In the Words of the President

In case you or your calendar publisher missed it, today is Presidents’ Day.  And in case you were wondering “what’s that all about?” I thought this little snippet from the History Channel’s website was helpful:

Presidents’ Day is an American holiday celebrated on the third Monday in February. Originally established in 1885 in recognition of President George Washington, it is still officially called “Washington’s Birthday” by the federal government. Traditionally celebrated on February 22—Washington’s actual day of birth—the holiday became popularly known as Presidents’ Day after it was moved as part of 1971’s Uniform Monday Holiday Act, an attempt to create more three-day weekends for the nation’s workers. While several states still have individual holidays honoring the birthdays of Washington, Abraham Lincoln and other figures, Presidents’ Day is now popularly viewed as a day to celebrate all U.S. presidents past and present.

No matter what your party affiliation, every American ought to be able to concede that there isn’t a more stressful job than the presidency of the United States. As comedian Brian Regan has put it, there’s nothing like being awakened every morning to: “Problems. All kinds of problems!” And while they are often ambitious folk, these remarkable individuals give up 4 years (maybe 8, or even 12 if you’re FDR) of their lives (in the case of 4, literally), their privacy, and their public reputations to do their very best in leading our country. A lonely post in the best of times, few leave office without the indicators of the wear and tear the intensity of the presidency leaves.  Each one has left a unique legacy, a mark on American history. And each one deserves the gratitude and respect of the American people.

With that in mind, I’m proud to present to you ABB’s second “In the Words of the President” quiz! Below are ten quotations from our presidents, with three choices as to which president the quote originated from. Take a few minutes to take the quiz (without using Google for a reference!) and submit your answers via the comment section by March 5. The reader who gets the most questions correct will receive an inspiring book from ABB! The Printer will have one more question in store in case of a tie.

And so, without further adieu, I give you the Presidents of the United States of America, in their own words!

1)“No People can be bound to acknowledge and adore the invisible hand, which conducts the Affairs of men more than the People of the United States. Every step, by which they have advanced to the character of an independent nation, seems to have been distinguished by some token of providential agency.”

 Abraham Lincoln

 John Quincy Adams

 George Washington

2)“[A] wise and frugal Government, which shall restrain men from injuring one another, shall leave them otherwise free to regulate their own pursuits of industry and improvement, and shall not take from the mouth of labor the bread it has earned. This is the sum of good government…”

Franklin Delano Roosevelt

Thomas Jefferson

Martin Van Buren

3) “I pity the creature who doesn’t work, at whichever end of the social scale he may regard himself as being. The law of worthy work well done is the law of successful American life.”

Theodore Roosevelt

William Jefferson Clinton

Franklin Pierce

4) “Our government was made by patriotic, unselfish, sominded men for the control or protection of a patriotic, unselfish and sober-minded people. It is suited to such a people; but for those who are selfish, corrupt and unpatriotic it is the worst government on earth.”

John F. Kennedy

Grover Cleveland     

Donald Trump

     

5) “American citizenship is a high estate. He who holds it is the peer of kings. It has been secured by untold toil and effort. It will be maintained by no other method. It demands the best that men and women have to give. But it likewise awards to its partakers the best that there is on earth.”

Calvin Coolidge

Andrew Jackson

Chester Alan Arthur

6) “[T]he same revolutionary beliefs for which our forebears fought are still at issue around the globe—the belief that the rights of man come not from the generosity of the state, but from the hand of God.”

Richard Nixon

John F. Kennedy 

Dwight Eisenhower

7) “It remains for the guardians of the public welfare to persevere in that justice and good will toward other nations which invite a return of these sentiments toward the United States; to cherish institutions which guarantee their safety and their liberties, civil and religious; and to combine with a liberal system of foreign commerce an improvement of the national advantages and a protection and extension of the independent resources of our highly favored and happy country.”

John Tyler

James Madison

William Taft

 8) “[I]t is the duty of nations as well as of men to own their dependence upon the overruling power of God, to confess their sins and transgressions in humble sorrow, yet with assured hope that genuine repentance will lead to mercy and pardon, and to recognize the sublime truth, announced in the Holy Scriptures and proven by all history, that those nations only are blessed who God is the Lord.”

