BACKWARDS BILL---LIVES WAY UP ON BACKWARDS HILL

Conan O'Brien reported this little news blurb: "The Washington Post reports that Sen. Hillary Clinton is trying to win the Democratic nomination by reaching out to women. After hearing this, Bill Clinton said, 'Oh sure, when she does it, it's OK.'"

Blessings,
Tom

SHOW YOURSELF A MAN

"When David's time to die drew near, he charged Solomon his son, saying, 'I am about to go the way of all the earth. Be strong, and SHOW YOURSELF A MAN, and keep the charge of the Lord your God, walking in his ways and keeping his statutes, his commandments, his ordinances, and his testimonies, as it is written in the Law of Moses . . ." (I Kings 2 :1-3).

It is Friday and I need to have a sermon on Sunday. My mind is a little barren right now so I needed some inspiration as to where to start with a sermon. Perhaps "googling" is not the best place to start, but that is what I did. I "googled" Sunday Sermons. What I found were some sermons by Billy Sunday. Billy Sunday was a professional baseball player from 1883-1891, making $5,000 a year. During that time Billy became a Christian and became convicted to become a preacher of the gospel. He then made $75 a month. During the 40 some years of his ministry it is estimated that 300,000 people came to believe in Jesus.

The title "Show Yourself a Man" was interesting to me. In his sermon he talks about biblical manhood. It's a great sermon and it is really one for both genders. Being a man isn't about having a pair of "big-ones," but it is about having courage enough to walk in God's ways. Sampson was a man full of testosterone but small in self-control.

I'm not going to do Sunday's sermon as written, but it is a good place to start.

Grace&Peace,
Tom

LIFE IS HOW YOU LOOK AT IT

"We know that in everything God works for good with those who love Him, who are called according to His purpose" (Romans 8:28).

Alex and his grampa were wrestling on the family room floor. After a short time, grampa got Alex pinned on the floor. Grampa was laughing out loud when he said to Alex, "I've got you down now." Alex giggled as he replied, "No, grampa, I've got you up."

Alex did have his grampa "up." He was receiving his grand father's full attention. He could look at his situation in a completely different way because he knew that he was loved. We are loved by our Heavenly Father so we are able to look at the events of our lives in a completely different way too. Christians should not look on the dark side of things even though there are many dark things happening. It is my natural tendency to look at life through "dark glasses;" I have to work at being optimistic. A little lesson from a child reminds me that life is a whole lot better if we have love and faith enough to look at it in a different way. Quoting again from Romans, "'For thy sake we are being killed all the day long; we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.' No! In all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us!" (Romans 8:36-37).

Grace&Peace,
Tom

RISKY BEHAVIOR CAN BE A GOOD THING

"But as for the cowardly . . . their lot shall be the lake that burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death" (Revelation 21:8).

The Bible places a lot of importance on courage as a virtue. It takes courage to live out our faith in Christ. Unfortunately, there are many Christians who buckle under peer-pressure and go along rather than stand up for Jesus, thinking that going-along to get-along is safer. It is not. I read an interesting quote by Henry Kissenger in the Jewish World Review a couple of weeks ago that I thought needed to be shared with my vast reading audience, "In Crises, the most daring course is often the safest." Do something daring for the Lord when the odds are against you!!

Grace&Courage,
Tom

SHERYL, CAN I HAVE JUST ONE SQUARE, PLEEEZ?!?

"But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, and the heavens will pass away with a loud noise, and the elements will be dissolved with fire, and the earth and everything that is done on it will be disclosed" (2 Peter 3:10).

Climatologist, environmentalist and entertainer, Sheryl Crow has pontificated that we should all use just one square of toilet paper, we've got to save those trees to make oxygen, you know. If any of you Seinfeld fans remember, Elain Bennis needed just one square and Seinfeld's date couldn't even spare a square! Thank you, Sheryl, for allowing us "little people" a square! I'm pretty sure that Sheryl Crow is pretty much like Al Gore, talking the talk but not walking the walk.

We have plenty of trees. America is more forested now than it was prior to settling the frontier. When my great grandfather claimed the homestead that I currently farm, in 1871, the only trees on the prairie were along the creeks and rivers. Their first house was sod. Now the prairie is overgrown with trees, so much so that the Department of Natural Resources pays us to cut them down. We just did a prairie burn last week and burned up quite a few live cedar trees. Believe me, there is plenty of timber for toilet paper, and to produce oxygen; grass does it better anyway!

