Sixth, do your grieving now. With all losses there are many emotions: hurt, depression, anger, guilt, and grief—all of which need to be understood, faced and resolved so they won't become a permanent pattern. Find a safe person to share your thoughts and feelings with. Don't put walls around your negative feelings because that will block out your positive feelings as well. A vital part of the healing process is to weep and even sob out your grief. As Jesus said, "Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted."1

Seventh, forgive to be free. It may take a while, but you need to be growing toward forgiveness of your ex-mate. Failing to forgive keeps you bound to the past. As another has said, "Failing to forgive is like drinking poison and waiting for the other person to die." We can't rush forgiveness and you will need to work through your hurt and anger before you are able to forgive. But ultimately it is imperative that you forgive if you are going to recover fully. If you don't, you will take your negative emotions into all future close relationships. It also helps to hand your failures over to God and ask his forgiveness for your part in the marriage breakup. Only then can you profit from your difficult experience.

Eighth, let go of the past. I've worked with people who were divorced as long as twenty years ago and were still hanging onto the fantasy that their ex-spouse would return—even though he or she had remarried. You cannot move ahead with your future life until you let go of your past.

Ninth, guard against a rebound. Rushing into another romantic relationship too soon can cause you to avoid dealing with your pain and the causes of your marriage breakup. If you marry too soon, you are almost destined to repeat your past mistakes. You need time to mourn your losses well and begin to grow in a positive direction before you start another intimate relationship.

If you marry too soon, you are almost
destined to repeat your past mistakes.

Tenth, get into a support group. At times of loss none of us can make it alone. We weren't meant to. We need to be connected to safe, supportive, accepting, and non-judgmental people. We were hurt in hurtful relationships and are healed in wholesome, healthy relationships. The Bible says, "God sets the lonely in families."2 He does this through other people and sometimes the closest thing we can get to a healing family is a small support group.

Eleventh, realize that failure is never final and that the only real failure is the failure to learn and grow through our past difficulties.

Twelfth, let God teach you. Any failure, including divorce, can be "God's wakeup call" to show us that we need to make some major changes in our lives. Pray especially that God will show you the truth of what you contributed to your marriage breakup, why you were attracted to the person you married in the first place, and what you can do differently in the future. What we don't resolve we are destined to repeat.

Finally, remember that no matter how difficult your situation, God loves you and wants to make you whole. As his Word says, "Whenever you face trials of many kinds ... you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything."3

Be patient with yourself and know that with God's help, time, the support of safe friends, and working through the recovery process you can find healing from your hurt and a greater measure of spiritual, emotional and relational wholeness

Like a biting arctic wind, Roger's note stung bitterly and cut deeply into Ruth's heart. From outward appearances Roger and Ruth's twenty-eight year marriage seemed to be reasonably happy and secure. One afternoon, however, after a seemingly pleasant lunch together, Ruth returned home, to find this note on her pillow:

"Dearest Ruth, you have been a wonderful wife and mother. I could never have asked for anything more." After more flowery compliments, Roger continued, "But I'm in love with another woman. I've left home. You will hear from my lawyer very soon."

Ruth was devastated. It took several days to get over the initial shock so that she could even cry. She pleaded with Roger to come home, but her pleas fell on deaf ears. She was left with divorce papers, shattered dreams and a broken heart. Sadly, Ruth's experience is being repeated many times every day. Every year in the United States there are two divorces for every four marriages.

Divorce is one of the most painful experiences any family can experience. It's not only the death of a marriage, but also the death of dreams and hopes. It cuts at our deepest fears of being abandoned and unlovable, and it destroys years of invested love and caring. Divorce can be even more painful than the loss of love through physical death which at least has finality to it and may often have been unpreventable. Where children are involved, divorce has even wider devastating effects.

A broken arm takes several weeks to heal.
Broken hearts take much longer.

Of one thing we can be sure, however. Even though God hates divorce (as well as everything else that is harmful to people), he loves divorced people and families and wants them to be healed and made whole. Recovery may not be easy but it beats staying in the valley of despair.

As one recently divorced mother told me, "I didn't even know where to begin. I had to rethink absolutely everything in my life—my home, a job, my identity, my friends, my relationship with my children, and my relationship with God. I had to start all over." If you have experienced the tragedy of divorce, you can take several steps to start working through that difficult experience and, in time, you may even find that God has used that trial to make you a healthier, happier person.

