Christmas 2009 at OneTrueMedia.com

Welcome to our family Christmas...
Christmas with R.'s family ... then Christmas Eve, Christmas Morning (featuring the joint Birthday gift for Ab and AA - a restored go-kart)...and finally, closing out with a somewhat louder Christmas with my family....
Meanwhile we are enjoy some holiday downtime. Talk more later!!

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Still

It's not picture-perfect, there are probably countless little pieces left undone.

Maybe hundreds of little surprises I might have planned; Kind words and wished I have left unsaid.

But it's done.

Christmas - the only holiday with a built-in deadline - is here. It arrived just a few moments ago.

The cat and I are the only ones up, though I have two kids that have tossed and turned and fretted about going to sleep . . . Ab may still be awake at this moment.

The gifts are awaiting them under the tree which still stands as a twinkling sentinel in the corner.

And for this moment it is . . . still.

Before fatigue takes over, perhaps I will be able to contemplate the season.

Still.

Do you remember when you first brought that newborn baby home and they finally drifted off to sleep? How quietly they lay. How peaceful.
Do you remember that tiny smacking of lips?

If you were like me, you were mesmerized by that little miracle.

Now imagine the same situation in an entirely different setting than your bedroom or nursery.

Imagine the Christ Child asleep in tightly swaddled cloths, protected from the cool night breezes by the sides of the feed trough in which He sleeps.

While I believe Jesus was both man and God and therefore He presented the typical problems a newborn ... diapers, crying, etc. - I believe there was some point that first night in which He was. . .

. . . still . . .

And perhaps Mary used those small snatches of time to unpack those thoughts she "pondered in her heart".

Stillness: it is God's occasional gift to us that allows us to process the significance of all the events around us.

.... the message of a Christmas Eve service - to join the Song of Redemption and take the light of Jesus Christ that is within us, to a dark world . . .

...the stories that have been shared during recent gatherings - which ones should be passed on to our children....

....the quiet cries for help from people too proud to ask . . .

. . . the seemingly insignificant remarks of my children . . . remarks that may need to be explored as I get to know them better ...

...the love of God that is proclaimed in so many songs in so many places during this wonderful season. . .

...the question of how I will pursue the purpose God has determined for me; and how will I lead my family to boldly do likewise?....

These are things worth pondering as Christmas comes and I am ....


....still ....

The Christmas Train

I like trains.

I like Christmas.

For a number of years the idea of trains and Christmas seemed to go together.

It has often been tradition for a boy to receive a train for Christmas. I think I was the happy recipient of a couple during my childhood.

R. and I had a memorable dinner cruise on a train on or around our fifth wedding anniversary (which falls on December 10th). It was cold and rainy outside which made us feel all warm and cozy as we sat at our table onboard. The route took us around Atlanta and we were occasionally surprised by the sights of beautifully lit houses out the window.

That's why the illustration of a Christmas Train seemed quite appropriate this morning when a thought process was triggered by my Sunday School teacher. He had confessed that because his life's work is in education, there is a slow down during the holidays and it is - for him - a natural time to reflect on his spiritual state. This prompted some conversation from others in the class about their view of the Christmas season as it relates to their emotions and view of God.

As we moved into the morning worship service my mind began to wander a little as I searched for something to symbolize the season for me so far. I arrived at the thought of a Christmas Train.

This Christmas Season - and probably most of the recent ones for me - have been like standing near a railroad track and watching a train go past.

The seasons are always met with tremendous anticipation and it seems as if there is always plenty of time to prepare.

Then suddenly the huge locomotive roars by.

Then each event of the season flies past me like so many open rail cars. I try to enjoy each event while also anticipating and planning for those upcoming rail cars.

In some instances, the train slows down and I can walk along with the current rail car and earnestly drink in the significance of the event; at other times, I can scarcely take in all the contents of the rail car before it has sped past and another event is already occurring.

One rail car may be a cold and rainy Sunday afternoon spent by the fire and a well-lighted Christmas tree, sipping hot cider and singing carols or traveling down memory's path through the gateway of old photos.

Another fast moving rail car may be filled with preparations for a Christmas party - there are babysitters to confirm, dishes to prepare, gifts to purchase, last minute phone calls, schedules to rearrange, quick trips back to the grocery store to pick that "one forgotten ingredient" and then directions to follow, smiles and pleasantries to exchange.

One rail car for us was a perfectly Christmassy morning during the week, when R. and I took some time off from work to attend the Winter Arts Festival at our kids' school. Despite the politically-correct-sounding name it was a wonderful experience and helped to bring the Reason for our celebration back into clear focus.

Other rail cars passed us by leaving very little of the impression we had hoped for: rushed lightings of the Advent Candles after getting started too late for a school night; events in which we tried to be too many places within too short an expanse of time; even some home events that were forced and filled with manufactured sentimentality ... mostly because this dad adopted the Griswaldian attitude of "we'll enjoy this Christmas family tradition if it kills us!"

This weekend the train slowed to the point that a person could actually jump aboard and ride for awhile, soaking in the sights, sounds, tastes and joys of Christmas, as we enjoyed family time with R.'s family.

There was music and singing, eating, laughter, more eating, clearing away of dishes and talk of still more eating, presents, and a very special few moments when R.'s dad talked about his family.

On that night, after supper we had a small program with Ab and AA playing a piece or two on the piano and guitar, R. played a Jim Brickman number on the piano, our sister-in-law and two nieces sang, Grandmother and the two boys played the ukulele and guitars (AA and I joined, trying to keep up). Then I read the Christmas Story from the Gospel of Luke.

Papa then talked from his heart. Explaining about his family and how he was raised, he talked about his parents and how no one seemed to know how they met or became a couple.

He went on to say he wanted to be sure that those questions were settled for his family. Then he told the story of how that relationship of 57 years came to be... how the 16 year old boy driving an ice truck was smitten by the sight of that auburn-haired girl on the corner of Maple and 15th street. He went on to talk about their humble beginnings and how they were married at the tender ages of 17 and 16.

It was a special rail car and one I did not hasten to leave.

In the blur of cars speeding past me, I hope I have given sufficient attention to the things that matter most.

As we go into this last week before Christmas we expect something of a lull to ensue and perhaps we will be able to truly evaluate our spiritual state as it relates to this season.

In the meantime, I am conscious of the fact that the caboose is rounding the bend just ahead of us and the season will soon be a distant memory with only some cold iron tracks and a mournful whistle-blow to remind me of what has been.

Rustic Christmas 2009 at OneTrueMedia.com

It began as a comprise between the very practical R. and Ab - who felt that "buying" a tree and then throwing it away would be unwise; and AA and I who felt that Christmas should be celebrated with extreme zest!
R. suggested we get one like my Granny and Pop's trees - scrub cedars decorated with the big lights. I jumped at the idea.

We found it in the woods near our house. It truly was a "Charlie Brown Tree" ... and still is.
I had 3 Christmas tree stands and went through all three and about 2 additional feet of tree before I was able to get the tree to stand in the house.
Then a day or so later - it fell.

More repairs were performed (don't ask) and eventually we had the old fashioned tree I have often told the kids about.

I think there are some things we will remember about the experience - but I don't think it is one I will be quick to repeat.

Enjoy the pics and Merry Christmas!!

Make photo slide shows at www.OneTrueMedia.com

A Rude Awakening at an Office Party

I was taken aback! I dare say I was appalled!

Tonight I attended an office Christmas party after work. We gathered at a restaurant and someone had a game for us to play.

Now I need to remind you that having grown up in the Bible-belt and being firmly ensconced in a church setting most of my life - most of my acquaintance with party games were in that "church" setting. I don't really regret that, it's just that most of my experience with party games has been that type that worked more like a practical joke with one person being the "brunt" of the joke.

Therefore I approach party-games with a very healthy sense of caution.

This game was fairly benign. It was one of those ice-breakers that forces you into "safe" conversations. We were to each find people in the room whose life experiences matched the ones described on a paper we were given. It was things like "Never saw a white Christmas" or "Re-gifted a Christmas gift last year".

Somewhere on that page, among those "safe" conversation starters lurked a hideous truth that I was not prepared to face.

It was a small group - less that twenty people. People that I work with every day - people I thought I knew pretty well.

