In case you’re up and about with nothing better to do, how about a little help?
If I have Corel’s DRAW Graphics Suite, do I need something like Paint Shop Pro?
Month: December 2007 (page 1 of 2)
The lovely and gracious “Mrs. Just Charlie” is sound asleep. “The Boy” is out celebrating. I’m listening to the Jazz Holidays channel on Pandora. I’m working my way through a French press full of Christmas Blend…
- The more I think about it, especially with the funky way the school calendar falls this year, the more I’m inclined to celebrate Christmas the “old-fashioned” way. You know, start decorating, etc. on Christmas Eve, then have twelve days of simple but joyful celebration. Just a thought in an exhausted, frustrated mind.
- I’m worried about not having the right kinds or amounts of Christmas gifts, and somebody in our area is spending the night in the hospital after a head-on collision about 3 miles from our house. Oh, and somebody else’s daughter is dead – along with her passenger and her unborn child. I’m praying for these families tonight. Won’t you?
- I’m trying to formulate the right words to say if I get the chance tomorrow.
- An awful lot of people were at the Y this morning doing a preemptive strategic strike on Christmas calories.
- Our neighbor really does talk in more than monosyllabic sounds!
- I’m determined to be a better husband, dad, leader, communicator, boss, son, and friend starting now.
- John Maxwell is right: Talent Is Never Enough.
- We had an intimate and elegant dinner this Christmas Eve. At Chick-Fil-A, just before they closed.
- I have some gifts ordered, but they didn’t get here in time.
- What time does the last Christmas Eve service in our area start?
- I scored some small but thoughtful and practical gifts from Y members today. Cool!
- I helped one of the neatest ladies get back on track with her fitness program. I had helped her daughter about a month ago. And the daughter specifically asked me to help her mom. Very cool!
- If the M in YMCA stands for “Men’s,” why is everything so “girlie?”
- I’m still digging Gesu Bambino!
Just saw the news that a jazz giant has passed. Oscar Peterson, (at the time) the only living Canadian besides a sitting ruler to be honored with a postage stamp, died yesterday at his home in Ontario.
Some of my most favorite music of all is the great “Oscar and…” albums on the old Pablo Records label. His collaborations with Ella Fitzgerald, Joe Pass, Clark Terry, and others still float my boat.
Think I’ll listen to some right now…
Long, long day. Tired. No music playing for the Unwind tonight. Not literally, anyway. Got an earworm for Gesu Bambino, as sung by one of the most gifted and talented sopranos I know…the great Alison Holmes Adams, who just happened to sing that tonight at our Christmas Eve Eve “Christmas Songs” program. And who also just happens to be the wife of our student minister (and the real reason we keep him around!) 🙂
Some Sunday night stuff…
- Our pianist ain’t too shabby, either! (I’ll show you who he is when I find out where he is online!)
- Our little group of singers is pretty OK, too! (Thanks, gang!)
- The lovely and gracious “Mrs. Just Charlie” knows how to throw a party!
- Lots of guests tonight – including some of “The Boy’s” buds!
- Speaking of “The Boy…” I got a text message from him earlier this week that simply said: “I killed my dinner tonight.” He already got his Christmas gifts from us: Georgia Boots and blue jeans. He’s turning into a regular South Georgia good ol’ boy. Go figure…
- I sat at brunch and post-concert reception today calculating how many strides on the elliptical machine it will take tomorrow to undo the nutritional damage I did today. Not good…
- But, hey…doesn’t part of the Christmas magic include a magical, mystical disappearance of all calories in party goodies? I thought so…
- I don’t care who you are, the Vince Guaraldi soundtrack for A Charlie Brown Christmas sure makes for great Christmas party background music!
- We talked about hiding Christmas gifts in plain view this morning. And isn’t that really what God did when Jesus showed up in a manger in Bethlehem?
- Got one of these from one of my members. No, silly…not one of those members. One of these members!
- Mmmmmm…sausage balls, tea cakes, red punch, hot wassail punch, chocolate chip cookies, pound cake, sugar cookies, etc! Did I mention the lovely and gracious “Mrs. Just Charlie” sure knows how to throw a party?!?!
- 4:00 a.m. comes early in the morning, especially when it’ll be 20-something degrees outside. Brrrrrrr!
That’ll pretty much do it for me tonight! Where’s my cap? I’m settling in for a short winter’s nap…later!
