The Word and the Work: Thoughts on Preaching, Pastoring, and the Christian Life

Autism Awareness is a term that makes me smile. Every time I hear that said it makes me think about my wife's coffee cup. Some years ago we were in a Bed, Bath, and Beyond store and saw a large Tervis tumbler that was on sale. It had a multi-colored puzzle piece and said "Autism Aware" instead of what it was probably supposed to say, which we believe was "Autism Awareness". We laugh whenever she uses it and find ourselves saying "boy are we aware of autism". We, like many families in our community, have a child that has been diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder(ASD). These families are much like your own but are tasked with living in the Kingdom of Autism along with the everyday world that everyone else lives in. Let me tell you a few things about the Kingdom of Autism. It is simultaneously one of the most amazing and magical places you can imagine while also occasionally being a place of great hardship. There are things that happen in this kingdo

 On Thursday January 9 th , 2023 House Bill 1174 was filed in the Arkansas House of Representatives. This bill would provide equal protection for unborn children under Arkansas law without exception or compromise. Most would have believed that the Arkansas based Family Council headed by Jerry Cox would have been rushing to support this bill filed by Rep. Richard Womack. Instead, they have come out and publicly opposed HB 1174 in an article on their website citing some reasons why they would oppose equal protection under the law for the unborn in Arkansas. Cox’s first listed reason is that before the Roe decision in 1973 women were not prosecuted for having abortions in Arkansas. It is interesting for Cox to bring this point up, because it was the unequal punishment for the woman having an abortion in Texas the Supreme Court pointed to as being problematic in the Roe decision. Also, the past is not what defines what is needed in the present and future. We are to obey Christ as