Random thoughts after a trip to North Carolina...
+ One of my favorite parts of a trip is to listen when the flight attendant announces the connecting gates. As she reads the list -- San Diego, Gate C22; Orlando, Gate B 15 ...-- I enjoy memories of trips to the places I've been, wonder about the places I've never visited and marvel at how a group that's often as small as 30-50 folks can scatter in so many different directions.
+ What's better than spending a few days with family who live halfway across the country? Not much, really.
+ Airports need more electrical outlets.
+ Quote from Timothy Keller's The Reason for God, which I read on the trip: "The fact that Jesus had to die for me humbled me out of my pride. The fact that Jesus was glad to die for me assured me out of my fear."
Wednesday, September 17, 2008
Sunday, August 31, 2008
"perfect" parents
Here's a quote for parents during those inevitable times when we feel like failures because our efforts to raise perfect children somehow came up short: "And what if we could have been the perfect parents? The creation story brings a fascinating dimension to this. Adam and Eve had the perfect father and lived in the perfect environment, but they chose a way their father didn't want them to go." - Rob Parsons in Bringing Home the Prodigals
Sure, we make mistakes as parents and we must take responsibility for them and try to parent better. That's tough enough without the weight of false guilt. Sometimes we must recognize that our children have free will, too, and sometimes they make poor choices. When that happens, can we love them like God loves us?
Sure, we make mistakes as parents and we must take responsibility for them and try to parent better. That's tough enough without the weight of false guilt. Sometimes we must recognize that our children have free will, too, and sometimes they make poor choices. When that happens, can we love them like God loves us?
Thursday, August 14, 2008
Java Junk
I don't understand coffee. Well, I understand that it comes from this bean that's ground up and the used to flavor hot water and bring the near-dead to near-life. But it's the mixing of the water and the grind that always gets me. I never know how much water to mix with how much ground up bean. So I wing it. And since no two cups of coffee ever taste the same anyway, it usually works out OK.
I noticed this morning that the directions on a new bag of coffee explained the complicated formula, and this made me happy. But I also noticed that it told me how much coffee to use for "6 ounces" of water. Now, I don't know about you, but I usually drink my coffee by the cup(s). So now I had to do math, which is hard enough when I'm near-life and darn-near impossible when I'm near-dead. On the positive side, I had a measuring device for the coffee that actually told me it held "1 tbsp" (as opposed to the ones we have that just say "coffee scoop"). Still, I stood semi-frozen by the math. So, of course, I winged it. I dumped about 10 scoops of coffee into the filter, poured in enough water to make me two or three cups of coffee and turned on the machine. Magically, it worked out OK. Since no one else was drinking my brew on this particular morning, I didn't have to worry about pleasing anyone but myself. And within 30 minutes I was near-life and ready to start the day.
I noticed this morning that the directions on a new bag of coffee explained the complicated formula, and this made me happy. But I also noticed that it told me how much coffee to use for "6 ounces" of water. Now, I don't know about you, but I usually drink my coffee by the cup(s). So now I had to do math, which is hard enough when I'm near-life and darn-near impossible when I'm near-dead. On the positive side, I had a measuring device for the coffee that actually told me it held "1 tbsp" (as opposed to the ones we have that just say "coffee scoop"). Still, I stood semi-frozen by the math. So, of course, I winged it. I dumped about 10 scoops of coffee into the filter, poured in enough water to make me two or three cups of coffee and turned on the machine. Magically, it worked out OK. Since no one else was drinking my brew on this particular morning, I didn't have to worry about pleasing anyone but myself. And within 30 minutes I was near-life and ready to start the day.
Monday, August 11, 2008
Mental Olympics
Random thoughts about The Games ...
+ If you walk in the house and your son-in-law is watching water polo on television, you know the Olympics are going on.
+ Why do men's beach volleyball players dress somewhat like athletes and women's beach volleyball players dress like they're prepping for an Sports Illustrated swimsuit photo shoot?
+ Have the Olympics gotten you all worked up about the plight of Tibet? Check out www.admg.net and www.truetibetan.com.
+ Don't know about you, but I pumped my fist when the American relay team beat the smack-talking French by a finger in the 400 meter freestyle.
