Browns win "Shootout at the O.K. Corral"

Yesterday the Cleveland Browns beat the Cincinnati Bengals in a game that must have been every offense's dream: 51-45. The two teams combined for 96 points and 1,085 yards of offense! To be honest, I don't care what happened, as long as we got the win. I wish it had been against Pittsburgh, though. The victory would have been much sweeter.

Why Do I Like "The Sand Pebbles?"

Last week, I finally spent my birthday money from my parents. I'll write later about what else I ordered, but one of my purchases was the newly re-released movie, "The Sand Pebbles," starring Steve McQueen. I actually tried to buy it last spring but couldn't find it. I'm glad I couldn't, because this re-issue includes two discs, a picture booklet and some still photos. Cool!

I remember watching this movie as a kid with my dad. I will simply never forget the final scene - "Jake Holman" stares down death. The last 20 minutes or so of this movie are simply amazing. This week, as I've watched and re-watched the last 1/2 hour, I've asked myself why? Why do I break out in chills everytime I watch it? Why do I hold my breath, even though I know what is going to happen? There's a beauty, almost like a ballet, in the final scenes. The stakes are high, but the acting, the plot, and the screenplay all coalesce into a masterpiece.

Three of my favorite themes are intertwined in these final moments: romantic love, religious commitment, and military bravery. The end of the movie showcases self-sacrifice, fear, love, bravery, faith, death, safety, defiance, forgiveness, stubbornness, idealism, realism, hope, and disappointment. I almost feel like I'm watching an old Greek tragedy, with characters coming on at various times to play their parts, but all for the singular purpose of achieving a great dramatic experience. Few movies I see nowadays can capture so much in such a short period of time. If you haven't seen "The Sand Pebbles," do so.

Kathy Griffin's God

Commedian Kathy Griffin recently won an Emmy - for what I don't know - but her acceptance speech has caused quite a stir. Here's what she said:

"A lot of people come up here to thank Jesus for this award. I want you to know that no one had less to do with this award than Jesus. [...] This award is my God now!"

Many other accounts of the speech mentioned a "lewd reference," or something like that, but never said what it was. The quote above from FOXNews deletes the "lewd reference," but last night on Bill O'Reilly's show he played the whole quote. Between the brackets (above) she said, among other things, "Suck it, Jesus!" You can read a FOXNews article about it here. Well, this is certainly something to think about, isn't it?

My first thought was one of saddness. This is a deluded person, at a variety of levels. Forget the theological angle, I'm just thinking of the personal angle, and the cultural angle. What does this say about her as a person? If she chooses not to believe in Jesus, fine; but does she have to insult those who do believe? It strikes me as cruel, mean-spirited, and certainly unnecessary. She could have made her point very clearly without the added offensive language.

Culturally, what does this say about her understanding of American culture, and even of some people who watch her shows? She just looks deeply out of touch to me. Even hard core Hollywood party-ers, many of whom have religious backgrounds, save a bit of respect for Jesus, the man on the cross.

And what does this say about the purpose of Ms. Griffin's life? Besides idolatry, hmmm, the words "shallow," "hollow," "surfacey," and "lame" all come to mind.

I did not feel any anger toward Ms. Griffin - sadness, pity, perhaps...but no anger.

Second, the whole thing struck me as false bravado. She's trying to look iconoclastic and in-your-face, which she definitely was, but from people who follow this man - the man on the cross - she probably doesn't have much to worry about. Sure the Catholic League will scream and yell a bit, but she will most likely suffer no repercussions for her comments. So, really, did she do anything risky? Well, if you believe in Jesus, yes, that was risky (but on the other hand, he sure is quick to forgive, isn't he?). But if she really wanted to be gutsy, try saying those things about Mohammad or Allah. That might take a bit of courage. People who say far less than what she said end up dead. But, for whatever reason, I don't think she or anyone else in Hollywood will say things like that.

Interesting...

See some discussion on Worldmagblog here.

A Collection of Random Thoughts

9/11: I still have a hard time believing 9/11 really happened - not in the sense of "Did it happen or not?" but in the sense that "I can't believe that happened!" When I stop and think about it, I get upset all over again. How could people do that? Why would people do that? I also wonder how they were so successful. I did not see either plane hit the towers, but I was in the student center at CIU watching in horror as the towers came down. How could some people still believe that we are NOT a country at war?

