A View to the Hinterland

Well, as we move toward the ending of another event-filled week, I continue to take pause to ponder where our nation is really headed. The partisan rancor continues unabated. The POTUS is now managing the nation via Executive Orders versus the Constitutionally mandated legislative process thus assuming the role of "king" instead of President.  We have a POTUS inaugural soon and it is actually sad to remember just four years ago with all the thousands crowding into Washington for the event, all the rhetoric but, this year, feels more like somebody dropped a bowling ball with a large, dull thump. The energy has left the building as has legislative process it would seem.

 

But hey, it is a beautiful Saturday morning here in Northeast Ohio, I get to see my grandson play basketball today, I get to sing to a group of widow and widowers at my church and I get to socialize with friends from my church tonight; now that makes for a great day.  A mega event for me was yesterday in sitting with a distinguished veteran of WWII that was highly decorated but as he unpacked his story via Q&A, and I always have lots of Q, he calmly told me of dangerous feats as though he were filling his car with gas. No pretense, no chest beating; just plain, simple, down-to-earth telling me of his story that led to his awarding of the Distinguished Flying Cross for action over Sicily against the Germans in support of Patton's move north toward Italy.  I left there awed, humbled and proud all over again to be an American. My departure from him was a handshake, a crisp hand salute and a gentle hug with tears from both of us for the hour we had gotten to invest in each other. Art Rohr; an American hero ... and my new friend!

 

I find almost daily wondering about just how far into the pit our nation will go before hitting bottom and begin moving toward the light of prosperity and joy.  I realize that more and more I find people simply unhappy, downtrodden, hopeless and scared.  I see in the jail work a growing sense of it almost being alright to break the law, serve the time which means they are protected, fed and are perfectly comfortable living off the dole of the taxpayer funding.  I see it in my students that take the easy route to their course work meaning they do not commit to the journey, seek ways to escape the challenge and accountablity; all indicators that the future is less bright than it otherwise could or should be.

 

There is so much to be frustrated and even angry about.  But you know, there is so much to be over joyed and thankful for. Health is a major one.  Just this week I saw a great friend that had fallen in the parking lot at church, eighty years old, more concerned about his crying wife than he was about his possible injuries; that was love unbounded and so heartwarming.  Just this week I had time with a dear friend that is really struggling with major health issues witnessing his love for our Savior to those that would enter his room.  So yes, for me, this has been a great week. I have gotten to know a hero, a friend and a mutal Christ-follower in the midst of pain and turmoil in their lives lift me to a new perch of being proud of my life, my health, my family, my Christianity.

 

As mother used to say that we never know what a day will bring.  Today, while we know not what this day will bring, I know that whatever it brings we can deal with it for I Know Who Holds Tomorrow and I Know Who Holds My Hand ... amen?? Um Hummmm!

Clear and Cool in Ohio

Good morning on this sort of rainy, foggy yet warming Saturday morning in Northeast Ohio.  Have awakened with five grand kids bouncing on my bed hitting on "Poppy" telling me they loved me, getting fives and rocks from all and pulling me out of bed for breakfast .... that is a great morning!  Before going to bed last night I was feeling lifted by having served in two back-to-back jail services at the Stark County Jail with a total of about fifty men.

 

I was reminded and re-energized all over again as to why I continue to do that work for it truly is a ministry.  It is now moving toward ten years I have serving in jail ministry and the number is approaching 200,000 men and women I have worked with of all ages, colors, creeds, crimes and still I feel a yearning to continue this very strange sort of ministry work.  Never will I understand why or even how God called me to this work but I know without a shadow of a doubt that it is a God-called ministry that warms my heart in the midst of "interesting" smells, comments and reactions. I have seen first hand the power of God's Hand touch a heart through a song, a sermon, a prayer, an arm around the should in encouragement.

 

In doing this work I have learned much about myself I realize.  I realize that not a single one of these men and women were born and reared with an intended purpose to do wrong and end up in a jail or headed to a prison when they transit from the jail.  Everyone of these people had visions of good in their lives. All wanted to cast off the bonds of their usually economic chains for a better life, a family, a career.  But 200,000 people later I have realized that when each of them are in a jail, they are joined by countless children, spouses, parents, grandparents, friends; all of which are incarcerated as well.  When I think of the untold numbers of children affected by their dad or mom being in jail and the prayer requests, the tears, the hurt they each of them know they have unilaterally invoked on those that love them; that is the greatest pain of all I realize.

