Letters to Justices Thomas & Alito

Dear Justice Alito,

“When principles that run against your deepest convictions begin to win the day, then battle is your calling, and peace has become sin; you must, at any price of dearest peace, lay your convictions bare before friend and enemy, with all the fire of your faith.” (Abraham Kuyper)

Battle has indeed been your calling, Justice Alito, as you must so consistently fight through the drivel coming through grossly unqualified Justices, the inconsistencies and cowardice of so many other Justices, and then the rank foolishness of a once-grand culture now in sad decline.

But you have fought so well. And you remain such a critical pillar of reason and integrity and justice. The ripple effects of your defense of the Constitution, the rule of law, and the ideals of Judeo-Christian civilization are greater than what you can imagine. Thank you!

The Lord is well served and well pleased with your faithful stewardship. And may He continue to bless you, your family, and help you to stay the course in these challenging times. 

Dear Justice Thomas,

“Neither the wisest constitution nor the wisest laws will secure the liberty and happiness of a people whose manners are universally corrupt.” (William V. Wells)

I am once again moved to write to you in deep appreciation -- and admiration -- for the steady course you sail, despite the stormy seas arising from the “corrupt manners” of our times. For instance, you endure with great tolerance the drivel coming through grossly unqualified Justices, the inconsistencies and cowardice of other Justices who know better, and the general foolishness of a once-noble culture now in sad decline. Indeed, Justice Thomas, you not only endure, you have triumphed. Your decisions, arguments, and personal example are shining brighter than ever and you are accomplishing a very great deal for the causes of reason, freedom, and justice. 

Thank you so very much!

Stay the course and know that you are in our frequent prayers.

Dear President Trump...

 Dear President Trump,

I write as one who has enthusiastically promoted your ideas and agenda, defended you against foolish and mean-spirited criticism, and regularly prayed for God’s richest blessings on your life and family and leadership. 

However, I have become especially and increasingly disillusioned with two areas in your administration. 1) The fumbling away of the massive advantage you had won over Iran. Remarkably now, these arrogant, unrepentant terrorists who remain viciously anti-American and anti-Israel, are getting away with it! Getting away with mass murder, with jihadist intentions towards Israel, and with winning from the U.S. and other nations yet more millions of dollars as they profit from blackmail and violence. Why, oh why the hesitation, the second guessing, the gullibility, the hypocrisy? When your friends (Israel and the genuine conservatives in the Republican Party here) are alarmed and disappointed at your actions (or, in this case, the lack thereof), and your unprincipled enemies like Hillary Clinton are patting you on the back, something stinks very badly. 

Please, President Trump, get this thing over with!

And then 2) Your pro-life statements notwithstanding, sir, your administration’s ongoing promotion of abortifacient poisons is – quite -- literally killing millions of preborn kids and inflicting serious damage on the bodies and souls of thousands and thousands of moms. Please, Mr. President, stop the double-mindedness you’ve shown to date on this critically important issue and start today to truly protect human lives from the abortionists’ bloodthirsty designs.

Most sincerely,

The Top 5 Plus (June 27)

1) “Our ‘Terrible Masters’” (I & I Editorial Board)

From the article -- “Terrible masters” have been elected the mayors of New York City, Seattle, Chicago, and Washington, D.C. Los Angeles will elect another one this fall, either the Castro-ite incumbent will get another four years to torment the citizenry, or her challenger, a council member who could drag the city of angels back to a demonic “Marxist 19th century” existence, will get her chance to ruin the town that had long been the envy of many but has become an oozing sore on the nation.

As we noted Tuesday, there could be 10 socialist mayors in the U.S. by the end of this year. If only that were the extent of it. Congress has a pair of prominent socialists in Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who represents the radical, the lazy, the ignorant, and the useful idiots in her Bronx-Queens district. Joining them might be Graham Platner of Maine, who has no interest in civil service and would rather be the raging fire that burned our connections to our past so that his tribe of political savages can take more ground for the far left.

