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Former President George Bush
August 20, 1992
Remarks at a Prayer Breakfast
9:30 AM at the University of Houston
Houston, Texas
As we meet
today, deep in the heart of Texas, we meet deep in the heart of the most
religious nation on Earth, too. I'm usually not much for polls, but here's
a Gallup poll that makes sense to me. According to this survey, 7 in 10
Americans believe in life after death; 8 in 10, that God works miracles; 9
in 10 pray; and more than 90 percent believe in God. To which I say, thank
God for the United States of America. I'm delighted that Jim Baker's here,
fellow Houstonian, and Susan. As he knows and as our Vice President knows
and the other members of our Cabinet who I see out here know, we open
every Cabinet meeting with a prayer. And it's going to be that way as long
as I am President.
Today
we've got difficult times, but we Americans have much to thank God for.
Yes, challenges face us: good schools and safe streets, sound economy --
all the problems that Bob Lanier works with as Mayor of our great city --
and a world at peace. But we will meet and master them as Americans always
have, not by running America down but by using God's gifts to lift America
up. Thomas Jefferson phrased the first gift best. ``The God who gave us
life,'' he said, ``gave us liberty at the same time.'' Today God's gift of
liberty is remaking the entire globe. In Berlin, like Jericho, the walls
come tumbling down. In Barcelona, just ask Mary Lou, this summer the games
were held without boycotts, without terrorism, without politics. That's
exactly as it should be.
Over the
past 3 1/2 years, bayonets have been no match for the righteousness of
God. Look at Bulgaria, where at last people wish Merry Christmas to each
other without fear of being labeled religious. Look to Russia, where a
cathedral once called the All Union Museum of Religion and Atheism now
houses God's apostles, or the former East Germany, where Bible studies are
like bluebonnets in the spring, they're busting out all over. In a season
of thanksgiving the world says grace. By God's providence, the cold war is
over, and America's views prevailed.
I remember
when, 10 years ago, one of God's great soldiers went to Eastern Europe and
the Soviet Union. Returning to America, Billy Graham predicted that
freedom would outlast tyranny. He felt that religion was alive way back
then. The doubters said, ``He's been tricked.'' But Dr. Graham knew
something they didn't. He knew the chains of oppression forged by men were
no match for the keys to salvation forged by God.
I talked
about this with Billy, Barbara and I did, just, well, it was a year ago in
January when we invited him to stay at the White House the night before
our troops started Desert Storm. I thought a lot that night about
thousands of people praying in the churches, about our own home parish
right here, Jim's and mine, St. Martin's. I see our bishop over here, and
welcome, sir. St. Martin's parish, with its prayer books and its crosses
and handmade Christmas cards made in Sunday schools for our troops in the
Gulf. It's true of every parish represented at this wonderful ecumenical
service. It is absolutely true of all religions. We prayed for the troops
themselves, the finest sons and daughters any nation could ever have. I
know how a second gift of God's, family, can lift America. I can no more
imagine a life without family than I can a universe without love. Last
night -- here she is -- you saw Barbara on television. I'll let her
explain why family matters so much. I thought she did a first-class job of
that last night. But here's her quote. ``At the end of your life,'' she
said, ``you will never forget not having passed one more test, not winning
one more verdict, nor closing one more deal. You will regret time not
spent with a husband, a child, a friend, or a parent.'' Barbara knows that
kids, quoting Art Linkletter, say not only the funniest but the most
insightful things, especially about religion. Once a Sunday school teacher
started talking about the story of Jonah and the whale, and she asked what
the story showed. A small boy raised his hand. ``I know,'' he said.
``People make whales sick.'' [Laughter]
Well, each
of us turns to God daily to make lives well, and we act through the third
and greatest of God's gifts, prayer. If Congress can spend time debating
Vanna White's appearance on the Home Shopping Network, surely Congress can
find time to pass an amendment allowing voluntary prayer in our
classrooms. So let's do what we can to bring the faith of our fathers back
to our schools.
