Farewell Kurt ~ Enjoy Your Retirement

In honor of Kurt Warner's retirement announcement today, I've decided to re-post this blog entry, that I first did one year ago, for Character Counts. Thanks Kurt, for being a rare class act in the professional sports world. You will be missed.

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Once again, it was really easy to choose the person I wanted to spotlight and honor for Character Counts. And once again it is loosely associated with timing. I have lived in the Phoenix area for most of my life. In 1988, we got our first NFL football team – the Cardinals (formerly of St. Louis). It was rather exciting for us, but the Cards have just never really done much since they’ve been here. This year that changed, when they went to the Super Bowl as a Cinderella story, led by quarterback Kurt Warner. No, we didn’t win, but we certainly didn’t lose either.


I chose Kurt Warner, not because of the Super Bowl, or because he is a really good quarterback, but because he is a really good person and man of God. In order to maintain brevity, I’ll not focus on his professional history or accomplishments unless they pertain to a point I am making. Kurt doesn’t want professional achievements and statistics to be his legacy, but rather he wants to be known and remembered for serving and for using his privilege to help others. It was announced during the Super Bowl, that Kurt received a very special award – the Walter Payton Man of the Year Award (which is given by the NFL, honoring a player's volunteer and charity work, as well as his excellence on the field). As much as he wanted to win the Super Bowl, this means even more to him.

Kurt was born on June 22, 1971 and was raised in Iowa. His family was Catholic, but not devout. When he was six, his parents divorced. He grew up playing football for his high school and then played college ball for University of Northern Iowa. After college, his quest to be a professional football player was very rocky and filled with much adversity.

While in college, he met his future wife, Brenda, in a bar. Though they had a good time that night, when they were leaving, Brenda thanked him for the good time and said since she was a single mom of two children, one seriously disabled and the other a baby, and living in her parents basement, she understood if she didn’t hear from him again. He brought her roses the next day and asked to meet her children. (Brenda was a veteran of the U.S. Marines and was divorced. Her older child, a son named Zachary, was dropped by his father when he was four months old and became severely brain damaged, as well as paraplegic. Brenda became pregnant again when Zachary was two years old. When she was eight months pregnant, her husband left the family because he couldn’t handle it anymore.)

Kurt didn’t let these difficulties deter him from dating Brenda. The two dated for five years before they got married in 1997. Throughout this time, Kurt struggled to build his career and never gave up, despite the adversity he faced. When they married, Kurt adopted Zachary and Jesse, and today the family has expanded to a total of seven children. In 1996 Kurt became a Christian and became completely sold out for Christ. He now sees his role here is not to play football and win games, which is merely his job and platform. His role, purpose, is to win as many people as he can to Jesus.

Wherever Kurt and Brenda are living for his work, they are very involved in the community. He speaks regularly at churches, schools and other functions. They began their own charity, Kurt Warner’s First Things First, founded in 2001, to help those less fortunate in the community. Through the foundation, they’ve, given a house to a family who lost theirs in Katrina, provided a single father in need furniture for his home, taken (not just sent) needy families to Disneyland, and provided game tickets to disadvantaged and at-risk youth through faith-based social service agencies. Kurt has helped in community projects like building a school and filling stockings for 100 foster children at Sunshine Acres Children’s Home, in Mesa, AZ. (There are many other ways they are involved, but I’ll leave it at this.)

Kurt is both respected and reviled for his faith and good works. Some people (other players, media and ordinary folk) mock or avoid him for his faith, but that doesn’t stop him. You may not hear him mention Jesus in every interview, but that’s not because he’s not saying it. A great frustration of his is how often his witness and testimony are edited out of anything he says. He even brings his Bible to every press conference he participates in. He is a Christian who believes completely that to whom much is given, much is required (Luke 12:48). Yes, he has his detractors. Still, a lot more people look up to him for his faith and good works, and also for his attitude, his integrity, his perseverance, his optimism, his experience, and his character. His very good character. Yes, I believe that Kurt Warner is a hero, but not because of his performance on the field. It is because of the life he lives, the way he leads and the example he sets. Kurt Warner is a man who knows that Character Counts!

If you are interested in finding out more about or contributing financially to Kurt's First Things First Foundation simply go to the website at http://www.kurtwarner.org/.

An ICE Re-Creation

So, God has given me focus. That’s good, right? I don’t have a lot of time these days to do much writing because my almost 2-yr old simply doesn’t understand that I need time uninterrupted to do so. There are some, who can be in the middle of a thought, lay it down to attend to something else and then come back to it and pick up right where they left off. I am not one of them. I can easily do that with reading, but not with writing. Reading and writing reviews is easy for me to do on the go, which is why I’ve been doing a lot more of them lately.

But back to my focus. I wanted to make sure that when I do have time to write, I’m writing what God is directing me to write. Here’s where the focus comes in. I mentioned previously that after much prayer, God gave me an acronym to remember to use for the direction He is leading my non-fiction writing in. That acronym is ICE and it stands for Identity, Character and Emotions.

When a person grows up in a dysfunctional family (as many of us have), there is often a deficiency in these areas. We maybe don’t understand that we have worth, so our character is weak, and our emotions are shut down, hyperactive, or simply all over the place. It all kind of goes together. If these basic things are not shown or taught correctly during the formative years, it does affect adulthood. But it’s not true that old dogs can’t learn new tricks. Especially if we have God on our side!

When I got saved, after living a dreadful heathen lifestyle, God really had to get a hold of me and re-create me. The Bible tells us that when we are born again, we become a new creation, the old has died and the new has come (2 Cor. 5:17). And of course that’s true as far as God is concerned. But we often have to be proactive about the change we are going through. I believe it is possible to get fire insurance – that is to believe and confess that Jesus is Lord and ask for His forgiveness, but then remain basically unchanged. But what a weak walk that would be!

For those who desire more of God than simple life insurance, there is more required. Not a set of rules to be followed, but a life spent seeking, worshipping and serving God. We are transformed into His likeness through the studying of His Word, conversing with Him in prayer and our acts of service (I often say we are not saved to sit, but saved to serve).

When we immerse ourselves in the Word of God, and allow it to, it will change us. We are to not be conformed to this world, but to be transformed by the renewing of our mind (Rom. 12:2), and we do that through the Word of God. But it requires our will to choose to read it, and let it in. That’s what I’ve been doing since I’ve gotten saved. I am now a much different and better person, but I still have a ways to go.