The great worry is that there is such a carbon dioxide build up in our atmosphere that it is causing "global warming." There is great concern that we won't be able to breath or that all the heat will cause us to die. To me it is interesting that just a month ago I sat in a meeting of farmers and agronomists talking about how to increase corn yields. One absolutely proven method of increasing production is to make sure the corn gets more CO2!! You do that by tilling the soil with a cultivator. More CO2 is a good thing. We can grow more corn to feed the world! Global warming is a good thing because more land will be available for growing food for the world. Global warming is a good thing because we will run our furnaces less, but with all the new-found affluence, we will run air-conditioners more so that will cancel each other out.

There is a day coming that will begin just like any other day--there will be no sign. Things will be going along as they always have. Despite all that Al Gore and Sheryl Crow have done there will be global warming that has never been seen before--the earth will dissolve with a fervent heat. Are you ready?!?

By the way, if Sheryl only uses one square we might have some insight on why she and Lance broke up.

Grace&Peace,
Tom

A PITHY PONDERING

"It is easier to train a wild horse than to resurrect a dead one" (unknown).

Grace&Peace,
Tom

THE ONE YOU FEED

"Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord!" (Romans 7:24-25).

Yesterday I spent the day at North American Baptist Seminary in beautiful Sioux Falls, South Dakota. I attended the annual Hiller Lectureship dedicated to pastoral care and counseling. The speaker was Dr. Frederick DiBlasio, who serves as a professor in the School of Social Work at the University of Maryland. Dr. Diblasio has pioneered in the clinical use of forgivness, having researched the use and effectiveness of forgivness in marriage and family therapy. As Christians, it should be no surprise to us that forgivness is an effective intervention in family therapy, but Christians, themselves, are amazingly unforgiving, holding on to their "righteous anger."

Dr. DiBlasio, himself, is a committed Christian. He spoke briefly about the warfare that goes on in each of us between the flesh and the Spirit. He framed it as a father talking to his son about the battle between the flesh and the Spirit. The son asks his father, "What side wins?" The Father replies, "the one you feed." What side are you feeding?

Grace&Peace,
Tom

COMPASSIONATE REPLY TO HUSKER RED

"What do you mean by repeating this proverb concerning the land of Israel, 'The fathers have eaten sour grapes, and the children's teeth are set on edge?' As I live, says the Lord God, this proverb shall no more be used by you in Israel!" (Ezekiel 18:2-3).

There, there Husker, it is going to be alright. I know it is Friday the 13th and having that bowl of crabby flakes for breakfast didn't help a lot either. I know you have a problem with making human relationships too complex and difficult. Still, even though it is helpful to show those who are hurting that you care, it does make a difference how you show them. By sympathizing with them one tends to freeze the problem in place. It is a form of enabling--agreeing that one is entitled to feel and act the way they do because, "If you had been through what I have been through you would feel and act the way I do." Sympathy makes victims, and God will have none of that, but compassion results in making responsible people, ". . .we are more that conquerors through him who loved us" (Romans 8:37).

Thankyou, HR for your comment because you expressed the thoughts of many. A compassionate person will take the time to try to understand another's feelings from their perspective. Armed with this understanding the compassionate one will act in ways that are more likely to bring about an aleviation or solution to the problem. God has not acted toward us in sympathy, but He has acted in compassion for us, giving us what is needed to meet our deepest need.

Grace&Peace,
Tom

AMAZING GRACE

America's most recognized and loved hymn is AMAZING GRACE, written by John Newton. When Newton was just 11, his mother died. His father took him off to sea to be with him. On a visit back at home, the British Navy impounded young Newton and impressed him into service. He escaped from the Navy, only to be impounded again. This time, however, the Navy traded him to a slave trader. That is how Newton became involved in the slave trade and other immoralities. He was eventually imprisoned, and the rescued by a friend of his father.

