I'd like to take a moment to say a simple happy birthday to the Church. Luke records it this way:

Acts 2 When the day of Pentecost had arrived, they were all together in one place. ² Suddenly a sound like that of a violent rushing wind came from heaven, and it filled the whole house where they were staying. ³ And tongues, like flames of fire that were divided, appeared to them and rested on each one of them. ⁴ Then they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in different languages, as the Spirit gave them ability for speech.

(from BibleGateway.com)

For a great explanation of this moment (called "Pentecost") check out the Methodist videoblog below:

I learned this evening that another of my faith heroes has gone on to his reward. (http://www.baptiststandard.com/news/texas/15034-baptist-historian-and-professor-leon-mcbeth-dies)

One of the highlights of my seminary education was learning Christian and Baptist History under one who wrote the book (literally). Leon McBeth made studying the dusty old annals of Baptist History fun somehow. The year that his extensive The Baptist Heritage (which he lovingly referred to as "the doorstop") was published, was the year I had Baptist History. Delays in printing caused us to receive our copies of the book which was to be our text for the class six weeks into the semester. Undaunting, Dr. McBeth was kind enough to sign my copy anyway.

Yet another hero who will be missed (by me anyway).

Today, we say good-bye to one of the more powerful voices of faith - George Beverly Shea. Read about it here. And then enjoy one of his more well-known songs:

In this world of social networking, filled with misspellings (thank you text-messaging) and improper usage, I have constantly been annoyed by those on the WWW who just don't get the difference between 'than' and 'then.'

And then I see this interchange on Facebook by a couple of guys who DO get it:

My friend (in his "status"): "Wishing I could go fishing. I would rather fish than eat. And that's saying something."


His Friend (as a comment): "I would rather fish THEN eat."

I've underlined the words that so often offend, but in this case are used correctly.

Thanks to Randy Mullinax and Steve Hamrick via Facebook for diligently using their thans and thens correctly.

I've loved "The Good Life" ever since I discovered it had wandered across the Pond and renamed itself "Good Neighbors" for the American audience. Today, I learned that the principle actor - Richard Briers - has died. So we must say, "So long" to a great friend from the screen, and watch a few episodes of self-sufficiency to make the day seem right. (HT to Bill Crider)



Here's a word from Briers' co-star, Penelope Keith. (Apparently she's having some trouble with her earpiece.)

Since we have decided to combine all the President's into one day and shove it between Lincoln and Washington, I wish you happy day today, and I'll do it with a song. [Please note that I know it is "President's Day" and not "King's Day" but the sentiment is well-played.]

This one's for you:

It seems that St. Louis has made national headlines. Here's some of the local commentary:



Here's a piece I wrote that deals with the issue of tipping.

Always on the lookout for new and unusual holidays to celebrate, today I had to look no further than my early morning news. One of my favorite local reporters, who is always also on the lookout for the unusual, discovered that today is the 13th annual Bubble Wrap Appreciation Day. I don't know whether the Bubble Wrap industry or the packing and shipping industry came up with the idea or if it was a joint effort, but what could make one's day happier than to spend it self-soothing to the solid sounds of popping pockets of air. Hope you enjoy Steve Harris' report as much as I did:

Perhaps you noticed that I did the very thing I intend to gripe about in the title of this post - that is, turning a noun into a verb simply by adding the ending: -ing.

Here is the situation (and why my hackles are up about it): listening to some AM radio (they talk a lot there, and I sometimes turn over to some St. Louis stations to get more information--not about anything, just more information), the topic du jour was Manti Te'o's fake girlfriend. The two men carrying on the discussion were frothing at the mouth about how the whole story was a carrying out of a huge deception against the American (especially the sports fan) public. One of the men correctly (in usage if not in context) contended that the Notre Dame athlete was "perpetrating a fraud" while his friend agreed by saying that the young man was "frauding the American public."

When I first heard the word "fraud" used in that sense I thought that perhaps I was mistaken in my understanding of the word. After all, these men were broadcast professionals. Surely they would have a vocabulary and know how to use it. But the offense continued to niggle at me until I had to look it up. And as I suspected the word "fraud" is a noun. It denotes an act of deceit or the person who tricks another. As such the word doesn't accept the -ing ending as if the fraud is being performed at that moment or toward someone (even if it is).

But take heart! There is a verb form of the word "fraud." And that word is (drum roll please) "defraud". This handy little word is a transitive verb (meaning it has an object) that indicates the action that carries with it fraud against someone. In other words, while you cannot "fraud your neighbor," you can most certainly "defraud him".

There are a number of other nouns that we have grown fond of using as verbs simply by adding the -ing ending (I'll save the list for another time), but in a profession of communicators (in this case radio broadcasters) isn't it time we learned the correct verb form of a noun before indulging in verbification?

• Following God in the paths that He has chosen for me.
• Becoming more like Jesus each new day of the new year.
• Moving forward in the process of adoption - we even have our initial home study visit scheduled within the first week of the new year! 
• Watching more evidence of growth in the First Baptist Church of Mulberry Grove.
• Burning the Renovation Note on the first Sunday in 2013.
• Spring Revival in March as a partnership with my Alma Mater, Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary.
• Vacation Bible School in July - Colossal Coaster World!
• Yet to be planned missions adventures.
• And of course end of year events like our annual Christmas Eve service.
• Moving forward in the adoption process. We hope to reach the travel point to bring home our new child at some point during 2013 - We ask all of our friends, family, and faithful acquaintances to pray that God will open the right doors at just the right time for this to happen.
• and finally, one of the big milestones that I plan on seeing this year: 50!

We pray for the close friends and family of General Norman Schwarzkopf, military commander in Desert Storm.

Let us not forget the generals:

• The year started on Sunday, so I spent day one of 2012 in worship with my church family. Even better, I had the privilege of helping my youngest child give the first biggest testimony of her faith in Jesus--Baptism (on Day 1!).  
• We got started in earnest on the process of overseas adoption. Discussions started last Christmas season, and we actually got our applications on the go in early 2012.
• I was able to accompany a group from World Hope Ministries International (World Hope Bible Institute) and Houston Northwest Church on a mission trip to Kenya in June. Over 300 pastors and church leaders were trained in "Old Testament Survey" and "Biblical Faith" and at the end of our two weeks at two separate locations I witnessed a sea of Kenyans making commitments to Christ even though our outdoor venue was a bit soggy from afternoon rains all week.
• Our church experienced some exciting times including our normal Spring Revival, Summer Vacation Bible School, and our annual Christmas Eve Candlelight service. December even saw us pay off our Renovation Loan - we will be celebrating on the first Sunday in January at 6:00 p.m. with a ham & bean dinner accompanied by note burning. You're invited to join us if you're in our area and don't have church commitments of your own.

[by the miracle of modern technology, I can prepare this post, and set it to publish on Christmas Day]


Finally, we have arrived on Christmas Morning. What better way to celebrate than to welcome the Christ-child into our thoughts, our hearts, our homes, our world . . .



(This song has been covered by big-name artists such as Michael W. Smith (a personal favorite rendition), and Amy Grant. Today, I thought it would be appropriate to post a version recorded by the author of the song, Chris Rice.)