So my focus now is ICE:

~ Identity ~ To know, understand and believe who I am in Christ.
~ Character ~ To develop Godly character traits and reflect the Character of Him who made me
~ Emotions ~ To experience healthy God-given emotions, but to rule over them rather than let them rule over me.

I am excited about this new focus God has given me, and look forward to exploring it. I am thrilled to have you along for the journey. Be sure to look for more ICE posts to follow.

Ben Stein ~ Character Counts

The Character Counts Meme posts every first and third Tuesday of the month. I’d love to have you join me for spotlighting, celebrating and honoring people of good character, who’ve led exemplary lives and who’ve lived with honor, integrity, dignity and sacrifice, and those who’ve inspired others by overcome great obstacles in their own lives. I believe that when we celebrate and exhort good character traits, we can turn the tide, and see more of them. At least I’d like to try! If you are joining us, please leave your name and link at the Mr. Linky down below and don’t forget to leave a comment!

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This week’s Character Counts post will be a bit different. I have chosen to spotlight someone we all think we know, but may be surprised to find out more about – Ben Stein. I will give a very brief summary about Ben, then will allow him to show his character through his own words. I think you’ll agree with me, that he is indeed a man of great character.


Ben Stein was born in 1944. He is Jewish, an actor, comedian and documentary film maker (Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed). These are the things most people know about Ben. What many do not know, is that he is (or has been) an attorney, a professor (at American University, U.C. Santa Cruz, and Pepperdine, writer/columnist (The American Spectator, Wall Street Journal, New York Times, New York Magazine, Baron’s Magazine) and a speech writer for President’s Nixon and Ford. He is a typically considered politically and economically conservative and is a proponent of Intelligent Design and is highly pro-life.

To learn more about Ben Stein and his things he’s written, visit his website (I particularly recommend his Christmas article from 12/18/05). This is a bit long, but well worth the read.

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For many years Ben Stein has written a biweekly column called Monday Night At Morton 's. (Morton's is a famous chain of Steakhouses known to be frequented by movie stars and famous people from around the globe.) Now, Ben is terminating the column to move on to other things in his life. Reading his final column is worth a few minutes of your time.

Ben Stein's Last Column...

How Can Someone Who Lives in Insane Luxury Be a Star in Today's World?

As I begin to write this, I 'slug' it, as we writers say, which means I put a heading on top of the document to identify it. This heading is 'E-online FINAL,' and it gives me a shiver to write it. I have been doing this column for so long that I cannot even recall when I started. I loved writing this column so much for so long I came to believe it would never end.


It worked well for a long time, but gradually, my changing as a person and the world's changes have overtaken it. On a small scale, Morton 's, while better than ever, no longer attracts as many stars as it used to. It still brings in the rich people in droves and definitely some stars. I saw Samuel L. Jackson there a few days ago, and we had a nice visit, and right before that, I saw and had a splendid talk with Warren Beatty in an elevator, in which we agreed that Splendor in the Grass was a super movie. But Morton 's is not the star galaxy it once was, though it probably will be again.


Beyond that, a bigger change has happened..? I no longer think Hollywood stars are terribly important. They are uniformly pleasant, friendly people, and they treat me better than I deserve to be treated. But a man or woman who makes a huge wage for memorizing lines and reciting them in front of a camera is no longer my idea of a shining star we should all look up to.


How can a man or woman who makes an eight-figure wage and lives in insane luxury really be a star in today's world, if by a 'star' we mean someone bright and powerful and attractive as a role model? Real stars are not riding around in the backs of limousines or in Porsches or getting trained in yoga or Pilates and eating only raw fruit while they have Vietnamese girls do their nails.


They can be interesting, nice people, but they are not heroes to me any longer. A real star is the soldier of the 4th Infantry Division who poked his head into a hole on a farm near Tikrit , Iraq . He could have been met by a bomb or a hail of AK-47 bullets. Instead, he faced an abject Saddam Hussein and the gratitude of all of the decent people of the world.


A real star is the U.S. soldier who was sent to disarm a bomb next to a road north of Baghdad. He approached it, and the bomb went off and killed him.. A real star, the kind who haunts my memory night and day, is the U.S. soldier in Baghdad who saw a little girl playing with a piece of unexploded ordnance on a street near where he was guarding a station. He pushed her aside and threw himself on it just as it exploded. He left a family desolate in California and a little girl alive in Baghdad.


The stars who deserve media attention are not the ones who have lavish weddings on TV but the ones who patrol the streets of Mosul even after two of their buddies were murdered and their bodies battered and stripped for the sin of trying to protect Iraqis from terrorists.


We put couples with incomes of $100 million a year on the covers of our magazines. The noncoms and officers who barely scrape by on military pay but stand on guard in Afghanistan and Iraq and on ships and in submarines and near the Arctic Circle are anonymous as they live and die.


I am no longer comfortable being a part of the system that has such poor values, and I do not want to perpetuate those values by pretending that who is eating at Morton 's is a big subject.


There are plenty of other stars in the American firmament... the policemen and women who go off on patrol in South Central and have no idea if they will return alive; the orderlies and paramedics who bring in people who have been in terrible accidents and prepare them for surgery; the teachers and nurses who throw their whole spirits into caring for autistic children; the kind men and women who work in hospices and in cancer wards.


Think of each and every fireman who was running up the stairs at the World Trade Center as the towers began to collapse. Now you have my idea of a real hero.


I came to realize that life lived to help others is the only one that matters. This is my highest and best use as a human. I can put it another way. Years ago, I realized I could never be as great an actor as Olivier or as good a comic as Steve Martin or Martin Mull or Fred Willard - or as good an economist as Samuelson or Friedman or as good a writer as Fitzgerald. Or even remotely close to any of them.


But, I could be a devoted father to my son, husband to my wife and, above all, a good son to the parents who had done so much for me. This came to be my main task in life. I did it moderately well with my son, pretty well with my wife and well indeed with my parents (with my sister's help). I cared for and paid attention to them in their declining years. I stayed with my father as he got sick, went into extremis and then into a coma and then entered immortality with my sister and me reading him the Psalms.


This was the only point at which my life touched the lives of the soldiers in Iraq or the firefighters in New York. I came to realize that life lived to help others is the only one that matters and that it is my duty, in return for the lavish life God has devolved upon me, to help others He has placed in my path. This is my highest and best use as a human.


