IN THE EYE OF THE BEHOLDER

Thursday, March 30, 2006

Faded, worn out jeans with holes in the knees are the in thing. Young people pay big bucks for them. The day they buy them they already look worn out. I have always gone for the new, never worn, look. When my jeans got holey---out they went.

Today I mowed the lawn and worked around in the back yard. I had on a pair of jeans that were worn, ragged and had a large hole in one knee. Ordinarily I wouldn’t even wear jeans like these to work in. But I thought, what the heck, these things bring big bucks over at Macys, they’re good for a few more outings.

I needed to run over to our daughters for a few minutes and she wasn’t at home so I thought, “you want be seen by anybody---no need to change pants.” On the way I decided to stop at the library. I said to myself, “these holey jeans are the in thing now, don’t worry about it.”

There were a lot of women in the library today. Several of them looked at me as I moved from the new books to the magazines and from section to section. Each one of them smiled. What was she thinking? Did that one think, “Isn’t he cute?” Or maybe, “Wow, pretty sexy for an old guy.” Or, “Man, that dude is stylish.”

Back in the car I pondered my knee sticking through the hole.

There’s just no way to get around it. That is one sexy knee!

SHERIFF JOE

Wednesday, March 29, 2006

Sheriff Joe Arpaio is known as the, “toughest sheriff in America.”

I don’t know any other sheriff, but I do know Joe and he is tough!

I chatted with him over lunch one day when he spoke to a group at our church. I found him to be a personable, fun-loving guy. I wasn’t afraid of him at all.

I have found that people generally love him or hate him. Criminals are not too fond of Joe. He doesn’t coddle them. He makes them wear pink underwear (I have an autographed pair I never wear) and eat green bologna. He houses some of them in tents.

Jana Bommersbach wrote an article in Phoenix magazine attacking him. I know Jana too but I like Joe better. I think Jana needs to keep her big mouth shut and let Joe get on with his job.

If you don’t like the way Joe runs his jail, stay out of trouble, don’t be a criminal.

MY KIND OF MAN

Tuesday, March 28, 2006

Yesterday I didn't post a blog. Today I am posting a longer one than usual. I did not write it. I took it from Preaching Now. I hope you will read all of it. John Wooden is my kind of man!

"On the 21st of the month, the best man I know will do what he always does on the 21st of the month. He'll sit down and pen a love letter to his best girl. He'll say how much he misses her and loves her and can't wait to see her again. Then he'll fold it once, slide it in a little envelope and walk into his bedroom. He'll go to the stack of love letters sitting there on her pillow, untie the yellow ribbon, place the new one on top and tie the ribbon again.
"The stack will be 180 letters high then, because the 21st will be 15 years to the day since Nellie, his beloved wife of 53 years, died. In her memory, he sleeps only on his half of the bed, only on his pillow, only on top of the sheets, never between -- with just the old bedspread they shared to keep him warm.
"There's never been a finer man in American sports than John Wooden, or a finer coach. He won 10 NCAA basketball championships at UCLA, the last in 1975. Nobody has ever come within six of him. He won 88 straight games between January 30, 1971, and January 17, 1974. Nobody has come within 42 since. . . .
"There has never been another coach like Wooden, quiet as an April snow and square as a game of checkers; loyal to one woman, one school, one way; walking around campus in his sensible shoes and Jimmy Stewart morals. He'd spend a half hour the first day of practice teaching his men how to put on a sock. "Wrinkles can lead to blisters," he'd warn. These huge players would sneak looks at one another and roll their eyes. Eventually, they'd do it right. "Good," he'd say. "And now for the other foot."
"Of the 180 players who played for him, Wooden knows the whereabouts of 172. Of course, it's not hard when most of them call, checking on his health, secretly hoping to hear some of his simple life lessons so that they can write them on the lunch bags of their kids, who will roll their eyes.
"Discipline yourself, and others won't need to," Coach would say. "Never lie, never cheat, never steal," and "Earn the right to be proud and confident."
"If you played for him, you played by his rules: Never score without acknowledging a teammate. One word of profanity and you're done for the day. Treat your opponent with respect. He believed in hopelessly out-of-date stuff that never did anything but win championships. No dribbling behind the back or through the legs. "There's no need," he'd say.
"No UCLA basketball number was retired under his watch. "What about the fellows who wore that number before? Didn't they contribute to the team?" he'd say. No long hair, no facial hair. "They take too long to dry, and you could catch cold leaving the gym," he'd say. That one drove his players bonkers. One day, All-America center Bill Walton showed up with a full beard. "It's my right," he insisted. Wooden asked if he believed that strongly. Walton said he did. "That's good, Bill," Coach said. "I admire people who have strong beliefs and stick by them, I really do. We're going to miss you." Walton shaved it right then and there. Now Walton calls once a week to tell Coach he loves him.
"He's almost 90 now. You think a little more hunched over than last time. Steps a little smaller. You hope it's not the last time you see him. He smiles. 'I'm not afraid to die,' he says. 'Death is my only chance to be with her again.'
"Problem is, we still need him here."
Michael Duduit, Editormichael@preaching.comwww.michaelduduit.com

