This is a shot from ABC's "Good Morning America" broadcast from Sept. 11, 2001.
The Sept. 11 Television Archive has footage from each of the networks from Sept. 11, 2001. I remember watching the horrific events of that day unfold on ABC, so it was fascinating to watch that again and think back to what was going through my mind then.
To watch the ABC coverage, go here. The first video has the coverage from 8:31-9:12 a.m. and then you can click “next video” to watch further. (Note: The first plane struck the World Trade Center at 8:46 a.m. and was reported on the broadcast at 19:50 mark of the broadcast).
The first 19 minutes are the usual morning TV fare, which I didn’t watch at the time. Rather, I picked up the telecast just after the initial report since I had been taking my then-second grade daughter to school when the first plane struck. Looking back on it now, it strikes me how some things can seem utterly trivial in comparison with the major events in our life. Sadly, I think about how much time and energy I waste worrying about such things.
My precious niece Amelia is popular with my two children and all of our family.
The Washington Post did a front-page story this past Sunday on what it’s like to live with and raise a child with Down syndrome. For those who haven’t been through it, it is an eye-opening look into what is a very difficult life.
Articles like this, of course, are being written because of the attention that Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin has brought to families who have Down syndrome children. These children are all around us, but, as one of the parents in the story says: “Before, kids would stare, but not adults. Everybody’s curious: ‘What’s it like to have a kid with Down syndrome?’ ”
What’s it like for these families is put this way in the article:
Amelia is a blessing to all of our family and to those who meet her.
They spend more time in doctors’ offices than most parents. They endure stares from strangers but feel as if they and their children are invisible. They often find themselves fighting for their kids, not just raising them. Earlier, and perhaps more dramatically, they wrestle with the complex emotions that come from knowing that a child might never fulfill the lofty dreams that a parent often envisions before the child’s birth.
But the parents of children who have Down syndrome say that raising a child with a disability can also unlock profound and uplifting truths about themselves, their children and the value of life in ways that others could never see.
In our family, we have a beautiful gift from God named Amelia. She was born with Down syndrome to my wife’s brother and his wife to join their other three children. At age 2 she is still learning to stand on her own and maybe utters a handful of words, but she is world class in drawing tenderness from anyone who encounters her. It is a hard life for her parents as she has needs that press daily on them and her family, but I don’t doubt for a second that they love her every bit as much as her older brothers and sister.
One of the parents in the Washington Post article recounts an encounter with her sister that is a cruel reminder of how many in our society think the cruelest thoughts when it comes to Down syndrome children:
“My sister looked at me and said, ‘Why didn’t you abort her?’ ” Marsili recalled. “I said, ‘What? Because we love her, and she’s my baby, and we love her!’ ‘But you knew,’ my sister said. . . . It was pretty shocking. Even people that close to me.”
It is a dangerous place we’re at when we consider killing to be a solution for children who’s abilities are diminished. If it takes someone like Sarah Palin entering the spotlight for us to expose this kind of thinking — and rebuke it — then I think it is a good thing.
UPDATE: I talked with my sister-in-law and she is safe at her parents’ home five hours away. She doesn’t know the status of her home, but was able to gather some things before she left. Consider helping those who have experienced loss here.
This road that goes into Seabrook, Texas, shows the devastation left as Hurricane Ike roared into Texas.
As my brother fights for our country in Iraq, this is the scene, unfortunately, where he lives in Seabrook, Texas. The damage is what has resulted from Hurricane Ike as it came ashore in Texas overnight. Although I haven’t talked to her yet, my hope is that my sister-in-law wasn’t there when it hit. It’s hard to talk this way when you see the devastation, but we were fortunate the storm wasn’t worse or as bad as originally forecast. Again, this is another opportunity to show you care.
GALVESTON, Texas (AP) — A massive Hurricane Ike sent white waves crashing over a seawall and tossed a disabled 584-foot freighter in rough water as it steamed toward Texas Friday, threatening to devastate coastal towns and batter America’s fourth-largest city.
Ike’s eye was forecast to strike somewhere near Galveston late Friday or early Saturday then head inland for Houston, but the massive system was already buffeting Texas and Louisiana, causing flooding along the Louisiana coast still recovering from Labor Day’s Hurricane Gustav.
The National Weather Service warned residents of smaller structures on Galveston they could “face certain death” if they ignored an order to evacuate; most had complied, along with hundreds of thousands of fellow Texans in counties up and down the coastline. But in a move designed to avoid highway gridlock as the storm closed in, most of Houston’s 2 million residents hunkered down and were ordered not to leave.
This satellite image showed Hurricane Ike as of Wednesday morning
This fall, in our Sunday school class at church, we are studying a book called “Is God on America’s Side?” The book looks at the thinking that God somehow reserves his blessing for American because it is a “Christian nation.” We’ve just started it, but I think it will be a good thing to clear up some attitudes about how God’s will is not always what we think it is.
