Liking the person, but not his policies

They are a really likeable family. Devoted husband. Beautiful wife and mother. Two children. And a dog. A dog named "Bo."

The President and his family provide a very positive image for the White House. They obviously enjoy being together. They apparently really do like each other. In that respect they are a model for the rest of America where fractured families seem to prevail.

President Obama's sense of humor is refreshing and delightful. As the family approached reporters to show off the new family pet, the President remarked, "Now I have a friend in Washington." When a reporter asked if Bo was sleeping in someone's bed, he replied, "Not my bed!"

It makes it difficult for those of us who oppose the President's liberalism and his spending of trillions of dollars in the first days of his presidency. It is difficult to dislike this president with his charm and charisma and his strong family. But in spite of how likeable he is, and how much I might like him as a person, I must continue to express my opposition to his stands on abortion, on stem-cell research, on the bailout, and on a host of other issues where my conservative views are in striking contrast to his liberal views.

Is it possible to like someone with whom you strongly disagree? Of course it is. That is the situation I find myself in now. I enjoy watching the president romping on the White House lawn with his wife and daughters and Bo, I laugh at his humorous remarks, I smile when he charms someone who opposes him. I like the things he says. I like the person he is.

For the last eight years, I was not that strongly effected by the former president, even though I usually agreed with his positions and approved his actions. President Bush simply was not all that likeable. He seemed a bit aloof, a bit distracted, and one who did not always appear to enjoy his life and what he was doing. I agreed with him, but did not much like him.

But now it is all reversed. Now I find our President very likeable, but not standing where I would have him stand, nor doing what I would have him do. I like him and his family, but not his policies, political philosophies or decisions.

I suppose Bo will not have my problem. He will love the President no matter what, as long as food, companionship and a warm bed is provided. Even if it is not the President's bed.

I, however, need more. I need protection for the unborn, spending restraints, and a strong country that continues to protect my freedom and take only a reasonable amount of my income in taxes. I would very much like to have a President whom I could agree with as well as like.

Maybe next time.

What I'm Thankful For

I'm thankful for many things.

I'm thankful for the country of my birth and early childhood, Canada, and for the many Canadians who carry on a battle there similar to the one here, the battle to preserve marriage and the family and the freedom to make their voice heard.

I'm thankful for the country of my citizenship, the U.S.A., and for those who fight the constant battle to preserve our concept of freedom and justice for all.

I'm thankful for my parents who allowed me to pursue a different path of faith than they had known, and who came to that faith themselves before their deaths.

I'm thankful for friends I had when I was a young man in Lincoln Park, Michigan, friends who helped me to grow and become strong in my faith.

I'm thankful for the education I received, in two countries, six schools and hundreds of classrooms, and for the teachers who encouraged me to do what I always wanted to do, which was to write.

I'm thankful for a young lady who walked into the library of one of those schools over forty years ago and captivated my attention, my heart and my love, and still has all three of those things today. I'm thankful for Linda and for our fortieth wedding anniversary on December 28, 2008.

I'm thankful for three wonderful daughters who each have chosen the faith of their parents, and have chosen husbands of like faith and values. I'm thankful for my three sons-in-laws who have each made one of my daughters a happy wife and mother.

I'm thankful for eight beautiful grandchildren my daughters have presented to their mother and me. I'm thankful they are all healthy and being raised in the faith of their fathers and grandfather.

I'm thankful for the ministries God allowed me to have in five churches, three schools and now on the Internet and the printed page.

I'm thankful for the salvation I have possessed by faith in Jesus Christ for more than fifty years.

But it is not just what I am thankful for; it is who I am thankful to. Being thankful for all these things is meaningless unless it is known to whom I am thankful. That Person is, of course, Jesus Christ. Faith convinces me that Jesus is God, and that He is the provider of every good and perfect gift that I have enjoyed while on this earth.

Thank you, Jesus, for the many things for which I give thanks today.