SUNDAY MORNING BIBLE CLASS

Sunday, March 26, 2006

I have always enjoyed attending Sunday morning Bible class. Well, the truth is I have always enjoyed ALL Bible classes. Since I was eighteen years old I have been attending Bible classes on Sunday morning, Wednesday evening, Vacation Bible School, college classes, Bible lectureships, conventions, seminars for preachers, and the list goes on. I profited from all the classes. But Sunday morning class has always been special.

Now, I am 71 years old and this morning the class was still exciting to me. We studied about God. It was great. I learned a lot!

I feel sorry for Christians who do not have a great Sunday morning Bible class to attend. I feel sorry for those who do have the opportunity to attend a great class----but just don’t. What a shame. There are people who can’t attend a good Bible class but who would love to.

When I preached in Ethiopia I was told, “These people have walked many miles to get here.” Why? They had heard that somebody was going to preach the Word of God.

UNDOCUMENTED IMMIGRANTS

Saturday, March 25, 2006

What’s my problem with undocumented immigrants?

They are in the state illegally! That’s it! That’s what’s wrong. They are in the state illegally! If something is illegal, it is wrong.

In my opinion, we must stop illegal immigration period. When? As soon as possible. How? I don’t know. Our leaders in Washington, although I think it should be taken care of by the state, need to work day and night until they figure it out.

After the borders are closed to those trying to enter the country illegally, then they need to work day and night until they figure out what to do about those that are already here.

Twenty thousand people marched in Phoenix yesterday demanding immigration reform. I don’t have an answer to all this. My point is that if we are not going to do something about these illegal people then we shouldn’t do anything about anything else illegal. We need to answer the question: “Is it illegal or is it not?” Don’t keep some people out just because they don’t want to do anything illegal and let others come in who don’t care what the law says. Let’s make up our minds---is it illegal or is it not?

EASTER

Friday, March 24, 2006

In December we were told that we should not talk about the Christmas season, Christmas trees or Christmas anything because we might offend non-Christians. Some stores dropped all advertising that had the word Christmas in it and went with the word Holiday.

Now, we are being told that we should not say Easter bunny or Easter vacation.

BALONEY!

The word baloney doesn’t even begin to express how strongly I feel about this. You have heard the old expression, “Enough to make a preacher cuss.” Well this is one of those things but not wanting to offend anybody I won’t cuss. BALONEY!

It doesn’t seem to matter that Christians might be offended by all this. The attitude seems to be, “It’s alright to offend Christians, but you better not offend anybody else.”

I never set out to offend anybody---not anybody. But if you get offended by me saying Easter bunny, then get ready to be offended.

EASTER BUNNY! EASTER BUNNY! EASTER BUNNY!

SPRING PLANTING

Thursday, March 23, 2006

Spring has come to the Valley of the Sun. Wild flowers are blooming after the rains. And so are the weeds.

Today I planted flowers. This is a good time for planting and getting ahead of the hot days of summer. The weather man reported the following for the next few days: 79, 82, 84, 82, 82, 82 and then 79 degrees. Good weather for getting out and about and getting things done.

Spring training games are about over but there is a lot happening around Phoenix. It’s hard to believe but next weekend it will be time for the Tempe Festival of The Arts. There will be 450 fine artists and craftsperson booths, street entertainment and Indian fry bread.

I’m sitting here listening to great Christian music with a big smile on my face because of the music, a great joke my friend, Paul sent me (I’ll be laughing a month) and thoughts of his years of friendship.

