Doc's Vision, Mission & Passion

NEW WEBLOG

2011-10-09T18:12:00.000-05:00

THIS SITE IS NO LONGER BEING UPDATED.

ALL POSTS, SERMONS, ETC HAVE BEEN TRANSFERRED TO MY PLACE PLACE ON THE WORLD WIDE WEB.

YOU CAN FIND ME AT

Moving On...

2011-09-29T11:11:00.000-05:00

At this moment in time I am working on putting together my own website...and a new blog...all inter-connected. Once it is done...I'll let y'all know...if you are interested!

Ministry Motives...Perry Noble...4 Areas of Attack

2011-09-28T08:42:00.001-05:00

I've been reading through the Sermon on the Mount lately, and what Jesus said in Matthew 5:10-12 has really stood out. As a leader in ministry, we ARE going to be attacked, especially if we are having an impact in the areas in which we are planted. I want to go over four areas in which leaders WILL be attacked and talk about how to handle it.

Area #1 – Your Motives

There is no way around it. People are going to question WHY you do what you do. And the more success you see in ministry, the more people will question your motives. Let me be clear: You can't win this fight. The only thing that you can do is consistently check your heart to make sure that you are listening to the voice of God and doing what He says. We can lie to people, but we can't lie to Him. He knows our hearts. One day our motives, if impure, will be exposed, because He will NOT be mocked! Galatians 6:7. In reality, most people who question your motives don't have a freakin' clue where you came from. They don't know what you've put up with, the sleepless nights you've gone through, and the personal sacrifices you've made to get to where you are. AND you CAN'T waste your time explaining those things to them, because then they'll accuse you of pride (an accusation you can't really defend.)

You need to ask yourself the following questions when it comes to why you do what you do:

Am I allowing Jesus or my personal desires to shape my motives?
Is this desire in me a passion that will enlarge His Kingdom...or a cool idea that will allow me to become more popular?
Are my motives being shaped as I study the Scriptures...or does God's Word conflict with what I want?
Are the godly people the Lord has placed in my life rebuking me or affirming me?
Am I doing what I do because I love Jesus and people...or because I love myself and see all of the personal gain I can achieve out of this?
Am I doing this for attention from others or for AFFIRMATION from my heavenly Father? (Matthew 3:17)

Area #2 – Your Doctrine

· Most people who come into your church will say that they want you to teach from the Bible. But often, what they really mean is that they want you to teach from the way THEY see the Bible...AND from the translation they prefer, as well!

· We are told in Scripture to watch our life and doctrine closely (I Timothy 4:16). We are told that teachers will be judged more strictly (James 3:1). God takes HIS Word seriously, and so should we (Revelation 22:18-19)! However, WE CANNOT teach another person's theological convictions as our own. We MUST study the Scriptures, seek wise counsel, pray, read and then OWN what we teach (I Peter 3:15).

· Understand that when we do this, there are going to be people who disagree with what we teach. This is OK, as long as we know that we are making every effort to be as theologically sound as we can be. AND we've got to understand as well that godly men and women who really love Jesus have been on both sides of most major theological arguments.

· One of the things I often tell the people at NewSpring Church is that I will not lead them astray when it comes to theology or food! We take doctrine seriously; every message we prepare takes hours to shape, and then I gather godly men and women around me who diligently search the Scriptures and hold me accountable on the doctrine that is being taught. (We've had some very lively theological conversations in these meetings!)

· We've got to take what we teach people seriously, along with the understanding that no matter how much time we put into the message, there will always be people who disagree with what we say. But when people do question us, it gives us a chance to either KNOW what we believe or go back and research to see if our convictions are OWNED by us...or if they're just a cool concept we heard on a podcast.

Area #3 – Your Leadership Style

· I am a student of growing churches! I don't care what denomination they are, where they are located, or what the architecture looks like. If people are being reached for the Kingdom, I want to see what is going on. I've crawled on a lot of planes and made tons of phone calls, and the one thing that I've discovered is that hardly ANY of these churches are similar in leadership styles.

· Now let me be VERY clear—godly leadership is ESSENTIAL for a church to have a Kingdom impact! (Look at what happened to the nation of Israel in the book of Judges when they didn't have godly leadership!) But I believe each church must wrestle with the Scriptures and personalities that are present and allow the Lord to show them the best way to structure for maximum effectiveness.