You know,
I've been President for 3 1/2 years now. More than ever, I believe with
all my heart that one cannot be President of our great country without a
belief in God, without the truth that comes on one's knees. For me, prayer
has always been important but quite personal. You know us Episcopalians.
[Laughter] And yet, it has sustained me at every point of my life: as a
boy, when religious reading was part of our home life; as a teenager, when
I memorized the Navy Hymn. Or how 48 years ago, aboard the submarine
Finback after being shot down in the war, I went up topside one night on
the deck, on the conning tower, and stood watch and looked out at the
dark. The sky was clear. The stars were brilliant like a blizzard of
fireflies in the night. There was a calm inner peace. Halfway around the
world in the war zone, there was a calm inner peace: God's therapy.
This month
I got a letter from a little girl, age 11, Joy Vaughn. Oh, I love getting
the mail at the White House, but this one was special. She lives in Mesa,
Arizona, and one of her brothers is a missionary. She wrote, ``I just
wanted to tell you that I am praying for you.'' And then she added, ``God
is in charge.''
So Barbara
and I have concluded, as every family that's been privileged to live in
the White House I'm sure has concluded, that you cannot be President
without believing in God. We say our prayers every night. When we sit in
that historic family dining room on the second floor of the White House,
we say the blessing before our meals. Today I ask for your prayers, not
for the campaign that we're in but prayers asking God to give those of us
in leadership positions and give me as President the strength to do what
is right, the courage to lead this, the greatest nation on the face of the
Earth, the United States of America, one Nation under God. Thank you, and
may God bless our great country.
Paralympian John Register
October 9, 2000
Praising God Despite Disability
Guest Author, Crosswalk.com
John
Register is a paralympian from the U.S., who will be competing in the 2000
Paralympics in Sydney, beginning Oct. 19. Here is his testimony:
In high
school I won an Illinois State Championship in the 300-meter hurdles.
Next, I received a scholarship to track and field powerhouse University of
Arkansas, where I became a three-time All-American in track.
In 1988 I
didn't participate in the Olympic trials because I was intent on finishing
my degree, and I couldn't train adequately for the event. After being out
of school a few years, I decided I wanted to try out for the 1992 Olympic
team. The United States Army has a World Class Athlete program, which
allows soldier-athletes two years of preparation and training for the next
Olympic Games.
Everything
was going well … until Operation Desert Storm. Suddenly, I was on my way
to Saudi Arabia. It was an amazing experience -- I was able to share my
faith in Christ with some guys, and we had a prayer group that grew and
grew.
When I
made it back to the States, I had just 10 months to train for the 1992
Olympic Games. I ended up finishing 17th in the 400-meter trials. There
would be no Olympics for me that year.
In October
1993, I was recommended to go to Officers Candidate School. Then in May of
1994 I was back training at the All-Army track and field camp to try to
get back into the World Class Athlete Program -- this time as an officer.
During
practice, I went across a hurdle, and when I landed, I dislocated my knee.
It rotated about 30 degrees inward and popped out of the joint backwards.
I had been leading a Bible study at the track, and immediately what came
out of my mouth were simple praises to God. I was living out the faith I
had been telling others about during this traumatic experience.
Then my
life took a surprising turn. The injury had severed the popliteal artery
in my leg, and the doctors were unable to make an artery that would work.
After a few days my leg became infected, and we made a decision to
amputate my leg just above the knee.
I sensed
God was telling me, during this time, "I haven't brought you this far
just to leave you. I've planned out everything. You can use this to bring
glory to Me."
A short
time later, I started swimming for physical therapy. A local lifeguard saw
my stroke, and she started helping me refine it and work on flip turns. I
took her advice, and I began working diligently on my swimming.
Ironically, that leg injury and amputation led to the fulfillment of my
dream. I finally made it to the Olympics -- competing in the Paralympic
Games in swimming.