Isn’t life grand?

HOLY KISS ???

Wednesday, March 22, 2006

Sunday my wife and I went back to visit a church where we had worshipped for fifteen years. There was a whole lot of hugging going on! A lot of hugging---but no kissing. At least nobody kissed me---Charlotte maybe, but not me. I guess I should have paid more attention. Charlotte may have been a kissing machine, I don’t know.

There was also a lot of hand shaking. Now, what is that all about? I mean really---what is that all about? Frankly, I had just as soon pass on hand shaking, especially during the winter months. Who knows where those hands have been. Christian hands carry germs just the same as the non-Christian.

I don’t want to restore the Holy Kiss of the New Testament days. And yet, it seems to me that those who teach that every Scripture should be understood literally should follow the command to “greet one another with a holy kiss.”

“Oh Clif, you know times change things like this.” Oh yeah? Then why don’t you feel the same about some other things that have changed with time? And by the way, you should wash somebody’s feet at your next service. That’s changed too? Oh, ok. Wink! Wink!

I have just finished an interesting study on the history of the holy kiss. The holy kiss may seem trivial to us but it certainly wasn’t to the early Christians.

Don’t I have anything better to do? Well yes, I pulled some weeds in the back yard this morning.

PRESIDENTIAL NEWS CONFERENCE

Tuesday, March 21, 2006

President Bush is a good man!

I have just been sitting in front of the T.V. listening to him speak and answer questions for about an hour.

Is he doing a perfect job as President? No! But I’m willing to cut him some slack because I believe he is doing the best job he can. I don’t think there is anybody that could do a better job.

There are a lot of things that I wish he would do differently. However, I realize I do not have the information he has and therefore I could not possibly have the insight he has. Therefore, I need to keep my big mouth shut.

I pray for the President every day and I encourage you to do the same.

Isn’t this a great country? I can’t sing like the country singer, “I’ve been everywhere man…” but I have been to quite a few places.

The good ol’ U.S.A. is the best!

“HOME AGAIN, HOME AGAIN, DANCIN’ A JIG”

Monday, March 20, 2006

Well, we went back to Lincoln Heights Christian Church yesterday.

But I will have to admit, Thomas Wolfe was right ----“You can’t go home again.”

You only think you can.

Nothing is ever really the same.

I woke up this morning with mixed emotions about the visit. We were well received. We still feel loved and appreciated. We still love the church with all of our hearts. It was a great joy to be there. It will be one of the highlights of this year for both Charlotte and me. But it was different!

It was a cold, rainy morning, which is very different for Phoenix. Many were away because of children being out of school for spring break. The attendance was way down and has been for months. It wasn’t the “home” we were used to.

God is leading us on to a new home and a new ministry. We are excited about that but we are also impatient. We want to know what God has planned. We want to get on with it.

I have written a fourteen chapter book (waiting for a publisher). I have a second book and several magazine articles in the planning stage. I still prepare new sermons although I have no pulpit from which to preach them. We go to an exciting church that preaches the Word of God with love and conviction. We are waiting for God to lead.

We pray God’s greatest blessings for our “old home church.” May He lead them on to do great things for His Kingdom?

FINDING GOD IN SPIRITUAL DEPRESSION

Saturday, March 18, 2006

Depression, or melancholia, as it used to be called, is a growing reality in America. In pathological spiritual depression, there are inexplicable times of sorrow, grief where the soul cannot be quieted. There are also depressions of the believer’s soul caused by real events. Isaiah was a man who was heartbroken for his sinful nation. Jeremiah was a man who wept for his people for a very good reason. The father of the prodigal son is a Biblical case of a man who had good reason to be depressed. He waited for that son.

Spiritual depression can also come from tempting of the devil. There is depression that comes when we see our sin for what it is.

Tomorrow I will be preaching at Lincoln Heights Christian Church on “Finding God in Spiritual Depression” I will not have 12 steps for avoiding spiritual depression. I will not have a three point message to getting rid of spiritual depression. I will be pointing to the “God of Life.” My text will be Psalm 42.

Tomorrow morning I will have a Bible in my hand and a message on my heart. I hope to see you there.

YOU CAN’T GO HOME AGAIN

Friday, March 17, 2006

Writer, Thomas Wolfe said, “You can’t go home again.”

