The Top Ten Things I Like to Hear

10. Tiger Rag at Death Valley
9. Thunder (If I am not exposed to the weather)
8. "Next!" when you're at the DMV
7. Christmas music about two weeks before Christmas
6. The ocean as you walk along the beach
5. A friend's voice from whom you haven't heard in a long time
4. Little children giggling
3. Quiet...as in: no talking, early morning, alone in the woods, quiet
2. "Hey, Papa!"
1. My secretary say, "The committee meeting has been canceled."

Interview of the Presidential Candidates

Kudos to Rick Warren and Saddleback Church for having the insight and courage to host the Presidential discussion of issues this last Saturday night. How often have we heard that the church should stay out of the political arena, yet it was the church that hosted what many are saying was the most profitable, non-partisan discussion of the issues that has ever been held. The format kept candidates from trying to one up the other, or seizing the opportunity to make much to do about nothing. As I heard one news analyst say afterward, candidates didn't seem to be as cautious as they normally are in political debates because they trusted the interviewer. There were no "gotcha" questions. In case you missed it, each candidate was asked identical questions, completely unaware of what the other's responses were. And, thankfully, except for one or two hedges on each of the candidates part, the answers were pretty forthright.

What I liked best about the presentation was that it left the audience with some pretty clear choices. I felt as though I understood both men's perspective and now I am able to make a choice about which one I believe is best capable to lead us for the next four years.

If you missed it, I urge you to watch for a re-run in the next few days. It aired originally on Fox and MSNBC.

Solomon was dead on the money when he said "An anxious heart weighs a man down, but a kind word cheers him up." (Proverbs 12:25) If all of us could learn to speak a kind word, what a difference it would make in people's lives.
Sunday after worship, one of our youngest members came up to me with a note she had written. It said the sweetest, kindest things. It was short, to the point, and as refreshing as rain. I figured, in part, she was being overly kind. It's how her parents have taught her to be. But it sure felt good, nonetheless. Thanks for the sweet note. I'm hanging on to it, so I can read it again the next time somebody tells me how sorry I am. I'm going to tell myself, "unuh, my friend, Ashleigh, said I was smart, cool and funny. And I believe her, not you. In fact, if she wasn't going to be an engineer, she'd be a pastor like me.
Why don't we all try it for a few days. Tell your bag boy how much you appreciate him. Be especially kind to your waitress. Tell the guy at the drive through - "Man, you have a tough job. I bet it's hard to hear through that headset, but you do a fine job." Tell your doctor or dentist, "It's obvious, you really do care about your patients." Tell the guy who fixes your roof, car, plumbing, etc., "man, am I glad God gifted people like you, to help take care of people like me who aren't too handy with tools. I'd don't know what I'd do without you." Write a school teacher this summer when there's nothing to be gained from it and tell her/him how much you appreciate all they did for you or your child during the previous year. You will be amazed how much difference your words of encouragement can make.

I like Bo!

Bo Davis, do you know him? He is the son of Robby and Kelley Davis. He is 100% boy. I'd take him on as a grandson in a skinny minute. He is about 40 pounds of walking, stalking wildcat. He never stops grinning, moving or thinking. I watched him for about 2-3 minutes today as he stared out a window while his mother talked to him. I couldn't hear what was being said but I could look at Bo and see the wheels turning in his head. As soon as the talk ended he jumped down and started playing with his dad. With his finger as a pistol, his dad shot him at fairly close range. Bo, willing to go along, spun about and hit the floor, right in the middle of the restaurant. He lay there, pretending to be as dead as a hammer, like any fallen cowboy would. I was green with envy of both of them. Imagine not caring who came by as you lay dead on the floor at Schlotzsky's and imagine having a boy who you could shoot on the spur of the moment like that and know that he would gladly go along, without any rehearsal. How cool to be Bo and how blessed to be Bo's dad. Every one of you guys with little boys ought to thank the Lord for this time in your life.

If I could be twelve again

If I could be twelve again, the next two weeks would be the time to which I'd return. The last week of school and the first week of summer vacation. What a blast! I am so envious of kids getting out for the summer. Weren't those great times? Swimming, fishing, baseball, camping out, tree houses - if they could have just found a way to pack a few more hours into every day.
Granted, we didn't have video games, but in my day, no one stayed indoors anyway. Nobody I knew had air conditioning. Besides, your mother didn't want you inside messing stuff up. My mom would barely let you come inside to go to the bathroom.
Hey, but I had no complaints! I loved it. I was the first kid out on the streets every morning. I felt it was my obligation to wake up the neighborhood. My first stop was always at Craig Reynolds house. After beating on Mrs. Reynolds door for about 5 minutes, she would reluctantly open the door and just stare at me. My line was always the same, "Good morning, Mrs. Reynolds, can Craig come out and play?" Her response varied little as well, "Frankie, go home! It's 7:00 in the morning. Craig isn't up yet."
As soon as I could persuade my neighbors to get up, it was on! It didn't matter if it was a sandlot baseball game or collecting bottles to get the deposit money so we could buy a Coke or a Pepsi, life was filled with fun activities. So to all of you kids about to get out of school for the summer- have the time of your life. Have some adventures! Sell some lemonade, make some money cutting grass or washing a car. Build a tree house. Pitch your tent in the backyard and tell some ghost stories. See if you can figure out what to do with a few playing cards, a couple of clothes pins (if you know what they are) and your bike. But whatever you do, don't tell your mom, "I'm bored." Life will never be any better than it is now, so live it to the max.