We should expect, and even fear, more will come, because, as our poll shows, nearly half (46%) of Democrats hold a favorable view of socialism. No surprise there, though. Democrats have been trending toward socialism for decades, and this is who they are now: Terrible masters who are the irresponsible actors Washington cautioned us about. Their policies encumber rather than liberate. Their objective is to rule rather than respect constitutional boundaries. They can’t tolerate dissent, patriotism, or challenges to their power-hungry agenda.

They thrive on lies, promise Heaven but deliver hell, sow division at every opportunity in hopes of creating chaos that only they can straighten out with the boot of the state, and traffic in political violence both directly and indirectly. The evil twin Cs, as they see it, are Christianity and capitalism, both of which must be stamped out. The virtuous C in their twisted minds stands for censorship.

2) “It Doesn’t Take A Brain Surgeon To See Through Iran’s Strategy In Lebanon… So Why Is America Putting Up With It?” (Erick Stakelbeck, Harbinger’s Daily)

From the article -- Israel has pounded Hezbollah and left it in tatters. Iran knows that Hezbollah is in very big trouble and badly wants to save the crown jewel of its proxy network. The regime not only demanded to have Lebanon included in the Memorandum of Understanding that was signed by President Trump last week, but also ordered Hezbollah to continue attacking Israel. The Jewish State gets the blame when it responds, and the U.S. then calls for Israeli restraint. Do you see how this works?

Even though our leaders would obviously never tolerate a terror group on America’s borders launching rockets from Canada or Mexico, Israel, as usual, is held to a different standard. Israel is being asked very openly to not respond to Hezbollah attacks. It’s an impossible situation for the world’s one and only Jewish state. For some reason, US negotiators have allowed Iran to create this status quo. And it’s not good.

Related articles: “JD Vance Is Wrong: Israel Is Not Just Another Ally” (Ahmed Charai, Gatestone Institute)...“Iran: Did Trump Cave In?” (Amir Taheri, Gatestone Institute)...“Did Trump Snooker Iran? Trump may have given Iran everything it wanted on paper -- but the real question is whether Tehran fell for a deal that gives America the leverage to walk away.” (Ken Timmerman, American Greatness)

3) “Study Shows Christianity’s Role in U.S. Founding Excluded By Publishers” (Decision Magazine Staff)

From the article --  A study, which assessed more than 300 books curated by children’s publishers for America’s 250th anniversary, found that public libraries and publishers are ignoring Christianity’s role in the U.S. founding, focusing instead on progressive history.  “No books about the Pilgrims as religious refugees,” the report reiterated. “No books about the Great Awakening. No books about religious liberty as a founding principle. No books about the faith lives of the founders. No books about the Black church's role in American history, even on lists heavy with Black history content. No books about faith-motivated abolitionists, even on lists featuring abolitionist narratives. No titles from any faith-based publisher.”

Franklin Graham responded to the report’s release on social media, stating it is “up to us” to ensure “our children and grandchildren learn about the role that faith in God has played in the founding and history of our nation.” “As we approach our nation’s 250th birthday, a new study found that public libraries and publishers are censoring faith OUT of the American story—and actively pushing progressive, revisionist history,” Franklin said. “When they analyzed more than 300 books across 25 reading lists curated by children’s publishers, libraries, and other institutions, guess how many books the study found included faith, religious liberty, or Christianity’s role in the founding of the U.S.? Zero! Exactly none!”

Ben Carson and Riley Gaines, authors at Brave Books, the publisher that released the study titled “The America 250 Faith Gap,” both criticized the exclusion of Christianity’s influence in U.S. history.  “Dr. Ben Carson is right—'A generation that does not know where their freedoms come from will not know why those freedoms are worth fighting for,’” Franklin said. “I agree with Riley Gaines that ‘kids deserve more than a story of what is wrong with America!’”

The study discovered that among the 300 books found within 25 reading lists, there were no titles that directly acknowledged or centered on faith, religious liberty or Christianity's role in the nation's founding. Among the books, the most common themes were minority perspectives, the American Revolution, black history, civil rights and women’s history while books on the American Founders, civics, the classics and other American symbols were minority recommendations. Other titles centered on LGBTQ history, including the 1969 Stonewall Riots, an event considered by homosexual and transgender activists as pivotal to their movement.

