J Pratt

[J Pratt @MichWishgranter]

“At the end of your life, how will people know that you lived for Jesus?” -@JarridWilson

[Cyreeta Hall @MommaHall2U]

An Open Letter to My MSU Football Players, Coaches & Family 💚🤍

FANS: There’s nothing wrong with being passionate. Sometimes that passion even makes us unforgiving with our words. But more than anything, right now they need our SUPPORT.

I know supporting through disappointment isn’t always easy—but never forget that players feed off our energy, too.

In the final five minutes, when the stands were damn near empty, just know I was still standing. I was still cheering. I was still believing in you.

PLAYERS:
To the players who kept fighting—I saw you. 💚
To those who were mentally and emotionally exhausted—it’s okay. I saw you, too.
And to those who simply didn’t have anything left in the tank—I saw you as well. Regroup, recharge, and come back ready to fight another day.

COACHES:
And to our coaches—we support you, too. Keep teaching. Keep leading. Keep fighting for these young men.

Anybody can cheer when we’re winning. Family shows up when it hurts.

I’m still here. Still standing. Still cheering. Still proud.

SPARTANS WILL. 💚🤍
—A Spartan Mom

[Daily Jon Foreman @DailyJonForeman]

"I am not a 'human doing', but a human being. I matter simply because I was made in the image of the Maker." -@jonforeman

[J Pratt @MichWishgranter]

@NASA @NASAAdmin . Well Done. Well Done. No words for the depth of respect and admiration for each and every person who is part of the Artemis program. Utterly amazing! Thank you all for you’ve done, allowing us to ride along and cheer you on.

[Billy Graham @BillyGraham]

“Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God.” —Philippians 4:6 #WorldDayofPrayer

[J Pratt @MichWishgranter]

@building429 Twice. Looking forward to a third time 🙏

[J Pratt @MichWishgranter]

@MamaBoom219 @robinmonotti Amen

[Daily Jon Foreman @DailyJonForeman]

"What I believe about my Creator (wrong or right), means infinitely less than what my Creator thinks of me." -@jonforeman

[Daily Jon Foreman @DailyJonForeman]

“Your story matters, who you are matters, tonight matters, none of it is an accident. You were born for the blue skies.” - @jonforeman

[The Real Mike Rowe @mikeroweworks]

Round 2

The conversations around my most recent posts have been…robust. Especially around Kevin O'Leary's article that suggested federal aid to California should be contingent on new leadership in California.

Janene Dyar Dockens writes...
"You disappoint me, Mike. The article you shared is irresponsible and does nothing to help understanding."

Hi Janene,

Sorry to hear you're disappointed. I only shared the article because it reflects the thoughts of a lot of taxpayers on both sides of the aisle. If this were purely a partisan issue, I’d avoid the topic entirely. But it’s not. Millions of taxpayers all over the country who routinely vote “D” are shaken by the behavior of Bass and Newsom, and millions of California residents—me included—are appalled by their behavior. Not because they’re democrats, but because they have revealed themselves to be out of touch, arrogant, and hypocritical. The article is relevant because it goes without saying that California will require a lot of federal assistance to recover, and taxpayers have a right to understand the extent to which the forests and water supplies in California have been mismanaged by our elected officials, as well as LAFD.

“To tie Bass to the devastation because she wasn’t here is ridiculous. No one… NO ONE could have predicted this. We don’t get 100 mph winds in Los Angeles. We don’t get wildfires in the middle of winter.”

I haven't tied the mayor to the devastation; I’ve tied her to her own words. Karen Bass promised to “never leave Los Angeles” while she was in office. She violated that promise by taking five international trips—including her most recent flight to Ghana. Perhaps the voters will forgive her for that, just as they forgave Governor Newsom for dining at The French Laundry while regular citizens were arrested for violating the very rules he decided did not apply to him. But I don’t think so. Not this time. I think a lot of people who voted for Bass and Newsom are feeling like the LA Times, who just publicly apologized to their readers for endorsing Mayor Bass. As for your claim that “NO ONE” could have predicted this, I’m afraid you’re mistaken. The Santa Ana winds are not unprecedented, even in January, and neither are any of the meteorological conditions that precipitated these fires. The fact is, lots of people have predicted a fire like this for decades, including the director of Water and Energy Policy at The California Policy Center, who I interviewed at length, and the fire service themselves, who produced this documentary 62 years ago in the wake of a very similar fire that tore through Brentwood and Bel Air. https://t.co/3MJFXMnGBm And of course, there’s the official forecast from the National Weather Service a day before the fire that described a “Particularly Dangerous Situation Red Flag Warning with extremely rare and dangerous fire weather conditions.” And finally, the mayor herself, who issued a VERY serious warning to everyone in Los Angeles 24 hours before she left for Africa. With respect, it’s not only inaccurate to say that "NO ONE" saw this coming; it’s preposterous.

“As for the out-of-state fire trucks, I’m just glad help came. We had crews here we wouldn’t have otherwise had. If they were stopped for inspection, well, ok. As we understand it, each truck took about 15 minutes and was on its way when the inspection was done.”