Faith is not believing that God can. It is knowing that God will.


By Ben Stein

James Earl Jones ~ Character Counts

The Character Counts Meme posts every first and third Tuesday of the month. I’d love to have you join me for spotlighting, celebrating and honoring people of good character, who’ve led exemplary lives and who’ve lived with honor, integrity, dignity and sacrifice, and those who’ve inspired others by overcome great obstacles in their own lives. I believe that when we celebrate and exhort good character traits, we can turn the tide, and see more of them. At least I’d like to try! If you are joining us, please leave your name and link at the Mr. Linky down below and don’t forget to leave a comment!


UPDATE: Mr.Linky doesn't appear to be working at this time. If you are participating in Character Counts, simply notify us in the comments part of this post. Thank you!

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This week I have chosen to spotlight a man who is a fantastic actor and orator. He has long been a favorite (actor) of mine, but when I learned his history, I grew to admire him even more. While he is best known for his deep, rich voice, it wasn’t always that way. I hope you are as inspired as I was.


James Earl Jones was born January 13, 1931, in Arkabulta, MS. His parents separated before he was born, and he was raised by his maternal grandparents. When he was five, the family moved to a farm in rural Michigan. The move was so traumatic for the young boy, he developed an incapacitating stutter, and he refused to speak, essentially becoming mute. Though he could speak some, his stuttering was so bad, he wouldn’t do speak more than a few words at a time, even for his family. This debilitating condition lasted for eight years.


Jones began communicating through writing. He began to express himself through writing poetry. Things started to change for Jones in high school. He had a teacher, Donald Crouch, who saw through his insecurities, believed in him, and challenged him. When Jones turned in a well-written poem, Crouch pretended to believe that Jones couldn’t have written it himself, and had him recite it in front of the class to prove it. With his own words memorized, Jones found he could speak without stuttering. Crouch encouraged Jones to compete in high school debates and oratorical contests. One day, when he was a senior, Jones won both a public-speaking contest and a scholarship to University of Michigan.


When he started at the University, Jones majored in pre-med. He also joined the Reserve Officer Training Corp, where he excelled. It wasn’t long before he found himself more drawn to drama than medicine. Though he completed four years of college, he left without a degree. In late summer of 1953, he received his 2nd Lieutenant’s commission and his official orders. He was off to Ft. Benning, where he completed Ranger training.


After completing his service as an Army Ranger, Jones then headed to New York City to pursue his acting career. In time, he began getting small roles, which eventually led to larger, better roles. He has performed on Broadway, in movies, in TV shows, and has done voiceover work. Many people were surprised to find that his was the voice of Darth Vader in the Star Wars movies. And he lent his voice to Disney for his role as Mufasa, in the animated film The Lion King. One very special project he did though was to narrate an audio version of the KJV New Testament.

Jones is believed to be politically conservative, due to the fact that he supported the Gulf and Iraq wars, and is also a 2nd Amendment advocate. However, he prefers to keep his political views secret, and has stated that his endorsement is not for sale (which I respect).


James Earl Jones has become a well-respected and beloved actor and orator. He has won numerous awards for his voice and performances, including an Oscar nomination, numerous Emmy, Golden Globe and Tony awards and nominations. And all of this was accomplished by a man, who couldn’t even speak as a boy! Through encouragement from others, hard work, persistence, and an arduous program of public speaking, he overcame his debilitating handicap, to become one of the most talented and sought after voices in our time. Today he is one of America's most celebrated actors, renowned for what critics have called "the voice of the century."

Nonna Bannister ~ Character Counts

The Character Counts Meme posts every first and third Tuesday of the month. I’d love to have you join me for spotlighting, celebrating and honoring people of good character, who’ve led exemplary lives and who’ve lived with honor, integrity, dignity and sacrifice, and those who’ve inspired others by overcome great obstacles in their own lives. I believe that when we celebrate and exhort good character traits, we can turn the tide, and see more of them. At least I’d like to try! If you are joining us, please leave your name and link at the Mr. Linky down below and don’t forget to leave a comment! Blessings!

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This week’s Character Counts post is very special. It is about someone who was amazing, but you’ve probably never heard of her. However, you will, I’m sure. As you probably know, I’ve been doing book reviews for some time. Because of that, I’ve had the opportunity to be part of a Blog Book Tour that is going on right now. My participation will be on Friday, April 24th. I will be posting an author interview along with my brief book review. This book is called The Secret Holocaust Diaries. It is the untold story of Nonna Bannister, my Character Counts profile.


Nonna Bannister was born on Sept. 22, 1927, and lived in Russia when the Germans invaded in World War II. Her family had been wealthy, educated and affluent despite the fact that the Bolsheviks had overthrown Imperial Russia following World War I, and communism became the way of life. She was brought up in the tradition of the Russian Orthodox Church, though religion had been outlawed by the Communists. Her father had made several attempts to flee Russia with his family to escape the tyranny of Josef Stalin. He was never successful.


As a young girl, Nonna’s life went from one of privilege to one of loss and hardship. In her adolescent years she saw and experienced much cruelty, misery and pain. Through it all, her Christian faith remained strong. Though her father was viciously beat nearly to death and had his eyes gouged out by German soldiers, he implored young Nonna to forgive them, because they were just following orders. He survived his beating by three weeks when he finally succumbed to his massive injuries and died.


Most of the rest of Nonna’s family were killed on the trains leaving the area of the Ukraine to go to Siberia to escape the German’s. The trains were blown up with dynamite by the Soviets, rather than let them (the trains not the people) fall into the hands of the Germans. After surviving through the first year of war, with a brutally cold winter, and little food or fuel, Nonna and her mother, Anna, decided to accept an offer by the Nazi’s to go work in the factories in Germany. This was offered to women who were capable to work, since there was a shortage of workers in Germany. They thought things would go better for them by volunteering. They were very wrong. They quickly realized they had surrendered as prisoners and were sent by trains to labor camps that were a little better than the concentration camps, but not by much.


Throughout her young life, Nonna kept diaries, sometimes in actual books, other times using scraps of papers, to record the happenings of her life. She survived the war, though barely, however her mother did not. She is the only member of her family and extended family to do so. Nonna was very sick when the war ended and it took her over two years to recover. Five years after the war ended, Nonna was able to come to the America. Soon she met, then married her husband, Henry, and they lived together happily for 53 years. They also had three children of their own.