In 1748, he boarded the Greyhound headed for home, but encountered a terrible storm on the way. After 27 days of being lost at sea, the crew finally sighted land. This experience drove Newton back to the faith he learned from his mother. He became a preacher of the gospel and for the next 59 years would preach it faithfully. At age 82, near death,almost blind, and with fading memory, he spoke these words: "My memory is nearly gone, but I remember two things.
I am a great sinner and Christ is a great Savior."

Now you know why he wrote, "Amazing grace! How sweet the sound! That saved a wretch like me!" Any one who has a conscience and honestly evaluates her internal and external behavior will feel wretched, understanding how far short she has fallen in meeting the demands of love and holiness.

There is a paradox here too, because it is in this wretchedness that we find true self-esteem. We a not a piece of human debris! We are a person created in the image of God whom God loves so much that He made a sacrifice beyond the scope of our understanding and imagination. This side of Heaven it will never be completely understood, but the cross assures us of our great value to God.

"But God shows His love for us in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us" (Romans 5:8).

Grace&Peace,
Tom

YOU MIGHT BE A LIBERAL IF. . .

"A wise man will hear and will increase learning; and a man of understanding shall attain unto wise counsels" (Proverbs 1:5).

If you have ever had a question about whether you are a liberal or conservative consider the following:

1. You might be a liberal if you are against capital punishment, but support abortion on demand.

2. You might be a liberal if you believe businesses create oppression and governments create prosperity.

3. You might be a liberal if you believe tha guns in the hands of law-abiding Americans are more of a threat than nuclear weapons technology in the hands of the Chinese, North Koreans and Iran.

4. You might be a liberal if you believe there was no art before Federal funding.

5. You might be a liberal if you believe global temperatures are less affected by cyclical documented changes in the earth's climate and more affected by soccer moms driving SUV's and burping cows.

6. You might be a liberal if you believe gender roles are artificial but being homosexual is natural.

7. You might be a liberal if you believe that the AIDS virus is spread by lack of Federal funding.

8. You might be a liberal if that the government school system that cannot teach our children how to read is some how competent enough to teach them about sex.

9. You might be a liberal if you believe that hunters do not care about nature, but activists who haven't been outside San Francisco do.

10. You might be a liberal if you believe that self-esteem is more important than actually doing something to earn it.

11. You might be a liberal if you believe that Mel Gibson spent $25 million of his own money to make THE PASSION OF THE CHRIST for financial gain only.

12. You might be a liberal if you believe the NRA is bad because it supports certain parts of the Constitution, while the ACLU is good because it supports certain parts of the Constitution.

13. You might be a liberal if you believe that taxes are too low and ATM fees are too high.

14. You might be a liberal if you believe that Margaret Sanger and Gloria Steinem are more important to American history that Thomas Jefferson, Robert E. Lee, Thomas Edison and Alexand Graham Bell.

15. You might be a liberal if you believe that standardized tests are racist, but racial quotas and set-asides are not.

16. You might be a liberal if you believe that Hillary Clinton is normal and a very nice person.

17. You might be a liberal if you believe that the only reason that socialism has failed every where and every time it has been tried is because the right people have not been in charge.

18. You might be a liberal if you believe that conservatives telling the truth belong in jail and a liars, frauds and sex offenders belong in congress and the White House.

19. You might be a liberal if you belive that funding provided by the Chinese and Saudi governments to the Democrat Party is somehow in the best interest of the United States.

20. You might be a liberal if you believe that homosexual parades displaying drag, transvestites and beastiality should be constitutionally protected, but that manger scenes at Christmas should be illegal.

21. You might be a liberal if you believe that it's OK to give Federal workers the day off on Christmas Day, but it is no OK to say "Merry Christmas."

22. You might be a liberal if you believe that this post is part of a "vast, right-wing conspiracy,"
though it was adapted from a contribution from a dear friend.

Grace&Peace,
Tom

THE BONES OF JESUS?

Apparently, the ossuaries of Jesus and his family have been found. I doubt that the timing for the release of this story was coincidental, being released during the Easter season for maximum exposure and maximum profits for the Discovery Channel.

Arguably, the greatest evidence for the truth of the Christian faith is that it exists at all. From day one, Pentecost, 29 A.D. at Jerusalem, the bodily resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth was preached as being foundational to the faith. It was consistently preached that way, as Paul would later say, "If Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile..." Both friend and foe alike knew the location of the tomb of Jesus. At the first public preaching of the faith, which was heard by thousands of people, the foes could have extinguished the faith by producing the body, but they could not. This accounts for the explosive growth of the faith in the very place where Jesus was crucified.