Well, “new” for me at least!
Here’s a sampling of some tunes that have made their way into my ears over the past couple of days…
- Never Alone, by the late, great Johnny Adams. Along with the great (and still alive – would that be “early, great”?) Aaron Neville. This old gospel classic took on new meaning for me in this a cappella version. I heard it this morning at 5:00 on the local jazz and gospel public radio station. What a way to spend a few minutes driving!
- 40 by U2. I re-discovered this treatment of Psalm 40 on DaveFM’s Acoustic Sunrise the Sunday I preached at Fusion Church. I saw Tim and the gang at Revolution did it yesterday, and that reminded me of how much I liked it.
- Have a Little Faith in Me. Another early-morning drive discovery today. I probably ought to know who John Hiatt is, but it just sounded very Van Morrison-esque, and I dug it.
- Keep On Growing from Sheryl Crow’s If It Makes You Happy. Just good fun stuff from Ms. Crow. (Did you notice she sings and plays guitar?)
Taking a break from last-minute preparations for tomorrow. Here’s what I’ve got on my mind and in my heart right now…
- Surprise, Surprise! Went into the office this afternoon, and had a package in the mail from Fusion Church. Inside the package was a copy of The Blessed Life and a brief little note from my buddy Tony McCollum. When I preached at Fusion back in November, I mentioned the book at the resource table, and wondered if there were any copies available that day. The gracious Fusioneers told me they’d be sure to get me a copy. I told them I’d just pick one up later. Well, I forgot about that conversation until today! Thanks, Tony! Blessed, indeed!
- Joy Has Dawned, one of Stuart Townend’s hymns is floating my boat right now.
- So is music from Talking Heads, specifically a couple of tunes from the movie Wall Street – Once in a Lifetime and This Must Be the Place.
- Other music I’m listening to right now? You Get What You Give by New Radicals (Don’t give up, you’ve got the music in you…), When Love Comes to Town by U2 and B.B. King, and others!
- Watched It’s A Wonderful Life for the umpteenth time last night. Somehow I’d missed or forgotten the great exchange between Clarence and Joseph at the beginning: “Is he sick?” “No, worse. He’s discouraged!” Hmmm…
Got one of those “not-really-an-actual-album” compilation things going for tonight’s Unwind…a thrown-together selection of Christmas music by Alabama and Ronnie Milsap. Pretty good country Christmas stuff…especially Ronnie Milsap’s spectacular rendition of O Holy Night. And of course, there’s Joseph and Mary’s Boy, Santa Claus, I Still Believe in You, and the great classic (at least in my family!) Christmas in Dixie!
Some other thoughts that dropped out tonight…
- I pretty much stunk up the place with my message today. Just never seemed to click. I guess that’s what being tired will do for you!
- But then again, any Christmas message that includes references to J.I. Packer, T.S. Geisel, and M.H.Tormé can’t be all that bad, I suppose.
- “The Boy” (recently dubbed “Whiney Boy” by “Mr. Know-It-All”) is finally getting a little relief after his recent surgery. He had a pretty graphic description on the phone today, but let’s just say there’s tremendous power in poop and leave it at that!
- Cafetière à piston. Rôti français. Ooh la la, and pas mal, mon ami!
- The things one can’t help but notice when helping people get set up on weight machines at the YMCA…
- I love friends who challenge you and encourage you without even knowing it.
- Hey, how ’bout that Tebow kid for Heisman! I’m still a large Gator-hater and always will be, but it’s pretty cool to know that an historic Heisman Trophy winner is the brother of one of my best ministry friend’s daughter-in-law! (Yeah, yeah…six degrees and all that jazz!)
- Did I mention I stunk up the joint this morning?
- Did I mention our folks were gracious and forgiving?
- I love type! I’m not a great – or even good! – designer, but playing with fonts floats my boat!
- One of my strengths, according to the StrengthsFinder assessment is Input, meaning I collect things that may have real value in the future. I’ve come to the conclusion that the collecting is not nearly as big a deal as the retrieval. And I need to work on that. A lot!
- John Maxwell still pulls my chain after all these years!
- The fact of the Incarnation is staggering!
Alfred Reed. Russian Christmas Music. A piece for symphonic band (that’s a concert band on steroids for you non-musical folks out there!). Enough said…