Please do yourself a favor and click on the link to the video of an interview between Charlie Rose and Fred Rogers (aka Mr. Rogers).  Very few people in the media can sum up being a Christian in so few words like Fred Rogers.  I was moved to tears while watching this interview. 
Why is it so hard for us to find simplicity in our lives?  Fred talks about the importance of silence.  Everywhere we turn we're surrounded by distraction and noise.  I'm so glad we have people in our lives that can re-center our souls and bring us back to our focus on Christ and humble service.  Enjoy.
Ben
Charlie Rose interview with Fred Rogers 

2.6.09
Apparently the “change” that Obama has brought to the White House involves funding new ways to avoid the consequences of our irresponsible behavior. On January 23, Obama signed an order to lift the ban on U.S. Government funding to groups that provide abortions in foreign countries. Check out the story here:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20090123/pl_nm/us_obama_abortion

And this is just the beginning….

He’s promised to sign this bill if it reaches his desk…. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freedom_of_Choice_Act

Like a large portion of America, I was excited about Obama becoming president. He’s a dynamic, motivating figure. But it’s sad that a man with so much power and influence would have such a naïve and abrasive view about abortion. What a horrible abuse of taxpayer’s money and presidential power.

How can someone, especially a husband and father, view human life this way.
As a burden.
As a mistake.

The mistake, Mr. Obama, is not the life of that little child. The mistake is in our failing relationships as husbands and wives. The mistake is in our sex smothered pop culture that teens drown in everyday. The mistake is us not teaching the beauty of physical love at the right time and that just because there are condoms and birth control pills, it doesn’t make sex harmless and safe. Our mistake is made by not keeping women safe from situations of rape and incest.

We have failed as humans when the "mistake" in this situation is defined as an unwanted child, not in the irresponsibility of our physical acts of love or by failing to provide nurturing safe environments where a single woman who has been either raped or impregnated as a teenager feels she can carry the baby to term for adoption.
Would we really rather throw a still developing human in a trash can behind a clinic than see a happy little baby full of life?
Honestly, ask yourself that. Have you ever looked into the eyes of a newborn and found the promise and miracle in those discovering eyes? Or the joy in the barren couple adopting a child? Or the baby born with a disability that proves to be successful and live a normal life despite the negative outlook from his healthcare providers.
Maybe if we loved each other a little more, we would see the beauty and not the burden of a baby in these situations.

Of course the big argument from a liberal point of view, (bear in mind that I take no political side, they’re all equally unproductive and lobbyist controlled) is that it’s a woman’s choice to abort or give birth to a baby. This is the truth. The government has no right to tell her what to do with her body. So why are we attempting to make it easier and easier to have the procedure performed? Isn’t that government intervention? Basically our government is saying, “Continue to be irresponsible with your sexual decisions, we’ll take care of your consequences.” The problem is too complicated for our politicians to take the time to solve, so they come up with a simple means to an end. Erase the situation. Shouldn’t we be expecting more from the supposedly “best and brightest” of our country? Our leaders who are each paid $150,000 dollars and up to govern our lives?

Erase the situation.

Women's rights aren't about the power over one's body; it's about the power OF one's body. Women have the most beautiful gift as a human and we're making the option of disabling that gift into a decision similar to purchasing over-the-counter cold medicine! When did we become so callous and indifferent to the origins of our own creation? We ALL started our lives as a speck in our mother’s womb. What makes my life any different than the life of that baby developing inside her mother?
We're arguing over the wrong part of this scenario. Babies should be created in a loving situation. One night stands, rape, incest, poor planning....are not loving situations. We need to find ways to prevent. Maybe that sounds lofty and unattainable, but I believe it to be the only way.

But, we erase the situation…like it never happened. That’s the best we get from our leaders. I was horrible in math class but I do remember if I erased my answer to a problem and left it blank because I couldn’t solve the equation, I failed that problem. The government has failed on this problem as well.

Here are some options:
1. How about we order idiotic organizations such as “Planned Parenthood” to fork over some of their extensive lobbying budget to help fund sexual awareness counselors in high schools. Hire teachers, mentors, and counselors. Give kids something to do besides each other. (Side Note: This should NOT be dealt with in elementary schools, let them be kids. If children that age are dabbling in sexual promiscuity, that’s our fault as parents and educators for allowing that to pass through their eyes and ears at such an early age.)
2. Put federal restrictions on network TV content. I saw a “Girls Gone Wild” commercial on prime time television the other night. Seriously?
3. Stop pushing the birth control pills like they’re the cure all drugs. This drug isn’t some magical pill that puts up a fence in front of an egg and safely holds up a “Stop” sign to sperm cells…oh…and clears up acne. No, these are serious medications that can do long term damage to a woman’s body and DO cause abortions whether you would like to believe that or not. And a large percentage of women receiving birth control are from….drum roll please…low-income households! Funny then that congress wanted to include $200 million dollars for birth control in the pending economic stimulus package. Low-income families+ cheap birth control=economic growth. We don’t want to have to provide health care or educate anyone below the poverty level now do we?

