A few years ago I flipped on C-Span and found this short passionate woman talking about The Meaning of Patriotism and since I am a patriot I took the time to listen to what she was saying. I was hooked, and encouraged as I listened to this woman and I thought – “It’s a miracle! There is another woman in the world who believes and speaks like I do!”.

That woman was Janet Parshall, the host of Janet Parshall’s America a nationally syndicated radio talk show that broadcasts from Washington D.C. . Soon I found out that Janet was married to Trial Attorney Craig L. Parshall and also had just authored her first book with Craig called Tough Faith: Trusting God in Troubled Times. I immediately went out and bought the book and read it within a few short hours. The Parshall’s now had a fan and an admirer and I can tell you it was the best $12 that I had spent in a very long time.

Not only did Janet and Craig have a passion for truth and apologetics, but they were also unashamed of their faith in Jesus Christ and also had a tremendous love for America. They are the parents of four young adults, and on the frontlines of the culture war for the heart of America. However, even more importantly they cared about the Soul of America. These were Christians running with zeal and I knew there was something I could learn from them, and so I kept listening and then began writing to them.

The first time I wrote Janet I let her know that I was listening on the Internet and she wrote back and thanked me. I thought that was very nice and so I continued to listen. Over time I found myself wanting to share more with Janet so I shared with her that my mother had just been diagnosed with stage four terminal cancers and I had asked her to pray for my mother’s salvation.

Over the next year I received an occasional email of encouragement from Janet letting me know my mom was in her and Craig’s prayers. That really encouraged my heart and I knew not only from those gracious acts of love and support but also from the daily lessons I would learn on her radio show, that these were Christians who not only loved in word, but also deed.

Time passed and Janet and Craig wrote some other books that I got my hands on. First was The Light in the City: Why Christians Must Advance and Not Retreat, and then Craig began his Chambers of Justice series where he wrote five novels surrounding the character of Will Chambers a former ACLU attorney converted to Christ. His first book was called The Resurrection File which was the best book that I had read in twenty years.

Then the afternoon of November 4, 2002 my mother died of cancer. I wrote Janet and told her and within a short time I received back one of the most loving responses I could’ve ever received from someone. And the even better news was that the Lord had heard my prayers and also Janet and Craig’s as my mother had received Christ as her Lord and Savior before she died.

As you may imagine, that was a very hard time for me, and one reason it is still so special to me is because of the gentle care and compassion of Janet and Craig. Here we have two extremely busy and prominent people in Christian ministry and yet they had taken time to minister to someone across the nation who they had never met in person. This is what the body of Christ is about.

Then five months later I was privileged to find out that Janet and Craig were coming to speak in California four hours from my home. So I took the day off and drove to the location and sat and heard Janet speak in person for the first time. After her speech I eventually got to meet her in person and after telling her who I was you would’ve thought from her reaction that we had known one another forever. It was truly a blessing to meet her and then Craig and have the opportunity to pray with them, hug them and share with them some of the other things the Lord had done.

So many feelings go through my heart as I recall that day in April, and yet what even impacts me the most to this day is the tremendous servant’s heart and love for Christ this couple has. They truly do run with zeal.

Janet and Craig have taught me more about the love of Christ and the pursuit of speaking the truth in love than any other Christian leader in ministry. Their willingness to pursue justice amidst mercy is the balance that so many tend to forget. They do their best to model their lives after the Master storyteller and designer of history.

They are tenderhearted warriors, compassionate counselors and pursuers of truth. Their walk matches their talk and even when they err they are quick to humble themselves and accept responsibility for their actions or words.

Janet has been called the mother of the Christian conservatives, and I am one to testify to her love for the Church and her body. I’ve been discipled and mentored through her program and by watching her life. And I am continually thankful that there are leaders who truly understand their calling and rise to visibility in Christian ministry is not about them. Janet does not glorify herself, she glorifies the One she calls Father. She is a daughter of the Most High King and reports to Him for her assignment.