This Sunday, March 19th I ‘m going to try! I will be going back to the pulpit at Lincoln Heights Christian Church in Phoenix. Every Sunday for fifteen years I went to the pulpit there. I have been retired now for two years. I have been back there twice for funeral messages but never for a Sunday sermon. This will just be a one time thing. I will not really be back!

Things will be different. I have assisted with the funerals for two beloved members. It will not seem right to be in the pulpit and not have them on the pews. Other friends have moved out of state or to other churches. New people have come! They will not know me and will not be familiar with my preaching. Preaching is defined as “Truth through personality.” They are use to the personality of Dr. Michael Moore. It will be different for them.

I am so excited to be returning after two years. I still remember my first message there. I sat on the front pew singing, “Open my eyes Lord, I want to see Jesus….” with tears in my eyes. And then for the next fifteen years I climbed those stairs to the pulpit with a Bible in my hand and a message on my heart. I’m excited about going back.

As I prepare to preach at Lincoln Heights I remember the words of Hugh Latimer. One Sunday morning when headed toward the royal chapel, he heard a voice within him say: “Latimer, Latimer, be careful what you preach today because you are going to preach before the King of England;” then another voice said: “Latimer, Latimer, be careful what you preach today since you are going to preach before the King of Kings.”

ALL I NEEDED TO KNOW I LEARNED ON THE CATTLE RANGE

Thursday, March 16, 2006

1. Never slap a man who’s chewing tobacco.

2. Never kick a cow chip on a hot day.

3. There are two theories to arguing with a woman… neither works.

4. Never miss a good chance to shut up.

5. Always drink upstream from the herd.

6. The quickest way to double your money is to fold it and put it back in your pocket.

7. There are three kinds of men:

The few who learn by reading.
The few who learn by observation.
The majority of them who have to touch the electric fence to see if it’s really on.

8. Don’t worry about bitin’ off more than you can chew. Your mouth is probably a whole lot bigger’n you think.

9. Lettin’ the cat outta the bag is a whole lot easier’n puttin’ it back.

10. After eating an entire bull, a mountain lion felt so good he started roaring. He kept it up until a hunter came along and shot him. The moral: When you’re full of bull, keep your mouth shut.

Adapted from Preaching Now, Vol. 3, No. 3

JUDGES WHO NEED TO BE HUNG

Wednesday, March 15, 2006

Whatever happened to the “hanging judges”?

Died out with the old west???

I guess today there is a “new” West forming around Brokeback Mountain.

No, I don’t really want “hanging judges” and I don’t really think judges need to be hung.

I don’t hate judges or anybody else. But let me tell you, I have some strong feelings just short of hate. Not all judges---just many. I worked with a great judge in Phoenix when I served on a Grand Jury. A dear friend I went to High School and College with is now a judge. When he was a minister in New Mexico I preached in two week long evangelistic meetings at his church. He is a great judge. But many judges are driving me nuts!

Almost every day, and if not every day, at least every week, I hear of another judge that has made a stupid, ignorant, sinful decision. Most of the time the decisions are so far out that one wonders how we allow them to get away with it. It just keeps on happening. Children get molested, sometimes for years, and the bum who committed the crime does not even serve one day in jail----not even one. Two boys were run over and killed by a drunk driver last week who was released from jail early from another drunk driving charge and the judge didn’t even give him one day in jail. WHY??? WHY???

The list is long of the crimes that go unpunished. I’m not sure I want punishment. I want these people put away where they can’t harm anybody ever again! I realize the problem is a difference in worldviews. However, at this point I don’t know what to do about it. I’m praying but it seems I should do more.

THE SENILITY PRAYER

Tuesday, March 14, 2006

God grant me the senility to
forget the people I never
liked anyway, the blessings to
run into the ones I do,
and the eyesight to tell the
difference.

QUOTES FROM CHRISTIANITY TODAY

Monday, March 13, 2006

"The government's argument echoes the classic rejoinder of bureaucrats throughout history: If I make an exception for you, I'll have to make one for everybody, so no exceptions."Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts, in a February decision allowing a Brazilian sect to use a hallucinogenic tea in religious services.

"The work of Muhammad is based on being honored, and the work of Christ is based on being insulted."John Piper, on Muslim outrage over the caricatures of Muhammad.

