During the Super Bowl Denny’s (the GREAT Denny’s!) announced that tomorrow they are serving free Grand Slam Breakfasts.  So Prayer Dave, End-Times Bob and myself would like to formally invite you to breakfast; our treat.  You have to buy your own beverage.

Meet us at Denny’s.  We’re talking about failure and formation.  It’s a planned topic.  So come prepared.  If you cannot make it, I will keep you posted.

Grace.

we could meet up on 82

about a mile east of the turn;

atop the hill,

say, 6 o’clock.

there is a spot i know, where,

aside from too much traffic,

dusk happens violently over a cornfield glen.

without regard for erie’s clouds,

the prism divides clumps of earth,

violets the drifts of snow.

you could take some pictures.

really, you should.

i’ll bring some paints and two auspicious hats,

so the passersby think us official.

BRING A COAT.

the noreaster protects the view

from people like us who, on occasion,

meet up on 82 around 6 p.m.

to attempt vain imitations.

Have a great weekend.  Do something worth doing again.

“Brian?”

“Ryan.”

“Who?”

“Ryan.  Your son.”

“Oh, Ryan!  Hey!  How ya doing?”

And then we both laughed.  I cannot say that I’ve learned the small laugh that is a common part of my speech pattern from him.  Maybe it’s genetic, I don’t know.  Once in a business meeting, someone accused me of being either flip or nervous because I offered a hard answer with a bit of laughter.  We were supposed to speak direly, with great pomp.  I wasn’t memo-ed.  It’s just part of my way of speaking.  In my preaching days Read the rest of this entry »

Two phrases come to mind this morning: “Fear not” and “He had compassion on them.” The former are words commonly attributed to Jesus in the gospels, the latter phrase is applied to his movements.

I’m not quite certain if the removal of fear leads to compassion or if the addition of compassion removes fear.  This much I do know: when one is motivated by fear, the potential for empathy disappears.  And if you have not love…

People understand fear as a motivator.  Compassion, on the other hand, is routinely misinterpreted.  If you want to be understood in the shallowest sense, Read the rest of this entry »

A public service message for wives:

After 13 years of marriage, my wife began doing something of which I had only heard dark rumors.  I have no idea why she waited 13 years to pull out this handy little maneuver.  When it appeared in our living room I understood what my friends have been complaining about their whole married lives.  It goes like this: “You wanna talk?”

No worthwhile conversation has ever resulted from asking your husband, “You wanna talk?”

“But…” I hear you already interjecting.  Read the rest of this entry »

I don’t know much about percentages or calculating odds.  However I am inclined to believe in these factors over simple luck.  That said, I am a complete pessimist, and currently I am confused.  It is Sunday.  That should signal a new week.  Last week passed me through the fires of Murphy’s Hell.  Everything that was movable collapsed, expect the tree I tried to fall (ran out of firewood).  The tree of course stayed standing upright while the chain of my saw managed to tie itself into knots.

Lost the clutch in my pick-up.  Lost some money into the sinkhole known as the Dodge Caravan (POS Edition).  Spent 8 hours building a new website for our business.  In the ninth hour, it developed some random coding error (I wasn’t even messing with the code yet).  Had to sack everything!  Great times.

In a few minutes we’re having an open house.  Molly says, “Today might be the day…” I finish her sentence, “that the house catches on fire and the dog runs away.”  Seems funny that we clean the house so thoroughly.  Kind of like telling a small lie.  We’re not pigs, but we’re not the family that replaces the sugar bowl after each cup of coffee either.  Anyhoo…

Luck.  Is it real?  Is it a test from God?  Is it punishment for something?  Or is it just chance; you know, life?  I know all the cool verses, for those of you inclined to spout them in response.  Spout away, but then tell me WHY…

Go ahead.  Now, leave a comment…

See you tomorrow.