Last night, NFL pundits celebrated the illustrious career of one of the fiercest competitors to ever don an NFL uniform. From the analysts in the booth and studio to the hundreds of media types tweeting sentimental snippets, Lewis was hailed as a great leader, a great competitor, a great tackler…great, great, great. One last time….
My End of the World Speech Postponed Until Further Notice | Merry Christmas, Y’All
It’s (not) the end of the world! I was going to give an end of the world address before December 21st, but then I thought that if the world ended on the 21st, it would hardly be worth the effort. So, I didn’t. Since the world has not yet ended and there is no official…
Mom’s Song (A Life of Faith, Love and Hope)
The life of a catastrophe adjuster is uncertain. One day, you can be up to your elbows in claims and the next, the storm is being wrapped up and you wonder where you will be tomorrow. Maybe you will go home. But, if so, for how long? So, here I am on October 27, 2012,…
Decision 2012: Jesus and American politics
Let’s talk about Jesus and American politics. What would Jesus do? Would Jesus vote for Mitt Romney or Barack Obama for president? Would he vote at all? I am a Christian and a political conservative. Depending on your world view and approach to hermeneutics, you will either say those two go hand-in-hand…or they don’t. But…
Planning your life is easy; living your plan is not
Planning your life is easy. Living your plan is not. We must be willing to let go of the life we’ve planned to have the life that is waiting for us” ~EM Forster I posted this quote as my Facebook status this morning. Today wasn’t the first time I had run across it. But it…
Here’s to the men who lose!
To everything there is a season, A time for every purpose under heaven…Atime to gain, And a time to lose; A time to keep, And a time to throw away;Eccl. 3:1,6 (NKJV) I watched the Texas Longhorns and the Oklahoma State Cowboys last night. I was elated that my Longhorns won the game, but I…
The Greybeard Chronicles | Age is just a number and other happy birthday lies
It All Began With a Lie Today I turned 51. And that is the first lie I have told today. I woke up this morning thinking I would wax eloquent and pontificate on lessons learned in my first half century on planet earth. Now that I am 51, I can tell everybody what to look…
The Greybeard Chronicles: ‘Till my change comes
This morning at work, I was given a stark reminder of how quickly things can change and how incredibly unsettling change can feel. We talk a lot about change, don’t we? The current president promised hope and change. Folks like me fail to see the hope, but we sure recognize the change. We talk about…
A Dubious Anniversary: 2012 marks the 20th anniversary of political correctness
With the election of Bill Clinton in 1992, America ushered in the era of political correctness. “Honest” Abe Lincoln and his impact on public life was swept away in favor of pandering to the whim of prevailing thought. Sensitivity became more important than integrity. Morals were replaced with morés. Even churches have felt the impact…
Proverbs 27 and The Proverbial Relationship
Proverbs 27 is one of those subsets of Solomon’s proverbs that contains a collection of observations, any of which can stand alone as its own pearl of wisdom. There is, however, a rough, overriding theme in these verses—that of interpersonal relationships, whether with friends, adversaries, family members, employees or employers, or even the way we…
The GreyBeard Chronicles: Welcome to Cube Gene
I recently welcomed to my cubicle a new inhabitant. I have now served as cube mate and mentor (do as I say, not as I do) to all three members of a trio of twenty-something friends. When this dawned on me and I pointed it out to the newcomer, he responded by calling my little…
The Dark Night Rises—Only Light Can Pierce This Darkness.
The Dark Night Rises James Holmes, the 24 year old mass murderer, and his deadly assault on movie-goers in Aurora, Colorado has a nation mourning and searching for answers. He also has reminded us once again of the depths of depravity to which the human heart can sink. America searches for answers For now, political…
The Holly Strother Story—Holly’s Heart on Joni and Friends Television Show
Holly Strother proves that His strength is perfect In 1983, my wife Donya and I welcomed our second of three daughters into the world. We also officially became the parents of a disabled child. What we didn’t know, but would spend the next twenty-plus years learning, is that we had also become the parents of…
Things I Ain’t
I ain’t never been nowhere I didn’t go to get there I ain’t never done a thing I didn’t do [br] I ain’t never spoke a word I didn’t think of And hardly thought a word I didn’t say [br] I ain’t never owned a thing I didn’t have I ain’t never prayed a prayer…
Father Along: Precious Memories of Dad Still Linger
A few days ago, my uncle Troy Henager texted me. He said, “Father’s Day is just around the corner and I was remembering some of the things your dad used to say.” You see, Troy is only three years older than me and we both worked at D&F Battery & Electric from about the age…
Love is not a poem
[br] Love is not a feeling but nothing feels better than to love and be loved [br] Love is not an emotion but the emotions run wild, soar and ebb because of love [br] Love is not an action but no one springs to action like the one driven by love [br] Love is not…
The Pessimist’s Version of the Old Adage
Have you ever been peppered by the well-meaning “old adage” as a means of getting you out of the mulligrubs? Maybe you are enjoying your mulligrubs. Maybe you don’t want to be cheered just yet. Maybe there is a cathartic element to grumpiness that some eternally annoying optimists will never understand. So, I reworked some…
The Greybeard Chronicles: Yesterday, When I was King— or, There is No Time Like the Present
It is the habit—and the prerogative—of those of us with silver in our hair to reminisce, to rubberneck, to relish (and embellish) past heroics. I have not pastored a church since 1997. I have not suited up for a game of organized football since 1979. The further I get from the things I “used to”…
2-4-23-38-46: Numbers that shall live in infamy
2-4-23-38-46, Mega Ball 23. If your Mega Millions ticket sported that combination last night, please know that you are loathed and envied all across the Fruited Plains and from sea to shining sea. Of course, if you just won a world record jackpot, you aren’t reading this little blog. So, never mind. What a crazy…
God Bless the Lesser Lights: The Undistinguished, Unextinguished.
Lesser Lights | An Original Poem God bless the lesser lights: Those lives lived on a small scale; Those names that never lit a neon sign, Nor graced a magazine cover, But are forever etched in stone In mostly-neglected, weed-strewn tombstone; Whose memory is faded, even to those that loved them. Their time…