People Can Change

Because of media bias, you won't hear this story on ABC News, nor on CNN's Larry King Live. So this story was obtained from WorldNetDaily.com instead. It's about Michael Glatze, who is a prominent gay activist & editor of Young Gay America magazine. He lived the homosexual lifestyle at age 16. But at age 30, he found God, or rather, God found him. He said his conversion was the most liberating experience in his entire life. He further stated that he had been leading a movement of sin & corruption, that homosexuality prevented him from finding his true self, that homosexuality is lust & pornography wrapped into one, and that it destroys young minds. So he abandoned his homosexual lifestyle. Now that he has a personal relationship with God, he was no longer confused, afraid, nor upset. So this story is proof that there is hope for people to change.

Respect for Life

I just read the news on the Internet today. A young woman in Wichita, Kansas was stabbed in a convenience store. The other shoppers simply walked over her, while another took a picture of the dying woman with a cell phone, instead of helping her. The Police Chief was shocked by this behavior and asked, "What happened to our respect for life?" I'd like to ask the same question. But remember, in America, a mother has a "right" to kill her own unborn baby through abortion, and a disabled person, such as Terri Schiavo, can be euthanized against her will, simply because she's disabled. So is it any wonder then, why people nowadays, have a wanton disregard for human life? No one is safe. The next "victim" could be you. Mother Teresa was quite right and prophetic when she said, "And if we accept that a mother can kill even her own child, how can we tell other people not to kill one another?" Maybe what we need is to restore respect for life, from conception to natural death.

Keep Hope Alive

I just read in The Arizona Republic about a man who ended up in a coma after an auto accident. His wife asked a judge to order the removal of his feeding tube so he can "die with dignity" (whatever that means). Luckily, his brothers and sisters objected and fought against this decision. So a higher court overturned the decision before he starved to death. The feeding tube was reinserted. Soon afterwards, he awoke from his coma. This reminds me of Terri Schiavo, and people I know personally, who "died" after their life support was deliberately removed. I was just wondering, how many of them could have recovered like this man, if people didn't give up hope. Keep hope alive, and maybe you'll keep your loved ones alive too as a result.

Good Can Come Out of Something Bad

I have a co-worker whose husband got fired from a job he held for a long time. They have 2 children, one who's about to enter college. Naturally, he was concerned about how to make ends meet. They also wondered why God allowed this to happen. It wasn't long before he found another job, doing the exact same thing he did in his previous job. The only difference is that now he's getting paid a lot more. This new job took care of his financial concerns. So something good came out of something bad. I guess we just have to trust that God allows things to happen for a reason.

Media Irresponsibility

Responsible parents worry about what their kids see on TV. Unfortunately, the media defends the type of trash they show on TV by saying that it's the parent's responsibility to control what kids watch on TV. In essence, the media doesn't feel it has any responsibility at all. Well, if you've ever visited the city of San Francisco with your kids, the media certainly won't allow parents to control what kids see. Oftentimes, you'll see billboard advertisements containing nudity, or ads on public transportation that contain vulgarity. Or, events will be held where public lewdness is accepted. So how do you expect a parent to "control" what kids see? Is it any wonder why many families are moving out of the city to areas that are more family-friendly? I think it's time the media & the government realize the influence they can have on kids, and help parents control what their kids see.

Freedom

When I was a student at UC Berkeley (the bastion of the Free Speech Movement) I read, in the school newspaper, about an incident that occurred on campus. A Pro-Life student group wanted to hold a private meeting at a school facility. When pro-abortion (aka Pro-Choice) students found out about it, they barged into the meeting uninvited, assaulted some of the Pro-Life students, destroyed the audio/visual equipment of the university, and stole some of the printed materials from the Pro-Life group. Now I'd like to ask everyone, "Do you think these 'Freedom of Choice' people really believe in freedom? Or do they believe in freedom only if your beliefs agree with theirs?" You decide.

Setting Good Examples for Kids

I heard a story from a friend about someone who's no longer a practicing Christian. When he was a little kid, his mom would leave him alone at the church hall every Sunday, without any food or water. She told the boy to stay there and do nothing, until she comes back from doing "church work." So he would starve all day. Therefore, it wasn't surprising that he grew up with a negative perception of Christianity. He no longer goes to church due to this bad experience. This raises some interesting questions. Are you neglecting your family obligations? Are you giving your kids a good impression of religion? Are you inspiring your kids, so that they too would want to become practicing Christians?