· Jesus addressed seven different churches in Revelation 2-3, and He addressed each one of them differently! He didn't say, "Here is an org chart for all of you guys, here are some titles for key staff members, and here are some books to read on leadership development..."

· What He did establish with each church is that THE CHURCH IS HIS, but He also addressed each unique issue the church was facing and then walked them through how to deal with it. And I believe He's still doing the same thing today! No one knows how to lead the church better than Jesus! After all...it is HIS. (ANY leadership structure HAS to recognize this, or the church will become impotent!)

· But when you establish how the church will be led, people will always point to another model that "is working" somewhere else. In this situation, try not to tear the other model down (unless it's leading a church into the ground), but confidently explain that the church's leadership has set things up the way they feel Jesus has led them to do so. That explanation works for some...and not so much for others. But at the end of the day, the leader(s) need to rest in the fact that they have set things up the way Jesus has led; after all, we are the ones who will be held accountable for it! (Hebrews 13:17)

#4 – Your Ministry Methods

· People are going to question how you do things, no matter how you do them. By the way...people questioned the ministry methods of Jesus! I would say if people aren't asking questions and getting offended, then you are not being like Christ! Jesus was ALWAYS healing on the Sabbath, which was considered to be a "sin" in that society. Think about that...there were people who actually accused Jesus of sin because His ministry methods didn't match up with their personal preferences. Hmmmm...

· If you preach line by line, verse by verse, then some people are going to prefer that you be more of a topical teacher. If you preach topical messages, some people will scream that you need to exegete the text! If you use "secular" music, then some people will scream you are "loving the world." If you use all "Christian" music, then some people will scream that you are not relating to people outside of the church. If you dress up, then some people will say that you make them feel uncomfortable, because they don't really have any "church clothes." If you wear jeans and a T-shirt, then some will say, "You aren't giving God your best!"

· What I am saying is this: There is NO WAY that a ministry leader can please every single person coming in the doors! I once told a pastor, "You could stand at the back of your church this Sunday and give away $100 bills, and SOMEONE would hate you for it!"

· What you've got to do is figure out God's unique calling on your life, and then do it with no apologies. If you and I are not being true to the call God has placed on our lives, then we are basically slapping His grace in the face and saying to Him by our actions, "People's opinions are more important than Yours!" I once heard Craig Groeschel say, "Becoming obsessed with what people think about me is the quickest way to forget what God thinks about me."

· Peter had a calling to reach the Jews. Paul had a call to reach the Gentiles. Their ministry styles looked different while their goals were the same. In the Christian world, we allow our difference to divide us rather than develop us—sad.

· How has the Lord called you to preach? What has He told you about the music style in your church? How has He told you to staff the church? These questions must be answered, because if you don't answer them, someone will. Then you will find yourself leading a church that, in an effort to please everyone, reaches no one!

· Your ministry style will be questioned...but the ULTIMATE One who we answer to is Jesus. It is His church...His ministry...and HE will ask the final set of questions one day! Be who HE called you to be! Do ministry how HE called you to do it. You just can't go wrong this way!

Perry Noble is the founding and senior pastor of NewSpring Church in Anderson, Greenville and Florence, South Carolina. At just nine years old, the church averages over 10,000 people during weekend services and is launching another campus in Columbia, South Carolina. Perry is convicted about speaking the truth as plainly as possible. A prolific blogger, he’s also the author of Blueprints: How to Build Godly Relationships. Visit Perry at www.perrynoble.com

A Growler...Perhaps Not!

2011-09-26T19:02:00.000-05:00

A couple of my friends mentioned going to their local breweries and taking home a "growler." While I knew what a growler was, I did not know this:

Growlers: The growler is a refillable half gallon glass jug that we fill right from our taps. As long as it is properly sealed, it will remain fresh for a number of weeks; however, once the seal is broken, the contents must be consumed within one day.

Before I buy one of these...I had better...leave it uncapped...gather a friend or 3 or 4...or plan on growling as I pour the rest of it down the drain!

It's Sunday Night...But...

