Morning glory to God

 

(Photo from flikr )

Last week as I was driving to work, the sunrise was beautiful.  I wish I had a camera, or that I was not in a hurry to meet my carpool.  What really made it even more wonderful, was that I had just put the first hymns CD by The 2nd Chapter of Acts, and the first one, “All Creatures Of Our God And King” came on, right as the sun popped over the horizon.  I was moved by the moment, especially the line: “Thou rising morn in praise rejoice” seemed to be written exactly for a time as this.  I wonder if the hymn writer saw a beautiful sunrise and wrote that line.  The photo does not quite capture it.  It was one of those days when the sky was cloudy except the horizon, so the sun reflected beautiful red and orange light over everything.

Kudos and "Whatever"

First, I want to publicly (at least as publicly as this blog is) express  “kudos” to the junior senator from Missouri, Claire McCaskill (Dem).  Most of the time I do not agree with her.  But she, along with several other senators “called for greater transparency as the health insurance reform debate moves to the Senate floor.”   Basically, they want “legislative text and complete budget scores from the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) to be posted on a public website at least 72 hours prior to the first vote...”  Sounds like a great idea for any legislation.


Now for something light.  The other day, the AP (Associated Press) reported that “Whatever”, especially when pronounced “WHAT-ehv-errr”, is the most annoying slang in American conversation.  About twice as annoying as “you know”.

It got me to thinking about other annoying speech habits we have.  One I have heard a lot recently that drives me batty is “long story short”.  It is a shortrened version of  “to make a long story short”, which usually is said after the speaker has rambled on and on, telling too much minutiae of the story already.

Lawn woes

Last week my mower died. It took several trips to various mower stores, but I finally found a push-type lawn mower I can afford. Man, those things cost a lot. My mechanic told me to get a John Deere because they have a Kawasaki overhead valve engine, but all the ones I saw had regular old Briggs & Stratton side valves, and cost $100 more than other brands. I even had a JD salesman tell me they did not reorder the J series because they had too many returned last year. So I got a hardly used Lawn Boy. It even has an oil pump. I need that because I mow an embankment. Now I know why mowers did not last long for me, because when I mow the embankment, only one of the cylinders was getting any oil! Now, off to do the job before the next rainfall.

I'm feeling older

Last week the phone rang. Mrs. L. picked it up. I overheard her say “Yes, he’s here. Do you want me to get him on?”

I pick up the extension. Oldest Daughter (D1) is on the line. “So, Mr. D1 and I were discussing what to get you and Mom for Christmas and wanted to see if you would like it.” (Or something along those lines.) Must be something big, I think to myself, since they are talking about it seven months ahead of time. “So what is it?” I ask.

Her answer: “How about a grandchild?”

I was surprised. I mean, at her wedding a couple of months ago I had said that I was looking forward to grandchildren, but not so soon! Playing along, I asked “A grandchild? Where are you going to get one of those?”

It was only a little bit before D2 was on the third extension, having overheard my response. She was more than excited. I guess I am too. I’m just feeling a little older, now that my first grandchild is due to be born before the year is over.

Chicken Little, your services are requested.

Whew! If we listen to the "Hope and Change" President, we would think economic disaster is waiting in the wings and will strike any minute. (Where's the hope in that?) So let's act now and not worry about the debt we leave to our great-great grandchildren. (Where's the change in that practice? It sound's like the last economic act of the previous president.) In the 1980s, we had Reaganomics, which GHW Bush dubbed as “Voodoo Economics”. This was followed by Bush’s “Read-my-lips-onomics”, in which he promised not to raise taxes, but did anyway. (Granted the Democrats in Congress convinced him they would cut spending if he raised taxes, but they typically did not follow through.) Then we had the socialistic ideas of Clintonomics in the 1990s. For the last eight years, we have been through the cut-taxes-but-increase-spending debacle of Dubyanomics. So, now that the new president got his plan through with dooms-day, the-sky-is-falling rhetoric about the whole economy collapsing, can we call Obamanomics “Chicken Little Economics”?