There is a Reason for Everything

Have you ever found yourself doing something you'd rather not be doing? It happens to all of us. Normally I'd be annoyed by this. But one day, our church choir was asked to sing at a senior citizen's home. It was raining that day and so I wasn't in the mood to go, but I went anyway. After the concert, as we were leaving the home, we saw an elderly couple walking in the heavy rain without any raincoat or umbrella. We stopped to offer them a ride. Unfortunately, we could not understand where they wanted to go because they were not very intelligible. So we decided to drive them back to the senior citizen's home. It turns out the couple lived there. But because of memory problems, they left the home after the concert, thinking that they lived elsewhere. Luckily, we were there at the right time to help them out, or something bad could have befallen them. So there was a reason why we had to be there at that place at that particular time. So next time you find yourself in a place or situation you'd rather not be in, remind yourself, "maybe there's a reason for it."

Miracles Do Happen

I know someone in our church who suffered a stroke. As a result, half of his body was paralyzed. Then one day, while they were vacationing in France, someone suggested that he make a pilgrimage to Lourdes. This is the place where the Blessed Virgin Mary appeared to St. Bernadette, and asked her to dig a hole in the ground to form the now famous miraculous spring of healing water. So he went there and dipped himself into the spring. He emerged from the water miraculously cured of his paralysis. He can now walk, talk and move normally. There was no doubt in our minds that a miracle did occur. How about you? Do you believe in miracles?

Commitment

I know this girl who had a boyfriend. When he got her pregnant, he told her to get an abortion or else he was going to dump her. It was at that point she realized he was merely using her. His "love" for her was conditional. He was not committed to her at all. So she told him to take a hike. She later gave birth to a beautiful, baby girl. Unfortunately, she's not alone. There are other women who end up in this situation too. But there is something women can do to prevent this situation from happening to them. Next time a guy asks a girl to "prove" her love to him (i.e. have sex), she should ask him to marry her first. If he simply wanted to use her, then this request should quickly drive him away faster than garlic breath. Women deserve something better. So by requiring commitment first, they greatly reduce the chance of ending up with losers.

Can Life Evolve at Random?

I've often heard scientists on TV say that life evolved randomly from non-life. I used to believe this. Then I started asking myself if this was actually possible. Can a life form really emerge from random events? Suppose you placed a computer in a monkey's cage and keep it there throughout the monkey's life. Now let's keep it there for the monkey's offspring, and future generations of monkeys also. If the monkeys hit the keyboard at random, what is the likelihood that through this random process of hitting the keys, eventually a masterpiece, like the Shakespeare play Hamlet, would emerge? Impossible, you say? Now consider the fact that a life form is obviously more complex than a Shakespeare play. So what do you think is the probability that life forms can emerge from random events?

Can a Society Ban What It Believes is Wrong?

You've heard politicians say they're morally or personally opposed to something but refuse to "impose" their beliefs on others. If they were referring to something like gambling, then I'd agree that they can't impose this on those who don't think gambling is wrong. But what about something like slavery? Even though Southerners believed in it, the Union banned it anyway. Why? What's the difference? It's because gambling is not an act of injustice, while slavery is. That's why societies have a right to ban unjust acts to protect the common good. So next time you hear politicians say they're morally opposed to something but will not "impose" their beliefs on others, beware! If it deals with an act of injustice, then this means they're either spineless, or lacking in intelligence. Would you vote for such politicians?

Home Schooling is a Right. It is Not a Crime.

Many of you may have heard about the new spelling bee champion in the news last week. According to the news, this kid from Danville, California was home schooled by his parents. So I was wondering why politicians, especially the Democrats, are very much opposed to home schooling. In Sacramento, the Democratic-controlled state legislature attempted to criminalize home schooling a few years ago by classifying it as "child abuse." What were they thinking? Perhaps the more relevant question is, "Who's lobbying them to do this?" Luckily, it was defeated when some Democrats broke ranks with their party to vote against it. I know quite a few people, and I'm sure you do too, who home school their kids. I certainly don't want them to end up in jail just because they're doing what's best for their kids. It appears to me that parents who do this are doing a great job, and the kids sometimes turn out to be smarter than those who attend either public or private schools. We need to contact our legislators and demand that they respect parental rights, and allow parents the freedom to home school their kids.

