The people's voice of reason
The people's voice of reason
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The beginning of summer is approaching and we are nearing my favorite time of the year. Summer in the south brings with it vacations, weekends spent outside, outdoor activities, and a multitude of other opportunities. It is a great chance to get out and enjoy our wonderful state parks. I am certainly biased to Alabama but some of the world’s most beautiful natural sites can be found within our state and many of those are at Alabama state parks. Alabama is home to 22 state parks, each having a...
Recently I was asked to address a classroom of young students on what makes a good student a responsible citizen. As I sat down to write some notes, I was inspired and felt led to share this with others as well. Even though the intended audience was 15-16 year old’s, I feel that no matter the age, we can all take away something from this. The process from “good student” to “responsible citizen” all starts within the classroom setting in my opinion. From the very first years of school, you are l...
The beginning of summer is approaching and we are nearing my favorite time of the year. Summer in the south brings with it vacations, weekends spent outside, outdoor activities, and a multitude of other opportunities. It is a great chance to get out and enjoy our wonderful state parks. I am certainly biased to Alabama but some of the world’s most beautiful natural sites can be found within our state and many of those are at Alabama state parks. Alabama is home to 22 state parks, each having a...
There are three dates that many of us in Alabama will never forget. The most prominent being those of April 3, 1974, April 27, 2011, and most recently March 19, 2018. On each of those days portions of Alabama were devastated by tornadoes ranging from categories F3 to F5. Lives were lost, people were seriously injured, and homes and businesses were destroyed. Compounding those tragedies was the fact that some communities lacked electrical service for several days. Even those who were not...
In the 1973 landmark ruling of the case of Roe v Wade, it allowed taking the life of an unborn child acceptable and permissible under the law simply because the woman had the ultimate right to make that choice. In this discussion and argument by those judges, was the future ever considered before rendering that ruling? The Supreme Court ruled 7–2 that a right to privacy under the Due Process Clause of the 14th Amendment extended to a woman's decision to have an abortion, but that this right m...
At 12:01a.m. on January 20, 2018, a dually elected group of Senators with the mandate of representing their United States constituents in their states failed to remember who elected them and what their purpose is. Instead, they used an important opportunity reflecting fiscal responsibility to its citizens by creating an unfair and un-American tactic meant to obtain benefits and opportunity for people who never elected them to their position in the first place. The very people who used their...
“Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen,” Hebrews 11:1 (English Standard Version). It was difficult to accept the loss of a Republican seat in the United States Senate special election; it is never good to lose any seat to a democrat. After the results of that election came in, I found myself in a whirlwind of emotions, but then I remembered that God’s plan is greater than mine, even when I don’t understand it. I trust and believe that His plan is so g...
In November we celebrate two holidays that cause us to reflect on our history and the need to remember the sacrifice of so many. Those holidays are Veterans Day and Thanksgiving. The month of November also reflects fall in its full array of colors, which serves to remind us of the need to be thankful for things we mostly take for granted every day. I hope that you paused on Veterans Day to give thanks for those men and women who were brave and selfless enough to fight for our freedom. My...
On October 1, 2017 over 500 people were injured and 58 people lost their lives when Stephen Paddock opened fire on concert goers at a country music festival in Las Vegas from his hotel room. This catastrophic event is the deadliest mass shooting in U.S. history. As usual, when the responses came out following the shooting, the nation was shown honesty and compassion from the right and lunacy from the left. The debate over gun control and the second amendment have long been a point of...
A heartwarming story took place in Florida just before the arrival of Hurricane Irma. Pam Brekke was next in line at a Lowe’s when she burst into tears as the last generator was given to the person ahead of her in line. “My father is on oxygen and I’m worried about this storm,” she said. Ramon Santiago, who was that next person in line, saw Brekke’s tears and handed over the generator he was going to purchase. “He’s an angel from God is what he is,” Brekke said. “She needed the generator. It...
The end of summer is approaching and we are nearing my favorite time of the year – fall. Fall in the south brings with it nights around a campfire, football games, more time spent in the great outdoors, and, thankfully, some cooler weather. It is a great chance to get out and enjoy our wonderful state parks. I am certainly biased to Alabama but some of the world’s most beautiful natural sites can be found within our state and many of those are at Alabama state parks. Alabama is home to 22 sta...
A friend kept encouraging me to read “The Shack” so I could discuss it with her. I told her I don’t read much fiction and kept putting her off. But I found the DVD at the local library last week and watched this version of William P. Young’s 2007 book. I must say, though the viewing took two nights, it was hard to hit “pause” and go to bed! “The Shack” deals with tragedy when a little girl is kidnapped and murdered. In this regard, the book isn’t sugar-coated. Tragedy is part and parcel of life,...
Where has the summer gone? Area schools open their doors again soon, to the chagrin of many students and to the delight of many parents. It was always a depressing time for me as a child when the more relaxed summer schedule was done! Christians go to school, too, for the New Testament calls us “disciples.” This word has two meanings: to follow and to learn. As someone noted, the followers of Christ are branded on their ears and feet, for we hear his voice and we follow him. Jesus, the master te...
