South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, left, comforts her son, Nalin, 10, and her daughter, Rena, 14, as her husband, Capt. Michael Haley, right, gets ready for a deployment ceremony. (Rainier Ehrhardt/Associated Press)
Gov. Nikki Haley (R-S.C.) and her two children said an emotional goodbye to her husband, Capt. Michael Haley, on Thursday in Fort Jackson, S.C., as he departed for training and a year-long mission to Afghanistan.
It will be the first deployment for Capt. Haley, a businessman who joined the National Guard in 2006. He will be in training for a month in Indiana and will not return to South Carolina before his tour begins.
“We are a proud military family who understands the sacrifices any family goes through when a loved one is serving his or her country,” Gov. Haley said in a Facebook post. ”This is what our men and women in uniform sign up for, and although Michael, like his brothers and sisters, is looking forward to his mission, we will miss him while he’s away. Rena, Nalin and I are proud of Michael and will pray for his — and all others’ — safe return.”
Peanut Gallery: I am in crisis… I do not recognize the country I have loved and lived in all my life. I do not understand today’s prevailing “culture.” I put the word in quotes because it looks more like a cess pool to me – catering to our basest nature (gangsta rap)… rather than encouraging us to soar to the heights of our God-given nature (flash mob).
And now, the issue of legalizing/sanctifying gay marriage is at the forefront of the “culture wars.” Among the political/educational elite, there is no longer any room for civil discussion or debate. The lunatics are running the asylum… as Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia discovered.
Digging his heels in, [Scalia] put to the students the following question, which goes right to the heart of the matter: “If we cannot have moral feelings against homosexuality,” he pointedly asked, “can we have them against murder? Can we have it against other things?”
Where is all this leading us? Regis Martin reflects on this very question in his important article re-posted below –
If a nation to be loved, as Burke once said, must be lovely, where does that leave those of us who look upon same sex marriage with abhorrence? At what point does cultural approval, followed by juridical vindication from the highest court in the land, so diminish the loveliness of our country that to withdraw one’s love and loyalty from it becomes the only tenable course to take?
When does it become impermissable for a self-governing people to pass laws that will ensure the survival of the things they love? When they no longer command a majority of the electorate? Is that the standard? Certainly among people of democratic disposition, it is a constitutional given that any time a plurality of voters take charge, they are more or less at liberty to set aside whatever arrangements were in place before they assumed control.
One day as Jesus was preaching on the shore of the Sea of Galilee, great crowds pressed in on him to listen to the word of God. He noticed two empty boats at the water’s edge, for the fishermen had left them and were washing their nets. Stepping into one of the boats, Jesus asked Simon, its owner, to push it out into the water. So he sat in the boat and taught the crowds from there.
When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, “Now go out where it is deeper, and let down your nets to catch some fish.”
“Master,” Simon replied, “we worked hard all last night and didn’t catch a thing. But if you say so, I’ll let the nets down again.” And this time their nets were so full of fish they began to tear! A shout for help brought their partners in the other boat, and soon both boats were filled with fish and on the verge of sinking.
When Simon Peter realized what had happened, he fell to his knees before Jesus and said, “Oh, Lord, please leave me—I’m too much of a sinner to be around you.” For he was awestruck by the number of fish they had caught, as were the others with him. His partners, James and John, the sons of Zebedee, were also amazed.
Jesus replied to Simon, “Don’t be afraid! From now on you’ll be fishing for people!” And as soon as they landed, they left everything and followed Jesus.
Prayer: Lord Jesus – Break into my ordinary activities… so that I can listen to you and seee you at work… in the world around me… today. And when I have listened… and taken it to heart… compel me – by the power of your Spirit – to respond without hesitation or reservation. All to the glory of God, the Father. Amen.
Hymn: “Jesus Calls Us, O’er the Tumult” – by Cecil F Alexander (1852)
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Note from The Peanut Gallery: You may already realize that the “Daily Readings” are taken from a slow reading through the “Gospel of Luke.” Upon completion, my intention is to continue reading through “Acts of the Apostles”… since it continues the story begun in the Gospel. The idea is to reflect first on what Jesus said and did… and then on what those who followed him said and did.
On Sundays, however, I will return to lectionary readings from the USCCB… since many churches follow the same lectionary readings.
The Peanut Gallery 