In the many years that Nonna and Henry were married, he didn’t know about Nonna’s past, until she chose to tell him, in the late 1980’s. She transcribed all of her diaries and notes, which had been written in six different languages, into English and shared them with him. She knew it would be important to share this with the world, but couldn’t bear the pain of it, so she asked him to wait to publish her story until two or three years after her death. He lovingly complied. Nonna died in 2004, and her story is now being shared.


Though Nonna saw and experienced horrific things we hope and pray we never do, she did not let that define her. Yes, it affected her deeply, but she understood that forgiveness was the only way for her to move forward. Both during and after the war, Nonna had a deep faith, and lived according to that faith. She trusted loved and trusted God deeply. Perhaps that is why Nonna Bannister lived a full life, that was filled with love and family. She never grew bitter and twisted by the memories of her past. Rather, her experiences deepened her faith in God. She believed he saved her for a reason, and love and compassion ruled her heart.


Today, April 21st, is Holocaust Remembrance Day. So as we celebrate this wonderful woman of character, let us also pause and remember what she, and millions more, went through during the Holocaust, because forgetting would be even worse.

My Friend LaNae ~ Character Counts

The Character Counts Meme posts every first and third Tuesday of the month. I’d love to have you join me for spotlighting, celebrating and honoring people of good character, who’ve led exemplary lives and who’ve lived with honor, integrity, dignity and sacrifice, and those who’ve inspired others by overcome great obstacles in their own lives. I believe that when we celebrate and exhort good character traits, we can turn the tide, and see more of them. At least I’d like to try! If you are joining us, please leave your name and link at the Mr. Linky down below and don’t forget to leave a comment! Blessings!

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For this installation of Character Counts, I really wanted to go personal. I’ve chosen to honor someone who means a lot to me, one of my oldest and dearest friends, LaNae. For the sake of her privacy, I will refrain from using her last name.


I first met my friend LaNae nearly 21 years ago, in England, while I was in the Air Force. We were introduced and instantly became close friends. She even had a “Tracy” room in her house, so I could come and stay off base. She was one of my best friends there and I missed her terribly when I came back stateside. About a year after I returned to the U.S., she too returned home to Nebraska. Wanting to try something different, I packed my car and moved from Southern California to Nebraska and we became roommates. Eventually I moved back to Arizona, and though it has been over 12 years since I’ve actually seen LaNae, we still keep in touch and she remains one of the best friends I’ve ever had.


LaNae grew up on a farm in a tiny farming community in western Nebraska. She now lives on a ranch with her husband and two daughters in a tiny farming community in western Kansas. In many ways, LaNae is like many other mid-western folks – honest, hard-working, family-oriented, loves the Lord, etc. But to me, she is much more than that.


In all honesty, I consider LaNae to be one of the greatest gifts the Lord has given me. She has been a strong Christian all of her life, but when we met, I was a well-practiced heathen, from a long line of well-practiced heathens. But rather than keep me at a distance, she welcomed me into her life. She didn’t focus on our differences or judge me for my actions (though she certainly could have), but rather enjoyed the time we spent together and became a gentle, yet very powerful influence in my life.


I have no doubt that her prayers (over 10 years worth) were instrumental in my salvation. Before I knew the Rock though, LaNae was my rock. She was my safe harbor during the many storms of my life. The example she set of kindness, integrity, Godliness, honor, and self-respect had a profound effect on me. She lived the kind of life I wanted to, but didn’t really know how to.


In many ways, LaNae was my conscience, when I didn’t have much of one naturally. Long before the WWJD movement, I had my own little WWLD – what would LaNae do. When I found myself in different situations, I thought of this very often. Now, that certainly doesn’t mean I always made the right choice, but I generally knew what the right choice was because I could imagine what LaNae’s choice would be. For example, I was the type of person who would strike back, viciously, if someone hurt me, but LaNae’s mantra was “kill ‘em with kindness.” Again, that doesn’t mean I would always do the right thing, but there she was, at the back of my mind . . . I just couldn’t get her out of my head!


Of course she isn’t actually perfect, and I promised not to reveal any of our deepest, darkest secrets. (Wink, wink!) But she is the most beautiful woman I know, both inside and out. She’s the kind of woman that most other women desperately want to hate, but just can’t because it’s simply not possible. Like all of us, LaNae has gone through some tough times in her life, but she gets through them all by clinging to Jesus. She is the very picture of grace and faith. Her walk with the Lord is steady, her relationship with Him is deep, and her love for Him is strong. She doesn’t just talk the talk, she walks the walk, and inspires others to do the same.


LaNae, I love you, girl! Thanks for a great 21 years of friendship!

Audie Murphy ~ Character Counts

The Character Counts Meme posts every first and third Tuesday of the month. I’d love to have you join me for spotlighting, celebrating and honoring people of good character, who’ve led exemplary lives and who’ve lived with honor, integrity, dignity and sacrifice, and those who’ve inspired others by overcome great obstacles in their own lives. I believe that when we celebrate and exhort good character traits, we can turn the tide, and see more of them. At least I’d like to try! If you are joining us, please leave your name and link at the Mr. Linky down below and don’t forget to leave a comment! Blessings!

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Audie Murphy was a true American hero, serving in the Army during WWII and later became a successful actor. But his life didn’t begin that way. Audie came from a very humble and challenging background. He was born in Texas to poor sharecroppers, Emmet and Josie Murphy, who were of Irish descent. He was the sixth of twelve children, nine of whom survived beyond their eighteenth year.


His father, Emmet, deserted the family in 1936, leaving Josie to try and raise the family alone. Audie dropped out of school in the eighth grade to help support the family. He earned a dollar a day, working for anyone who would hire him to plow or pick cotton. He became highly skilled with a rifle and was able to help feed the family through his hunting successes. When a friend commented on his skill, his response was, “Well, if I don’t hit what I shoot at, my family won’t eat today.” His mother died when he was fifteen years old, and he came into agreement with his oldest sister, Corrine, decided they had no choice but to put the youngest three in an orphanage (he reclaimed them after his service in the war).


Following the attack on Pearl Harbor, Audie tried to enlist, but was turned away because of his age. He attempted once again when he sixteen, after getting his sister to help adjust his birth date to show that he was eighteen. He first tried to join the Marines and then the paratroopers, but was turned down by both because he was too small. The regular Army accepted him, but wanted to make him a cook or something else non-combatant, but Audie insisted on becoming a combat soldier. He received his training, but still had to fight to get overseas and into battle. His persistence paid off.