The General: Speaking of war, I am very impressed with General David Petraeus, and I can't believe that fellow Americans would go so far to trash his testimony before he even gives it. Perhaps one may disagree with him (and Ambassador Crocker), but if the war in Iraq is one of the most important issues of the day, shouldn't we at least listen to the opinions of the two men who know more about it than anyone else on the planet? Read a great analysis of the general's comments here.

Brittany: Girl, what happened to you? Where did you go wrong? I remember when you were an innocent, cute little teenie-bopper enjoying deserved success for some catchy songs - but look at yourself! It's not funny anymore - it's really, really sad. Please, go home and get some help. Living your life out of the center of the country's attention is really not that bad. There's much more to life. Please, sweatheart, would you do that for us? (Isn't there anyone in this girl's life who has the credibility to do some intervention? Do we all have to watch as she slowly self-destructs?)

Kevin Everett: Buffalo Bill's tight end Kevin Everett will probably never walk again, and still may not even survive his cervical spinal injuries sustained in Sunday's opening game. How tragic - it just makes me sick.

Cleveland Browns: Yeah, we got our rear ends kicked Sunday, 34-7, at the hands of the devil - er, I mean, the Pittsburgh Steelers. It's a good thing we Clevelanders don't like the Browns because they win; we love them because they are the BROWNS!

Morality and Presidential Politics

Here's another good discussion of religious issues in the public arena, this time with reference to presidential politics. Lauren Green writes on FOXNews.com about the interplay between a candidate's morality and their qualifications for office. Although I don't agree with everything she says, she at least writes with sensitivity. She even cites Pastor Tommy Nelson! "Will the '08 election be maimed by politicians' personal failures?," she asks.

Poignant Words from a US Soldier in Iraq

Got this from Hughhewitt.com. This colonel makes good sense, IMHO. I especially like his criticism of our Congress for not giving any inspiring words to the Iraqi government. What would this congress have said to our own first Continental Congress back in 1776? ANYTHING to encourage our Founding Fathers? I think the truth of the situation is that this congress does not WANT the Iraqi government to succeed, because if it does, GWB might actually get some credit. In any case, read the quote, then link to Hughhewitt.com (above) to read the whole thing.

Many in Congress are now labeling the Government a failure and calling for the ouster of the elected PM. This is not helpful and is flies in the face of all the principles that we profess about self determination. We dont have a say about the decisions of the Iraqi Electorate whether we agree or not. The other thing that really gets me is the failing grade slapped on the GOI by our Congressmen. Only 3 of 18 measurable items are counted as successful, even though the Adminstration had many more as successes. But what if we applied the same standards to our congress, A congress that has a history of over 200 years, a congress that has many experienced memberes who
have served for decades, what would their grade be. Have they solved the tax problem, the tort problem, the health care problem. Have they even addressed seriously the immigration problem, and there are many, many more failures of our elected, long existing and experienced congress. In my opinion they fail. Yet they grade a fledgling elected government trying to form a united country after decades of oppression during war and mark it a failure. Where is their support for an allied government that we helped launch. What great words of wisdom and significant examples do they provide, none. We are out here trying to do the impossible and making
headway and our elected officials undercut us at every turn. We pull out and all the success, all the progress made will disappear in intentionally incited secterian violence supported as much from outside Iraq as from inside. Success in the Middle East and in the War on terror is centered on success in Iraq right now. This is the battlefield chosen by our enemies not us. We fight here becasue they come here to over throw an elected government to kill Americans and to try to create another radical Islamic state from which to grow and attack Wastern Civilization and Western Nations.

Mother Teresa's Crisis of Faith: a Grab Bag of Responses

The response to the Time magazine article about Mother Teresa's crisis of faith has elicited responses from nearly every quarter. I've gathered links to a wide variety of perspectives, including Catholic - a seminary professor and a discussion list - Evangelicals - a seminary president and several prominent scholars and thinkers - a philosophy professor, a liberal Christian, two atheists, an editorialist, and even an essay on an Islamic website. Let's not forget the name of the book that is causing all the stir. Here's the bibliography: "Mother Teresa: Come Be My Light" (Doubleday: 2007), by Mother Teresa and Brian Kolodiejchuk (ISBN-10: 0385520379; ISBN-13: 978-0385520379). You can order it from Amazon.com.