2011-09-25T18:43:00.001-05:00

On a normal Sunday evening, I like to enjoy a little pizza and a cool brew. After, I spend some time blogging about the new brand I sampled. But tonight, Houston, we have a problem!

A glance into my fridge shows 4 choices: Gravel Road, Buffalo Butt, Sodbuster and a Summer Shandy. The problem? Only 3 of these would I drink! And...I have reviewed those 3!

The 3? Sodbuster, Buffalo Butt and Gravel Road. Of course that leaves the Leinekugel Summer Shandy.

Let's be blunt--don't mess with my beer by making it taste like some fruity concoction better served with a little umbrella than in a mug! But, I will take a sip so that I can justify my dislike (and distaste) for this "less than a real beer."

Most reviewers call it a "fruity vegetable beer" that smells and tastes more like lemonade (and I might add, a bad lemonade). While I can recall my grandpa mixing beer with tomato juice (Snappy Tom), he did not do it often, and he even said, "if you don't think of this as beer, it tastes better."

That being said...if you want lemonade, drink lemonade...but if you want to have a beer, drink a beer!

So tonight, I will sit back with my pizza (sausage and mushroom), and wash it down with...a Sodbuster...courtesy of Glenn and Julie! They are enjoying the Shiner sampler I sent home with Julie a few weeks back...along with the deer she "grilled" with her truck!

The Green Thing

2011-09-23T06:55:00.001-05:00

In the line at the store, the cashier told an older woman that she should bring her own grocery bags because plastic bags weren't good for the environment.

The woman apologized to him and explained, "We didn't have the green thing back in my day." The clerk responded, "That's our problem today. Your generation did not care enough to save our environment."

He was right -- our generation didn't have the green thing in its day.

Back then, we returned milk bottles, soda bottles and beer bottles to the store. The store sent them back to the plant to be washed and sterilized and refilled, so it could use the same bottles over and over. So they really were recycled.

But we didn't have the green thing back in our day.

We walked up stairs, because we didn't have an escalator in every store and office building. We walked to the grocery store and didn't climb into a 300-horsepower machine every time we had to go two blocks.

But she was right. We didn't have the green thing in our day.

Back then, we washed the baby's diapers because we didn't have the throw-away kind. We dried clothes on a line, not in an energy gobbling machine burning up 220 volts -- wind and solar power really did dry the clothes. Kids got hand-me-down clothes from their brothers or sisters, not always brand-new clothing.

But that old lady is right; we didn't have the green thing back in our day.

Back then, we had one TV, or radio, in the house -- not a TV in every room. And the TV had a small screen the size of a handkerchief (remember them?), not a screen the size of the state of Montana.

In the kitchen, we blended and stirred by hand because we didn't have electric machines to do everything for us.

When we packaged a fragile item to send in the mail, we used a wadded up old newspaper to cushion it, not Styrofoam or plastic bubble wrap.

Back then, we didn't fire up an engine and burn gasoline just to cut the lawn. We used a push mower that ran on human power. We exercised by working so we didn't need to go to a health club to run on treadmills that operate on electricity.

But she's right; we didn't have the green thing back then.

We drank from a fountain when we were thirsty instead of using a cup or a plastic bottle every time we had a drink of water.

We refilled writing pens with ink instead of buying a new pen, and we replaced the razor blades in a razor instead of throwing away the whole razor just because the blade got dull.

But we didn't have the green thing back then.

Back then, people took the streetcar or a bus and kids rode their bikes to school or walked instead of turning their moms into a 24-hour taxi service.

We had one electrical outlet in a room, not an entire bank of sockets to power a dozen appliances. And we didn't need a computerized gadget to receive a signal beamed from satellites 2,000 miles out in space in order to find the nearest pizza joint.

But isn't it sad the current generation laments how wasteful we old folks were just because we didn't have the green thing back then?

Why the Missional Church Will Fail...Mike Breen

2011-09-22T09:21:00.000-05:00

When I was first in ministry I remember a conference where John Maxwell said, "If you choose to disciple people, you will have chosen the hardest part of ministry." Reflecting on that, he is and was right. Today we hear a lot about missional movements (and I am a missional person), but Mike Breen has some interesting thoughts on the subject. Read it...think about it...agree or disagree?

