An Evening of Celebration...and Rededication

Claire and I were very blessed to attend the annual Nebraska Bishop’s Pro-life Banquet last night at the Cornhusker Hotel in downtown Lincoln. But before I share with you a few of the notes I took during the program, let me set the scene. 

The keynote speaker last night was our old friend and pro-life colleague Greg Schleppenbach who had returned to Nebraska from the D.C. area where he now serves as CEO of the Culture Project. A Nebraska native, Greg had previously served the Nebraska Catholic Conference for 25 years and so it was nice to have him come home and celebrate with us the defeat of Amendment 439. Yes, last night was a celebration. And yet Greg and the other presenters sharply reminded us of the awesome work yet before us. The movement to build a culture of life means the changing of untold numbers of minds on abortion. Greg reminded us, however, that the “upstream” culture issues of sexuality, marriage, and family must be priority areas for us. It was an excellent call to arms. Thank you, Greg

Our gratitude also goes to all the other dedicated pro-life servants who made-up the program: Nebraska’s Catholic Bishops (George Lucas, James Conley, and our longtime ally Joseph Hanefeldt), the NCC’s Tom Venzor and Marion Minor; and the winner of last night’s Gospel of Life award, Nikki Shasserre. It was an enlightening and very inspirational evening.

A big delight in these things, of course, is the chance to check in (however briefly) with dear friends and pro-life partners from around the state. Last night we saw several: Sandy Danek, Nate Grasz, Chip Maxwell, Rich and Barb McPhillips, Jim and Suzanne Gage, Julie Lostroh, John Horsechief, Dennis Waggoner, Karen Bowling, and John and Mary Zak.

Okay, now for a few of those notes I jotted down from last night’s conversations and program.

* Nebraska's pro-life victory was a rare one in the post-Dobbs era. And the strategy that Nebraska pro-life leaders selected; namely, to present voters with an alternative to the abortion extremism that had previously captured so many other states, proved to be ultimately successful. Seven states had already fallen to the lies and big money of the abortionists. Several more fell in the elections. True, one of the other states that did hold off the abortion industry was Florida. Congratulations, guys. And thank you, Governor DeSantis. However, it must also be noted that the percentage of the vote required to put an unlimited abortion amendment into the state’s  Constitution was 60%, not the mere 50% here in the Cornhusker state. So, how many Floridians voted for abortion? 57%! You see how things would have worked out had Nebraska not utilized an alternative amendment strategy? Again, thank You, Lord, for all needed mercies!

We were also reminded last night just how hard the climb has been here in Nebraska to pass any pro-life legislation at all. For instance, Ernie Chambers and his abortion-friendly pals over the years (not to mention the help he received from RINOs) were able to block any pro-life measures at all for a seven year stretch. Taking into account such a history with the deep research pro-life experts did into the opinions of current Nebraskans (It turns out we are not nearly as pro-life a state as we thought.) underscores just how far afield from reality are the arguments being made by pro-life abolitionists/absolutists who insist that a majority of Nebraskans would support a ban on all abortions, including those induced by chemical poisons. No, the strategy devised by the NCC, NRL, NFA, and others proved to be the best pro-life option. 

By the way, that seven year drought was broken by the pro-life license plate bill. And, for those of you who thought that wasn’t a very important win, ask yourselves why the left fought it so savagely...including throwing a strident 12-hour filibuster against it. And, with that pro-life victory, the dam began to break and Nebraska’s pro-lifers have since then secured many limitations on abortion as well as winning measures that help moms and babies. 

Every speaker last night gave glory to God for this victory even as they humbly pointed to the heroic efforts of all of the local pro-life warriors around the state whose dedication and perseverance defeated 439. Among all of these folks, however, we must make sure we’re expressing the gratitude due the Ricketts family who donated such an awful lot of financial help to the effort, as well as the female student-athletes who presented such a winsome and profoundly effective pro-life ad. 