In light of that, I want to add an essay by Joe Carter, who is the managing editor for Culture11. Carter, in what he calls “an open letter to the religious right,” lays out 11 thoughts he wants to share with them about religion and politics. You may agree or disagree with his points, but his conclusion is well worth noting:
(F)inally, we must recognize that America is not a “Christian nation”, though we should aspire to be a nation where those of us who are Christians are admired as good and noble citizens. America is not a “shining city on a hill”, though we should let our light of freedom be a shining example for the entire world. America is not the “greatest blessing God gave mankind”, though it is a great nation worthy of our conditional adoration. Patriotic sentiment has its place but we mustn’t let it expand beyond its acceptable borders. We are citizens of both the City of God and the City of Man and must always be careful not to confuse the one for the other.
The History Channel’s “102 Minutes That Changed America” was hard to watch, but fascinating. I wasn’t anywhere near New York City that day, but looking at the event through the eyes of several witnesses brought to mind the confusion and utter helplessness we all felt. I think it was a powerful way for us to shaken from the fog of our American dream and the idea that we are somehow beyond the reach of pain, suffering and evil.
Below is a preview of the special as producer Nicole Rittenmeyer talks about the collection of videos and people gathered for the program.
John Piper's latest book is "Spectacular Sins and Their Global Purpose in the Glory of Christ"
On this day, seven years ago, terrorists crashed two planes into the World Trade Center, another into the Pentagon and crashed another into a Pennsylvania field. More than 3,000 people died that day in an openly evil act. Our nation’s history was dramatically altered on that day.
With the thought of evil on my mind, I became aware that John Piper’s new book “Spectacular Sins and Their Global Purpose in the Glory of Christ” has now been released. This is what it says about the book at the Desiring God Web site:
What does the fall of Satan reveal about Christ’s glory? How does Adam’s sin magnify our Lord? How does the glory of Jesus shine through in Judas’ betrayal? How is the honor of Jesus at stake in the sin and evil, the suffering and the calamities and the wickedness, which abound in the world today? In this book John Piper seeks to provide a biblical perspective on God’s sovereign and righteous governance over even the sinful acts of men. History’s greatest sins do not thwart God’s purposes to save his people and glorify his Son; they fulfill them. And being grounded in this hope is the key to “Christ-exalting strength in calamity and Christ-exalting courage in conflict.”
We see indescribably evil things happen each day in our world. There is no escaping it. When we think of these things we may wonder how God can allow it and, if so, how does it fit into his plan. John Piper recently explained what he hopes to accomplish with the book:
The aim of this book is not to meet felt needs, but to awaken needs that will soon be felt, and then to save your faith and strengthen your courage when evil prevails.
And, even though the events of Sept. 11, 2001, are receding into history, I think none of us who lived through that day will ever feel we are free from the presence of evil. And, for that reason, it would be good to understand the purpose of God in “spectacular sins.”
ALSO SEE: How Sept. 11, 2001, proved 10 truths about God’s sovereign love
SEN. JOE BIDEN: Hillary Clinton is as qualified or more than I am to be vice president of the United States of America. She is say close personal friend and qualified to be president of the United States of America. She is easily qualified to be vice president of the United States of America and quite frankly it might have been a better pick than me, but she is first-rate. I mean that sincerely.
Christian publishing giant Zondervan, the company behind Rick Warren’s megahit The Purpose Driven Life, announced last week that it will release the biography of Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin next month.
The former little known Alaskan governor raised much curiosity after her acceptance speech at the Republican National Convention last week where she showcased her no-nonsense attitude, passion and moral convictions.
Now that the entire country is familiar with the name Sarah Palin, people want to know more about the woman that could be second in line to the presidency.
The new biography Sarah Palin: A New Kind of Leader by Joe Hilley seeks to address some of the questions and allay curiosity by exploring how she became the leader she is today. The book looks back at Palin’s political career, life as a hockey mom, and her strong Christian faith.
No, but there are some scholars who would argue that. How well do we know the man considered perhaps the greatest Christian of the 20th century? Lewis once said: “I believe in Christianity as I believe the sun has risen. Not only because I see it, but by it I see everything else.”
We would do well to better understand this man, who is familiar to many — Christian or not — through his many popular writings. His insight into Christianity and his way of communicating it is unique. Brad Mercer, the senior pastor at Westminster Presbyterian Church in Greenwood, Miss., is lecturing on the life and works of C.S. Lewis at the First Presbyterian Church in Kosciusko, Miss. Mercer is currently pursuing his doctorate in Lewis studies. The church has graciously made his lectures available online.
Rockstanding 
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