As I began scrolling through social media, I noticed there were a lot of posts on the championship game of the professional football league here in the United States. A number of them were complaints that one team or the other cheated. Some showed videos that “proved that the NFL is rigged.” One showed a team fumbling the ball and a player trying to pick it up and run with it, as opposed to just falling on the ball to retain possession. The poster imagined a voice inside the player said, “I should just fall on the ball, but that is not what the script says.” The most prominent clip came from t ..read more

On March 16, Monica and I are excited to host our second annual (for Bell Avenue) Green Party! For review purposes, a Green Party is around St. Patrick’s Day. When you come (from 4:00 PM—6:00 PM) bring something edible to share that is green. If the food is naturally green, that’s OK—not much fun, but OK. If it is not “naturally” green, you just add green food coloring to make it green. This year we are working on a new and improved voting system for the most creative or unique “green” food. Think about it this way . . . when Dr. Seuss asks, “Do you like green eggs and ham?” how would you know ..read more

While our ladies are welcome to read this article, I specifically want to address the men, the real men, of our congregation. In September, 2011 a movie was released entitled “Courageous.” On Saturday, February 17, 2024 our Iron Sharpens Iron groups are going to embark on a study entitled: “Courageous Living Bible Study.” The study is based on the movie and the ups and downs of fatherhood and manhood as experienced by four law enforcement officers. It is essentially about taking the final words of Joshua 24:15 to heart, “But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.” We are going to reor ..read more

A couple of years ago, I purchased a subscription to a particular online software (no names will be mentioned). I paid the fee for a year and pretty much forgot about it for the next eleven months. Then I received a notice that my subscription was about to expire and that I needed to renew it. At that time, however, I did not have the money to renew it. The renewal date came and went without my being able to renew. Then I started getting a notice that my subscription had expired and that if I did not renew by such-and-such a date, “many features will become unavailable.” I decided to let that ..read more

For a couple of weeks, I had needed to get a haircut. I looked at the calendar and found a day when time and money would cooperate and I could get a haircut: Saturday, January 13, 2024. I got up, got dressed, checked in online, and headed to the hair cut place. Despite a “0 minute” wait time, I still had to wait 15 minutes! If you recall, the latest cold spell began right around that time. My hair, I have been told, is very thick, especially when I need a haircut. After my haircut, I took one step into the frigid outside air, and I realized just how thick my hair had been. In addition to losin ..read more

We have three dogs in our home. Two of them are Jamie’s and the other is Monica’s. Monica’s dog is named Snuggles. When we got him, he was supposed to be trained to become a therapy dog that Monica could take with her to her classroom. We moved here, though, and his training fell by the wayside. Snuggles (I know, it is a weird name for a boy dog) thinks he is pretty smooth. The dogs have inside toys and outside toys. Snuggles has been known to put one of the inside toys right by the back door. Then, when he is let out, he grabs it and runs outside . . . as if nobody saw what he did. Of course ..read more

On Monday of this past week, I had an eye doctor appointment. As part of this appointment, they did a retinal scan of my eyes. It was discovered that my left eye has a “floater” in it. Since this “floater” has not been bothering me and I was not even aware that anything was “floating” in my eye, the eye doctor simply said that we needed to keep an eye on it . . . “punny,” I know. When I go back next year, or if I start to notice it, they will take another look at it. As I drove home in the snow with dilated eyes, I began to think about how we sometimes use the same logic to deal with sin. We k ..read more

Here we are, one week into a new year. If you will allow me to get a bit personal with you: How are your new year’s resolutions coming along? I would guess that a week is pretty easy to keep a resolution. If I were to ask the same question in three weeks, you might give me a different answer. Once we have “failed” to keep a new year’s resolution, many times we conclude, “Oh well, I guess I’ll try again next year.” For many, they believe that the new year is the only time to make a “fresh start.” So they think they have to wait until the next year to try again. The Old Testament book of Lamenta ..read more

This past week, I purchased a printer for my office. Setting up this new, wireless, Wi-Fi, printer was another adventure. I spent all day Tuesday trying to get it set up. Every try made it to the same point where I was told that the printer could not be connected to the network. The printer would install but be listed as “offline.” Richard Mayfield was kind enough to help me on Wednesday. He figured out that the printer was too far from the router to maintain the Wi-Fi signal. So I found a cable, hooked it up and I now have a working printer in my office. In John 15:1,2, Jesus says, “I am the ..read more

On October 3, 1789, President George Washington issued the following proclamation: Whereas it is the duty of all Nations to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God, to obey his will, to be grateful for his benefits, and humbly to implore his protection and favor—and Whereas both Houses of Congress have by their Joint Committee requested me “to recommend to the People of the United States a day of public thanksgiving and prayer to be observed by acknowledging with grateful hearts the many signal favors of Almighty God, especially by affording them an opportunity peaceably to establish a form ..read more