"I love Jesus. It's more joyful knowing him than all that snowboarding stuff. And so being able to snowboard for him is amazing."Kelly Clark, who astounded crowds with her Olympic halfpipe performance but finished fourth after a fall at the end of her run.

"I don't want to put my foot in my mouth. I'm not on my own show."Pat Robertson, responding to Good Morning America anchor Robin Roberts's remark that he seemed "on his best behavior" in a recent interview

THIS AND THAT

Sunday, March 12, 2006

MY BLOG IS ABOUT WHATEVER HAPPENS TO BE ON MY MIND. TODAY MY MIND IS WANDERING FROM THIS TO THAT.

Yesterday my mind was on rain. (No rain for 143 days) Yes it finally rained. What a wonderful rain it was. It started during the night and then it rained all day and into the night again. Wow! We needed that! I'm thankful!

Today the sun is shining brightly. We can see snow on the mountians around (which doesn't happen very often) and it is cold, at least for here. It's beautiful today. I'm thankful!

The Dixie Chicks are back. A new song is about how they were treated after they said bad things about our President (a man whom I admire greatly). They are not sorry for what they said but they don't like the way they were treated. My opinion is that they have the right to say whatever they want to say and others have the right to not like it and to say what they want to say about them. The unrepentant chicks are back. I'm not thankful!

We now have high speed internet. As Johnny and June Cash used to sing, "Times a wastin'." Our e-mail address has changed to CCDitmore@cox.net.

I was scheduled to preach at Lincoln Heights Christian Church today but the date was accidently switched and advertised as March 19th. The Lord willing, I will speak there next Sunday. I am looking forward to being back in the pulpit. I'm thankful. I hope to see you there.

RAIN

Saturday, March 11, 2006

What's on my mind today?

R A I N! R A I N! R A I N!

HALLELUJAH! HALLELUJAH! HALLELUJAH!

R A I N! R A I N! R A I N!

NO RAIN IN THE VALLEY OF THE SUN FOR 143 DAYS BUT FINALLY IT'S HERE!

HOW TO HANDLE THE DARK DAYS OF LIFE

Friday, March 10, 2006

“Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me." (Psalm 23:4)

How do we handle the dark valleys of life? These facts about valleys can help.

1. Valleys are inevitable. They are a normal part of life. Don't be surprised by them. Jesus said, "In this world you will have trouble." (John 16:33)

2. Valleys are unpredictable. They’re sudden and unexpected. Jeremiah 4:20 says, "In an instant my tents are destroyed, my shelter in a moment."

3. Valleys are impartial. No one is insulated from pain and sorrow. No one gets to skate through life free of problems. Problems don’t mean you're a bad person. They mean you’re a person. In Matthew 5:45, Jesus said, "He … sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous."

4. Valleys are temporary. A valley is something we go through – a situation that has a season (see Ps. 23:4). 1 Peter 1:6 says, “Now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials.”

Life is tough, but it's only for a while. There is joy ahead if we know the Lord Jesus Christ. There are no dark days in Heaven.

5. Valleys are purposeful. God has a reason for taking us through them. 1 Peter 1:6-7 says, "These [trials] have come so that your faith … may be proved genuine.”

Pain can be productive. God wants to build our faith in the valleys. We love the mountaintops, but we build faith in the valleys. When we come face to face with a dark valley, we get on our knees.

Prayer guidance: Ask God to walk with you and teach you through the inevitable valleys of life.

To think about: Recall dark valleys of the past. Were they temporary? Were they purposeful?

This column was adapted from Rick Warren's sermon God's Antidote For Your Dark Valleys.

HUMOR

Thursday, March 09, 2006

Tim Hansel is one of my favorite writers. The following is from his book, “Keep on Dancin’---Daily Readings to Celebrate Life.”

One day I asked a friend what she thought the five most important ingredients were to being a quality human being. After a long and thoughtful pause, she said, “Humor, love responsibility, courage, and humor.” I tried to point out that she had already said humor, but she informed me that she meant exactly what she had said. Humor has the unshakable ability to break life up into little pieces and make it livable. Laughter adds richness, texture, and color to otherwise ordinary days. It is a gift, a choice, a discipline, and an art. I enjoy laughing. I believe that laughter is a sacred sound to our God. I also believe that it has an incredible capacity to heal our bodies, our minds, and our spirits.

