Looking forward to this weekend.

I'm looking forward to hearing all of the speakers this Sunday for "Justice Sunday III" because I have never heard any of them in person. In fact the only one I am really familiar with is Dr. James Dobson, who I know through his newsletters from Focus On The Family.

16 years ago I was the mother of a newborn and an out of control 2 yr old. We had just moved to a new city. I had no friends or family there. I was tired, stressed, and at the end of my rope. Then a family member sent me Dr. James Dobson's books, "Dare To Discipline " and "The Strong Willed Child." Both these books not only saved my sanity, they helped me and my husband get control of our strong willed child and not only helped us to raise a wonderful son, but actually enjoy doing it. I'm not big on self help books at all, but these two books for young parents are a must read.

I started getting newsletters from Focus On The Family and I was impressed with Dr. Dobson's intelligence and views on faith. After years and years of reading these letters there is no doubt in my mind that Dr. Dobson is a man of God. That doesn't mean he is perfect. I think he would be the first to say that he isn't. But unlike a great many high profile "Christian leaders" I was impressed by Dr. Dobson's not accepting one penny for his work (which is tremendous ) with Focus On The Family. If he even received 1% of the money that comes into this organization for it's many helpful books, tapes, and DVD's, he would be extremely wealthy. But he decided after 14 years as an Associate Clinical Professor of Pediatrics at the University of Southern California School of Medicine, and serving for 17 years on the Attending Staff of Children's Hospital of Los Angeles in the Division of Child Development and Medical Genetics to only live off his child rearing books. Considering what people will do for money these days, and the fact that no one could have blamed him for taking a %, I thought that very impressive indeed. One thing that greatly disturbs me is a preacher who lives large.

The only impression I have of Dr. Jerry Falwell is from the media. So I am interested to actually hear what he has to say. I don't think Dr. Falwell is the best spokesperson for Christian issues only because of his persona. Not that this reflects on him personally, but in my opinion, putting a fresher, younger, more media savvy face on Christian views would be a better idea and letting Dr. Falwell work more behind the scenes. This is a visual society and even Christians need to recognize that.

The only other speaker I am familiar with (other than Sen. Santorum, which I have posted on) is Dr. Alved C. King. She is the niece of Dr. Martin Luther King. Her main issues are pro-life after having 2 abortions herself, she is associated with "Silent No More" an organization of post abortive women focusing on saving other women from this horror. She is also very involved in school choice.

Both Dr. Dobson and Dr. King work closely with Catholics as well and understand the need for our unity. Which I really like as well.

I want to add here how much I appreciate Charmaine Yoest of Reasoned Audacity who is a Senior Fellow at The Family Research Council, asking me to come and blog this event. She made it clear to me that I am in no way obligated to not disagree with speakers or issues.

I will give you my honest opinion of each speaker and my experience there.