One of the items on the page was the statement: "Has never seen 'It's a Wonderful Life!'"

As we were going over the responses as a group - someone polled the entire group...

Probably over one-third of that group had never seen "It's a Wonderful Life!". I could not believe it! And I couldn't believe they were so freely admitting it in that public forum.

No wonder our country is in the shape it's in when 33%+ of a random sample of fairly intelligent people had never seen the icon of holiday sentimentalism.

When I protested and expressed my disappointment in blustering terms - they just blew off my words as if it were no large concern.

"It's a Wonderful Life!" is - in my opinion - THE best holiday movie ever made. And it is right up there with "Casablanca" as possibly the best movie of all time.

The watching of this movie is almost a sacred rite that is observed with great care in our home each Christmas season.

It is typically the movie that I reserve for the week of Christmas to watch. I like to build up to it. We may start the season with "National Lampoon's: Christmas Vacation" or "A Christmas Story" or some other newer movie of little significance. As the season progresses we move to more solid Christmas fare like "Christmas in Connecticut", "White Christmas" and "Holiday Inn". Cary Grant's "The Bishop's Wife" and even it's less-than-two-decades-old counterpart - "The Preacher's Wife" might follow.

Finally, it is time for the main event. Some years, R. and I have saved it until Christmas Eve.

I do not believe I have missed a viewing of this movie more that two or three Christmases in the past 25 years.

When I first discovered this Frank Capra classic, I would catch bits and pieces of the movie - usually on Christmas Day.

I remember when I was struggling in the field of sales and felt the weight and pressure of poor performance - I could relate to George Bailey as he came home late night after night, trying to bear up under the pressure "Potter" was putting on him.

As I waived good-bye to my teenage years and moved fully into adulthood ... being a hopeless romantic ... I longed for love. I envied George Bailey whose heart was smitten by the faithful and loving Mary.

When I had finally broken free from the bondage of misspent career choices and had moved into the "bliss" of entrepreneurial enterprise - I empathized with George again as it looked like his business and all he had worked for was going away.

This movie has always had something for me.

Jimmy Stewart may not have been that great of an actor - but because of his "everyman" style - he always moves me; and he's my favorite.

Frank Capra, the movies' director, had a life changing experience in which he felt that God had challenged him to really say something worthwhile with his movies. So his movie trademarks are things like humor, large groups of family and friends, patriotism, a love for one's fellow man, and always a hopeful and happy ending.

That's why despite what many will call cheesy sentimentalism, this movie has a message. It's one of redemption, one of hope and an encouragement to those who have held fast to the challenge before them.

It is great wisdom couched in innocence.

You owe it to yourself to really stop for a couple of hours and soak in this movie.

And like George Bailey, you might find yourself looking back over this gift of adventure your life has been so far... and you could walk away thinking that it really has been a wonderful life.

Troubled Times: Two Responses

Startled and Gripped with Fear

How about you - is that what the holidays mean to you?


A reading of the original Christmas story reveals that there was a whole lotta' shakin' goin' on.

In fact one of the characters was said to have been "startled and gripped with fear".

We are pretty comfortable with angels. We see them everywhere, especially this time of year. And not too long ago, angels were sort of a fad: there were television shows and movies centered around angels, stickers, mugs, posters, greeting cards ... you could find angels most anywhere and they were generally considered to be a "good thing".

Apparently the angels of the first Christmas story were quite different from those floating around on your Christmas tree right now. The accounts in the Gospels of Matthew and Luke tend to leave us with the impression that angels were - well - scary.


Each time they appeared folks were afraid, or "troubled" or "sore afraid!"


I am learning that oftentimes as people are about to launch into something big, they start out by being afraid. I don't know that it always happens that way - but at least it does sometimes.


What I really noticed this year as I began to focus on the Christmas story was the parallel between Mary and her uncle Zacharius.

Both were destined to be recipients of a miraculous birth - Mary, a virgin, would bear a child; Zacharius, an old man with an old wife, would father a child in his old age.

Both were visited by an angel (possibly the same angel, Gabriel) to be informed about their role in the upcoming saga.

And both were troubled.

But they each responded in a slightly different way: Zacharius' response was couched in doubt - "how can I be sure of this?". Granted his doubt was probably self-doubt - but doubt just the same.

Mary, on the other hand, gave a response that assumed that the angel's message was true ... " How will this be?". She never doubted that the Word sent from heaven was true - she just asked about the details.

As you may recall, Zacharius received a sign - probably not one that he would desire - he was struck "dumb" (incidentally, most parents of teenagers have suffered the same curse at least until their kids reach their mid-20's).

It is interesting to read the encounter, you can almost hear the clipped tones with which the angel tells him that he will be unable to speak until the child is born, because of his unbelief.

I find two applications here: One is that our initial response can make such a difference - may mine (and yours as well) always be like Mary's - a response couched in faith. Secondly, I notice that while Zacharius' unbelief buys him some difficulty for a time - it is not mentioned to him again.

You don't see the angel perching on his shoulder the rest of his life, whispering -"yeah - but do you remember that time you doubted?". The punishment was issued and the deed forgotten.

I love grace. I think I have misjudged it most of my life and underestimated it, but God gives it out so freely.

I hope you will thing a little differently about angels this season. I am going now to check out the countenance on some of the ones on my tree.

The Boy

It was a day not unlike today - gray and blustery - eight years ago when R. and went to the hospital for our appointment.

We had waited for nature to take its course, but it appeared that nature needed some help. We were going to have a baby - our second, R. was to be induced.

We had deposited our other angel - not quite three years old yet - with my sister the night before.

It was 2001, we were still in the shock of the 9-11 attack and troops were already in action defending our nation. I brought along the book I was reading at the time - Stephen Ambrose's, Band of Brothers. I remember that as I read about the 101st Airborne Division in the European Theatre, there was a news story on television about the same division sending paratroopers into Afghanistan.

We had chosen not to be told whether this one was a boy or a girl, but I think we both were pretty sure it would be a boy.

Around two o'clock that afternoon, little AA was plopped down under the "french fry" heat lamps as he lay there lethargically waiting for the next events to occur in his short life.

He reminded me of a Sumo wrestler, he was big and seemed to be three-fourths cheeks.

I was a little worried about him in those early days because he didn't seem very active. But he did fine.

That seems so long ago and far away now. His leading characteristic - those chubby little cheeks - have all but disappeared now with last summer's growth spurt.

His hair has gone from bald to "Fauntleroy" curls, then back to really short (almost bald once when Mom slipped with the barber tools) and finally now he is back to a curly mop.

He has an innocence and vulnerability about him that just tugs at my heart ... and gets him anything he wants from Mom.

He is quickly vying for the role of "family comedian" and will go to most any length to get a laugh.

He used to call me his "buddy-friend". My heart warmed each time he did.

He is easy going and wants to please others. I know that's a trait that will need to be tempered with balance as he gets older. I feel the weight of responsibility in being sure this boy grows to understand what it means to be a man. And not just a man but a godly man.

This week, I thought about Joseph and the huge responsibility he bore.

Joseph had to protect God for a time. He was the one that had the burden of packing up the little family and fleeing in the night from Bethlehem to Egypt.

From our vantage point it is obvious that God was going to watch out for them and would fulfill the purposes He had set for the young Child - but I am sure it wasn't so obvious to Joseph.

I'll try and remember that when I start to worry about how our kids will turn out.

For now, my job is to watch over them and to teach them the things that matter most. I guess those important matters are revealed in little every day lessons.

Happy Birthday AA, you truly live up to your name as a "light-bringer" by bringing the light of laughter to our home.

I love you, little man.

Tis the Season - for Music! 12/11/09 at OneTrueMedia.com

A vital factor in the Christmas Season mix is the presence of music. In our home, we have been regaled with Christmas songs for quite some time now in preparation for the kid's annual Christmas Recital. That is what you see at the beginning of this montage.
You will also see and hear some segments from the "Winter Arts Festival" at Unity Christian School. AA is in the first cut, Ab is in the other two.
Finally, Ab & AA were required to present a concert as part of their music training, so Grandmother, Papa and an easy-going cousin attended.
Merry Christmas!

