My first inclination this morning is to simply post pictures of our grandson’s birthday and leave it at that. Joy, trust, innocence, love; that’s what we need to hear about in the world today.

So I’ll get to that, Okay, I promise. But first I simply must give in to the same temptation most Americans must be facing this morning – and that is to rant at the absurdity that must be one of the most telling displays in history of government at its worst.

SETTING THE FIRE: What took the cake, for me, was the image I witnessed of handshakes, back-slapping, and big smiles as these folk had the gall to congratulate themselves for “averting a crisis.”

You did what? The 11th hour display of contrived brinkmanship had all the earmarks of a group of fire-fighters dousing a building with gasoline, throwing a match, and then standing around roasting marshmallows on the inferno before donning their uniforms at the last-minute and putting the flames out.

“Look at us,” they say, standing in front of the charged remains of the structure with their best for-the-camera smiles, “we’re the heroes, we put out the fire, we saved the day. Aren’t we the greatest!”

So there Congress stands, smiling for the cameras, in front of the charred remains of the hopes and dreams of those whose livelihoods they put in jeopardy or outright ruined, patting themselves on the back: “We saved the day….”

ONE DAY FOR GOOD MEASURE: One telling comment to the press revealed all. “For one night,” Spencer Bachus, R-Alabama said, “let us talk about what is good for this country and not about the other party.”

How mighty generous of you, Representative Bachus. Should we send you a thank-you note for committing 1/365th of your effort to actually doing your job and addressing your mandate to serve the people? How about 1/365th of your salary for your trouble? How about we send you all home and start from scratch next time around?

BIRTHDAY BOY: This does happen to tie in neatly with our grandson’s big birthday number two. Because David is the future, along with his little sister, Beks. Naomi and Craig are raising our grandchildren in a challenging world, but it’s one where they are bringing – and applying – the values and the sense of hope and promise they learned from us.

Listen to the words of the prophet Jeremiah:

 For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you,” declares the Lord, “and will bring you back from captivity. I will gather you from all the nations and places where I have banished you,” declares the Lord, “and will bring you back to the place from which I carried you into exile.”

There is a sense in which this country is very much “in exile,” to the extent that we forget what is really of value, what is worth seeking, and who is the foundation of our promise and our hope.

The reminder for my grandson David, all of two years along in his Epic Adventure, is that when we seek God with all of our heart, then we will all be found once again.

And here’s my word for David. I’m not talking about financial prosperity here, but about the deep and abiding joy that comes with a life committed to seeking, and knowing, God. That’s prosperity; that’s a hope and a future….

And that – unfortunately – is what our misguided friends in Washington seem to be forgetting. So sad.

In hope, and in promise – DEREK