HopeForYourFamily

“The Golden Compass” may look fun, but it has a VERY SINISTER DARK SIDE! No surprise, since it is based on the first book in a bold atheist’s “His Dark Materials” trilogy.

I may very well be writing more about this in the coming weeks, as the release of “The Golden Compass” approaches. Folks, I don’t know what you’ve heard about this film which presents itself as a kid-friendly adventure, not unlike the fantastic world of Narnia. This one is bad news - very bad news! I would urge you not to go, not to let your kids go, persuade your friends and family not to go, and do the same with the books on which the movie is based. I know in the world of internet hoaxes, it is easy to tune out things such as this post, which may ring of conspiracy theory. Do what I do when you hear something along these lines, check it out on www.snopes.com. In fact, here is the specific link regarding this movie: http://snopes.com/politics/religion/compass.asp   Or check out this Wikipedia article about the “His Dark Materials” trilogy.  Here is the information straight from Snopes.com, which has proven true every time I have checked it:

“The Golden Compass, a fantasy film starring Nicole Kidman that is scheduled to be released into theaters on 7 December 2007, has been drawing fire from concerned Christians. The film is based on Northern Lights (released in the U.S. as The Golden Compass), the first offering in Philip Pullman’s His Dark Materials trilogy of children’s books, a series that follows the adventures of a streetwise girl who travels through multiple worlds populated by witches, armor-plated bears, and sinister ecclesiastical assassins to defeat the oppressive forces of a senile God.Books of the trilogy have sold more than 15 million copies around the world, with Northern Lights winning the Carnegie Medal for Children’s Literature in 1995 and in 2007 being awarded the ‘Carnegie of Carnegies’ for the best children’s book of the past 70 years. The Amber Spyglass, the final book of the series, won The Whitbread Prize in 2001, making it the first children’s book to do so.

The series’ author, Philip Pullman, is an avowed atheist who has averred that “I don’t profess any religion; I don’t think it’s possible that there is a God; I have the greatest difficulty in understanding what is meant by the words ’spiritual’ or ’spirituality.’” Critics of Pullman’s books point to the strong anti-religion and anti-God themes they incorporate, and although literary works are subject to a variety of interpretations, Pullman left little doubt about his intentions when he said in a 2003 interview that “My books are about killing God.” (Conservative British columnist Peter Hitchens labeled Pullman “The Most Dangerous Author in Britain” and described him as the writer “the atheists would have been praying for, if atheists prayed.”)”

Beginning in the upcoming November/December issue, I will be a regular columnist for Southern Families Magazine.  My column will be an “ask-the-expert” piece entitled “Hope For Your Family.“  It will include my email address so readers can submit questions for me to address in forthcoming issues of Southern Families.  I am impressed with this new magazine, which has a distribution throughout Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama, and would encourage you to become a regular reader.  It is available for subscription, or on free displays located at a growing number of locations throughout the region.  If you like it, be sure to recommend it to your pediatrician, doctor, hairstylist, or other such professionals who provide magazines in their waiting area.

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