Straight From The Hart

I have attended church Christmas programs for nigh on to sixty-five years. I”m older than that but wasn’t taken to church until I was in grade school. However, once I started the habit of attending church every week, I never stopped until my health issues became so bad I couldn’t go. Christmas programs were always pretty much the same, because the churches we attended were fairly small congregations. There were no fancy choirs with satiny robes, no magnificent organs, no brass ensembles. But there was always a piano and sometimes a guitar. The program usually started with everybody singing “Joy To The World” and very few singers would have known who Handel was even if they had noticed his name at the top of the music in the hymn book. Throughout the program we would sing “It Came Upon A Midnight Clear” and “O Come Let Us Adore Him” and other favorite carols. “O Little Town of Bethlehem” was usually used as the call to prayer because of the beautiful lyric “O Holy C...

My column from today's paper. President Obama’s speech on Sunday night elicited a plethora of responses running the gamut from highly critical to enthusiastic approval. We are a nation in crisis, and Presidents have historically called forth the best from the citizenry in times like these. A crisis is an event that occurs suddenly, heightens tensions, induces stress, and when occuring in a political environment where stakes are high, there may be little time to decide, with decision-makers under intense pressure to perform in an atmosphere of uncertainty. According to U.S. History.org, “The Constitutional power as "Commander in Chief" has evolved into the very important modern role of "crisis manager." In the 20th century, as the United States gained world leadership powers, the President has become a key player in international crises. In the case of war or even regional conflicts, the President must go into "emergency mode" and concentrate on ...

Years ago Art Linkletter wrote a best selling book entitled “Kids Say The Darndest Things”. I’ve thought about that this week, except that I am tweaking his title for my column this week to read that “Politicians Say The Dumbest Things”. Let’s start at the top of the chain. The president made a statement this week that those men and women who are recruited for ISIS are “disaffected individuals”. Disaffected? The word means someone who is resentful of authority, dissatisfied with their government. When taken in the context of the rest of the president’s speech that day, I see why it is so easy for him to dismiss them. He does not see them as evil butchers of fellow human beings, but just as resentful people who will eventually grow up and settle down and we just need to give them time to sow their wild oats, so to speak. Maybe help them out financially to bolster their self esteem. Speaking to more reporters on Thursday the President said “The idea that somehow (Syrian ...

Here's a fairly recent one, written just a year ago. I definitely seem to favor the Fall season as a poetry theme when you look through my whole portfolio. The Painter of The Leaves He’s the God of all Creation He’s the maker of the rain His voice resounds like thunder His touch relieves our pain. His strength renews us daily He clothes us with His love The seasons are HIs wardrobe From heaven’s closets above His music created by songbirds The pattern of life He weaves But most of all He's an artist The Painter of the leaves. He chooses HIs colors carefully And from HIs palette retrieves The reds and golds of autumn He’s the Painter of the leaves When October turns into November And the doubter wants to believe It always helps to remember That He’s the Painter of the leaves. And should we ever wander And our spirit starts to grieve When life has lost its color He’s still the Painter of the leaves. Written by Joan Rowden Hart October 31, 2014

Here is a poem I wrote 8 years ago and it turned out to be rather prescient. At the time I was a pastor and wrote this poem for my people. Now I am rarely able even to go to church and I hope others have me on their prayer list. THE CHURCH'S PRAYER LIST I see your name each Sunday on the prayer list; I know your pain seems more than you can bear; I wonder if you know how much we miss you; How very much we wish you could be there. I tuck the Sunday prayer list in my Bible. I check it every day before I pray. It’s hard sometimes to understand God’s workings Especially when things don’t go our way. But He is in control, He never leaves us; He’s promised to sustain us all our days; And as you’ve testified, He keeps His promise And in the midst of pain you sing His praise. So as I pray for you MY faith grows stronger; It’s in God’s plan that we should bring your need Into the throne room of His gracious presence As at His feet we bow and humbly plead. That we woul...

My opinion column as published in today's newspaper. CELEBRATE ABORTION? In 1956 pro-abortion activist and feminist Gloria Steinem had an abortion. It was a decision she celebrated at the time and continues to celebrate. On April 19, 2012, T-shirts were on sale at the University of North Carolina Wilmington with a picture of a smiling Steinem wearing a shirt with the words “I had an abortion. Do you really need to inconvenience yourself for the next 18 years?” Several years ago in Humboldt County, California, Planned Parenthood held a 40 day prayer vigil for abortion. They used a prayer guide found on Planned Parenthood.org which encourages pro-abortion supporters to offer prayers of thanks for abortion providers and the “sacred care” they provide. Each day, Planned Parenthood suggested a prayer, for example: “We give thanks for the doctors who provide quality abortion care. We pray for a cloud of gentleness to surround every abortion facility. We pray for all the staff at ab...

My column which appeared in today's paper, a day late due to not feeling well Tuesday. KERRY'S FAMILY TREE When Secretary of State John Kerry was photographed in November 2013 in Geneva shaking hands with his Iranian counterpart Mohammed Javed Zarif at the beginning of the Iranian nuclear negotiations only a handful of people in the entire world knew that this was not the first time these two men had met. They were introduced in 2004 by George Soros, a billionaire and political king-maker who has bankrolled many liberal politicians and causes over the years. Soros had invested thousands of dollars in Kerry’s failed presidential bid in 2004, and was looking for a way to recoup at least some of that money by using Kerry to work with Zarif to resolve outstanding issues between the U.S. and Iran in the making since 2003 under the name “Grand Bargain”. At the time he introduced the two men, Zarif was the Ambassador to the United Nations from the Islamic Republic of Iran, and S...