4) “Embracing Masculinity: Men’s Mental Health Awareness Month: Men built, protected, and sustained civilization. If we want stronger families and communities, we must stop dismissing masculinity and start supporting men.” (White Papers Policy Institute and Cyan Quinn, American Greatness

From the article --  We pathologize masculinity, yet masculinity is the very quality that leads men to put their lives on the line for perfect strangers every day. Likewise, 93 percent of garbage truck drivers are men. Yet we don’t hear demands to diversify this section of the workforce.

Our men are in trouble. In America, White males, who make up 31 percent of the population, account for almost 70 percent of suicides in America—nearly four times the rate of women. In the UK, 74 percent of suicides are men. Whites made up 95 percent of those suicide deaths. Most of these men are between 40 and 50 and have difficulty with employment or are separated or divorced.

Also in the UK, 77 percent of men have suffered from symptoms of common mental health conditions such as anxiety, stress, or depression, yet 40 percent of men have never talked about their mental health to anyone.

These don’t have to be simple grim statistics. We can actively create a policy environment that encourages male happiness by celebrating healthy masculinity and family formation.

5) “’Kill Your Parents’ at the Obama Presidential Center (Daniel Greenfield, Trajectories)

From the article --  Media reporting spent a good deal of time spotting celebrities in the VIP section. There was a sprightly Tom Hanks in sunglasses, there was Oprah, on her fortieth diet, and girlfriend Gayle King, and LA Mayor Karen Bass who had to return home after Los Angeles burned again which seems to happen every time she leaves town. And then again there were the people who actually mattered, who had made Obama and the era of radicalism he brought into national politics, happen.

“Dig it!” the old woman in the third row of the Obama Presidential Center, had once gloated over the brutal murder of Sharon Tate by the Manson Family. “First they killed those pigs, then they ate dinner in the same room with them. They even shoved a fork into the victim’s stomach! Wild!” “Kill all the rich people,” the old man wearing the Communist ‘red star’ had defined his radical movement. “Break up their cars and apartments. Bring the revolution home, Kill your parents.”

Bill Ayers and Bernardine Dohrn, the former terrorist leaders of the Weathermen and the Chicago power couple who spotted Obama and moved him up the political ladder getting third row seats to the opening of the Obama Presidential Center spoke more eloquently about what Obama represented than any of the hollow political speeches and media press releases.

“We want to find a way to turn toward each other again,” Barack Obama claimed, insisting that he stood for the traditional American values of “fairness and common sense and mutual respect.” But what he actually stood for was sitting in the third row and wearing the Communist star. The media didn’t even believe that Obama’s mentor getting a front row seat to the opening of his presidential center while wearing the symbol of a movement responsible for the mass murder of millions mattered.

Related article: “Obama’s Hideous Monument to Hubris: It is the perfect symbol for a sociopathic solipsist and a failed presidency.” (David Catron, American Spectator)

Other Excellent Reads from the Week

* “Air Conditioning? It’s Illegal!” (John Hinderaker, Power Line)

* “Bill Clinton, Jeffrey Epstein, and the Questions That Won’t Go Away.” The public doesn’t seem to care about the former president’s close relationship with the convicted pedophile. (Ellie Gardey Holmes, American Spectator)

* “Why the EU is so much worse than when we left -- Ten years on from the Brexit vote, Brussels is more meddlesome, authoritarian and anti-democratic than ever.” (Fraser Myers, spiked!)

* “The Next Gutenberg Moment: Why Christians Should Lead the AI Storytelling Revolution” (Robert Maginnis, Washington Stand)

* “New Research Points to iPhone as Significant Factor in Plunging Birth Rate” (Dan Hart, Washington Stand)

For a Purposeful Life, Look Not Back

 Old adventures over? Well, in God, new adventures are available!

“Many people cannot reconcile themselves to seeing their finest adventures spent and declining. Well! The answer lies in the surrender of our lives to God, for He is the very source of life, a source that is always new. He brings one adventure to an end only to open another to us. He is tireless and inexhaustible. With Him we must be ready for anything. At any moment an unsatisfying life may become once more a grand adventure if we will surrender it to Him. What is different is the spirit in which it is lived; the person sees things in a different light -- the glow of the adventure…

How many disillusioned souls there are who no longer believe that any success is possible in their lives! Success is always possible for a person who will look, not back, but forward, who will not persist in dwelling on old adventures that are finished, but who will wait on God for new beginnings.” (Paul Tournier, The Adventure of Living, 1965, pages 196-8)

The Top 5 Plus (June 20)

1) “The US has emboldened Iran and abandoned Israel: Trump’s war with the Islamic Republic was doomed from the beginning.” (Phil Mullan, spiked!)

