I am taking a week off to spend with my bride. I am posting “gently read” articles from the very early days of this blog. Some of these posts are like new…only read by little old ladies on Sunday afternoons. Seriously, many of you missed these offerings. I hope you find something to enjoy. Blessings, Dave   If you read When Bad Christians Happen to Good People you know that I am not a fan of “Jesus Junk”. That is a term for the often tacky, sometimes offensive, and generally puzzling ways that we try to merge Christianity and our culture. The products range from the Jesus bobble head dolls to Christian breath mints. I had never considered bad breath to be a spiritual issue but I am still learning in my journey.   People now send me links to this stuff just to annoy me. Today I found out about  the new Talking Jesus action figure and it arrived just in time
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Two summers ago Joni and I did not have to turn on the morning news shows for visual entertainment. Every morning as we got ready for the day we would hear a familiar THUMP! That was the sound of crazy bird returning for his morning concussion. Our bathroom has a large half-moon shaped window near the ceiling. Every morning this bird would fly to the window sill, sit there for awhile, plan his attack, fly back a ways and hit the window full on. THUMP! He would do this over and over. Day after day. (This is a stunt double bird…not the actual bird)      Photo Courtesy Janesville Gazette Because I like to think I am smarter than that bird I would laugh and make fun of him…mindlessly hitting the same window day after day after day. Stupid bird. Then I would go out and imitate this poor creature with my own daily behaviors as a Christian. Day after day I would go out and slam
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I never missed the Lone Ranger television show when I was growing up. I suppose the portrayal of Tonto would not be politically correct today but what a young boy in Ohio saw was not stereotypes or politically incorrect images.  What I saw were men who cared about each other and had each other’s backs. I saw men who valued law and justice above personal vengeance. I saw two loyal friends. I was remembering those “thrilling days of yesteryear” recently as my bride was going through another round of chemotherapy. I began to consider my role as Joni’s sidekick in this brutal journey. I was thinking how I could be her Tonto to ride alongside her. Remember Tonto’s greeting to the Lone Ranger? Tonto always greeted the Lone Ranger with the expression “kemosabe”. Wikipedia reports that the origin of this expression is somewhat unclear, but James Jewell, an early director of the radio series, said the name comes from a boy’s
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Welcome to a  bonus Holiday edition of “Ask a Bad Christian”. The question came from a long time friend in the television business who asked “Bad Christian” the following question. Hello Dave,  I was wondering if you could do a story on grace and what it means to you. Thanks, Pat I decided this was a good time to write about grace. Why? Because I needed it desperately this weekend. I wrote a lovely little piece last week about the happiest day of the year. I wrote that I thought picking a day based on circumstances and formulas is silly. I noted smugly that we should choose to focus on the Lord and our joy should come from Him. I wrote that I was going to choose joy that day. What was I thinking? Those who are honest about this journey know that when we determine to be more obedient we are often given pop quizzes. I hate the spiritual pop quizzes as much as I did
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I was rummaging through various news sites and I found that I missed the happiest day of the year. Totally missed it! Last Friday was the happy day and I was clueless. Here is the too late (for me) story from USA Today. According to a scholar in seasonal disorders at a British university you should have felt happier than you have all year last friday. Cliff Arnall has analysed such factors as outdoor activities, nature, social interaction, childhood memories, temperature and holidays — data gathered over a period of 15 years in interviews with 3,000 people around the world. His conclusion: June 23 is the happiest day of the year.  “People across borders experience happiness when they meet with friends and family and establish close social relationships,” the University of Cardiff academic reported. “We need some close emotional ties.” He used what he considers a “simple equation” to reach his conclusion — O + (N x S) + Cpm/T + He.
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I know that when you signed up for these humble ramblings I told you there would be no homework. Well, you do have an assignment before you read today’s efforts. America’s Funniest Home Videos featured a hilarious clip of a toddler throwing a tantrum. Dear friend Sue sent me the link this week and I realized it fit perfectly into my Grumpy Old Man series. Click here to watch the Toddler Tantrum. If you didn’t detour to watch the video I will give you a brief description of the clip. If you have finished your homework skip to the next paragraph. The clip is called “The Crying Game” and it features a toddler who is intent on getting attention. He throws himself dramatically on the ground and wails loudly. When the Mom walks calmly by and ignores him, the child picks himself up and goes looking for Mom. As soon as he rounds the corner and spots her he throws himself
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I am embracing my new found role of grumpy old man. I suspect others have viewed me as a grumpy old man for some time but I am just getting around to embracing it. I am on the record as a huge fan of the Muppets. Two very underrated characters were Statler and Waldorf, the two grumpy old guys who sat in the balcony and criticized the show every week. I loved those guys. Here is a sampling of the sarcastic stylings of Statler and Waldorf. Statler:  What would you do if you were a rich man?Waldorf:  I’d buy the network and cancel this show!Statler: Wake up you old fool. You slept through the show.Waldorf: Who’s a fool? You watched it. Statler: I wonder if there really is life on another planet?Waldorf: Why do you care? You don’t have a life on this one! Okay, I will concede that the Muppet faces and voices made the lines funnier. I am thinking
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