The Top 5 (November 23)

* "After the Election -- Round 2 (Including My Top 10 Pro-Life Requests of the New Administration) (Denny Hartford, Vital Signs Blog)

From the article --  Did this election season show us that masculinity might be making a long overdue comeback? Just imagine what renewal our culture could experience if the manly virtues of courage, perseverance, honor, fortitude, sacrifice, wisdom, loyalty, and faith in God were to once again be encouraged, applauded, and carefully taught. Oh, my. Lord, please grace America with a reawakening of chivalry in all of its ideals. 

And one thing more -- there is nowhere that this masculinity comeback needs to appear more than in our pastoral leadership. Enough wimpiness. Enough compromise. Enough timidity. Enough whining about tax exempt status. Enough of the silence on issues that almighty God cares for very, very much. 

Enough acting as if you’re being fair-minded by speaking such foolish fallacies as “I don’t care what political party you prefer, just vote your conscience.” This when you know full well that the Democrat Party stands proudly for unlimited killing of preborn boys and girls! Good grief, when Congress voted on a law that would require medical care being given to babies who survived an abortion attempt, not a single Democrat would support it! So, enough posturing and pampering and placating. 

Enough listening more to the snowflakes in your congregation than you are to the clear teachings of Holy Scripture. My dear brothers, it is time to call things by their right names and to do so with courage, conviction, and winsome clarity.

* "The pope’s embrace of evil discourse: With his attack on Israel while the nation is fighting for its life, the pontiff has taken the Vatican backwards into a very dark past." (Melanie Phillips, Jewish News Service)

From the article -- In a new book published for the Catholic Church’s jubilee year, he wrote: “According to some experts, what is happening in Gaza has the characteristics of a genocide. We should investigate carefully to determine whether it fits into the technical definition formulated by jurists and international bodies.” In September, he berated Israel for an immoral lack of proportion. “Defense must always be proportionate to the attack,” he said. “When there is something disproportionate, one shows a tendency to dominate which goes beyond what is moral.”

These remarks are deeply troubling. They are the accusations routinely made by the enemies of Israel in the West, and they are shameful on many levels.

For more on this alarming subject, you can check out these articles too:  "Pope Francis’ Genocide Cowardice: He can accuse Israel of genocide, but not the Muslim killers of Christians." (Daniel Greenfield, Front Page) and "Unfulfilled Promise: Pope Francis and the Israel-Hamas war" (Adam Gregerman, Tablet)

* "Washington Post columnist claims 'Republicans want to kill your kids:' 'It's actually true'" (Joseph A. Wulfsohn, Fox News)

From the article -- Washington Post columnist Jennifer Rubin is urging Democrats to change their messaging to say that "Republicans want to kill your kids."

On Tuesday's installment of her "Jen Rubin's Green Room" podcast, Rubin insisted Senate Republicans who acquiesce to President-elect Trump's cabinet nominees must pay a "political price." 

"The people who irresponsibly put dangerous, treasonous, unfit people in positions of authority are responsible not only for those people, but for all the horrors that will unfold," she said. "And Democrats better get started now tracking these people, holding these people accountable and making clear to ordinary voters who voted for what and who’s responsible for what."

In order to do that, Rubin advised, "You can't talk broad themes. You have to boil it down to nuts and bolts, and you have to be pithy. What do I mean by pithy? How about this: Republicans want to kill your kids. It's actually true." 

* "Shake Up HHS: The department, exposed during the pandemic for its incompetence and groupthink, is in desperate need of reform—which Robert Kennedy Jr., whatever his flaws, will pursue." (Jeffrey H. Anderson, City Journal)

From the article -- Kennedy took the poster boy of the mask-and-lockdown regime to task in his bestselling book, The Real Anthony Fauci. But that book, a compelling and generally well-researched indictment of the public-health establishment, also makes clear that the agency’s problems extend well beyond one unscrupulous, attention-hogging bureaucrat. As former Trump advisor Scott Atlas reports in his own book, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Food and Drug Administration, and National Institutes of Health—all HHS agencies—appear to be infested with groupthink. During the pandemic, Atlas notes, White House Coronavirus Task Force coordinator Deborah Birx, then-CDC director Robert Redfield, and Fauci “shared thought processes and views to an uncanny level,” and “virtually always agreed” with each other.

