Head-dibs

This is New Year’s Eve, the day before New Year’s Day. Congratulations, you made it! Make this day (and the next) meaningful by taking time for personal reflection. Someone once likened our lives to be like a stirred-up pond--murky, cloudy. When the sediment settles, the bottom can be clearly seen. Perhaps you need to get to the bottom of something with God or with someone else. There is no better time than the present to take care of business, to work toward peace and reconciliation with someone. If you need peace with God, no work is required as He's already made the way by the cross of Christ if you will repent. New Years 1863, the Emancipation Proclamation was enacted. What freedoms do you need in your life? While fireworks are a common feature of New Years, some magazine and newspaper publishers burn publications of the past year, really putting behind everything that happened the previous year. What do you need to finally put behind you on the cusp of a new year? Ancie...

The most memorable Christmas I can recall was the year we covered the Christmas tree with small gold-colored clips that held tiny red (unlit) candles. This was the year we discovered frosting in a can that permitted us to decorate our gingerbread men with particular fineness. This was the year I got a John Deere tractor, a gas station, Lincoln Logs and this may have been the same Christmas I got a small plastic case that folded out presenting a Western scene with a teepee on one side and a fort on the other. The scene was populated by tiny plastic cowboys and Indians and the hours of play turned into years of play. I can’t say there is one particular gift that stands out as my favorite. I’ve had a few “screamers;” you know, those gifts you open and the only reaction is to scream and dance. “The Complete Works of Jonathan Edwards” was a screamer a few short years back, and while those two volumes hold a special place on my shelf, in my mind, to my walk and for my life, they are not my ...

Over the weekend I came across yet another controversy regarding Christmas decorations which was rather unusual. The controversy concerned a woman who used Christmas lights to decorate her home, only the lights were arranged in the outline of a certain crude hand gesture. While I disagree with that particular arrangement, I find myself taking her point. Consider for a moment those who are offended at traditional decorations (to use an over-generalization to include biblical forms or otherwise)--what’s the big deal? I believe this woman turned the whole thing over on its’ head by being blatantly offensive. Biblical imagery is slowly disappearing from public view and the outcry is heard the loudest during the Christmas season. The truth is that removal of biblical imagery is impossible. The world as we know it would not exist--but what would happen if it were possible?  Let’s wake in the twilight zone where biblical imagery does not exist: There is no such thing as Michelangelo's D...

Douglas Adams four-part trilogy, the Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, includes a curious setting where at the edge of the universe, one is able to sit down to a nice restaurant meal and watch the oscillating beginning and end of all things. Reflecting on this last year leaves me with the impression that we’ve had the appetizer and salad, now awaiting the arrival of the main course (or at least one of its features). Take a moment and think through the headlines: how many times has the world ended? There is the first lesson I’ve learned: think. Think about the source of the information. Some may quickly say, “ religion and religious fanatics are the source.” The second lesson I’ve learned is this: God can be trusted. Now, let’s process this. It takes not much thought to agree there will be an end to the world and it will happen in two ways: our personal death and the leaving of it; and, the actual cessation of all things as we know it. One will happen before the other, and should the l...

Here are some amazing facts about McDonald's McRib sandwiches . Send your children to school with body armor . Maybe there was a reason this child did not want to go-- but spray him with mace ? These Texas teachers pack more than just a lunch box . Will the President take Joe Biden's Baretta ? Oh, how we need The Prince of Peace! Books I'm reading (with my journal):

Someone posted photographs of the school children lost in Sandy Hook. The pictures were unexpectedly difficult to view. The difficulty came when a seemingly random thought reappeared--a thought I had the other day, then forgot as it wandered off to wherever it is wandering thoughts go when they wander. Well, this particular thought decided it was time to return home, and it slammed the door upon arrival. The thought was this: if we are a the outcome of evolution process, a mass of tissue responding to chemical reactions and impulses, then why does tragedy matter? If evolution were true, then those who cause destruction on others are demonstrating strength and the power necessary for survival. Yes the question remains: how can this be survival when the assertive ones destroy themselves? Ernest Hemingway was a man who lived powerfully, strongly, assertively then took his own life because he was convinced that even in death, he was still in control, living life to the final moment. The ...