 

Another learning point for via this work is seeing the trapping power of disappointment in the inmates difficulty in truly being able to forgive themselves for their wrongs.  I am in no way excusing the wrongs they have done nor their sentences and consequences of their poor choices and am very frank about that in my comments in each service.  With bad choice comes bad consequence and that is the price to be paid.   But some interesting points I believe I have witnessed up close and personally: of the hundreds of jail services, there has never been a single case of fighting, disrespect or disruption seen by me.  These are big, strong, tough, scarred men and women and gang activity is ever present in the jail service congregations. However, I see a side of them in "God's House" in the chapel, where all of that is left at the door; Praise God!

 

Something I began several years ago is that if an inmate comes onto my radar for some special reason, I will write them a letter of encouragement in the days following the service experience.  I always use my church's return mailing address for security reasons.  Some of the hundreds of letters I have received in response are uplifting, painful and at the core of them is a stated desire to straighten out the web of despair they have created, thousands of prayer requests for families, victims, etc. My heart is touched with each letter I read.

 

This morning as I was being bounced out of my bed by my five precious grand kids and then to sit around a table to have breakfast with them, we prayed for those men of last evening for they would all love to be having breakfast with their families this morning but cannot due to bad choices in their lives.  It has come clear to me you can, in fact, hate the sin but not the sinner.  I do have a very wide and deep love and joy for these men and women that cannot be explained in human terms but is fully clear in my heart in God's Hand write on my heart.  I believe the work we do with these inmates has to have some positive impact on their lives in the years ahead thus it is an investment in the future thus a capital investment!

 

Some of you reading this know first hand what this life in incarceration and issues with the legal system means and the angst and disappointment that comes with it. I covet your prayers for these men and women and for those of us that have chosen to serve in this troubled environment.  Joy does come in the morning the song says but sometimes I almost feel guilty knowing what I get to wake up to versus when I know those men and women are waking up to this morning.

 

So on this cool and now cleared Saturday morning, know what a blessing freedom of living really is.  Also never forget that but for the Grace of God, each of us could find ourselves behind bars this morning looking longingly to be united with family and friends.

What Lurks at Your Core?

In today's devotional from Our Daily Bread and from Jimmy Carter's Daily Devotional, there was discussion about one's core. We all have a core which are a set of beliefs that formulate the framework of who we really are when nobody else is looking!  The architecture of my teaching is in establishing clearly the Mission which I define as one's reason to exist. Once that is defined, the destination must be determined which is what I call one's Vision. This is vital for Vision encompasses, embraces and energizes the person and / or the organization. So what is left is the pathway from the Mission to the Vision. These pathways are what I call the Strategies.  The progress metrics along these pathways are the Goals.  It really is all quite logical I have learned in my life for the framework is applicable at a personal level and at an organization level.

 

When you stop and think, really, really think about what formulates your core, it creates an increased heart rate for it gets very personal and intimate.  There is a great adage that states that a rising tide lifts all ships.  That is great unless your ship is anchored therefore as the tide rises, the anchored vessel is sucked beneath the rising tide, right?  Anchoring steadies and stabilizes  both of which are good.  But when the time comes, and it will, for movement to a new, different location, destination, vision, the anchors have to be cut loose to be able to take advantage of the rising tide.

 

As I watch my students, friends, family, business associates, I find myself assessing my own core values and beliefs to better understand myself for I have a fundamental sense that as I know myself better, the real me, then I can be a better me and thus be able to be a better teacher, leader, family member and therefore be part of their rising tide. I hope that is clear for it is abundantly clear to me.  So the question that begs an answer: what are your core values?  What is it that in the midst of absolute upheaval in your life or business or relationships, you can know how you will work your way through the maze of the angst, pain and disappointment? We can look around our world every day and see pools and pockets of events and issues the must be dealt with "at the core" and not the periphery.

 

I think a great, pertinent example is the debt debacle of our nation and how our fiscal leaders are trying to manage the terrible dynamic. What values are our elected leaders displaying in finding a way to SOLVE the issue and not continue to hope the rest of the world will continue to bail us out by continuing to buy our debt?  Frankly, and I watch this closely, I have no idea of what the Congress and POTUS of the United States of America's core value are. I find that sad and perhaps I am missing the answer but all I see is partisan rancour. I watched the 113th Congress swearing in yesterday with all the joviality, families and photo ops and felt good about it for I want so badly to have hope.  But then the Speaker of the House elections proved that the core values of the collective Congress are still undefinable. 