Make an on-line slide show at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Two - Blog Family

When you live in a two blog household and the original blogger's old clunky desktop computer has stopped recognizing it's own hard drive as well as the one the nice folks at Dell sent me-er-him ... the original blogger then has to wait in line for the laptop.

R. has been busy - shopping online, updating her own posts, and working on some Christmas creations that are sure to bring joy to several folks.

For me - the inspiration I sense on my drive in to work each morning has usually fizzled by the time I get to a computer in the evening.

I think we may have simplified our Christmas a little this year . . . we do not seem to be quite as scattered and frenetic as usual and the things we are doing seem to be enjoyable. But I have already had some "that's enough" moments.

I took an extra day off today and while I was busy most all day - I was with R. and with my kids most of the time so it was enjoyable.

I hope to post some pictures soon.

Thanks for sticking around.
I just thought I would let you know.

Seasonal Serendipity

Christmas is a season for serendipity - that state of finding something special when you are not even looking for it.

Meetings can provide a serendipitous moment when the group gels in their thinking and move as a unit toward a common goal; recently I went to lunch with someone and there was - for me - a sense serendipity - I found value in the conversation.

Christmas lends itself to serendipity. I mean, look at the original story: shepherds go about a "normal" night's work and suddenly something happens to make their world anything but normal! The whole thing - the way the story unfolds, the location for the event, the timing ... it all displays God's gift of serendipity.

In Christmas gatherings, serendipity can just occur (because of the Reason we are gathering) or they can be manufactured. The "manufactured" kind of serendipity doesn't necessarily have to mean that it is false or superficial - it just means someone PLANNED to throw some value into the mix.

This is what happened at a gathering I was involved in last week.

One of the smaller hospitals with which I am associated has an annual Senior Citizens Breakfast to sort of kick off the Christmas season each year. Physicians and hospital staff work extra hard to serve these local citizens with a great breakfast, some inspiring Christmas music and a visit from Santa.

I have been a participant in the event's choir from time to time and I had the opportunity to sing this week. No matter how much preparation has gone on ahead of time, the choir is always filled with last minute possibilities: this year, the musician phoned the night before to say they couldn't make it and about ten minutes before time to sing, there were only about five singers present.

Nurses were quickly recruited to sing as well as other people that just looked as if they might enjoy singing -or at least appearing to sing - Christmas Carols with a group.

The program is unapologetically Christmas - right down to the reading of the Christmas story from St. Luke's Gospel. Some of us really pasty white people even waxed a little soulful as we sang "Go Tell It On The Mountain!".

Finally it was time for Santa Claus. The deal is that Santa has always come in, done something funny and handed out gifts to all the attendees. This tradition has gone on for years and until recent years, Santa was portrayed by a local physician who was well known to all in the area. Since his retirement, a gentleman has taken over. This guy has also been associated with the hospital for many years and his own father was a professional Santa Claus (what a career!!).

This guy has a great "stand-up" delivery and he is always a hit with some Jerry Clower style stories and some inspiration.

This year he got me with a story about a 92 year old man who had recently died and how as an orphan in the early 1900's, he had been given his greatest Christmas gift - an orange.

That's a great story and left a lump in my throat that felt to be the size of that orange - but the real serendipity came as he begin to talk about "fears" people were facing this Christmas:

• for some, they were fearful that guests would be disappointed somehow in the meals they would prepare for various gatherings
• some would be fearful that gift selections would be incorrect
• the discouragement of these economic times would leave many afraid
• many are afraid about the future
• some - he said - have friends or relatives that they are not speaking to . . . they would like to take a step to reconcile that relationship but they are afraid...afraid of rejection.

Then he indicated that they needed the very first GIFT of the Christmas story and he began to quote from Luke's account....

. . . and the angel of the LORD appeared unto them and the GLORY of the LORD shone round about them - and they were sore afraid; but the angel said unto them

FEAR NOT!....

The first message of the first Christmas, and the first Christmas gift was when the angel said "do not be afraid".

That is something of great value to me this Christmas.

I hope that you will find that first gift valuable as well,

and may all your Christmas gatherings hold some possibility for serendipity!

The Pause Continues

Contrary to my "best laid plans" - the Thanksgiving Day "Pause" has continued on into December!

It had crossed my mind that at this point, I might have already brought the Christmas decorations down out of the attic and that I might have already attached a number of colorful decorative nuances to this blog. I also thought I might have begun to pour forth a cornecopia of Christmas cheer on a daily basis by now.

But the "Christmas spirit" hasn't laid hold of me yet.

So let me tell you about how I have spent the "pause".

Ab, AA and I took part in our annual after-Thanksgiving Day-tradition of a Waffle House Breakfast!

What I had envisioned as an early frosty morning breakfast, turned into a late-morning brunch. R. chose to work the day after Thanksgiving and our start was a little sluggish. We got there in time to join the tail end of the "Black-Friday" red-eyed breakfast tour. The atmosphere was festive as we joined the masses of frenzied sleep-deprived consumers trying to slurp down enough caffeine and to scarf down enough maple syrup so as to stay awake for the drive home.

It was neat to see that the Waffle House we frequent for these occasions has a considerably low employee turnover rate since we saw a number of familiar faces that we remembered from our last visit and possibly even a time or two before that.

As usual, we took our seats at the counter so as to be near all the action!

The rest of my time off was something of a blur; I spent a considerable amount of time tinkering with my chainsaw and then a little while actually using it on Saturday. The kids got involved in a "hut" building project out in the woods. Our work site experienced exactly one day without an accident - then we had to start over after Ab had a little mishap with a handsaw (nothing serious - but enough to cause the hut building project to be shut down for a time - I think we are still awaiting our OSHA inspection).

I also participated in one of my annual exercises in futility as I attempted to blow a generous portion of the leaves and pinestraw discarded by our trees, off of my driveway and a portion of my yard and into some specific designated area.

The kids and I did get an opportunity to venture back into the woods since we were reasonably sure the poison ivy and most of the snakes had retreated to the their winter hideaways.

We did manage to accomplish a couple of yule tide activities: We officially broke out the Christmas movies and we lit our first Advent Candle of the season.

As mentioned before, I have a strictly enforced policy of "zero-tolerance" for Christmas movies until the week of Thanksgiving and -in a best case scenario- not until after Thanksgiving Day altogether.

Our first movie this year was the 1938 version of "A Christmas Carol". We all enjoyed this annual story of Christmas Redemption.

Since that time, R. and I have attempted two other Christmas movies - "The Preacher's Wife", which is one of the few newer holiday movies that I think is destined to be a classic. I really like this movie - mostly because of Whitney Houston and the gospel choir singing; but also because R. and I first went to see this movie about a couple struggling in their marriage, when our own marriage was in the throws of its own struggles. In the same vein, we purchased the video and grew to love the movie even more after God had worked out some really neat things in our marriage.

The other movie we attempted to watch was "White Christmas". Unfortunately, in both cases sleep seemed to call to me in such a compelling way that I had to bail.

We are trying to approach our family celebration of Advent by looking at the "coming" of Jesus in three ways: first, how He came to earth as a Babe destined to grow into a Man that would bear my sins. Second, how He is a Savior Who promised to return to earth and thirdly, how He came to each of us that knows Him as Savior and took residence in our hearts.

Thankful 11/26/09 at OneTrueMedia.com

Make video montages at www.OneTrueMedia.com

The Pause

Happy Thanksgiving!

I love this truly American holiday!

As a family tradition, we try hard to guard Thanksgiving. We try not to let Christmas drown out the importance of this special holiday.

So I thoroughly enjoy my self-appointed role of Thanksgiving Police - in that role, it is my duty to be sure that we do not begin Christmas celebrations until after the last Thursday in November.

We don't really break out the Christmas music until that time - although both kids have been practicing for an upcoming recital which means we are regaled almost daily with "The Little Drummer Boy", "The Twelve Days of Christmas", and "Jingle Bell Rock!".

We have amassed a fair collection of truly great classic Christmas Movies (meaning most are in Black & White). Though this collection is aging and most of the movies are on Video-cassette, we love to drag them out; however this is restricted to at least the week of Thanksgiving. I prefer that we wait until Thanksgiving to even break them out, but this year I noticed that (like in some previous years) some pair of smaller hands had located the Christmas stash and had already gone through them.

