Earlier this month, I posted that I was enjoying looking at listening to Diana Krall and her The Girl in the Other Room CD. It’s on again in the background this morning, and these lyrics from “Narrow Daylight” just grabbed me…

I ran up through the rocks to the old wooden cross
It’s a place where I can find some peace

Peace, indeed…

A lot of “church folks” are concerned about a lot of “church issues.” One of the hot-button issues in our tribe of late has been what the future looks like as one generation of leaders “passes the baton” to the next.

A lot folks are saying a lot of things, but what are they – we? – really doing about it?

Joe Thorn says at least seven good actions are taking place right now.

Thanks, Marty Duren, for the link.

Ah, the 80s! When Michael Jackson was still a talented young black man, instead of a washed-up, butt-ugly white woman! (Only in America…!)

Ah, the 80s! When MTV still played music! Like one of my favorite videos by Aha!

Watch what happens when Family Guy takes a trip back to an 80s video parallel universe. Too funny!

BTW, the MilkandCookies folks include the original “Take On Me” video for comparison. Click on the Aha! link above…

Fred Barnes is one of my favorite journalist/commentators. He’s trying to live out his faith as a Jesus-apprentice in one of the least Jesus-apprentice-friendly atmospheres – the newsroom.

Barnes argues that believers ought to make more of an impact on their profession and their world in this article from Boundless…

The truth is, Christian journalists in America have it relatively easy. Sure, journalism is a breathtakingly materialist profession. And, yes, newsrooms often are hostile environments to people who take their Christian faith seriously. I�ve talked to many young Christians who steer clear of mainstream journalism for exactly this reason. But Christ didn�t promise us a congenial environment � quite the contrary. My advice to young journalists is to gut it out. There will always be enough writers for Christian publications, but never enough Christian writers and reporters to go around in the secular media.

OK, I’ll try to make this short and sweet, but I’ve gotta set it up so you, my loyal readers – yes, all both of you! – can get the picture…

Rewind back to 1998. The lovely and gracious “Mrs. Just Charlie” had been hired as a teacher just after the school year started. As you can imagine, we were running around like crazy, getting her employment stuff squared away, getting some new clothes for her to start work in, setting up her classroom, etc. – all the stuff teachers have to do. Right in the middle of all that, as we were in the middle of downtown Atlanta, my brother called from Savannah to tell us that my dad had been severely burned in a freak brush-burning accident, and was being helicoptered to the regional burn center in Augusta, about 2 hours away from Atlanta. Well, after a lengthy stay in the hospital, my dad was OK, and that school year turned into seven productive years for my wife.

Now, fast forward to 2005. As I mentioned in an earlier post, the lovely and gracious “Mrs. Just Charlie” is once again a kind of “late hire” for this school year. When her principal called to offer her the job a couple of weeks ago, coincidentally, my mom had just called “just to check in and see how we were doing.” I asked, half-jokingly, if everything was OK with my dad, since the last time my wife got a new teaching job, he ended up in the hospital. “Ha-ha!” we all laughed. “Wouldn’t that be funny?!” But my mom assured me that all was well with my dad, and we went on our merry way.

Now here comes the uncanny part…

Today was the lovely and gracious “Mrs. Just Charlie’s” first day at her new school. She went and had meetings all day, carried loads of supplies and classroom materials to her new room, etc. – all the stuff teachers have to do. At the end of a long, hot day, she came home to enjoy my world famous Grilled Lime Chicken and all the fixin’s. As we were cleaning up the dinner dishes, my mom called. “Guess what?” she asked. “You said the other day I was probably calling to tell you something was wrong with your dad since Vicki has gotten a new job.” Turns out my dad’s in the hospital in Savannah, with what appears to be some sort of pretty serious urinary tract/bladder problem. They’re not real sure at this point what they’re looking for, but they will be doing some kind of scan and other tests over the next few days.