I've checked all the links, so they should work. I'm still fascinated that so many people are fascinated with this story. Here's the list, with a few comments:

The original article in Time magazine, entitled "Mother Teresa's Crisis of Faith," by David Van Biema, is found here.

Here's an essay in the conservative journal "First Things: The Journal of Religion, Culture, and Public Life." It is entitled “The Dark Night of Mother Teresa,” by Carol Zaleski.

I begin a list of responses by Evangelicals with one of the guys of the Torrey Honors Institute at Biola: “Why Was Mother Teresa Sad?” by Fred Sanders.

Rick Phillips' response, “Mother Teresa’s Redemption,” is found here.

Al Mohler's response, “Trust Christ, Not Feelings,” is found here. See also his blog.

Chuck Colson responds with, "Suffering Servant: The Letters of Mother Teresa."

Rod Dreher, editorialist for Dallas Morning News, responds here.

NT/Jesus scholar Scot McKnight has a good discussion on his blog, "Jesus Creed." Here's the link.

Christian pastor/philosopher/professor Phil Steiger of Colorado Springs, CO, responds here.

Liberal Christian theologian Willis E. Elliot responds with an essay entitled, "Faith + Doubt = Progress."

Prominent atheist Christopher Hitchens offers criticism of Mother Teresa and the Roman Catholic Church with an essay entitled, "Teresa, Bright and Dark."

“Mother Teresa – The Scandal of her Faith,” by Dr. Anthony Lilles, Academic Dean, St. John Vianney Theological Seminary, Denver, CO, responds directly to Hitchens.

America's favorite "village atheist," Sam Harris, responds with an essay called “The Sacrifice of Reason."

I have three good discussion lists. First, Netscape. Then Catholic Answers Forum. And finally, Crosswalk had a good discussion, but now the link I had to it is dead. Try searching Crosswalk.

The interesting Islamic response is from Muslimmatters.org. Read the essay, with responses, "What to Make of Mother Teresa's Crisis of Faith."

More Vick - Genuine Confession?

I know I said I was tired of hearing about Michael Vick, but I am interested in the genuineness of a persons's public confession and in how the media cover the story. Lauren Green (left), religion correspondent for FOXNews, has a very well written analysis of Vick's confession. Read it here. She does not set out to trash the former quarterback - which is all too easy to do, at this point - but she does bring in some important facts about his professions of faith in the past and how those statements bear on his recent "finding Jesus." I am impressed at how well Lauren understands the issues involved. I recommend that you read her article.

I'm Sick of Michael Vick!

I think I've heard all I care to hear about erstwhile quarterback of the Atlanta Falcons Michael Vick. He has pled guilty to some pretty sick stuff and then claimed to have a major redefinition of life. Read about his apology here. I don't want to cast doubt on the sincerity of his apology; that is not for me to judge. However, I agree with Mike Straka of Fox News that this was a pretty quick turn around.

What bothers me about all this is what it says about Michael Vick and how much he values life. I'm not talking about human life, of course, but of animal life. I suspect we have all gone through the stage of pre-adolescence in which we take sadistic pleasure in the pain and death of something innocent. I've roasted my share of ants and grasshoppers with a magnifying glass, or blown up a few frogs with fire crackers - "Cigars, anyone?" I remember yelling as a few friends and I laughed our fool heads off and lit the fuse of an M-80 stuck in the mouth of some unfortunate amphibian. But eventually, we outgrow it, and come to realize that life - even seemingly valueless life like insects and animals - is to be treasured and celebrated, and taking out anger or sadistic pleasure on one of God's creatures is a reflection of our lack of respect for the Creator. A few years ago, when we were raising chickens, I found out how hard it is to intentionally put to death a living thing. I had to decapitate chickens, pluck them, gut them and get them in the 'fridge pretty quickly. It was not easy. It got to the point that, like the Native Americans of old, I whispered an apology to each chicken as I ended its life, assuring it that we are not killing simply for pleasure but to provide life-sustaining nutrition for my family. It is not pleasant to kill any of God's creatures. (Wait - I do take pleasure in crushing Palmetto bugs!)

When I worked for the juvenile court while I was in graduate school, I interacted with many kids with serious problems. It was characteristic of these kids that they had very little ability to empathize with other living things. If they wanted something you had, they took it; if they didn't like you, they beat you; if they wanted sex, they took it; if it made them feel good to hurt you, they did it. I was able to extrapolate the degree of a kid's moral development by watching how he treated other, innocent and/or helpless living things.

