The U.S. Navy confirmed last week that a wreck found on the bottom of the Java Sea is the USS Houston, a cruiser sunk by the Japanese on February 28, 1942. Of the crew of 1,000 sailors and marines, only 368 survived the Houston's sinking and of that number, 77 would eventually die as prisoners of war by the brutal enslavement by the Japanese, which later became the basis for the historial fiction movie, "The Bridge on the River Kwai."

In Business For Life wants to salute a unique character in this story -- Commander George S. Rentz, a Navy chaplain assigned to the USS Houston. As the USS Houston sank in the Java Sea, stood stood life--not for his, but for his men. Listen to PBS's Robert Siegel interview historian and author Jim Hornfischer, author of "Ship of Ghosts: The Story of the USS Houston, FDR's Legendary Lost Cruiser, and the Epic Saga of her Survivors."  This is a very worthy 6 minute listen.

Jim Caviezel, the actor who played Jesus Christ in the 2004 surprise blockbuster, "Passion of the Christ" was warned by director Mel Gibson that accepting the lead role would probably doom his future acting career. That omen turned out to be partially true. Passion was scorned by the film industry but loved by the box office, and Caviezel's subsequent movie credits included modest roles until his recent stint in the acclaimed Person of Interest television series. Caviezel's Catholic faith has only become more passionate in the interim, leading up to this inspiring interview at the Rock Church in San Diego in which he calls abortion a "great sin" and points great sinners to great mercy found in Jesus Christ.

In Business For Life salutes men like Jim Caviezel.

In Business For Life salutes creative professionals using their talent to promote kindness toward babies. That may sound like an easy cause to jump on, but when you think about Hollywood's vogue notions of "making children is fun, but caring for children is a pain," producing creative spots like the following deserves the descriptor "heroic."

Kudos to Young & Rubicam Group, known in the industry as "Y&R." 

For full credits of this video: http://creativity-online.com/work/dtac-the-power-of-love/36345.

Championing selflessness is also worthy of a nod, and we applaud Ogilvy & Mather for this excellent creation. 

In Business For Life salutes popular author-speaker Mandy Anderson for calling parents of disabled children to not abort their children. 

In a July 11th post, Mandy chronicles her difficult but fulfilling life as a 32 year old wife, mother and working professional who lives with Cystic Fibrosis. CF isa genetic disease that causes mucus in the body to become thick and sticky and requires frequent and pervasive medical care. Life expectancy has grown from the teens to mid thirties, with some cases even into the 50s. Medical technology is increasingly helping the afflicted live longer and with greater quality. 

After growing up with CF, Mandy is now a wife and mother of two daugthers. Mandy's essay is compassionate and tactful response to essayist Addie Morfoot who wrote last October about her grief over the decision to abort her daughter, Annie, after she and her husband learned that their daughter was afflicted with the hereditary illness. Addie and her husband, Ross, still maintain that they "did the right thing" in aborting Annie, saying that this was in the baby's best interests. Mandy Anderson stood up in gracious opposition to witness to the fact that all children are precious children, regardless of their burden.

In Business for Life salutes Father Steve Mattson, pastor of Church of the Resurrection in Lansing, Michigan for taking over an abortion clinic and turning it into a ministry center. First reported by WILX Channel 10 out of Lansing, Father Mattson told In Business For Life that victories like this are won after hard work and patience, and represents a strategic change for a community needing hope instead of harm.

 "We give a lot of credit to the 40 Days For Life campaign, and our parish has completed four campaigns in recent years," Father Mattson told IBFL. "We already had a need for more ministry space and when we found out that the local abortion clinic did not have a contract to lease the facility, we made an offer and now have a contract for the next 33 months on that building. This is not only something that we as a parish needed for our ministry work, but we view this as a gift to the community, where we can give hope and healing versus the harm and pain of abortion."


Video link: http://www.lifenews.com/2014/08/01/church-leases-building-housing-abortion-clinic-and-kicks-them-out.