No time to write day…so here is a personal favorite from the hermetically sealed vaults. The striking Mrs. Burchett accompanied me on a speaking engagement in Knoxville, Tennessee. We spent a few days at a cabin in Pigeon Forge and did the tourist thing. One of the highlights took me by surprise. My bride loves pottery so one of my “sacrificial” ways to love her is to accompany her to pottery shops. Guys refer to that as “hitting behind the runner” or “taking the charge”. We stopped by a local shop called Alewine Pottery and I was immediately fascinated by the open work area. There was the owner making vases and pots right before my eyes. Behind me were shelves of the finished products – colorful and beautiful and functional. I watched him take a nondescript piece of clay and skillfully make an unique and beautiful creation. The verse from Isaiah came to mind. O Lord, you are our Father.      We are the clay,
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Grumpy sounds better than synonyms like surly, peevish or ill-tempered. I saw this t-shirt recently. Sometimes I wake up grumpy….but sometimes I let him sleep. But is grumpy really harmless? Or is it an insidious and contagious viral mood destroyer? Okay, that was an overdramatic attempt to pull you into the blog but a story by writer Eric Adler in the Kansas City Star reports that a growing body of psychological research is bearing out the power one individual’s mood can have on others. That’s right, my friends. Grumpy people really are contagious! “It is one of the most robust phenomena I have ever seen,” said University of New Hampshire researcher Richard Saavedra. “And it’s all unconscious.” Purdue University psychologists presented their findings at the annual meeting of the Midwestern Psychological Association. Janice Kelly and Jennifer Spoor took 43 pairs of undergraduates and asked them to complete a task. One was designated the leader, the other the subordinate. The leaders were
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Today’s meditation comes from the a song that was released when I was three years old. Fifty-two years after The Platters released the song they appeared randomly on the trusty iPod during today’s morning stroll with dog friend Hannah. The song is written about a guy pretending to be happy when his love interest has left him. The lyrics to The Great Pretender led me to think again about one of my pet peeves in the churches of America. I get angry, frustrated and sad when followers of Jesus go to church and pretend to be something we know we are not. Okay all of the time. I have lived these lyrics out Sunday after Sunday for too many years. Oh yes I’m the great pretender Pretending I’m doing well My need is such I pretend too much I’m lonely but no one can tell We go to a place where honesty should be encouraged. Where shortcomings ought to be accepted. Church should be the
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Last winter I was killing time at Baton Rouge Airport before heading home. The airport is designed with a large central glass dome and some trees in the middle of the atrium. The early morning rush was over and the airport was surprisingly quiet. I heard something that caught my attention. Chirping. Not some bozo on a cell phone. Actual bird chirping. I looked up and saw what looked like a couple of sparrows flitting about near the top of the atrium. Somehow these wild birds had found their way inside the airport terminal. I watched them for awhile and I thought about how cold it was outside that day. I reflected on how “lucky” those birds were to be in a climate controlled atrium and not have to brave the elements. They could pick amongst the left over food of the travelers. Airport food might be wretched for humans but it was a feast for foragers. What a life! And then it hit me. That is what I
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During Easter week USA Today featured a provocatively titled piece. The front page headline asked the question: “Is Sin Dead?” A famous television preacher was asked by CNN’s Larry King if he used the word sinner. I don’t use the preacher’s name because I get bombarded by his fans who ignore my point entirely. “I never thought about (using the word ‘sinners’), but I probably don’t,” The upbeat preacher answered. “Most people already know what they’re doing wrong. When I get them to church, I want to tell them that you can change.” But how can you be cured if you don’t know the disease? I understand that many of us (present company included) were damaged by a legalistic and graceless upbringing. But that is a theology problem. The truth remains the same. The late Howard Cosell signature phrase was “telling it like it is”. Our culture seems increasingly less capable of calling simple concepts by their name and it carries over to the church. Our politically
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(This is a no time to write day. Please accept this gently read post from the archives.) Warning: The following post may (or, sadly, may not) contain humor. This blog was produced in a program where irony and satire are processed. May contain sarcasm fragments. If you are allergic to humor or attempts at humor please avoid this product.  A potentially incendiary topic came up again as I rummaged through the Healthy Living section of the Dallas Morning News. I had ventured onto the thin ice of male and female brain differences in an earlier post. Having survived that article I am demonstrating the lack of male brain development by going there again. My bride and her female co-conspirators often forward e-mails that point out the unique qualities of men. For example… Question: What is the difference between men and government bonds?Answer: Government bonds will mature. My only defense is that the grey matter of the average male truly is different. Some of the key findings include that, on
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Today is a milestone for the humble ramblings. This is post number 500 in the brief history of this site. A lot has happened in the two and a half years that I have been blogging. Who knew that I would be publicly chronically a very personal journey that Joni and I traveled with her breast cancer? Yet your encouragement, prayers and care were a great help. Many of you have been blessed by her faithfullness and courage. I have lost several dear friends in the brief amount of time I have been writing this blog. An amazing number of readers kindly responded when my Mom died. This blogging is an odd thing. You feel a connectedness to many you have never met because of our mutual connectedness to Jesus. I reviewed the “bad Christian” archives to see which articles impacted the most readers over the first 500. I have to offer full disclosure here. I am throwing out the most read
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