This brings me back to Michael Vick. I don't know him, but from my experience, this incident with the dogs tells me that there are probably some serious moral deficiencies in this man's life. I hope he can turn things around, for his sake and for the sake of other people in his life. But in any case, I'm sick of hearing about him. There are plenty of other things going on in the NFL. What about you?

I'm Stunned and Confused!

I just finished watching on CNN the installment of "God's Warriors" that I had missed, the one on "God's Islamic Warriors." All I can say is that I am stunned and confused, and even a little upset. I don't feel this way because I feel threatened, although clearly Islamic militancy is a problem; I feel this way because everything I just saw goes 180 degrees against everything I believe about God.

First, I am stunned by just how little I understand - and I don't think I ever can understand - the mindset of a religion that exalts the taking of other people's lives in the name of God. I'm confused and disoriented. I realized, as I watched interview after interview with people so filled with anger and hatred, that I simply have no category for expressing my religious faith and hatred simultaneously. The two are mutally exclusive. As a Christian, I cannot hate.

Perhaps the fundamental differences between Christianity and Islam spring from the lives and examples of their founders. At church, I am currently teaching through the New Testament book of 1 Peter. The apostle continuously points to the sacrifice of Jesus as our example for life. Last week I taught on 1 Peter 2:21-25. Peter addresses the slave and tells him to endure injustice and to continue doing good. Then, perhaps knowing that that is a very difficult teaching, he grounds this imperative in the willing sacrifice of Jesus on the cross. The willing submission of Jesus to injustice is our example. The contrast between Jesus and Muhammad simply could not be more profound.

I was struck by the weeping Muslims do during that festival honoring the sacrifice of Imam Husein (not sure how to spell his name). As I saw those people crying so freely, I thought of the passion of Christ - and Amanpour even referred to the dramatic presentation of Husein's death as a "passion play" - but even here, Husein died in battle! His sacrifice was not Christ-like. It would be like us crying over the death of Davy Crockett at the Alamo. Not quite the same as Good Friday, is it?

I should also mention how stunned I am at the implication, perhaps unstated but still present, that somehow Amanpour's "Christian warriors" are on the same level as the jihadists. The comparison is simply laughable.

Blog Hopes

I found a piece of paper floating around the house that had written on it everything I want to be able to do in a blog. I'm going to jot down my notes here, then throw out the piece of paper. A "plus" sign says I can do it; a "minus" says, as far as I know, I don't have that ability now.

• Post notes by multiple authors +


• screen comments +


• post documents, like .pdf files, syllabi, etc. and have them password protected -


• control background, like pictures and fonts -


• have archives +


• classify posts +


• link to other sites in sidebars +


• have a "see more" option -

We came pretty close with blogger here, but we're not quite there. For now, though, this is teaching me the basics just fine, and it's free!

More Reviews of "God's Warriors"

More reviews of CNN's "God's Warriors." Brian Lowry of Variety TV writes:

That said, given the overheated rhetoric that characterizes the discourse surrounding the "war on terror," such contextual analysis is sorely needed -- highlighting the fear that prompts religious orthodoxies to lash out at modern society, while reminding us that no major religion is unpolluted by dangerous zealotry.

"...no major religion is unpolluted by dangerous zealotry." Of course, we could also say "no major ideology is unpolluted by dangerous zealotry," or "no major population group" or "no major region of the world" or "no major historical period" or ... you get the picture. Read his whole review here.

"All told, it's a welcome departure from cable news' baser instincts, where predators, missing women and kids, and celebrity foibles command centerstage on a daily basis, with scant time devoted to the expensive, theoretically ratings-deflating proposition of providing a wider window onto the world."

Here, here! Very true. If I hear any more about Lindsay Lohan's alcoholism, I'm going to vomit. I may have disagreements with Amanpour's presentation, but at least we had some intellectually stimulating television to watch.

Ted West of "The Naked Conservative" calls Amanpour a "female Michael Moore." Ouch.

