Tag Archives: Gary Wiram

August 16, 2014 · 10:31 am

Keeping Our Eyes Above The Waves

AN EXCEPTIONAL LEADER

Over the past few days, as we’ve watched Missouri State Highway Patrol Captain Ronald S. Johnson step in to take over security operations in the midst of this past week’s civil unrest in Ferguson, MO, it’s become obvious that he is a truly exceptional person. The immediate good news in this, as reported in a related Washington Post article, is that Johnson’s first day on the job resulted in “Hugs, kisses and a night of peace (replacing) tear gas and unrest.” The more long-term and more challenging part of this is that Captain Johnson is, in fact, exceptional. If all of our nation’s leaders would emulate Johnson’s conduct, thus making him the rule rather than the exception, our country could be vastly improved.

AN EXEMPLARY LEADER

A great way to begin learning how to go about this emulation would be by looking at statements Captain Johnson made in Friday’s (August 14, 2014) press conference and most importantly, by looking at his responses to the questions he received. The comments that I found to be most meaningful in this regard are outlined as follows: Continue reading →

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August 10, 2014 · 5:43 pm

Single Moms – Mapping Their Son’s Masculine Journey

THE MASCULINE HEART

Wild HeartOn a recent vacation, while driving round trip from Southwest Washington to Northwest Wyoming, I finally managed to finish a book a friend had loaned me this past winter. It was The Way of the Wild Heart, by John Eldredge. It’s a follow-up to another of Eldredge’s best-sellers, Wild at Heart.

The subtitle of Wild at Heart is: Discovering the Secret of a Man’s Soul. Its back cover expands on that by saying: “In Wild at Heart, John Eldredge invites men to recover their masculine heart, defined in the image of a passionate God.” In the book, Eldredge lays out three main longings of every male on their journey in life. Each man longs for: A battle to fight, An adventure to live and A beauty to rescue. In The Way of the Wild Heart, Eldredge expands on this theme by noting six major phases of a man’s life: Beloved Son, Cowboy (or Ranger), Warrior, Lover, King and Sage. This book’s main point is that God wants to come and father us through each of these stages. The key underlying theme, though, is the vital role earthly fathers and male mentors are meant to play in accomplishing this.

SHOWING THE WAY Continue reading →

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August 5, 2014 · 5:03 pm

Dr. Ben Carson – My Absurd Concerns

MY SKEPTICISM

When I first heard that Dr. Ben Carson might run for President in 2016, I have to admit that my immediate reaction was one of skepticism. It’s not that I don’t have a high regard for Dr. Carson or that I don’t see him as a good choice for President. It’s just that far too many times in the past I’ve seen the sudden popularity of an admirable person lead to many placing their hope in that person, as a likely candidate for higher office and then seeing that lead to disappointment. In Dr. Carson’s case, my skepticism came from a sense that placing hope in him as a political candidate would result in disappointment due to his lack of experience in that role.

MY ABSURDITY

As I’ve come to know more about Dr. Carson, I’ve come to realize that my initial concerns about him, as a potential presidential candidate, were absurd. I recognized that I was really only worried about his ability to campaign. With that recognition, I thought, “Our current President is arguably the best campaigner I’ve ever seen and yet, to me, he is clearly the worst President in my lifetime.” From that, the absurdity of my initial concerns about Dr. Carson became evident and as I’ve learned more and more about him, I’ve come to believe that he has all of the talents that are necessary to be the successful leader that we’re lacking in our current President.

THE REAL BEN CARSON Continue reading →

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July 23, 2014 · 6:25 pm

First the Saturday People, then the Sunday People?!

THEIR ULTIMATE GOAL

Recently, in a Fox News Special Report All-Star panel discussion I heard a panelist use the phrase “First the Saturday People, then the Sunday People”. That discussion focused on the persecution Christians are experiencing in a part of Iraq now under the control of the jihadist group knows as ISIL (The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant – a/k/a ISIS). Specifically, ISIL has given Christians (who have been living in that area for 2,000 years, pre-dating Muslims by 600 years) an ultimatum to convert to Islam or get out and/or be fined and/or face death. Since I wasn’t familiar with the Saturday people/Sunday people phrase, I researched it and I was embarrassed to learn that it’s been in use for quite awhile. In fact, it’s found in the title of a best-selling book, by Lela Gilbert, published in 2012. The following excerpt from Ms. Gilbert’s Weekly Standard blog helped me begin to understand this phrase and its background:

Christian house in Mosul

“‘First the Saturday People, then the Sunday People.’ Such graffiti can sometimes be found in Muslim neighborhoods in the Middle East. The ‘Saturday People’ are, of course, Jews, today nearly gone from Muslim lands. Now the ‘Sunday people’—Christians— are in the crosshairs, and they, too, are fleeing at an alarming rate. Both religions are unwelcome in many Muslim-majority lands for reasons of Islamist ideology—the declaration of jihad, or holy war, against infidels.” Continue reading →

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July 22, 2014 · 8:11 am

New Covenant Morality?

Bible Context

This article has been written, specifically, to address a most rare exception, a comment on a previous article that’s been Pending Approval for quite a while. The comment in question was made in response to an article entitled Lookin’ For Hate In All The Wrong Places. It said,

“remember… there is a brand new covenant, which basicly breaks down morality to: ‘he who knows the right thing to do, and does not do it, to HIM it is sin.’ are you foolishly going to argue that homosexuals in their heart of hearts feel that theyre sinning? if so, youre very disillusioned. and thus, by the very biblical passage ive quoted… they arent sinning in being homosexual.” Continue reading →

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July 19, 2014 · 6:58 am

The Honor Flight of My Dad, the WWII Veteran

A wonderful compliment to Here I Raise My Ebenezer’s series on Securing the Legacy of the Greatest Generation. While we’re still blessed with their presence, let’s honor them and take time to get even better acquainted.