If Christ has not risen one has to contend with the unlikely scenario that the disciples perpetrated a fraud. It takes about a year for bones to be prepared for an ossuary, so they had to be very secretive about what they were doing. Then it was these same disciples who were perpetrating the fraud that suffered torture and died to defend its truth. People die for false beliefs all the time, suicide bombers are evidence of that. However, people are extremely unlikely to die to defend the truth of a fraud they are perpetrating. James, Jude and each of the apostles of Jesus, suffered torture unto death without recanting the Easter story!

There is no question that the Christian hope is audacious, but it is not delusional! It is founded on the solid truth that Jesus Christ has risen. Whose ever bones are in the ossuary, they are not the bones of Jesus of Nazareth, as the name would have been inscribed on the ossuary of a Galilean.

So, now, have a joyful Easter!!!

Grace&Peace,
Tom

DANGERS INHERENT IN PASTORAL MINISTRY AND COUNSELING

"He who digs a pit may fall into it. . .He who quarries stones my be hurt by them, and he who splits logs may be endangered by them. If the axe is dull and he does not sharpen its edge, then he must exert more strength. Wisdom has the advantage of giving success" (Ecclesiastes 10:8-10).

While clearing my office clutter for an important visitor I happened on an article by Dr. Diane Langberg. It was one that I used in my Pastoral Counseling lectures at Nebraska Christian College. I will share some thoughts taken from it with you.

As the writer of Ecclesiastes wisely points out, there are dangers that are inherent to any job. A wise person is more likely to be safe and successful. Pastors and pastoral counselors have good inside jobs, working with good people. So what is so dangerous about that? After all, they function in a sphere of professionalism with faith, codes of ethics and accountability to protect them.

Can people dealing with abuse, addiction, rage, fear and grief be dangerous? Those of us who listen to their stories can easily begin to question the character of God, why does He allow this to happen and why is it that many times change does not come? Where is God? We begin to see God through the lens of sin and sorrow, rather than viewing sin and sorrow through the lens of His character. This is what erodes faith.

Another danger is over-involvement. It is the thinking process that says, "Success ultimately depends on me." "If God isn't going to do anything, then, I have to." It is this kind of thinking that leads to the justification of all kinds of evils. Over-involvement is just a symptom of an eroded faith in the life of the pastor.

Another danger is that sin is contagious. The truth is that the roots of those sins we find so abhorrent in others lie within us as well. We must be careful that we do not catch the full-blown disease that we are treating in others--nor become infected with the pride of self-righteousness instead.

Grace&Peace,
Tom

MONEY: VALUES AND FIDELITY

One's bank statements are a record of a person's true values. Where a person's money is spent is where her heart is. A person's money follows the heart, the heart doesn't generally follow the money. A person's "treasure" is what one see's as valuable. She doesn't put it where her heart doesn't want it to be.

Financial problems are the leading factor in divorce. In most cases, it isn't that there isn't sufficient money, but it is that there isn't sufficient money to satisfy competing values. Of course there is never enough money to satisfy our wants, but there is enough to satisfy our needs. When couples marry, they promise faithfulness to one another. Why is it that we tend to think that it is sexual faithfulness that is primary, and that other kinds of faithlessness are less serious, when actually financial faithlessness is just as serious a breach of trust as any other!!

This is a quote from Dr. Val Farmer that I used to share with my Marriage and Family students, "Complete trust about money is about as basic to a relationship as is sexual and emotional loyalty." Financial unfaithfulness in a marriage is just as destructive to a marriage as any other kind. Of course, just as an affair doesn't have to mean the end of a marriage, financial infidelity doesn't have to end it either, but the recovering of trust can be just as difficult.

Grace&Peace,
Tom

THE HIGH-PRICE OF A GIFT

"For by grace you have been saved through faith; and this is not your own doing, it is the gift of God--not because of works, lest any man should boast" (Ephesians 2:8-9).

I am rereading a book that was assigned reading in my seminary days. The book is BOLD LOVE by Dan Allender. I thought I would share this quote from today's reading, "The cost to the recipient of God's grace is NOTHING--and no price could be higher for arrogant people to pay."

