REMEMBERING TONY SNOW

Photo courtesy of the White House.

by Rev. Greg Asimakoupoulos
 
A gentle snow fell just last week
and left us feeling awfully bleak
The White House spokesman with the smile
reduced us all to tears.

Death's icy blizzard took its toll.
Surviving it was Tony's goal.
He even fought the odds with grace.
But cancer finally won.
 
But not before we watched his will
stand up and fight what made him ill.
Courageously he showed us how
to die in love with life.
 
And so we pray for Tony's clan
with hopes that they can trust God's plan.
May He who shepherds all who grieve
sustain his wife and kids.

WORDS FROM THE PRESIDENT ON RELIGIOUS FREEDOM

President Bush spoke on the 10th anniversary of the passage of the Freedom of Religion Act during a gathering in the Roosevelt Room of the White House.  Pray for the President as he continues to lift up the importance of religious freedom for all peoples of the world, particularly in light of the upcoming Olympic Games in China.  Photo courtesy of the White House.

When the Founding Fathers adopted the Bill of Rights, the very first liberty they enshrined was the freedom of religion. They recognized that the most basic freedom a man can have is the right to worship his own God as he sees fit. Today we are blessed to live in a country where that freedom is respected.

In too many countries, expressions of freedom were silenced by tyranny, intolerance and oppression…Our thoughts turn especially to those living in the countries where religious freedom is of particular concern. Some of these nations have taken steps toward reform. Others haven't. Today we urge the leaders of all these countries to immediately end their abuses of religious freedom. And we urge these leaders to respect the rights of those who seek only to worship their God as they see fit.
—George W. Bush, July 14, 2008

PRAYER QUOTE FOR THE WEEK

When in secret prayer the soul is often out of tune, I feel it is far better to begin with God--to see His face first, to get my soul near Him before it is near another.
—Robert Murray McCheyne