 

I will stop with this challenge!  Today, go somewhere alone and in the quiet, do a personal self assessment of what you feel resides at your core.  Build scenarios of things that could happen in your life and then test them in how you think you will navigate the straits of despair.  If done properly and honestly, you will begin to see the mist clear and you can begin to see the real core of what and who you are.  This is not some academic exercise but a real life assessment of yourself.  I commit to doing this today for I have done this several times in my adult life and realize that it is time for another mirror viewing of Jim Williams, the real one. 

 

If you would like to share your thoughts on this, I would be more than thrilled to read and or discuss.  This is a very different type blog for me for the devotional time touched a very unique chord in my heart which has led me to this pathway. I think there is a purpose for that.

2012 Through the Rearview

Good morning on this cold and very snowy day in Northeast Ohio.  Have had three of our grand kids overnight and they are playing quietly now so got to thinking about this year as it ends today.  With all the intrigue, mystery and worry about the "junk" still playing out in Washington, what a joke, my mind drilled into the events of our 2012 and I am left with a smile.

 

From my teaching perspective, it was another great year of taking hundreds of young minds out of Plato's Cave to a new reality.  I love watching the process of Jim, Inc, provide real life, real time work experience in getting the course work done in teams. I thrive on watching leadership blossom in these young team leaders having to utilize skills they did not realize they had to bring the team's productivity to a new water level and enjoying the journey.

 

The time working with jail inmates continues to be an amazing blessing that still, well, amazes me. Never in my life could I have imagined God would open up such a ministry to me and that after almost ten years and thousands of inmates, find great joy in the work. I have heard hundreds of sermons delivered in a myriad of ways and have learned so much about Scripture from the array of preachers that come to do their work with these men and women that have made really bad choices. I have seen the power of a song touch a hardened heart or a scared soul and watched big, strong, angry men melt into tears but all the time trying to muffle and shield their emotions from those around them. I have seen the Hand of God change lives. That is what I get to do!

 

The five grand kids have grown so much in so many ways.  Right now Noah and Gracie are enjoying taking timed math tests; amazing. Hoppie, Ms Africa, has displayed a love of "rapping" to the top of her lungs in her unique dance and glowing smile for Grammy and Poppy.  She is such a blessed addition to our family.

 

Our love for our church, The Canton Baptist Temple, has continued to grow exponentially during this year. Never have we been in a church where missions are so stressed and giving such an integral part of the worship experience. With each met financial goal, I still get excited knowing the fellowship will meet and surpass the goal established.  My appreciation and respect I hold for my pastor, Mike Frazier, has grown yet stronger as I have watched him manage a big, complex organization with love, humility and respect.  We love our church family!  My ABF teacher, Dave Sabaka, is simply amazing in his unique ability to teach God's Word in such a powerful way week after week. 

 

So on this last day of 2012, with all the craziness of a world seemingly teetering on disaster financially, politically, economically, societally, I am assured all over again the we serve a risen Savior, that He is in the world today for I know that He is living no matter what Man may say. See, I see His hand of mercy and I hear His voice of cheer and for sure, just the time I need Him, HE IS ALWAYS NEAR. How do I know this? He lives! He Lives! Christ Jesus lives today for He walks with me and He talks with me and that is all I need to know, all I need  to understand and all I need to really care about, right?

 

We wish you a very Happy 2013.  We will see loss. We will see new. We will see old. We will see things and people pass away for that is the cycle of life. Knowing that, then, it is for each of us to be spiritually ready.  As I will hit the big 65 in March, I do not dread that but embrace that benchmark as a gift God has granted me to remain on this earth for more service. Wow!

 

I wish you all the very best but as I tell my students, your best begins with a choice on your part to give your all and your best as an investment knowing that investment will be rewarded with dividends beyond measure.  Invest yourself!

Cliffs, Whiffs and Sniffs ... and it is SNOWING!

As the snow wafts through the trees laying another coating of beautiful white fluff atop several inches of snow from two days ago, the gentleness of snow cleans my eyes with the sheer intrigue of snow.  It is a portrait of God's creation made prettier with the covering of white. I do love it!