First, acknowledge your loss. After the initial shock it's tempting to go into denial by refusing to face the reality of what has happened or by burying your feelings of hurt, anger and grief. The first step to recovery is to face the reality of your failed marriage and be truly honest with how you feel about it.

Second, accept your pain as normal. Don't run from it. Pain is God's way of telling us something is broken and needs fixing. Whether a broken arm or a broken heart, the pain reminds us that we need to take proper care of ourselves.

Third, realize that this, too, will pass. If you have recently gone through divorce you may think that life is over and that you will never love again. But if you commit yourself to getting through it, in time the pain will pass and you can become a healthier and more mature person—able to love and trust again if that is God's will for you.

Fourth, don't waste your pain, invest it. Put your pain to work and allow it to motivate you to grow and become a healthier person. Then, once you have progressed, you may be able to support others who are going through similar experiences. Help them see that they, too, can survive and become happier, healthier persons.

Fifth, give yourself time to heal. It takes time to face your pain, to begin again in single life, and come to understand what went wrong. A broken arm takes several weeks to heal. Broken hearts take much longer—but not forever. It usually takes at least a year to make significant progress in working through the impact of divorce. However, if you haven't resolved your pain after say two years, chances are that something is keeping you stuck. If this is the case, I suggest getting professional counsel to help you resolve your loss and work through the recovery process.

Innes

Sounds like 'lib scare' bs to me.

Don't be irreplaceable, if you can't be replaced, you can't be promoted

Upon entering the little country store, tthe man noticed a sign saying, "Danger! Beware of the Dog!" posted on the glass door. Inside he noticed a harmless old hound dog asleep on the floor beside the cash register.

He asked the store manager, "Is that the dog folks are supposed to beware of?"

"Yep, that's him," he replied.

The stranger couldn't help but be amused. "That certainly doesn't look like a dangerous dog to me. Why in the world would you post that sign?"

"Because," said the owner, "before I posted that sign people kept tripping over him."

In a message dated 7/19/2007 11:31:02 A.M. Central Daylight Time, DebbiePhel writes:

>
By an Anonymous 2nd grade teacher

I've been teaching now for about fifteen years. I have two kids myself, but the best birth story I know is the one I saw in my own second grade classroom a few years back.

When I was a kid, I loved show-and-tell. So I always have a few sessions with my students. It helps them get over shyness and usually, show-and-tell is pretty tame. Kids bring in pet turtles, model airplanes, pictures of fish they catch, stuff like that. And I never, ever place any boundaries or limitations on them. If they want to lug it in to school and talk about it, they're welcome.

Well, one day this little girl, Erica, a very bright, very outgoing kid, takes her turn and waddles up to the front of the class with a pillow stuffed under her sweater.

She holds up a snapshot of an infant. "This is Luke, my baby brother, and I'm going to tell you about his birthday."

"First, Mom and Dad made him as a symbol of their love, and then Dad put a seed in my Mom's stomach, and Luke grew in there. He ate for nine months through an umbrella cord."

She's standing there with her hands on the pillow, and I'm trying not to laugh and wishing I had my camcorder with me. The kids are watching her in amazement.

"Then, about two Saturdays ago, my Mom starts saying and going, 'Oh, Oh,
Oh, Oh !' Erica puts a hand behind her back and groans. "She walked around
the house for, like an hour, 'Oh, oh, oh!' (Now this kid is doing a
hysterical duck walk and groaning.)

"My Dad called the middle wife. She delivers babies, but she doesn't have a
sign on the car like the Domino's man. They got my Mom to lie down in bed like this." (Then Erica lies down with her back against the wall.)

"And then, pop! My Mom had this bag of water she kept in there in case he
got thirsty, and it just blew up and spilled all over the bed, like
psshhheew!" (This kid has her legs spread with her little hands miming
water flowing away. It was too much!)

"Then the middle wife starts saying 'push, push,' and 'breathe, breathe.
They started counting, but never even got past ten. Then, all of a sudden,
out comes my brother. He was covered in yucky stuff that they all said it
was from Mom's play-center, so there must be a lot of toys inside there."

Then Erica stood up, took a bi g theatrical bow and returned to her seat.
I'm sure I applauded the loudest. Ever since then, when it's show-and-tell
day, I bring my camcorder, just in case another "Middle Wife" comes along.

ANGOLA, Ind. (UPI) -- Paying for college got a whole lot easier for Indiana waitress Jessica Osborne when one of her regular customers recently slid her a $10,000 tip.

