On Loving Pizza

Wednesday, November 30, 2005

Pizza! Don't you just love it? Oh I know, many of you like me, grew up eating "comfort food"--- biscuits and gravy, fried chicken, fried potatoes, the list goes on and on. I must stop. I'm making myself hungry! I can remember the first time I heard about and saw pizza. It was called pizza pie and to my eyes it looked awful. I didn't bother to try it for several years. I have never been to Italy, but I have eaten pizza in many places. Some of the best was at a little place right on the beach at Malibu. We have been attending the Pepperdine Lectureship since 1958 and so at least once a year we had visited this little Italian resturant named Cardi's. We first went there with "Big" Don Williams, my roommate at Abilene Christian. The restuarant was small, over- crowded----but the food was fantastic. They later moved across the street from the beach to a bigger place. The food remained the same. I'm writing this to tell you that in Phoenix we have a place that makes pizza just as good as the little place in Malibu. Sure, I had rather eat my pizza in Malibu, but since I can't always be there----I love Red Devil Pizza in Phoenix. Some guy in New York declared a Pizza made in downtown Phoenix as the best in the country. I'm ashamed to say I can't even remember the name of the place. I fully intended to give the pizza my own taste test and rating. But I didn't. So right now, my vote is for Red Devil Pizza. Why does the man in New York have the right to name the nation's best pizza? Who gave him that power---the pizza gods? Listen to me. Try Red Devil---you will like. Better still, if you're my friend, give me a call, I will take you. Don't you just love pizza?????

Just Wondering

Tuesday, November 29, 2005

Why don't we just ignore the people who are upset with the word Christmas? If they don't want to say: Christmas Season, Christmas Cards, Christmas Carols, Christmas Tree then let them say Holiday or whatever they want. The majority likes Christmas so lets keep the word and march on!

Why do we make fun of fruit cake? My mother-in-law's fruit cake is wonderful. But once upon a time somebody decided that fruit cake was a joke and so it is! The same cruel joke has been played on Dan Quayle. The media made such a big deal out of one spelling mistake that from that time on Dan was considered to be a dummy.

Why does that hard, ribbon, Christmas candy cost so much? When I was a child we were poor but we always had that candy. Sure every thing is more expensive now----but that much?

Why do some members of the Church of Christ think you can have a Christmas tree in the home but not in the church building? You have a lot of things in the home that you don't have in the church building?? The building is sacred?? The building is not sacred?? It will leave the impression that you believe Jesus was born on December 25th??

Why do some Churches of Christ give their preacher's bonuses on special occasions, like their birthday, their years of service to the church, etc. but never at Christmas??

Why do I even wonder about these silly things???????????

Cold In Phoenix

Monday, November 28, 2005

We don't get to say this very often but we can today---IT'S COLD IN PHOENIX! Yep, it got down to freezing in the area last night. But it won't last long and the sun is out bright and it always feels warmer than it really is.

The Cardinals finally won a football game last week and in a decisive way. They lost again yesterday. We knew winning wouldn't last long.

Time marches on. Things come and go: Christmas, New Year's Eve, New Years Day, it gets cold, then spring comes, summer follows with days hotter than ----, fall comes, the first thing we know its Christmas again and then another new year. Things change. We can't control all the changes but we can control the way we feel about change. I opt for acceptance and excitement.
These are exciting days enjoy them.

Worship

Sunday, November 27, 2005

We went to worship today and it was wonderful. There were three services this morning. There were probably 1500 to 2000 people in the assembly we were in. When I was still in High School I drove to a little school building outside my home town and preached for 11 people. Before I left to attend Abilene Christian College there was an attendance of 35. It was wonderful. While a student at Abilene I drove 218 miles every week back into Oklahoma to preach for a small church of about 40 or 50. It was wonderful. I was attending worship services when I was young and I still do now that I am old. IT'S WONDERFUL!

Yes, Virginia There Really Is A Santa Claus

Saturday, November 26, 2005

The other kids were telling me there was no Santa Claus. I asked my mother. She said, "Yes, there really is a Santa Claus." I guess I believed that much longer than the average child. If mother said so---then that's the way it was. She also told me that there is a God and that the Bible is true. At some point I finally realized that mother was either lying, confused, or just taking part in a traditional "belief" that wasn't intended to be believed as an adult. Well, if mother didn't have it right about Santa---what about God? It was quite a strain on my weak, little brain but I finally had to sit down and ponder these things. Did I have to throw mother "off the train," or what?
Plain old, Okie, common sense kicked in and I ruled Santa out, and God in. I didn't damn mother or Santa to hell I just let common sense put this traditional story in its proper place. I still believe in Santa as the giver of gifts he just doesn't wear a bright, red suit. What about God? Once again, common sense told me that mother was telling the truth about God. I accepted God by faith based on mountains of evidence. The evidence didn't prove God but it did produce faith. There is so much about God that I don't know. But I agree with the one who wrote: "So I go on not knowing, I would not know if I might. I had rather walk with God in the dark, than walk alone in the light." Sela

It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas

Friday, November 25, 2005

It was still dark outside when I got out of bed this morning and yet women all over the country had been up for hours and were moving like an army on the malls of America. The attack was on! Snatching, grabbing, squealing with delight. The fun was on! I am happpy to say that my wife was still in bed At this time of life there is very little "stuff" that we do not already have. Don't misunderstand, I know why they do it. It's part of a long tradition. It's the thing to do. But there does come that time when you reach a saturation point. A time when you desire more sleep than more "stuff." You prefer bed over baubles. You had rather have sugar plums dancing in your head than bills piling up on your desk. That's when you know you have arrived----your old!

I turned 71 yesterday and I kinda like it. I no longer have to give a reason why I don't want certain things, I don't want to do certain things and that I just want to sit. Everybody seems to understand---Clif's old.

Even though I'm old now I'm still excited about Christmas. First and foremost I'm still excited about the old, old story about the Christ child. In a few days I will put lights on the outside of the house and light the tree on the inside. We will put decorations all around and say once again, "It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas." We may even sing the words. We'll smile a lot, laugh a lot and generally just feel good all over. It's beinning to look a lot like Christmas and I am glad. I hope you are too.