++++

It’s time we start being brutally honest about the missional movement that has emerged in the last 10-15 years: Chances are better than not it’s going to fail.

That may seem cynical, but I’m being realistic. There is a reason so many movements in the Western church have failed in the past century: They are a car without an engine. A missional church or a missional community or a missional small group is the new car that everyone is talking about right now, but no matter how beautiful or shiny the vehicle, without an engine, it won’t go anywhere.

So what is the engine of the church? Discipleship. I’ve said it many times: If you make disciples, you will always get the church. But if you try to build the church, you will rarely get disciples.

If you’re good at making disciples, you’ll get more leaders than you’ll know what to do with. If you make disciples like Jesus made them, you’ll see people come to faith who didn’t know Him. If you disciple people well, you will always get the missional thing. Always.

We took 30 days and examined the Twitter conversations happening. We discovered there are between 100-150 times as many people talking about mission as there are discipleship (to be clear, that’s a 100:1). We are a group of people addicted to and obsessed with the work of the Kingdom, with little to no idea how to be with the King. As Skye Jethani wrote in his Out of Ur post a little while back “Has Mission become an Idol?”:

Many church leaders unknowingly replace the transcendent vitality of a life with God for the ego satisfaction they derive from a life for God.

Look, I’m not criticizing the people who are passionate about mission…I am one of those people. I was one of the people pioneering Missional Communities in the 1980′s and have been doing it ever since. This is my camp, my tribe, my people. But it has to be said: God did not design us to do Kingdom mission outside of the scope of intentional, biblical discipleship and if we don’t see that, we’re fooling ourselves. Mission is under the umbrella of discipleship as it is one of the many things that Jesus taught his disciples to do well. But it wasn’t done in a vacuum outside of knowing God and being shaped by that relationship, where a constant refinement of their character was happening alongside of their continued skill development (which included mission).

The truth about discipleship is that it’s never hip and it’s never in style…it’s the call to come and die; a “long obedience in the same direction.” While the “missional” conversation is imbued with the energy and vitality that comes with kingdom work, it seems to be missing some of the hallmark reality that those of us who have lived it over time have come to expect: Mission is messy. It’s humbling. There’s often no glory in it. It’s for the long haul. And it’s completely unsustainable without discipleship.

This is the crux of it: The reason the missional movement may fail is because most people/communities in the Western church are pretty bad at making disciples. Without a plan for making disciples (and a plan that works), any missional thing you launch will be completely unsustainable. Think about it this way: Sending people out to do mission is to send them out to a war zone. Discipleship is not only the boot camp to train them for the front lines, but the hospital when they get wounded and the off-duty time they need to rest and recuperate. When we don’t disciple people the way Jesus and the New Testament talked about, we are sending them out without armor, weapons or training. This is mass carnage waiting to happen. How can we be surprised that people burn out, quit and never want to return to the missional life (or the church)? How can we not expect people will feel used and abused?

There’s a story from World War II where The Red (Russian) Army sent wave after wave of untrained, practically weaponless soldiers into the thick of the German front. They were slaughtered in droves. Why did they do this? Because they knew that eventually the German soldiers would run out of ammunition, creating an opportunity for the Red Army to send in their best soldiers to finish them off. The first wave of untrained soldiers were the best way of exhausting ammunition, leaving their enemy vulnerable. While this isn’t a perfect analogy, I sense this is a bit like the missional movement right now. We are sending bright-eyed civilians into the battle where the fighting is fiercest without the equipping they need, not just to survive, but to fight well and advance the Kingdom of their dad, the King.

The missional movement will fail because, by-and-large, we are having a discussion about mission devoid of discipleship. Unless we start having more discussion about discipleship and how we make missionaries out of disciples, this movement will stall and fade. Any discussion about mission must begin with discipleship. If your church community is not yet competent at making disciples who can make disciples, please don’t send your members out on mission until you have a growing sense of confidence in your ability to train, equip and disciple them.

Here are some questions I have leaders I’m working with ask regularly:

Am I a disciple?
Do I know how to disciple people who can then disciple people who then disciple people, etc? (i.e. does my discipleship plan work?)
Does our discipleship plan naturally lead all disciples to become missionaries? (not just the elite, Delta-seal missional ninjas)

Mike leads 3DM, the global home for an organic movement of biblical discipleship and missional church.