As we enter this New Years weekend, much talk is about averting the Fiscal Cliff.  My only comment will be that I have no doubt the Cliff will be with us for several months if this Congress's performance the entire time they have been in session is any indication.  There might be some band- aid can to kick down the road but the reality is that the United States will enter a deep recession due to loss of confidence by global markets and investors in the fiscal viability of America. 

Never in my life have I been convinced that the 535 Members of Congress and the President of the United States should be summarily impeached or forced to resign with no pay, no pension, no benefits for they simply have not performed. They even admit it themselves as of this morning so why not hold them accountable as a business owner would do to an under performing employee?  We have been failed as an American People by these elected people!

But more, much more importantly, my family entered this weekend with a Family affair last evening with all eleven of the herd here at our house for pizza and then downstairs, all in our pajamas, to watch The Grinch That Stole Christmas on our 55 inch flat screen and all in pitch darkness but for the TV lighting.  The grandkids played and watched, laughed and played, snuggled and kissed; yes, a great night of Family. I realized in that time of watching the macro view of last evening, just how vital Family is to the human existence.  Families are built upon boundaries for boundaries define the rights and wrongs of direction. 

My wife and I have just finished our morning devotional and coincidentally, today's Our Daily Bread is about boundaries. Joe Stowell writes:

In all the years I’ve worked with people, I’ve yet to meet someone whose life was all messed up because he or she kept God’s commands. Yet, in a day when personal freedom is celebrated as an inalienable right, talk of conforming our lifestyle to God’s ways is often viewed as an infringement. And anyone who speaks out in favor of God’s boundaries is ruled out of bounds. But in this frenzy to be free, it should not go unnoticed that our society is increasingly marked with a haunting sense of meaninglessness and despair.

God’s people should have a distinctly different view of boundaries. Like the psalmist, we must realize that a blessed life comes from delighting in the law of the Lord (Ps. 1:2)—not in living like those who “walk in step with the wicked or stand in the way that sinners take” (v.1 niv). A believer in Jesus will recognize that God’s boundaries are not meant to take the pizazz out of life. Instead, they are divine fences constructed with God’s wisdom to help us avoid the treachery and trouble of reckless living.

Next time you are tempted to break through God’s boundaries, remember His loving purpose in putting up fences. Choose to bless God for the boundaries and for the way they bless you.

What freedom lies with all who choose
To live for God each day!
But chains of bondage shackle those
Who choose some other way. —D. DeHaan

 

God’s fences keep you within the bounds of His blessings.

 

As the snow continues to gently fall but after the devotional, I am lifted by the words of Mr.Stowell.  Being politically correct is not a boundary marker. The very mess we are witnessing in Washington perfectly examples that. The issues of same sex marriage, abortion, escalating murders, sexual perversions on every had, ever increasing divorce rates, etc, etc; all example the antithesis of exactly what the Bible and Mr. Stowell addressed to each of us.  I believe one thing we can all agree on is the depth of the vileness of Man cannot be assessed for with each terrible example we can know we but need to wait a few more days and something else even worse will be ushered into our lives via the media.

 

I will close by a return to our founding as a nation and thus how far we continue to venture from those principles.  When you stop and realize via the writings of those men that risked everything including their lives to draft a Declaration on Independence, a Constitution and a Bill of Rights, all of those structural documents for the new Union were filled with references to an Almighty God and seeking His divine guidance and sovereignty. Today, more and more American thumb their nose and scoff at even a hint of God in anything such as our classrooms.

 

See, I cry when I hear the National Anthem, I salute when I see the flag, I shake hands and salute military veterans and feel tears one step later. I am a goof and I know it. I love my country. I love knowing men and women will commit their lives to protecting me from the evils of people that hate me because I live in America. I get very angry when I see Godless politicians, actors, talking heads dispute and demean the very existence of that same God upon which this nation was founded. I believe America is getting exactly what America has sought; distance from that same God and that is both scary and horrific. I believe God saved my soul and the souls of my family. I believe, therefore, my family will be joined again in Heaven so we can spend eternity together. I believe Jesus came to this earth, lived, died a horrible death for me.  I believe this "mess" is fixable if and only if this nation makes a dramatic return to that same God.

