Do you have a dream that seems so impossible that you are ready to give up on it? Well don’t. I heard a story about a tourist in a small town where a number of famous people had been born. He said to an old timer, “I heard there have been some big people born here.” The old timer responded, “Nope, all babies.”

We all start small don’t we? It’s the same with big visions. They usually start small and grow. You may be surprised to know that the first suspension bridge across Niagara Falls started in 1847 with a kite and some string.  It was eight hundred feet across the river and experts at the time thought it was impossible to span that distance. At first they didn’t think of something as simple as a kite and string. Here’s what happened.

The kite was flown across the gorge and the kite string was attached to a tree and the river was spanned. That simple. Then a light cord was attached to the string and pulled across. Then a heavier cord was attached and pulled across followed by a rope and finally a wire cable. Work on the suspension bridge began.  It wasn’t sophisticated and that’s probably the reason the idea hadn’t been tried before. But the amazing thing is that such a simple solution was able to solve such a complex problem. I’m sure there were scoffers but it was the best idea available at the time and most importantly, it worked. The result was a bridge that furthered positive international relationships between the United States and Canada. A big dream with humble beginnings.

So often dreams lie dormant because the dreamer can’t find a place to start.

When my daughter Vanessa was nine she showed an interest in horses and I had always had a dream to own a horse. Shirley reminded me, accurately, that we couldn’t even afford to buy a horse, much less pay the boarding fees and the other related expenses. I understood the financial realities, but I also understood that a dream is only possible if you pursue it.  I found a place for Vanessa to take lessons, and I begin reading magazines, visiting stables, meeting horse people and asking questions, learning everything I could about horses and the horse market. In general I was “putting myself in the way of a dream.”

It was about a year later that I found a nice horse we could afford and the owner threw in the saddle and bridle as part of the deal. We still couldn’t afford a boarding fee, so I went to the owner of a small farm with a horse barn, and worked out a deal for a much-reduced boarding rate. However, in order to secure that rate, Vanessa and I had to paint all the horse stalls and do general cleanup.

What looked like an impossible dream wasn’t impossible at all. It just needed perseverance, creative thinking and hard work. The dream grew and it brought my daughter and I closer and I’ve had horses ever since.  The point was that the “perceived reality” that we “can’t” happened to be a false reality.  Impossibilities are usually not impossible at all, just varying degrees of difficulty. And most of the time there are creative and sometimes incredibly simple solutions to those problems, like a kite and string or painting a barn.

Here are three essential things you need to know about achieving a dream.

1. Don’t let go of the dream

2. Take time to think about it every day

3. Find a place to start regardless of how simple it may seem

4. Work as hard as necessary to achieve it.

Thanks for joining me and whatever you do… keep showing up.

Do you know that a healthy marriage is important to good health in general? Maybe as important as exercise and good diet. But a good marriage doesn’t just happen. It takes commitment to a good relationship. Communication is the key to a healthy marriage. Shirley and I have been married 43 years and there are some things we have learned that can help.

We met on a blind date.  I lived in Dallas and was visiting some friends in New Orleans who set us up. After a couple of dates I knew she was the person for me and by the end of the second week I asked her to marry me. She said yes and six months later we were in a church on the edge of the French Quarter in New Orleans. And here we are forty-three years, three children and fourteen grandchildren later, still together, still in love and still learning.

Now understand, I’m not saying it’s been perfect or easy. It hasn’t. We both carry a lot of personality baggage and we still deal with it.  There are collisions.  But in spite of the flaws we have a good life together. And there are some things we have learned along the way that can be helpful.

We’re committed to the long haul.   Not just the marriage, but to our relationship. From the outset we agreed our marriage was for keeps. But that takes commitment to a good relationship. Otherwise marriage “ain’t going to be fun.” More like a prison sentence.

Since Shirley and I were in it for the “long haul” our focus has been how to make that a happy “long haul.” That means being willing to change. Lets face it; if you’re not willing to change you’ve got a problem, especially in a marriage.  Shirley and I tend to be strong willed, so we would rather win than change. The key is being concerned enough about the other person’s needs that you’re willing to accommodate them. Communication is the key to a healthy marriage.   That’s change. Change for us has not only meant a better marriage but it’s made us better people. But it’s an ongoing process that we’re still working on.