Listen AND Obey!

2011-09-22T08:24:00.000-05:00

Everyday is a new day, filled with opportunities to impact the Kingdom. It is vital we hear God and understand His desires for us. We hear these from His Word and what He speaks to us. Hearing what God is saying to us puts us on the same page with His will and the work He has for us.

So—what are you doing to obey?

God has no desire to waste His breath or cast His pearls before swine! When He speaks, He expects us to obey. That is the second half of a powerful faith-filled walk with God. Not just hearing, but also obeying. We find too many excuses not to obey what we hear God say.

It doesn’t make any sense
It’s in direct opposition to what I see
That is way too hard, and nobody else is doing it
I don’t like that place
If I do that, I may lose some friends
I can’t afford it

The things God wants us to do will always require faith. Faith is what we are called to walk in daily; it’s the only way to please God, and whatever is not of faith is sin! So…it’s pretty important that all we do is in faith. And “faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.” (Romans 10:17)

Since that’s the way God wants us to walk every day, I can understand His questions:

1- What are you hearing Me say?

2- What are you doing to obey?

Do I Really Need Social Media?

2011-09-21T09:28:00.000-05:00

When I bought my Blackberry, I thought about the many places I had worked, all without a cell phone that plays music, takes videos, pictures, and communicates with Facebook and Twitter. I signed up under duress for Twitter and Facebook , so all sorts of family and friends and others could communicate with me in the modern way. I figured I could handle something as simple as Twitter with only 140 characters of space.

That was before someone hooked me up for Tweeter, Tweetree, Twhirl, Twitterfon, Tweetie and Twittererific Tweetdeck, Twitpix and something that sends every message to my cell phone and every other program within the texting world.

My phone was beeping every three minutes with the details of everything except the bowel movements of the entire next generation. I am not ready to live like this. I keep my cell phone in the garage in my golf bag.

The kids bought me a GPS for my last birthday because they say I get lost every now and then going over to the grocery store or library. I keep that in a box under my tool bench with the Blue Tooth [it's red] phone I am supposed to use when I drive. I wore it once and was standing in line at Barnes and Noble talking to my wife and everyone in the nearest 50 yards was glaring at me. I had to take my hearing aid out to use it, and I got a little loud.

I mean the GPS looked pretty smart on my dash board, but the lady inside that gadget was the most annoying, rudest person I had run into in a long time. Every 10 minutes, she would sarcastically say, "Re-calc-u-lating." You would think that she could be nicer. It was like she could barely tolerate me. She would let go with a deep sigh and then tell me to make a U-turn at the next light. Then if I made a right turn instead. Well, it was not a good relationship.

When I get really lost now, I call my wife and tell her the name of the cross streets and while she is starting to develop the same tone as Gypsy the GPS lady, at least she loves me.

To be perfectly frank, I am still trying to learn how to use the cordless phones in our house. We've had them for a number of years, but I still haven't figured out how I can lose three phones all at once and have to run around digging under chair cushions and checking bathrooms and the dirty laundry baskets when the phone rings.

The world is just getting too complex for me. They even mess me up every time I go to the grocery store. You would think they could settle on something themselves but this sudden "Paper or plastic?" every time I check out just knocks me for a loop. I bought some of those cloth reusable bags to avoid looking confused, but I never remember to take them in with me.

Now I toss it back to them. When they ask me, "Paper or plastic?" I just say, "Doesn't matter to me. I am bi-sacksual." Then it's their turn to stare at me with a blank look. I was recently asked if I tweet. I answered, "No, but I do toot a lot."

We senior citizens don't need any more gadgets. The TV remote and the garage door remote are about all we can handle.

(With apologies to the Greek guy Anonymous who wrote the original)

4 Ways to Know...

2011-09-20T09:15:00.000-05:00

I have preached a "few" sermons in my 25 years of pastoral ministry. The question I have wondered about for a long time is this" What do you say to someone who says, "Nice sermon today, Pastor"?

Common sense says that your reply should be, "Thank you!"

Un-common sense says that your reply will be: "Thank you...but we'll see..."

