I love to collect the stories of people who do stupid things. I am reluctant to call them stupid people because I am very likely to join their ranks at any given moment. Parker T. Hall Houghtaling was struck in the head by a New York subway train three years ago as he leaned out to see if the train was approaching.  Amazingly, he suffered only bruises, cuts, and a shoulder injury. On Friday, November 22nd Houghtaling was waiting on the platform of the Poughkeepsie train station when he stuck his head out and, you guessed it, he was hit by the 6:26 p.m. commuter train. The Poughkeepsie Journal reached Houghtaling by phone and he  confirmed the 2002 incident. He said he didn’t remember much of what had happened in his latest brush with the New York subway. You could say he is developing quite a “track” record. It is so easy to shake your head and wonder how in the world this guy could do this
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I am considering a number of ideas for a third book. When I go to the Christian bookstores I see hundreds of books…most of them by Max Lucado.   I am praying that God will give me something to write about that will meet a need. I am no longer interested in killing trees for my own ego even if it is not a lot of trees. With my book sales I am killing shrubbery but you get the point.   Here is my request. If there is a topic that you do not feel has been addressed or that you think I could address would you let me know? Send me your ideas by posting at the blog or via my email if you wish it to be less public. I will be back to the regular blog routine on Monday. Thanks for your help!
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We used to sing a stupid little song in Sunday School. The song went like this…   Count your blessings, Count them one by one. Count your many blessings, See what God has done.   There is actually a lot of wisdom in that stupid little song. We keep far better score of our problems than our blessings. Today I am counting my blessings with thanksgiving.   Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. Philippians 4 NIV I pray you will have a blessed Thanksgiving.
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I am taking a break from the daily blog until after Thanksgiving. But come back daily for an excerpt from my book “Bring’em Back Alive”. This section is from a chapter called Feud for Thought.   In December 1979, a tragedy occurred in my home state of Ohio. The Who rock group came to Cincinnati to perform at Riverfront Coliseum. The tickets were sold in a then-popular format called festival seating.   Ticket prices were fixed, and the best seats went to the concertgoers who could get inside most quickly. Needless to say, festival seating caused some chaos in the best of circumstances. But in Cincinnati that night, the self-centered desires for good seats led to disaster. When the doors finally opened, the impatient crowd surged forward, resulting in a crush of humanity. Eleven people were killed that night and scores injured.   I would venture that not a single person went to Riverfront Coliseum that night with idea of
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I am taking a break from the daily blog until after Thanksgiving. But come back daily for an excerpt from my book “Bring’em Back Alive”. This section is from a chapter called Feud for Thought. We covered numbers 3 & 4 yesterday. 5. Don’t leave your sense of humor at the altar.   One of the reviews of Bad Christians described me as “flippant.” To be honest I would have preferred “witty” or “erudite.” Flippant! But the fact is that I believe a sense of humor is one of God’s gifts to help get us to the finish line of life. “Humor is a rubber sword,” observed Mary Hirsch. “It allows you to make a point without drawing blood.”   An examination of the life of Jesus would indicate that He possessed a sense of humor. God’s writers did not set out to author a joke book, so you won’t find the phrase “a Sadducee, a Pharisee and a Roman
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I am taking a break from the daily blog until after Thanksgiving. But come back daily for an excerpt from my book “Bring’em Back Alive”. This section is from a chapter called Feud for Thought. We covered numbers 1 & 2 yesterday.   3. Use your mouth for blessing.   There is a book that details a multitude of uses for duct tape. I might suggest one more: If you have a critical spirit, tape your mouth shut. (I confess, that would reduce a fair amount of my own communication.) A bit of more scriptural but less colorful advice is contained in the book of James. It only takes a spark, remember, to set off a forest fire. A careless or wrongly placed word out of your mouth can do that. By our speech we can ruin the world, turn harmony to chaos, throw mud on a reputation, send the whole world up in smoke and go up in smoke
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I am taking a break from the daily blog until after Thanksgiving. But come back daily for an excerpt from my book “Bring’em Back Alive”. This section is from a chapter called Feud for Thought.   I am not naive enough to think that we can solve everything with a New Year’s resolution. We are flawed and we are sinners, and we bring to the party everything that implies. But I do believe in the power of the Holy Spirit and the always-present possibility of revival in the body of Christ. So I will remain a prayerful optimist until the Lord takes me home. Here is my modest step-by-step plan to begin to shift the momentum in the battle for unity. 1. Remember that Christ died for everyone. The reality of that truth can make a person uncomfortable. That guy who hits his wife: Christ died for him. The homeless guy in the refrigerator box under the bridge, the rebellious
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