Later, a
company called Flex Foot, which is a lower extremity for amputees, donated
a foot for me to run on. Another prosthetics company built me a socket,
and I was able to run again.
In 1998, I
went to the World Championships, and after three meets I made the World
Championship Team, placing sixth in the long jump (4.59 meters).
For the
2000 Paralympic Games, I hope to make the finals in the 200- and 100-meter
dash. I also have my sights set on being in medal contention for the long
jump.
I know
I've inspired people with my story. But I have been inspired, as well. At
the 1996 Games I saw an athlete from Laos. He had no arms, and he was
swimming -- doing the 200 meters. He dove in the water and kicked all the
way down the pool.
To turn,
you have to touch the wall before you turn, which swimmers do with their
hands. This swimmer hit the wall with his head, turned over and then did
the backstroke kick all the way back, hit the wall with his head, and did
the breaststroke kick, hit his head again, and came in with a freestyle
kick, hit his head on the wall to stop the clock and win the event. It was
amazing.
Even more
amazing is God's love for me and you. I have learned that if you put
Christ first, He will guide you in what He wants you to do. "Trust in
the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in
all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight"
(Proverbs 3:5-6).
Former Washington Redskins Coach Joe Gibbs
Feb. 1, 1991
Interview with Washington Post writer Richard Justice
Joe Gibbs,
who only recently began to discuss publicly his religious beliefs and
their impact on his life, said yesterday that bad investments and poor
judgment cost him $1.2 million and left him virtually broke shortly after
becoming head coach of the Washington Redskins in 1981. Gibbs often has
spoken vaguely of the financial problems, and a year ago began including
references to them in some of his public talks.
But last
week as the keynote speaker at a Fellowship of Christian Athletes
breakfast and again yesterday at the National Prayer Breakfast at the
Washington Hilton and later in an interview with The Washington Post, he
detailed the depth of his trouble.
He became
involved in a real estate partnership in Oklahoma just as the Sunbelt boom
was ending and ended up owing seven banks about $1.2 million. At one
point, he became so desperate that "I got on my knees. . . . I said,
'Hey, God, it's in your hands. I'm bankrupt. The only person who can
straighten this mess out is You.' "
He said he
had difficulty speaking about the matter in the past, but, "Now that
it's over with, it's become part of my testimony. I think I can help other
young people. Most people are going to have to deal with it sometime in
their lives. There have been some other things in {his wife} Pat and my
lives that I think other couples could benefit from. We've had a few
experiences that have been trying."
Among
them: Pat Gibbs underwent two long and life-threatening operations for
removal of a brain tumor in 1979. She was at the end of a complete
recovery when Gibbs joined the Redskins in 1981, thereby fulfilling a
dream to be a head coach. The Redskins began 0-5 that season and Gibbs has
listed that beginning as another of the turning points in his life.
He said,
"I got in the business deals for this reason: I had a short-term
contract, I didn't know what was going to happen here and I was going to
jump out and invest in this real estate boom and make enough money that I
don't have to worry about things. I didn't put my security in the right
things. I was trying to get it in money and other areas. I wasn't willing
to trust God with my finances. I was looking elsewhere for my
security."
"I
had disasters in three different areas. I learned a lot and felt I was a
better person because I went through them." He discussed all of them
in Tampa, telling the audience how his wife was misdiagnosed for 6 1/2
years before the tumor was discovered, how she underwent the two
operations and how she made a virtually complete recovery. "You still
can't put it into words," he said. "You can't just write a
column and explain what it was like. You're on the border. She had one
operation and they thought she was fine. Then she had a relapse and had to
go in for more surgery and almost died. That part of it is hard."
"I
use the things I've gone through to illustrate that God's love is
different from the world's love," he said. "The world's love
says if you win, we love you. If you lose, we're going to boo you. God's
is unconditional and really he's teaching you and molding you and making
you more during the tough times. I use that as a contrast.
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(As printed in the Mechanicsville
Local, page 13, August 15, 2001):