The preceding post referred to something that had come through the e-mail and it has prompted me to give you a peek at the kind of cyber-correspondence that we engage in around here. So here's a few samples from the last few days:One especially encouraging note came in response to the post, More Exciting Adult Stem Cell Successes. "Dear Denny, It was exciting to see the news on adult stem cell research you posted. I've been praying for successes like this not only because it flies in the face of the proponents of abortion for the purpose of harvesting stem cells from unborn infants, but (selfishly I admit) also because I was diagnosed with Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension 2 1/2 years ago. The drugs I take carry contra-indications indicating liver damage and a list of other potential damage. Fortunately stem cell research is one hope I have for reversal of the thickening of the heart muscle, the cause of this life threatening disease. Be encouraged Denny, Jesus in in control and His will is being worked out in our salvation. Bless you and Claire."
Another note came with a request: "Hi Denny! My name is Jeni. I meet you almost a year ago. You came to Eagle's Nest [Church] and did a presentation to all of the children's teachers. It was a pleasure. I am a 6, 7, and 8th grade teacher at _________. I know that you are an extremely busy man, but I was wondering if you'd be interested in coming to one of our chapel services and preaching. We have 63 students in grades k-8. Chapel is every Wednesday morning at 9 am. We have a time of praise and worship and then 20-30 minutes of preaching. Thank you for your consideration."
Of course, I accepted the invitation.
Here's an interesting one. Following last week's post (D.C. Security Guards: Pro-Lifers Can't Be Art Lovers), I received a note from Deborah at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. She wrote, "While the National Gallery of Art does prohibit visitors from carrying placards and signs into the Gallery, as they may physically harm the art or other visitors, the Gallery does not prohibit lapel pins or buttons. This policy has been reaffirmed with the guard in question who had acted on his own initiative."
Hmm. Nice to know that government workers are clued into Vital Signs Blog. I responded, "Thank you, Deborah. I will underscore this in a follow-up blog post. The prohibition of signs and so on is perfectly understandable. And, as I said in the post, I could even be more sympathetic if some kind of distracting attire were involved. But a button? I appreciate very much someone setting the record straight with the security guard as those thousands of
participants in the March for Life frequently want to "do the sights of D.C." And perhaps this controversy will help the guards be a bit more welcoming to them. And I appreciate you setting the record straight with people like myself who have reported on the situation."
Our e-mail sometimes contains notices of people who have donated online to Vital Signs Ministries. That, as you might expect, is always most welcome as are other notes of thanks, encouragement, tips on an article I might want to use in the blog, and so on. And then there's been a few of these kind lately, "Dear Denny and Claire, I've enjoyed your newsletter in the mail for several years. Could you send it to my e-mail instead and save a few stamps.
God Bless You." With stamps ever escalating in price, those e-mails get our quick attention too.
You probably won't be surprised to learn that some of the e-mail I receive is negative, often mean-spirited and coarse. But to someone who has been sidewalk counseling for almost 30 years now (thus having been the target of more abuse and threats than you can shake a stick at), a few nasty notes will hardly cause me to lose any sleep.
And, like the response from the streets, there is much more positive response to our outreach than there is negative. And so I'll share just one more of that type with you. This came in last night and referred to yesterday's post, About that Walk for Life in Lincoln. "Denny, thank you for your kind words' about my speech on Saturday in your blog. You never know how a speech might be received, and 'stirring' really encouraged me! Thanks! Warmly, Jane Hampton Cook."
Actually, "stirring" was just one of the appropriate words I could have used about her address Saturday. It was also informative, challenging and refreshing. She speaks like a writer: organized, concise and skilled as both a wordsmith and storyteller. And the subject of her talk -- those heroic virtues and noble purposes of the such Founding Fathers as George Washington, Samuel Adams and John Adams which need to be embraced by pro-life advocates in our era -- well, that provided plenty of inspiration too.
I did mention in that post yesterday that Jane Hampton Cook is indeed a writer but I didn't mention her books. They include Stories of Faith and Courage from the Revolutionary War, The Faith of America's First Ladies, and Maggie Houston. And you can learn more about Jane Hampton Cook right here.