We also do not decorate before Thanksgiving. This week I visited a department in my organization that had, for some time now, already decorated their entire area with lighted wreaths and frosted paint on the glass surfaces. That's just too early for me, I think you greatly diminish the value of the decorations by leaving them up too long.

We sometimes wait until the almost-blasphemous date of December 10th to decorate.

Anyway, all this holding off on Christmas is about giving Thanksgiving it's proper due.

Our Thanksgiving Day Celebration today served as most of them do - as a time to pause.

At some point we pause and think about the things for which we are thankful.

Sometimes that pause may come in the cold, clean air of Thanksgiving morning - in the solitude before the rest of the family is awake.

Sometimes that pause will come as the family is seated at the table -or as is the case with my family- poised to leap into the chow line . . . but it is at that moment that we stop the whole business and someone returns thanks.

For some it will come in a very deliberate way as families set aside a specific time for a brief devotion during the day.

The point is that before we enter the frenzy that is the Christmas season for most of us ... we should all pause, regroup, relax, think, and be thankful.

Thanksgiving is a nationally declared day, set aside for just that purpose.

When treated properly, the day can result in something of a cleansing. An Ebenezer Scrooge-like renewal can take place, priorities can shift and return to their proper place, and a new strength can be discovered - all resulting from a return to gratefulness.

It truly is the pause that refreshes.

The Higher View

Sunday last, the gentlman who facilitates our Sunday School class read this scripture:

The LORD spoke to me with His strong hand upon me, warning me not to follow the way of this people. He said:

"Do not call conspiracy, everything that these people call conspiracy;
do not fear what they fear and do not dread it.

The LORD almighty is the One you are to regard as holy,
He is the One you are to fear,
He is the One you are to dread." Isaiah 8:11-13 NIV


These days I tend to look at too many things through the prism of current events and geo-political thought.

So I thought about H1N1 and the media frenzy that has surrounded this malady.

I thought about how fear pushed this nation's political leadership into making panicky decisions last Fall concerning our nation's financial institutions.

I thought about the whole man-made global warning hoax and how people are driven to support it based on fear.

I thought about how our President singled out particular media sources and personalities indicating that they were not legitimate.

And I thought:

"What a great verse!"

I always like it when God agrees with me.

Or rather, when the thing that I believe just so happens to be in agreement with God's view.

Anyway, I had to keep going. I had to read beyond the first part of that scripture about what not to do and read on to see what we SHOULD do.

God said - "Fear Me. Consider Me only as Holy. Dread only Me."

You see the problem with my attitude is that while I do pretty good with the first part of the passage; I tend to fail pretty miserably with the second part.

I spend so much time and energy focusing on the "ways" of those we are to avoid, that I forget to focus on Christ.

He is the only One I should fear, dread and revere as Holy.

It's all about seeing our enemies in front of us and then shifting our focus above them. Suddenly the things that were in plain view will fade away as Christ fills my entire field of vision.

The Psalmist said, "I will look to the hills, from whence comes my help; my help comes from the Lord."

RePost of The Science of Thanksgiving.

I ran across this blog posting recently on the Science of Thanksgiving.

I think it is real neat when science backs up what God has already said:

"a merry heart does good like a medicine!"

Fumbling with Opportunity

As I have mentioned in earlier posts, we are going through the book, " When Helping Hurts" by Steve Corbett and Brian Fikkert (Moody Publishers, Chicago, IL. 2009) in our Sunday School class and it has really challenged me.

Since starting this book, I have had two opportunities and I want to share my reactions with you as a means of displaying my own spiritual ineptness and as a means of moving further into the changes God is working out in me.

On two occasions recently I have been approached by someone asking for help.

I think I am fairly approachable and therefore an easy mark for panhandlers and the like. That's why my guard automatically goes up almost immediately when approached by strangers.

In both instances, the gentlemen were in "desperation" and needed money for "food". Both had intersting stories each flavored with the aroma of alcohol.

The first little man approached me in the corridor of the hospital in which I work. After explaining that someone was in the hospital and his wife had not eaten, he chattered on. He told me he was an alcoholic, I believe I understood him to say he was "dying with cancer" and he just wanted to buy some french fries for his wife.

Here's the battle that ensued: immediately the red warning lights went off and I knew there was a good chance that this person's story was not completely true - maybe untrue in the whole.

Then my thoughts went like this -

"do I have any money?". . .

"how much should I give - how much is enough to say 'I know you're lying but I am a Christian and this is what we do'?"

"Wait a minute! What would Jesus do? Think -THINK!"

"Oh I can't think - he keeps talking - what did he just say? Ooooo what should I do?!"

"What if someone sees me giving this guy money? Will they think I am just doing it so that I look like I'm holy?"

"AM I doing it just so I look holy?"

"Wait a minute - is there any way possible that God would want me NOT to help this guy?"

"No, but perhaps He would prefer me to truly HELP him - not just get rid of him ... that would mean 'engaging' with him. I don't even know where to start with that . . . what does that even look like?"

"Am I just trying to get rid of him as soon as possible?"

"of course."

Do you see what kind of junk goes on in my mind and all in a matter of panicked seconds?

On the first occasion, I did a mental inventory of my wallet and remembered that I was cash poor. I decided I would go with him to the hospital cafeteria, let him pick up some fries and if I didn't have enough cash, I could use my credit card.

I pointed him to the french fries and waited at the register for him to return. When he got into the check out line, his french fry necessity had grown exponentially - it now included soft drinks, chicken strips and other stuff.

The cashier, realizing what was going on, grabbed a "free meal voucher" and used it instead of requiring money from me.

The guy said he wouldn't forget me. . . that would have been a good time for me to insert something that might have pointed the glory to Christ - I do not know what I said, but I'm pretty sure I wasn't pointing any glory anywhere.

The second instance occurred last week as I was approached in the parking lot by a man who said he "knew I was a preacher" (I get that all the time), and he had walked in from a town about twenty miles away. He said he had spent the night on a porch and it was cold.

He wanted money "for Wendy's".

The same mental calisthenics continued in my head.

Since our office was having a meal that day, I told him to wait there and I would bring him a plate.

As I headed inside, I heard him approaching someone else. A little later when I emerged with a plate, he was no where to be found.

In both cases I found myself at a loss for dealing properly with a request for help. I felt sure that I should not give what they were asking for, but was at a loss for what I SHOULD do.

As I thought on that this morning, I felt something of a peace about it. God has me in a state of change and He has to break things up in order for me to truly be useful to His kingdom.

I am like an egg. Things are intact and neat - comfortable. Unfortunately, an egg is just not worth much until the shell is broken and what's inside plops out. The contents may be new life or it may be something that nourishes or adds flavor.

You just never know until things get all messy.

God's change is messy.

Francis Asbury

..."Upon the whole, I believe we were speaking about four hours besides nearly two hours spent in prayer."




That's an excerpt from the journal of Francis Asbury in January of 1790. I am reading his biography by L.C. Rudolph (1966 Abingdon Press).

I am pretty amazed at the spiritual- and physical stamina of this frontier circuit rider.

His horseback mileage amounted to around four to six thousand miles a year and he said that he seldom mounted his horse when he did not travel twenty miles or more.


Through rain and in muddy ruts, through creeks and rocky paths, Asbury traveled.


He followed the pattern set forth by the founder of Methodism, John Wesley, and the circuit system of evangelism grew what later become the Methodist church in America exponentially.


I have long been curious about these rough and ready gospel-teers for some time by that interest has grown in recent years.


My Granddad, who I have spoken of before in this forum, was a "street preacher" in the early to mid 1900's and his ilk was modeled after the circuit riders. He traveled throughout the Southeast - not on horseback - but in a Greyhound (bus) or a train or by thumb... but mostly on foot.

Granddad was part of a movement that strongly advocated people setting themselves apart to God. And he preached anywhere an audience would stop a moment and listen.

He stayed in the homes of folks that would have him; some of his "regular" hosts would arrange prayer meetings in their homes for him to address. Sometimes though, he slept in barns or in tents; he might wash out his white shirt in a nearby creek and leave it hanging on a bush to dry overnight, so that it would be cleaned - if not pressed- for services the next day.

These conditions were harsh by my standards but not nearly as destitute as the conditions faced by Asbury and his crowd.

