"ANYBODY, ANYTIME"

Sunday, September 30, 2007

The young Diamondbacks baseball team is fun to watch.

They have a motto: "Anybody, Anytime." They mean that anybody on the team can be the one to step up and that they can do it anytime. This is not a one man show–it's a team. That’s why they win.

Two nights ago they moved into the playoffs. Yesterday they won the Western Division of the National League. I would like to see them move on in the playoffs—but even if they don’t, they are my team.

Way to go boys!

THANKFUL

Saturday, September 29, 2007

"The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands." (Psalm 19:1).

Sitting upstairs in front of my computer I am looking outside at the sky. It is beautiful beyond description. Glorious!

This makes me think of the greatest and goodness of God. It makes me want to obey the first and second commandments to Love him with all my heart, soul and mind and to love my neighbor as I love myself. I don't want to just think about it--I want to do it!

UNCOVERING THE GRILL

Friday, September 28, 2007

Cooler weather has moved into the Valley of the Sun and I have moved outside. I cooked dinner on the grill last night. The steak was grilled to perfection and the potatoes were delicious. Corn and a green salad rounded out the meal and we finished with a hot cup of coffee.

It’s nice to be able to turn on the light in the pool, sit on the patio and listen to the water from the waterfall dropping into the pool.

Scrabbled eggs and hash browns will soon come from the grill now that cool mornings have returned. It wasn’t all that long ago that it would be 90 or above when we got up in the morning.

Headin’ up to Sedona in a few days. We love that beautiful red rock country.

Pumpkins, Thanksgiving and even Christmas are on the horizon. I love the fall!

BISCUIT NAZI

Thursday, September 27, 2007

If you ever watched Jerry Seinfeld on television you know about the Soup Nazi.

Let me tell you about the Biscuit Nazi at the local McDonald’s. I like McDonald’s biscuits,with something on them besides butter and jelly. My wife likes them with just butter and jelly. Last week I ordered my favorite with no problem. I also ordered a plain biscuit for my wife. The young man looked confused. I repeated the order. He asked, “What biscuit?” I said, “Don’t you sell plain biscuits anymore?” He finally said, “Yes, but I’m new and I’ve never sold one.” An older employee came over and helped him complete the order. I left with the biscuit.

A few days ago I was back in that same McDonalds ordering the same thing. This time an older lady took my order without any problems. I heard her tell a young employee two times to be sure to put the biscuit in. The young lady put my bag on the counter and I started to leave. The older lady stopped me and said, “We better check.” We checked.
NO BISCUIT, BUT I DID HAVE A BURRITO!

If you want a biscuit—bake it yourself at home!

HOW TRUE

Wednesday, September 26, 2007

Yesterday I read a fascinating lecture by Dr. Joseph Dongell titled, “How Bad Is It Doc?” In his lecture he talks about an interesting book, The Seven Basic Plots by Christopher Booker. Booker examines such stories as, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, King Kong, Oliver Twist, Treasure Island, The Three Little Pigs, and many more. He concludes that nearly every story we tell will fall into one of seven basic plot types; he calls these Overcoming the Monster, Rags to Riches, The Quest, Voyage and Return, Comedy, Tragedy, and Rebirth.

The part of his lecture I found most interesting is this: Booker goes on to describe one particular character appearing in most of the 7 plot types: a character he calls “the Monster.” He claims that the one supreme characteristic of every Monster that has ever been portrayed in a story is this: he or she is egocentric. This ego-centrism makes the Monster (in his inner soul) heartless and unable to feel for others, although this may sometimes be disguised beneath a deceptively charming, kind or solicitous exterior. The Monster’s real concern is to look after its own interests, at the expense of everyone else in the world. The Monster sees the world through the tunnel vision of its egocentric desires, meaning that most of the time, the monster is blind to its own perversion and blind to true reality. So fixated is the Monster upon itself, that it has difficulty belonging to anything greater than itself.

I ask along with Dr. Dongell, “How bad are we Doc?”

HANDICAPPED BUT NOT HELD BACK

Tuesday, September 25, 2007

Chris Simning was born with a nearly imperceptible case of cerebral palsy, and then stricken with an extremely rare muscle and nerve disease in the eighth grade. For four years he was confined to a wheelchair and unable to care for himself. Later he experienced improvement that allowed him to finish his undergraduate degree from college as well as earn a Master’s degree from Azusa Pacific University in Clinical Psychology. Today his body is still twisted but he is able to walk. His speech is terribly corrupted but he can be understood if you listen carefully.

Chris preached at our church Sunday and I was amazed and uplifted. I drug into church thinking about myself. I went home thinking about God.