The Statue of Liberty was a gift from France to celebrate our first 100 years of independence. Lady Liberty is 305 feet tall--the height of a 22 story building. It arrived by ship in 214 crates and was painstakingly constructed in New York harbor. Many of us remember the rededication of the monument in 1986. Former Chrysler CEO Lee Iacocca headed an effort to raise money for extensive reworking. President Reagan superintended the ceremony of rededication. He lauded the American republic that is...
It’s among the shortest verses in the New Testament, and it’s also filled with some mystery. Jesus said, “Remember Lot’s wife” (Luke 17:32). Mrs. Lot is a minor figure in the Old Testament. We don’t even know her name. We only know she looked back at the burning Sodom and died Some believe this word is about disobedience; that is, God told Lot’s family not to look back and that’s all we need to know. In this regard, it would be like our first parents in Eden who were told not to eat of the tree...
I first heard the story years ago on Christian television when the author, Bob Benson of Nashville Christian music fame, told it. He called it the baloney sandwich story. And it's still a good one. A man had to work half a day one Saturday and belatedly remembered the church picnic was that afternoon at City Park. Since he lived alone and didn't cook much, all he found in the refrigerator was a crinkled piece of baloney and just enough mustard in the bottom of the jar to get it all over his...
The ancient patriarch Job felt all alone in his suffering. He said, “Oh, that I knew where I might find him! that I might come even to his seat (Job 23: 2)! I’ve heard people echo Job’s lament over the years. “Where is God when I need him?” or “God doesn’t hear my prayers!” or “What did I do to deserve this?” We’re human and forsakenness is a common emotion in our humanity. “Nobody knows the sorrow I’ve seen,” the old spiritual says. But we find an interesting take from the apologist C. S. Lewis...
It was a clear day in San Fransisco. Bay area rivals faced off in game 3 of the 1989 Baseball World Series pitting the Athletics against the Giants. ABC had just begun its pregame analysis with Al Michaels and Tim McCarver when cries of fear and terror erupted throughout Candlestick Park. What is now known as the World Series quake rocked the coast causing extensive damage and resulting in almost 4,000 injuries and 63 deaths. The Athletics went on to win the Series. But the aftershocks to the...
Karen Carpenter was the preeminent voice of the 70s. Along with her brother Richard she sold 160 million record albums. Karen sang love songs. “We’ve Only Just Begun” has been used at countless weddings over the years since she introduced it to the world. But in his book, “Little Girl Blue,” Randy L. Schmidt revealed that Karen Carpenter searched for love and never seemed to find it. Another of her songs is autobiographic: “I'll say goodbye to love / no one ever cared if I should live or die...
He was deacon chairman in the church when I became the pastor. I was young and impressionable, and he made an impression on me. I still quote Horace, though he's been in heaven for many years, when I jokingly refer to the Sunday worship guide as the "bullington" as he did. Horace had a sense of humor, but everyone knew he loved the Lord and his church. One day his wife Ruth told me the season of the year we were in at the time--summer--was particularly hard for Horace. I asked her what she...
We'll soon hear about the new president's "first 100 days." Writer Thurston Clarke published a history in 2013 not of the president’s first 100 days, but of his last 100 days. The president is John Kennedy and the book documents what JFK was doing day-by-day before the tragedy of Dallas. Clarke pulled together narratives from many sources and many cities. The reader feels a sense of dread as the days tick by and November 22 approaches. An intriguing aspect of this book is the initiatives Kennedy...
I traveled to a Tennessee prison last weekend to visit a cousin. My sister engineered our trip, and we picked up our cousin's brother en route and had a nice day, despite the major purpose of our excursion. I learned that other family members had been reluctant to go through the process of approval and to visit. I remembered once hearing a radio host fielding a call from a lady who'd distanced herself from relatives who had a family member in jail. "I don't want to be around them and I don't...
A former Nashville studio musician spoke to a group of church leaders in our city recently. He told us a little about his time in "Music City" and how decisions are made about what music to produce and sell. He said other than Bill Gaither's Homecoming music, the industry is producing only the so-called "praise and worship" music now. This music focuses on the majesty of God and is normally addressed to God the father or another member of the holy trinity. I say "so-called" praise and worship...
I heard about a presumably wealthy Texas cattle ranch owner who boasted about his holdings. When asked how he got such a big ranch, he replied that he bought up a bunch of smaller ranches and made them into one bigger ranch. He said he kept the names and made the new ranch a composite of them all. Thus he owned the "Lazy J Rolling S Mighty Texas Bar Seven Triple L Buffalo Nickel" cattle ranch. "Well, how many head of cattle do you own?" his friend asked. "Only seven," he replied. "I had a lot...
I went to the business office to get a purchase order for office supplies; I think it was a box of file folders or paper clips, and the attendant questioned me like I was Oliver Twist asking for more gruel! I felt anything like a professional. My face began to burn and I stepped outside before saying something I might regret. Most of us have been in similar situations and know the body language of anger. Our face flushes, our jaws tighten, our eyes become narrow slits and often our voices are...
