============================================================
FREE gift certificates from Wal*Mart, Target, Olive Garden,
Best Buy and more! Join Memolink.com for free and get
free stuff. now!
http://click.topica.com/caaadFwb1dhY4b1xjvRa/Memolink
============================================================
Everything above this line is put in by Topica and
is NOT a sponsor of Inspire.
Welcome to Inspire !
Start today with a smile
Please feel free to share this with others
& encourage them to sign up for their own smiles !
** President Bush Our Leader ** The United States Of America
This was the same man who came within a hair's breadth of losing an
election in November, who withstood the politic al chicanery of the
Florida
Democratic machine to fix the vote count.
This was the same man who admitted to having a drinking problem in
younger years, and whose happy-go-lucky lifestyle led him to mediocre
grades
in college and an ill-fated oil venture.
This was the same man who mangled syntax even more than his father,
and
whose speaking missteps became known as "Bushisms."
And on Friday, this was the man who bore the weight of the world
and
the
responsibilities of a generation with dignity, class, confidence,
appropriate
solemnity, and even much-needed wit.
One thing struck me during the campaign, that difficult,
roller-coaster
campaign that now seems years ago. It was that George W. Bush never
seemed
to
get ruffled. Whether the theft of a campaign debate video or the sudden
(some
would say, vicious) release of a DUI arrest two decades ago at a key
moment,
"W" did not lose his cool. At times, his staff seemed overconfident, as
did
many of us. A 350-electoral-vote win, they quietly implied . . . and we
optimistically believed. Then they counted the votes, miscounted
others,
and
re-counted still others. At the end, he was still there. Whereas Al
Gore
almost frantically huffed and puffed, trying to gin up something out of
nothing, Bush quietly but confidently waited at his ranch. He didn't
do
nothing: that is the mistake people have constantly made with this man,
confusing lack of bluster for absence of action. No, his team of
attorneys
and the iron-willed James Baker were carrying out his orders, but W
stayed
in
the background, confident and faithful.
You see, it is this faith business that confounded everyone. We
have
had such actors and liars in public office that we have looked
skeptically
whenever anyone used the term faith. But this was the same man who was
the
first politician ever in recent memory to name Jesus Christ as the lord
of
his life on public TV. Not an oblique reference to being "born-again" or
having a "life change." He said the un-PC-like phrase, "Jesus Christ,"
to
which his handlers and advisors, no doubt, off stage, were also saying,
"Jesus Christ" in a much different tone.
God has a way of honoring those who honor Him. David learned that
while
he was on the run from Saul's armies. Job learned that after his time of
horrible tribulation. The Messiah said so Himself, many times.
So this was the man who actually put faith into practice. He
actually
loves those who hate him. It is a staggering concept, so foreign in
daily
occurrence that few thought it anything but grandstanding. Even one of
W's
biggest supporters chided the President for adhering to his "new tone."
Yet
there he was, again and again, thanking the Democrats.
Appointing his enemies to high places in his government. Inviting
his
former foes and their wives to private movie screenings, and (I know,
this
is
hard to stomach) even treating them with dignity. See, this was the man
who
learned early on how faith worked: by praying for his enemies, you
"heap
burning coals upon their heads."
This was the man who named the absolute top people in national
security
and defense, then caught barbs from the politically righteous that this
one
didn't have the right views on abortion or that one didn't have the
right
position on guns.
And on September 11, at mid-morning, this was the man thrust into a
position only known by Roosevelt, Churchill, Lincoln, and Washington.
The
weight of the world was on his shoulders, and the responsibility of a
generation was on his soul. So this same man---the one that the media
repeatedly attempted to tarnish with charges of "illegitimacy," and the
one
whose political opponents desperately sought to stonewall until mid-term
elections---walked to his seat at the front of the National Cathedral
just
three days after the two most impressive symbols of American capitalism
and
prosperity virtually evaporated, along with, perhaps, thousands of
Americans.
As he sat down next to his wife, immediately I knew that even if
his
faith ever faltered, hers didn't. I have never seen a more peaceful face
than
Laura Bush, whose eyes seemed as though they were already gazing at the
final
outcome . . . not just of this conflict, but of her reward in Heaven
itself.