There have been a couple of things that troubled me about Asbury - and Wesley too for that matter.

One, they were strong adherents to the statist, Anglican Church of England. State run religion is very foreign to me, I would have thought it to be foreign to these fundamentalist but it wasn't. In fact, neither Wesley nor Asbury were comfortable with non-Anglican clergy administering the Sacraments.

My second discomfort with these fellows is the fact that they were not pro-American during the Revolutionary War.

I marvel.

I have this romantic vision of folks like Wesley and Asbury jumping on board with the rebellion as soon as its initial fires were kindled. In fact, as the war heated up, Wesley returned to England and encouraged all his ministers to do the same.

Asbury was the only one that remained.

He became a leader - maybe even a father-figure to the young American preachers that had recently taken up the call.

He stayed because he had a love for the people of this country, or because God had locked him into his call. But he never did endorse the Revolution, in fact he was considered a Tory by many and wasn't to be trusted.

Yet when the War was over and the Methodists returned they found a much larger and stronger congregation. Their numbers in fact had about tripled.

This disconcerting feeling I have had toward Asbury and Wesley has made me think and perhaps it is teaching me something about how God uses people in various stages of their walk and people that believe some things that are quite different from my own beliefs.

This point was driven home a few weekends ago.

Our church had set aside a weekend for "blessing"various ministries in our town. So on a Saturday, a large number of folks descended upon those ministries armed with a willingness to help in some way.

R. and I thought it a great opportunity for us to get involved outside the "four walls" of a church - and some great exposure for our children. So we were assigned to a ministry that provides food, shelter, clothing and support to people in crisis situations ... single moms, the homeless, people underneath whom life has pulled out the rug.

We were assigned to a mountain of donated clothing. There was an intricate system of sorting: first by age (adult or children) and then by gender, then by season (cold or warm) and by positioning (top or bottom). Similar items were then folded and packed into boxes.

Those things that weren't needed immediately were taken to a storage facility in another part of town.

This was where the lesson was taught, because I was immediately let down.

You see I have pretty strong ideas about the role of Christians and the role of government. And I think (as you probably already know that the government is carving out too big of a piece of the pie when it comes to "helping" folks.

Yes, I was somewhat "let down when I saw that to be transported, the boxes of clothing were loaded into a van with a prominent "Obama" bumper sticker proudly displayed on the back.

Incompetence on Parade

Now that Nancy Pelosi and all but 39 Democrats have rammed the nearly 2,000 page Healthcare Reform bill down our throats- we can all rest easy and just await the Senate.

Trouble is, I just read on Saturday that under the House form of the bill, people who willfully "opt out" of the coverage (in other words people who do not purchase for the government's healthcare plan) can be jailed.

What a unique marketing strategy for the government to utilize as it jumps into the healthcare insurance industry.

I am sure if Blue-Cross, United, or any other insurance companies that provide health insurance had applied that strategy years ago, we wouldn't have the problems we have today.

I can hear the nifty slogans now that could be employed: "Your in GOOD HANDS with Allstate; without it your BEHIND BARS!"

Oh that's right, individual businesses do not have the power to force people to buy their products at the point of a gun. They have to compel people to purchase their product/services by offering value, true customer service at reasonable rates.

Ms. Pelosi, please explain to me again the part about how this is going to increase competition?

So in the original scenario which our President laid out and the bankruptcy-bound press propagated - 47 million Americans are uninsured.

Of that number it has been determined that a substantial portion are uninsured by choice. They are either self-insured or they choose not to purchase health-care insurance.

So we are saying now that of these 47 million, people that we are contemplating changing an industry (and about 1/6 of our economy) to help - a substantial portion of them will be jailed if they do not choose the government's benevolent healthcare plan???!??

That seems to be rather common for our government and it is the very reason that the government should be limited at best: In most cases, when government tries to help, the "Baby Huey" affect kicks in and it ends up making matters worse.

Now, perhaps I am getting all bent out of shape for no reason. Maybe in all that last minute deal making in an effort to buy off votes - this provision was stricken. Maybe I don't really have to worry about my cost of healthcare expanding drastically or the fact that my taxes and the taxes of my children will be over-burdening or that I might be jailed for deliberately not accepting the governments benevolent gift of health care.

But I don't know that because I have not read the bill.

How could I - if it was available at all, it was changing right down to the moments prior to passage.

It is the epitome of incompetence and every American should say so. We are NOT children.

More Along the Way

Here are some random thoughts which have inspired, challenged or piqued my thinking over the past few days:

"Many heroes lived before ... but all are unknown and unwept, extinguished in everlasting night because they have no spirited chronicler" - Horace

• We need "spirited chroniclers" to record the feats of heroes in these troubling times so that future generations can know the heroes that paved the way... if I cannot be heroic, may I -at least - become a spirited chronicler!

"God, Who is a worker, ordained work so that humans could worship Him through their work" - Steve Corbett and Brian Fikkert in "When Helping Hurts: How to Alleviate Poverty Without Hurting the Poor and Yourself"

• God is a "worker". I love that!!! We resemble Him when we work and we can worship Him through our work! Think about that as you head off to the daily grind tomorrow.

"For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him. Colossians 1:16 NKJV

• Did you get that: by Him, through Him and for Him . . . . all things were created. He is the originator of all things good - every good idea anyone ever had was by Him; there is nothing that I can accomplish that isn't accomplished through Him (Jesus said -"without Me, you can do nothing"); the value of any accomplishment rests in whether or not it was attempted for Him.

Legacy

Once I had to write a report about Jonathan Edward's sermon, "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God".

In the tenth grade assignment, I missed out on the historical significance of that sermon. In fact I didn't read the whole thing. To me it seemed oppressive and I think I wrote something about how he should have said more about God's mercy.

I might have said something similar about the sermon today, but the truth is -that the sermon launched the first Great Awakening in these United States.

Today I heard Edwards referenced in Chuck Colson's Breakpoint commentary. He was referring to the "Great Books" audio series on CD by Ken Boa, this month's installment is on one of Edward's books. What really caught my attention was legacy that Edwards and his wife left behind!!

Here is an excerpt:

"But Jonathan Edwards was not only a pastor who played a crucial role in America's first Great Awakening, he was also a missionary to Native-Americans, an earl president of Princeton University and a prolific writer.

In addition, Edwards and his wife Sarah, were also loving parents of 11 children. Of their 929 descendents history shows there have been 13 college presidents, 86 college professors, 430 ministers, 314 war veterans, 75 authors, 100 lawyers, 30 judges, 66 physicians, and 80 holders of public office. That includes three U.S. Senators, seven congressmen, three mayors, three governors, a vice president of the United States and a controller of the United States Treasury. Don't tell me teaching biblical worldview to your children isn't important"

Amen Chuck, amen.

A Response to "I Rest My Case"

Okay, I'm not positive that this video isn't sacreligious. But my Better Half over at God's Design Not Mine has fired the first salvo over the bow and I feel that I must respond:




Kinda' makes you want to show some respect to "man's best friend" now doesn't it?

Comments are welcomed (Dear).

There is None Like You

I can see David, slouching back in his throne - knees jutting forward, his simple crown is scrunched down over his forehead and his curling locks move in the gentle breeze that circulates through the throne-room.

He stares upward and the tears that are welling up in his eyes finally brim over and stream down his face and beard.

"Who am I?" he says.

God had just sent a Word to David. David had made a decision to build a house for God and God had responded with a kind, affirming Word of Truth about David's future and his progeny.

It was more than David could bear - I think - he had to get away somewhere ...he had to get alone with God.

This was a period of "rest" for David, a lull from the constant battle that had been his lifestyle ever since his youth. He was now established as king of the entire nation of Israel, he and some of his best warriors had taken the great city of Jerusalem - something generations of warriors before him could not accomplish. He had children about him now and the Philistines had backed off for a time.

That was when the idea had hit David - he wanted to do something big for God.

But God outdid David.
Now God's love for us is in no way based on what we do or can do for Him, but it's pretty neat that when we set our minds to accomplish something for Him - BECAUSE we love Him - He outdoes us.

He promised David an established kingdom, one that would outlast him. I think that is a desire that burns deep in the bosom of every man - for something of him to live on beyond him.