Grace&Peace,
Tom

ARE THERE ANY CONSERVATIVES IN THE HUNT?

Jay Leno has humerously commented, "Rudy Giuliani has defended Newt Gingrich, saying it's okay Newt had an affair and that no one is perfect. That's when you know the Republicans are in trouble--when a guy with three marriages and an affair is defending the guy with three marriages and two affairs so they can team up and beat a Clinton."

The situation with the Republicans is not good. Ultimately, I may have to hold my nose and vote for Giuliani, but until that time I've come to the conclusion that Huckabee will recieve my support.

Grace&Peace,
Tom

CHANGE: INSIDE OUT OR OUTSIDE IN?

"Train up a child in the way he should go and when he is old he will not depart from it" (Proverbs 22:6).

It is a truism that there must be changes on the inside so that there can be changes on the outside of a person. But sometimes internal change begins with changes in external behavior. There is evidence both from research and the Bible that what one does on the outside effects what is on the inside too.

There is an old saying which has been very helpful to people with phobias, "Do the thing you fear and fear will pass from you." When one is able to confront the thing that frightens him, then the fear that is on the inside will go away.

Outside action is a powerful influence on the attitude of the heart. When parents deal with the outside behaviors of their children through congruence between proper teaching and personal example, then the inside commitment of the child's heart to the Lord is almost a forgone conclusion (Proverbs 22:6 and Hebrews 5:14). On the negative side of this principle is Colossians 1:21, "Once you were alienated from God and were enemies in your minds because of your evil behavior." Jesus taught that we are to love our enemies and to pray for those who persecute us. Why? Not that they will become our friends, but that we will change what we think about them.

Modifying external behavior to effect internal change is the guiding principle of several therapeutic interventions. At virtually all juvenile residential treatment facilities, swearing is not allowed in casual conversation because it is recognized that swearing negative effects personal and other resident' attitudes. Dr. William Glasser says in Reality Therapy, "People do not act irresponsibly because they are 'ill'; they are 'ill' because they act irresponsibly" (p.XV). In reality therapy it is assumed that responsible behavior will result in good mental health.

A conversion of the heart does not automatically determine that one's outward behavior will change; anyone who has worked with Christians who have addictions can attest to that truth (note also Romans 7:17-20).

Ultimately, there must be a change on the inside! No behavior change will be permanent without it. It has to be understood that Proverbs 22:6 is not a promise but a probability. If the child does not internalize her training she will go her own way rather than God's way.

Grace&Peace,
Tom

THE AUDACITY OF HOPE

"God will make a way where there seems to be no way, He works in ways we cannot see, He will make a way for me . . ." (Don Moen).

"Blessed by the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His great mercy has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead" (1 Peter 1:3).

Barack Obama has written a book called THE AUDACITY OF HOPE, I believe that was also the title of his speech at the 2004 Democrat convention. I have not read the book, nor did I listen to the speech, it is not high on my reading priority list, unless in the extremely unlikely case he is able to defeat Hillaryfor the nomination of president. Then I will need to know what makes him "tic." But THE AUDACITY OF HOPE is a great title because one needs to be audacious in order to truly hope.

According to Greek mythology, when Pandora opened her box she loosed all the miseries of mankind: greed, vanity, slander, envy and pining. Only ELPIS was left inside. ELPIS is the Greek word that is translated by HOPE in the New Testament. The Greek goddess, Elpis, is the personification of hope. She is portrayed as a beautiful young woman with a smile on her face and a flower in her hand. Eventually, Pandora revisited her box and released Elpis. What would the world be like without hope?

What makes hope hope? Is hope merely the belief that good tends to win in the end? That is optimism. Though hopefulness is listed as a synonym for optimism in a thesaurus, I see a shade of difference. And that difference has to do with evidence to the contrary. Despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary one still clings to hope of a positive outcome long after the optimist has given up. That is why hope is so audacious.

An audacious hope is delusional and sheer lunacy except for God. If God says it will be so, it will be so!!! Have you ever touched the body in a casket? You know immediately from the touch that the personality that animated the body is gone. All the evidence says the person is dead, it is over, the dead person will never be seen again. But God says otherwise. In Christ, we are assured of a great family reunion in eternity in the face of the negative evidence to the contrary. It is the power of God that makes an audacious hope reasonable rather than delusional.