Whatever his flaws, RFK Jr. does not share in such groupthink. And while Kennedy’s critics focus primarily on his being a “vaccine denier,” those accusations don’t undermine his broader case: that Big Pharma has taken too much credit for the improvements in Americans’ health over the past century-plus.

* "Make education great again!" (Adam Ellwanger, Mercator)

From the article -- Teachers, for their part, have good reason to despair. Despite the monumental importance of their work, many are underpaid. They face administrators who value standardized test scores above all else. Meanwhile, declining standards for decorum and discipline, often justified in the name of "social justice," have made schools unsafe for both teachers and students. Violence and insubordination create an environment unfit for serious learning. Some parents treat schools as daycare centers or demand good grades for minimal effort. Worse, parents of disruptive students often refuse to ensure their children do not rob others of the opportunity to learn. 

Yet teachers, too, have failed. They inflate grades to keep their jobs but do no favors for students unprepared for future challenges. This, in turn, lowers the quality of education for students ready for more advanced work, driving gifted students out of public schools. 

Another harsh truth is that many teachers are unprepared for the job. The education system has failed for so long that many teachers have never mastered the material they are supposed to teach. Colleges steer future educators toward "education" majors, where coursework focuses more on leftist "social justice" ideology than on subject mastery. Some graduates believe their mission is to "dismantle" an "unjust" society by creating anti-American activists. When these activist-teachers enter classrooms, they often abandon their duty to transmit America's culture, knowledge, and values. Instead, they teach students to disdain their nation, its people, its past, and its way of life. This undermines social cohesion and deprives disadvantaged students of the tools they need to succeed.

Recapturing Thanksgiving Day Territory

Claire and I are becoming more serious and intentional every year in recapturing the spirit of Thanksgiving Day that we enjoyed (and were inspired by) when we were kids. For since those days, the importance of that holiday has been overwhelmed by many forces -- an intolerant secularism that disdains religious expression, Americans being increasingly ignorant and indifferent to their nation's history, the innumerable distractions arising from the commercialization of Halloween and Christmas, the dwindling devotion to family fellowship, and dare I say it, the overall indifference to the critical virtue of gratitude. 

At any rate, this Thanksgiving season has been a particular blessing to us thus far.

 1) Actually using the Mayflower Compact as the springboard for a sermon at Herman Community Church. 

2) Having a wonderful time reading Thanksgiving-oriented stories and essays but also a new discovery that we are taking great delight in, Thanksgiving: The Holiday at the Heart of the American Experience by Melanie Kirkpatrick. 

3) Preparing for Vital Signs Blog (and the VSM website) a 27-page Thanksgiving Present of poems quotations, presidential proclamations, and more which is available for your encouragement and pleasure. 

4) Recording a brief video for our YouTube channel about the American Christians' spiritual forefathers, the Plymouth Colony Pilgrims. 

5) Enjoying the hospitality of friends who have invited us to a Thanksgiving feast (a little bit after the Day itself). 

6) Having the honor of entertaining 7 dinner guests ourselves featuring the
traditional menu fare on Thanksgiving Day. 

And 7) Officially kicking off the Christmas season with our longstanding tradition of watching Miracle on 34th Street on the night of Thanksgiving Day. 

So, Happy Thanksgiving Day -- and Season -- to you all!

The Vital Signs Christmas Card Parties!

For 4 decades now Vital Signs Ministries has been hosting letter-writing parties. At these quarterly events, we use both the power of prayer and the power of the pen to promote issues of life, justice, religious freedom, and Christian chivalry. They are always a meaningful, effective, and fun opportunity for fellowship and service. Well, coming up on Monday, December 2 are two special letter-writing parties with a definite Christmas-theme. Both parties will be held at the Hartford home, the first at 10 in the morning and the second on Tuesday night at 7. 

The “priority recipients” for our Christmas cards that night will be our newly-elected officials, the Nebraska heroes who won the crucial amendment fight against the extremist abortion lobby, the NU women student athletes who appeared on a remarkably powerful pro-life public service video, and pro-life advocates who have been persecuted by the Biden administration. 