Not only did Audie participate in combat, in just twenty-seven months of service he became the most decorated soldier of World War II. In June 1945, one month after Germany’s surrender, he returned home a hero, and was discharged from the Army as a First Lieutenant. He had received the Medal of Honor, the Distinguished Service Cross, two Silver Stars, the Legion of Merit, two Bronze Stars, and three Purple Hearts. Murphy participated in campaigns in North Africa, Sicily, Italy, France and Germany, as denoted by his European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal with one silver battle star (denoting five campaigns), four bronze battle stars, plus a bronze arrowhead representing his two amphibious assault landings at Sicily and southern France. During the French Campaign, Murphy was awarded two Presidential Citations, one from the 3rd Infantry Division, and one from the 15th Inf. Regiment during the Holtzwihr action.


In addition to the numerous awards and decorations he received from the U.S. for his service, he also received several from other nations. The French government awarded Murphy its highest award, the Legion of Honor. He also received two Croix de Guerre medals from France and the Croix de Guerre 1940 Palm from Belgium.


Following the war, Audie became an actor, making more than forty movies. He starred in To Hell and Back, which was based on his autobiography, and also in The Red Badge of Courage. He suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder, and was plagued by insomnia, depression and nightmares. During the 1960’s he even became addicted to doctor prescribed sleeping pills. When he recognized that he had become addicted to the drug, he locked himself in a motel room where he took himself off the pills, going through withdrawal for a week on his own.


Murphy was an advocate of the needs of America's military veterans. He eventually broke the taboo about publicly discussing war-related mental conditions. In an effort to draw attention to the problems of returning Korean and Vietnam War veterans, Murphy spoke out candidly about his own problems with PTSD, known then and during World War II as “battle fatigue” and also commonly known by the World War I term "shell shock." He called on the United States government to give increased consideration and study to the emotional impact that combat experiences have on veterans, and to extend health care benefits to address PTSD and other mental-health problems suffered by returning war veterans.


Audie Murphy died on May, 28, 1971 during Memorial Day weekend, in a plane crash, at the age of 46. On June 7, 1971, Murphy was buried at Arlington National Cemetery, with a full-honors ceremony. A special flagstone walkway was later constructed to accommodate the large number of people who visit to pay their respects. His is the second most-visited gravesite, after that of President John F. Kennedy.


Audie Murphy was a true American hero, who overcame great adversity in his personal life, who believed in the cause of freedom, and who knew that freedom isn’t free, but was worth dying for. Even with all his honors, he remained a humble man, downplaying his own acts, but always praising and honoring his fellow soldiers.


“The true meaning of America, you ask?” Murphy once said. “It’s in a Texas rodeo, in a policeman’s badge, in the sound of laughing children, in a political rally, in a newspaper… In all these things, and many more, you’ll find America. In all these things, you’ll find freedom. And freedom is what America means to the world.”

Elizabeth Ann Seton ~ Character Counts

The Character Counts Meme posts every first and third Tuesday of the month. I’d love to have you join me for spotlighting, celebrating and honoring people of good character, who’ve led exemplary lives and who’ve lived with honor, integrity, dignity and sacrifice, and those who’ve inspired others by overcome great obstacles in their own lives. I believe that when we celebrate and exhort good character traits, we can turn the tide, and see more of them. At least I’d like to try! If you are joining us, please leave your name and link at the Mr. Linky down below and don’t forget to leave a comment! Blessings!

~~~

On September 14, 1975, Elizabeth Ann Bayley Seton, was canonized by the Roman Catholic Church, becoming America’s first American-born saint. She was born in New York City on August 28, 1774. She grew up in a wealthy family, as an Episcopalian. Her mother died when she was just three years old.


When she was just nineteen years old, she married William Seton, who was a wealthy business man, and they had five children. Elizabeth enjoyed a privileged social position and was devoted to several charitable activities. In 1803, everything changed for the Seton family. William’s shipping business lost several ships at sea, forcing the business to bankruptcy. Soon thereafter, William developed tuberculosis and his doctors sent them to Italy for the healthier climate. Unfortunately, soon after reaching Italy and while they were still in quarantine, William died.


While waiting for a passage back to the United States, Elizabeth stayed with a wealthy Italian family and was exposed to, and deeply impressed by, their devout Catholic faith. She returned to New York with little money to raise her children and soon made a decision that would make their lives even harder – she converted to Catholicism. It was a difficult time in American history when Catholics often suffered great prejudice. She was then rejected by her friends and family, and struggled to support herself and her children.


A rector in Baltimore heard of her dire situation and invited her to establish a school for girls there. In 1808, Elizabeth embarked on a fantastic new life. She settled in Baltimore and began the Paca Street School, the country’s first Catholic elementary school. Then a year later, she founded the Sisters of Charity of St. Joseph’s, a religious community of women devoted to teaching and serving the poor. As the community grew, it opened schools and orphanages in New York and Philadelphia.


On January 4, 1821, at the age of 46, Elizabeth Seton died of tuberculosis, like her husband William before her. By then the Sisters of Charity were spreading across the country. Today Seton’s legacy includes thousands of sisters who work in hundreds of schools, hospitals, and social service centers throughout the world. Her home in Manhattan is now a shrine in her honor and there is a statue of her displayed at Saint Raymond’s Cemetery in the Bronx. Today, her remains are entombed in the Basilica that bears her name – the Basilica of the National Shrine of Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton.


Elizabeth was a woman of prayer and service, who was dedicated to following the will of God, and had deep devotion to the Eucharist, the Sacred Scriptures and the Virgin Mary. The 23rd Psalm was her favorite prayer throughout her life. She understood loss and sacrifice, and through service to others experienced fulfillment and purpose. She proved that one person, of good character, can make a difference.


“We must pray literally without ceasing—without ceasing—in every occurrence and employment of our lives . . . that prayer of the heart which is independent of place or situation, or which is rather a habit of lifting up the heart to God as in a constant communication with Him.” ~ Elizabeth Ann Seton.

President Ronald Reagan ~ Character Counts

The Character Counts Meme posts every first and third Tuesday of the month. I’d love to have you join me for spotlighting, celebrating and honoring people of good character, who’ve led exemplary lives and who’ve lived with honor, integrity, dignity and sacrifice, and those who’ve inspired others by overcome great obstacles in their own lives. I believe that when we celebrate and exhort good character traits, we can turn the tide, and see more of them. At least I’d like to try! If you are joining us, please leave your name and link at the Mr. Linky down below and don’t forget to leave a comment! Blessings!