Osborne, 20, says she lost her breath on a recent Friday when she opened the envelope the customer gave her and saw all the zeros after the $1, ABC News reports. It was amazing, said Osborn, who works at the Pizza Hut in Angola, Ind.

The customer, who asked that only her first name Becky be used, said she recently had received a large settlement following the deaths of her husband and eldest daughter in a traffic accident and she wanted to do something special for the pleasant young woman who waited on her family.

She was sweet and bright and cheerful and never complained, Becky said. She was just a sweet waitress.

The money couldn't have come at a better time. Osborne has had financial troubles that had forced her to withdraw from college. Now she will be able to use the textbooks she had kept in the trunk of her car.

It's unbelievable. It doesn't happen to people every day, she said. I mean, I work at Pizza Hut!




Copyright 2007 by United Press International

BAGHDAD - The U.S. command announced on Wednesday the arrest of an al-Qaida leader it said served as the link between the organization's command in Iraq and Osama bin Laden's inner circle, enabling it to wield considerable influence over the Iraqi group.

The announcement was made as the White House steps up efforts to link the war in Iraq to the Sept. 11, 2001 terror attacks, with a growing number of Americans opposing the Iraq conflict. Some independent analysts question the extent of al-Qaida's role in Iraq.

Khaled Abdul-Fattah Dawoud Mahmoud al-Mashhadani was the highest-ranking Iraqi in the al-Qaida in Iraq leadership when he was captured July 4 in Mosul, U.S. military spokesman Brig. Gen. Kevin Bergner said.

Bergner told reporters that al-Mashhadani carried messages from bin Laden, and his deputy Ayman al-Zawahri, to the Egyptian-born head of al-Qaida in Iraq, Abu Ayyub al-Masri.

"There is a clear connection between al-Qaida in Iraq and al-Qaida senior leadership outside Iraq," Bergner said.

He said al-Mashhadani had told interrogators that al-Qaida's global leadership provides "directions, they continue to provide a focus for operations" and "they continue to flow foreign fighters into Iraq, foreign terrorists."

The relationship between bin Laden and the al-Qaida in Iraq leadership has long been the subject of debate. Some private analysts believe the foreign-based leadership plays a minor role in day-to-day operations.

Analysts have also questioned U.S. military assertions that al-Qaida in Iraq is the main threat to U.S. forces here.

Former Pentagon analyst Anthony Cordesman quoted a background brief by U.S. military experts in Iraq this month that said al-Qaida in Iraq was responsible for only 15 percent of the attacks here in the first half of 2007.

Even before al-Mashhadani's arrest, U.S. military officials have insisted that links exist between the local al-Qaida group and the bin Laden clique. From time to time, officials have released captured letters indicating a flow of policy instructions to the group's commanders in Iraq.

Although numerous armed groups operate here, al-Qaida in Iraq's signature attacks — high-profile truck bombings against civilian targets — were largely responsible for unleashing the wave of sectarian slaughter last year that transformed the character of the conflict, U.S. officials say.

"What we've learned from not just from the capture of al-Mashhadani but from other al-Qaida operatives is that there is a flow of strategic directions of prioritization, of messaging and other guidance that comes from al-Qaida senior leadership to the al-Qaida in Iraq leadership," Bergner said.

Al-Qaida in Iraq was proclaimed in 2004 by Jordanian-born Abu Musab al-Zarqawi. He led a group called Tawhid and Jihad, responsible for the beheading of several foreign hostages, whose final moments were captured on videotapes provided to Arab television stations.

Al-Zarqawi posted Web statements declaring his allegiance to bin Laden and began using the name of al-Qaida in Iraq. Al-Zarqawi was killed in a U.S. airstrike in Diyala province in June 2006 and was replaced by al-Masri.

Although al-Qaida in Iraq's rank-and-file are mostly Iraqis, the Iraqi group's top leadership is dominated by foreigners, Bergner said. That includes al-Masri, who joined an al-Qaida forerunner in Egypt in the 1980s and later helped train fighters who drove the Soviet army from Afghanistan.

Pointing to the foreign influence within al-Qaida in Iraq could undermine support for the organization among nationalistically minded Iraqis, including some in insurgent groups that have broken with al-Qaida.

In an effort to give al-Qaida an Iraqi face, Bergner said al-Mashhadani and al-Masri established a front organization known as the Islamic State of Iraq, which the general described as "a virtual organization in cyberspace."