Grace&Peace,
Tom

A SPORTS METAPHOR FROM BO RYAN

"and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us" (Hebrews 12:1).

I was reading in "Hawk Central" the account of the Iowa-Wisconsin basketball game. It has been a matter of great concern to me how Wisconsin has dominated Iowa in sports this year. Oh well, there are some great things that result from intense competition regardless of who wins. Sports competition is life concentrated. I think this is why some of the most decent people on any university campus are in the athletic departments. Their life philosophies are always being tested in athletic competition. The success or failure of their philosophies are witnessed by thousands of people. They are not hidden away in some obscure paper, lab or classroom where intellectual freedom is denied.

Anyway, this quote from Ryan was great and I wanted to share it with you: "Hustle opportunities, they are there for anybody to get if they get the right position and keep working hard. People always say, 'Well, the ball doesn't bounce our way.' But in life what are you going to do? Wait for things to come to you? So we just treat an offensive rebound as grabbing life by the horns and riding it."

Grace&Peace,
Tom

ABOUT BEING AUTHENTIC

"I have discovered that no marriage can be triumphant until both people are able to be fully and freely themselves" (Neil Clark Warren).

"And we all with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being changed into his likeness from one degree of glory to another; for this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit" (II Corinthians 3:18).

Psychologists tell us that one of the characteristics of good mental health is the ability to be authentic; to be able to live with your guard down; to be able to be a self, not the self someone else wants you to be. Now that sounds good, but there are some good reasons for a person to have his guard up--one might get punched in the nose if he doesn't. There are some good reasons for one to be the self someone else expects him to be--he might not graduate or he might be fired from his job. There are inumerable people who authentically wanted to say, "take this job and shove it" to their boss, but didn't.

One principal I want you to remember is that you cannot not be authentic. Pardon the use of a double negative. A counterfeit dollar bill is a genuine counterfeit dollar bill--it is what it is, a real counterfeit dollar bill. You are what you are doing. Jesus said that it is out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks. The totality of our behavior is the mouth speaking. The question we all need to ask ourselves is, "What is in my heart that makes me conform to other's expectations and keep my guard up?"

The most important principal to remember is this paradox: We are our most authentic selves when we become like Jesus. It is in putting Him on as a garment that we are freed to find and be our true selves. To be a truly authentic person, one has to have an intentional philosophy of life to live by. The most freeing philosophy is that of surrendering to the rule of Jesus Christ. It is in trusting Him that the fear factor is taken out of your life. It is in obedience to Him that our words are spoken with wisdom rather than "shoot-from-the-hip" emotion. That is what is required for true marital intimacy.

Grace&Peace,
Tom

THE POWER OF RITUAL

"For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until He comes" (I Corinthians 11:26).

In modern western culture we have devalued the necessity and power of ritual. In psychotherapy and contemporary Christian religion, we have invented our own substitute rituals because we understand that people need to recognize a foundational turning point in their lives. But why use substitutes when the real thing is easily available. Baptism is the statement of trust in the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ for our salvation. Participation in the Lord's Supper is renewing that statement of trust. In my congregation, we observe the Lord's Supper each week for this reason. We are as human as any one else, and as subject to the frailties of the flesh as much as anybody else. We need to strengthen our trust and renew our faith each week. Once a week is not too often.

I say this because I wanted to share a blurb from Neil Clark Warren, of E-harmoney fame, that is applicable in this regard:

"That's exactly why I am proposing to change the frequency of the marriage vow. Instead of its being taken once in a lifetime under stressful conditions, I suggest that it needs to be said two to three times a week for the first ten years of marriage--and at least once a week for the rest of marriage. Why? In order to maintain a steady focus on the promises that form the steel framework of the marriage. With this structure in place, it is much more likely that commitment will shape the attitudes of a person, as well as the behavioral expression of those attitudes."

During stressful times in marriage, wedding vows seem like yesterday's news. They seem remote and irrelevant. It is in repetition of the vows that relevancy is restored. I hate to admit it, but I have not repeted my vows to Helen since we were married--it's like being baptized, but never taking the Lord's Supper.

Grace&Peace,
Tom