From the article – From the start of the war to last weekend’s ‘memorandum of understanding’ with Iran, the White House has acted like a child who spies a hornets’ nest, pokes it with a big stick, kills a few of the creatures while stirring up many more, and then runs back home to leave others to deal with the ferocious after-effects. And the Islamic Republic is a thousand times more lethal than the biggest nest of hornets.

Whatever peace deal is eventually agreed between the US and Iran over the following weeks, Israel’s security is the biggest loser from what began as a joint US-Israel operation. Indeed, in recent weeks, the White House has gone silent on two of Israel’s key goals, which it originally backed: destroying Iran’s ballistic-missile capabilities, and severing Tehran’s support to its terrorist proxies in Gaza, the West Bank, Lebanon and Yemen. A third objective – disabling Iran’s nuclear capabilities – has been pushed into the future on the crazy assumption that the words of the Islamic Republic can be trusted.

Nearly six weeks of air assaults did weaken the theocracy in some military aspects, though far less than the White House hyperbole claims. But the Iranian regime has also been emboldened by the war. It has shown that it can defy the US, albeit at the expense of the struggling Iranians it rules over.

Please note -- In this Number 1 slot this week, I’m putting several other articles dealing with the Trump/Iran deal. Most of these reflect skepticism, if not outright opposition. And I believe, by the way, that these are the most realistic views. However, you’ll find the last three take a much more optimistic tone. Check ‘em out if you'd like: "Trump’s surrender: Something darker is at work here than just a concern over rising fuel prices." (Melanie Phillips, JNS)...“The Iran debacle? Israel's fault: At least that's the narrative JD and co are selling” (Danielle Pletka, WTH)...“Total Surrender: The Iran deal is hurtling toward signing, leaving Netanyahu's political future gasping in its wake.” (It’s Noon In Israel)...“Why Is the Trump Administration Taking Orders from the Iranians?” (David Harsanyi, Jewish World Review)...“If America Empowers A Regime That Openly Calls For Israel’s Destruction, There Will Be Significant Consequences” (Brandon Holthaus, Harbinger’s Daily)

“Restraining Israel Is Not the Answer” (Mike Watson, Washington Free Beacon)...“Trump’s chaos and incoherence have led to failure on Iran. The damage that Israel and the United States did to the Islamist terror regime was undone by an agreement that rewards Tehran and vindicates former President Barack Obama.” (Jonathan S. Tobin, Jewish News Service)...“The Iran Deal Leaves A Regime Standing That Fired Ballistic Missiles On My Children… Forgive Me If I Don’t Stand Up And Clap” (Daniel Cohen, Harbinger’s Daily)...“Iran Deal Can Work If We Hit Them Every Time They Break It” (Victor Davis Hanson, Daily Signal)...“Iran War Misconceptions: The Iran war is already reshaping alliances and narratives, while fueling a deeper argument over U.S. power, limits, and long-term strategy.” (Victor Davis Hanson, American Greatness)...“Trump walks Iran into a trap -- And here you thought Trump was being naïve, trusting the word of a dishonest regime when in reality, he’s setting up checkmate.” (M.B. Mathews, American Thinker)

2) "How Judges Manipulate Law: Today, many judges now view their role not as discovering what the law actually means but as rationalizing what they believe the law should mean." (Jim Cardoza, American Thinker)

From the article -- Americans are taught that justice is blind. We are told that judges simply apply the law as written, faithfully interpreting statutes and constitutional provisions without regard to politics, ideology, or personal preference. The image is comforting: a neutral arbiter weighing facts and law, untouched by partisan passions.

