An Invitation

I know--the last thing that many of you need is one more blog to read. But since I have a new one that I'm following, I wanted to share it with you.Bible, Baseball, Burgers and Bar-B-Que--it sounds like something that I'd write, doesn't it? Actually, it's written by my son, Aaron. In the About Me section he writes, "I like the Bible. I like baseball. I like burgers. I like Bar-b-que. The number of things I like more than these four "B"s can be counted on one hand."I'm looking forward to reading the insights of a young man that is preparing for...

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A Gift For the Holidays

This morning, Black Friday in America, I will avoid the mass madness of the gift hunting crowds and give a gift to some very needy person. During the holidays, those that have cancer will continue with their chemo treatments and will continue to have a need for blood platelets. Many people that are having surgeries will need blood, and the accident rate from the many highway travellers will be on the rise as well as the associated blood need. Unfortunately, it is also a season that donations often drop. It's an easy give to give. Take a few...

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Thanksgiving

While the date, time and place of the first Thanksgiving can be debated, and the thanks that we give can be to our God, to some imagined being or to no one in particular (yes, even atheists celebrate Thanksgiving and give thanks--although I'm really not sure that I completely understand this); it should be noted that when President Lincoln made the declaration that the United States would set this day aside to give thanks, it was to give thanks to the Almighty God that had blessed and watched over our country.We had been embattled in a great civil...

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Price vs. Value

It's odd how some things can cost little and yet have great value and other things can be very expensive and mean little to us. I guess it's because the price is set by the seller and the value is set by the receiver. Perhaps I find myself dwelling on these things now because it's the time of year when we are all looking for great deals at the stores and the stores are gearing up for the really big sales on "Black Friday" and leading all the way up to Christmas.Each December, the Ozarks Chapter of the American Christian Writer's Association has...

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Guilty

I heard this Bible verse used earlier this week-- Psalms 109:8. It was used in reference to President Obama and was used by a pastor in a meeting of mostly pastors. As usual, I just hung my head and shuddered at the ignorance that seems to pervade otherwise intelligent beings and moral men and causes them to say the most stupid, hateful things.Sadly, these things aren't out of their own devotional readings of the Scriptures, but come from the loud mouthed radical right that are more interested in political victories than in the promotion of righteous...

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Seriously?

I have mixed feelings about posting this link. On the one hand, it's embarrassing (we're not all like that). On the other hand, it's kinda funny. Anybody that's gone to church for any length of time or listened to a variety of preachers, has heard somebody take some Scripture out of context and build a sermon around it--but this guy really takes the cake! See more funny videos and TBT Videos at Today's Big Thing.John <>&...

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Sharing the Joy of the Holidays (yes I said Holidays)

It is the Holiday Season! Already we have received numerous catalogs and sale ads that proclaim, "Just in time for the Holidays!"Along with all of the wishes for "Happy Holidays" and "Season's Greetings" come the seasonal complaints from Christians that that are offended by the use of "holiday" instead of Christmas. We'll say things like, "It's not a 'holiday tree' it's a Christmas Tree." We'll protest and boycott stores that have "holiday" sales but feel good about getting a good deal at a "Christmas" sale. I know that I've posted of these...

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Just for Fun

I picked this up from my blog-friend, Mike. While the title of this post says Just for Fun, there is plenty of truth here so pay attention!Guys Rules For WomenAt last a guy has taken the time to write this all down. Finally, the guys' side of the story. We always hear "the rules" from the female side. Now here are the rules from the male side. These are our rules!1. Men are NOT mind readers.2. Learn to work the toilet seat. You're a big girl. If it's up, put it down. We need it up, you need it down. You don't hear us complaining about you leaving...

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Now What?

Last week a man found himself in court because of a Driving While Intoxicated (DWI) offense. It wasn't his first. The judge fined him and took away his driver's license. The very next day, this same person gets drunk and then gets behind the wheel of a car. He drives (at about 80mph) into traffic that is stopped. The young man that was in the car that was hit suffered severe head trauma and after a few days was removed from life support and died.Perhaps there will be a day when the young man's family will hear of a life that was changed from...

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'Til Death Do Us Part

Last night there was a wedding at our church. It was not the first marriage for either the bride or the groom. This is not a judgment on them or on anybody that has been through the tragedy of divorce...just John thinking out loud (so to speak).In the morning service, we heard of four couples that celebrated anniversaries this past week. A young couple--their seventh, and the twelfth for another couple. Then came an older couple celebrating number 50 (sorry guys, but if you're celebrating number 50, you're an older couple!) followed by friends...

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