HopeForYourFamily

I am excited to share with you about the beginning of a state-level association for Christian counselors in our great state of Louisiana!  Thanks so much to Joneal Kirby, Kevin Nieman, Gil Martin, Dianne Phillips, and the rest of the founding members of the LAACC for being faithful to the vision God has given you and working hard to lay a foundation upon which we can all begin building this great network for our state.  The LAACC was registered with the state in May of 2007, and already has a few dozen members.  We hope to grow rapidly as you help to spread the word.  The first big meeting will be held on Saturday, November 10 at Emmanuel Baptist Church fellowship hall in Alexandria from 9:30 am to 1:00 pm.  Please come to this inaugural meeting where we will be discussing plans for the future of our new association.  Please be sure to check the LAACC website for ongoing updates and information.

“Where Were You When The World Stopped Turning?” - Alan Jackson (Greatest Hits Volume II, 2003)

Where were you when the world stopped turning, on that September day? Were you in the yard with your wife and children, or working on some stage in LA? Did you stand there in shock at the sight of that black smoke rising against that blue sky? Did you shout out in anger, or fear for your neighbor, or did you just sit down and cry?

Did you weep for the children who lost their dear loved ones, pray for the ones who don’t know? Did you rejoice for the people who walked from the rubble, and sob for the ones left below? Did you burst out with pride for the Red, White, and Blue, and the heroes who died just doin’ what they do? Did you look up to Heaven for some kind of answer, and look at yourself and what really matters?

I’m just a singer of simple songs. I’m not a real political man. I watch CNN, but I’m not sure I can tell you the difference in Iraq and Iran. But I know Jesus, and I talk to God, and I remember this from when I was young: Faith, hope, and love are some good things He gave us, and the greatest is love.

Where were you when the world stopped turning, on that September day? Teaching a class full of innocent children, or driving down some cold interstate? Did you feel guilty cause you’re a survivor? In a crowded room did you feel alone? Did you call up your mother and tell her you love her? Did you dust off that Bible at home?

Did you open your eyes and hope it never happened? Close your eyes and not go to sleep? Did you notice the sunset for the first time in ages? Speak to some stranger on the street? Did you lay down at night and think of tomorrow? Go out and buy you a gun? Did you turn off that violent old movie you’re watchin’, and turn on I Love Lucy reruns? Did you go to a church and hold hands with some stranger? Stand in line and give your own blood? Did you just stay home and cling tight to your family? Thank God you had somebody to love?

I’m just a singer of simple songs. I’m not a real political man. I watch CNN, but I’m not sure I can tell you the difference in Iraq and Iran. But I know Jesus, and I talk to God, and I remember this from when I was young: Faith, hope, and love are some good things He gave us, and the greatest is love.

I’m just a singer of simple songs. I’m not a real political man. I watch CNN, but I’m not sure I can tell you the difference in Iraq and Iran. But I know Jesus, and I talk to God, and I remember this from when I was young: Faith, hope, and love are some good things He gave us, and the greatest is love.

The greatest is love.

The greatest is love.

Where were you when the world stopped turning, on that September day?

Forgiveness is an issue I must deal with on a frequent basis, because of my work as a marriage and family therapist. However, let’s face it - it is something we all must address at some point in our lives, probably many times throughout our lives. We live in a fallen world. We disappoint, hurt, and betray one another - spouses, family, friends, neighbors, enemies, co-workers, teammates, and any other relational context in which we find ourselves. And if we are to survive the human experience in any kind of healthy way, we must learn to forgive. Following are some of the things I have learned about the difficult and powerful process of forgiveness: (more…)

Liberty: “freedom from arbitrary or despotic control”

Despot: “a person exercising power tyrannically”

Tyranny: “oppressive power”

“The liberties of our country, the freedom of our civil Constitution, are worth defending at all hazards; and it is our duty to defend them against all attacks. We have received them as a fair inheritance from our worthy ancestors: they purchased them for us with toil and danger and expense of treasure and blood, and transmitted them to us with care and diligence. It will bring an everlasting mark of infamy on the present generation, enlightened as it is, if we should suffer them to be wrested from us by violence without a struggle, or to be cheated out of them by the artifices of false and designing men.” — Samuel Adams

“America will never be destroyed from the outside. If we falter and lose our freedoms, it will be because we destroyed ourselves.” — Abraham Lincoln

Freedom has its life in the hearts, the actions, the spirit of men and so it must be daily earned and refreshed - else like a flower cut from its life-giving roots, it will wither and die.  ~Dwight D. Eisenhower

Those who expect to reap the blessings of freedom, must, like men, undergo the fatigue of supporting it.  ~Thomas Paine

