"Texas, Our Texas"

Texas, Our Texas! all hail the mighty State!

Texas, Our Texas! so wonderful so great!

Boldest and grandest, withstanding ev'ry test

O Empire wide and glorious, you stand supremely blest.

Texas, O Texas! your freeborn single star,

Sends out its radiance to nations near and far,

Emblem of Freedom! it set our hearts aglow,

With thoughts of San Jacinto and glorious Alamo.

Texas, dear Texas! from tyrant grip now free,

Shines forth in splendor, your star of destiny!

Mother of heroes, we come your children true,

Proclaiming our allegiance, our faith, our love for you.

Chorus

God bless you Texas! And keep you brave and strong,

That you may grow in power and worth, throughout the ages long.

God bless you Texas! And keep you brave and strong,

That you may grow in power and worth, throughout the ages long.

Again and again and again! Apparently people are not paying attention to my posts.

As I was perusing one of the several many blogs that I frequent daily, buried deeply in the text the author did it again. So I was ready to go on a long rant about the proper use of lead, led, and lead. But I've already waxed eloquent on the subject, so I'll just point you there.

You must understand that I read a lot of blogs by preacher-types like myself. It's good for my professional education. That said, most of us are expected to be professional communicators--either verbally or through the written word. So is it too much to ask my colleagues to learn to say that any church they pastor "will be led" rather than "will be lead"? Please preacher, learn your usage. And by the way, it's just a cop-out to say, "spelling/grammar was never my strong suit." Are you educated? Then act like it. Even when you write.

By now everyone's probably seen the church sign.

While I'm not sure about using a church marquee to ask people to stop praying, I'm right there with the sentiment.

From Yahoo! News we learn that some US Cities are running out of people.

Since I am always behind, you've probably seen these (as they are all the rage on the 'Net right now). But in the spirit of the season (I know, I know. This part of the work is not really part of the birth section--but the passion--but people love to sing it as part of their Christmas tradition) I will post these here. Feel free to stand beside your computer in the time-honored tradition (attributed to royalty, no less).

Consider the story behind this new Christmas song, then consider St. Jude's this Christmas.

For those who want to know, this is the anniversary of the murder of John Lennon. As a sort of tribute, here's his Christmas song--enjoy the pretty pictures:

Recently, I heard one of those radio talk shows where they talk about just about anything. The host was discussing how his second grade teacher encouraged him to the point of "setting him free to soar". So, I decided I'd introduce you to a couple of inspirational people in my life.

I just want to take a moment, dear reader(s), to wish you a Happy Thanksgiving Day.

Or happy thirty day. However you want to look at it. I couldn't let today go by without mentioning that it was 10.10.10.

I'm often skeptical at the "updating" of some of my favorites from the past. And there are some inconsistencies from what I remember in my childhood viewing. At the same time, some of the questions are being answered that were left unasked when Jack Lord led the Five-O team.

Yes, tomorrow is international talk like a pirate day. And as tempting as the proposition might be, I will not be preaching in pirate-speak. But have fun with it anyway.

So, yesterday was my birthday (as many of you who follow me on FB know--and thanks for all the well-wishes btw). I took a relaxing day, spent time with the family (just before the mad rush of BACK TO SCHOOL grabs hold like a pit bull). We walked across the historic "Chain of Rocks" Bridge (the old Route 66 Mississippi River span) which is now relegated to foot and bicycle traffic, and enjoyed a leisurely lunch at Steak 'n Shake on the way home. It was really a restful day.

I also received the following information (prepare for shameless self-promotion) from Lulu (the site I currently use as publish on demand printer for my books):

Publish | Buy | Sell | Services Two for Christmas Purchase Two for Christmas and get free shipping. * To qualify for Lulu FREE Summer Shipping, your cart has to total at least $19.95 in printed book merchandise, but that total excludes taxes. Since the US Postal Service will deliver your order, we can only offer FREE Summer Shipping to valid US delivery addresses. We can also ship to APO/FPO addresses, but just make sure you use a valid US zip code with your order. Unfortunately, FREE Summer Shipping can't be combined with any other promotional codes at this time. While we don't have any plans, desires, intentions or wishes to do so, we can change or discontinue Lulu FREE Summer Shipping at anytime. Maximum discount of $19.95. This offer ends on August 23, 2010 at 11:59PM so try not to miss out! Please note that shipping methods are limited within this promotion.

