This is my first step into the world of blogging so these first steps may be tentative, but I still take them in faith. I am inspired to take this initiative by the example of my father and mother. I just spent several days at our family home going through old family photographs and soaking up some wellsprings of the legacy of faith in which I was raised.

I have two images that give me much encouragement. The first is a collection of slides that my mother meticulously organized. They range from the earliest days of their marriage and my first years all the way through their travels to Europe and the Orient while Dad was serving as a Chaplain in the Air Force. I am inspired by the devoted attention to detail that collection represents. The second was one slide from very early in the collection, perhaps even before I was born. It is of my father, a young man buoyantly full of joy with the most incredible smile, beside his father with a weathered jowly expression that seems very unsure even of this camera and on the right is a dog, with as close to an expression of a smile as I have ever seen on a dog.

I can write much more about both my father and mother, but for now, I just want to say, "Dad and Mom, thanks for inspiring me to begin this blog titled "intention to consent." To me both of their images say "Yes" to all of life. Glory to God, Amen. That is all for now.