Again, I’m afraid your understanding of the situation is not accurate. In situations like this, firefighters come from all over to help out, no matter who is in office. This is true in every state. You’re also mistaken about the inspection time. The average inspection took 45 minutes, not 15 minutes. https://t.co/UaZMvCzldz. And that doesn’t count the time it took for the engines to get to the inspection station in Sacramento. With respect, Janene, would you be so casual about such a delay if it was your house that was on fire?

“And leave the governor alone. He’s doing his job. No matter how much you do or don’t like him, it’s because of him we got the additional resources in the first place.”

My personal feelings about the governor are not relevant, and neither are yours. Again, those firefighters from out of state would have come no matter who was in office. However, his decision to go on Pod Save America in the midst of the crisis to defend his reputation was uniquely his and no less self-absorbed than the French Laundry incident. How did that benefit the citizens he’s sworn to protect in a time of extraordinary crisis? Never mind his detractors or his political foes. Many lifelong Democratic supporters are enraged by the optics of this, and I don’t blame them. The hubris is breathtaking.

“You want to scream at someone? Scream at the sky for not giving us rain. Scream at the wind for blowing at hurricane speeds in a place that had no rain. Scream at the ground for daring to be dry. Scream at the embers for daring to fly. Scream at the person (if there is one) responsible for starting a fire in such conditions.”

I’m not a screamer, Janene, but even if I was, I wouldn’t waste my breath screaming at the weather or anything else on the long list of things beyond my control. However, as a resident of California, I’ll reserve my right to criticize our elected officials when they enact policies I disagree with. Obviously, if the fire was deliberately started, I’ll demand accountability for that as well, in the harshest possible way. But the issues here go far beyond the cause of this particular fire, or any fire to burn California in recent memory. Obviously, we need to know if it was arson, but fire prevention is very different than fire suppression, and Californians need to understand why so many wildfires routinely burn out of control for days on end. That’s where the state has failed most dramatically, in my opinion, which is why I posted my interview with Edward Ring, which I encourage you to listen to. https://t.co/H0cD6T9KW5.

“Mike, I’ve been a fan of yours a long time. But, if you’re going to armchair quarterback this, then do so responsibly. Fanning the flames is not helpful. We don’t need grief-stricken folks goaded into pointing fingers and throwing anger (and commentary) around to make matters worse.”

I think I’ve made my case responsibly and respectfully. And if you think I’m an “armchair quarterback” for pointing out the decisions that led to this disaster, how do you feel about the LA Times? Are they also being “irresponsible” for printing this?

“As the Los Angeles Fire Department faced extraordinary warnings of life-threatening winds, top commanders decided not to assign for emergency deployment roughly 1,000 available firefighters and dozens of water-carrying engines in advance of the fire that destroyed much of the Pacific Palisades and continues to burn, interviews and internal LAFD records show. Fire officials chose not to order the firefighters to remain on duty for a second shift last Tuesday as the winds were building—which would have doubled the personnel on hand—and staffed just five of more than 40 engines that are available to aid in battling wildfires, according to the records obtained by The Times, as well as interviews with LAFD officials and former chiefs with knowledge of city operations.”

The facts seem pretty clear to me. California’s governor—like the governors before him—have allowed our state to turn into a tinderbox, and the mayor of Los Angeles abandoned her city at a time when the risk of a massive fire was clear and present. If you’re inclined to ignore that, so be it. My hope, though, is that others will not. My hope is that Californians will stop voting for candidates simply because there’s a D or an R next to their name. If we want our elected officials to tell us the truth, live up to their promises, and enact common-sense policies, we need to hold them accountable when they don’t. It’s really as simple as that.

Mike

PS. Lots of people also objected to the way I’ve ignored other disasters in other states. Many have asked why I’m not calling for federal funds to be contingent on new leadership in those states. Two reasons.

First of all, we’re not talking about disaster avoidance here; we’re talking about disaster preparedness. If New Orleans had refused to build levees for its residents, or Oklahoma had refused to build tornado shelters—the same way that California has refused to implement controlled burns and basic land and water management—I’d be critical of the elected officials. Obviously, we can’t prevent wildfires in California any more than we can prevent hurricanes in North Carolina or twisters in Oklahoma. But if you’re in charge of a town that happens to be below sea level or in the middle of tornado alley, you need to enact policies that protect your people in the wake of those inevitabilities. California is now an indisputable tinderbox, and our elected officials, in my opinion, have failed time and time again to take critical steps necessary to help mitigate the impact of these disasters.

Secondly, California is my home. I vote here. I have an office in Santa Monica that was adjacent to the evacuation zone, and I live up north, where wildfires have devastated many thousands of acres not far from my house. I have skin in the game, and in that respect, I’m probably guilty of holding my elected officials to a higher standard than I do for those in other states.

I can only hope my neighbors do the same.

[Tony Dungy @TonyDungy]

Merry Christmas everyone. But more than that I hope you have a Blessed Christmas. And if you want to know what that means there’s probably not a better source than Linus. He explained it to Charlie Brown almost 60 years ago in a Christmas Special that has become an American favorite.
In 1965 it was extremely daring to have Linus recite from the Bible on prime time television. It probably wouldn’t even happen today and the network executives did not want it as part of the show then. But Charles Schultz, the creator of Peanuts, was a strong Christian man and he wouldn’t back down.