~~~


They say timing is everything, and I have to admit, for this meme, so far that has proven to be true. Once again, it was really easy to choose the person I wanted to spotlight and honor for Character Counts. And yet again it is has to do with timing, though I really didn’t plan it that way, it’s just how the calendar lined up with the Character Counts schedule. Since we’ve just celebrated President’s Day, I’ve chosen to spotlight and honor someone I look up to greatly – President Ronald Reagan.



While this was an easy choice, it is also a daunting task. President Ronald Reagan was a great president, great leader, and great man of God. He was not perfect, but he was a man of honor and integrity, who loved his God, his country and his wife passionately. He inherently believed in the triumph of good over evil, and that America was blessed by God and the last best hope of man on earth.


Ronald Wilson Reagan was born in Tampico, IL on February 6, 1911 to John ‘Jack’ and Nelle Reagan. Reagan had a particularly strong faith in the goodness of people, which stemmed from the optimistic faith of his mother, Nelle, and the Disciples of Christ faith, into which Ronald was baptized at the age of eleven. The Reagan family was quite ahead of their time in their opposition to discrimination. They truly believed that all persons were created equal and that discrimination was evil, at a time when that was not an accepted belief. To that end, a young Ronnie once brought home a black family, to stay with his family for the night and feed them breakfast the next day, when they’d been turned away from a local inn simply because they were black.


The man who would become the 40th President of the United States, began his life much more humbly. The Reagan family was not well-off financially and Ronald obtained his job during high school. At the age of fifteen, he took a job as a lifeguard at a local pool, where he is credited with saving seventy-seven lives. After high school he went to Eureka College majoring in Economics and Sociology, where he was very involved in sports, particularly football.


Following his graduation from college in 1932, Reagan began working in radio broadcasting, where he primarily did sports announcing. This led to his acting career, where he achieved moderate success, but was often overshadowed by bigger talents. During his acting career, Ronald co-starred with and married actress Jane Wyman. The two had two daughters, Maureen and Christine (who died one day after birth) and adopted a son, Michael. Wyman filed for divorce in 1948, citing a distraction due to Reagan’s SAG union duties.


Reagan first became involved in politics by serving with the Screen Actors Guild, which he eventually became president of and served in that office for seven years. He was adamantly opposed to communism and the influence of communist in the motion picture agency. While originally a Democrat, he began leaning toward the ideologies of the Republican party in the early 1950’s and officially switched parties in 1962. When asked why he left the Democratic Party, his response was, “I didn’t leave the Democratic Party. It left me.”


While serving as the SAG president, Reagan met actress Nancy Davis, who became the love of his life. The two married in 1952 and they had two children of their own, Patti and Ron. One press secretary said of the couple, “They never took each other for granted. They never stopped courting.” Throughout their long life together, their love and devotion to each other was evident to all.


In the late 1950’s, Reagan began working as a host for General Electric Theater, a series of weekly dramas on TV, which became very popular. As part of his job, he was required to tour GE plants and give speeches (up to fourteen per day) to the employees for ten weeks out of the year. This is where he developed such strong writing and speaking skills, which would later earn him the title of “The Great Communicator.” His speeches often were politically charged and held a conservative, pro-business tone. He was fired by GE in 1962, when his speeches were deemed too controversial.


Throughout the years, Ronald Reagan became more involved in politics, becoming the Governor of California in 1967 – 1975. He set his sights on the Presidency as a truly conservative Republican. He challenged incumbent President Ford in 1976 for the bid to become the Republican candidate, but narrowly lost. He tried again in 1980 and ran against President Carter for the presidency, stressing in his campaign the importance of less taxes to stimulate the economy, less interference in government into people’s lives, more rights for the states, and a strong national defense. He won in a landslide election, gaining 44 states and 489 electoral votes, to Carters 49. In 1984 he ran for President again, against former Vice-President Walter Mondale, and this time too, he won in a landslide election winning 49 states and 525 electoral votes, the highest amount in history.


During his Presidency, Reagan faced many difficult issues. It began in a dramatic manner, with the releasing by Iran of 52 U.S. hostages after 444 days, during his inaugural address. And obviously, the assassination attempt on his life was not an ideal way to begin his Presidency. Beyond that, he had had the Air Traffic Controller’s strike, the collapsed U.S. economy, the Beirut barracks bombing by Muslim Terrorists which killed 241 American Marines, the escalation of the Cold War with the Soviet Union, the Challenger space tragedy, and the bombing of Libya to name just a few.


During a time when U.S. was struggling and facing great adversity, President Reagan offered strong leadership and hope, and helped his fellow Americans to once again believe this was a great and noble nation and to be proud of their heritage as citizens of the United States of America. His wit and warm personality won over many people, but none more important than that of Secretary General Gorbachev of the Soviet Union. Reagan spoke harshly and often against communism and called the Soviet Union the axis of evil. He worked diligently to build up our military force in anticipation of protecting our nation, but he also formed a genuine and lasting relationship with the Soviet leader while doing so. He firmly held to the belief in peace through strength. His efforts proved effective with the fall of the collapse of the Soviet Union. He is credited with winning the Cold War without a single shot being fired.


The faith of President Reagan permeated every part of his life. He often quoted Scripture in his speeches and personal prayer was prevalent – he even began his cabinet meetings with prayer. He believed he was placed upon the earth for such a time as this. His strength was in his dependence upon God. Ronald Reagan was a man of faith and conviction.


President Reagan died in died in his Bel Air home on June 5th, 2004, after suffering with Alzheimer’s disease for 10 years. His death was felt and mourned by people world-wide, not just by Americans. His body was laid first at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library, where more than 100,000 people came to view the coffin. It was then moved to D.C. where he became the 10th President to lie in state, and once again, more than 100,000 people came to pay their last respects. His state funeral was attended by (among others) Mikhail Gorbachev and Margaret Thatcher who gave a eulogy. June 11th was declared by then President George W. Bush, to be a National Day of Mourning. He was flown back to the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library, where he was buried.


