Growthtrac insidetrac, Life Changing Marriage Resources

California Same-Sex Marriage

At 5 p.m. PDT (8 p.m. EDT) Monday, the California Supreme Court's May ruling creating homosexual marriage took effect and the words "Party A" and "Party B" replaced "bride" and "groom" on marriage licenses. Hundreds, if not thousands, of same-sex couples throughout California took advantage of the occasion.

The decision by the California Supreme Court — to implement its May 15 decision legalizing same-sex "marriage," despite the fact that an amendment poised to nullify that decision is now on the November ballot — poses a real and present danger to the democratic process in this state. *

Last month the court voted 4-3 to declare unconstitutional the existing law defining marriage as exactly what the great majority of Californians know it to be: the union of one man and one woman. To issue that ruling, the four-judge majority had to ignore thousands of years of legal tradition and the clear wishes of most California voters —instead deciding to experiment in lawmaking and culture-shifting.

Unfortunately, four judges facilitated that compromise by assuming the role of the legislature, dispensing with hundreds of years of unshakable legal precedent, and carelessly ignoring the votes of more than 4 million Californians.

Of course, none of that matters to those pressing the homosexual legal and political agenda.

The same-sex couples now lining up to have their "marriage" licenses approved are doing so knowing full well that such unions are under a cloud of uncertainty until November.

That's the choice California's voters will have to make, come November — a choice not only to defend marriage, but to protect the foundations of their democratic system.

I hope the ceremonies spark a backlash among California voters this fall, when they face a referendum on the ballot asking to overturn the California Court's decision. A potential backlash that will help preserve the definition of marriage as one man and one woman under the state constitution.

It's a tragic day for this country when California judges impose so-called gay marriage and the governor so easily relents to judicial activism. I think it is very wrong, and I hope it gets overturned in November.

(*) Los Angeles Times.

Jesus VS. Christians

How are Christians (me and possibly, you) viewed in this culture? As a person who remembers what he thought of Christians before he became one -- my 'Bad Christian Radar' is always active, filtering what I do and say through the eyes of the non-believer.

It's not easy. Tele-Evangelists, anti-Gay demonstrators, legalism, organ music, irrelevant liturgy, unattractive churches, unloving religious fanatics and bad Sunday leisure suits -- paint the popular opinion. Tough competition.

As part of his talk, Scott Hodge showed this video. The video is straightforward, bothersome, and quite revealing as it illustrates a huge gap between how people view Jesus and how they view the people who are supposed to be representing him.

Scott says, the video was not edited to make a point.  In the 45 minutes of interviews, he did not receive ONE positive comment for the second half of the video.

From Scott Hodge's blog, pastor at The Orchard.

Gas Pains

Regular gas in the Chicago area is well over $4 a gallon. Fortunately Sheri and I work at home. I don't know how normal people do it, commuting and filling-up twice a week!

This week we're hosting a couple from Norway while they attend a conference at our church. Last night after liter-to-gallon and Kroner-to-Dollar conversions I was surprised to learn that a gallon of fuel in Norway is over $12 a gallon!

At 5,000,000, Norway's population is half that of Chicago -- and the geography much tighter --  making alternative transportation modes (bicycles and walking) more viable. Fuel prices aren't big news in Norway.

Does anyone else get the idea God is trying to get America's attention?

Intimidating Prayers

Sheri, my wife, tells a popular story about our early Christian life when we were learning to pray together. As the story goes, Sheri was intimidated when she heard me pray, in the style of my traditional upbringing. Sheri says it was like listening to William Shakespeare. Sheri exaggerates.  Anyway, take a look at the video below; I think this is what she had in mind.

The Cost of Divorce

$112 Billion and Rising!

Thanks to Phil Waugh at Covenant Marriage.

When we begin to assess the cost of divorce in our nation we can take a historical look back through time and with a great degree of confidence claim that divorce in our nation has taken a toll on our society.

Our nation has suffered greatly, at the hands of the judicial system, when it comes to the destruction of the home through the administering of the "no-fault" divorce laws enacted back in 1970. This has been very costly.

On the average, couples in the US spend $28,732 on their wedding. This does not include the honeymoon or wedding rings. This would be considered healthy to our nation's economy while on the other hand, a divorce costs the federal government approximately $30,000. Greater than this, family fragmentation costs U.S. taxpayers at least $112 billion each and every year.

As of April 15, 2008 we have a study that focuses on the Taxpayer Costs of Divorce and Unwed Childbearing: First-Ever Estimates for the Nation and all Fifty States. This study provides us with some truly startling and quite significant information regarding the rising cost of divorce to our nation and the inevitable cost to taxpayers. The figures quoted within the body of these findings were very conservative, even to a fault, according to some individuals.

The study's purpose was to provide credible evidence that marriage is economically healthy to our nation while divorce and unwed childbearing create a strain on our nation's finances.

The researchers of this study estimate that "family fragmentation costs U.S. taxpayers at least $112 billion each and every year, or more than $1 trillion each decade."  These cost figures are derived from "increased taxpayer expenditures for antipoverty, criminal justice, and educational programs," and decreased levels of taxes received from individuals, who are earning less due to reduced opportunities."

This $112 billion figure includes expenditures on federal, state, and local levels.  So, whose responsibility is it to begin the process of correcting this financial strain on our pocketbooks?  The answer, it is everybody's responsibility.  All three levels of government need to initiate programs designed to strengthen marriages rather than supporting their demise.

This Report acknowledges that even the slightest increase in stable marriage rates through these programs would result in very large savings for taxpayers.  "If the federal marriage initiative, for example, succeeds in reducing family fragmentation by just 1%, U.S. taxpayers will save an estimated $1.1 billion each and every year."  Even the slightest of endeavors to strengthen marriages in our nation would result in tremendous capital assets to taxpayers.

We have been experiencing the "social costs" of increased divorce and unmarried childbearing for decades.  These social costs include, but are not limited to, children who suffer from increased risks of poverty, mental illness, infant mortality, physical illness, juvenile delinquency and adult criminality, sexual abuse and other forms of family violence, economic hardship, substance abuse, and educational failure, such as increased risk of dropping out of school.1  These costs continue to increase as divorce and unmarried childbearing continue to rise.

It is time for us as a nation to initiate changes within local, state, and federal programs to strengthen marriages and begin turning the tide on the rising costs of the bottom line of divorce.  It is up to us, the taxpayers who are footing the bill, to call our legislators and public officials into account for initiating change within our government agencies to provide programs to strengthen marriage and enact laws that protect marriage for the good of our society.  The buck needs to stop right here and right now!

1W. Bradford Wilcox et al., Why Marriage Matters: 26 Conclusions from the Social Sciences, 2005)