I have many more ideas, but I’m not intending to write a book here.

Bottom line…our government and country are afraid to cross these ridiculous political party lines and stray from lobbyists, to find real solutions to this moral problem. Birth control, condoms, Morning After pills, abortions…are NOT solutions. Communication, prevention education, parental accountability, and sexual responsibility ARE solutions. But one of the most important is selflessness. Something a government cannot give us.

We must begin as a culture to look at sexuality, human life, relationships, and youth as precious gifts. We’ve lost track of the art of loving our relationships. The core of which is giving ourselves up for one another.
We only search for what will further our own happiness. A child should be the product of two people who are literally willing to die for each other. A child is a gift for those willing to give of their time, energy, and love. If we can’t give that much in our relationships in the first place, sex should not be in the picture.

Listen, we make mistakes.

There will always be instances where pregnancy stems from a one night stand, rape, incest, an unprepared couple, etc. But why can’t we take a different approach than murdering the result? Why can’t we work together to provide safe, healthy atmospheres to carry these babies full term? Why should they suffer our consequence?

While on the campaign trail for president, Obama was quoted as saying,
“I've got two daughters. 9 years old and 6 years old. I am going to teach them first of all about values and morals. But if they make a mistake, I don't want them punished with a baby.”

What a weak view. What a sad way to teach your children about human life. That there are no repercussions to sexual experimentation and that the gift her body holds in the ability to bring new life is less important than her naïve choice.

Since 1973, choice has been more important than the lives of close to 50 million aborted children.

These were our children…maybe our next world leader…maybe your future best friend.

The “change” we need to make is in our hearts, not in our pride and politics.

Ben

WWW.FIGHTFOCA.COM

Greetings,
Well I turned on the radio the other night (keep in mind that was Nov. 12) and came upon a station that has officially switched over to an "all Christmas-all the time" playlist until Dec. 26th. When I get to mid-December, I know I'll be kicking myself for tuning into Christmas music that early, but I just can't resist. It's kind of magical.
There's something that happens to an artist when they switch from performing their "normal" repertoire and try their hand at a few Christmas numbers. Even singers I can't stand, for example Christina Aguilera, have a certain innocent, beautiful quality to their voice when singing Christmas music. Could it be the subject matter that changes them?
So many of the songs written in these modern times are done so to play with our basic, animal instincts and desires.
Like:
Revenge to an adulterous man....
Sex on a first date, or while washing clothes in a laundry mat!.....
To kill or be killed....
Hate, Hate, Hate.
Why can't we have songs about forgiving that adulterous man and if possible, rebuilding that broken relationship?
Why can't we have songs about loving your body enough to say, "You know what?" "Maybe I should protect my sexuality from a complete stranger or someone that doesn't yet fully understand my heart"
And why can't we have songs about loving someone in jail instead of sentencing them to death, or keeping that unwanted pregnancy, or starting dialogue instead of starting arguments and wars.

Why?

Because loving someone is more difficult than hating them. And when that hate is reinforced through the music we listen to, it helps to sculpt our lifestyle. We start to feel that it's our right to fulfill the selfish desires lurking in our hearts. But here's the thing, our hearts empty as those desires start to become fulfilled. We gain nothing from hate and selfishness, but more hate and selfishness.

So what is it about this time of year? What is it about this Christmas music that warms hearts and inspires giving and gathering?

There was a man who was born about two thousand years ago. He wasn’t peacefully born in a cute, little barn.
He was born to a persecuted Jewish couple running from the law. His mother accused by other townspeople of being a whore.
He was born in a dirty livestock barn, most likely a cave-like dwelling, in the cold desert night.
He grew up with little money or material possessions.
As he grew older, he tirelessly spoke and witnessed to those would or would not listen.
He was then betrayed, denied by his best friend, mocked, beaten, tortured, and left to die suspended on a couple beams of splintered wood.

Do you know what he said to the people that did this to him?
He said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.”

In the end he still loved. He still forgave.

Christmas is the time we honor this man’s birth. Maybe we don’t have the exact date, but it’s the time we’ve chosen to honor Him. We honor a new type of peace born into this world. A peace selflessly given to all.

So the next time you hear your favorite holiday tune remember, it’s not Santa comin’ down the chimney, it’s Jesus coming into your heart.