Janet speaks on behalf of those who can’t speak for themselves. She raises money for pro-life causes and does not neglect those who are being persecuted in unjust governments or organizations. She is a voice of correction, exhortation and compassion for a broken world and a broken nation with a hurting soul.

She desires that all come to a saving knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ and daily offers inspiration and truth to those who have ears to hear what she is saying.

Craig spends his time defending those who have been wrongly accused, and he is an intellect who understands that the Great Counselor is the one who has gifted him with such abilities. Craig is also an outstanding author and extraordinary debater when it comes to defending the Constitution and applying the rule of law.

In a nutshell, Janet and Craig Parshall are servants of the One who has saved them. They parent, encourage, teach, love, debate, share, laugh, cry, mourn, and care for those who are lost and dying without salvation in Jesus Christ.

They have written more than 10 books combined including their latest called Crown of Fire from their new Thistle and the Cross series. Crown of Fire takes place in the 1500s against the turbulent backdrop of the Scottish Reformation. And it talks about freedom which is a theme that is woven through out all the work of the Parshall’s.

Please take the time to pick up a copy of Crown of Fire and all the other books Janet and Craig have written. You will be encouraged, challenged and moved to run the race with zeal towards the face of Jesus the author and finisher of our faith.

I love the controversy don’t you?

John Granger says he knows why people love J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter books.

“Her books are stuffed with Christianity and fall over themselves with Christian meaning,” he says.

Wait a minute.

Aren’t these the same books some Christians continue to condemn because they’re supposedly packed with witchcraft and the occult?

But wizards, magic wands and magic schools aren’t so important, Granger says.

Look closer, he says.

The books are loaded with everything from resurrections to allusions to specific Bible passages, he says.

Keep on reading…

Some people think Harry Potter is evil and that Christians should not be reading him. Here’s an article that will make you think…

There’s something about Harry

Australia may tighten its anti-terror laws to prevent the sale of radical Islamic “terror” books such as those which incite attacks, Attorney-General Philip Ruddock said yesterday.

Police are investigating Islamic bookstores in Sydney which have sold material promoting extremist views, including one book which was endorsed by Osama bin Laden.

The Islamic Bookstore at Lakemba, a strongly Muslim suburb in Sydney’s southwest, carried a book entitled Defence of the Muslim Lands which discusses the effectiveness of suicide bombings.

Bin Laden wrote in an acknowledgement on the cover that “women have proven themselves incapable” of giving birth to another man like the author, Sheik Abdullah Azzam, who is believed to have been killed in a bombing in the 1980s.

Other books on sale included The Absent Obligation by Muhamed Abdus Salam Faraj. It uses quotes from the Qur’an to suggest that suicide is acceptable if one “offers his life for the cause of Allah”.

A book by an Australian migrant called The Criminal West describes Australia as a land of discrimination, drugs, prostitution and gambling, according to reports which also named other bookstores with controversial titles.

Ruddock told commercial radio that police were investigating whether the material contravened current anti-terror laws.

“The police, the Australian Federal Police are investigating the particular documents to see whether or not they do constitute a breach of law and if they do they’ll act in relation to that,” Ruddock said. “If they don’t – and I form a view that they are sufficiently of concern that the law ought to be amended – we’ll look at that.”
Ruddock said it was an offence under current laws to collect or make documents likely to facilitate terrorist acts. The offence is punishable by 15 years in prison.

Australian Federal Police are leading an investigation into the sale of the books which could have national fall-out, New South Wales Police Commissioner Ken Moroney said.

“My advice is the Australian Federal Police will lead this investigation which of course has national ramifications, while New South Wales police will continue to assist in certain areas,” Moroney said in a statement.

A spokesman for the Australian Federal Police refused to comment on whether the investigation would be extended nationally but said police were working with all relevant state and territory parties as well as the Australian Muslim community.

British police are investigating an extremist bookstore in Leeds which was visited by at least two of the four people who carried out the July 7 bombings in London. – AFP