Charisma Magazine

Everyone, it seems, wants to make a difference. But Rep. Scott Plakon, who was elected recently to the Florida Legislature, has had an opportunity to affect the lives of thousands of unborn children. It's a story we were able to “break" in our Charisma News Online e-newsletter. You can read Steve Ghiringhelli's report below.

I knew about this as it was happening because Scott is my good friend and we communicate regularly. I worked to help him get elected because he not only is a good leader with strong business skills but also was committed to standing for the right values when issues would come up in the Florida Legislature.

You may remember that I recently named him as one of the people I admired most in 2008. He took a risk and ran for office when there was no certainty that he would win, and he did it at great personal sacrifice to himself, his family, and his business. You can read what I wrote about him and others in the Strang Report by clicking here.

The amazing thing that happened was that in his very first week in the legislature--a special session called by Gov. Charlie Crist to slash $2.3 billion from the state budget—the Florida Legislature voted to cut the support for a state-funded crisis pregnancy program, the Florida Pregnancy Support Services Program, by more than a half million dollars. Ultimately it was Gov. Crist who vetoed the cut to the agency, and Scott in his characteristically humble fashion was quick to give the credit to the Republican governor who had spoken about the agency while he was campaigning and who has stood for the rights of the unborn in more than one instance.

This is a historic week in the life of our nation: We inaugurated the first African-American president. In doing so, we took a huge step forward in improving race relations and reaffirmed that the American dream is possible for all Americans.

But we need to remember that although we're rejoicing in better race relations, that is not the only issue facing our nation. Sadly, I fear that the installation of Barack Obama as president may be a step backward for the right-to-life and traditional marriage issues..

Next Tuesday, January 20, America will inaugurate Barack Obama, the first African-American president. That will be a historic day—one I’ll be glad I lived long enough to witness. But many who believe in biblical values are concerned that an Obama presidency will turn the nation sharply left. Some of my conservative Christian friends are so depressed over the prospect of the next four years they refuse to watch the news because it only makes them upset.

On Wednesday, January 7, I heard Dr. Don Colbert give a motivating speech about eating right to a group of booksellers at The Gathering 2009, a conference sponsored by Strang Communications' trade publication, Christian Retailing. He was promoting his newly released book titled Eat This and Live!, a beautiful four-color book that teaches readers what the Bible has to say about food and gives recommendations on which foods to eat heartily, eat in moderation or avoid.