In Support of His Chosen...

Could we get real for just a minute?

All I’ve heard on the news today is how the US administration is coming “under fire” for its support of Israel in its fight against Hezbollah. How about we draw a quick analogy and see how that shoe fits?

Let’s say that Hezbollah equals Al Qaeda, Lebanon equals the United States and Israel equals Canada. Al Qaeda operatives have captured two Canadian soldiers and dragged them across the border to their hideout in the suburbs of Chicago. Canada responds with troops to rescue their own. Al Qaeda starts lobbing rockets back at Canada. Canada jumps in with air strikes. How long do you think this would go on before the US would want to have something to say about it? Maybe, what? … two SECONDS!! And would the US immediately demand an apology and monetary damages or would it send in US troops to route out the Al Qaeda cell? Whose side would we come down on?

Do you see my point? Lebanon, and for that matter, all the Arabian countries, have no problem sitting by while these terror organizations stockpile arms and blow up civilians, but when Israel finally has had enough and deals with the problem, instead of helping them get rid of the terrorists, these countries scream, “Injustice!” and “Unfair!” and “Slaughter of the Innocents!” Come on, people! Wake up and look at the real situation here! A few terrorists have signed the death warrants of thousands of innocent people and the media blames the weapon and not the terrorists that pulled the trigger!

OK, that’s it for my little rant. I really despise politics, and this is exactly why. It seems like no one has really looked at who the bad guy is here. In the end, none of it will matter anyway because when the Lord Jesus comes, it WILL end and the true and righteous judge will sort it all out. I can’t WAIT!!

I haven’t said much lately, but there’s a reason. Not an excuse. A reason.

Twenty years ago, I married the man that I intended to spend the rest of my life with. We were together for nearly 18 years before he moved out for the third (and I supposed, final) time. We went to court and were legally divorced. I won’t go into what happened or dredge up details of some difficult years because that would break a promise that I made (more on that in a minute). I will simply say that it was – to date – the most painful thing I’d ever been through. I even imagined that it was worse than if he’d died, because I had to watch him continue his life and his relationship with our kids without me. I reasoned that at least in death, there was no rejection.

Well here’s the reason I have been so quiet. Two weeks ago today, my ex-husband and I were remarried and the bulk of my time has been spent readjusting and reorganizing my entire life! Was this easy? No way! But we have both made a commitment to daily put down the old baggage and refuse to carry it. We have navigated slippery stepping stones until we both look at each day as a new opportunity to make a new life together, with Jesus Christ as the focus, not ourselves.

And therein lies the promise I made. I promised to forgive and never to bring up, or use as a weapon, anything bad or painful from our first 18 years together. Jesus said to pray, “forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors”. There doesn’t seem to be any wiggle room in that statement. We can’t keep bringing up and wallowing around in old hurts and yet say that we’ve forgiven someone. So, my husband has now made the same promise to me. He has promised to give me the same chance that he would give a brand new bride. This has been the hardest part of all – to look at him, not as the person that went on without me, but as the person that I love and trust. I’m sure the day will come when I think he’s Godzilla and the moment will happen when he thinks I’m the Wicked Witch of the West! But after all we’ve been through before, and with the strong relationship we’ve built with our Savior, I know that this time, things will be different.

Thanks to all the HCC members that buoyed me up and held me while I wept. And thanks to those that have been my angels of strength when I thought I was losing the battle. And thanks to those that counseled me when I needed to see things in a different light. God put you all in my path because He knew what I needed better than I did.

Now, duty calls….

Immigration (again)

I received the following in an email this morning. Two things stuck out. One was that the editor of the newspaper refused to print the letter, reflective of our liberal media and the second was the well phrased and articulate “then vs. now” argument. I have copied the entire text here because the lady makes some very strong points that explain why so many of us are angry about the illegal immigration issue. It is NOT because we don’t like “foreigners” but because it appears that illegals only want to reside here as long as they get a hand out and that they appear unwilling to work toward being a part of this country. The letter follows:

From: "David LaBonte"My wife, Rosemary, wrote a wonderful letter to the editor of the Orange County Register which, of course, was not printed. So, I decided to "print" it myself by sending it out on the Internet. Pass it along if you feel so inclined.
Dave LaBonte
(signed)

Written in response to a series of letters to the editor in the Orange County Register:

Dear Editor:

So many letter writers have based their arguments on how this land is made up of immigrants. Ernie Lujan for one, suggests we should tear down the Statute of Liberty because the people now in question aren't being treated the same as those who passed through Ellis Island and other ports of entry.

Maybe we should turn to our history books and point out to people like Mr. Lujan why today's American is not willing to accept this new kind of immigrant any longer.