Abraham Lincoln

James Monroe

 Franklin Delano Roosevelt

9) “[Fatherhood is] giving one’s all, from the break of day to its end, on the job, in the house, but most of all in the heart.”

Barrack Obama

Ronald Reagan

Lyndon Johnson

10) “There is but one just use of power, and it is to serve people. Help us to remember it, Lord.”

John Adams

George H.W. Bush

Ulysses  Grant

A Legacy to Keep

Americans commemorate Memorial Day with barbeques, parades, and gatherings with family and friends. In my growing-up years, the holiday typically found our family on a day hike, enjoying the grandeur of God’s creation in the Pacific Northwest. But for far too many of us, the day passes without reflection on its intended purpose: honoring those who gave “the last full measure of devotion” in service to their country. Since the first humble minutemen, whose blood was spilt on Lexington Green in 1775, American soldiers have willingly given the ultimate sacrifice to ensure the continued legacy of "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness" to future generations of Americans. Today is the day we remember them.

Sometimes I become discouraged and even doubt if the ideal of true liberty, the philosophy of limited, constitutional government, and the notion of a nation grounded in Biblical law and morality, is worth fighting for. Perhaps those principles just aren’t worth the cost.

            

But then I wonder...what would I say to the Continental soldier at Valley Forge, with his bloodied feet leaving scarlet footprints in the snow, his tattered "uniform" barely giving him the slightest protection from the elements, and his life hanging by a thread? What would he say to me, if he knew that two centuries later I would so casually give up the principles for which he fought and bled—the dream of liberty to which he so tenaciously clung in the war's darkest hour?

            

What would I say to the defenders of Ft. McHenry who, during the war of 1812, gallantly flew the Star-Spangled Banner in defiance of the British fleet bombarding them through the long night? What would I say to the “honored dead” of Gettysburg, Blue and Gray alike, who valiantly struggled for the American ideals of freedom and justice? What would I say to the U.S. Marines whose blood stained the sands of Iwo Jima as they fought to preserve what the men at Valley Forge had died to create? 

What would I say to my own grandfather, who faithfully flew reconnaissance missions for the U.S. Navy off of Alaska's western shores to ensure his country's safety during the Second World War? And what would I say to Navy Seal Caleb Nelson, a man I knew personally, killed in Afghanistan in 2011, leaving behind a wife and two young sons? 

No, I could not, and as Americans, we must not be so ungrateful, so flippant, so callous, as to toss aside the legacy of freedom and liberty that these patriots, and millions of others, have given us at the cost of their very life's blood. We must be grateful sons and daughters who remember what our fathers and mothers have given us, and in turn give our utmost to see that their legacy is continued.

So please, thank the Lord today for these brave Americans of our day and of times past, who have given us the "new birth of freedom" we continue to enjoy. And may God give us the courage and commitment to see that their legacy lives on.

In the Words of the Presidents

In case you or your calendar publisher missed it, today is Presidents’ Day.  And in case you were wondering “what’s that all about?” I thought this little snippet from the History Channel’s website was helpful:

Presidents’ Day is an American holiday celebrated on the third Monday in February. Originally established in 1885 in recognition of President George Washington, it is still officially called “Washington’s Birthday” by the federal government. Traditionally celebrated on February 22—Washington’s actual day of birth—the holiday became popularly known as Presidents’ Day after it was moved as part of 1971’s Uniform Monday Holiday Act, an attempt to create more three-day weekends for the nation’s workers. While several states still have individual holidays honoring the birthdays of Washington, Abraham Lincoln and other figures, Presidents’ Day is now popularly viewed as a day to celebrate all U.S. presidents past and present.