Everything is provided -- envelopes, stamps, addresses, bullet points for your messages, and, of course, hot drinks and dessert treats.  Interested? Then give us a call or send along an email or FB message ASAP. 

After the Election -- Round 2 (Including My Top 10 Pro-Life Requests of the New Administration)

Yes, I posted a post-election review on November 8 (“After the Sigh of Relief: 7 Post-Election Observations”), but after reading more analyses from people I trust, talking matters over with friends, developing our priority prayer list oriented to our nation’s reclamation, and asking God for help in answering the always-relevant question, “How should we now live?”,  I have a few more observations. I share them in hopes they will add to a better understanding of these important matters -- and that they might help stimulate prayers, helpful conversations, social media items, and letters to appropriate individuals. So, in no particular order, here they are...

* Among the most striking “Why Trump Won” items is the Democrats so stridently, so cruelly demanding unlimited abortion. It was an electrified pole which they just couldn’t let go of. They knew they were appealing to a voting public that has become used to abortion over the last 50 years and they were confident they had a winning issue. They did not. In fact, the Democrats shrill, constant shrieking that the most important “right” a woman had, a “right” that actually defined her as a woman, was the freedom to kill her own child ended up turning people off. It sounded so ugly, selfish to the max, and cruel that even Democrat women were embarrassed. And that mean-spiritedness, that insistence on the preborn child having no value at all hurt the Democrats chances way, way more than it helped them.

* But, of course, that was only one of the radical positions the Democrats advocated that went against the ideas and feelings of the electorate. For instance, they were remarkably tone deaf to economic realities, touting the strength of the Biden/Harris economy even though American families knew all too well the debacle it actually was. And the national debt? That’s a big deal to voters, yet the Democrats dismissed its importance altogether, even making things terribly worse with such unpopular spending programs as transgender surgery for criminals, forgiving student loan debt, funding corruption and waste under the banner of the Ukraine war, and more.

* The Democrats were also heavily burdened by their pattern of unAmerican actions in recent years. Opening our borders to illegals. Indifference to violent crime. Playing the patsy to China and Iran and other nations. Making war on peaceful pro-lifers, on cars, on coal, on fracking, on grocery chains, on gas stoves, and on parents who wanted a say in their kids’ education. Aiding and abetting Israel’s enemies. A shrug of the shoulders tto riots in the streets and looting in our cities. Tolerance, even encouragement of rabid anti-Semitism on college campuses. Policies designed to divide the American people as they pushed hard for DEI and transgender demands. Openly siding with the defund the police movement. Criminalizing free speech. Establishing illegal partnerships with Big Tech in order to censor speech and better monopolize the flow of thought. Forcing the society to welcome men into women’s sports, locker rooms, and bathrooms. Daring to treat a large section of the populace as fascists, idiots, racists, and garbage. And lying...over and over.

* Did this election season show us that masculinity might be making a long overdue comeback? Just imagine what renewal our culture could experience if the manly virtues of courage, perseverance, honor, fortitude, sacrifice, wisdom, loyalty, and faith in God were to once again be encouraged, applauded, and carefully taught. Oh, my. Lord, please grace America with a reawakening of chivalry in all of its ideals. 

And one thing more -- there is nowhere that this masculinity comeback needs to
appear more than in our pastoral leadership. Enough wimpiness. Enough compromise. Enough timidity. Enough whining about tax exempt status. Enough of the silence on issues that almighty God cares for very, very much. 

Enough acting as if you’re being fair-minded by speaking such foolish fallacies as “I don’t care what political party you prefer, just vote your conscience.” This when you know full well that the Democrat Party stands proudly for unlimited killing of preborn boys and girls! Good grief, when Congress voted on a law that would require medical care being given to babies who survived an abortion attempt, not a single Democrat would support it! So, enough posturing and pampering and placating. 

Enough listening more to the snowflakes in your congregation than you are to the clear teachings of Holy Scripture. My dear brothers, it is time to call things by their right names and to do so with courage, conviction, and winsome clarity.