There are two freedoms - the false, where a man is free to do what he likes; the true, where he is free to do what he ought.  ~Charles Kingsley

But regarding anything beyond this, dear friend, go easy.  There’s no end to the publishing of books, and constant study wears you out so you’re no good for anything else.  The last and final word is this: Fear God.  Do what he tells you.  And that’s it.  Eventually God will bring everything that we do out into the open and judge it according to its hidden intent, whether it’s good or evil.  — Ecclesiastes 12:12-14 (The Message)

As you celebrate our national Independence Day today, may you:

Be blessed by, and grateful for, the tremendous freedoms we Americans enjoy at a tremendous price in courage, commitment, and blood…

Commit to standing up against tyranny in the world, regardless of the price of your personal sacrifice, whether across the seas or across the street, because it is the right thing to do and it is our national heritage…

And exercise your freedom with goodness, consideration, and respect, in view of God and your fellow man.

With Hope - Roger

I’m no economist. However, the solutions to rising gas prices that I am once again receiving in email forwards don’t seem to make economic sense to me. You’ve probably read them: “Let’s all boycott gas on this date!” “Don’t buy gas from the biggest companies!” etc. Instead, I recommend this: Check out one or more of the great low-gas-price websites each day before you go to fill up your tank - then buy the cheapest gas you can reasonably get. I’ve included some of the best links on the right column of my site under “Cheap Gas Links.” This way, you save money now, and use natural economic force to impact the bigger picture. But let’s not forget two other significant considerations. First of all, we pay far less for a tank of gas in the US than anywhere else in the world. Second, at some point we are all going to have to make other choices besides where to buy the cheapest gas - making less trips, carpooling, smaller vehicles, hybrid cars, bio-fuel, etc.  Basically, we are going to have to make some sacrifices and be inconvenienced - something we Americans don’t seem to do too well anymore.

With Hope,

Roger

My good friend, Blaine, the youth minister at our church, has informed me that I am the one out of the loop.  MySpace is still big, but Facebook is rapidly becoming the big boy on the online community block.

If you are not familiar with MySpace, you are out of the loop. If you are a parent of children under the age of 25 or so, and you are not familiar with MySpace…Do not pass Go. Do not collect $200. Stop right now and take time to get educated. A good parent tutorial is available through the National Institute on Media and the Family, a source I highly recommend for equipping parents and families on a wide range of media/family related issues. Another great resource for research based information and recommendations regarding families, entertainment, and health is the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation. A third excellent resource is the Center for Parent/Youth Understanding. But encouraging you to familiarize yourself with this huge online community is not really the point of today’s post. I want to share some reflections/lessons I have taken from my experience of MySpace (not actually having a MySpace page myself).

1. Our young people are desperate for relationships. Just look at the size of the “friends” list on the typical MySpace page, and how quickly it grows in the course of a month. Parents and other mentors, this is a great opportunity for us! Provided you approach them with a genuine love and acceptance for who they are, and a healthy respect for the importance of their friends in their lives, your children really are thirsty for a relationship with you. Don’t be intimidated by the electronic gadgetry of their lives. Be there.

2. Music is so personal and important in the lives of our young people. Spend any time navigating the waters of MySpace, and you will hear an amazing array of musical styles, themes, and expressions. Listen to the music. Hear the words of the songs (www.azlyrics.com is a helpful resource). Feel the emotions. Like it or not, this is the expression of their hearts and lives. Don’t just dismiss it or condemn it. Take it to heart, and let it lead you closer to the hearts of the young people you love.

3. Young people are willingly making their lives “open books.” The question is…will we invest the time it takes to read them?

4. Young people are spending vast amounts of time online. Look at how much work is put into MySpace pages, and how constant the dialog is on the message boards. Although I recognize there are multiple reasons for the growing obesity epidemic in America, particularly among young people, spending hours a day online has got to be a big factor.

5. Young people are creating their own world, language, and view of life - and it is a whole other reality from the general adult culture. For a much deeper, and not particularly pleasant, insight into this phenomenon, read “Hurt: Inside the World of Today’s Teenager” by Chap Clark.

6. YOUNG PEOPLE NEED YOU! There is no better place to invest your time and energy than in our children and adolescents - and you don’t have to stop with your own. They need us to be there for them, loving and guiding and accepting and challenging and believing in them. Many are literally dying for us to invest in them. When you have a few minutes, and you are ready to be inspired, check out www.makeadifferencemovie.com (OK, the music and narrator’s voice are a little cheesy and may remind you of “Deep Thoughts, by Jack Handy,” but don’t let that keep the story from inspiring you.)

With Hope - Always,

Roger