Good Morning!
“A good example has twice the value of good advice,” said Albert Schweitzer, the late German theologian.
We begin this morning with reaction to the Coach Kennedy case and the celebration and affirmation of a good role model for all of us:
- Jim Daly Reacts to Coach Kennedy’s Victory at Supreme Court
From Jim Daly:
Coach Joe Kennedy’s victory at the Supreme Court today is a win for religious freedom. The fact that a majority of the justices upheld the right of a high school coach to kneel down after a game to give thanks for keeping his players safe strikes me as not just a victory for the First Amendment, but a victory for common sense.
Why is it that our kids can be exposed to all kinds of negative role models in schools today, but not a positive one like Coach Joe? Ever since the Supreme Court struck down government-sponsored prayers in schools 60 years ago, the pendulum has swung dramatically in the other direction, to the point that a quiet prayer on a 50-yard line after a game can be considered by some to violate the Constitution. That’s ridiculous!
And praise God the justices saw it as well.
We’ve had Coach Joe on our daily broadcast, and he’s a man of integrity and faith who simply wants to live his life to benefit the young men he coaches. And not just by teaching them how to block and tackle, but by showing them how a real man, saved by the grace of God, should live.
I benefited from knowing such a coach in my own life, at a time when I needed a positive role model to learn from. I experienced firsthand what players and students everywhere understand, that coaches and educators serve our kids, not just by the words they speak, but by the example of their lives. The country needs men and women like Coach Joe in every community, on every athletic field, and in every classroom.
Hopefully, because of this court decision, our freedom to pray has become freer than before. Our communities, and our kids, will be better for it.
WATCH: Jim Daly Congratulates Coach Kennedy
RELATED:
Victory for Praying Coach Kennedy at Supreme Court
From the Daily Citizen:
In an important 6-3 religious freedom decision from the U.S. Supreme Court, the high court ruled that a public high school in Washington state violated Coach Joe Kennedy’s rights when it disciplined him – and ultimately refused to re-hire him – for taking a knee and praying quietly at the 50-yard line after football games.
For seven years, the coach took a knee to pray after games. Sometimes he was joined by players. He never pressured anyone to join him. In 2015, however, someone from another school commented positively about the coach’s practice, and his school district quickly moved to restrict the practice, suggesting that he pray elsewhere on school grounds where no one would be around to see him.
He resisted the pressure, and the ensuing controversy led to his not being re-hired. A lawsuit followed, and seven years later, our nation’s highest court agreed that Kennedy’s religious rights had been violated.
The decision, importantly, corrects the mistaken impression that many public school districts and other government entities have that religious speech and actions must be suppressed in order to avoid the First Amendment’s prohibition against the “establishment of religion.”
- Louisiana judge temporarily blocks abortion ban after U.S. Supreme Court ruling
From Reuters:
A Louisiana judge on Monday temporarily blocked the state from enforcing Republican-backed laws banning abortion that were set to take effect after the U.S. Supreme Court’s blockbuster decision to end the constitutional right to the procedure nationwide.
Louisiana is one of 13 states with “trigger laws” designed to ban or severely restrict abortions once the Supreme Court overturned the landmark 1973 Roe v. Wade ruling that recognized a right to the procedure was overturned, as it was on Friday.
Orleans Parish Civil District Court Judge Robin Giarrusso issued a temporary restraining order blocking Louisiana from carrying out its ban shortly after Hope Medical Group for Women in Shreveport, one of Louisiana’s three abortion clinics, sued.
The clinic had argued that Louisiana’s three trigger law bans violated its due process rights under the state’s constitution and “lack constitutionally required safeguards to prevent arbitrary enforcement.”
- Whole-Life Objectives Harm the Pro-Life Cause
Scott Klussendorf writes for the Gospel Coalition:
Pro-lifers should reject the unfair whole-life critique for at least five reasons.
1. Whole-life demands distort pro-life priorities.
It’s true that as defenders of human dignity, Christians should care about poverty, clean water, and the rights of people everywhere. A biblical Christian ethic is concerned with the whole life. But the organizational priorities of pro-life organizations must be narrow; we must stop letting our opponents dictate our operational objectives. After all, when governments set aside an entire class of human beings to be killed, it’s only fitting that pro-life organizations prioritize ending that evil.