The approaching Christmas day has me thinking about one nearly overlooked facet of God’s attributes: His Beauty. The dark of night is twinking bright with colored lights of stars above and homes below. Whatever Christmas may be, we all agree this is a time of beauty so as creatures made in God’s image, we creatively add attractiveness to that which would otherwise be dreary with light and color and sounds and smells and warmth and laughter. Consciously or otherwise, this time of year we reflect outward that which draws us to Him: beauty. Attractiveness. There is another side to beauty but before we quickly say, “oh, that would ‘ugliness,’” let us first discover where beauty resides and then the source of un-beauty (whatever that is). I turn to an experiment that recently took place on the streets of New York. If I had not seen this with my own eyes, I, too, would think I had made this up. A small group of “someones” rolled an old upright piano out onto a sidewalk then pointed a camer...

I can't wait to see the documentary in its entirety:

Ralphie and George. James E. White explores the great divide between "It's A Wonderful Life" and "A Christmas Story." Pioneers released a short film narrated by   Columbia International University alumnus Steve Richardson, commemorating the 50th anniversary of the arrival of the gospel among the Sawi, originally captured in the book,  Peace Child . Steve and his family revisit the Sawi and see how God is transforming their culture. The Bureau of Labor Statistics has a neat graphing tool charting unemployment rates since 1948 . Could Texas REALLY secede from the Union?

Can you guess what this is, what it does or how it's used? Everyone at Calvary Chapel Blythewood knows!

Here's a compelling reason to skip the "Christmas Season"  ! One state seceded where the others failed. This writer suggests " Four Reasons Men Don't Read Books (with a practical suggestion) ."  What would be your thoughts on the matter? Bomb the moon for bragging rights . Yeah. Here's a fun one! State and local law enforcement want wireless providers to store your text messages for at least two years . You know, for evidence. This brilliant person assigned each number of Pi to a musical note. Here is the result (in the right hand): The video just goes to show that "All Creation moves in a cosmic danse before the Lord her King . . ." (Kemper Crabb, "The Danse")  

Someone thought up 17 reasons as to “Why God Never Received a PhD.” While my initial thought was “who would award it to Him?” here are my responses to each point. One can easily see how well the objector did his research--and most likely will not get a PhD, either: 1. “He had only one major publication.” This is like saying a Library only has one book. There are sixty-six books of the Bible, each “published” over the course of time. 2. “It was in Hebrew.” There are doctoral students who do publish dissertations in languages other than English. (I can’t believe I actually had to mention this). 3. “It had no references.” What is one to do with Ancient Near Eastern law code (such as “the goring ox” law) and the other books mentioned in the books of Kings and Chronicles? 4. “It wasn’t published in a refereed journal.” The quotations of scripture in the works of early Christian writers alone are so extensive that the New Testament can be reconstructed without use of any actual man...

Never been fond of cats. Never. Never had a reason to. Then I stumbled across a poem titled “ Jubilate Agno ,” by Christopher Smart penned between 1759 and 1763 that caused me to rethink this animal. The title, by the way, means “celebrate the Lamb.” Here is a summation of this unusual poem and three points that spoke most loudly to me: 1. He considers God: My cat is the servant of the Living God, duly and daily serving Him, worshipping in His way. Having done duty and received blessings, he begins to consider himself by inspecting, washing, stretching and extending; he fleas and rubs himself; he looks up for instruction; he goes in quest for food. 2. Having considered God and himself, he considers his neighbor: If he meets another cat, he will kiss her in kindness; when he takes his prey he plays with it to give it a chance. 3. When his day’s work is done, his business properly begins: He keeps the Lord’s watch in the night against the adversary, count...

Another pic from inside our local library.