Anti-Christian Hatred: The Only Bigotry That's Still Acceptable

We sometimes hear about Christians being persecuted in other countries. But did you realize it happens here in the USA? I just read an Internet article where Bill Maher, host of the talk show "Real Time with Bill Maher" on HBO, made offensive and insulting remarks against Christians, esp. against Catholics. Time-Warner, owner of HBO, issued no apology. Isn't it strange that Don Imus was penalized and criticized by the media for his remarks, but Bill Maher got away with his? Furthermore, you won't hear anyone attack Jews or Muslims because that's considered politically incorrect. According to the American Family Association, "For the mainstream media, Christians are the only religious group in America against whom such bigotry is allowed." The Anti-Defamation League warns against the media's influence in putting down other groups of people, which may lead to prejudice and discrimination against those groups. Remember what happened to the Jews during WWII as a result of Nazi propaganda minister Joseph Goebbels' influence on the German people? We must not let that happen again, neither to Jews nor to Christians. What can we do? We can stop watching shows that promote such hatred. And we can let Time Warner, Bill Maher, or anybody else, know how displeased we are with these kinds of shows. Let's remind the media that we should respect others, even if we disagree with them. That's the definition of true tolerance.

Common Sense

I heard on the news this morning that a man with a deadly type of TB was quarantined, even though it was not considered highly contagious. The health officials said they wanted to balance personal liberty vs. public safety. In this case, they decided to take precautions to protect the public. I asked myself, "Why didn't they do the same with AIDS?" Like this TB, AIDS is deadly but not highly contagious. So why not quarantine those infected with AIDS? It's just common sense. I knew quite a few people who caught AIDS and died from it. I was just wondering, "How many of them would still be alive today if those infected a long time ago had been quarantined in the first place?"

Do Politicians Really Represent the People?

Last week, Good Morning America's political analyst, Mr. George Stephanopoulos, said that Senator Hillary Clinton voted against funding our troops in Iraq. While many Americans want to see an end to the war, they don't want to cut off the supplies that our troops need. Mr. Stephanopoulos revealed that Sen. Clinton voted this way for fear of reprisals from special interest groups, such as MoveOn. This is disturbing since legislators are supposed to represent the voters, and not special interest groups. It seems that our elected representatives have forgotten that they are obligated to represent the people. Maybe it's time we contacted our elected officials to remind them that our government should be a government of the people, by the people, and for the people.

Conceived Through Rape

I had a friend whose cousin was the victim of a date rape. Her cousin became pregnant and delivered a baby girl. My friend said the baby grew up to be a beautiful, happy and intelligent kid. Everyone, including the mother, loved that child. This brought to my mind some questions. How do you think this little girl feels each time someone says that it's OK to abort a baby, if the baby was conceived through rape? If you meet this child, would you tell her, straight to her face, that it would have been OK to terminate her life just because she was conceived through rape? I can only imagine the thoughts and questions going through her mind: "Why should I be terminated? What did I do wrong? Did I commit a crime worthy of death? Was this my fault?" Maybe we should remember these questions next time this issue comes up.

Real Generosity

I knew someone who was rich. He owned several expensive cars. He stayed only at the most expensive luxury hotels and buys jewelry for his wife worth thousands of dollars. I also found out that he did volunteer work to feed the homeless. I thought about how generous he was for doing this. So when I was selling $1 raffle tickets for a church fund-raiser, I thought he was the person to approach. Surely with all his wealth and his spirit of volunteerism and generosity, he'd be willing to make a small donation. But when I asked for his help, he snapped at me and yelled "I don't have any money!" I was shocked and puzzled. Someone who can afford expensive things can't even afford $1.00 for a church fund-raiser? And he gets mad when you ask him for very small donation? I guess real generosity can sometimes be seen in the small actions, and not necessarily in the big ones.

Believe You Can and You Will

I tried doing pull-ups as a little kid, but I could only do two of them. Someone I knew said I could do more with his help. He told me to close my eyes. Then he said he was going to hold the bottom of my feet and push me up. So I was able to do ten pull-ups with his "help." To my surprise, he revealed that he didn't push me up at all. He merely held the bottom of my feet to give me the impression that he was helping me out. So I was actually able to do the ten pull-ups using my own strength. The moral of this story: believe that you can accomplish something, and you will.

Lost and Found

Like other kids entering college, I became an agnostic. After graduation, I had a materialistic view of life. But I still felt "empty." Something was missing in my life. Then I saw Rev. Billy Graham on TV. He asked, "Do you know why you feel emptiness in your life? It's because you never made God your goal and purpose for living." That struck me to the core like lightning. So I started reading the Bible. I was also instructed about the Faith by two new co-workers, who became my friends. I felt like someone who was lost, but had been found again. Do you have loved ones who have gone astray? Don't lose hope. Keep praying for them. God reached out to me. He'll reach out to them too when the time is right.