“Father, thank You for the sacred, healing sound of laughter.” Tim Hansel.

“He will yet fill your mouth with laughter and your lips with shouts of joy.” Job 8:21

CORNBREAD

Tuesday, March 07, 2006

If you don't like cornbread you won't like this blog! Just click off now and come back tomorrow. If you read my plan of writing over by my picture you know that I plan to write about what's on my mind. Well, today it's cornbread. Our friends Paul and Bobbie Covey came to our home last year from a visit in Taos, New Mexico. They brought us a lot of fire roasted chilies. Wow! Are those things good. There are many ways to use them but in this space I have given you the recipe we use for cornbread. We are fortunate to have such good friends. We do not have to roast our own chilies. I wish you didn't have to either. But if you do, it will be worth it. I have always loved cornbread and being a good okie I have said, "If you have a good thing, don't mess around with it." We "messed" with our cornbread and now we may never eat "regular" cornbread again. Give it a try. You will like it.

Triple-Chili Corn Bread with Cumin and Green Onions RecipeSource: Cooking.com

RECIPE INGREDIENTS

3 large fresh poblano chiles (about 14 ounces total)
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups yellow cornmeal
1/2 cup sugar
4 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons baking soda
2 teaspoons salt
2 cups coarsely grated jalapeno jack cheese
1 tablespoon cumin seeds (optional)
2 cups buttermilk
4 large eggs
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted, cooled slightly
1 cup chopped green onions
2 teaspoons chopped chipotle chiles

RECIPE METHOD
Char chilies over gas flame or in broiler until blackened on all sides. Enclose in paper bag; let stand 10 minutes. Peel, seed and chop chilies.
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

Whisk flour, cornmeal, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt in large bowl to blend. Stir in grated cheese and cumin seeds, if desired. Whisk buttermilk, eggs and melted butter in medium bowl to blend. Add buttermilk mixture to dry ingredients and stir just until blended. Stir in green onions, poblano chiles and chipotle chilies.

Note from Charlotte: I make half a recipe and bake it in a 10 inch iron skillet. Also, I leave out the cumin seeds.

WAYS TO MAINTAIN A HEALTHY LEVEL OF INSANITY

1. At lunch time, sit in your parked car with sunglasses on and point a hair dryer at passing cars. See if they slow down.

2. Every time someone asks you to do something, ask if they want fries with that.

3. Finish all your sentences with "In Accordance With the Prophecy."

4. Don't use any punctuation

5. Order a "Diet Water" whenever you go out to eat, with a serious face.

6. Specify that your drive-through order is "To Go."

7. Five days in advance, tell your friends you can't attend their party because you're not in the mood.

8. When the money comes out of the ATM, scream "I Won! I Won!"

9. When leaving the zoo, start running toward the parking lot yelling, "Run for your lives -- they're loose!"

10. Tell your children over dinner: "Due to the economy, we are going to have to let one of you go."

THE REASON THINGS GO WRONG

Monday, March 06, 2006

MURPHY'S LAW: "If anything can go wrong, it will."

PERRUSSEL'S LAW: "There is no job so simple that it cannot be done wrong."

GLASER'S LAW: "If it says "One size fits all," it doesn't fit at all."

FAHNESTOCK'S RULE FOR FAILURE: "If at first you don't succeed, destroy all evidence that you tried."

RUCKERT'S LAW: "There is nothing so small that it can't be blown out of proportion."

OWEN'S LAW OF ORGANIZATIONAL DEVIANCE: "Every organization has an alotted number of positions to be filled by misfits."

COROLLARY: "Once a misfit leaves, another will be recruited."

THE EMPEROR’S CLUB

Sunday, March 05, 2006

Tonight all over America people will be gathering around television sets watching The Academy Awards presentation. Earlier in a blog I predicted that Joaquin Phoenix would win the academy award for his portrayal of Johnny Cash in Walk the Line. Now, I do not believe he will win. Not because he was not good---he was. His portrayal was excellent. In my opinion he was Johnny Cash. I will not go into all the reasons I think someone else will win. That’s another story for another day.

I do not recommend many movies. So when I do you can be assured that I feel very strongly about the movie’s merits. Today, the movie I want to recommend has nothing to do with this year’s Academy Awards---or any year’s for that matter. The movie I want to recommend did not receive much attention a few years ago when I first saw it. It hasn’t received much praise from anybody. Why then, am I talking about it now? I first saw it at the theater and yesterday I saw it again on television.