* The “establishment press” (I’m now using the term “Democrat Party press”) has long been in the tank for the far left. Even the semblance of fairness, accuracy, and decorum were tossed away in the years of the Obama and Biden presidencies. Therefore, thank the Lord, Americans are turning them off more than ever before, so much so that the bigwigs that run leftist strongholds like the L.A. Times and MSNBC are scrambling to change their ways...maybe. I believe it is still the safest, wisest course to agree with the maxim, “However much you hate the media, it is not enough!”

* Of course, the Deep State remains a source of Deep Trouble for the United States. But the arrogance, the Communist ideologies, and the crimes of the Deep State go way beyond the DOJ, CIA, IRS, and the Pentagon. You find them in the Department of the Interior, the Post Office, the National Endowment for the Arts, and oh-so-many other government run and government-funded agencies. Furthermore, let’s not neglect the Deep State purposes being pursued by the public sector unions, the universities and government school system, Big Business, Big Tech (Google, for instance, is as unfair, manipulating, and lying bunch of thugs as you’ll find anywhere), the socialist bullies who control the academic publications and museums and arts councils and foundations. Don’t think that the devil’s deeds in these places are any less heinous than the shenanigans undertaken by George Soros, Bill Gates, or the U.S. Attorney General. In all these matters, our prayers and advocacy for justice are as desperately important as ever before.

* Yes, it is official. The Democrat Party is the real party of the rich. The only demographic that Kamala Harris won was those making over $100,000 a year.

* Okay, let me get down to that Top 10 that I promised earlier; namely, the Top 10 Pro-life Priorities Claire and I are committing to pray for and actively advocate.

1) The defunding of Planned Parenthood.

2) The appointing of genuine pro-life people to places of high influence in the new administration and, of course, also in the judiciary.

3) The immediate release of all pro-life advocates who the Biden administration has thrown into federal prisons because they dared pray in front of an abortion mill. 

4) To reinstate the Mexico City policy and cut off all other funding to anti-life agencies and programs. 

5) To rescind all Biden administration orders and policies that seek to force radically immoral abortion/gender/sexuality/indoctrination practices on Americans.

6) To end the pollution of our nation’s water system from the dangerous chemicals contained in abortion pills. 

7) To use the power of the federal government to defend the sanctity of life rather than undermine, even criminalize, that noble purpose.

8) To actively enforce the Comstock Act, a law that governs how the Postal Service deals with the mailing of abortion poisons. 

9) To restore the real meaning of Title IX.

10) To do whatever possible to help build a culture of life in America -- a culture that applauds and encourages adoption, that protects freedom of religion and conscience from all attacks, that prohibits Big Tech from maintaining a monopoly on information, and that assists traditional values regarding sexual morality and healthy family life.

* The items above should be, of course, frequent targets for our fervent prayers. And they should be talked about, promoted on our social media, and taught in our churches. But for that last one, we will definitely require that renewal of masculinity in America’s pastoral leadership that I mentioned earlier -- a spiritual warrior commitment that moves our leaders to counteract the false teaching that daily washes over the American churchgoers. My friends, the Lord has given the Church yet another chance to start doing things His way, to stand and fight in the Spirit for His Word against the demonic doctrines that are poisoning American minds and numbing their consciences. We must teach the sanctity of all human life. We must counteract the lies of evolution. We must teach our youth the biblical principles of modesty, self-control, and sexual purity. We must minister more than ever to the least of these. And we must encourage our brothers and sisters to walk in holiness, remaining unstained by the world.

* Are there other issues that Christian citizens should be seriously concerned about? Certainly. Lawlessness and a terribly broken justice system. The national debt. The elimination of voter fraud and inefficiency. Religious freedom in our country as well as our nation as a prophetic, exemplary force against the persecution of Christians and Jews in other parts of the world. School choice. Decency in our institutions and public square. Border security. And more. 