We preach hoping and praying for the message to mark and transform lives as it is preached. But what about after? Peter Mead, at biblicalpreaching.net, writes what follows:

I want to preach in such a way that the following things are true:

1. The listener will continue to be transformed by the text in the coming days. If the text were merely a source for data and sermonic stuff, then chances are the listeners will lose track of where the message came from. For the text to linger in their hearts and minds, the preacher needs to shine light on the text and shine the message of the text on the screen of their hearts. If they have only heard about it, there is less chance they will remember it than if they have “seen” the text painted vividly during the sermon.

2. The listener will be able to go back to the text later and understand it. If the listener were to look up the text later, then I want them to be able to understand it. That means that they have had it clearly and effectively explained. Not only what does it mean, but why does it mean that? Knowing that I take it a certain way is nowhere near as good as them seeing that that is what it is saying.

3. The listener will want to go back to the text later to read it. This is a biggie. If we assume that listeners go home and re-read the preaching text and carefully work through the notes they took, then we are naive to say the least. The preacher has to stir motivation for them to want to go back to the text. That motivation will come from an effective message, including instilling a confidence in them that they can see the why behind the what of the text. Why does it mean what the sermon said it means? They also have to be convinced of the relevance of the text to their lives. Irrelevant or inaccessible texts are least likely to be return destinations in the days after a sermon.

4. The listener will know how to make sense of it when they go there. This is like number 2, but slightly more than that. Number 2 was about them being able to understand the text itself. This one is about them being equipped to handle the text. That comes down to the instruction given in the sermon (and many sermons over time).

Sodbuster...Via Julie...Via Iowa

2011-09-18T18:45:00.005-05:00

This past Sunday I took off to Louisiana State Prison in Angola with a few friends, one of whom was a former student of mine when I taught at Valley Lutheran High School 27 years ago. As a token of her "esteem", she came bearing gifts...Twin Bings and a 6-pack of Sodbuster!

So, as I eat my Sunday night pizza (DiGiorno self-rising 3-meat), I am also enjoying the 1st of the 6 brews Jules left behind. Hopefully as I do so, she is sharing the 6-pack sampler of the Shiner Family Pack I sent home with her for her husband Glenn!

Now...on to my review of the Sodbuster. The first thing I need to mention is this...knowing that this beer was brewed in Iowa, I had to set aside my early memories of a really cheap and not-so-good Grainbelt beer that is till being brewed. Once I did that...by cleansing my palate with a Twin Bing...I was ready to go!

In doing some research on stouts (which I do not normally like), I stumbled across this review which really resonated with me. It is written by Tim Hynds and is printed in the Sioux City Journal. Do take the time to follow the link and read what he has to say about this good craft brew. Here is just one comment: If you’re looking for a big brawny stout, Sodbuster is not your beer. However, if you’re looking for interesting stout flavors in a beer that won’t weigh you down after one bottle, this would be a good choice.

The only thing better would've been to sit and sip with Jules & Glenn!

Italy by the Pint

2011-09-18T16:14:00.000-05:00

My son Eric is the production director for Private Clubs Magazine. This month it has a really good article about the beers of Italy! That's right--the country we normally associate with wine--is being praised these days for its brews!

I have to say, as a beer aficionado of sorts (see my weekly beer blog on this site), but I have never even heard of these--but I plan to hunt a few down!

Check out the article by following this link: http://www.privateclubs.com/article.php?name=italybythepint

Happy Birthday To Me? Maybe Not!

2011-09-16T08:24:00.001-05:00

As my birthday arrived today, I am stumped when it comes to the question, "What do you want for your birthday?" Believe me, when you get to my age, there is not a whole lot you really need or want anymore. There is a limit to the number of ties or shirts a person can have (let alone wear). But this really caught my eye...maybe it is what I want for my birthday!

I should add...this is what I THOUGHT I wanted until I saw the price-tag ($500). A man can buy a lot of ties with that kind of money.

Where Were You When the World Stopped Turning?

2011-09-11T06:11:00.000-05:00

Lone Star Pizza Night

2011-09-10T18:12:00.000-05:00

I know, I know, it is not Sunday. But on Sunday I will be traveling to Louisiana State Prison in Angola, and it is doubtful that I could get pizza and an adult beverage down there! So when things like that happen, I bump the night back!