2. Whole-life demands exhaust battle-weary pro-lifers.
Some well-intentioned pro-life leaders are buying into the whole-life premise of our critics. They believe the pro-life movement as a whole—not just pregnancy centers—must shift from “pro-life” to “pro–abundant life.” That saving babies is not enough. Instead, pro-life organizations must devote operational resources to building strong families, securing religious liberty, promoting healthy marriages, encouraging responsible fatherhood, and helping families thrive spiritually.
3. Whole-life demands promote a false moral equivalency.
Biblically speaking, the shedding of innocent blood represents a preeminent moral crisis. It demands fearless intervention (Prov. 6:16–19; 24:11–12). It’s never one issue among equal concerns.
4. Shifting to a whole-life approach will not convert critics.
When a critic says that pro-lifers are “pro-birth” rather than “pro-life,” we should call his bluff: “Tell me, if the pro-life movement takes on every issue that you demand we take on, will you join us in opposing abortion?” We already know the answer: “No! Abortion is a fundamental right!” To which pro-life advocates should reply, “Then why did you bring up all these other issues in the first place?”
5. Pro-life advocates owe no apologies.
Why is the whole-life argument never used against other groups who target specific forms of injustice? Critics never demand that other organizations broaden their humanitarian efforts; they only demand pro-lifers do so. How many of these other organizations reciprocate by diluting their personnel and funds to help pro-lifers save children?
- Roe Was Overturned Because President Trump Kept His Promise
From The Daily Citizen:
Focus on the Family president Jim Daly referred to Mr. Trump as “the most pro-life president we have ever had.”
When it comes to pro-life policies and appointments, that’s no longer debatable – that’s fact.
It’s one of the great ironies of history that a brash businessman turned reality television star from Queens, New York, who for most of his career supported causes and acted in ways contrary to Christian teaching, is the president who would wind up appointing the justices who overturned the greatest evil of our day. Hollywood would deem the script implausible and unbelievable.
But that’s exactly what happened.
The words of William Cowper, the English poet and hymn writer, come to mind:
“God moves in a mysterious way, His wonders to perform. He plants His footsteps in the sea, and rides upon the storm.”
- Beware the Nervous Nellies
Gary Bauer writes:
I can tell you that privately many Republican consultants and pollsters in Washington are very nervous. They are worried that Friday’s decision will backfire on the party and hurt Republicans in the elections. As usual, they have it exactly backwards.
If a Supreme Court with a majority of Republican appointees, including three appointed by Donald Trump, had not overturned Roe v. Wade, conservative voters would have been tremendously demoralized. “Betrayal” would once again become a defining term for the party.
The abortion issue and values issues generally, not “free trade,” have driven millions of voters to the Party of Lincoln and Reagan.
To the consultants who are saying even now that the economy is the only thing that matters, how did Obama win reelection in 2012 when the economy was so bad? He won because the only message Mitt Romney offered in 2012 was about the economy, while he ignored issues where Obama was vulnerable.
Meanwhile, liberal candidates would like the election to be all about abortion because they don’t want to talk about Biden’s record of failures like record inflation, record gas prices, record crime rates, record illegal immigration and record drug overdoses.
Yes, abortion and the economy are important. There are many important issues to discuss like education, critical race theory in our schools, whether our children should be allowed to choose and change their gender, religious liberty …
- Young women’s psychological distress increases when they change their identity away from the heterosexual norm
From PsyPost:
New research provides evidence that sexual identity changes tend to be associated with increased psychological distress among young women. But the findings, published in the Journal of Health and Social Behavior, indicate that this association primarily impacts women who move towards more same-sex orientations.
“There is a perception in our society that sexual orientation, and thus a person’s sexual identity (e.g., bisexual, lesbian, straight), sits inside them from the day they were born and does not change across their lives,” said study author Alice Campbell, a postdoctoral research fellow at the University of Queensland and author of the upcoming book “Sexual fluidity among millennial women: journeys across a shifting sexual landscape.”