+ If you walk in the house and your son-in-law is watching water polo on television, you know the Olympics are going on.
+ Why do men's beach volleyball players dress somewhat like athletes and women's beach volleyball players dress like they're prepping for an Sports Illustrated swimsuit photo shoot?
+ Have the Olympics gotten you all worked up about the plight of Tibet? Check out www.admg.net and www.truetibetan.com.
+ Don't know about you, but I pumped my fist when the American relay team beat the smack-talking French by a finger in the 400 meter freestyle.
Monday, August 04, 2008
Pet Peeves
I try to keep my pet peeves on a short leash. Most of them aren’t housebroken, and they don’t always play well with others.
Peeve: Meaning something that is particularly irritating or annoying. It comes from the 14th Century word “peevish,” meaning “ornery or ill-tempered.”
You can see why they don’t make great pets.
Mine often involve the English language, which probably makes no sense considering how often I mistreat that fine lady.
Regardless, here are two that stand at the front door and bark all day: 1.) People who write/say unconscious when they mean subconscious. 2.) People who put their sentence-ending punctuation marks on the outside of their quotation marks. And, while I’m at it, Microsoft Word when it tells me to use “that” or “whom” when the appropriate word to use is “who.”
Whom knows what lurked in the unconscious minds of the designers when they created the program defining the usage of “who”.
Peeve: Meaning something that is particularly irritating or annoying. It comes from the 14th Century word “peevish,” meaning “ornery or ill-tempered.”
You can see why they don’t make great pets.
Mine often involve the English language, which probably makes no sense considering how often I mistreat that fine lady.
Regardless, here are two that stand at the front door and bark all day: 1.) People who write/say unconscious when they mean subconscious. 2.) People who put their sentence-ending punctuation marks on the outside of their quotation marks. And, while I’m at it, Microsoft Word when it tells me to use “that” or “whom” when the appropriate word to use is “who.”
Whom knows what lurked in the unconscious minds of the designers when they created the program defining the usage of “who”.
Friday, August 01, 2008
Rice girl
My oldest sister almost made me cry. Well, surely she made me cry during our wayback growing up days. But she almost made me cry this week. She's coming upon her 25th wedding anniversary, so she took that occasion to have her wedding photos saved to a disc. In the process, she came across some photos of the little girl who couldn't get enough of handing out rice bags to guests. No matter how many rice bags you had, she'd gladly give you another just so long as you would take it. The little rice girl's all grown up -- almost 27, but still her daddy's little girl.
Thursday, July 24, 2008
The Marching of Time
Life marches on. Sometimes we're the tassel in the cap, dancing in the breeze. Sometimes we're the insole of the tuba player's shoe.
Thursday, July 17, 2008
Missed Opportunities
By Stephen Caldwell
7/17/08
The footprint held its place
In the sands of time,
Patiently awaiting its demise,
And peering toward the coming tide
Nearby, the shell,
No small one, this
A treasure for its size and purity
Hiding quietly in the soft, wet beach
The other shells,
Dozens and more,
They wash further in,
Some break or crack,
While others stay whole
And make their way
From sand, to hand, to pocket, to bowl
They have their beauty,
Their story to tell,
And, while small, they tell it well
Along with all the others in the bowl
The bigger shell could be that bowl,
Wide at the mouth
And deep, deep, deep
Like the ocean that spit it onto its beach
And there it rests,
Catching its breath,
Its humpback sticking up
Just inches from the footprint
They say nothing,
The footprint and the shell
Time approaches with the swell
And then it comes
And then they’re gone
Friday, June 20, 2008
Endings and beginnings
After more than nine years of writing The Dad Zone for the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, the print version of the column fades into the recycling bin as of Wednesday, June 25. The question becomes, what now of The Dad Zone?
This blog site's been around for a few years, but it's gotten little use. That may change. Right now, I'm in the "contemplation" stage. To blog or not to blog? Would anybody read it? Can I make money with it? Does it make any difference?
So, I shall commit these questions to prayer and move forward with an occasional posting here until it becomes clear that I should either expand this into a regular offering or drop it altogether.