In Web postings, the Islamic State of Iraq has identified its leader as Abu Omar al-Baghdadi, a name indicating Iraqi origin, with the Egyptian al-Masri as minister of war. There are no known photos of al-Baghdadi.

Bergner said al-Mashhadani had told interrogators that al-Baghdadi is a "fictional role" created by al-Masri and that an actor with an Iraqi accent is used for audio recordings of speeches posted on the Web.

"In his words, the Islamic State of Iraq is a front organization that masks the foreign influence and leadership within al-Qaida in Iraq in an attempt to put an Iraqi face on the leadership of al-Qaida in Iraq," Bergner said.

Proclamation of the Islamic State is widely seen as a blunder by al-Qaida because it alienated independently minded insurgent groups that opposed the religious zealots' goal of an Islamic caliphate.

Fearing they would be marginalized by al-Qaida, Sunni sheiks and insurgent leaders began turning against the terror movement, in some cases cooperating with U.S. forces, notably in Anbar province.

White House spokesman Tony Snow told a news conference Wednesday that he didn't know why news of al-Mashhadani's arrest was withheld for two weeks. He dismissed a suggestion that the timing was linked to the Senate debate over withdrawing U.S. troops from Iraq.

Also Wednesday, the U.S. military said three American soldiers were killed the day before in separate bombings in the capital. Two were killed in west Baghdad and another died in east Baghdad, the military said.

Four other Americans were wounded in the east Baghdad blast, the command said. Two insurgents responsible for the attack were identified, engaged and killed, the statement added.

At least 12 people were killed Wednesday in a series of bombings in mostly Shiite areas of eastern Baghdad. Seven of them died in two back-to-back bombings near a gas station in the Amin district, police said.

Eight civilians were killed when gunmen opened fire in the city of Khalis, a Shiite enclave in a mostly Sunni area 50 miles north of Baghdad, police said.

CNN's Michael Ware said in a broadcast Jan. 30 that Ramadi is "the true al Qaida national headquarters." If that were true, al Qaida is in bigger trouble in Iraq than most of us realize.

Radio talk show host Hugh Hewitt devoted his show last Wednesday to the (overwhelmingly negative) opinions of Iraq war veterans on the demands of Democrats that U.S. troops be pulled out. One call was from "Bruce in Upland," whose son is a soldier currently serving in Iraq.

"I will speak for my son who right now is bored out of his mind in Ramadi, because he hasn't heard a shot fired in combat now in about six or seven weeks," Bruce said.

There were about 22 enemy incidents per week in Ramadi in April, said Marine Major Jeff Pool. That's declined to "about two per week." (An enemy incident is any type of direct or indirect fire, from a sniper to a mortar or an IED attack.) Throughout Anbar province, the number of "incidents" has dropped from about 400 last December to 155 last week, said Maj. Pool, the public affairs chief for U.S. forces in western Iraq.

"Though these numbers are a substantial drop, I believe them to be artificially high," Maj. Pool said. The increased operational tempo resulting from the troop surge has increased exposure to the enemy as it has increased the number of al Qaida operatives killed or captured, he said.

"Anbar is returning to a state of normalcy, so I consider the soldier in Ramadi being bored a true measure of progress," he said.

A lot of things have changed since Mr. Ware did that interview with Anderson Cooper. But he was wrong even then.

In October of 2006, al Qaida declared Baquba to be the capital of the Islamic State in Iraq, and claimed to control both Anbar province (of which Ramadi is the capital), and Diyala province, of which Baquba is the capital).

So how are things faring for al Qaida in its new capital? About as poorly as in Ramadi, says Michael Yon, a former Green Beret turned freelance journalist who is embedded with U.S. forces.

"It's really slowed down here in Baquba," Mr. Yon told Mr. Hewitt in a telephone interview Thursday. "I was just in the TOC (tactical operations center) about 15 minutes before I came on the show, and they were like the Maytag repairmen here."

U.S. intelligence thought there were about 1,000 al Qaida in Baquba when Operation Arrowhead Ripper began June 19. Those who haven't fled have been killed or captured.

The smaller part of the reason for the dramatic improvement in Ramadi and Baquba is the change in strategy embodied by the surge. The larger part is the change of heart of most of al Qaida's former allies.

Mr. Yon was with U.S. troops in the Spring of 2005, when they fought insurgents in the Baquba suburb of Buhritz. Among "the most proficient at killing our people," he said, were the 1920s Revolution Brigades.

In April the 1920s Revolution Brigades attacked al Qaida and asked for U.S. help. Last week Mr. Yon returned to Buhritz with a leader of the group, "Abu Ali."