No matter what your party affiliation, every American ought to be able to concede that there isn’t a more stressful job than the presidency of the United States. As comedian Brian Regan has put it, there’s nothing like being awakened every morning to: “Problems. All kinds of problems!” And while they are often ambitious folk, these remarkable individuals give up 4 years (maybe 8, or even 12 if you’re FDR) of their lives (in the case of 4, literally), their privacy, and their public reputations to do their very best in leading our country. A lonely post in the best of times, few leave office without the indicators of the wear and tear the intensity of the presidency leaves.  Each one has left a unique legacy, a mark on American history. And each one deserves the gratitude and respect of the American people.

With that in mind, I’ve decided to mix the wisdom of our presidents with a little fun, and present to you ABB’s first ever Presidents’ Day trivia quiz! Below are fifteen quotations from our presidents, with four choices as to which president the quote originated from. Take a few minutes to take the quiz (without using Google for a reference!) and email your answers to the Printer at believersbroadside@gmail.com by March 6. The reader who gets the most questions correct will receive an inspiring book from ABB! The Printer will have one more question in store in case of a tie.

And so, without further adieu, I give you the Presidents of the United States of America, in their own words:

1) “My movements to the chair of government will be accompanied by feelings not unlike those of a culprit who is going to the place of his execution.”

    a)   Abraham Lincoln

    b)    John Quincy Adams

    c)   Harry Truman

      d)   George Washington

2) “You will never be alone with a poet in your pocket.”

      

     a)      Franklin Delano Roosevelt

     b)   Zachary Taylor

           c)    Martin Van Buren

           d)    John Adams

3) “The storm of frenzy and faction must inevitably dash itself in vain against the unshaken rock of the Constitution.”

a)      Thomas Jefferson

b)      William Jefferson Clinton

c)       Franklin Pierce

d)      Lyndon B. Johnson

4) “Ideas are the great warriors of the world, and a war which has no ideas behind it, is simply a brutality.”

      a)   John F. Kennedy

      b)   George. W. Bush   

      c)   James Garfield

      d)   Gerald Ford

5) “If it were not for the reporters, I would tell you the truth.”

a)      Donald Trump

b)      Theodore Roosevelt

c)       Andrew Jackson

d)      Chester Alan Arthur

6) “Blessed are the young, for they shall inherit the national debt.”

a)      Herbert Hoover

b)      George H.W. Bush

c)       Dwight Eisenhower

d)      James Carter

7) “Next to the right of liberty, the right of property is the most important individual right guaranteed by the Constitution and the one which, united with that of personal liberty, has contributed more to the growth of civilization than any other institution established by the human race.”

a)      John Tyler

b)      James Madison

c)       William Taft

d)      Ronald Reagan

8) “I believe also in the American opportunity which puts the starry sky above every boy’s head, and sets his foot upon a ladder which he may climb until his strength gives out.”

a)      Benjamin Harrison

b)      William Henry Harrison

c)       Franklin Delano Roosevelt

d)      Theodore Roosevelt

9) “The Secretary of Labor is in charge of finding you a job, the Secretary of the Treasury is in charge of taking half the money away from you, and the Attorney General is in charge of suing you for the other half.”

a)      James Monroe

b)      Ronald Reagan 

c)       Lyndon Johnson

d)      George W. Bush

10) “I know no method to secure the repeal of bad or obnoxious laws so effective as their stringent execution.”

a)      Abraham Lincoln

b)      Rutherford B. Hayes

c)       Calvin Coolidge

d)      Ulysses  Grant

11) “Whatever starts in California unfortunately has an inclination to spread.”

 a)      James Carter

 b)      Ronald Reagan

 c)       Barack Obama

 d)      Richard Nixon

 12) “Being a President is like riding a tiger. A man has to keep on riding or be swallowed.”

  a)      Grover Cleveland

  b)      Harry Truman

  c)       William McKinley

  d)      Andrew Jackson

13) “I have noticed that nothing I never said ever did me any harm.”

  a)      Calvin Coolidge

  b)      James Buchanan

  c)       James Polk

  d)      Thomas Jefferson

14) “Stabilize America first, prosper America first, think of America first and exalt America first.”

 a)      Donald Trump

 b)      Warren Harding

 c)       John F. Kennedy

 d)      Martin Van Buren

15) “That’s all a man can hope for during his lifetime—to set an example—and when he is dead, to be an inspiration for history.”