This blog site's been around for a few years, but it's gotten little use. That may change. Right now, I'm in the "contemplation" stage. To blog or not to blog? Would anybody read it? Can I make money with it? Does it make any difference?
So, I shall commit these questions to prayer and move forward with an occasional posting here until it becomes clear that I should either expand this into a regular offering or drop it altogether.
Thursday, January 31, 2008
A Parting Thought
Quick story: Jesus was somewhere near Caesarea Philippi, a popular city of his time about 25 miles north of the Sea of Galilee and at the base of Mt. Hermon. He was just hanging out with his boys when he asked them, in essence, what folks were calling him. They threw out a few answers. Mostly, it seemed, people said he was a new version of one of the Tanakh prophets. "But what about you?" Jesus asked them. "Who do you say I am?"
If you've never made a serious effort at answering that question, my parting prayer for you is that, beginning today, you'll do so. Whatever answer you come up with, at least you'll own it. It won't be your parents' answer or the culture's answer or your 11th grade teacher's answer or my answer. It will be yours.
C.S. Lewis believed there were three possible conclusions: Jesus was a fraud, he was a lunatic or he was, as he claimed, God in human form. There’s also the choice of dismissing the question. But even if we ignore the question, to paraphrase Neil Peart, we've no doubt made a choice.
I'll leave Lewis with the final words:
"I am trying here to prevent anyone saying the really foolish thing that people often say about Him: 'I'm ready to accept Jesus as a great moral teacher, but I don't accept His claim to be God.' That is the one thing we must not say. A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic -- on the level with the man who says he is a poached egg -- or else he would be the Devil of Hell. You must make your choice. Either this man was, and is, the Son of God: or else a madman or something worse. You can shut Him up for a fool, you can spit at Him and kill Him as a demon; or you can fall at His feet and call Him Lord and God. But let us not come with any patronizing nonsense about His being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us. He did not intend to.” – Mere Christianity, pages 40-41.
If you've never made a serious effort at answering that question, my parting prayer for you is that, beginning today, you'll do so. Whatever answer you come up with, at least you'll own it. It won't be your parents' answer or the culture's answer or your 11th grade teacher's answer or my answer. It will be yours.
C.S. Lewis believed there were three possible conclusions: Jesus was a fraud, he was a lunatic or he was, as he claimed, God in human form. There’s also the choice of dismissing the question. But even if we ignore the question, to paraphrase Neil Peart, we've no doubt made a choice.
I'll leave Lewis with the final words:
"I am trying here to prevent anyone saying the really foolish thing that people often say about Him: 'I'm ready to accept Jesus as a great moral teacher, but I don't accept His claim to be God.' That is the one thing we must not say. A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic -- on the level with the man who says he is a poached egg -- or else he would be the Devil of Hell. You must make your choice. Either this man was, and is, the Son of God: or else a madman or something worse. You can shut Him up for a fool, you can spit at Him and kill Him as a demon; or you can fall at His feet and call Him Lord and God. But let us not come with any patronizing nonsense about His being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us. He did not intend to.” – Mere Christianity, pages 40-41.
Thursday, November 01, 2007
Me and Madeline Grace Brill
Madeline was born Oct. 28, three weeks and a day ahead of schedule. Her mother, Ashley, is my daughter. That makes her my granddaughter.
Thursday, December 28, 2006
LIFE
A valid if not exhaustive field manual for living as a follower of Jesus
Version 1.0 Christmas 2006
Chapter 1. Love God, Love others
Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”
-- Mathew 22: 37-40
Chapter 2. Talk to God
“Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.”
1 Thessalonians 5:16-18
“Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up.”
-- Luke 18:1
“Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.”
Romans 12:12
“And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints.”
-- Ephesians 6:18
“Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful.”
-- Colossians 4:2
Chapter 3. Read God’s Word
I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you.
Psalm 119:11
When your words came, I ate them; they were my joy and my heart’s delight, for I bear your name, O LORD God Almighty.”
-- Jeremiah 15:16
Chapter 4. Worship with other followers of Jesus
“Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.”
-Hebrews 10:25
“Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.”
-- Acts 2:46-47
Chapter 5. Embrace God’s forgiveness; extend your forgiveness
“My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand.”