In this marriage, you indeed got two for the price of one.
Then came the defining moment of our generation. Some people fondly
recall their Woodstock days. Others mark with grim sadness November 22,
1963,
as the day America lost her innocence. But I firmly believe when the
history
of this time is written, it will be acknowledged by friend and foe alike
that
President George W. Bush came of age in that cathedral and lifted a
nation
off its knees.
It wasn't so much his words, though read a decade later, they will
indeed
be
as stirring as any. This conflict would end, he noted, ". . . at a time
of
our choosing." It certainly wasn't his emotion. What had to have been
one
of
the most stunning exhibitions of self-control in presidential history, W
was
able to deliver his remarks without losing either his resolve or his
focus,
or, more important, his confidence. It was as if God's hand, which had
guided
him through that sliver-thin election, now rested fully on him.
His quiet confidence let our enemies know . . . and believe me,
they
know. . . that they made a grave miscalculation. Now, this same man who
practiced his faith through a tough election, who steeled his
convictions
even more in a drawn-out Florida battle, and who never once gave in to
the
temptation to get in the gutter with his foes (well, ok, maybe the
"Clymer"
comment is an exception), this same man now lifted the weight of the
world
and the responsibility of a generation and put it on his modest
shoulders as
though it were another unpleasant duty.
As he walked back to his seat, the camera angle was appropriate.
He
was
virtually alone in the scene, alone in that massive place of God, just
him
and the Lord. But that's the way it's always been in his life recently.
In
that brief time it took him to return to his seat, I believe he heard
words
to the effect of, "You can do this, George. I am with you always. And
you
can
do this well, because I am going before you. And don't worry about the
weight. I've got it." And I saw in his eyes a quiet acknowledgement. "I
know.
Thank you, Lord."
Back at his seat, when W sat down, George H. W. Bush reached over
and
took his son's hand. The elder Bush always struck me as a religious man,
but
not someone who shared his life on a daily basis with the Lord. George
H.
W.
treats the Father like a respected uncle, visiting Him on appropriate
holidays and knowing the relationship is real, but not constant.
Anyway, I believe that in that fatherly squeeze George H. W. said, "I
wish
I could do this for you, son, but I can't. You have to do this on your
own."
W squeezed back and gave him that look of peace that Laura had kept
throughout. It said, "I don't have to do it alone, dad. I've got help."
"Could you or someone you love be at risk for osteoporosis?
Did you want to know more about HRT and menopause?
For this and more, click into Novartis' World Menopause
Day and World Osteoporosis Day Webpage. Click here"
http://by.advertising.com/1/c/64844/33095/101534/101534
<a href="http://by.advertising.com/1/c/64844/33095/101534/101534";>AOL
users click here </a>
Cute Sites O' The Day:
-------------------
Oz?
http://www.AikensLaughs.com/forfun/funny775.html
<a href="http://www.AikensLaughs.com/forfun/funny775.html";>Here!</a>
Call Me
http://www.AikensLaughs.com/forfun/funny776.html
<a href="http://www.AikensLaughs.com/forfun/funny776.html";>Here!</a>
Walk With Me
"Don't walk in front of me,
I may not follow ~
Don't walk behind me,
I may not lead ~
Just walk beside me,
And be my friend."
--Albert Camus
To read old archived issues visit
http://www.topica.com/lists/InspireToday
http://www.egroups.com/messages/InspireToday/
============================================================
You have been selected to get a 1000 Free AwardMiles from
Topica. The process takes less than 30 seconds...
Click here and join Milesource for your Free AwardMiles!
http://click.topica.com/caaadE0b1dhY4b1xjvRf/Milesource
============================================================
For MORE Great Entertainment Visit:
http://www.AikensLaughs.com
==^================================================================
EASY UNSUBSCRIBE click here: http://topica.com/u/?b1dhY4.b1xjvR
Or send an email To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
This email was sent to: [email protected]
T O P I C A -- Register now to manage your mail!
http://www.topica.com/partner/tag02/register
==^================================================================
