Sunday, September 30, 2018

Am I wrong?




"Nationalism is a religion and war is its liturgy."
-Stanley Hauerwas


Monday, September 17, 2018

Simplicity Goes a Long Way

I came across this and I thought I would share, I am always leary of having all the answers and of others who think they do.  Sometimes simple is better.  Read and be encouraged. 

http://www.internetmonk.com/archive/82924

Tuesday, August 28, 2018

Summer's Gone

Do you ever miss your childhood?
All those summer days and carefree afternoons of riding bikes and chewing bubble gum
Old washed out jeans and worn-in sneakers, walking everywhere and riding your bike
even further?

What about those purple-pink sunsets that signaled the days end right by the gas station, 3 blocks from your house?

The trees on your street, the stairs to your house, the next door neighbors dog?
Do you miss them very much?

Cold lemonade and pockets full of change and the nighttime sounds
of a thousand crickets talking to each other, you can almost hear the sound
No music needed, the symphony is played for free in your local hometown

That very first kiss, the days you missed at school and stayed home sick
but you really missed your friends
and you still miss them now
Skating rinks, skateboard wheels and playing tag until you fall on the ground

Late night calls and bouncing off the walls, to find something to do
Bored and lonely, longing to be free
And now we are and we long to go back and be
a child for one more Summer day

If time would slow down I'd visit that old town and maybe call a friend
so we could walk those streets again
and chase fireflies in the park
watch shooting stars and talk about our kids
maybe we could even bring them around
again

Saturday, July 28, 2018

Saturday, June 30, 2018

Church signs



When I travel around the state and go to different prisons to help out I see all sorts of church signs.  Some listing service times, others listing upcoming events.  Some simply have a scripture verse with the reference. 

There are digital signs, hand -painted signs, some with the plastic cover and black plastic letters you can change out to spell the words you want.  Some even have quotes from famous leaders and authors.  Some, on rare occasion have a snide remark, a sneaky reflection, those are the rare ones I like, here is such a sign I came across in an article I read, enjoy, whether you agree with the authors sentiments or not, it's an eye catching sign to be sure.

i was a stranger

Wednesday, June 20, 2018

Mom's Home...

“I always wondered why God was supposed to be a father," she whispers. Fathers always want you to measure up to something. Mothers are the ones who love you unconditionally, don't you think?” 
― Jodi Picoult

..."Honor one another above yourselves."-Romans 12;10B


Thursday, May 31, 2018

New developments in the SBC


New developments in the SBC for those interested in that sort of thing.


Wednesday, May 23, 2018

SBC Leadership

Just thought this article needed to be shared.  Read and share.  Be informed. 



Friday, March 23, 2018

Remember the Neighborhood?




Mr. Rogers was a much beloved character that many of us grew up with or have at least heard of.  The tv show he created and starred in, Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood lasted for 33 years, quite a run.  He was an ordained Presbyterian minister and also quite handy at the piano as he created most of the shows music. 

Sorry to deflate all your hopes but Mr. Rogers, Fred Rogers, was not in the military, not a sniper and had no tattoos.  Look it up and check out Snopes if you like.  He was very inclusive, liberal by most Southern Evangelical standards but mostly he was just kind. 

He liked Eddie Murphy's SNL take on him, he was groundbreaking in many of the avenue's his show took.  His mother made all those sweaters he wore on the show.  He was a vegetarian, and unless somebody has something new I haven't read I've never found anyone that has encountered him to have anything bad to say about him.  He was genuinely nice all around.  Hard to imagine, harder to come across in this day in age. 

He has a stamp commemorating his tv show and him that comes out today, go pick it up at your local post office.  Mr. Rogers truly made life beautiful.  Make today the same for others. 

https://store.usps.com/store/product/buy-stamps/mister-rogers-S_477204


Wednesday, March 14, 2018

Friday, February 23, 2018

School Shootings



An article for you to read about the violence associated with school shootings and a link to a website with some statistics.  Granted everyone can find some stats to back up their line of thinking.  And Buzzfeed is no pantheon of journalistic integrity but read and make your own conclusions.  I think there are some telling issues here.

school shootings

school shootings in america

Sunday, February 18, 2018

We Don't Need Your Thoughts & Prayers





Another shooting, yes, another one.  If we do nothing then we are complicit.  We have been, for a long time, a nation who allows it's children to die at school, so we can have our guns.  We allow innocent club goers, concert goers, people enjoying a night on the town, all these innocent weekend dwellers to be gleaned from families and communities.  We offer our thoughts and prayers.  And we go back to placing our order at the drive thru, clicking on our baskets on Amazon, sending our texts.

Make no mistake about it, we will be held accountable.  We are damning ourselves with our laziness, with our excuses and with our justification for keeping things just as they are.  Because it will soon happen so frequently that it will happen 100 miles away instead of 1000 and then it will happen to someone we used to know and then it will show up in our Facebook feed and then it will happen to someone we went to school with, then it will happen in the town a few miles down the road.

And then our own children will be involved.  Will it matter then?

I like what one woman did in the story I've linked to below, click it and read, I may just do this.  I need to do more and I plan to, because I've never contacted my senators or any political representative for that matter.  I need to and I plan to because it's not all up to them, it's up to us.  I"m a parent and I plan to say something. (See James 2:14-17)


thoughts and prayers

Ezekiel 33:1-6 "The word of the Lord came to me:  “Son of man, speak to your people and say to them: ‘When I bring the sword against a land, and the people of the land choose one of their men and make him their watchman,  and he sees the sword coming against the land and blows the trumpet to warn the people,  then if anyone hears the trumpet but does not heed the warning and the sword comes and takes their life, their blood will be on their own head.  Since they heard the sound of the trumpet but did not heed the warning, their blood will be on their own head. If they had heeded the warning, they would have saved themselves.  But if the watchman sees the sword coming and does not blow the trumpet to warn the people and the sword comes and takes someone’s life, that person’s life will be taken because of their sin, but I will hold the watchman accountable for their blood."