Reality check

Why is it that big men want to dribble the ball and little guys want to dunk? Ever noticed that? A guy can be 7 foot tall, standing 3 foot from the basket, and have someone pass him the ball. What does he do? Go straight to the hoop? Not in this lifetime. No, he wants to put it on the floor and get one step closer. Hey, news flash - they give you a step, whether you dribble or not! Put the ball in the hole. If you are 6 feet tall you typically can reach 8 feet high. If you are seven foot tall, obviously you could reach at least 9 feet high but with longer arms, I am guessing closer to 9.5 or higher. So if you stand on your tip toes you have got to be able to grab the rim or pretty close to it. Put the ball in the hole! Stop giving your coach and the fans heartburn - go to the hoop.

And craziness isn't confined to the Goliaths of the world; the vertically challenged have their problems as well. Why is it that the shorter the guard, the more he feels the need to dunk the basketball over an opponent who is a foot and a half taller? In fact, here's a great idea - let's get airborne before we have a clue as to what we are going to do. That way we can improvise at the last second. Or, as the opposing coach likes to call it, "turn the ball over."

I am convinced it is a sickness that plagues us all. We can't deal with who we are. Skinny people think they are fat so they drink diet sodas. Fat people see themselves as being thinner than they are so they wear their clothes too tight. The truly rich don't want anyone to know they have money so they live often times like they are broke, while many of us who don't have two nickels we could rub together, overuse credit in order to give the appearance that we are wealthy.

Why can't we accept who we are? I was thinking about how even we pastors often overrate our abilities. I said, "Regina, there are a lot of guys who preach every week who aren't very good at it. Wouldn't you agree?" "Yes," she said, "I suppose there are." Then I asked, "How many really good ones do you believe there are?" She said, "I'm not sure, but at least one less that you think."

Predictions for 2008

Wrong again! I never thought when they said two months ago that gas would soar to $4.00 a gallon by the end of the year, that they were right. Boy, was I wrong! A month ago I had never paid more than $2.99 and now I have had to pay as high as $3.36.

Bought milk lately? You'd rather buy gas. Per gallon, gas is cheaper, honest. If you guys out there haven't gone grocery shopping lately, don't. It will scare you to death.

So until things improve, where do you think we Americans may cut back? Here's my list of predictions for the next 12 months:

1. Movies - The movies that have been coming out in the last couple of years haven't been stellar to begin with, and at $9 a pop for a ticket, I am betting a lot of people are going to wait in line at the video store.
2. Starbucks - Look out Spinx, you are getting ready to sell some Joe. With prices rising at the pump most people, including the "twentysomethings" are going to have to cut back somewhere.
3. Cable and satellite services - In order to buy essentials some people are going to decide they may not have to have 200 channels they never watch anyway. Look for a run on "basic" services.
4. Ma Bell - She is going to take a whoopin'. Tons of people in their 20's and 30's have already gone completely wireless. Look for their moms and dads to do the same in the next year or two.
5. Truck and SUV sales - At 14 mpg city and 18 mpg hwy, don't look for many of these puppies to sell. I am not sure that even the inevitable rebates we are about to see will be enough to lure consumers into buying them.
6. Restaurants - Americans eat out about as much as they eat in. With fuel costs up people have to cut back somewhere. Look for that trend to reverse itself. And when eating out, people are going to think twice about a $10 hamburger and a $2 soda. Look for more water with lemon. $25-40 a pop for dinner is going to be viewed as half a tank of gas.
7. Cruisin' around - Regina and I have always enjoyed just going out for a ride. "Loafin" is what my grandmother used to call it. Look for people to be more "Purpose Driven," pun intended.
8. Water sports - You might find a pretty good buy in a ski boat right now. With most outboard motors getting about 6 miles per gallon or less, a lot of people are going to pull out the slip and slides instead of the skis this year.
9. Newspapers and magazines - Subscriptions to newspapers are already down to an all time low across the nation. With less expendable income, some people are going to re-think whether or not they need to pay for a paper or magazine that often goes unread, when news can be heard 24/7 now anyway.
10. Liquor, cigarettes - Since all of these pose health risks, are non-essentials and are pretty pricey - you can bet Americans are going to cut these out of their budget. They are gone, baby! Who am I kidding? We'd walk first. Only a sane person would consider cutting these out of their life when other things are needed.