By: Cindy Shabaz

Cross-Posted From: Cindy’s Ponderings

Honor Flight

– Click Here to Watch Video –

It was the end of a long day for the 91 WWII veterans who left Chicago at 6:30 a.m. to tour War Memorials in Washington, D.C.  But 9:00 p.m. was the beginning of the celebration for us; those who were welcoming them home.  In the morning the veterans were nostalgically sent off with the Andrews- Sisters-style music of the Legacy Girls.  After arriving in Washington, the veterans toured the Lincoln Monument, the newly-constructed WWII memorial, the Korean memorial, the Viet Nam memorial, the Iwo Jima Memorial and the Udvar Hazy National Air and Space Museum.  And now at the end of their day a brass band played all the patriot songs while scads of volunteers donned in orange shirts passed out American flags to the friends and families who stood behind parade route guide ropes in Chicago Midway Airport Baggage Claim area. The bright faced, highly enthusiastic and helpful volunteers informed us of what the veterans in their 80’s and 90’s had experienced during the day and our role in welcoming them home.  The spirit of the crowd was high.  It didn’t take much imagination to put myself back at the end of WWII and be a grateful, relieved, joy-filled spectator at a “Welcome home, soldier” parade.  In Midway Airport the anticipation was growing and when the bagpipes began, we knew the first veterans were headed to the start of the procession. When we saw them we were almost hushed with awe.  Unlike 70 years ago, these were not young men and women, but people who had lived their lives and for many a wheel chair or an oxygen tank were their constant companion.  However, I only saw one veteran break through the line of spectators to get to the restroom.

The volunteers led the way for us by reaching out to shake the gnarled hands of these freedom fighters while, saying, “Thank you for your service.”  It didn’t take long for us to get into the groove.

My dad was one of the first ones to emerge and one of the few that walked the distance. He stopped along the parade route to give mom a kiss and then continued responding to the flag-waving crowds.   He worked it like he was going down the aisles on Sunday mornings greeting people.  He didn’t pass up a kid and even stooped to talk to many of them.  Each veteran had a U.S. Sailor to push his wheel chair or carry his accumulated paraphernalia from the day.  Dad’s navy escort was attentive to his every move and ready to catch this elderly man if he started to fall.  I caught her grin as Dad displayed more energy than she might have anticipated from him.

– READ MORE –

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July 18, 2014 · 7:08 am

Listening for Our Best

A GREAT GULF BETWEEN US

Fox Blonde WomenIn a recent article, entitled Get Out of the Villages!, I made reference to an “unfathomable rift that Americans have allowed to develop between themselves and fellow-Americans, due to differences in political views, etc.” Nearly every day, I witness contributions being made to further widen this self-made abyss. Recently, I saw a post on Facebook that I viewed as exemplifying this problem. Since I think it can also serve to point towards the solution needed to close this gap, I want to discuss it here.

The Facebook post in question included the photo of the nine women, shown above, along with the caption “The amazing diversity of FOX News”. The, obvious, implication is that Fox News is lacking in diversity. To me, this was so blatantly inaccurate, I immediately posted the following comment: Continue reading →

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July 16, 2014 · 7:09 am

Keeping America’s Social Fabric Intact

Securing the Legacy of the Greatest Generation – Part Four

DESPERATE NEED

In Part Three of this series, Get Out of the Villages!, I talked about Baby Boomers and others stepping up to make a positive difference with America’s kids today as a desperately needed contribution in Repairing America’s Social Fabric. Certainly, that desperate need exists in other aspects of American culture too. With this article, I want to acknowledge an instance of this job getting done through keeping America’s social fabric intact. It’s the exemplary job of role model and true American hero being done by a fellow-Baby Boomer, the leader of the Lieutenant Dan Band, Gary Sinise. Continue reading →

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July 14, 2014 · 10:24 am

Rarely Asked of God

Arguably, the most common question for people to ask God is, “Why God?” Most often, this question is posed in the context of encountering a significant challenge. Yesterday, as the result of hearing a Bible study on the story of Job, I recognized what is probably the least common question for people to ask God. Continue reading →

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July 12, 2014 · 2:08 pm

Stones of Help

Stones of Help

For some time now, I’ve wanted to change Here I Raise My Ebenezer to facilitate adding shorter articles, published more frequently, in addition to the longer articles that I’ve been publishing four or five times per month. Well, this is the first of those shorter articles. Its sole aim is just to let you know about the related change on this blog site.

As of today, when you go to https://ebenezerposts.com/, you’ll notice a new menu option. In addition to Home, About and Gary Wiram – Editor, you’ll see a new tab entitled Stones of Help. Clicking on that tab will take you to a page containing only shorter articles (presently, only this one). These shorter articles will also appear on the Home page, along with the longer articles.

OK, that tells you what the change is and its purpose. But, what about that name? Stones of Help?! To fully understand why I chose that name and where it fits in, you might want to refresh your memory on the meaning behind the name of this blog site, Here I Raise My Ebenezer, by revisiting the About page along with revisiting a previously published article entitled Setting Up an Ebenezer. With your understanding renewed , let me tell you that the origin of the name Ebenezer is a Hebrew phrase meaning “stone of help”. For me, then, Stones of Help seemed like a fitting way to define these shorter articles as building blocks meant to help Here I Raise My Ebenezer in achieving its overall objectives.

Hopefully, this change will also make it easier for you to regularly stay tuned in to Here I Raise My Ebenezer. As you do, I’m sure you’ll get a better understanding of where Stones of Help fits in. With that said, I want to remind you that I sincerely appreciate your readership and to encourage you to feel welcome to add to the discussion on any of my article topics by contributing your related comments.

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