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EDITOR'S
SIDEBAR
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Sharon
Ruth Daake
1958-2006
First she
was a daughter and a sister. As she grew, she was a Girl Scout, a
pianist, a Candy striper, and a girlfriend. Then she was a nurse,
a wife, a mother, and a grandmother. Along the way, she was many
other things: bell ringer, Christian, "Flybaby", college graduate.
In the
end, everybody who truly knew her agreed on one thing for certain: she
was loved.
My sister,
Sharon, was born on September 8, 1958, in Flint, Michigan. On October
5, 2006, she died while on vacation in the Bahamas. In between, the
lives she touched were too numerous to mention. Not the least of
which was mine.
She was
the one who, when I didn't feel like anybody else was on my side, I knew
I could count on to love me regardless of my flaws and weaknesses.
At those times when I struggled in my faith, she was for such a long time
the only person I could talk to.
She was
always one of the first people to recognize my strengths. One of
the last e-mails I received from her was in response the previous issue
of "One Man Watching." She wrote, "I enjoy your writing, and am proud
that you have the gift to so eloquently put into words things that I also
believe. Keep it up, Bro!"
Over the
course of this last summer, when my wife, Linda, went into the hospital
to have cancer surgery, my sister came up to be with me in the hospital
so I wouldn't have to wait by myself. Over the course of those hours,
we talked about a lot of things, and the fact that she would take time
off of work to make the trip meant so much to me. That was the last
time I saw her. Today, when I see her in my mind's eye, I still see
her smile and hear her laughter.
And I will
miss her.
Brad Pardee
Editor |
If you have any feedback, I'd love
to hear it. Contact me at:
[email protected] |
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| The
Proof In The Pudding |
| Conservative evangelicals are frequently
criticized for seeming to be working more for the advancement of the Republican
Party than the kingdom of God. This week's story about the Rev. Joel
Hunter's decision to turn down the presidency of the Christian Coalition
will not help matters. He had been elected to succeed Roberta Combs,
and he had hoped to expand the organization's focus to include the poor
and the environment. According to Rev. Hunter, "They pretty much
said, 'These issues are fine, but they're not our issues, that's not our
base.'" When the most widely-recognized organization for political
activity among conservative Christians is talking about their base instead
of what God calls us to do, that's troubling, because it would seem to
give at least some credence to those criticisms.
But over the next two years, we have a chance to
prove those criticisms wrong. We have the opportunity to prove that
we are Christians first and members of a political party second.
Back in 2000, I wrote here
about a group of evangelical leaders who, following the impeachment of
President Clinton, issued a call for repentance. The repentance they
called for, however, was not the President's but rather the church's.
In the days when he was being tempted, they asked, who was praying for
him to be strong and resist. That was a legitimate question then,
and in light of the Congressional power shift after the recent elections,
it's worth remembering now.
Democrat Harry Reid will be the new Senate Majority
Leader, and Democrat Nancy Pelosi will be the new Speaker of the
House. There are positions of great responsibility. These new
leaders will need no less wisdom and strength than outgoing Republican
leaders Bill Frist and Dennis Hastert did. The question remains,
though, whether we will pray for these new leaders as we did for the old
leaders. Will we ask God to bless Nancy Pelosi and her family?
Will we ask Him to keep Harry Reid in good health? Will we pray for
godly associates to help them resist the temptations that are part and
parcel of being in such positions of power? Will we pray for their
safe travel as they fulfill their duties and for their protection from
those who would see them as potential targets of attack?
This doesn't mean we are praying for the success
of their legislative agendas. On those issues where we believe them
to be advocating positions that are wrong, that would be foolish and illogical.
But that is true no matter which party is in power.
There is a difference, though, between praying for
their political success and praying for God's blessing on their lives.
No matter how easy it is for Republicans to make personal attacks on Democrats
and for Democrats to make personal attacks on Republicans, the fact remains
that God loves ALL people of ALL parties. If, given the opportunity
to meet Senator Frist in person, we would've said we were praying for him,
but we wouldn't do the same if we met Senator Reid, then we've lost sight
of the call for us to be imitators of Christ, who sought out those He was
expected to despise and instead showed them His love. Prayer is an
expression of that love, and if we claim to truly be His disciples, we
can do no less.
Others Worth
Watching
Not everybody has heard of
FlyLady,
but those I know of who have applied her principles are eager to spread
the word.
FlyLady is Marla Cilley, who
started the FlyLady group as a means to mentor others in the use of goals,
routines and habits to eliminate clutter and organize life and home.
Although the name FlyLady originally
referred to her love of fly fishing, FLY has become an acronym for an idea
that completely captures her goal: Finally Loving Yourself. According
to her website, she lives by three rules:
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Don't sweat the small stuff; what
doesn't matter, doesn't matter.
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Laugh everyday. Even if it is
at yourself.
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Love like there is no tomorrow.
Those who follow her lead refer
to themselves as FlyBabies, and I have yet to meet anybody who looked at
her principles, followed them, and came away disappointed. For many,
it has been life changing. My wife is an afficianado, as was my sister.
For those who feel like life is controlling them instead of the other way
around, FlyLady might be worth checking into.
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