Mr. Yon asked Abu Ali why his group switched sides. "Al Qaida is an abomination of Islam," he replied. "Cutting off heads, stealing peoples money, kidnapping...every type of torture they have done."

Sheikh Abdul Sattar al Rishawi, founder of the Anbar Salvation Council, gave similar reasons for his change of allegiance.

When al Qaida ran Baquba, it would amputate the two fingers used to hold a cigarette of any Iraqi caught smoking. Men who refused to grow beards were beaten, as were women for the "sexually suggestive" behavior of carrying tomatoes and cucumbers in the same bag, Mr. Yon said. He recounted finding the bodies of beheaded children.

Al Qaida's brutality has alienated the overwhelming majority of Sunnis as well as the Shias who were the primary targets of its attacks. When the U.S. can provide them with protection, ordinary people are turning on al Qaida with a vengeance.

Most of al Qaida's leaders and many of its foot soldiers escaped from Baquba, and probably will try to establish another "capital" elsewhere. But they're running out of places to go.

"They can't go south to (overwhelmingly Shia) Basra," Mr. Yon told Mr. Hewitt. "There are only a few places they can go to in Anbar, and these are drying up. There's fewer places in Diyala, and what's left is drying up. They certainly can't go to the Kurdish regions, because they will be killed."

Mr. Yon said he expects al Qaida to focus on Mosul, capital of Ninevah province in Iraq's northwest. "But the Iraqi security forces up there are pretty well advanced, and they can hold their own now," he added.

I may never see tomorrow
there's no written guarantee
and things that happened yesterday
belong to history

I cannot predict the future
I cannot change the past
I have just the present moment
I must treat it as my last

I must use the moment wisely
for it will soon pass away
and be lost forever
as part of yesterday

I must exercise compassion
help the fallen to their feet
be a friend to the friendless
make an empty life complete

The unkind things I do today
may never be undone
any friendships that I fail to win
may nevermore be won

I may not have another chance
on bended knee to pray,
and I thank God with humble heart
for giving me the day.

Terror threat against U.S. said serious By KATHERINE SHRADER and ANNE FLAHERTY, Associated Press Writers
5 minutes ago



The terrorist network Al-Qaida will likely leverage its contacts and capabilities in Iraq to mount an attack on U.S. soil, according to a new National Intelligence Estimate on threats to the United States.

The declassified key findings, to be released publicly on Tuesday, were obtained in advance by The Associated Press.

The report lays out a range of dangers — from al-Qaida to Lebanese Hezbollah to non-Muslim radical groups — that pose a "persistent and evolving threat" to the country over the next three years. As expected, however, the findings focus most of their attention on the gravest terror problem: Osama bin Laden's al-Qaida network.

The report makes clear that al-Qaida in Iraq, which has not yet posed a direct threat to U.S. soil, could become a problem here.

"Of note," the analysts said, "we assess that al-Qaida will probably seek to leverage the contacts and capabilities of al-Qaida in Iraq (AQI), its most visible and capable affiliate and the only one known to have expressed a desire to attack the homeland."

The analysts also found that al-Qaida's association with its Iraqi affiliate helps the group to energize the broader Sunni Muslim extremist community, raise resources and recruit and indoctrinate operatives — "including for homeland attacks."

National Intelligence Estimates are the most authoritative written judgments of the 16 spy agencies across the breadth of the U.S. government. These agencies reflect the consensus long-term thinking of top intelligence analysts. Portions of the documents are occasionally declassified for public release.

The White House brushed off critics who allege the administration released the intelligence estimate at the same time the Senate is debating Iraq. White House press secretary Tony Snow pushed back at the critics Tuesday, saying they are "engaged in a little selective hearing themselves to shape the story in their own political ways."

"We don't keep it on the shelf and say `Let's look for a convenient time,'" Snow said.

"We're trying to remind people is that this is a real threat. This is not an attempt to divert. As a matter of fact ... we would much rather — one of the things we'd like to do is call attention to the successes in the field" in Iraq, he said.

House Republican leader Rep. John Boehner of Ohio said the report confirms gains made by Bush and blamed Democrats for being too soft on terrorism.

"Retreat is not a new way forward when the safety and security of future generations of Americans are at stake," he said in a statement.

The new report echoed statements made by senior intelligence officials over the last year, including the assessment of spy agencies that the country is in a "heightened threat environment." It also provided new details on their thinking and concerns.

