I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. (Romans 12:1)

What is the legacy of General Stonewall Jackson?
How is that still impacting Virginia and America today?

In the past few months I have become fascinated with the spiritual legacy of General Stonewall Jackson and the impact he has had and continues to still have on Virginia. When Dutch Sheets and Chuck Pierce spoke at the 50 State Tour gathering in March 2004, they declared that Virginia is the “covenant root state.” Based upon it’s rich Christian heritage, Virginia was acknowledged to have governmental authority, not just for the United States, but for the world.

According to David C. McCullough, “History is who we are and why we are the way we are.” One of the many blessings of being a close friend of Virginia Morton is that she has taught me much about Civil War history as well as the history of Culpeper and Virginia. A few months ago, I watched a DVD that Virginia loaned to me about the faith of Generals Robert E. Lee and Stonewall Jackson. Without a doubt, they were spiritual giants of the Civil War.

In her email on March 28, Virginia Morton shared, “God is truly bringing truth to light pertaining to Confederate history. Thanks to Burt (Swardstrom) and the MasterMedia newsletter, I learned of the 48-minute documentary “Still Standing: The Stonewall Jackson Story.” I then contacted Rick Williams, author of “Stonewall Jackson: The Black Man’s Friend.” The friends of Cedar Mountain Battlefield will be showing the film April 4 and Rick will be here to introduce it. We were blessed with two excellent articles in today’s newspaper which I think you will find fascinating.” [See today’s Link of the Day to read those.]

If you live nearby, you are invited to come to St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church in Culpeper Virginia at 7 PM on Friday April 4 to meet Rick Williams and watch the 40 minute documentary film “Still Standing: The Stonewall Jackson Story.”

On March 27, Robert Hartzell, founder of Fountains of Life, told me about Arthur Burk, founder of Plumbline Ministries. Robert shared that Arthur has had community transformation on his heart since 1978 and works with a lot of businessmen. Arthur believes that the spiritual gifts discussed in Romans 12 apply not only to people, but to businesses, cities, and even nations. When Arthur visits a community, he emphasizes celebrating the gifting and calling of that community rather than pointing out what’s wrong.

Prayer Power
Heavenly Father, I praise You as the God of history, the God who makes history, writes history, and uses history in Your perfect plan. Thank You for the rich spiritual heritage left by General Stonewall Jackson. Thank You for using Rick Williams to uncover part of that. Thank You that Rick is coming to Culpeper on April 4. Bless his visit and all those who meet him. Prepare the heart and minds of those who attend the April 4 gathering to understand the significance of Jackson’s life and legacy for this day and time. Thank You Jesus. Amen.

Link of the Day
Links to newspaper articles about Rick Williams and Stonewall Jackson

Blessings to understand and apply the significance of history in healing wounds of the past!

“and He has filled him with the Spirit of God, in wisdom and understanding, in knowledge and all manner of workmanship,” (Exodus 35:31)

In what area do you want to improve to manifest excellence?
What step will you take today to move in that direction?

In my devotional on Feb 16 about the musical My Fair Lady, I committed to sharing more about prestigious Woodberry Forest School in today’s devotional. Within four hours of sending that devotional, I received an email from Virginia Morton stating, “The first chaplain at Woodberry Forest was none other than newly ordained minister Frank Stringfellow. His cousin founded the school.”

Frank Stringfellow is one of the lead characters in Virginia’s 500+ page book “Marching Through Culpeper.” Her Civil War novel, which has sold more than 10,000 copies, is based on much historical fact. Somehow, God is bringing together (converging) all this history to do something really big. We’ll have to wait to see how this unfolds.

I also found it interesting to learn that Kellye Coleman’s father is assistant headmaster at Woodberry Forest School. Kellye, a senior at Madison High School, did an outstanding job performing the lead role of Eliza Doolittle in My Fair Lady. Her face radiated the love of God during the musical and she publicly gave thanks to Him in the program stating, “Kellye would like to thank her Heavenly Father for the amazing gifts and talents He’s blessed her with, her family for their constant support, Mr. Blain for this amazing experience, …”

While I was working as an anesthesiologist at Culpeper Hospital for 12 years, I was always impressed by the politeness and maturity of teenagers from Woodberry Forest School who came for preop interviews. This stood in sharp contrast to the typical teenager I’d see who would hardly pay attention and often giggle instead. Andrew Earles, the son of one of my neighbors, attended Woodberry on a full scholarship about 15 years ago and graduated as valedictorian.

The mission page of the Woodberry website states: “At Woodberry Forest School, our mission is to develop in our students, under Christian principles, a high sense of honor and moral integrity, a deep respect for sound scholarship, a full acceptance of responsibility, a love of excellence, and a desire to be of service to others. We aim to help our students become leaders of and active contributors to society. We also intend to prepare them to enter the best colleges and universities consistent with their potential.

At Woodberry, we are committed to ensuring our students’ growth. We provide them a broad range of experiences to balance their academic, artistic, physical, and spiritual development. By offering students well-conceived challenges–together with support and encouragement–we instill in them self-confidence and a desire to achieve excellence throughout their lives. Woodberry is committed to helping boys acquire the strong values and capacity to reason that enable them to deal effectively with important intellectual, ethical, and social problems and to lead rewarding private lives. Our faculty is more concerned with teaching students how to think than what to think.”

Woodberry gives young men the type of memories that shape their lives forever. It helps them build strong friendships, feel secure in a supportive community, and develop a moral compass that helps them live honorable lives. This community strives for honor, excellence, and achievement with continuous support from faculty and friends both inside and beyond the classroom. Is it any wonder that Woodberry Forest School is one of the premier private high schools in the nation. And it’s just a 20 minute drive from my home?

Prayer Power
Heavenly Father, thank You for Woodberry Forest School and its strong Christian heritage. Thank You for the many men with outstanding character the school has turned out. Bless the faculty and the students in 2008 with the best year in the school’s history. Open doors for this school to play a key role in networking Your army around the world. Thank You Jesus. Amen.

Link of the Day
Woodberry Forest School

Blessings to live a life of honor, excellence, and integrity!