Month: December 2008 (page 1 of 1)
…some things are blowing my socks off these days! Can I share with you two loyal readers some of those? You know, yin and yang, Ben and Jerry, peanut butter and jelly?
Today I’m way impressed by…
- God’s grace!
- His gift of Jesus Christ!
- The lovely and gracious “Mrs. Just Charlie”!
- Good friends, who put up with my hanging around!
- Great books!
- Tony Bennett’s Christmas albums, old and new!
- The way things work out in spite of my inadequacies and failures!
- Small unexpected gifts!
- Some of the folks with whom I get to do life!
- Starbucks Christmas Blend!
- Cashews!
- Old Bass Weejuns!
- “Christmas in Dixie”!
- God’s amazing provision!
- Provino’s garlic rolls!
- Christmas cards from great friends with absolutely elegant handwriting!
- Reconnecting with old friends!
- People who share what they know!
- Encouragers!
I’m generally a pretty upbeat guy, who tries to see the brighter side of things, even when there’s not really a brighter side. OK, call me Pollyanna. But today, for some reason, I’ve noticed a few things that have left me a little less than impressed. You — all both of you loyal readers — don’t mind if I unload a list of underwhelming things today, do you? Here we go…
Today, I’m particularly underwhelmed by…
- Twitter and Facebook when they don’t automatically update like they’re supposed to do. (In the interest of full disclosure, that feature is working again now.)
- Small group leaders who don’t show up without notice.
- Small group leaders who show up but aren’t prepared.
- The service this afternoon at lunch.
- Annoying car problems that will probably turn into major deals.
- My own leadership as of late.
- Modern Christmas music.
- People who can’t — or won’t — make up their minds.
- Church folks who just don’t “get it.”
- My own ability to define “it” so that they do “get it.”
- Politicians.
- Workout plans that don’t seem to work.
- Blamers.
- Haters.
- Bribers.
- Obnoxious know-it-alls.
There you go. Thanks for letting me vent. What’s underwhelming you today?
For some strange reason, this post from three years ago continues to get the most hits! And over the years, the image that’s supposed to accompany the post has just stopped showing up.
So, tonight, I went back and made sure the image will be there for you folks all over the world who come to these parts looking for things like “mud boggin,” “Foxworthy would be proud,” etc.
Enjoy the image!
…and for the rest of the day, it’s FREE for download!
Long, long ago in a galaxy far, far away, there existed a group of God-servants from the far-flung corners of the universe, called the Redneck Pastors. That group sometimes included a bona fide Grammy winner, Displayer of the Mullet, and Master of the Red Keytar. Paul Joseph is a worship leader in Dalton, Georgia and his wife, Anna have written a great Christmas song called “Heaven in a Manger.”
It’s good, and — for the rest of today — it’s available for FREE download over at Paul’s blog.
Run, don’t walk over there and get yours today!
…head…heart…torn-up Moleskine…
- How can I tell if I know Jesus? If I’m keeping His commandments! That’s it!
- How can I tell if I’m following Him? If I walk in the same way in which He walked!
- Just because I’m in a difficult or even impossible place, it doesn’t necessarily mean I’m out of God’s will, or that I’m disobedient, or that I missed His leading, or even that I’m a colossal failure. It may just mean I’m right where He took me (cf. Ezekiel 37) or where He sent me (cf. Jeremiah 29). I really need to remember that right now!
- Mike Slaughter wrote…“Renewal is much more than adding a little more Jesus to the mix. A little more Jesus won’t work. Jesus must be the absolute focus.” (Spiritual Entrepreneurs, p. 35)