His burial site is is inscribed with the words he delivered at the opening of the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library:

“I know in my heart that man is good, that what is right will always eventually triumph and that there is purpose and worth to each and every life.”

While there is so much I haven’t covered, like all of the awards he’s won, honors he’s received and the legacy he’s left, for sake of time and space, I’ll end with this. The quotes below are indicative of the beliefs he held and the character of the man he was.


Quotes of Ronald Reagan:

~ Above all, we must realize that no arsenal, or no weapon in the arsenals of the world, is so formidable as the will and moral courage of free men and women. It is a weapon our adversaries in today's world do not have.

~ All great change in America begins at the dinner table.

~ Democracy is worth dying for, because it's the most deeply honorable form of government ever devised by man.

~ Each generation goes further than the generation preceding it because it stands on the shoulders of that generation. You will have opportunities beyond anything we've ever known.

~ Entrepreneurs and their small enterprises are responsible for almost all the economic growth in the United States.

~ Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. We didn't pass it to our children in the bloodstream. It must be fought for, protected, and handed on for them to do the same.

~ Freedom prospers when religion is vibrant and the rule of law under God is acknowledged.

~ Government's first duty is to protect the people, not run their lives.

~ Heroes may not be braver than anyone else. They're just braver five minutes longer.

~ I have wondered at times what the Ten Commandments would have looked like if Moses had run them through the US Congress.

~ I know in my heart that man is good. That what is right will always eventually triumph. And there's purpose and worth to each and every life.

~ If we ever forget that we are One Nation Under God, then we will be a nation gone under.

~ If we love our country, we should also love our countrymen.

~ Let us be sure that those who come after will say of us in our time, that in our time we did everything that could be done. We finished the race; we kept them free; we kept the faith.

~ Of the four wars in my lifetime, none came about because the U.S. was too strong.

~ Politics is not a bad profession. If you succeed there are many rewards, if you disgrace yourself you can always write a book.

~ Recession is when a neighbor loses his job. Depression is when you lose yours.

~ Republicans believe every day is the Fourth of July, but the democrats believe every day is April 15th.

~ The problem is not that people are taxed too little, the problem is that government spends too much.

~ The taxpayer - that's someone who works for the federal government but doesn't have to take the civil service examination.

~ There are no constraints on the human mind, no walls around the human spirit, no barriers to our progress except those we ourselves erect.

~ There are no easy answers' but there are simple answers. We must have the courage to do what we know is morally right.

~ We are never defeated unless we give up on God.

~ We have the duty to protect the life of an unborn child.

~ We must reject the idea that every time a law's broken, society is guilty rather than the lawbreaker. It is time to restore the American precept that each individual is accountable for his actions.

~ We should measure welfare's success by how many people leave welfare, not by how many are added.

~ We will always remember. We will always be proud. We will always be prepared, so we will always be free.

~ Welfare's purpose should be to eliminate, as far as possible, the need for its own existence.

~ Within the covers of the Bible are the answers for all the problems men face.

~ Without God, democracy will not and cannot long endure.