For instance, the report says that worldwide counterterrorism efforts since 2001 have constrained al-Qaida's ability to attack the U.S. again and convinced terror groups that U.S. soil is a tougher target.

But, the report quickly adds, analysts are concerned "that this level of international cooperation may wane as 9/11 becomes a more distant memory and perceptions of the threat diverge."

Among the report's other findings:

_Al-Qaida is likely to continue to focus on high-profile political, economic and infrastructure targets to cause mass casualties, visually dramatic destruction, economic aftershocks and fear. "The group is proficient with conventional small arms and improvised explosive devices and is innovative in creating new capabilities and overcoming security obstacles."

_The group has been able to restore key capabilities it would need to launch an attack on U.S. soil: a safe haven in Pakistan's tribal areas, operational lieutenants and senior leaders. U.S. officials have warned publicly that a deal between the Pakistani government and tribal leaders allowed al-Qaida to plot and train more freely in parts of western Pakistan for the last 10 months.

_The group will continue to seek weapons of mass destruction — chemical, biological or nuclear material — and "would not hesitate to use them."

_Lebanese Hezbollah, a Shiite Muslim extremist group that has conducted anti-American attacks overseas, may be more likely to consider attacking here, especially if it believes the United States is directly threatening the group or its main sponsor, Iran.

_Non-Muslim terrorist groups probably will attack here in the next several years, although on a smaller scale. The judgments don't name any specific groups, but the FBI often warns of violent environmental groups, such as Earth Liberation Front, and others.

The publicly disclosed judgments, laid out over two pages, are part of a longer document, which remains classified. It was approved by the heads of all 16 intelligence agencies on June 21.

In the last week, reports on this document and another threat assessment on al-Qaida's resurgence have renewed the debate in Washington about whether the Bush administration is on the right course in its war on terror, particularly in Iraq.

The White House has used the reports as evidence that the country must continue to go after al-Qaida in Iraq, Afghanistan and elsewhere. But critics say the evolving threat is evidence of a policy gone wrong.

The debate — and the underlying global problem — will not go away soon.

The high-level estimate notes that the spread of radical ideas, especially on the Internet, growing anti-U.S. rhetoric and increasing numbers of radical cells throughout Western countries indicate the violent segments of the Muslim populations is expanding.

"The arrest and prosecution by U.S. law enforcement of a small number of violent Islamic extremists inside the United States ... points to the possibility that others may become sufficiently radicalized that they will view the use of violence here as legitimate," the estimate said. "We assess that this internal Muslim terrorist threat is not likely to be as severe as it is in Europe, however."

A mother asked President Bush, "Why did my son have to die in Iraq?"

Another mother asked President Kennedy, "Why did my son have to die in Vietnam ?"

Another mother asked President Truman, "Why did my son have to die in Korea ?

Another mother asked President F.D. Roosevelt, "Why did my son have to die at Iwo Jima ?"

Another mother asked President W. Wilson, "Why did my son have to die on the battlefield of France ?"

Yet another mother asked President Lincoln, "Why did my son have to die at Gettysburg ?"

And yet another mother asked President G. Washington, "Why did my son have to die near Valley Forge ?"

Then long, long ago, a mother asked...
"Heavenly Father, why did my Son have to die on a cross outside
of Jerusalem ?"

The answers to all these are similar---"So that others may have life and dwell in peace, happiness and freedom."

I find the great thing in this world is not so much where we stand, as in what direction we are moving: To reach the port of heaven, we must sail sometimes with the wind and sometimes against it - but we must sail, and not drift, nor lie at anchor.

- Oliver Wendel Holmes

Right on....

About 3/4 of the victims were killed with guns, I guess that's the easiest way. People were killing people long before we had guns...so lets see, that leaves drugs, poverty and racism.
Can't get rid of drugs, too much money there. Jesus said we'll always have poverty. Racism, what would the liberal politicians do with out the 'race card'???

We are still free...but we are not safe...regularly hear of home invasions, carjacking and all kinds of violence.
An 80 year old veteran was mugged, by a 20-22 yr.old man, in the VA hospital in Memphis one day last week. The vet fought, but still lost his billfold.
As to the 'war'in Iraq, I have mixed feelings but I do think that we should, since we are there, finish it.
As for the news media...don't get me going...I'll say this, I believe we would have gotten Ben Ladin early on, were it not for the media.

Thanks for posting this.
You have new life, thanks to Christ.
Walk on.
Peace