Campbell and her colleagues found that changes in sexual orientation were fairly common. But most changes were small in magnitude and changes in a more same-sex oriented-direction tended to be somewhat more common. (For example, a woman changing from identifying as “exclusively heterosexual” to identifying as “mainly heterosexual.”)
Women whose sexual identity changed in a more same-sex-oriented direction tended to report greater psychological distress compared to women whose sexual identity remained stable. In contrast, women whose sexual identity changed in a less same-sex-oriented direction tended to report less psychological distress compared to women whose sexual identity remained stable.
- Arizona Extends School Choice to All K-12 Students
From the Daily Signal:
“This session, let’s expand school choice any way we can,” declared Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey in his State of the State address on Jan. 10, “Let’s think big and find more ways to get kids into the school of their parents’ choice. Send me the bills, and I’ll sign them.”
The Arizona Legislature on Friday night answered Ducey’s call, passing a bill to expand eligibility for the state’s Empowerment Scholarship Accounts (also known as education savings accounts or ESAs) to all K-12 students.
Once signed into law, Arizona will reclaim its title as the state with the “most expansive ESA” policy in the nation.
Empowerment Scholarship Accounts empower families with the freedom and flexibility to customize their child’s education. Arizona families can currently use ESAs to pay for private school tuition, tutoring, textbooks, homeschool curriculums, online courses, educational therapy, and more.
- Soaring Inflation Has Made Living Paycheck-To-Paycheck The ‘Main Financial Lifestyle’ In America
From the Daily Wire:
More than 150 million American adults are living paycheck-to-paycheck amid soaring inflation, a poll from LendingClub and PYMNTS revealed earlier this month, a drastic increase from levels reported at the same time last year.
The survey of more than 4,000 Americans showed that “consumers in all income brackets — including those who make more than $100,000 annually” — are devoting nearly all of their salaries to paying their expenses, with little to nothing left over for savings.
In April 2021, when year-over-year consumer price inflation reached 4.2%, and the economy continued to rebound from the previous year’s recession, roughly 52% of consumers were living paycheck-to-paycheck, according to the survey. In April 2022, when consumer inflation was 8.3%, that figure rose to 61%.
“Inflation will most likely be part of the economic picture for many months to come, and consumers living paycheck to paycheck of all income brackets will need to review their financial situations and plan their spending accordingly,” the survey report concluded.
9. 3 ways to talk to your kids so they will actually listen, according to one parenting coach
From CNBC:
Here are the three steps for getting your child to listen, according to Miller.
- Say what you see
The first step in the “Language of Listening” is simple: Say what you see. Rather than imposing your judgement on your child’s behavior, resist the urge to react and quite literally vocalize what you see.
- Offer a can-do
Once you have understood and empathized with your child’s behavior, you will be in a better position to help them move forward and find a solution.
- Finish off with a strength
When you have deescalated the situation and reached a compromise, conclude the discussion by highlighting a strength your child has displayed.
10. This 100-year-old man from Edinburgh still works 3 days a week, leaves internet amazed
From First Post:
Once we reach the age 60 or 65, we all look forward to retirement and living a stress free life. But that is not the plan for David Flucker, from Scotland’s Edinburgh, who is 100-year-old. He still works three days a week in a charity shop.
Instead of retiring or taking a break, Flucker – who loves his job – still volunteers at the charity shop by counting jigsaw pieces, steaming clothes, mending toy and sometimes chit-chatting with his customers.
On 22 June, when the centenarian turned 100, the St Columba’s Hospica Care store dedicated a window display on his birthday showcasing a few glimpses of his life.
Shared on Facebook, the post shows how Flucker has become an inspiration for many around the world. The store put out a post on the official page of Ocean Terminal Shopping Centre where Flucker’s workspace is located.
“David Flucker, a very inspirational volunteer at the St Columba’s Hospice Care shop, is celebrating his 100th birthday on 22 June and the store is marking this occasion with a window display that tells of his life over the last 100 years!” the post read.
Talking about his life and journey so far, the store mentioned that he was born in Newhaven. While growing up, he lived in Australia as well as South Africa and flew with the Royal Air Force (RAF) in North Africa in the Second World War, where he survived a plane crash. Despite his age, Flucker has no intention to stop volunteering and that the quiet life isn’t for him, the organization posted.