Another thing we do is work on just staying close. Without a lot of TLC a marriage can become stale and couples can start drifting apart.  Shirley and I are very busy people and we’ve got to be intentional about staying close. So there are some simple things we do. For instance, ninety-second hugs that can happen any time day or night. Probably the best of all is the double recliner in the family room. That’s where we hang out together. We talk about the present and the future. We read, watch movies or just hold hands and relax. But we’re close to each other and in touching distance. And we always share a bag or two of popcorn.

Well that’s our story and we’re sticking to it. But I can tell you that working on a strong marriage is the best investment you will ever make and you can start right now.

Thanks for joining me and let me know what you think.

Either Arleen Ocasio has a problem with God or she’s just following the orders of the Veterans Administration. There’s got to be a reason she has so blatantly trampled on 1^st Amendment rights of two veterans organizations and the National Memorial Ladies.

Ocasio is the Director of VA National Cemetery in Houston, Texas where the Memorial Ladies of Houston attend up to sixty funerals a week, offering condolences to families of the deceased. In many occasions they attend funerals in honor of older veterans who have no one to attend. The veterans groups provide volunteer honor guards at the funerals.

According to reports, Ocasio and other cemetery officials have instructed the veteran groups to remove prayers from its burial rituals and have forbidden them to say “we ask that God grant you and your family grace, mercy and peace” to the families at the end of the 21 gun salute. They told the National Memorial Ladies of Houston that they could no longer include “God Bless” in their condolence cards or speak a religious message to veterans families. And finally, Ocascio shut down the cemetery chapel and is using it for storage.

It’s hard to believe that Ocasio or the Veterans Administration could possibly think they could get by with that kind of disregard of 1^st Amendment rights. Maybe its not so hard to believe in the anti-Christian environment we are confronted with today. This has been going on for sometime, but after a pastor was forbidden to say “Jesus” in a funeral he conducted it hit the fan and now the courts are dealing with it and Ocasio is being shut down. That’s good, but she should have been shut down the first time it happened. There are calls for Ocasio to go and I agree. I don’t like to see anyone lose their job, but she’s a bad fit for director of the VA National Cemetery and she should be replaced with someone who has a better handle on 1^st Amendment rights.

Thanks for joining me and I would to hear what you think. But whatever you do keep showing up.

San Francisco is considering banning the sale of pets in the city. That includes all animals.  It started with dogs and cats, but then the animal activists got hold of it, saw an opportunity to forward their nutty agenda, so now it even includes anything with fur, feathers or fins -including goldfish. If this passes muster, you won’t even be able to buy a goldfish or any other kind of fish as a pet in San Francisco. Look I know, most of you are thinking, no, that kind of an ordinance won’t pass, not even in San Francisco. It’s just too ridiculous. Don’t kid yourself. It could well pass.

This is small potatoes for the Animal Rights activists. They have a much bigger agenda, like, speaking of potatoes, making all of us vegans. They know that’s a really tough sell so they’re working on agenda items they think they can get passed; one rung on the ladder at a time like banning ownership of animals. That’s right. Instead of owning your pet dog, cat, horse or fish, you would be granted a guardianship by the government, much like a guardianship of a relative. This means one doesn’t own a pet, rather just be its guardian and the animal would have similar rights as a human being has.

Rover could even be assigned one of a growing number of animal lawyers and have his day in court.   Keep in mind, the guardianship right would be bestowed by a government agency and could be revoked, meaning your pet could be arbitrarily taken away and assigned to someone else. I know that sounds ludicrous, but to animal rights activists it is a very serious part of their agenda.

Here’s the point. There are things happening that may well have radical impact on your life. It’s important to know what’s happening in your community and to be involved.  The culture war is happening and we can’t afford to be complacent.

Let me know what you’re thinking and whatever you do keep showing up.