The Top 5 (November 16)

Before I pass along my Top 5 for this weekend, let me drop in a link to something of a quite different character. Indeed, it is a Vital Signs Blog post ("Let Vital Signs Help Inspire Your Holidays") that gives a link to 4 seasonal ways that Vital Signs Ministries can help inform, inspire, and elevate your appreciation of this “most wonderful time of the year." Okay, here's the Top 5:

* "5 Policy Priorities for President Trump’s First 100 Days" (Southern Baptists ERLC Policy Staff)

From the article -- 1. Reinforce policies that ensure the government does not fund abortion...2. Withhold government funding for abortion providers, domestically and abroad...3. Revoke President Biden’s executive order directing agencies to implement radical  gender and sexuality policies...4. Rescind the anti-life, anti-religious liberty, and pro-gender ideology policies advanced by the Biden administration...5. Reverse the Biden administration’s actions that expanded “access” to the abortion pill.

* "Trump’s Masculine Appeal: For all his flaws, the president-elect demonstrates a kind of bravery that men ought to imitate." (Aaron M. Renn, City Journal)

From the article -- Something about Trump appeals to young men. This is a group with many widely reported pathologies: they are falling behind young women in collegiate attendance, and increasingly struggling economically, as documented by scholars such as Richard Reeves in his book Of Boys and Men. What is it that these men see in Trump?

Most of the president-elect’s critics focus on the ways in which he is not a “good man.” They say that he is crude and gratuitously offensive, selfish and egotistic, that he lies and is disloyal. His gaudy consumption style, braggadocio, and love of celebrity, they suggest, are an affront to traditional WASP values. Undoubtedly, Trump is no Teddy Roosevelt or Ward Cleaver. But his critics fail to see the ways in which he embodies a real archetype of masculinity.

* "Trump Should Revive His Pro-America 1776 Commission On Day One" (Robert Busek, Federalist)

From the article -- Trump created the commission the day before Election Day in 2020 with the purpose of “[establishing] a clear historical record of an exceptional Nation dedicated to the ideas and ideals of its founding.” Its goal was to provide a much-needed corrective to anti-American propaganda masquerading as history such as the “1619 Project,” whose “radicalized view of American history lacks perspective, obscures virtues, twists motives, ignores or distorts facts, and magnifies flaws, resulting in the truth being concealed and history disfigured.” The commission’s report, published two days before Trump left office, sketched out a basic curriculum that balanced American exceptionalism as reflected in the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution with the darker aspects of our history, such as slavery and Jim Crow.

Predictably, the usual suspects had a hissy fit. NBC News accused the commission of “whitewashing historical narratives,” while professional race-baiter Ibram X. Kendi called the report “the last great lie from a Trump administration of great lies.” The journal Foreign Policy published a hatchet job from a grad student “expert” likening the commission’s recommendations to the educational policies of authoritarian regimes like Russia and China.

The unkindest cut of all came from the American Historical Association, which abandoned all pretense of scholarly objectivity by slandering the report as a “call for a form of government indoctrination of American students [that would] elevate ignorance about the past to a civic virtue.”

The new administration heard the message loud and clear. A day after taking the oath of office, President Biden spiked the commission along with most of the other common-sense policies of his predecessor.

* "The Election’s Second-Biggest Loser? Legacy Media" (Mike Gonzalez, Daily Signal)

From the article -- It’s not just that the voter has now said the press have no clothes. More importantly, President-elect Donald Trump was able to use an online ecosystem that now far outstrips anything the legacy media have to offer. Conservatives have a right to be excited about this brand-new development.

Part of the reason people have been flocking to nonlegacy media sources, including the many podcasts Trump went out of his way to appear on over the course of his campaign, is that the legacy media long ago shed all semblance of impartiality.

Newspapers such as The Washington Post and The New York Times, broadcasters such as NPR and the three major TV networks, as well as wire services such as The Associated Press and Reuters have behaved as though it were up to them to prevent a Trump victory. And they didn’t care if it was obvious.

The Media Research Center, a conservative outfit that has performed invaluable service studying the media for years, confirms that this year’s coverage, in particular, was the worst of any election in history.

* "Parents in Massachusetts School District Can’t Opt Out of ‘Sexuality,’ ‘Gender Identity’ Lessons" (Elizabeth Troutman Mitchell, Daily Signal)

From the article -- “November 13th through November 19th is Transgender Awareness Week,” Angiers Elementary Principal Orla Higgins Averill said in an email obtained by The Daily Signal. “This week helps raise the visibility about transgender people and address issues members of the community face.” The link provided takes parents to the website of GLAAD, a radical LGBTQ activist group that claims so-called gender-affirming care is lifesaving for young people who believe they are transgender.