Barry Garron of Yahoo!News asks questions Amanpour does not answer:

What Amanpour doesn't do -- and what needs to be done -- is to point out the contrasts among these groups [Jews, Muslims, Christians]. Do they all have the same strength within their religions? Do they receive support, tacit or otherwise, from governments? Do they plan to achieve their aims peacefully? Are they, in fact, God's warriors, or are they more like God's missionaries?

A good review, but I can't get a link to work. Ted West (above) links to it.

I think even disinterested secularists get the point. When comparing Jews, Muslims, and Christians, there are major, major differences, despite surface similarities.

God's Warriors Reviewed

Joe Carter, from Evangelical Outpost, reviewed God's Warriors for National Review Online (NRO). He makes some good points, especially about secularists fear of "theocracy." Read it here.

God's Warriors?

Last night concluded the final installment of Christiane Amanpour's series on CNN entitled "God's Warriors." Tuesday night she explored "God's Jewish Warriors," Wednesday night was "God's Muslim Warriors," and last night was "God's Christian Warriors." I watched the first and last episodes, but missed the middle one. Thankfully, there is an encore presentation starting Friday, Aug. 24 through Sunday, Aug. 26, at 9 p.m. ET. (Check the CNN TV schedule.)

Unfortunately, despite Ms. Amanpour's seemingly best efforts, bias abounds. I wondered why she excluded "God's Hindu Warriors," for militant Hinduism is certainly on the rise. She also excluded "The Anti-God Warriors: Secularists;" that would have been an interesting expose. Aren't secularists on a crusade to rid the public square of all references to religion? Is the ACLU a docile, tame, organization? What about "The Economic Warriors: Communists." Both of these movements are also quite militant, or at least we could say they have their militant elements. I also noticed that only the "conservative" wings of these movements were considered warriors, as if being liberal disqualifies a person from being militant. But wouldn't Gene Robinson, the gay bishop in New England, be considered "militant," since he is taking the church in a radically different direction?

Aside from the obligatory reference at the beginning to rabid killers of abortionists (who speak for no sizeable block of Christendom), Amanpour essentially spent her time on "God's Christian Warriors" examining various conservative religious groups who were attempting to motivate a voting block. I kept thinking, "All this is legal! Why is she focusing on an example of 'democracy in action'?" I thought it was quite unfair to draw a moral equvalency between, on the one hand, Jewish settlers in occupied territories who violate both Israeli and international law, and Islamic jihadists who are training to wage war on all infidels, and, on the other hand, conservative evangelical Christians who are working very hard to accomplish their political/cultural goals within the American political system. One thing should have been very clear: given her definition of "warriors," among Christians, THERE ARE NONE. Hmmm....

What do my readers think?

Doubt: A Severe Mercy?

Today I read an interesting article in Time magazine online about a new book about the secret life of spiritual doubt in the life of Mother Teresa. The book is called Mother Teresa: Come Be My Light (Doubleday). The book contains letters Mother Teresa wrote over several decades to her confessors and spiritual advisors in which she admits to deep, almost paralyzing spiritual darkness. Fascinating. I haven't read the book, so I'm not endorsing it, but the article paints an endearing portrait of someone in deep spiritual pain.

The author of the article discusses possible causes. Was it because God isn't really there? (so the atheists claim) or was it because of some inability of Teresa to receive love? Or, was it a "severe mercy," something Teresa needed to keep her humble or to enable her to more closely understand Christ's sacrifice? The article is worth reading, and I think we should discuss the topic of doubt. Have you had doubts? Have you sensed that God was distant? Are there possible benefits that doubt can bring into our lives?

Andrew's First Day of School

The little scholar! Our little guy went off to school today for the very first time. Up till now, he has been homeschooled, so this is a new experience. Heritage Christian Academy may never be the same!

Student's Bill of Rights

I saw this list of Student Rights at David Black's blog and thought perhaps students might like to see it.

Students have the right to:

1. expect interesting and intrinsically significant lectures

2. have profs who are personable and caring

3. be treated with respect and genuine Christian love

4. get out of class on time

5. have their work graded by their profs and not graders

Sorry, this is a tough one. With 150 Freshman in OT Survey and 75 Sophmores in Hermeneutics, this is impossible. If I did this, we would lose the other nine!

6. have ready access to their profs for advice and counsel (open door policy)

7. have their emails answered within a reasonable time (48 hour rule)

8. be graded on a strict scale and not on the curve

9. have their graded work returned to them in a timely fashion

10. be shown how to think and not just what to think

I hope my classes at CIU demonstrate a majority of these rights. Let's have a great semester together!