Back in 1900 when there was a rush from all areas of Europe to come to the United States, people had to get off a ship and stand in a long line in New York and be documented. Some would even get down on their hands and knees and kiss the ground. They made a pledge to uphold the laws and supporttheir new country in good and bad times. They made learning English a primary rule in their new American households and some even changed their names to blend in with their new home.

They had waved good bye to their birth place to give their children a new life and did everything in their power to help their children assimilate into one culture. Nothing was handed to them. No free lunches, no welfare, no labor laws to protect them. All they had were the skills and craftsmanship they had brought with them to trade for a future of prosperity. Most of their children came of age when World War II broke out.

My father fought along side men whose parents had come straight over from Germany, Italy, France and Japan. None of these 1st generation Americans ever gave any thought about what country their parents had come from. They were Americans fighting Hitler, Mussolini and the Emperor of Japan. They were defending the United States of America as one people. When we liberated France, no one in those villages were looking for the French-American or the German-American or the Irish-American. The people of France saw only Americans.And we carried one flag that represented one country. Not one of those immigrant sons would have thought about picking up another country's flag and waving it to represent who they were. It would have been a disgrace to their parents who had sacrificed so much to be here. These immigrants trulyknew what it meant to be an American. They stirred the melting pot into one red, white and blue bowl.

And here we are in 2006 with a new kind of immigrant who wants the same rights and privileges. Only they want to achieve it by playing with a different set of rules, one that includes the entitlement card and a guarantee of being faithful to their mother country. I'm sorry, that's not what being an American is all about. I believe that the immigrants who landed on Ellis Island in the early 1900's deserve better than that for all the toil, hard work and sacrifice in raising future generations to create a land that has become a beacon for those legally searching for a better life.

I think they would be appalled that they are being used as an example by those waving foreign country flags.

And for that suggestion about taking down the Statute of Liberty, it happens to mean a lot to the citizens who are voting on the immigration bill. I wouldn't start talking about dismantling the United States just yet.

(signed)
Rosemary LaBonte

Better?

Today I got an email that said that a dear and close friend on the west coast will go through a divorce. After more than 25 years, this couple will just give up trying. They still love each other. Neither one of them wants this. But they have been deceived by our American culture into believing that somehow, they will be better off apart.

Each day, the Spirit shows me more deception. Women are led to believe that a “problem pregnancy” is easily terminated. She simply shows up for her appointment one day and the next day the “problem” is gone. She is told she will be better off without another mouth to feed.

The judges in our courts are deceived by the homosexual activists into believing that they somehow have the “right” to behave perversely or to live in a relationship that they refer to as a “marriage”. The judges then force this perversion on the rest of us and we have the choice to either accept them or face legal ramifications. We are told we will be a better society for our tolerance.

In the sixties, we were told that we could drop acid and enjoy a higher consciousness. Today the same lie is told to our youth who take ecstasy or play “rage”. Somehow, being high is supposed to be better than the simple pleasures of everyday life.

Intellectuals tell us that worship of God is only a crutch for the uneducated or unenlightened. They tell us that science is all that is needed to understand and explain our world. They try to convince us that the philosophy of men is better than the wisdom of God!

I pray today, dear Father, for all those that are deceived. They don’t know the absolute truth that is Your love for us. So great was that love that You sent Your Son to take the full measure of Your wrath upon Himself in our place. That is the truth that truly is better than anything else in this world!

We hold these truths...

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.

-- Declaration of Independence, 1776

We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.

-- Preamble, U. S. Constitution, 1787

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

-- First Amendment, Constitution, 1791

9But take heed lest by any means this liberty of yours become a stumbling block to them that are weak.

-- I Corinthians 8:9, A.D. 55

I will make no attempt to elaborate on any of the above except to express my opinion about how we must live in light of these great statements. We not only have the freedom and liberty to live out our lives as true followers of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we have the awesome responsibility to do so! Our freedom, bought with a price, measured in lives, not dollars, is to be exercised. We do not seek the establishment of our religion, but the freedom to express what we believe from the public squares on an equal footing with the atheists, Muslims and Jews that would seek to do the same. I have grown beyond weary of the ACLU and their attempts to eradicate Christ from our lives and our history. But, as Paul points out, we must take our liberty very seriously, so that my anger at those that would prevent the proclamation of Christ must not produce in me a behavior that would destroy His message. I believe that we, women of Christ, must be examples of charity, righteousness and love, but that we should NEVER back down from His truth.

May God make us thankful today that we were born here and give us all the strength to be responsible residents of this country as we travel through it, true citizens of Heaven!