Angiers Elementary teaches kindergarten through fifth grade as part of Newton Public Schools in Newton, Massachusetts, a predominantly liberal area north of Boston.

Parents whose children are enrolled in Newton Public Schools can’t opt them out of lessons on sexual orientation or gender identity, according to guidance approved in October by the district’s school board, called the Newton School Committee. “While parents/guardians/caregivers may opt out of the health curriculum specifically related to sexual reproduction, our commitment to gender and sexuality education remains firm,” the document says.

Let Vital Signs Help Inspire Your Holidays

Remember Andy Williams singing “It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year?” Well, with Thanksgiving and Christmas rapidly approaching  -- and with the election results turning out the way they did -- we can join Mr. Williams in those sentiments with even greater gratitude and joy this season.

And to help inform, inspire, and elevate your appreciation of this “most wonderful time,” Vital Signs Ministries has four seasonal opportunities for you:

1) “A Thanksgiving Present.” Think of it as a kind of “starter pack” for your Thanksgiving season -- 27 pages of Scriptures and quotations, excerpts from Presidential Proclamations and other documents, poems, trivia, and historical reviews. It’s a nice resource that you can use in your own holiday reflections, as conversation starters, to pass along in correspondence and social media, and to enrich the Thanksgiving experience with your family.

2) “Making the Most of Christmas.” This very popular collection has helped our friends for over 3 decades now to more thoroughly enjoy their Christmas season. Poetry, brief devotions, stimulating and fun quizzes, and a lot more. 

Both the Thanksgiving and Christmas collections are available (completely free, of course) on the Vital Signs Ministries website. (Look in the Articles section.)

3) As many of you know, Claire and I host a couple of Vital Signs Ministries letter-writing parties every quarter. It’s just one of our outreach, advocacy, and encouragement ministries. But it’s an important one. These gatherings are always full of serious purpose; yet they are very pleasant and engaging activities whereby we shine the lights of love, truth, and justice using personal correspondence. We have done this with excellent effect for over 40 years and we always look forward to these action-oriented fellowship opportunities. But ah...the Christmas card party! That is something particularly fine and festive. And we most heartily invite you to join us on December 2 at either our morning party (10 o’clock) or the evening event (7 o’clock) for 90 minutes or so of “good and noble work” as we write political officials, business leaders, heroes of the faith, Christians under persecution, and media. 

Also, for those unable to attend in person, we do provide a set of “helps” in the form of letter targets, relevant information, addresses, even sample letters. Those “helps” can also be found at the Vital Signs Ministries (in the Taking Action section) and/or Vital Signs Blog and/or through direct request from us. If you are interested in attending or in obtaining the “helps” in order to write a few letters and Christmas cards on your own, please let us know.

And 4) The Christmas edition of “When Swing Was King” is a truly unique inspiration and entertainment. We encourage you to check our schedule -- yes, it’s on the website in the Seniors section -- to perhaps plan to be a part of one of the audiences when we present “When Swing Was King” in several area senior facilities during the month of December. We also ask you to consider it as a special nostalgic treat for your own church family. 

So, there you go. Why not let Vital Signs Ministries be of assistance to you in truly making this “the most wonderful time of the year” in some new and meaningful ways?

A Thanksgiving Present

Sure, it is always the season of thanksgiving for the Christian (Psalm 95:2, Psalm 100:4, 2 Corinthians 9:11-15, Philippians 4:6 and so on), but it is also of great importance for American Christians to cherish the foundations of their national holiday. Indeed, we should be intensifying our efforts to pass on to the next generations the history, the importance, and the present applications of Thanksgiving. After all, the government schools are not going to do it. Neither will Hollywood or the establishment media. And, sad to say, even the church has fumbled this important responsibility. 

It’s up to you and me, pilgrim!

