Subscription Lists

It is definitely that time of the year. My e-mail bin is starting to include mailings concerning Santa Claus and other Christmas traditions which are a tad skewed but tolerable nonetheless. Some are funny, some uproarious, some thoughtful and others, well, bless their hearts, I hope they like coal. Which brings me to my favorite Christmas tradition that has nothing to do with the Christ.

I can remember as children my sister and I being told that we had to behave or Santa Claus would put a lump of coal in our stocking. Recently, on "According To Jim," the youngest of the children…  ( Click for more )

The long running sitcom "Cheers" spawned a number of characters which every regular viewer seemed to recognize from their own experience. That is what made "Cheers" so successful. Like the resident know-it-all, mailman Cliff Claven. People tuned in each week just to hear what mishmash Cliffy would come up with that would begin as an intelligent sounding remark and digress to the ridiculous.

One day as the regular barflys were discussing music, Cliff threw in, "I wonder if you know that the harp is a predecessor of the modern day guitar. Early minstrels were much larger people.…  ( Click for more )

The story is told of a man and his wife who had been fiercely devoted to their work. So devoted were they that they hardly ever had any time to themselves. They decided enough was enough and set a night to go out on a "date" together to their favorite restaurant. The husband even rented a limo for the evening to make the evening that much more special.

The couple were dressed to the hilt when the limo arrived to pick them up and take them to their destination. As they sat eating their meal a man approached them and started jumping back and forth and frantically waving his arms…  ( Click for more )

People seem to love to complain. They can look at the best of situations and see the minutest of flaws, so no wonder they can look at normal situations and absolutely rip them apart. Griping seems to be the one thing most people have down to a science. The sad thing is, the one place people seem to be able to complain the best and the loudest is in church.

A friend of mine called me last week and shared a new complaint with me from one of his flock. The complaint? There were too many new people in church whose backgrounds were less than sterling. My friend was at his wits…  ( Click for more )

In the mid to late nineteenth century lived an actor named Charles Coghlan. Coghlan was born in 1841 on Prince Edward Island, Canada. Though a world traveler as an actor he always returned to his home on the Island. He loved his beloved Canada and could not see spending his retirement years anywhere but there on Prince Edward Island.

In 1899, while appearing in Galveston, Texas, Charles Coghlan became gravely ill. He died before the turn of the century and, instead of being sent back to his native land, he was buried in a local cemetery in Galveston. His beloved homeland was…  ( Click for more )

I am so excited!!! It is almost time for Winter Holiday. Tis the season to be jolly and all that. I mean, let's show some gratitude to the governments of so may countries that came up with the idea to have a Winter Holiday. However did they think of such a thing. And it so perfectly meshes with when the children are off from school in the winter time. Maybe that's why they did it.

Yeah, why did they set it at this particular time of the year? Is it because all the retailers have so much inventory left over from the beginning of the year that they want to have some huge sales…  ( Click for more )

It's December. The air is colder. The rain is coming much too frequently. The wind is much too brisk. This is not golf weather. What does a person, whose only weekly distraction is golf, do with himself when he cannot play golf? When I figure that out I'll let you know. No, seriously, I have no idea. There are any number of things that could serve as substitutes.

I could play cards. There are a myriad of card games available. I remember playing euchre growing up with my family. My wife and I were introduced to pinochle sometime in the seventies. Of course, as a kid…  ( Click for more )

The first images of my father were those I had as a rugrat. Everyone looks tall when you're lying on the floor. Even mom looked tall from that perspective. As I grew I began to set my growth goals when I realized that I would get taller, mom was the first mark. I caught her when I was in the seventh grade, blew by her in the eighth and caught dad as a freshman in high school.

I was a six foot two inch one hundred fifty pounder at age fourteen. Even that scrawny I realized that I was about as big as dad. As I continued to grow I became stronger through some very hard work…  ( Click for more )

When television programs run their course and finally go the way of Gunsmoke, Andy Griffith, et. al., people mourn their passing like they would a good friend. A number of sitcoms have, or are preparing to, exit the television scene. A number of them I have only seen maybe once or twice and couldn't tell you more than the main character or one of the main characters, such is my interest.

Seinfeld is one such program. I know Jerry, George, Elaine and Kramer. But I couldn't recount a particular episode if my life depended on it. I watched maybe three episodes and have no idea…  ( Click for more )

In the difficult span of a week a man I met recently went through a torrent of problems, some of his own making, in which he said he lost all but one of his friends. That one friend called me and asked me to meet with him just to talk. She briefed me on the man's situations and gave me his phone number so I could call him and set a time to meet.

When the man and I got together near Florence, Kentucky, he didn't talk immediately about his problems. He wanted to talk about his friend. When news of his problems got out several of the people he felt closest to called him and told…  ( Click for more )

I am, perhaps, the most individual individual you may ever know. My friends have told me that as have my wife and children. Anytime people preface something by saying, "Tom, you're the only person I know who could get away with that," you know that they think you were the reason the mold was destroyed and not just broken.

I hear young people today saying that they want to be an individual. So they wear a certain kind of jean, get multiple piercings and start amassing tattoos. And they look like all the other people their age who want to be individuals who have begun wearing…  ( Click for more )

Having grandkids has built a fresh new understanding about growth in my mind. With my grandkids now a month old we have a benchmark of how they are doing. Grace Lynn was four pounds and five ounces at birth while Sean Patrick was four pounds two ounces at birth. Grace is now six pounds and nine ounces while Patrick is six pounds and eleven ounces. That's over two and one half pounds for Patrick in his first month.

