I remember when I was a boy and hung on every word my Dad said as though it were an edict from God Himself. If Dad said it worked this way, then that’s how it worked. If he said something really meant something else, then I knew that I knew the real meaning of whatever…
Breaking the Silence: This Has Been a Long Time Comin’
Call it a funk. Call it a dry spell. Call it a lack of inspiration. Call it what you will. Whatever you call it, I’ve had it. I haven’t written a thing in over a month. Not here. Not at silverandblueblood.com. Not on Bleacher Report. Heck, I had to write stuff in a birthday card…
April 5th, Granky Day: A Celebration of Life, Love, and Laughter
If everyone knew what a few of us do, April 5 would be a national holiday. We would call it “Granky Day.” Granky Day would be a celebration of all the precious women who have lived holy lives, but refused to be “holier-than-thou.” It would be a day to celebrate a woman who exuded radiant…
One Holy Moment: This Is My Body…Take, Eat | an Easter Devotional
An Easter Devotional Communion, or the Lord’s Supper, has always been a holy and solemn event to me, thanks largely to my grandfather. I would not say that Pastor Bill Henager (my mother’s father) and I had a good many bonding moments. Ours was not the kind of grandfather/grandson relationship that led to many fishing…
Merle Haggard, Barack Obama, Rainbow Stew, Utopia, and Easter
Eatin’ rainbow stew in a silver spoon,Underneath that sky of blue. We’ll all be drinkin’ free bubble-ubb, An’ eatin’ that rainbow stew. Reading the news and the divergent opinions regarding health care reform and the general direction of the country, that old Merle Haggard tune came to mind. It reminded me to beware the governmental…
Stuck Like Congress, or Stuck in Philly With a Wandering Mind
Here I am, stuck in Philadelphia…literally. Another Nor’Easter has blown in with a vengeance, and I am a shut-in at the Homestead Suites. Stuck. One might see the way recent weather has brought much of the Northeast, including Washington DC, to a grinding halt as a metaphor for our government. So many decry the gridlock,…
Doctor Love’s Valentine’s Day Advice for Girls
Let me begin by saying I dislike Valentine’s Day and always have. I think an act of love on a random day for no particular reason has far more meaning than a bouquet of flowers, a box of candy, and a mushy card given on a day when you have no real choice but to…
Sarah Palin and the Advancement of Political Correctness and Gotcha Politics
Say it isn’t so, Sarah. Please tell me you are not turning the Political Correctness cannon on the party that created it. I know that Rahm Emanuel’s use of the term f—ing retarded” was insensitive, calloused, and hurtful to many, but was it really worth calling for his job? Must we continue to play this…
Worship is More than Good Packaging
A week or so ago, I received an email from the Editor-in-Chief of an Internet sports site to which I contribute. It was addressed to all of the Featured Columnists. He admonished us to think more about packaging and less about content when we put together our articles. He talked about using multimedia presentations, slide…
They Call Me Mr. Brightside: Finding the Positive in the Negative
Apparently, I am in danger of losing my membership in the Eternal Optimists Club due to my recent less-than-cheery communications. This is an attempt to correct my course. I have decided to list 10 negative things and look on the bright side of each. (I know I can do this.) So here goes… My truck…
This Too Shall Pass…But How?
Disclaimer: If you are a Christian weak in the faith or easily swayed by the brutal honesty of a man you might ordinarily expect to encourage and uplift you by handing you a pair of rose-tinted glasses and calling them “Faith,” then please…read no further. This is a blog and a blog is a journey….
Don’t Fly Away
(Part Four of a four-part series.) Dead flies putrefy the perfumer’s ointment… If the spirit of the ruler rises against you, do not leave your post; for conciliation pacifies great offenses. Ecclesiastes 10:1a,4 Contempt for authority! Just another fly in the ointment. Stand by the water cooler this week and I am sure you will…
Fly Right — A Devotional
Dead flies putrefy the perfumer’s ointment…Even when a fool walks along the way, He lacks wisdom, and he shows everyone that he is a fool. Ecclesiastes 10:1a,3 Here’s another fly Solomon found in the ointment: the hypocrisy of a fool. The foolish person wants to seem self-sufficient, like he’s got it all figured out. He…
Shoo Fly, Shoo! – A Devotional
Dead flies can make even perfume stink.In the same way, a little foolishness can spoil wisdom. The heart of the wise leads to right, but the heart of a fool leads to wrong. Ecclesiastes 10:1,2 In a recent post, I talked about how a little bit of foolishness can unravel a lifetime of wisdom. This…
Mark McGwire and Harry Reid: To Forgive or Not to Forgive…
It is not whether you sin or use; it’s how you play the game. Sinners and users, winners and losers. Whom do we forgive…and who will never be forgiven? Two of the biggest news stories of the last couple of days involve a powerful Capitol Hill politician and a retired Major League Baseball star. One…
Devotional: Flies in the Ointment
Dead flies putrefy the perfumer’s ointment, and cause it to give off a foul odor; so does a little folly to one respected for wisdom and honor. ~Ecclesiastes 10:1 [NKJV] Imagine presenting your lover with the gift of the latest, most exquisite perfume on the market. Imagine the look of anticipation as she tears the…
Not As Dichotomous As I Thought…
Just when you think your life is a dichotomy…Just when you think that, on the one hand, you write about the NFL and the Dallas Cowboys for one of the Internet’s largest and most successful sport sites, and on the other, you write a sometimes spiritually-charged blog about life and love, God and the world,…
Goodbye and Good Riddance
One of the annoyances on FaceBook and Twitter and other places where people put their best foot forward (like church) is the penchant some have to insist that every day is a great day. Everyone knows that it just isn’t true. It isn’t true for anyone. If every day was a great day, if every…
Breaking News: Gene Strother Nominated for Nobel Peace Prize
Dateline: Somewhere in East Texas, December 10, 2009 The AP, UPI, and Rooters (Arkansas’ state newspaper, not the better known Reuters somewhere over there in the UK) have just learned on this momentous day when President Barrack Obama is set to receive his Nobel Peace Prize that Gene Strother (pronunciation unknown), a popular blogger in…
My Thanksgiving (All Of This and Ty)
I am thankful… For sorrows that pass me by For the cleansing of a simple sigh For Donya’s Pumpkin Pie (more almonds, please) And Ty I am thankful… For the memory of friendships past For Autumn (but it goes too fast) For my half-empty, half-full glass And Ty I am thankful… For tears I never…