I remember the 1986 Viet Nam Veterans march in Chicago. The city was expecting 125,000 marchers and 200,000 showed up with over 500,000 along the parade route. It was an incredible day. For the veterans who had waited too long for appreciation from a ungrateful nation it was a catharsis. There were a lot of tears as the crowd cheered and yelled their thanks, but not just from the vets. We all had tears. I’ll never forget that experience.

There was another meaningful experience that day.  Our operations manager, a young guy in his early thirties who later earned his PHD and became a University professor was with me.   I was surprised to see him in tears.   I didn’t say anything, but later he wanted to talk about it. He said that as a college student he was a hippie, complete with long hair, tie dye t-shirts, drugs and lots of anger. He said that he actually traveled around the country protesting the Vietnam War. He said as he watched these thousands of men, who fought the war he had protested, for the first time in his life he was experiencing a real sense of patriotism. The parade was also a catharsis for him.  I was startled by his response. I couldn’t imagine an American not having feelings of patriotism. I wish everyone like him could have been there that day.

From my early childhood I was taught patriotism. I was taught that America was special and I should be proud of my country.  It was ingrained in our family. Lenny, my aunt’s brother, joined the army when he was seventeen and was killed on a beach in Europe. The last time I visited my aunt before she went to a nursing home his picture and Purple Heart medal was still hanging on her living room wall. Lenny’s memory was special to the family. He believed enough in America and what it stood for to want to do his part to keep it free.

The phrase “Politically Correct” didn’t exist in those days so it was okay to be openly patriotic. We knew America had faults and though we weren’t perfect, we were still taught that there were a lot more positives than negatives and that it was a great place to be.

As a kid I read biographies about great Americans and those biographies helped shape my character. There was a comfortable balance between Church and State. In God We Trust was more than a phrase on a coin. Today however, cynicism has replaced patriotism and the focus is on how bad we are as a nation and our president goes abroad and apologizes on our behalf.  Instead of the comfortable balance between Church and State the focus is on Christianity’s danger to the culture.  The fact is, Christianity is deeply woven into the fabric of the American cloth and the danger is in removing it.

The critics also seem to miss the fact that one of the biggest challenges we face in America is not keeping people from leaving, but how to handle the masses from all over the world who want in. They know a good thing when they see it.  I’ve traveled to a lot of countries of the world and after all that travel I can honestly say I’m glad to be an American. We have faults and we have made bad choices.  But I still believe our nation is the best thing going and we don’t need to apologize to anyone for who we are.

Thanks for joining me and whatever you do keep showing up.

McDains restaurant in Monroeville, Pennsylvania has banned kids six and under from the restaurant.  The owner Mike Vuick says the reason is that younger kids are increasingly showing poor manners and are disruptive to other customers. He also says parents give the staff a hard time when they are asked to control their children.  Vuick says it’s just become too much of a hassle.

MSNBC.com did a survey asking, “Do you think banning young kids from a restaurant is a good idea?” It might shock you to discover that 46% said yes and 51% said it depends on the restaurant. That’s 97 % who like the idea. Only 3% objected to the idea. For some parents this ought to be a wake up call.

This could mean a couple of things. It could mean that people today just don’t like to be around kids or it could mean that people today don’t like to be around undisciplined kids. I happen think it’s the latter. People don’t like to be around kids who don’t know how to behave and parents who let them get by with it.   We’ve all experienced it and it’s frustrating. You’ve been on a plane with kids running up and down the isle making a nuisance of themselves while their parents are either oblivious or don’t care.  Or you’ve been in a store where a child is throwing a tantrum with a parent clueless as to what to do. Or you’ve been in a restaurant such as McDanins where children are making a scene.

I have to make a confession here.  I don’t care how cute they are, I don’t like to be around children like that. I just don’t have a lot of respect for parents who allow it.  Apparently I’m not alone. Remember, 97% of the people surveyed feel the same way. Most kids do know how to behave in public.  Most are not spoiled brats.  I’m the grandfather of 14 grandkids and though they are not perfect by any means, I can honestly say, they know how to behave in public and there is rarely a problem.