Furthermore God promised that David's son would be the one to build the house for God and God would love him... and would never withdraw His love from him.

David was overwhelmed. The joy of God's favor was so overwhelming, he could only question "Who am I?".

As David searched the ceiling of that sacred room - as if he might catch a glimpse of God's glory - he marveled at God's promise. Possibly, this "Poet of Israel" searched deeply to find something to say that would express his gratefulness...

"there is none like You..."

I can remember turbulent times in my own life. No where near the turbulence that David endured but turbulent none-the-less. There was a period for me that it just seemed that I could not come out right-side-up with anything: my work, my marriage, my confidence, my future ... nothing seemed to be turning out as I had hoped. And it went on for quite awhile.

But I also remember when there came a time of rest. . . . a time in which God seemed to personally assure me of His love and His hand still at work in my life.

It was at that time that I could - in a small way- relate to how David felt.

"There is none like You."

This story can be found in the Bible, in 2 Samuel 7.

The Kool-Aid Konglomeration

I admire the entrepreneurial spirit.

My brother and I had our brief leap into the cloudy waters of entrepreneurial exuberance... we briefly ran our own paint and wallcovering store ... but I soon found the waters cold and foreboding and have not quickly ventured back in.
My brother, on the other hand, has made something of a life of running his own operations - and it seems that he would have it no other way.

The entrepreneurial spirit runs in our blood to a degree. Our grandfather - "Pop", seemed to gravitate toward such adventures. Though he spent his life farming and then working in a cotton mill, he and his brother - Earnest - often seemed to be working together on something.

At some point during their younger days, they tried their hand at home-made liquor. As I recall the story, they had a unique inventory system of storing the bottles or jugs in holes in an embankment - under clumps of tall grass.

I think they were beginning to see some local success. Good news, however, travels fast and someone bragged about their liquor to their father. I think he issued his own brand of "cease and desist" order.

On another occasion, they traveled to Florida to pick oranges. The one thing I remember about that story was that Pop explained to me the proper way to pick an orange - with a twist. If you just pull it off the tree, the stem will pull a plug from the peel, so you have to give it a twist as you pull.

I remember one night that Pop talked a great deal about that adventure, but I don't remember much of what he said and I regret that I didn't learn more.

After Pop retired, he went into the fish-bait business and became a main supplier of "red wigglers" to local bait shops.

My Dad, who now seems to focus on just a very limited number of stories that he tells over and over, often talks about how he sold snow-cones out of the back of his car for awhile.

There is something very exciting about going into business. One of the things I enjoyed during my few days of selling radio advertising, was dealing with brand new businesses. There is just a certain infectious giddiness that people feel during those early days - often before the realities of cash-flow, profit margin, overhead, taxes and the like set in.

I think that entrepreneurs are the artists of the business world. It is when business most resembles God in that it creates.

I still have the little table that I used as my first Kool-Aid stand.

I am not sure of how old I was, I don't remember how much money I made or who purchased my watery Kool-Aid, but I made some sales. I remember dancing around on our front porch, shaking the money in my money box and shouting "I'm rich!".

Didn't everyone have a lemonade stand or Kool-Aid stand at some point, or has that tenant of Americana also faded into obscurity?

I am troubled these days by the constant barrage against those that take risks and achieve. It is wrong on so may fronts. For about twenty years now we have heard the mantra of "raising taxes on the rich" and "making the rich pay their fair share". Achievement and gaining wealth have gotten a bad name.

Those who achieve are often somewhat responsible for the pay check of those of us who work for them - a fact that is too seldom point out. There was a time when there was a universal recognition in this country of the contributions of those who begin and build businesses. When an entrepreneur took great risks and found success, people recognized that manufacturing plants grew up and then neighborhoods and churches and cities and schools. That's how communities were formed.

Sure, there were imperfections, people were not always treated fairly but in a free society, the markets would regulate inequities.

Let's take the example of Kool-Aid stands. Suppose one Kool-Aid drummer is selling a watered down product at exorbitant prices, before long the market will correct that. An new kid will decide to sell a better mix of Kool-Aid at better prices. And as he achieves success, more kids will enter the market and suddenly the Kool-Aid consumer finds that prices are lower and the Kool-Aid is better than it's ever been. And the kid with the water-down stuff has either corrected his practices or gone out of business, all because of competition.

When I was in the retail paint and wallcovering business, there were some paint manufacturing companies that had the dubious reputation of allowing an independent dealer to build up paint sales in a market, then stepping in and building a company store to compete with their own client.

With all the advantages held by the company owned store - the little guy would soon be out of business.

That is the trouble behind the bogus idea that a "public option" national health care plan will "promote" competition. It actually accomplishes just the opposite.

When all the little guys (the insurance companies) have to compete with the one big "company store" (the government) - a "company store" that makes the rules and regulates all the other stores .... a company store that is well-funded because it doesn't have to compete, but rather is funded by tax monies that are confiscated from the public without choice ... a company store that can regulate pricing, prohibiting the little guys to compete... it is pretty obvious that the little guys (the insurance companies) will go out of business.

No matter how evil you may think they are, consider how that so many would be effected by the collapse of such an industry. Employees of these "evil" insurance companies own homes, purchase automobiles, buy groceries, dine at restaurants, pay property taxes to fund public education, purchase clothing, cell phones, computers, refrigerators .... the list goes on and on.

It's funny to me how that one year ago, our government was willing to go overboard in borrowing against the future of this nation and to go overboard in usurping government control over several industries that were "too big to fail". Now our government is planning to launch a plan that would wreck an equally large industry. All because they are the "straw dog" set up to take the attention off the fact that 1/6 of the economy is becoming government controlled.

I'm not drinking their Kool-Aid.

Mr. Smith and Principled Journalism

Having raised the spectre of the superiority of old movies over new ones in my last post, I feel that I must do something to beat it back down. Therefore I offer another article on "Capra's America".

I will begin with a small clip from what may be my favorite Frank Capra movie (running neck and neck with "It's a Wonderful Life!"):




I've always been something of a late bloomer (still hopeful of blooming in some areas). In keeping with that pattern, I finally went back to get my Bachelors degree about 13 years after high school.

Whether those 13 years were wasted or not is a subject for another day, but I will say that I was probably better equipped in motivation and attitude at that point in my life than I was earlier.

Anyway, I learned alot, but two classes significantly marked my little college experience at what was then Kennesaw College: One was attending Newt Gingrich's first "Renewing American Civilization" class. The second was my "Organizational Behavior class.

Newt's class inspired me to continue to learn in countless ways, the Organizational Behavior class was significant because for the mid-term we watched the movie- "Bridge Over River Kwai" and for the final exam, we watched the movie - "The Sting". How great is that?!? We got to watch movies for the examinations! Of course, I was enjoying it so that I barely noticed that we had to answer difficult questions about the managerial and behavioral concepts that were modeled in the movies.

With that in mind, I would like to give a homework assignment to the readers of this blog: to find and watch the movie,"Mr. Smith Goes to Washington". I understand full well that I am "not the boss of you".

I just think this movie is one Americans need to see (my international readers may exempt the movie although it might be valuable to watch the movie and juxtapose it's concepts with the concepts espoused by our current President during his recent international "Apology Tour".

There are some things you need to know about old movies. They appear to be simplistic and "cheesy" to the casual observer, but I think that after several viewings, you will find that there is real depth here.

You may hear grown men - even public officials- using such terms as: "gee whiz!" and "gosh", maybe even one or two "darns". Just mentally replace those terms with your favorite profane terminology if you must, for "realism" sake.

Beneath all of the sentimental stuff is a rich story about a "bumpkin" with true ideals - ideals about what this country is REALLY made of. When this neophyte is selected to fill the unexpired term of an expired Senator - Jimmy Stewart (our hero) brings those ideals to Washington, DC.

There he comes face to face with arrogance and skepticism that is the face of Washington politics even today. He is mistreated by the press, he is mocked by his own staff and "handlers" and is generally taken advantage of.

If you can look past all the stuff that old movies are made of - stuff that I love - you will find a picture of "machine politics".

I believe it can be closely compared with the "Chicago-style, Machine politics" that we have in DC today... only less brutal.

Like most Frank Capra movies, this one has a real message to it. It gets me every time.

