In Love... or Fresh Out of Love?

Yesterday, the news program I was watching reached a commercial, and as I began to flip through a few channels, one of the courtroom shows caught my attention. The episode that I tuned into was a divorce case between a husband and a wife that had been married for just under a year. The reason for filing for divorce was "We just weren't meant."

In new statistics just released, "One out of three Americans have been divorced at least once." George Barna, who directed the study, noted that Americans have grown comfortable with divorce as a natural part of life. We must ask ourselves the question: has this contentment always been a part of our society? It's almost impossible to partake of some type of media these days and not hear of a relationship on the rocks or a marriage that has ended in shambles.

"There no longer seems to be much of a stigma attached to divorce; it is now seen as an unavoidable rite of passage....Interviews with young adults suggest that they want their initial marriage to last, but are not particularly optimistic about that possibility. There is also evidence that many young people are moving toward embracing the idea of serial marriage, in which a person gets married two or three times, seeking a different partner for each phase of their adult life."

So, where do we go from here? What are your views on divorce?

• What effects do divorces have on society?
• Is it biblical to divorce? If so, on what grounds?
• Do you believe in soul mates?
• A divorce can be quite devastating. Is there life after divorce?
  

The New Abortion Trend

There seems to have arisen a new trend concerning the topic of abortion in our nation. Just recently, in an Associated Press report, a woman arrived "in flip-flops and in tears" at an abortion clinic after walking for over an hour to get there. She was there to have her fourth child aborted after her boyfriend lost his job. It was reported that the woman originally desired to have the child, as she had previously received prenatal care, but in review of their budget and expenses, they decided not to have the baby.

It's a heart-wrenching story, but it is the latest trend in our country. As pro-choice and pro-life advocates are at different ends of the spectrum concerning their stances on abortion, could anyone have seen this coming? The recent trend is that individuals are having abortions because of the turn in the nation's economy.

Just the other week, there was a British official named Jonathan Porritt, who said it was his desire to cut his country's population in half for the sake of the environment. Even though there might be a scarcity of economic resources, is it o.k. to delete the lives of humans to ensure a better quality of living?

• How does this new trend affect your stance on being pro-life or pro-choice?
  
• What are your views concerning abortion?
  
• What measures do you believe need to be enacted to bring closure to this new trend? Or is it something that should take place in our nation?
  

God-Proofing Schools?

The Lakeview Elementary
School in Nashville,
Tennessee is the latest
example of God-
proofing within the
school system.

In a yearly event,
"See You at the Pole"
there were hand drawn
posters created by the
students and their families,
that school official ordered
to be altered. The school
officials ordered for the
messages on the posters
"Bless God in the U.S.A"
and "In God We Trust" to
be covered up before they
could be displayed
throughout the hallways.

The Alliance Defense Fund Attorneys
filed a lawsuit on the behalf of the parents
and students at Lakeview Elementary
School there in Wilson County. The lawsuit
states that the schools actions violates the
14th Amendment due process and the
Establishment Clause.

It was not many years ago that Madalyn Murray O'Hair
said that she didn't want prayer in the schools and the
world witnessed that in 1962 prayer was abolished from
the School System within the United States of America.

What is your stance on this subject? Should the words
"In God We Trust" and "Bless God in the U.S.A." be
allowed to be posted within our schools?

My Valentine

My wife and I flew out to New York City for business.
While in New York we took some time to relax at Times
Square. I wanted her to know that she is my one and only
valentine. I hope she reads this, I might get a few brownie
points!

By the way, this picture was taken at 3:30 a.m. This is
way too late for us to be up! We are usually under the
bed by 10:00 p.m. but somehow we're still vibrant and smiling.

Foundation Is Important

This past week I had the wonderful privilege of being a part of a celebration in my sons classroom. Every year on the 100th day of school each father is invited to spend an hour
with their child doing various projects.

My son and I worked on building a structure with marshmallows and toothpicks. As we began to build the building we noticed that the higher we desired to build, the more foundation we needed. In order for our building to actually stand we had to spend most of our time on the foundation, and just got a few moments to build the actual building.

A thought to remember: Private preparation is essential for great public accomplishment.