Yet anyone who has followed the modern judiciary for more than a few years recognizes a troubling reality. In most of the nation’s politically significant cases, the outcome can often be predicted less by the unambiguous language of the law than by the identity of the judge hearing the case. Before the first brief is filed and before oral arguments begin, seasoned observers frequently ask a simple question: “Who appointed the judge?”

The reason is obvious. In case after case involving elections, executive power, immigration, environmental regulation, gun rights, religious liberty, campaign finance, affirmative action, abortion, or administrative authority, judicial decisions frequently align with the political philosophies of the presidents who placed those judges on the bench.

This was not the Founder’s intention. The Constitution was to be law, not clay. Words were chosen carefully. Powers were enumerated deliberately. Rights were specified explicitly. The purpose was to establish boundaries that the government could not cross regardless of who happened to hold office.

But a strange transformation has occurred over the last century. Today, many judges now view their role not as discovering what the law actually means but as rationalizing what they believe the law should mean.

3) "University Indoctrination Centers Are Being Abandoned: Up to 25 percent of U.S. colleges may close soon, largely due to their inferior product." (Larry Sand, American Greatness)

From the article -- Why, specifically, are so many universities going down the tubes?

A new report from Yale University sheds light on the decline in public trust in higher education and on the responsibility universities must assume for what’s happened. In recent years, antisemitism, the erosion of free speech rights, and ideological conformity have become the norm at Yale and many of our leading educational institutions.

The Yale committee also reviewed a 2025 Pew Research Center survey, which found that 70 percent of Americans believe higher education is headed in the wrong direction. Additionally, the report cites a Gallup poll showing how sharply trust in higher education has fallen over the past 10 years.

American Enterprise Institute research fellow Daniel Buck and Garion Frankel of the James G. Martin Center give examples of the avalanche of radical political and cultural drivel that is omnipresent on campuses today. Oregon State University offers “Disney: Gender, Race, and Empire.” Students at Indiana University can take “Having it All: Postfeminist Media After Sex and the City.”

They continue, “How about ‘Bad Bunny: Musical Aesthetics and Politics’ at Yale University? The Bad Bunny Syllabus that inspired this course—which lists topics such as ‘LGBTQ Activism,’ ‘Gender and Sexuality in Reggaeton,’ and ‘Political Protests of Summer 2019’ for study—is also used at Wellesley College and Loyola Marymount University. Both Swarthmore College and the University of Chicago offer courses on ‘Queering God.’”

4) "Your Political Party Is Code For Whether You Love Or Hate America" (Skye Graham, Federalist)

From the article -- s America’s 250th anniversary rapidly approaches, national pride among Democrats is alarmingly low. Ninety percent of Republican respondents reported being “extremely” or “very” proud to be an American compared to just 29 percent of Democrats, according to a new NBC News poll. This brings the share of Americans who fall within these two categories to 56 percent, a record low since NBC ran this poll for the first time in 2001.

This partisan divide is not just present among everyday Americans. When President Donald Trump congratulated the U.S. men’s national hockey team for defeating Canada in the Olympics during his State of the Union address, many Democrats stayed seated and refused to clap. At the same time, other audience members broke out in chants of “USA! USA! USA!”

In addition, many of the Democratic Party’s policies focus on serving the interests of foreigners over native-born citizens. Many states and cities have passed “sanctuary” laws allowing illegal aliens to remain in the territory without fear of deportation. David Bier of the Cato Institute said that in Fairfax County, Virginia, a state that enforces sanctuary laws, about one in five residents are illegal aliens.

Gov. Abigail Spanberger, D-Va., refused to comply with Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the Trump Administration to deport illegal aliens charged with drug trafficking, rape of a minor, and other serious criminal offenses. The Department of Homeland Security called Spanberger’s Virginia a “hotbed of illegal alien crime.”

5) “AI Is Not Just a Technology Problem - It Is a Church Discipleship Test” (Robert Maginnis, Washington Stand)

From the article -- The church has navigated disruptive technologies before — the printing press, radio, television, the internet. What sets AI apart is that it does not merely carry information from one place to another. It shapes how people think, what they desire, and how they read the world around them.

In my book “AI for Mankind’s Future: A Christian Perspective on the Hi-Tech Revolution,” I described AI as a formation system — something that trains habits, narrows attention, and quietly rewires judgment through repetition. That is a different category of concern than a hammer or a calculator.