Schultz’s conviction resulted not only in Charlie Brown learning the true meaning of Christmas but in Luke Chapter 2 being heard by millions of people every year at Christmas time.

[Daily Jon Foreman @DailyJonForeman]

“The author of time and space wants to enter your story. He stands at the door and knocks. He wants to break into your heart this Christmas. He wants to heal. He wants to light your path. He wants to lay himself down for you.” -@jonforeman

[Daily Jon Foreman @DailyJonForeman]

“Tis the season to celebrate the greatest gift we've ever received: the boundless love of our maker. Let all of our gifts be put in their place in the shadow of this, the greatest gift.” -@jonforeman

[J Pratt @MichWishgranter]

Today I am grateful for @jonforeman. My life would not be the same had he not shared his gift and heart with the world. Thank you Jon!!!!

[J Pratt @MichWishgranter]

@nostalgiapro Praying for your Family Have Thank you for sharing. We recently lost our son. This is a wonderful step you have taken to share your burden and suffering with others. Do not stop. Find a community to share and walk through your grief with. It is hard but priceless.

[SpaceX @SpaceX]

Watch Falcon 9 launch 90 spacecraft to orbit https://t.co/1r0X13rP8g

[RANDYS777 @RandySevy]

I am praying this reaches this young mans parents!!!
Tonight as I was leaving football practice with my three kiddos my 4 year old was so tired he started crying and acting a fool as we were getting in the van. My 7 year old daughter started crying because I told her we were having red potatoes as a side for dinner and clearly she wasn’t a fan sooo I threw my hands up and said FORGET it - McDonald’s tonight!!
We go through the drive through order food all three kids are now crying for one reason or the other I go to pay - I LEFT MY PURSE AT HOME. Welp now I wanted to cry. I look at the young man with tears in my eyes just from being stressed and annoyed and say “hun I am so sorry but I have to cancel that order I left my purse at home when we went to football tonight” WITHOUT HESITATION he takes out his wallet and swipes his card before I could even say “no I will be right back!”
I was like wait no hun it’s ok I will come back through then he replies “no it’s totally fine, my pleasure”.
I snapped a quick picture and asked his name to which he replied Wyatt ma’am. I told him I would be right back with cash for him & he tried hard to talk me out of it.
I just want his parents to know how KIND & COMPASSIONATE your son was tonight! He made this stressed out momma pause for a moment and realize this is exactly what we parents are trying to do, raise great humans. Well Wyatt sir, you are an amazing human!!!
I went back and handed him cash and had to make him take it because he didn’t want to take more than he had paid but I wanted him to know that when you put good out in the world it comes back to you ten fold!
Wyatt, do not let this world change your kind heart young man for its people like YOU that will change this world for the better!
Brittany Reed

[J Pratt @MichWishgranter]

@ToddDoty8 @ToddDoty8 I feel and acknowledge your pain. My dear son took his life in February. The loss, pain, and emptiness have no end. He was a
light and inspiration in my life. Beyond blessed to be his Dad. I grieve with you my dear brother. I to pray for our saviors return

[Maranatha777 @Maranatha7774]

Lord, 🕊️
We come humbly before You right now in the name of Jesus to worship You and praise You. You alone are worthy to receive all the glory, all the honor, and all our praise!

WE PROCLAIM YOU ARE:
OUR KING OF KINGS!
AND LORD OF LORDS!

"And He has on His robe and on His thigh a name written: KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS."
(Rev 19:16)

We surrender ourselves completely to You during this moment. We surrender every single area of our lives and come to repent of all our sins and anything that is not pleasing You: our pride, unbelief, selfishness, anger, resentment, deception, lust - Holy Spirit please search us right now and bring anything into our minds that need to be brought up and surrendered before God.

Lord, we thank You for the cross and for the blood that You shed for us that cleanses us and forgives our sins, so we can come freely to Your presence.

We take authority and tear down any stronghold, any lies, and any plan that the enemy has formed against Your Church, we smash it and destroy it in Jesus' name.

We come against principalities, powers, rulers, and spiritual hosts of wickedness in heavenly places in this world that have your people captive, blind, and deaf. We command them to leave and bind them in Jesus' name right now - we pray that the Holy Spirit can come to heal their eyes and ears so they can hear the gospel, understand it and receive it, so they can be saved, right now before You take us home!

We thank you in advance for what you will be doing in their lives - please protect them, guide them, teach them, bring people that can pour Your wisdom into their lives - and have them experience your amazing, undeserving love.

Thank you for what you're doing right now in our lives Lord, we pray that you keep us safe, give us revelation, and give us strength to continue this battle of faith!

And Lord — COME QUICKLY! Maranatha!!

In Jesus' name, AMEN!🙏🏼

[J Pratt @MichWishgranter]

@DailyJonForeman @switchfoot 😍

[Dr. Marvin Williams @marvinlwilliams]

More, please...

When God's grace through the death and resurrection of Jesus reaches more and more people, there will be more and more thanksgiving, and God will get more and more glory.