"Charming, Funny"

Apparently John Carlson of the Des Moines Register has

the same opinon of Mike Huckabee as I do. Well, I don't

know that he wants to hug the presidential candidate but

he seems to know how this "charming, funny" former Baptist

minister can win in the run for the presidency.

"So how can Huckabee win, with no apparent stomach for

vicious attacks on the front-runners and no big money for

an ad blitz?

Easy.

He should sit down for a one-on-one chat with everybody in

Iowa. He'd wipe out Romney, Giuliani, John McCain and the rest.

Iowans would meet a man who isn't obsessed with success and

who, amazingly, seems to be the type of fellow who says what

he believes regardless of the political consequences."

See full article here.

Book Club Review

I'm a little behind on my book club postings but it's better late than never! July's book was 'Love Your God With All Your Mind', by J.P. Morland. Again, we had a lively discussion covering a variety of topics including; Moreland's "Empty Self", personhood (are we body/soul or body/soul/spirit, etc.), Natural Law and Morland's thoughts on the average Evangelical church.

Although it seems that there are many topics touched on in Moreland's book, one topic that Aaron and I found particularly interesting was Moreland's description of the "Empty Self", which can be best summarized by a lack of growth, both intellectually and spiritually, resulting in perpetual Christian adolescence. Before reading the book I read a review on this portion of 'Love Your God With All Your Mind' so rather than try to write better what someone else has already written about so well, I'll just state the 7 characteristics of the "Empty Self" and direct you to the review.

7 Characteristics of the "Empty Self"

1. Inordinate Individualism

2. Infantilism

3. Narcissism

4. Passivity

5. Sensate Culture

6. No Interior Life

7. Busy-ness

To read the review by Don Closson of Probe Ministries, click here Another review of the book can be read here.

Memorial

This is a memorial that was constructed in
Pocahontas at the courthouse. There is a
marble structure like this for each war. Michelle's
Grandpa served in the Korean War as shown
on the top of the memorial.


We attended a dedication for the memorial
over Memorial Day weekend. This is Michelle's
Grandpa and Grandma in front of the memorial.

Michelle's Family

This picture was taken at Labor Day 2006
Michelle's Step-Dad Craig, Michelle's Mom
Connie, Erin, Aaron & Michelle



Erin, Michelle's Dad Mike, Michelle, Michelle's
Step-Mom Rose

Eagle Scout

Aaron's brother Jacob recently was awarded his Eagle Scout award. His grandpa Don was so evidently proud that his grandson was carrying on the Eagle Scout heritage. We are all very proud of Jacob for his hard work and dedication to Boy Scouts.



Jacob saying the Scout's Pledge



Ted & Dawn receiving their pins



Grandpa Don giving his "Charge"



The cake Rebekah made for the party



Aaron, Michelle, Ben & Bobbi at brunch before
the ceremony

Do Animals Have Souls?

I'm not sure that I would have considered this question anytime in the near future but it came up at our last book club meeting. I had thought a bit about it and honestly my conclusion was leaning more towards no. But considering the fact that I would rather do just about anything (keep in mind I haven't thought through all of the options included in "anything", I simply want to make a point) than join the ranks of PETA, my bias might be a bit strong for clear thinking on this topic. Recognizing this, I was delighted to stumble upon an article on Greg Koukl's website entitled "Do Animals Have Souls?" An excerpt:

" I can prove to you that animals have souls, and it's actually not very difficult. There are certain activities of our mental life that are clearly defined and are clearly not physical, therefore they cannot reside in our physical bodies. Those activities include beliefs, intentions, desires and sensations. In other words, we experience feelings. We have beliefs about things. Based on those beliefs we may have a desire that we feel also, and that desire brings forth an intention to fulfill that desire."

I'm not sold because of one article but I am a little bit more balanced in my thinking. I think meeting my friend Phillip's dog Parker (the cutest dog you've ever seen - sorry Ben, Bobbi, Mike & Rebekah... I'm partial to skinny dogs AND this one reminds me of the dog I had growing up :) ) recently also helped me to open myself up to the idea that animals could have a soul. So if you've ever wondered if your pet has a soul and have thought of doing some research, this article might give you a place to start.

Happy Birthday

We celebrated Matthew's & Molly's (Aaron's older brother, Jesse's two kids) birthdays with the Sage family a couple weeks ago while Jesse and his fiance, Amber were home for a visit. Jesse will be re-deployed to Iraq for 18 months at the end of September. This will be his second term there. We are grateful for his service and the sacrifice that he has made and will continue to make to protect our freedoms.