God as "Allah:" An Anonymous Response

I received a response to my post about Christians calling God "Allah," but for certain reasons, this person did not want his/her name attached to it. So, I post it as by "Anonymous." Food for thought:

To the matter of concern: should Christians call God 'Allah'? Another way of looking at it is: should Christians call God 'God'? 'God' is not a biblical word, but of Germanic derivation from 'Gott'. It was adopted and adapted as the term for Christianity's deity as the gospel spread through northern Europe and westward. Just as 1st century Christians accepted 'Theos' and 'Kurios' as designations for the Hebrew God and infused it with new meaning, so did Christians with the word 'Gott' and eventually 'God'.

There were Christians in the Middle East using 'Allah' for their deity before Europeans/Westerners ever heard the gospel. Thus, your statement: "for Christians to begin calling God "allah" would be misleading and would actually confuse the important differences between the two faiths" is problematic. 'Allah' is just as acceptable a term for the Creator as 'God'. What matters is the meaning attached to these words and the lingua franca where people live. Obviously, Arab believers' use of 'Allah' in the Middle East would carry the roughly meaning as our use of the term 'God' in the USA, but the Muslims concept of 'Allah' would be different. However, any informed Christian could use 'Theos', 'Gott', 'God', or 'Deus' (which is Portuguese), and be rightly referring to the true and holy One.

Hence, the matter worthy of debate is not linguistical but lexical, that is, having to do with the meaing of these words.

Can Christians Call God "Allah?"

Recently, a Catholic bishop in the Netherlands suggested that Christians call God "Allah" in order to increase understanding with Muslims. For the article at Fox News, read here.

What is at stake here? Is the term "allah" interchangeable with the word "god?" I think there is a variety of factors to consider. Some are linguistic, some are cultural, some are theological, some are missiological.

In terms of Semitic languages, "allah" is cognate with the Hebrew words "el" (= "god") and "eloah" (= "god"). It is not cognate with the Hebrew personal name for God, "Yahweh," nor is it, of course, cognate with the English word "god."

Culturally, the term "allah" is, in my opinion, very close to a technical term, or proper name, for "the god of Islam," similar to "Yahweh" for ancient Hebrews. However, early Christians used the term "theos" for the Hebrew "elohim," even though "theos" carried many non-Jewish and non-Christian theological elements.

Theologically, I think it is inaccurate to say the Muslim concept of God is equivalent to the Christian concept of God; therefore, for Christians to begin calling God "allah" would be misleading and would actually confuse the important differences between the two faiths. Muslim reaction to the suggestion here in the US appears to be positive. I suppose Christians and Jews living in Islamic countries would welcome the idea that Muslims begin to call God "El," or "God." It would help legitimize their own concepts of God as a minority group. I suspect this is why Islamic response is positive.

Missiologically, I've heard that some converts to Christianity in Muslim countries use the term "allah" for their deity, the God and Father of the Lord Jesus Christ. I wonder if Muslim clerics in those countries are happy with that? Since I am not a missiologist, I am unfamiliar with the literature and the debates, but I suspect there is room for this kind of linguistic/theological substitution, if done carefully. But here in the "West," it seems to me that the suggestion concedes too much.

What say my readers?

Anti-Evangelical Bigotry

Acton Institute (http://blog.acton.org/) (following an article in World Magazine) notes the anti-evangelical bigotry of many college professors. Read the whole thing, and be warned. Here's a quote:

"The analysis was conducted by Gary Tobin, president of the Institute for Jewish and Community Research. In the survey of 1,262 faculty members across 712 public colleges and universities, Evangelical Christians scored the highest unfavorable rating from faculty with a 53 percent, while Mormons placed second with 33 percent. Jews scored the lowest unfavorable score with 3 percent."

CIU Faculty Meeting 2007

The last two days have been our annual beginning-of-the-year faculty meetings here at CIU. I'm pleased to say that this year I found the whole thing rather positive. We have a new president, who has some new and fresh ideas, and some new faculty as well. All in all, I think 2007-2008 is going to be a good school year for CIU. I can't wait for the enthusiasm to catch on among the current students. Returning students are beginning to arrive, and they are most welcome. I pray we all can look to our savior Christ Jesus and expect a year of productivity and growth.