 

So it is far less about fiscal cliffs, school shootings, PTSD, abortions, etc, but more about tears of joy in knowing a person has brought Jesus into his or her heart which serves then as a prism for a life serving Jesus.   I realized all of this as my family through the noise of kids at play, listening to the kids talk to each other in their own unique communication systems, as we laughed, told stories, shared experiences around cheap pizza; I felt proud, humbled and honored. As I prayed the blessing on the meal last night , I almost could not finish it for tears welling up in me as Poppy prayed for my family and for thankfulness for one more time together.  Yes, the tears are back just reading this!

 

Find somebody you love this day and hug them, love them, show them you really, really care.

What a Difference a Week Makes

This nation, this People, this World have witnessed a week of major emotional shifts with the dividend yet to be determined.  Just one week ago the world was left shaken by the slaughter in Newtown.  That event seemed to unleash an array of seemingly disconnected events even up through late yesterday afternoon that has left many Americans angry, stunned and long for the sun to rise on a new and more defined horizon.  I am one of those Americans that has been bounced around emotionally with the unfolding of the horrific events but made more frustrated in reading threads to posts on FB that examples the frustration on both sides of an issue launched by the shootings.

 

Some of the events that have become eclectic in nature but seem to oddly co-join in some off key song or a movie that is blurred to the viewer, begins with the unfolding wrongs as reported just one week ago in that quiet little affluent town nobody in my world ever heard of as the media was driven to make rhyme from reason and blew it so badly but with millions of Americans strapped to the "Breaking News" of CNN and other networks. All we knew was carnage was yet again sprung on a weary Americana.  My second or third thought, when I realized generally what had happened, was about how the Charlton Hestons, (the NRA), would react.  The reaction, though later and muted, was pretty much what I thought. The "fix"for future Newtowns was, of course, more guns. LUDICROUS!

 

That Hillary is too sick to testify on her role, or lack thereof, on the Benghazi murders for we all know Mrs. Clinton is seeking now, with her departure from the State Department, to remain cleansed of any wrong as she begins her 2016 POTUS launch.  Then there is the John Kerry nomination to replace Hillary at State; Mr. Kerry has proven himself untrustworthy, a dove in military matters, a pure politician that defines the term "arrogant."  It it interesting how Susan Rice was, in essence, thrown under the Obama Bus so political injury and intrigue continues; thus the way of America in Washington.  It is interesting that in the last few years I have had several approach me about considering venturing into politics as an elected person.  So my question, why on earth would a sane, normal human wish to do that?  Even that sentence is an abomination for public service should be noble and sought for but not as a lifetime journey I believe.

 

Last evening as the world waited for POTUS to address a news conference on the Fiscal Cliff situation, I picked up a most interesting tidbit about Boehner's blown Plan B counter to the steamroller Plan A for the Fiscal Cliff due to Boehner's  inability to rally enough support within the Republican caucus to even bring Plan B to the floor. That tidbit was that most of his caucus had already departed Washington for Christmas.  From that moment I cared less about what Obama might say, which was in essence another political utterance, but was washed with anger on how these elected officials, rats from the sinking ship metaphor was clear, had the gall to simply go home. 

 

From my career experience with Goodyear and in the military, the thoughts of running somewhere to avoid accountability was never an option nor even a thought.  At that moment my blood rain cold on the entire Republican Party; a Party I have always aligned with philosophically.  The Republicans have shown the world, beginning with Romney, that they have lost their way and that the template since WWII is broken.  This is a leadership issue. The scary part for me is that there is a need for a two-party system but with one Party now publicly neutered under Boehner's poor leadership, the other Party, in essence, has free reign to continue to borrow more to spend more to push government into even more crevices of Americans lives.

 

All of this, and more, in the span of one week; Wow! And oh, by the way, the world did not end!  My hopes and beliefs about this world are more rooted in the words of my Bible than in Washington, Columbus, Mayans, Rush, POTUS or Bubba on the street.  It seems our world has lost its way which is because our world has lost its way. It is a very dangerous world with too many nukes and weapons of mass destruction and far too many religious nutcases roaming the streets of our world.  But I know a Man who can calm, can soothe, can sleep in the midst of any storm and make that storm evaporate with the power of a word.  There will be those that will scoff or even snarl at my words but here is where I will close. As we enter the Christmas season, let us all seek to remember the real reason for the season and no, Wal-Mart is not it.  The Holy birth of the Christ child that only through that child gave the world, Man, the means to secure a home in glory. My home and my family's home is secured so all this mangle of frustration is just noise at the airport before departure.