Kurt Warner ~ Character Counts

The Character Counts Meme posts every first and third Tuesday of the month. I’d love to have you join me for spotlighting, celebrating and honoring people of good character, who’ve led exemplary lives and who’ve lived with honor, integrity, dignity and sacrifice, and those who’ve inspired others by overcome great obstacles in their own lives. I believe that when we celebrate and exhort good character traits, we can turn the tide, and see more of them. At least I’d like to try! If you are joining us, please leave your name and link at the Mr. Linky down below and don’t forget to leave a comment! Blessings!


~~~


Once again, it was really easy to choose the person I wanted to spotlight and honor for Character Counts. And once again it is loosely associated with timing. I have lived in the Phoenix area for most of my life. In 1988, we got our first NFL football team – the Cardinals (formerly of St. Louis). It was rather exciting for us, but the Cards have just never really done much since they’ve been here. This year that changed, when they went to the Super Bowl as a Cinderella story, led by quarterback Kurt Warner. No, we didn’t win, but we certainly didn’t lose either.


I chose Kurt Warner, not because of the Super Bowl, or because he is a really good quarterback, but because he is a really good person and man of God. In order to maintain brevity, I’ll not focus on his professional history or accomplishments unless they pertain to a point I am making. Kurt doesn’t want professional achievements and statistics to be his legacy, but rather he wants to be known and remembered for serving and for using his privilege to help others. It was announced during the Super Bowl, that Kurt received a very special award – the Walter Payton Man of the Year Award (which is given by the NFL, honoring a player's volunteer and charity work, as well as his excellence on the field). As much as he wanted to win the Super Bowl, this means even more to him.


Kurt was born on June 22, 1971 and was raised in Iowa. His family was Catholic, but not devout. When he was six, his parents divorced. He grew up playing football for his high school and then played college ball for University of Northern Iowa. After college, his quest to be a professional football player was very rocky and filled with much adversity.


While in college, he met his future wife, Brenda, in a bar. Though they had a good time that night, when they were leaving, Brenda thanked him for the good time and said since she was a single mom of two children, one seriously disabled and the other a baby, and living in her parents basement, she understood if she didn’t hear from him again. He brought her roses the next day and asked to meet her children. (Brenda was a veteran of the U.S. Marines and was divorced. Her older child, a son named Zachary, was dropped by his father when he was four months old and became severely brain damaged, as well as paraplegic. Brenda became pregnant again when Zachary was two years old. When she was eight months pregnant, her husband left the family because he couldn’t handle it anymore.)


Kurt didn’t let these difficulties deter him from dating Brenda. The two dated for five years before they got married in 1997. Throughout this time, Kurt struggled to build his career and never gave up, despite the adversity he faced. When they married, Kurt adopted Zachary and Jesse, and today the family has expanded to a total of seven children. In 1996 Kurt became a Christian and became completely sold out for Christ. He now sees his role here is not to play football and win games, which is merely his job and platform. His role, purpose, is to win as many people as he can to Jesus.


Wherever Kurt and Brenda are living for his work, they are very involved in the community. He speaks regularly at churches, schools and other functions. They began their own charity, Kurt Warner’s First Things First, founded in 2001, to help those less fortunate in the community. Through the foundation, they’ve, given a house to a family who lost theirs in Katrina, provided a single father in need furniture for his home, taken (not just sent) needy families to Disneyland, and provided game tickets to disadvantaged and at-risk youth through faith-based social service agencies. Kurt has helped in community projects like building a school and filling stockings for 100 foster children at Sunshine Acres Children’s Home, in Mesa, AZ. (There are many other ways they are involved, but I’ll leave it at this.)


Kurt is both respected and reviled for his faith and good works. Some people (other players, media and ordinary folk) mock or avoid him for his faith, but that doesn’t stop him. You may not hear him mention Jesus in every interview, but that’s not because he’s not saying it. A great frustration of his is how often his witness and testimony are edited out of anything he says. He even brings his Bible to every press conference he participates in. He is a Christian who believes completely that to whom much is given, much is required (Luke 12:48). Yes, he has his detractors. Still, a lot more people look up to him for his faith and good works, and also for his attitude, his integrity, his perseverance, his optimism, his experience, and his character. His very good character. Yes, I believe that Kurt Warner is a hero, but not because of his performance on the field. It is because of the life he lives, the way he leads and the example he sets. Kurt Warner is a man who knows that Character Counts!



If you are interested in finding out more about or contributing financially to Kurt's First Things First Foundation simply go to the website at http://www.kurtwarner.org/.


To participate in Character Counts, leave your name and url below, and don't forget to leave a comment! Thanks!

Martin Luther King Jr. ~ Character Counts

It was really easy for me to choose who my first profile would be on. Given the specific timing I thought it would be appropriate. Today, America will be celebrating the inauguration of our first African American President. Whether I voted for him or not (I didn’t), this is cause for celebration. And no, I’m not profiling Barack Obama. But I’ve no doubt that Obama would not be where he is today without standing on the shoulders of giants. This first post of mine is profiling Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.


King certainly did not fight the battle of civil rights alone, but without a doubt, he was a leading general and a powerful force in it. His legacy is rich and far-reaching, with people from all walks of life and around the world considering him to be a hero. He was even voted as the 2nd most widely admired person of the 20th Century, in a Gallup list. But his own history and character is what helped to shape him into that powerful force.


In 1929, King was born to the Reverend Michael and Alberta King. He was named after his father and both were known as Michael until the family took a trip to Europe in 1934 and visited Germany. Upon returning home, Michael Sr. changed both of their names to Martin Luther King (Sr. and Jr.) in honor of the great Protestant reformer Martin Luther. King Jr. grew up as a preacher’s kid and became a preacher himself. He was a Godly man and his love of and service for God was what propelled him to become the man he did.


It was his experience as a preacher that made King such an exceptional communicator, whether writing or speaking. He was a man passionate about freedom for all and equally passionate about the power of peace. With hate and violence all around him, he responded with love and peace. There was great strength in his activism because he truly believed that love covers hate, good overcomes evil and light pushes back the darkness. With that in mind, he organized non-violent protests and marches, which drew much media attention that exposed flagrant segregation, discrimination and horrid indignities suffered by the black community everywhere, but particularly in the south.


His work in the civil rights movement had much to do with the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965. His belief in his life work was so strong he was willing to die for it. He had a dream for equality and inspired countless others to fight for that dream too. King also believed that character makes the man and lived his own life accordingly. Service was a part of his life and quoted Jesus in saying “he who wants to be the greatest among you must be a servant.” He also said, “The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.”


For his life work, King has been awarded numerous awards. In 1964, King became the youngest person to receive the Nobel Peace Prize. He’s been awarded at least 50 honorary degrees from colleges & universities in the U.S. and elsewhere. Time Magazine named him person of the year. In addition, he has been awarded both the Presidential Medal of Freedom and the Congressional Gold Medal. Oddly, the Planned Parenthood Federation of America awarded King the Margaret Sanger (founder of PP) Award for "his courageous resistance to bigotry and his lifelong dedication to the advancement of social justice and human dignity,” which is ironic due to the well-known, lifelong, racist and pro-Nazi views of Ms. Sanger. On November 2, 1983, President Ronald Reagan signed a bill creating a federal holiday to honor King and it was observed for the first time on January 20, 1986.


On April 4th, 1968, King was assassinated. The assassination ended the life of a great man, but it did not end the movement and life work of that great man. Martin Luther King Jr. lived a life of service and passionately fought, peacefully, for something greater than himself, freedom and equality for all.


Now, forty years later, his legacy and his dream live on. Now, forty years later, America has her first African American president. Have we reached the promise land he so eloquently spoke of? I don’t know if we have or not. But I am reasonably certain he would be pleased that this highest of milestones has been reached. Martin Luther King Jr. was a good man, a man who understood that character counts.


Quotes from MLK Jr.:

~ A man who won't die for something is not fit to live.

~ I look to a day when people will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character.

~ Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.

~ If we are to go forward, we must go back and rediscover those precious values - that all reality hinges on moral foundations and that all reality has spiritual control.

~ Life's most persistent and urgent question is, 'What are you doing for others?'

~ Every man must decide whether he will walk in the light of creative altruism or in the darkness of destructive selfishness.

~ He who passively accepts evil is as much involved in it as he who helps to perpetrate it. He who accepts evil without protesting against it is really cooperating with it.

~ I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character. I have a dream that one day every valley shall be exalted, every hill and mountain shall be made low, the rough places will be made straight and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed and all flesh shall see it together. I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia, the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit together at the table of brotherhood.

~ I just want to do God's will. And he's allowed me to go to the mountain. And I've looked over, and I've seen the promised land! I may not get there with you, but I want you to know tonight that we as a people will get to the promised land.

Introducing Character Counts

I am really excited about this new series that I am beginning called Character Counts. It is something I’ve wanted to do for some time now. By and large, society is suffering from a serious deficiency in character – even within the church. People are celebrated and even idolized because they can perform well in sports and all forms of entertainment. For most, their skills may be enviable, but their character is not.


Most of those who are heralded as heroes today are not – they’re just celebrities. What I want to do in this series is focus on people who are true heroes or men and women of good character. Those who understand sacrifice for a greater good, who live a life of integrity, dignity and honor. Some you’ll all probably know, while others you may not. Some may be living, and others may be long dead. Regardless, in my opinion, all who are featured here have made the world a better place.

Oh, and one more thing. I really think this is bigger than me and am open to participation from others. If others share this vision of celebrating people of character and would like to participate, I would be happy to make this into a twice a month meme. I will be posting Character Counts on the first and third Tuesday of each month, so my first personality will be featured tomorrow. Be sure to stop by and see who I've chosen to hightlight. Thank you!