The Emperor’s Club is the kind of movie I would produce if I could make movies. I was moved emotionally the first time I saw it and I was moved again yesterday. Kevin Kline is the star of the movie. He plays a teacher. A teacher!

I love teachers. I always have. I suppose I always will. It has been my good fortune to cross the path of some of the greatest teachers. I will always be grateful for everything they taught me. God has gifted some to teach. I am thankful for those who recognized their gifts and used them to bless others.

THANK YOU GOD FOR GOOD TEACHERS!

JESUS

Saturday, March 04, 2006

In January our good friends, Paul and Bobbie Covey were guests in our home. They brought us a splendid gift---JESUS, a novel by Walter Wangerin Jr.

From the dust jacket: “With power and conviction, the award-winning author of The Book of God, Paul: A Novel, and The Book of the Dun Cow turns his pen to history’s most compelling figure: Jesus of Nazareth. In vibrant language, Walter Wangerin Jr. sweeps away centuries of tradition and reveals a man of flesh-and-heart immediacy. Passionate, intelligent, and irresistibly real, this is a Jesus pulsing with life who will captivate you as thoroughly as he did the men and women who journeyed with him across Galilee’s rugged countryside.”

This is a novel that will be read and marveled at for decades to come.

AMERICA AND THE UNITED NATIONS

Friday, March 03, 2006

The United Nations is a shameful organization whose corruption is almost impossible to exaggerate. Most Americans know about the Oil-for-food scandal pulled off by the UN but most scandals go unreported. Kofi Annan’s son had a $30,000-a-year job but somehow found a spare quarter-million dollars to invest in a Swiss football club. Kofi’s brother was involved in a scandal along with the son of a childhood friend of Kofi’s son, Kojo. The list is long of friends, relatives and associates involved in scandals and yet Kofi Annan continues on as Secretary General.

What should replace the UN? NOTHING! ABSOLUTELY NOTHING!

It’s a good axiom that if you take a quart of ice cream and a quart of dog mess and mix’em together, the result will taste more like dog mess than ice cream. That’s the problem with the UN. If you make the free nations and the thug states members of the same club, the danger isn’t that they’ll meet each other half-way but that the free world winds up going three-quarters or seven-eighths of the way.

WHAT SHOULD REPLACE THE UN? NOTHING!

PLAY BALL!

Thursday, March 02, 2006

Today spring training games start in the valley. There will be games in Mesa, Tempe, Maryvale, Peoria, and Surprise. When you include Tucson there are nine spring training stadiums in the state. There are not games today at all the stadiums but there will be as we move on into spring.

I have loved baseball since I was a boy. Charlotte and I used to lay in bed in El Monte, California and listen to the Dodgers on the radio. We were just catching the last innings and we always said when Duke Snider came up to bat, “He just may knock a home run.” Guess what----many times he did! How exciting. It became a game for us---“He just may knock a home run.”

Barry Bonds didn’t play last year but the year before we saw one of his spring training games at Scottsdale Stadium. We took a group from the church with us and I told them that he probably would knock a least one home run. “Oh, how do you know Clif, he doesn’t always hit a home run.” Well guess what. He did!

I can’t tell you which park has the best hot dogs. I know this comes as a surprise to those of you who know me and my eating habits. Hot dogs and baseball go together like Mom and apple pie but I have never made it around to all the stadiums and therefore have never sampled the different dogs. I can tell you that if you are at Peoria Sports Complex for a game and you don’t fill up on hot dogs and you are hungry you should head over to McDuffys Grill just across the street. They have a big menu with something special every day. Friday is all you can eat fish and chips. It’s great. You should try it.

The truth about hot dogs is that I love to eat them at home. You can almost always get a hot dog at my house. I would tell you the different ways I fix them but I don’t want to write that much today. Maybe some other time.

SPRING TRAINING GAMES BEGIN TODAY. PLAY BALL!

JUST A LITTLE SILLY

Wednesday, March 01, 2006

Yep, today is another one of those days. I'm feeling just a little silly.



A man rushed into the doctor's office and shouted, "Doctor! I think I'm shrinking!!"

The doctor calmly responded, "Now, settle down. You'll just have to be a little patient."