a high religious ceremony that Christ is Lord. It can hardly be bad to have 2 billion people hear a Christian reminder of the importance of marriage in furthering mankind. It can hardly be bad to remind people that for all its flaws, the Anglo-influence has indeed made the world a far better place. And it is hardly bad to remind people that tradition matters - that carrying ourselves the proper way matters.

While our President sends an iPod of his own speeches to the Queen, returns a bust of Winston Churchill, shares British nuclear serial numbers to the Russians and proclaims no better ally than France - the British carry on, broadcasting to the world that there is indeed a proper way to conduct business and a proper way to carry yourself as a leader of the free world. Perhaps it was no accident that the Obamas were not invited…

The Brits have more than their share of problems, but me thinks it is the Labour Party to blame and not the Monarchy. Today was a day for the British to be proud of the civilization they have built - and a civilization that shaped the world. A civilization that birthed America. Would that we be so lucky as to have any leader - at all - in this country to inspire us and to cause us to well up with pride.

Today, at least, I say God Save the Queen.

Isaiah's first Easter

Isn't he a peach!

JoyFul's new doo

Feisty comment of the week

We can no more control the climate by regulating fossil fuel use than we can control volcanic activity by sacrificing virgins!  


love that

C.S. Lewis quote of the week

And that is precisely what Christianity is about.  This world is a great sculptor's shop.  We are the statues and there is a rumour going round the shop that some of us are some day going to come to life. 

approaching the empty tomb of Easter

Lately my heart has felt like tenderized steak.  Pounded with one of those mallets that brings the meat to its knees.  I think its a good thing, a tender heart.  Tender children are malleable.  Easily taught, receptive to correction.  Obedience seems the least I can do.  To love the dear Lord Jesus.  To thank Him.  

MAESTRO JESUS

After listening to Dallas Willard's recommended wisdom of making Jesus The Maestro of our lives, I googled "Maestro Jesus" just for the hey of it.  This uTube came up.  Since I could not accurately read the Italian, I kept focused on the images which featured the Good Dear Lord "in the midst."  

Reminded me of the scene in "City of Angels" where Meg Ryan is overwrought after one of her patients inexplicably dies.  As she agonizes in the retreat of the hospital stairwell,  an angel appears to comfort the grieving doctor.  But she is unaware of the Comforter's presence.  


Tears floated when I first saw that scene.  I knew it was a close reflection of this reality:  "The Lord is in the midst; therefore we lack nothing."  If only the grieving doctor had known.  If only I know.  

The Mendacity of Barack Obama

The Mendacity of Barack Obama

Crash and burn for the sake of the Boys

Because the clamoring masses have inquired, here is the story:  Last weekend I went out to Kim0's for the world's most scrumptious dinner.  It's Kim0, after all, so all bets are off.  On the menu:  grilled tenderloin, seasoned fries, EVO/parmesan-sprinkled asparagus and for dessert - grab all women and children - Almond Joy on Steroids cake.  O my word!  Toss caution to the wind and never mind that my son's wedding is within grasp.  Thighs be damned, pass the cake!  

The boys were there ~ Caden & Sage and cousin Booker.  As they whirled around the substantial family estate, Caden/Sage took turns driving the newly-acquired dirt bike while Booker followed on the 4-wheeler.  "How fun is that!  I'd love to do that!" I mindlessly commented.  Then it happened!  Kim threw down the gauntlet:  "Do you want to take a spin on the dirt bike?  The boys would love it!"  I couldn't resist.

  

Caden strapped me into the helmet and offered a quick lesson in brakes and gears.  I forgot both.  But never mind, in the end when it came time to stop, the stacked boxes by the garage refrigerator stopped the trajectory.  It doesn't pay to show-off as you enter the garage!  Lesson learned.

The goodness of the boys was manifest when Sage hovered safely behind me, revving the 4-wheeler.  He could have zoomed around the pokey Gramma Care, but no, gentleMan that he is, offered protection as I spun around where angels fear.  All in all, it was a short-lived blast!   And now, after hearing the story, the True-blue Grandma Corinney is ready to swing her leg over the Bad Boy dirt bike!  She was last heard saying, "BRING IT ON, Sister!!!"  The gauntlet's been thrown!  May the best Grandma win!  