Children don’t learn good behavior in public.  Discipline starts at home and moves outward. Children need parameters and parents are the ones to provide them. When your kids become the epicenter of their universe you’re headed for trouble, both now and later.  How your kids behave in public is a pretty good indicator of what they’re learning at home.

There are a lot of well-disciplined kids who won’t be able to eat at McDains. But there are other restaurants, unless of course more owners get fed up with unruly kids and follow Mike Vuick’s cue.

Do you think McDains children-ban is a good idea? I would like to know what you think about this. And whatever you do, keep showing up.

A while back I was close to running my hand-luggage through security at the Charleston, SC airport when a woman came running up with a look of panic in her eyes. It was obvious she had gotten ready in a hurry and she looked pretty thrown together.   She asked a distinguished looking man in his fifties, a couple of people in front of me, if he would please let her in line so she wouldn’t miss her plane.

Without hesitation, the man said, “No, I won’t. Everyone standing here had a plane to catch this morning and we all got up, got dressed and got here in time to stand in line and catch the plane. You could have done the same thing, but you didn’t and that’s probably how you live your life. So I’m not going to let you in line.”

The woman’s stunned look suggested it wasn’t the first time she had asked to be bailed out of crisis of her own making and it usually worked. It did not work this time. The man had told her what we were all thinking and no one let her in line. I suppose she missed her plane.

On the one hand it may have seemed callous, but on the other hand it may have been exactly what she needed. As a Christian, I want to show mercy and grace to everyone; God has certainly shown it to me. But in spite of God’s mercy and grace, I’ve also had to deal with the painful consequences of my actions. And I think I’m a better person for it. We don’t always do a person a favor by bailing them out. Who knows how many times that woman had been late to the airport and had just come to expect a place in front of the line. And what about the rest of her life? Perhaps her dependence on other people to bail her out had just added to her lack of personal discipline.  I know people like that as I’m sure you do as well. They spend their lives digging holes for themselves that they expect somebody else to shovel them out of.

Sometimes the most Christian thing we can do is to let a person deal with the consequences of their actions. It’s not easy because we don’t want to see people suffer, even if it’s of their own making. Especially, if they’re people close to us, people we love. But sometimes it’s important for them to feel enough pain to decide to make the changes necessary not to have to go through it again. We often mistake forgiveness for reinforcing bad behavior. Forgiving someone does not mean we allow them to continue to hurt us or prevent the consequences of their actions. It means we love them and will stand beside them and help them even if the help is “Tough Love.”

I don’t know if the woman learned anything from her experience. Maybe just maybe if she missed a couple more flights she might decide it’s better to get to the airport on time to make the flight.  For her sake I hope so. But I took something from the experience. I’ve not forgotten the man who was strong enough to say no to a person I believe needed someone to say no to.

Thanks for joining me and let me know what you think. And whatever you do, keep showing up.

A few years ago I reviewed a documentary about the Mormon Church. The purpose of the documentary was to define the differences between the Mormon faith and orthodox Christianity. I liked everything about it except the last scene. It was unacceptable. It depicted two clean-cut young Mormon missionaries in suits and ties with smiles on their faces waiting at the front door of a house. But the background music was foreboding and actually made the two smiling young men seem sinister to the point of evil. It was manipulative, unnecessary and unfair. We made the decision not to air the video on our network unless the scene was removed. We were given permission to remove the scene and aired the documentary.

Pictures words and video are often used to skew our thinking positively or negatively about a person or event. Case in point: It is interesting how Time and Newsweek use cover pictures and text to make their statement about the people they are featuring. You can quickly get an idea of their attitude toward that person. For example, the March 14^th 2011 Newsweek has a nice authoritative portrait of Hillary Clinton with an official looking background. The caption promotes her as a positive influence for women.

Another example is the pleasing cover shot of Michelle Obama on the March 22^nd cover, promoting her campaign against childhood obesity. Or, how about the great Newsweek cover of July 25^th of General Petraus in action? You only have to read the articles to know that these are people that the editors of Time and Newsweek like and they want you to like. Now compare that to the wild-eyed picture of Michelle Bachmann in the August 15^th 2011 edition of Newsweek with the caption, “Queen of Outrage.”  Was this intentional? Of course it was. They want you to believe that she is an unstable wild-eyed tea party conservative, not the woman who was authoritative and handled herself incredibly well in the first national debate.