Well fatherhood is rapidly approaching for me. My wife is due in September and it seems like time is flying by. We drove to Indianapolis on Wednesday to have a fetal echocardiogram. There's some history of heart disease in my family (myself included) and our doctor wanted to make sure that this, the least attractive of my traits, would not pass down to our little one.

Before I go any further, I’ll just let you know that the test went wonderfully and at this point there were no signs of heart abnormalities…Praise the Lord!!!!!

But we had the second surprise of this year (the first being when we found out we were pregnant), we’re having a little girl instead of a boy!

Our doctor told us early on that she was pretty sure we had a little Benji in there. We started to prepare emotionally for a rambunctious little guy that would keep us on our toes for the rest of our lives, but now we’re kind of re-focusing things a bit.

It was probably the last thing Patty and I were expecting during the test. When the technician said “and there’s the feet of your little…girl,” I think we both had some tears in our eyes.

It’s so amazing that just when we feel we have things figured out, God has something else in store for us. We were overjoyed/scared to death to be pregnant in the first place. We had it in our minds that we would have a son in a few months. I started to shape my whole way of thinking behind this….What will I teach him? What kind of man will he be? Will he do the dishes because Patty and I don’t like to? Lol

When we heard the word “girl”, it was such a neat feeling of surprise and excitement, and I think God has a beautiful plan in store for us with the little gal.

And to add to that awesome day, both Patty and I took the rest of the week off and stayed at a cabin owned by our good friends Dale & Paula. And on Thursday, I played in the G101.3 Battle of the Bands…and lost….moving on….

I woke up Friday morning to one, if not the, best breakfast I’ve ever had. We had picked up some fresh bread, eggs, oranges, smoked bacon from an Amish store in Fountain City. Patty had used all of these ingredients to make a ridiculously good breakfast. You know how the women act in those “Herbal Essences” commercials….well that was me eating breakfast.

After that we spent most of the day hiking at Hueston Woods where I got us lost on a trail. We eventually found the car but had hiked about a mile or so out of our way. Ahhh…the great outdoors.

All in all we had an awesome weekend and I love being able to spend time with my wife and not think about work, music, bills, etc.

I hope you all are well.

Ben

Original posting from myspace 11-22-07
The small group at my church is currently deep in the middle of a Bible study entitled "Bioethics & Compassion".
   It's a thirteen part study that talks about moral and political topics such as stem cell research, human cloning, and how we as Christians can view other humans with disabilities. The overall theme seems to be evident in each study, and it's funny because during each study, a group member will always unknowlingly say "There is a reason that this happens…" or "There is a reason why we suffer from these things…" 
   There is a reason that we have pain and suffering in our lives. We usually don't know why we suffer and most of the time we have no answers for those who are suffering…but God does. He knows. He has a plan for each of us and it doesn't involve slaying unborn babies, or using every scientific means necessary to prolong our lives 5-10 years, or ending the life of a criminal because we decided they no can longer provide anything good for our society.
   We know these issues are deep and complicated. Or are they? With our simple, mere understanding of life, yes, but in the whole scheme of things, not at all.
   Everyone has a chance at life. To be born. Even if a young girl is raped, a couple is not ready emotionally or financially, or the child will be born with a disability. This may be the person who will be born to change YOUR life. When we deny life it's like pulling the shades on all the windows in your house and not letting the sunshine in. We're denying light into this world by denying these beautiful babies to be born.
   Everyone has a chance at a happy life. To love their life. Even if a child is given 5 years, or we're faced with a horrible life-threatening illness with no cure or our bodies or minds don't work as perfectly as we would want them to. We are meant to cherish the time we have and love those around us…not to destroy future life, work the years away and find a cure and then possibly die before we're able to benefit from it. 
   Everyone deserves a SECOND chance at life. Even if it's the criminal who rapes the girl, or murders a family, or robs a store killing the cashier in the process. These people are sick. They need help and support. Not judgement from people who may have no idea what past environment shaped their tainted minds.
It's simple. We need to protect life at all costs. This is not done by labeling ourselves Pro-life, Pro-Choice, Republican, or Democrat.
   We have a president who claims he wants to protect life. Yet he's all for getting rid of the criminals and murderers by means of capital punishment and war. How about taking the billions of dollars we use on our war efforts and using it for the poor and educating our dangerous neighborhoods. It's not impossible…just hard work. But it's necessary to protect life.
   Those politicians labeled Democratic oppose the death penalty yet find it okay to allow a human to be "aborted" out of convenience or "what's best for the mother". What's best for the mother…is to learn from this situation and experience and cherish the life given to her by raising the child or finding a loving family that can. Again, it's hard work, and there is extreme pain involved. But, it's necessary to protect life.
   As much as we categorize it, we can't. These are not political issues. Politicians can't solve these issues. And legislation will not stop evil. People can always find ways to have abortions, do underground research, or avenge the murder of someone they loved. 
   The only way to stop evil is to love evil. That may be a hard concept to grasp for some. We can only love the things that hurt us. Because in the end, we will have arrived in a better place than if we would have responded to evil with evil.
   This is pure love. And Jesus is the only perfect example of this. He loved the pain and sin of the world until it killed Him. Nailed on the cross, bleeding from the near-fatal wounds covering his body, he said "Father, forgive them, they know not what they do." He didn't say "Father, take the pain in my heart and soul and give it to someone else to give me a simpler way out of this." He stood up to the evil, not with an iron fist or cowardice…but with an open heart.