James asks, “If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach” (James 1:5, ESV). The text assumes that wisdom flows from a personal God who knows us — not from a system that predicts our next word based on statistical patterns. When those two sources of guidance get confused in the believer’s daily life, the consequences are not merely practical. They are spiritual.

I hear that confusion in these gatherings. Believers describe routing faith questions through an AI chatbot before they pick up their Bible or call their pastor. One mother told me her adult daughter forwards AI-generated answers to life questions for a second opinion. In that case, a gospel conversation followed. But the underlying question stayed with me: who is forming whom?

Other Excellent Reads from this Week:

* Obama fails to pay the help -- The city should take a wrecking ball to that project which stiffs the little guy. But the Obama center knows that will never happen, so they do what they do, and too bad about the little guy. (Monica Showalter, American Thinker)

* Most Women ‘Blindsided’ by Abortion Drug Side Effects (Suzanne Bowdey, Washington Stand)

* Hawley Calls for Federal Fraud Investigators to Probe Planned Parenthood (S.A. McCarthy, Washington Stand)

* British MP Rupert Lowe Releases Appalling Rape Gang Inquiry Report, At Least 250,000 British Girls Victimized (Debra Heine, American Greatness)

* Catholic archbishop praises new mosque, ignores ubiquitous gang rapes by Muslim men -- He also said: “There is nowhere that I feel greater honor, fraternity, and kindness.” (Eric Utter, American Thinker)

Oh, My! A "When Swing Was King" Update

My, oh my; has it really been 16 years since we presented our first “When Swing Was King” program in a senior care facility?  Goodness. That first show was presented at Life Care Center where my Mom was then living. And it was intended to be an entertainment feature at a party we were throwing for Mom and some of the other residents who were her friends there. That’s right -- one simple party. So who could have ever guessed what would end up happening? For within 2 months of that party, and without any promotion on our part whatsoever, we were creating new shows and playing to audiences in a half dozen senior facilities. Before the year was out, we were at 12 facilities with brand new shows every month.

And doing it, as we do now, completely free of charge.

We have now presented...drum roll, please...over 1,900 shows with each always-unique presentation made up of 12 songs, a couple hundred striking photos, and an informative and fun commentary backing it all up. We are freshly amazed at what the Lord has done. And we absolutely love the ministry it involves: creating each show from month to month, entertaining each audience (average numbers ranging from 12-40), and, because we go to the same facilities every month, establishing lively and inspirational friendships with so many people. Lord, thank You so much for “When Swing Was King.”

By the way, “outsiders” are always welcome and so you too can come along and find out just how fun and uplifting these events are. Claire posts the schedule on the Vital Signs Ministries website every month and we (and the senior residents themselves) would love to have you be a part.

By the way, you might find of interest the songlist for our June shows:

1) “Moonlight Cocktail” (Glenn Miller Orchestra with Ray Eberle & the Modernnaires)

2) “The More I See You” (Al Martino)

3) “I’ve Heard That Song Before” (Harry James Orchestra with Helen Forrest)

4) “Nevertheless, I’m In Love with You” (The Mills Brothers)

5) “Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy of Company B” (The Andrews Sisters)

6) “Blue Skies” (Benny Goodman Orchestra with Art Lund)

7) “You’re Driving Me Crazy” (Guy Lombardo Orchestra with Kenny Gardner)

8) “Twilight Time” (The Platters)

9) “Sh-Boom” (The Crew-Cuts)

10) “I’m Gonna Wash That Man Right Outa My Hair” (Mitzi Gaynor)

11) “Mr. Meadowlark” (Ted Weems Orchestra with Perry Como)

12) “Swingin’ on a Star” (John Scott Trotter Orchestra with Bing Crosby & the Williams Brothers)

Denny Remembers Quint Coppi

The history of Vital Signs Ministries has been a long, challenging, and eventful one yet, by the grace of Almighty God, we have experienced remarkable victories and blessings along the way. And in almost all of the adventurous years of VSM’s Christ-centered pro-life ministry, Quint and Carol Coppi performed the most steadfast, winsome, and absolutely invaluable service. Carol has been enjoying her heavenly reward for 4 years now but Quint only joined her in the presence of Jesus last week. With his death, an important chapter of Vital Signs’ story has closed, but the effects of his and Carol’s influence (and prayers) will continue until the Lord’s upward call comes to the rest of us who so eagerly await it. 