Today I selected a bottle of Lone Star. Now, with that said, I must tell you that I have seen the signs all over Texas that say, "The National Beer of Texas." But every time I have mentioned Lone Star, everyone has sort of bad-mouthed it, mostly telling me than no one in Texas drinks it.

Hence, I was reluctant to buy any. But finally I thought: "Why should someone else's opinion color my thinking?" So a quick trip to a local provider, and here I sit with Texas' own brew! Before cracking open said suds, I checked out their website and surprise, surprise, this is what it told me: The best in Texas. The best in America. And now, one of the best in the world. Lone Star Beer won the Bronze Medal for best "American Style Cream Ale or Lager" at the 2010 World Beer Cup. Beers from around the world competed and the National Beer of Texas prevailed. Not only do 49 states have a bad case of Texas envy, but so does the rest of the world.

So it is that I poured out this cream ale and...well...I must disagree with their own analysis. Simply put...it is emblematic of what I would call "cheap beer." It took me back to my early days when, if we could not afford the good stuff, we had to buy the 99-cent 6-pack of Grain Belt (those days are gone!).

Maybe I am now a "beer-snob," but I hope not! However, after sampling a variety of craft brews over the last months, perhaps my palate has changed. Maybe finishing the remaining 5 bottle of Lone Star will help!

But maybe not! Right now I awaiting Julie...who is bringing me a a 6-pack of Sodbuster...all the way from Iowa! So many brews...so little time...especially when I do not drink more that 1 a week!

Bob Ellis Writes...

2011-09-10T09:30:00.000-05:00

During his speech, President Obama asked what was the best way to grow the economy and create jobs. Here are a few suggestions:

Repeal ObamaCare and its business-burdening costs and requirements
Pass a balanced budget amendment so businesses can have confidence that congress will not come along at any time and burden them with more socialist spending
Pass an amendment requiring every bill submitted to cite which of the enumerated powers of Article 1 Section 8 authorizes congress to act in that area
Prohibit unionization for government workers–a move that will save gargantuan amounts of taxpayer dollars that can immediately be spent in the economy by the taxpayers
Abolish the EPA and its economy-strangling regulations that hinder new growth and retard economic expansion
With the EPA gone, this should help clear the way for new oil refinery development (we haven’t built a new one in 30 years, and our current infrastructure is almost maxed out)
Eliminating the EPA should also make it easier to build new power plants to meet our nation’s great need for electricity, as well as create thousands of new jobs
Open ANWR in Alaska, the Gulf of Mexico and other locations around the country to oil drilling–this will create thousands of jobs and help meet our nation’s energy needs
Abolish the Department of Education and it’s tremendously wasteful “middleman” approach to education funding
Privatize Social Security (as Chile did successfully several years ago) and Medicare, putting billions of taxpayer dollars and more efficient use of those dollars back into the private economy
Repeal the Frank-Dodd financial bill, a 2000-page bill that will spawn 5000 pages of regulations, further strangling and hindering the financial industry from success
Dismantle Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and sell off the loans to private finance companies; the federal government has no business being in the finance business, and ending the massive corruption and cronyism that have come with Fannie and Freddie will save the taxpayers billions
Repeal the anti-business National Labor Relations Board so that businesses are not hindered in their plans to expand and hire more people (like Boeing in South Carolina)
End all business and corporate taxes (other than sales taxes) which have been driving jobs overseas.

Volkswagen "Mans Up" the Beetle

2011-09-10T09:08:00.000-05:00

A few subtle but significant changes noticed by the guys on Car Talk:

They're changing the name from the VW Beetle to the VW Battle.
They've replaced the flower vase on the dashboard with a spit cup.
They're adding four-day-old stubble to the front bumper.
It now comes with factory installed wet towels left on the floor.
Instead of the new car smell, it smells like too much axe body spray.
I don't quite understand this, but the driver's seat has a flush handle and a magazine rack.
You can order the leather interior, or, if that's not tough enough, you can get the interior in chain-mail.
The car shuts off and goes right to sleep after an oil change.

Tell Us What You Really Tought Karl!