Or what about the August 1, 2011 Newsweek edition, with that awful inside picture of Rupert Murdoch? As the owner of Fox Network, he is not exactly a favorite of the liberal media. I’ll not take the time to mention other examples including the cover shot of Sarah Palin in shorts. But you get the point. It’s obvious they manipulate the covers and the articles to fit their liberal political philosophy. But hey, it’s their magazine and as long as the readers let them get by with it, they can manipulate the covers any way they want.

This being said however, they shouldn’t try to pass it off as objective news. It isn’t.  If they were objective you would find pro-life articles or a balanced perspective on same sex marriage. Except for an occasional token article, you won’t find this because both magazines are liberal voices and should be understood as such.

So the next time you look at the cover of a Time or Newsweek or read one of the feature articles just remember to take it with a grain of salt. You might find some news but you’ll definitely find plenty of liberal propaganda and salesmanship.

Thanks for joining me and let me know what you think.  And whatever you do, keep showing up.

When you lose your moral compass you inevitably start drifting into strange and confusing moral waters. Especially if your arrogant enough to think you know best for everybody, like Michael Bloomberg, the super-rich, liberal mayor of New York.

Bloomberg, along with some of his experts, thinks breastfeeding is best for children. So far so good. But here’s where it falls apart, Bloomberg and his cronies are not content with advising mothers about breastfeeding. They intend to force it on them.

So now, when a woman gives birth in any of the twenty-seven New York public hospitals and wants to bottle feed her child, she is given a stern lecture on why she should breast feed and the hospital must give a medical reason for allowing it. Furthermore, they have to take it from a locked cabinet and provide the information to the public health department. This is the same procedure they use for addictive drugs.

Somehow, Bloomberg believes he has the right to force a mother to his way of thinking regardless of the circumstances. It works for him and his wife because they’re rich and don’t face the challenges most of the mothers who go to public hospitals face. Talk about out of touch with reality.

It gets even weirder.  One of the foundational arguments in the pro-abortion movement is that a woman has a right to her own body, even choosing to destroy a living being inside her body. Bloomberg is an outspoken pro-abortionist.  However, to Bloomberg, a woman’s right to her own body starts below her breasts. From the breasts up, forget choice, he’s in charge. Now just imagine for a moment what’s going to happen if people who think like that take over your health care.

You ought to be concerned enough to do something about it at the next election.

Thanks for joining me and whatever you do, keep showing up.

To say Tim Tebow, the Denver Bronco’s starting quarterback, is open about his faith is a giant understatement.  His faith and his success as a quarterback,  is the most talked about thing in sports right now.

Tebow is an “in your face Christian” and I’m not really, so part of me would like for him to tone it down a bit. But this is not new to Tebow. When it comes to his Christianity he has one gear -full throttle.

In the 2009 BCS Championship Game, he wore “John 3:16” on his eye paint.  What’s remarkable is that during and after the game, 92 million people searched “John 3:16″ on Google.  That’s more in one game than most Bible societies combined will get in a decade.

His number 15 Jersey, has been the best-selling jersey in the entire NFL each month since being drafted. So who am I to tell Tim Tebow to tone it down? And why all the furor? He’s an outspoken Evangelical Christian who kneels with a short prayer after a touchdown, and talks about God and Jesus in his interviews. That kind of show of faith is unacceptable in a politically correct, anti-Christian world. The same world that preaches tolerance; unless of course you are a Christian. Then intolerance is acceptable. Another word for that is hypocrisy.

Look, every Christian has a calling and it seems this is Tim Tebow’s and I say more power to him.  But he’s going to have a target on his back and it’s not going to be easy for him.  And you can be sure I’ll be praying for him. Oh, by the way, at what point could some of the really bad stuff being said about Tim Tebow be considered “Hate Speech.”

I liked to hear what you think and whatever you do, keep showing up.