We should all strive to be so strong.

This is a entry from my myspace page, 10-17-2007.
Greetings all,
   There is a daily NPR show that I try to catch called "Talk of the Nation" hosted by Neil Conan. Today I happened upon a segment where the topic was Genome study and Gene Therapy Research and how it affects our quality of life and modern medicine.
   Becoming more popular is prenatal testing to determine whether an unborn child will arrive months later in the arms of his/her parents, healthy and normal….or with a disability such as Downs Syndrome. 

   One caller shared the story of the time he and his wife had testing done on their unborn baby, revealing a severe disability that would bring about an enormous burden on their family emotionally, physically, and financially.
   They chose to terminate the pregnancy. The caller later said that they now have a healthy, happy little girl that was born a short while later. 
   Children and adults can also have testing done to discover (due to a particular illness common in their family history) whether they will fall victim to a disease or disability similar to their ancestors. 
   Another caller told of a man who was given a strong, almost definite, likelihood of developing Huntington's Disease. This truth was more than he could handle, so he took his own life. He didn't have an actual diagnosis, mind you. 
   So is it right for us to know, everything that will go wrong in our future? Is it better to expect or to experience our pain?

   I remember when I was little. Being a boy who loved playing outside and in the woods, I would be sporting at least 3-4 band-aids weekly. And the thing that scared me the most wasn't the actual cut or even the pain removing the band-aid…it was the mere thought of ripping the band-aid from my skin and the possible pain associated with it. While deep in my 10 year old brain's crisis of how to go about removing the dreaded thing, my mom would come along and RIP! the band aid was gone. And before I could even open my mouth to scream, the pain had vanished. I was too busy expecting the pain to actually experience it. And when it came time to experience the pain, it really wasn't what I had built it up to be.
   Now, I know the pain I describe pales in comparison to the pain of losing someone you love to a tragedy or learning from test results that you have a life-threatening illness. But in the end, pain is pain. We've all been dealt our fair share. We experience it, find ways to heal and cope, and do our best to move on and learn from it. 
   What good does it do me to know that my gene structure says I might develop Alzheimer's late in life? Could I start now by setting up insurance policies and prepare myself to slowly deteriorate and succumb to the disease? Possibly… but how does that make my life any better when, come 50 years from now, the tests turn out to be false, and I'm void of any life-threatening illness?
   What if someone told you that on October 17, 2009, you would be inheriting a sum of money that would make you ridiculously wealthy? You would be excited, right? You would prepare yourself and make plans as to what you would purchase with the money. Your life starts to revolve around October 17, 2009. You start to live for that day. What if you died October 16th? All that excitement, all the planning…would be wasted.

It's the same way with pain.

   When we expect pain, we live it and it lives within us, bringing us down and keeping us from happiness. But when we experience pain, we learn from it and move on. Suffering is a tool every human needs to use in order for us to grow. The growth in my own life is due, not to my successes, but largely in part to many painful situations, illness, and unanswered prayers.

   There is a reason for the trials we go through. There is a reason for suffering. There is a reason for pain.
   There was a reason the first caller and his wife were given a baby with a disability. There was a reason the friend of the second caller was a prime candidate for Huntington's disease. It was to make them each stronger. It was to make them realize the frailty of human life and that we must be grateful for the small amount of time we do have here.

   We must accept the tragedies that befall us and learn from them.

   But, we as a forward-thinking, developing human race would rather find ways around this experience. We would rather rid our lives of a burdensome baby that could grow to be a blessing to those around her, or we would rather discover we might become sick before it's our time to know, giving us no hope for survival. 
   Why do you think our prime time TV is saturated with pharmaceutical ads touting a new drug to pull us out of sadness or depression? We don't want to experience it. We want a pill to take the pain away and leave the underlying reason for the sadness, unresolved. But, if we put a blanket over a fire, it appears gone, but it will soon burn through and show itself again.
   Human suffering is not a medical condition we can treat. Human suffering is a necessary part of our daily lives. We have to confront it and attempt to heal. For when we avoid it… we miss the opportunity of the beautiful sunrise at the end of a long night.