If you'd like you can click on the buttons in the ad and order your very own copy of this compilation of my first two stories (that includes a chapter not included when the books were printed separately). But hurry--the free shipping deal is almost over.

All in all, I would have to say, it was a pretty happy day!

Today we say good-bye to one of my faith heroes. Avery Willis lost his hard battle with cancer early this morning. Why is he a hero? Because he was always a friend--to his family and close relations, to fellow Christ followers, and to people he met on the street.

He gave us MasterLife along with the challenge to live our faith in our everyday life. Celebrate life today, because that's what Avery stood for--celebrating life.

I know that at this moment he is hearing, "Well done, good and faithful servant. Enter into your reward."

My prayers go out to Shirley and the children, and I celebrate with them this life that was lived to the fullest for the glory of God.

Take a moment with me to wish a hearty "Happy Birthday" to the man who makes a point to wish everyone else a "Happy Birthday."

Bill Crider has been cranking out Sheriff Dan Rhodes mysteries (among others) ever since the first appearance of East Texas's version of Andy Taylor won the Anthony Award for Best First Novel.

As a gift--why not click on the book cover and pre-order the latest volume?

Nothing special. I just found this sign in southern Illinois interesting:







One has to wonder what they sell at this establishment . . .





and even more interesting is the "store" itself:

It isn't often you'll hear someone say that they have a great mother-in-law. All the jokes suggest that mothers-in-law all have green-tinted skin, wart-ridden noses, and gad about on broomsticks during the night. I'd like everyone to know that I have the world's best mother-by-law.

Using guilt by association, people would expect fathers-in-law to also be a grizzly bear to deal with. So, I should hasten to add that I have a tremendous father-by-law. My wife's parents are loving and interested in our family's life--and dote on our children even if they have to do it from a distance.

So, today, I want to pay a fitting tribute to my father-by-law, Robert A. Wring. Bob is the pastor of Mountain Highway Baptist Church outside of Tacoma, WA. This December he and Ms. Vickie (I'll call her Momma Wring) will celebrate 37 years as husband and wife. They have two daughters--one of whom has been blessed to join the Potter family--and three grandchildren (I'm so proud). Bob is a veteran of the US Navy and loves Jesus completely.

Several years ago, Bob completed work on his PhD from MidAmerica Baptist Theological Seminary in Memphis, TN. This then, brings me to the reason for my post today -- to honor Robert A. Wring, PhD.

The fam and I recently returned from a mission trip to Pennsylvania (in and around the Punxutawney area). Over the years I have had an on again, off again (now on again) fascination with Dr Pepper and all the variations from soft drink bottlers around the world. I was a fan of DP when another company failed to reproduce a facsimile and called it Mr Pibb (it seems he couldn't stay in school long enough for the terminal degree). I have agonized over the travesty that is marketed under the name Dr. Thunder. But on our recent trip to PA, we discovered this (that tastes pretty good, btw) and found it a fitting tribute to my favorite father-by-law: Robert A. Wring, PhD --

I read sadly of the death over the weekend of Christian rock artist Dana Key. I recall moments from my youth that were influenced by the innovative and ground-breaking band that Key formed with Eddie DeGarmo (DeGarmo & Key). Bringing Christian music into the cutting edge as D&K was known to do, opened doors for artists who didn't fit in with the Southern Gospel or bubblegum pop sound that dominated early Christian music outside of church hymnals.