There is a term attached to these wonderful children; premature. They came into the world before they were supposed to according to the calendar. They were six…  ( Click for more )

From the bottom of the hill... Bet you weren't expecting to see that again. Living in the Georgetown area has removed us from the Waco area by about an hour's drive. However, my doctor is still there. We have not yet made a change from the one in whose trust we have placed our health for these past five years. As a result, when I need to see the doctor I return to the Waco area, Moberly actually.

I had finished having some blood drawn for a blood test and was hungry having not eaten yet that morning. I decided breakfast at the Waco BP Food Mart would be good. So I went to…  ( Click for more )

I remember warm summer weekends with my father back in Jeffersonville, Ohio. He would have a project and I would be his co-worker. We would start early in the morning, right after breakfast, and work until lunchtime or beyond if needed. Dad always wanted to get something done rather than leave it for even the briefest of pauses.

He and I have built sidewalks, workshops, picnic tables and cabinets. When we got done we knew that we were not the best at what we just completed, but we had done it right and it worked. And we had done it together as Father and Son. No matter how…  ( Click for more )

My good friends, I hope that your day is one in which you can relax with the knowledge that God has blessed you immeasurably. Take comfort in the safety of your family, consolation in what health you possess and encouragement in the fact that you are able to care for yourself and those around you.

Most of all exalt the God who gave His only Son to die for you in a war fought in your heart. Give thanks for the victory that has been awarded you through His blood and the great promise that is yours by His sacrifice and resurrection. In gratitude, recognize the spiritual strength…  ( Click for more )

Kurt Lewin once said, "If you want truly to understand something, try to change it." That works in many areas. As a NASCAR fan I wondered along with everyone else what the head honchos thought they were doing when they put in the "Chase for the Race" or "Race for the Cup" or "My Cup Runneth Over" or whatever they called their season ending blitz of twenty races which focused on the top ten drivers. But I now understand NASCAR a lot better than I ever did even though I had nothing to do with the changes.

However, there are two areas of life that Lewin's adage doesn't affect.…  ( Click for more )

The entire incident couldn't have taken more than just a few seconds but, at the moment it happened, it seemed like an eternity. Thoughts flashed through my mind at a rapid rate. I was thinking about my family and friends, my church. Would I ever see them again? Would somebody be coming from the other direction whose life would be lost along with mine? An automobile accident is a frightening experience.

I came up over a short rise and then down into a curve where I could see that the road was wet. My speed wasn't that great so I was unconcerned about the wetness on the road's…  ( Click for more )

Having ministered to a number of churches I have, over the years, developed a sincere appreciation for Godly leaders, especially elders. There have been those whose leadership has been lacking and those whose spirituality has been neglected. There have been those who ruled with irons fists and those who had no rule at all. Then came the elders of the Minorsville Christian Church; my church.

I don't know about any of the "super" churches as to the elderships there, but I do know that the five men with which I am currently sharing ministry are men of deep faith, intense spirituality,…  ( Click for more )

While living in Bellville, Ohio, in 1991 we rented a place on Main Street that had a side porch that was screened in. I asked my landlord if he would mind if I converted it into a golf shop. He said that he had no problem with that so I did. Christian Custom Golf opened to very little fanfare but several customers. After a few weeks the shop was doing reasonably well. People were enamored with the concept of custom fitted golf clubs.

Each week someone would come in and ask that mundane question, "How much will a set of clubs cost me?" I remember looking at one particular…  ( Click for more )

This past weekend was a landmark for me. After begging for several years for a friend of mine to come down and play some golf, he finally made it. I have had the pleasure of Rod and Mariann Wright's hospitality for a number of years and have been after them to come down and spend some time with my wife and me. Rod made it and brought Mike McCoy, who has been here several times before, with him.

Mike and Rod are the two men I am closest to from my graduating class. The odd thing is, we never spent much time together in high school but for some reason feel the need to do so now.…  ( Click for more )

In having to replace my computer I decided to replace my inkjet printer from a Lexmark to a Hewlett Packard. When I bought my new printer I did not buy replacement cartridges for it for that first time when I ran out of ink. I tried to rectify that by going to WalMart and buying the cartridges there. Just yesterday I got a real surprise when time came to replace my used cartridges.

I opened the tri colored cartridge first. As I opened one end of the package I noticed that the flap was glued tightly shut. When I examined the contents of the package, which clearly looked like…  ( Click for more )

As a new grandfather I am now experiencing an entirely unique set of emotions. I am feeling things I never knew I would or could feel and now understand what my dad meant when he told me to have my grandkids first and then my kids. There is a completely different package of appreciation, love and interest attached to grandchildren than there was with my own children.

As such, when my daughter-in-law expressed concern over taking the twins by herself to their first doctor's appointment I decided that I could sqeeze the time out of my schedule to help her. We loaded Gracie and…  ( Click for more )

The college football season is winding down rapidly. Just three weeks of college football left before the most whacked up method of choosing a national champion in a major sport will take place. The pollsters will determine who's number one in college football just in time for post season bowl games to be determined and the Bowl Championship Series to be set to determine who will be crowned as national champs.

So, who's number one in baseball? The Boston Red Sox. How? Because they beat the two teams everyone else was saying were the number one teams. They did that, not by…  ( Click for more )

One North American mammal that has always fascinated me is the opossum. It is the answer to the age old question, "Why did the chicken cross the road?" To show the opossum that it could be done. When you see an opossum lying on a road surface you can reasonably be sure it is dead in spite of the popular story that opossum's "play dead" when they are frightened. That just isn't the case for one on the road.

When an opossum is confronted by an enemy, most likely a predator (opossums are more likely to consider something that will eat it an enemy as opposed to something that just…  ( Click for more )