a)      George Washington

b)      Millard Fillmore

c)       William McKinley

d)      Grover Cleveland

                   Photo Credit by Mobilus in Mobili in Creative Commons

Book Review: Meet the Men and Women We Call Heroes

I love biographies because they’re true stories about relatable and yet inspirational people. But often I don’t have the time I’d like to delve into the details about the great men and women of history. And sometimes, I like to get a sense of who a person was before spending a few dozen hours of my life reading a 400-page book about them. That’s one of the reasons I’m grateful for my recent journey through Meet the Men and Women We Call Heroes, an anthology of 20 short biographies edited by Charles Turner and Ann Spangler.

 Heroes is unique in two ways: its subjects and their authors. Unlike other “hero” books, the people you’ll encounter in this volume are not particularly famous, but they were particularly impacting. There are a few headliners, like Mother Teresa and C.S. Lewis, but most are only moderately known (e.g. Catherine Marshall, Paul Brandt, Amy Carmichael), and many without any prior notoriety. They come from all points in history (the Middle Ages to modern times) and include scholars, politicians, authors, editors, poets, doctors, missionaries, fathers and mothers.

But even more unique than the collection of heroes this anthology contains is the collection of authors who describe them. Each author, 10 men and 10 women, was (and in most cases, still is) considered an influential Christian in 1985, the year of the book’s publishing. Readers then and now see them as modern “heroes of the faith,” and this puts an entirely new perspective on each contribution. Instead of simply reading about William Wilberforce, you'll read about the historical cultural activist from modern cultural activist Chuck Colson. Ever wonder who inspired people like R.C. Sproul, Elisabeth Elliot, J.I. Packer, or Philip Keller? Heroes will give you the answer. And like the subjects themselves, the contributors include lesser known (but just as effective) communicators.  

In each of the book’s 20 chapters, a contributor describes his or her hero in their own unique style. You’ll read Kitty Muggeridge’s straightforward life account of Mother Teresa, Elisabeth Sherrill’s dramatic portrayal of Adrienne de Lafayette (a.ka. the wife of the Marquis de Lafayette of American Revolution fame), and Harry Blamires’ reminisces of what it was like to be a student of C.S. Lewis. It’s true that some authors do the job better than others, but each piece gives special insight into both hero and admirer. In many instances, the chapter is a first hand account written by someone who knew the hero, sometimes quite personally.

Because it’s an unassuming paperback from 30 years ago, some might think Heroes is old enough to be considered dated, but recent enough to be considered unremarkable. But that’s a mistake. While there are a few chapters where the book’s age does leave some gaps (e.g. some of the heroes who were living have since passed on), the accounts are otherwise timeless, and the heroes just as worth learning about and emulating now as they were then.

Meet the Men and Women We Call Heroes, edited by Charles Turner and Ann Spangler, 368 pages, (Servant Publications, 1985 and other editions) is available on Amazon and Barnes and Noble . Contributors (and their heroes) include Kitty Muggeridge (Mother Teresa), Elisabeth Elliot (Amy Carmichael), Kathryn Koob (Catherine Marshall), Elizabeth Sherrill (Adrienne de Lafayette), Ingrid Trobisch (Johanna Mathilda Lind Hult), Luci Shaw (Elizabeth Rooney), Gladys Hunt (Evelyn Harris Brand), Karen Burton Mains (Wilma Burton), Madeleine L’Engle (Mary McKenna O’Connell), Rebecca Manley Pippert (Ethel Renwick), Harry Blamires (C.S. Lewis), Philip Yancey (Paul Brand), Charles Colson (William Wilberforce), R.C. Sproul (Thomas Aquinas), W. Phillip Keller (Otto C. Keller), J.I. Packer (David Martyn-Lloyd Jones), Thomas Howard (Philip E. Howard Jr.), Robert E. Coleman (Blaise Pascal), Charles Turner (T. Stanley Soltau), and Malcom Muggeridge (Alexander Solzhenitsyn).