So, enjoy a couple of the songs, just as Dana is now enjoying his forever:


"Casual Christian"


Key's rendition of Larry Norman's "The Outlaw"


HT: Kevin Bussey

Probably most famous for his character Arnold on Diff'rent Strokes, Gary Coleman introduced us to his goldfish, Abraham, and continually wanted to know, "What you talkin' 'bout, Willis?" I heard on the news this evening that he died today after a long illness.

So long, Gary--and Arnold.

Some of my favorite "growing up" memories center on re-runs of Art Linkletter's House Party which included Art interviewing children who (as his book asserted) would "say the darnedest things."

Mr. Linkletter passed away the other day, and men of his stripe are growing fewer and farther between.

Say it with a Card,

Over the past two months, I've been having trouble uploading sermons to my old podcast site. So, I've been looking for a solution. What I found was a new site where things seem to be working better. That means I'm moving to a new site altogether. Older sermons can still be accessed by clicking on the old link at myPodcast. Newer sermons (including some repeats) will be podcast at the Sermon Network page as well as be available at Loom & Wheel Sounds on blogspot.

I'm not opposed to the death penalty per se--though I think that it should be used only sparingly. But even if you favor capital punishment: firing squad?

I've said it before, and I think it bears repeating~~We need heroes. We need to have people that pave the way for us, that we look up to, and that we can emulate as we trek along this earth. I've introduced you to a couple of my heroes in the past. Today I got to rub elbows with another of my heroes because I'm at the RHMA Small Town Pastors' Conference, and Calvin Miller has been the keynote speaker as well as a session leader.

Why is Miller one of my heroes? Because he has done most of the things that I'd like to do. He has planted churches, has served those churches as pastor, has written books (make that, books that others want to buy), and he has remained real in all of this.

I also owe a lot in my life--not just my ministry--to Miller. Indirectly, he is responsible for the circumstances through which I met the blushing bride. He was the inspirational speaker over ten years ago at the missions emphasis week at Glorietta Baptist Conference Center in New Mexico where I decided to become an international missionary. Had I not made that decision, I would never have met my beautiful wife on the second day of missionary orientation two years later.

So, get you a hero. Don't worship them, but do be grateful for their presence in your life.

Here you are . . .

So, enjoy . . .

Here's a bit of verse I dedicated to my Blushing Bride those years ago. Enjoy your Valentine's Day!

I don't believe in love at first sight, But I know that your smile caught my eye.
It's not just the way it glows upon your face
But the way you let it linger in your eyes.

So, Lady--Pretty Lady, you make me happy when you smile
And I know when your cryin' I'd like to stay with you the while
'Til you are smiling again. I just want to be the friend
Of such a pretty lady.
(from "Pretty Lady Smile")

With the earthquake in Haiti taking a front seat in news for the last several weeks, it isn't any wonder that my son started asking some questions -- What are they talking about? Why are they having this telethon?--you know, the regular stuff that goes through the mind of a six-year-old.

Then he asked the ultimate question: "Mommy, can we do something to help the people in Haiti?"

So we're having a fund-raiser:
If you're in the Mulberry Grove area Saturday, February 6th, stop by and join the festivities. If not, try to find your way to help. (I might even suggest this or this.)

May the Lord continue to bless my long-time friend, Albert Reyes, as he assumes the leadership of Buckner International. See the article here.

Okay, so I'm posting this so I'll get another entry in the $100 book giveaway for more resources for my library. That means that I actually don't want you to click the link below.

Sadly, we say "Good-bye" to Gumby's creator, Art Clokey.

Enjoy an episode:

So, I was showing off the beautiful copy of The Message I received as a gift for Christmas to some of the parishioners at prayer meeting tonight.

I was so excited to get it, because I'd been wanting a copy for awhile. I was even impressed that I had received the soft "leather" cover -- with my name imprinted.

Look close--you can see it--and you can also see what I saw tonight (LOL).

Even so, What a treat for a gift, and the message in The Message is still the best!

I just want to wish you a happy 2010!