I tell you – both of you, loyal readers – that long story to ask you this: If you’ve got a couple of extra prayers, if you don’t mind, would you send up one for my dad, Howard? He’d appreciate it. My mom will appreciate it. And so will I. Thanks!

I have learned to use the word �impossible� with the greatest caution.
� Werner von Braun, Engineer

Long day. Not a bad day…in fact, a pretty good day all the way around. But a long day nonetheless. Nodding and dozing slightly sitting here…Tony Bennett’s tribute to Ol’ Blue Eyes, his collaboration with k.d. lang on a tribute to Satchmo…you just can’t beat that for a winding down Sunday night!

(Oh, quick piece of advice, for what it’s worth…are you interested in buying Sinatra CDs, but aren’t sure which ones are really head and shoulders above the rest? Look for Frank wearing a hat on the cover…it’s not always surefire, but it is a pretty good rule of thumb. Just a thought…your mileage may vary…)

I’m teaching through Jonah on Sunday mornings, talking about “The God of the Second Chance.”

For years, as a church kid in Sunday School, Vacation Bible School, etc., I thought the worst thing that ever could have possibly happened to Jonah was getting swallowed by that “big ol’ fish.” (No “whale” anywhere to be seen…it might have been a big ol’ honkin’ catfish or goldfish or rainbow trout or bream, who knows?) (Oh, which also reminds me of that great old “preacher story,” where the little girl answers the agnostic by saying, “Well then you’ll have to ask him.”)

Where was I?

Oh, yeah…Jonah’s fish story as punishment. The real story is that the fish is actually God’s rescue of Jonah, not His punishment! How cool is that? Jonah was sinking, sinking, sinking in the depths of the sea, and God picked him up. He used a fish to do it, but He did it nonetheless.

Preparing for this morning’s talk, I came across Max Lucado’s take on Jonah from He Still Moves Stones…

Look at Jonah in the fish belly – surrounded by gastric juices and sucked-in seaweed. For three days God has left him there. For three days Jonah has pondered his choices. And for three days he has come to the same conclusion: he ain’t got one. He blew it as a preacher. He was a flop as a fugitive. At best he’s a coward, at worse a traitor. And what he’s lacked all along he now has in abundance – guts. So Jonah does the only thing he can do: he prays. He says nothing about how good he is – but a lot about how good God is. He doesn’t even ask for help, but help is what he gets. Before he can say amen, the belly convulses, the fish belches, and Jonah lands face first on the beach.

How often do we think God’s out to get us, when in reality He’s only out to get our attention – and engineer our circumstances to get us where we’re supposed to be?

I love The Varsity in Atlanta! It’s one of those places that has to be experienced. If you’re looking for “health food,” don’t even go into the Varsity’s parking lot. (Although rumor has it that former President Clinton once ate a chicken salad sandwich there, but I digress!) I know without a shadow of a doubt the food at the Varsity is not good for me, but it so good to me! Know what I mean, Vern?

Anyway…who better than one of Fulton County’s finest to give us the crash course on most effectively partaking of the Varsity’s wares?

So says Randy Bohlender in his latest post about the situation with Kelsey, the baby, and their family. You folks have been faithful to pray over the last couple of days. God has been – and is faithful – to hear and answer. Please continue to keep the Bohlenders in your thoughts and prayers during these difficult days.

Randy’s update included these powerful words of faith…

I’d be lying if I said we were ok. We will be ok, but for today, I’m taking a mulligan. Our boys are very sad – they were so hoping for a sister. Through our adult lives, we’ve always ended up helping our community process our own grief. I did my father’s funeral, as well as both of Kelsey’s parents. For the moment, I think I’d better just take care of my own family. Kelsey is very tired – primarily emotional release, I think. For the moment, wee feel a little like casualties in this battle for life. Fortunately, this moment is not our destiny.

Thanks, Randy and Kelsey for your faithfulness and your great example to the rest of us – some who don’t even know you personally.