 

I do want to thank you for the many comments from so many of you to my blog. I still cannot believe I have entered into the blogosphere but even my wife reads it!  I want to wish you the best for this season. I know many that receive this are dealing with many, varied personal issues and within their families but please know, I appreciate each and every one of you more than you can begin to imagine.  God is Good!  Those are not three words but rather a statement of absoluteness. I can anchor to that for the world is screaming for an anchor that will hold in the midst of the storms of our world.   Be blessed!

Biden the new Gun Czar

This last week has been simply terrible for far too many Americans with the shock of the killings in Connecticut.  When things like this, this magnitude, happens, my mind will take me to a "stand off" mental location to watch the events to see how the pieces begin to come to together.  My high school basketball coach taught me to look "off the ball" meaning to watch the flow of the whole game. Nobody is better at that than LeBron James if you stay with the basketball analogy.

We all watched with horror as this unfolded and listened to the media piecing together bits of information in trying to knit a picture which, with facts, proved to be mostly wrong.  I can assume we now have the story of what actually happened in this disaster of mega proportion.  The thing I have watched in my "looking off the ball" approach to understanding is how the population of our nation has split into camps on how to "fix" this awful thing.

The two camps, basically, are those that want to focus on the guns and the other camp is the need to focus on the mental health issues.  I know in an initial FB post which I posted to stick my toe in the water to test the push back from the then silent NRA to see how strong their conviction on taking no responsibility nor position on this debacle would be triggered, as expected, rather caustic responses by NRA members.  Images of Moses (Charlton Heston) and this grip on the rifle where his hands have to be pull off at his death floated through my head.

The capper for me was the POTUS comments Sunday evening at the Newtown meeting.  In watching our Leader articulate calmly, and I want to believe sincerely, the role of Chief Soother becomes yet another lightning rod was evidence of the state of poison that exists in our political nation.  As I stated, I did not nor would I vote for him but his role is crucial in times of disaster and I thought his words at the time were sincere and soothing to a nation hurting.  Then the media triggered, of course, much like the piecing together, wrongly, of the bigger story as the shootings unfolded, around POTUS real meeting in his comments Sunday night on doing something to make this go away. The NRA, at that time, is still in silence.  You know, perhaps silence might have been the right elixir but time will tell!

But the real capper for me was when I learned POTUS had placed Biden, as the leader of the changes to be made whatever they may be so from that moment, any modicum of credibility POTUS had established in me, which is not easy to do, were dashed on the rocks of politics.  Biden has less credibility than anyone in Washington. For me, if POTUS was really serious, he could have and perhaps should have selected the president of the NRA to take on this role.  Remember what we learned from the Godfather; "keep your friends close but keep your enemies closer?" 

I hate to even hint that the gun lobby is the "enemy" but I think it obvious just from my own personal toe testing of the water that gun owners feel it is fine to have high calibre, military-style weaponry to shoot squirrels and rabbits supposedly. Just don't understand that!  Then very quickly defense of the "right to bear arms" is tossed up as the real defense by the Second Amendment.  I will write more on that one later.

Then the camp of dealing with mental illness reared its head as the real culprit. I certainly cannot discount that for that is an area I know nothing about but see the affects of it in many ways in my work in jails and prisons. It is horrific and I fully agree more time and money must be invested. But the issue is the combining to the two camps meaning arming up of mentally deranged people; a true disaster looking to happen!  But one thing I know .. Biden is absolutely incapable of leading anything but then, what do presidents do in times of turmoil? They appoint a commission or issue a proclamation which usually leads to more staff, more paper destruction and more nothing in action which is very sad.

So I will close this for now with a sense of trying to "look off the ball" to understand what is really happening. I am not sure any of us know for the hurt is still so real and near.  Here is what I know ... this is an American matter and we have some very bright people in this nation.  I also know government does not fix anything well or quickly but patience and leadership is needed now and not kneejerk reaction to this terrible disaster. My greater concern, frankly, is a copycat nutjob will see the need to pull another one of these disasters before schools are out for Christmas.  So I will close now with that last sentence ... we need Christ in this nation more than ever before!