. . . And when one of your deacons etches grave markers you find something like this under your tree. And you cry because you know how much they love you. And you are thankful again that God knows what He's doing when he moves you from one place to another.

Merry Christmas everyone, and may you be as loved as this humble preacher!

. . . and so the children surround themselves with piles and piles of loot (before the avarice set in):



Then -- After the carnage:

After Puddn N Pie and Bubba got air time from their school program, I feel it's only fair to present this clip of Little Bit and her daycare group in their "program".

The oldest is now trying her hand at adapting the Christmas story. Check out the results below:

1. I apologize for the poor quality of the video below.
2. I do not apologize for being a doting daddy--you can watch and enjoy or click out.

The oldest is singing these first selections:



The son, as you can see, was a last-minute substitute for one of the "no show" reindeer (a good choice, I think):

My son is really getting into the Holiday Spirit this year. He has now been turned on to Christmas music--like this, and this.

Yesterday he was singing, "Police nadida . . . Police nadida . . ."

Enjoy the show:

A couple of years ago, I posted some pictures of a unique Egyptian Nativity the Blushing Bride gave me when we first got married. If you click the link, you'll also get to enjoy an old seminary joke about exegesis ('extra Jesus'). The old wit says, "Extra Jesus -- we don't need no 'extra Jesus!'"

(btw, This Nativity won the prized 'underneath the tree' spot this year)

Here's some more holiday cheer from Straight No Chaser

For those of my readers who get hot under the collar because the local stores have full-blown Christmas displays beginning in late August, stop reading now!

For those of you who decided to stick with me, Christmas spirit has come. One radio station in the major market in which I live started playing all Christmas, all the time last Friday. This doesn't bother me as it does some, simply because I'm a Christmas Junkie--I love (almost) all Christmas junk (whether it's really junk or the real thing). I cry over showings of It's a Wonderful Life and White Christmas.

[aside] My only beef with the radio playing so much Seasonal music is that on the day they started I hear the Euthrythmics' version of "Winter Wonderland" twice in the same day. If you're going to play all Christmas format, there is enough material out there that you don't have to repeat the same song (let alone the same version of a song) more than once in a 24-hour period. [aside over]

Anyway, for all of you but Bill Crider, who might take offense at the crocodile line, here's a little Christmas cheer:

For those who haven't seen this news feed, you want to watch this. Several great headlines come to mind. Add yours in the comments section.

. . . Do not eat all the candy in one sitting.

I really missed it this year. "Talk Like a Pirate Day" is September 19th, and I was so busy, I forgot to celebrate. So, in honor of Columbus Day, and for those of you who want your pirate fix, I'll let these guys tell you why I missed it:

And I hope not to let it happen again (or else, I guess I'll walk the plank).

My father-by-law e-mailed this little video that he found posted by Will Shin. The Blushing Bride's dad is a preacher, too, BTW. Enjoy!

As the Cardinals look toward another shot at the title (at least they made the play-offs again), Puddin 'N Pie brought home this pencil drawing from her 2nd grade art class.I call it "Bush Stateyum" -- Enjoy!

So, if it was Christmas Eve a couple of days ago for Sci-Fi Wonder Boy Henry Melton, then it felt like Christmas for me today when I opened up the mail and found this . . . (see picture)

It's been awhile since the word police reared its ugly head, but I just couldn't take it any longer. I saw it again today on a blog where the author should know better. What was it, you ask? That bear of a usage error known as "less." The word "less" is a quantitative amount, and not a numeric register. In other words you can have less water or less money, but you cannot have less dollars.

The culprit this time happened to be a book reviewer who suggests that one should rate a book that they are reading with "5 or less stars."

Of course, this is just another of those things that for no particular reason gets to me, but when reviewing, and using a five-point scale, you should rate with 5 or fewer stars.

Thanks again for listening.

Then you'll be interested in Charles Ardai's Hard Case Crime. I've read a couple of selections from this publisher and find them very satisfying escape novels. Also, check out their Twitter drawing for ARCs of upcoming releases.