Dinner convo:
Booker:  "I've never known a Grandma who rode a dirt bike."  
After hearing the hefty mileage pumped last bike season, he said, "That was unexpected!!"  
me: "What do you mean?" I asked gasping for breath.  
B:  "I could only ride one or two miles." 
me:  "Yes, but you whip a mean 4-wheeler, Dude!"  

    

Blame game rings hollow

"The democrats are shameless. They held a majority in Congress for two years and failed to make a budget, not once, but twice. Now they're upset when someone tries to get spending under some form of control? Imagine going into a bank and asking for a business loan for your failing business. When the loan officer asks to see your budget, you tell him you haven't made a budget the last two years. How long do you think the loan officer will stare at you before he bursts out laughing and calls security to escort you out?"   cogent comment from American Thinker article

Why is common sense so uncommon? 
Why is lying through one's teeth accepted as the norm? 

Jesus’ Rhythm of Life

Jesus’ Rhythm of Life ~ excellent article.

Scripture of the day: "But godliness with contentment is great gain." I Timothy 6:6

Contentment:  I've always been.  Pretty much.  I love the rhythm of my life.  

Be still my soul

Isaiah Robert, pert-near 1-year old.
April 16, 2011.
How dear is he?

Absolutes vs post-modern nonsense

The rumor on the street is that there are no longer Absolutes.  Non-negotiable immutable bedrock Truth has fallen into hard times.  Apparently we've evolved past God-sourced Absolutes to "everyone doing what seems right in their own eyes."  (That was predicted in *Scripture, I believe.) 

Absolutes vs 'whatever' analogy:  

Once upon a time there was a factory worker who passed by a clockmaker's shop on his way to the factory.  Every day, assuming the accuracy of the large clock in the shop's window, the worker stopped to set his watch to the same time.  Accurate time was important to the factory worker because it was his responsibility to sound the factory alarm exactly at 4:00 to dismiss the employees.  

One day as the factory worker was setting his watch, the clockmaker noticed and asked what he was doing.  The worker said that his watch was not in good working order so everyday he needed to re-set it by the accurate shop clock on his way to work.  Upon hearing this, the shopkeeper began to chuckle.  "Why are you laughing?" inquired the factory worker.  The clockmaker explained that the large clock in the shop's window was broken as well so everyday the clock meister tuned the shop clock to exactly 4:00 p.m. when he heard the factory alarm dismiss the workers.   

Moral of the story: A precisely accurate timepiece was essential so that all clocks could be synchronized correctly.  


The importance of this Truth will someday be acknowledged by all.    

All may come

Pepperdine away from home

Always look low, front & center

or high

Good times with Sara, Marilyn and Janie in Heidelberg, Germany.  We lived there once.  Summer of 1972, after college graduation.  The beautiful city of Heidelberg with the Rhine running through also boasts one of Europe's largest castles.

miss me yet?

Yes

Beltway quote of the decade/century

"Hmmm, a $1.5 trillion budget deficit or a $61 billion cut.  In a multiple choice test, which one would you choose as “radical,” which as “extreme” and which as “nowhere near enough, you gutless morons?” This is really hard. No wonder Congress hasn’t been able to pass a budget yet."  Michelle's Mirror  


Should we blame the dat-gum teachers for not emphasizing the difference between  billion and trillion?  I'll take it on ~ Listen up!  A trillion is a lot more.  This is not Monopoly money.  It will bite our children and grandchildren to the off-key tune of interest-only equaling what we now budget for military spending.  That's a lot.  You heard it here first, for cryin' outloud!

Dog walks man

Reassuring to know who the Pack Leader is

 

Learning to listen

"The art and passion of reading well and deeply...depended upon people who were fanatical readers when they were small children." You see, the classics are difficult. They present "linguistic and cognitive" challenges for even an able mind. To be in a position to appreciate them takes a lifetime of reading at ever more challenging levels. Television, computers, and video games have destroyed this; it no longer exists in any quantitative capacity."  Matt Patterson, American Thinker article

Perhaps that is a wick on which GrandMa Care can blow.  Teaching the Wee Ones to listen.  Developing a palate for the finest music and literature ever created from the heart of God through the pen of man.