Jimmy Stewart says something in the movie about having "printer's ink" in his veins, because his Dad was a crusading newspaper man, losing his very life in a fight with some powerful opponents. "The lost causes are the only ones truly worth fighting for" he says.

With that in mind, let me wax both political and prophetic and make a prediction. Though the newspaper industry in America is basically done for, I believe that there are some journalist who went into that field for truly noble reasons. They truly believe in fighting for the little guy - the lost causes.

As our President sends out his minions to actually attack and demean legitimate news agencies, I believe that some of those very few true journalist will finally have enough.

I believe that they will realize that they have been duped and they will rise up with the mighty pen. They will make the stand even if they do not like the organization they are defending. Because it is a matter of principle - it's a matter of liberty.

I know that it appears that neither principle nor liberty are important any more to the majority of those "guardians of the public trust" - but deep down, when the fight seems all but lost ...

just maybe, someone will rise up.

Lost causes: the only ones truly worth fighting for.

Slum Dog Millionaire and the Missionary Next Door

We watched "Slumdog Millionaire" *on Sunday night, I want to give you some of my impressions.

Let me begin by telling you how we came to pick this movie. Most of you know that I do not hold recent movies in very high esteem. I generally do not appreciate the standard pattern for most Hollywood movies these days; most of them downgrade the things that I believe that we should be holding out as examples, things like - God, family, the work ethic, honor, integrity, self-control, achievement, patriotism, honesty and true love.

I like a movie that leaves me feeling better - or at least challenges me to be better.

I think there is more depth in those "cheesy" 90 minute wonders from Hollywood's Golden Age than hardly anything this side of 1959. Directors like Frank Capra - who felt he had a mandate from God to say something worthwhile with his movies, since he had been given the opportunity to speak with hundreds of people for 90 minutes in a dark theater - produced masterpieces in a very short time and on a very tiny budget and with often "home-made" special effects-

Oops, I have climbed onto my soapbox (sorry).

Someone in R.'s Bible study group mentioned seeing "Slumdog" - her husband had been to India and said that it was an accurate depiction of what he saw there.

My Sunday School Class teacher mentioned it as well.

And since we are reading "When Helping Hurts" in that class, the idea of poverty alleviation is on the forefront of my mind and in my heart.

So R. ordered it on Netflix (they should probably sponsor me) and we watched it Sunday night.

Having had a steady diet of those slow-moving Black-and-White treasures for a number of years, I find that I am much more sensitive. Extreme violence, profanity, even extreme action all seem to assault my sensibilities. This movie assaulted my sensibilities.

I am put off by the filth Jamal Malik, the protagonist in this movie, endured.

Anarchy, hatred, little regard for human life or individual property - all these were rampant in his world.

It made me thankful to live in America. It made me thoughtful . . . this would be the result of a Godless America. This would be the result of the end of capitalism, individual freedoms, and the rights we take for granted but came to us as a result of God's grace.

Because R. and I are in a missions-focused Sunday School Class and for the better part of the past year, we have been surrounded by a "missionary next door" type of atmosphere. We have had missionaries visit the class often, we recently sent a family out to Guatemala, we have had constant updates from others. And because we believe that God has us immersed in all this information and teaching and these tales of adventures for a reason. . . . I wondered how I would feel, should I be suddenly dropped into a culture like the one on the screen before me.

It scared me.

Could I find a place in my heart for people of a culture for which I can find no common ground?

Could I love anyone portrayed on that screen? Or would I just be duped by their poverty, repulsed by their stench, or frightened by the apparent absence of God or anything like the old U.S. of A?

These questions haunted me throughout the movie and since.

I don't know the answer.

A point that is brought out in the book, "When Helping Hurts" , is that because we are all partakers of Adam's fall, we are all victims of the brokenness of sin. That sin effects not only our relationships but also the systems that are in place. Material poverty is just one of the by-products of the Fall.

But Christ has redeemed us. And the only way that poverty can truly be alleviated is by pointing people to His redemption, so that He can heal their brokenness and begin to heal the brokenness of the systems in place around them. In so doing, He truly changes the world.

I saw no redeeming factors portrayed in this movie.

Early in the film, Jamal and his older brother found themselves alone after their village was attacked and their mother killed.

As they slept in a makeshift tee pee on a trash heap, in the afternoon sun, a couple of fairly clean cut, well dressed men approached and offer them soft drinks.

My fear was that these men were out to abuse the boys in some way and I braced myself for more shocking images. But instead they took a number of the children to what appeared to be a peaceful compound filled with clean, happy children. They fed them.

And I thought - perhaps these are missionaries.

Soon I learned different. These Fagin-like miscreants meant to enrich themselves by using these children to beg on the streets.

There were no missionaries.

No peace. No safety.

What a scary world for a child.

That's scary for adults, too.

The movie has an honorable story line depicting true and selfless love.

But it troubled me.

There are people living in this paradise we call home that are no less hungry and frightened and empty and all alone than little Jamal Malik.

They need for someone to live redemption before them. Someone that will get engaged with them, where they are and explain the Kingdom of God with their lifestyle.

Where are the missionaries-next-door?

*Slumdog Millionaire -Warner Bros. 2008

Along the Way

Here are some random things:

• Dave Ramsey recommended anything by Seth Godin this week, I made a mental note to check out his blog; then Kevin Lloyd had a Facebook post from Seth Godin so I went there and found this ... it is sobering and helps me to question my motivation for social media involvement.


• At long last, I have finally finished reading "Of Plymouth Colony" by William Bradford. I started reading this excellent chunk of history almost a year ago... hoping possibly to finish it around Thanksgiving Day since it chronicles the Puritans establishment of Plymouth in 1620. I really thought I would be mesmerized by the book and plow through it quickly... not so! It was a grind. Which is a good term for the experience of these noble fathers. I am amazed at their endurance and their dedication to God and to following Him wholly. They survived physical exposure to punishing elements ... lack of every necessity ... continual misrepresentations and miscommunication with sponsors in Europe ... constant attempts of graft, extortion, and various means employed against them to take advantage of them. Their honor remained pure.


• Having returned from a wonderful tropical long weekend at Fort Walton Beach, Florida last weekend; this weekend has been cold, damp and windy.... we have already initiated the fireplace...twice!


• R. and I watched "The Guns of Navaronne" with Gregory Peck on Netflix over the past couple of nights... last night, the kids joined us in time to watch the big Nazi guns get blown up and to cheer for the Allies.


• Our latest Netflix DVD is "Slumdog Millionnaire" ... I do not have high expectations based on the fact that it is in color and was produced after 1949... but still I have been told that the poverty displayed is something we need to see...


• My son - chip off the old block that he is - will do practically anything for a laugh. So at a Go -Kart track at Ft. Walton, I convinced him to pose for this picture....

he's a good sport, and I told him so.

• I have a dilemma of sorts, Ab wants to participate in some kind of "Green" fashion show in which people enter clothing made up of mostly recyclable material. Being convinced that the whole "man-made Global Warming Hoax" is just that - I am torn between not wanting to discourage her creativity and not wanting to promote the myth.


• Our cat "Angel"(of death)... brought us a chubby little mouse tonight and deposited it just outside the door.... I think that's how the Black Plague got started.

Political Intrigue

I like political intrigue.

In August, I enjoyed watching representatives sweat when grilled by common citizens.

I will be interested when all the arm-twisting and cajoling begins as the health care reform catastrophe comes to a vote.

As you know, I am reading s-l-o-w-l-y through the Old Testament - on purpose - and I have just finished a fairly interesting tale of political intrigue right there in the Bible.

As the Second Book of Samuel opens - change has come to God's Chosen People.
Israel's King Saul and all his immediate heirs have been killed in battle.

The tribe of Judah has broken away from the union and lined up behind their newly appointed king - David.

David - whom God called, anointed and destined to be King of Israel- is content with the slice of the leadership pie that God has granted him - the single tribe of Judah. He sets out to govern, waiting until God decides for him to rule the entire nation.

I like WWII history but I am fuzzy on the facts as far as events leading up to the war. One thing that I think is true regarding Japan, is that the military became very strong and usurped the power from the Emperor. The Emperor then became more or less a puppet of the military machine.