And to help in this effort, we have assembled some remarkable items in this special Thanksgiving present over on the Vital Signs Ministries website. In these 27 pages, you will find the Mayflower Compact, Holy Scriptures and other quotations, excerpts from Presidential Proclamations and other documents, poems, historical tidbits, and more. 

We hope you find it of educational and inspirational value.

Weekend Vital Signs Activities...And So On

It was certainly a significant weekend for Claire and I and things seem to have started in the same spirit to begin this week. Thank You, Lord.  Saturday’s activities involved sermon preparations, shopping, and preparing salad, a rich and spicy bean and vegetable stew, and several desserts for our dinner guests Saturday night -- Kamal and Yogesh from India. We had a marvelous evening together that night and we were delighted to hear them ask if they could come again sometime soon!

Sunday morning found us at one of our favorite churches, Herman Community Church, where I did a Sunday school class on Thanksgiving (both the biblical virtue and the history of the American holiday) and then the sermon on Ephesians 1:1-8. Then, after Claire and I stopped briefly for London Fogs at the Scooters’ in Blair, we conducted our regular Sunday afternoon church service at Aksarben Village Senior Living. It went very well too with 18 residents and our team on hand for a terrific time of teaching, music, and visiting over cookies and coffee.

Our Monday involved writing letters of congratulations to President-elect Trump and other Republican winners -- letters which also reminded them all of four priorities we are asking them to immediately pursue: 

1) The de-funding of the mega-abortion business that is Planned Parenthood.

2) Increased military might in order to better protect America from her enemies.

3) Clean and efficient election procedures.

4) “Cleaning house” in the Deep State, with a special emphasis on considerably strengthening the rights of religion, speech, assembly, and conscience from government harassment.

We also sent thank-you letters to the heroic pro-life leaders at NRL, NFA, and NCC for leading the victorious campaign to defeat the extreme pro-abortion amendment proposal 439.

Later that morning we headed down to Lincoln to present our first “When Swing Was King” show of November. No surprise -- the residents loved it! We then drove a few blocks through the Havelock district to the Engine House restaurant where we enjoyed a terrific lunch and conversation with Harold and Mary Dee Berry. What treasured friends they are.

We finished Monday with thank-you notes to several of our friends who are U.S. military veterans and started in mulching up the leaves from the front yards of ours and the neighbors on both sides of us. My mower, which I’ve had considerable difficulty with all summer, has turned out to be an absolute marvel in mulching leaves into...well, into nothing! That has been a delightful and very helpful surprise.

The week ahead includes four more “When Swing Was King” shows, preparation for Sunday services at Aksarben Village and again at Herman Community Church, a lunch party with over a dozen friends coming to our house, Saturday morning’s pro-life witness outside the abortion business, finishing up a Thanksgiving package that will be on the Vital Signs Ministries website tomorrow,  and a few other important tasks. Prayers are always appreciated that we do our work in His power and with His abundant blessings upon it. 

The Election is Over. What's YOUR Next Step?

Here’s an idea for you. Copy the picture above (or some creation of your own) and print it off to make “congratulation cards” to the conservatives you supported in Tuesday’s elections. On the inside (or simply the back side if you go with a postcard format), tell them four things on which you want them to press “fast and furious” as soon as they take office. (Those items, of course, may well be different for the various offices your candidates won.)  And keep a copy of your card so you can refer to those priorities in your next communications.

Keep in mind, guys, it’s not enough to get these folks elected. Nor is it enough to applaud them (or ourselves) or feel satisfied and happy that they won out over their Democrat opponents. The job of governing with principle, efficiency, and wisdom is now at hand. Therefore, our prayers, encouragement, and perseverance to keep our political representatives accountable are more important than ever.

By the way, what are the priorities I’m asking them to make priorities? 

1) The de-funding of the mega-abortion business that is Planned Parenthood.

2) Increased military might in order to better protect America from her enemies.

3) Clean and efficient election procedures.

4) “Cleaning house” in the Deep State, with a special emphasis on considerably strengthening the rights of religion, speech, assembly, and conscience from government harassment.

So, what do you say? Send in your cards and letters today. We mobilized for their election. Let’s stay mobilized to insure these folks govern the way they promised.