What a week!

Whew! Another day of this week and we will all go crazy.

The economic crisis did not get fixed with the Congressional taxpayer ripoff. Wall Street seems to be getting lower and lower, and Washington seems to get more and more generous with our tax money. Our great grandchildren will be serving the Chinese government before it is all over. I believe that whoever is elected next month will not get a second term, as the economy is probably going to collapse out from under him, and he will leave office in disgrace in 2013, sort of like Herbert Hoover 80 years ago. For that reason only I am thinking a Barack Obama victory will be good.

Along those lines, I am tired of this election year. Each side gets nastier as the days go by. Each side blames the other for the economic collapse, when really, both sides are to blame. Even after November 4th, we will have to put up with campaigning, as those wanting to run in 2012 will begin to make announcements on the 5th (or at least by Thanksgiving). Oy vey!

On the good news front, my daughter announced her engagement to a fine young man Monday. We are all happy for her. Now, do I go buy a suit at the clothing store that is going out of business, or do I wait to see if she wants me to rent a monkey suit. Perhaps I’ll get a suit either way, as that is something I can use for other occasions (like the other three children’s weddings).

The marketplace in the temple

“Stop making my Father’s house a house of merchandise” John 2:16 (NASB).

So said Jesus when he cleansed the temple of the sellers and money changers. Many today do not realize that were Jesus to enter some modern places of worship, he might do the same thing. I have been to a few large churches and am disturbed by what I see: shops selling books, CDs and other material in the building; or even coffee shops imitating Starbuck’s on Sunday mornings. Another disturbing trend is selling tickets to concerts that take place in a church building. That is what auditoriums and sporting arenas are for. Keep the marketplace out!

(I realize musicians need to earn their living, but why don’t they trust the Lord they claim to serve for their income, rather than using worldly methods of promotion?)

Seasonal music- Is it really necessary?

Well, Thanksgiving has come and gone and the rush to buy the latest fad for Christmas has begun, as well as the overplaying of Christmas music. Don’t get me wrong, I like the carols as much as the next person. I just get tired of hearing the same songs over and over again. Some of them are okay, especially the ones based on Scripture. It is the tacky, secular ditties that drive me crazy. It’s lovely weather for a sleigh ride together with you. For some reason, I have a hard time getting that one out of my head right now, and I haven’t even been tortured with it yet! I have never been on a sleigh ride, but I can find nothing pleasant or romantic about being out in the cold air with my toes freezing for a long period of time. I hear that tune and I want to scream! (BTW- what makes that and Jingle Bells Christmas songs? They have nothing what-so-ever to do with Jesus or December 25th. They can be sung any time between now and March and make sense.)

So, which are the ones I don’t mind hearing? The traditional carols like Silent Night; Oh, Holy Night; Joy to the World (which is actually about the second coming of Jesus, not the first); Hark the Herald Angels Sing; etc. Also, some of the modern songs by Christian artists are great, like Mark Lowry’s Mary did you Know? Back in the 70s, I heard and performed (in a group) a song by Tim Sheppard, which pointed to the reason Jesus came. The chorus of the song is this:

Born to die to rise again;
To crush the power of death and sin.
I lift my voice, I shout and sing,
Hosannah! Hosannah!
Hosannah to the King!

So, why do the Christian radio stations only play the great carols for a month? I suppose the mentality is that certain songs belong to a certain time of year. Why not mix the songs about the birth of Jesus in with the praise songs and repetitive worship choruses? Perhaps they think no one will like it. I remember back in the days I worked at a radio station and during the Christmas season we were playing the musical that Johnny Cash produced on the life of Christ. When the story got to the crucifixion and resurrection, a woman called and complained about us mentioning the death and resurrection during Christmas season. I asked her if we were not supposed to tell people why Jesus came?

Go tell it on the mountain, over the hills and everywhere...