Claire and I join the Coppi family (and scores of other believers who are Quint’s and Carol’s friends and colleagues) in mourning their passing, in cherishing memories of their purposeful lives, and because the Coppi’s eternal salvation is quite secure in that they had trusted Christ’s death on the cross as payment for their sins, we join also in the celebration of their new adventures with the Triune God, the angels, and all the redeemed saints who have gone before.

I first met Quint and Carol when I was asked to speak at the church they were then attending, Prince of Peace. That was sometime, I believe, way back in 1984. They both took the Lord’s call to pro-life activities very seriously -- and very quick. They joined us in peaceful protests of abortion, in sidewalk counseling as we attempted to minister to young men and women with abortion appointments, in various educational outreaches such as the VSM information booth at the the Nebraska State Fair, a whole lot of prayer meetings, the founding of the AAA Crisis Pregnancy Center (now Assure Women’s Center), letter writing parties, field trips to such places as the National March for Life in Washington D.C., and more. In fact, Quint became a member of the Vital Signs Ministries Governing Board very early in our history where his tender-hearted encouragement, his wise counsel, and his willingness to be of whatever service was needed, proved his character as a genuine man of God who had embraced the mission.

And he served in all of these ways for many, many years. Wow.

Even in his old age when he moved to Florida to be with family, Quint continued to be a treasured member of our sidewalk counseling team by joining us in real-time prayer via telephone. Oh my, but everyone loved and admired and was grateful for Quint’s ongoing loyalty and fellowship.

But, in addition to our ministry partnership, Claire and I will forever cherish the Coppi’s joyful, thoughtful presence in the book club we formed. They were in fact present at the very first meeting of the Notting Hill Napoleons, a group of pro-life colleagues who gathered one evening every month to discuss classic literature. It was a unique fellowship that lasted over 30 years! And some of my most beloved memories of Quint come from the Napoleons’ weekend retreats we took every autumn at out-of-town B&Bs. He and I would get up very early on those mornings to have the most engaging and serious talks, encouraging one another spiritually and then praying over the Scriptures that had come up in our conversation.

Now Claire and I engage in a lot of social activities and we do an awful lot of home entertaining, but there were very few social affairs that Claire and I hosted over these last four decades in which Quint and Carol were not “star participants.” For instance, in kicking off the Christmas season where we host many dinner parties, the first invites always went to Quint and Carol. And I can’t remember an Epiphany evening in all those years they were not delighting us with their presence. Oh yes; one of the most wonderful of our parties was when we hosted Carol’s art show and sale -- what an exciting and delightful afternoon! Perhaps here is where Claire and I proudly boast that we have the largest collection of Carol Coppi art outside of Florida! 

Goodness, I mustn’t omit the truly outstanding trip that we took with Quint and Carol to London and its surrounding areas. It was fabulous fun planning it, fabulous fun experiencing it, and fabulous fun reminiscing about it for years afterward!

My, my; Quint and Carol are both sorely missed because we loved them so. And our lives were enriched beyond measure by their love and loyalty to us. It is in knowing, however, that they are both enjoying -- right this very moment -- the wholeness, the holiness, the happiness, and the harmony of being present with the Lord Jesus that brings comfort and excitement. We look forward with great anticipation to the day we will greet them on the streets of the New Jerusalem and re-boot the friendship.

Thank you, dear Father, for the gifts which were Quint and Carol Coppi. 

One more item -- As an added tribute to Quint Coppi, my dear brother in Christ, my friend, and my fellow-soldier in Christ’s service, I offer a link to a story I wrote years ago as a birthday present for him. It is a very short story whereby I took details from Quint’s childhood and turned them into the kind of adventure tale he had so loved as a kid. It is entitled “The Secret of Sagamore: A Christmas Mystery (A Quint Coppi Adventure written by Denny Hartford)” and will be posted for awhile on the Vital Signs Ministries website right here.