NFL Cardinals!

I suspect more HDTV units will be sold this week than any other in the year, especially in the Arizona desert! Why? Because the Arizona Cardinals are going to play in the Super Bowl next Sunday! The Cardinals have been one of the worst franchises in professional sports for a very long time, so no doubt the band wagon fans will want to see every detail of the game in high definition!




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One Really Tough Week!

We have had better weeks! Last Saturday I got a call that a friend and fellow Christian had passed away. Then on Sunday morning we got word that another of our members had lost his battle with illness. Tuesday morning I received another call to announce that one of our shut-in members had passed away after several year of deteriorating health. I have prepared had three funerals this week.

Add to that information that on Monday afternoon that the doctors told my wife’s mother that they cannot do anything more to overcome a series of health problems for her. Her body is failing from leukemia, renal failure, pneumonia and a bladder infection. This afternoon she was moved to hospice care, where she will be made comfortable as she finishes her journey.

UPDATE--My Mother in Law finished her race yesterday afternoon, Saturday the 24th.





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The Demands on the Students

These days it seems as though the band directors and choral directors and coaches that head up the extracurricular activities at school place an inordinate amount of demands on the young people who sign up to participate. They almost act as if the kids owe them everything. I went to watch my grandson play basketball last night and it was lots of fun. But he has to be at school before daylight and stay till late. But he is squeezed for time to do things like administer his acne treatments or relax with friends, or spend time with his GrandDad!




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A Very Decent Man!

I watched the farewell speech by President Bush tonight. I was not long, but it was a heartfelt presentation by a man who loves his country and has done what he beleived was best for the nation at every step. I realize that there were things that should have been differently, but I do not know how any honest person, regardless of political persuaion, can consider Mr. Bush as any less than a very decent man!





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HOUSE, by Frank Peretti and Ted Dekker

I love to read, but the horror genre has been off limits ever since I saw the original Psycho in 1960 and was scared to walk the three blocks to my home. I was 12 and I decided then that I did not want anything to do with such movies, stories, books, or even “fun” houses at the fair!

So I was surprised to receive a novel for Christmas, House, by Frank Peretti and Ted Dekker. My daughter, who gave me the book, knew that I loved This Present Darkness, also by Peretti, so she thought that I would like this one too. She said it was “Christian Horror.” I never knew there was such a thing!

I want to review the book here, and I hate to give away any of the drama in the book, but I am not sure how to give a good review without describing some of the key elements, so if you think you might want to read the book, maybe you ought not read any further in this post.

I entered the book with trepidation. I met Jack and Stephanie as they were on their way to a counseling session to try to salvage their marriage. Things had not gone well for them following the drowning of their daughter a year earlier.
Their trip took a detour that led to their being drawn to an isolated house that looked like an old Southern inn when they arrived. But it turned out to be anything but a place of cordial hospitality. Another couple, Randy and Leslie, also found themselves in the place that night. The four shared a night of unmitigated terror.

As the evening unfolded, the house seemed to be alive, with a mind of its own. It seemed to know the hearts of the four trapped inside by the machinations of the house itself and the villain, Barsidious White.

The story moves at a good pace and helps the reader to get a growing awareness that the personal guilt of the individuals was contributing to the animosity of the house toward the victims. I must admit that I can think of few things that are more horrifying and painful than having to come face to face with one’s hidden sinfulness.

The story allows for redemption and a victory of good over evil only if those trapped inside would indeed acknowledge the sins they had been covering up, while blaming others for their plight in life. Though the word is never used in the book, repentance is an absolute necessity if the sinner wanted to live another day.

Good does win out for some of the four, and though it appears the story is over, we leave the book with an awareness that the evil perpetrators were far from finished with their “game”.

The book has been recently made into a movie, released last November. I promise, I will not go see it. And I hope I do not have images appear in my mind in the night!





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Turnovers Will Determine The Champs

After watching the first possessions by both the Oklahoma Sooners and the Florida Gators in the BCS Championship Game, I decided that the team that wins the turnover battle will be the champions of NCAA Football for 2008. Even as I was typing, Oklahoma intercepted a pass at near midfield! Oklahoma leads 1-0 on my scorecard.





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Info Storage!

I am a dinosaur when it comes to technologies. I still have file cabinets in which I store hard copies of all the sermons I have preached, curriculums I have written, even though I have spoken them into existence using my voice recognition software on my computer. And there are many more cabinets and closets that house the archives of the congregation’s business. We could save much space in our building if we would implement tape drives for our information storage!




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