Whether that assumption is correct or not - that is precisely what happened in the land of Israel at this juncture. Abner - the man who had been Captain of the Host for King Saul, supposedly his most trusted com padre - held a tight grip on the nation.

He appointed one of Saul's sons - Ishobesheth - to reign in Saul's place (try repeating that name aloud a few times... it's kinda fun the way it rolls off your tongue "ISH -bo - SHETH".... now try explaining why you are repeating that name aloud to the other people in the room...).

The two kingdoms being established, it was time to do battle. I am not sure why but war broke out between Israel and the single tribe of Judah.

The war began like some summit out of the movie, "The Godfather". Abner arrives at a pool and Joab (the Captain of David's army of Judah) is seated on the other side.

These two guys appear to me to be cut from the same cloth. There are none more loyal to their respective kings than these two. They would kill instantly - and without a questioning blink - if their king demanded it.

(although I am somewhat doubtful of Abner, since his king had recently been killed in battle along with his sons and Abner emerged from the same battle seemingly unscathed)

At this summit, Abner and Joab presided over a weird bloodsport contest between 24 of their men - a fight to the death. And then the real battle ensued.

Judah's army won handily and as a testimony to the military leadership of David and the legendary skill of the Hebrew fighting forces - they lost 19 men compared to over 300 thousand on the Israeli side. That's remarkable.

Joab had a baby brother named Asahel. He was known for his speed. On that day of battle, as the Israelis retreated, Asahel took note of Abner and dogged his trail. Apparently, Asahel was traveling light so as to maintain his speed, because Abner turned to him and told him to step aside and suit up with some armor. Apparently Abner didn't feel right about fighting a guy wearing only nylon running shorts.

Asahel refused and would not turn away from his close pursuit of Abner. After several warnings were issued, Abner had had enough.

This war-weathered veteran against the hyper-zealot of a kid. Without even turning around - and seemingly with the effort one might exert to brush away a fly at a Sunday picnic - Abner thrust the blunt end of his spear through the lean body of Asahel. Asahel died right there.

It was shocking and unsettling but I think nearly any court would have cleared him.

Joab, however, did not see it as an open and shut case. He marked Abner for revenge.

The civil war raged for seven and one-half years. Israel's might diminished as Judah prevailed.
Abner saw the handwriting on the wall.

When the weak King Ishbosheth scolded Abner over some indiscretion regarding one of Saul's former concubines, Abner used the occasion to announce his departure to the other side.

Abner stormed out leaving a bewildered and fearful king.

Abner soon met with David and worked out a deal to yield the nation of Israel to David's rule. Joab learned of this meeting just after it had ended and Abner had left for home. He secretly sent messengers to say that King David had requested that Abner return.

When Abner returned, Joab got his revenge.

Without Abner there to protect him, Ishbosheth was soon murdered. And because David had acted honorably regarding the death of both Abner and Ishbosheth, the ruling elders of Israel requested to come under his rule.

David would reign another thirty-three years over the entire reconstructed nation of Israel.

Can we take a cue from David here?

He rested in God's promise to him - even when it looked as if the promise was falling short of his original expectations.... David waited.

David endured all the ugly political intrigue that was surrounding him and seemed to stand between him and God's perfect plan.

When he did receive the awaited promise - he did it with grace and without self-promotion.

There is a lot of political intrigue going on today in our world, and many people - including myself - find that they are extremely frustrated over it.

We feel powerless to bring back justice.

Let's take a cue from David and see above all of the ugly turmoil . . . above to our Sovereign Lord . . . and let's wait for Him.

Stuff I'm Done With

Pardon my grammar - my daughter, Ab, has taken to correcting it quite frequently so I am offering this mea culpa beforehand for the title I selected for this post.

I am adding this as a category title also.

Sam Walton, founder of the Walmart chain, called it "voting with your feet": it's the act of walking away from something when you find it unresponsive, unsatisfactory, or undesirable.

My Dad had a similar phrase for it. It was one which he would mutter loudly as he and our family walked out of an establishment that offered less than satisfactory service. In those cases Dad would say "Remind me not to come here again!"

He actually never needed reminding but you get the point: Dad was voting with his feet.

R. and I have employed this practice several times; I am going to share some of them with you even though I know that many of my readers will find my reasoning silly (okay, I'm guessing three of the four readers will find my reasoning silly).

This stems from the fact that I am at the point of adding the National Football League to my list of Stuff I'm Done With. I will explain later, but for now here are a few items I have voted against by walking away from:

Cable TV - actually I am kinda' proud of the fact that R. and I made a decision together to turn in our cable box about a dozen years ago. We had a number of reasons - like the fact that our monthly cost had doubled but the quality of the programming had declined. The local cable company kept adding more channels when they increased our rates but the channels were mindless shopping channels.
We also felt that from a spiritual standpoint, it might do us good to do away with the clutter.

We left ourselves open to the option of installing a satellite dish if we just couldn't take it - we never did.

Our kids have grown up "without channels" as AA refers to it. They have missed out on being inundated with questionable moral messages, the tendency to fill empty time with so much empty inactivity, and the Siren's Song of irresponsible marketing practices.

Our kids may have also missed out on some pop culture and reality television, but I really think they can get more than enough pop culture on the internet - in small doses.

R. and I can get most any entertainment or news there also.

Disney - okay this is where I will lose a lot of you . . . when the Baptists boycotted Disney in the mid 90's we did too. And we did it for some good reasons, Disney had built an industry around safe, family entertainment and suddenly they veered away from that. We voted with our feet and determined not to spend our money there.

It helped that we didn't have very much expendable cash at the time and we didn't have any children begging us to take them to Disney world.

In all fairness, I have to tell you that we did eventually purchase some Disney movies (and still do) and we may take the kids to Disney world at some point. But having gone this long - we don't feel that we have missed anything truly important.

I must add that I couldn't care less if you take your kids to Disney. Not going did not make us better people - nor did it make us weird.

Professional Baseball and Football - having touched the proverbial "third rail" with that Disney thing, I will go ahead and plunge into an area that will have some people questioning my very manhood.

I have walked away from the diehard-fan approach to these professional sports. Here is why:

I am not a fan of Labor Unions. I think they might have served an honorable purpose -maybe - long ago. But I believe they outlived their usefulness and -for the most part- have become the epitome of corruption.

I believe that the failure of the U.S. auto industry can be laid solidly at the feet of Labor. And for that matter you could say the same for the economic depression that is the state of Michigan.

Nowhere is the uselessness of organized Labor more evident than in professional sports.

I think it was the mid to late 80's that we had a Baseball players strike and an NFL players' association strike.

I'm sorry, I do not believe these guys were beaten down by their employers. I fell out with both organizations because they had proven that their devotion no longer centered on the love of the game.

Couple that with the fact that no one seemed to want to be a role model anymore; and professional teams were cow-towing to every demand of the political correctness crowd.

Now, I need to tell you that over time I have not been solid in my protest. When the Atlanta Falcons did well, I saw some revival of my interest. But then R. and I began dating and eventually married and frankly I just had better things to do with my Sunday afternoons.

When the Atlanta Braves' Dynasty began to come into fruition in the early 90's I did become a solid and dedicated Braves fan. But now that their glory is fading somewhat - I am a fair weather fan.

Todays' headlines have pushed me over the - I'm done with that - edge.

Today I heard that Rush Limbaugh had been kicked out of his partnership in a bid to purchase the Ram's franchise.

I am a fan of Rush Limbaugh. I have been ever since the early days of Gulf War I when I was wildly searching every radio channel in hopes of learning more about our progress in that war.

All the other affiliates had left the latest news conference as I listened one day while traveling between my sales calls; then suddenly I happened upon this guy who was talking about the war. I soon discovered that he was coming from a strictly conservative political perspective, and he was articulate, confident and funny.

I became a fan because he passionately espoused the things that I believed in.

Whether you like him or not, Rush Limbaugh is a truly American Success story and he has overcome some major obstacles (including being a political target of Presidents and the U.S. Congress).

Now he is being denied this opportunity strictly because of his political beliefs.

I thought we didn't do that in America. Isn't that discrimination?

So, even though the deal never officially got into the hands of the NFL, I have decided that I'm done with the whole lot of them.

And in case you are worried that I won't have anything to do with all the extra time that I have now . . . oddly enough, I do.