-- John 10:27-29
“Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? As it is written: ‘For your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.’ No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
Romans 8:35-39
“Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, ‘Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother when he sins against me? Up to seven times?’ Jesus answered, ‘I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times.’”
-- Matthew 18:21-23
Chapter 6. Take care of what God’s given to you
“His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!’
-- Matthew 25:23
“Whatever happens, conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ.”
-- Philippians 1:27a
Chapter 7. Create results
“Make a tree good and its fruit will be good, or make a tree bad and its fruit will be bad, for a tree is recognized by its fruit.”
-- Matthew 12:33
“Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like a man who looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. 25But the man who looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues to do this, not forgetting what he has heard, but doing it—he will be blessed in what he does.”
-- James 1:22-25
“In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.”
-- Matthew 5:16
“You see that his faith and his actions were working together, and his faith was made complete by what he did.”
-- James 2:22
Chapter 8. Trust God for the results
“But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.”
-- Matthew 6:33
Chapter 9. Be humble
“My conscience is clear, but that does not make me innocent. It is the Lord who judges me. Therefore judge nothing before the appointed time; wait till the Lord comes. He will bring to light what is hidden in darkness and will expose the motives of men’s hearts. At that time, each will receive his praise from God.”
-- 1 Corinthians 4:4-5
Chapter 10. Finish Strong
“After removing Saul, he made David their king. He testified concerning him: ‘I have found David son of Jesse a man after my own heart; he will do everything I want him to do.’“
-- Acts 13:22
Chapter 11. Treat every day as a new beginning
“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!”
-- 2 Corinthians 5:17
“Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is – his good, pleasing and perfect will.”
-- Romans 12:2
A valid if not exhaustive field manual for living as a follower of Jesus
Version 1.0 Christmas 2006
Chapter 1. Love God, Love others
Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”
-- Mathew 22: 37-40
Chapter 2. Talk to God
“Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.”
1 Thessalonians 5:16-18
“Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up.”
-- Luke 18:1
“Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.”
Romans 12:12
“And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints.”
-- Ephesians 6:18
“Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful.”
-- Colossians 4:2
Chapter 3. Read God’s Word
I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you.
Psalm 119:11
When your words came, I ate them; they were my joy and my heart’s delight, for I bear your name, O LORD God Almighty.”
-- Jeremiah 15:16
Chapter 4. Worship with other followers of Jesus
“Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.”
-Hebrews 10:25
“Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.”
-- Acts 2:46-47
Chapter 5. Embrace God’s forgiveness; extend your forgiveness
“My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand.”
-- John 10:27-29
“Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? As it is written: ‘For your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.’ No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
Romans 8:35-39
“Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, ‘Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother when he sins against me? Up to seven times?’ Jesus answered, ‘I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times.’”
-- Matthew 18:21-23
Chapter 6. Take care of what God’s given to you
“His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!’
-- Matthew 25:23
“Whatever happens, conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ.”
-- Philippians 1:27a
Chapter 7. Create results
“Make a tree good and its fruit will be good, or make a tree bad and its fruit will be bad, for a tree is recognized by its fruit.”
-- Matthew 12:33
“Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like a man who looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. 25But the man who looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues to do this, not forgetting what he has heard, but doing it—he will be blessed in what he does.”
-- James 1:22-25
“In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.”
-- Matthew 5:16
“You see that his faith and his actions were working together, and his faith was made complete by what he did.”
-- James 2:22
Chapter 8. Trust God for the results
“But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.”
-- Matthew 6:33
Chapter 9. Be humble
“My conscience is clear, but that does not make me innocent. It is the Lord who judges me. Therefore judge nothing before the appointed time; wait till the Lord comes. He will bring to light what is hidden in darkness and will expose the motives of men’s hearts. At that time, each will receive his praise from God.”
-- 1 Corinthians 4:4-5
Chapter 10. Finish Strong
“After removing Saul, he made David their king. He testified concerning him: ‘I have found David son of Jesse a man after my own heart; he will do everything I want him to do.’“
-- Acts 13:22
Chapter 11. Treat every day as a new beginning
“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!”
-- 2 Corinthians 5:17
“Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is – his good, pleasing and perfect will.”
-- Romans 12:2
Wednesday, July 26, 2006
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