2011-09-09T13:15:00.000-05:00

Here are 12 words Karl Rove used to describe President Obama's job speech...whether I agree or not...he is pretty clever in what he wrote:

KARL ROVE WRITES: Thursday night’s show by President Obama struck me as…

Presumptuous : He demanded – 17 times – that Congress immediately pass a bill no one has seen.

Tired: The speech contained little new, just mostly recycled ideas or extensions of current programs that haven’t worked.

Small: Its proposals, while expensive, offer little hope of really jump-starting the economy.

Mind-boggling: Mr. Obama wants to drains hundreds of billions from Social Security for another stimulus.

Slippery: It will all be paid for, the president said, but it’s up to a Congressional committee to figure out how.

Misleading: These were just GOP ideas. Really? Republicans have proposed another $450 billion stimulus bill, Mr. Obama?

Arrogant: He refused to consult in advance with anyone on the Hill, even refusing a meeting request from the House Speaker and Majority Leader.

Self-centered: The only job he’s really concerned about is his own. If he really wanted a bipartisan package, he would have worked with Republicans to come up with one.

Unnecessary: The president would have been better off traveling the country this week to lay out proposals, surrounded by people he could claim would might benefit.

Completely political: Before he spoke, Mr. Obama sent supporters an email titled “Before I head to the Capitol” that ended with “You should donate today.”

Hyper-partisan: This speech – especially its angry tone – was aimed at setting up the Republicans for blame next fall. Then he’ll say the economy would be better if the GOP has just done what I ordered them to do.

Misguided: Mr. Obama is betting his re-elect on a massive spending bill.

Other than that, Mrs. Lincoln enjoyed the show.

Back to Angola

2011-09-08T07:57:00.000-05:00

It has been 6 months since I was last at Louisiana State Penitentiary in Angola. But come Sunday, I will be headed back down for a week of teaching and preaching. Come to think of it--I will actually celebrate my birthday down there! But I digress...

Thanks to Warden Cain and is staff, I have been able to work from time-to-time at Angola for over 10 years now. While I do go to teach--it is often I who learn--and for that I am thankful. Of course, the evening worship times are also special--and very uplifting spiritually.

But, starting this past March, I embarked on a slightly different adventure--teaching See Through the Scriptures. Along with my teaching partner Cheryl Gieseke, we taught our initial class of 50 men in the main prison. When we left, we also left behind 2 inmates who were going to use materials to teach others "on the walk."

This week, we will teach an additional 50 men in the main prison--and--we will also be doing one day workshops in Camp C and Camp D, using The Bibles' Big Story.

Thanks to Harry Wendt for producing all these fine materials--and we look forward to sharing/training many more men in the Word of God!

5 Critical Leadership Questions

2011-09-07T08:36:00.000-05:00

Excerpted from Bill Hybels talk at the Global Leadership Summit by Eric Bryant.

When we stop learning, we should stop leading. Every leader can get better if we want to do so. Swing hard or surrender your bat.

Five Key Questions:

1. What is your current challenge level at work? From under-challenged to appropriately-challenged to dangerously over-challenged, where are you on the scale? Where do you think you do your best work on this scale? Lots of research indicates that we do our best work just above appropriately-challenged. Under-stressing a muscle keeps it from growing. Stressing a muscle properly helps it grow. Too much stress then the muscle breaks down. We need to create the place where people are challenged but not dangerously so, and we need to create the atmosphere where we people can honestly share where they are on this scale. It is possible for an organization to be under-challenged, appropriately-challenged, and dangerously over-challenged.

2. What is your plan for dealing with challenging people in your organization? Not sure? Do the line exercise: pretend you have to let some of your staff go, put them in order from most critical to least critical. Those at the end of the line may just not be carrying their weight or not a good fit. Our organization’s future depends on our ability to field and develop the right people. Ask yourself: how much time are you going to give the most difficult people to change their attitude and/or behavior? For some leaders, the first bad day would be their last day. For other leaders, they feel like if they didn’t have people with bad attitudes then they wouldn’t have anyone on staff. A timeframe needs to be established to deal with those who have a bad attitude. Willow Creek has a 30-day timeframe.How long should we keep someone who is under-performing (someone “worthy of their hire”)? Start the conversation immediately. At Willow Creek, they have a 90-day timeframe. They try to coach, inspire, and put them on a performance-improvement plan.

The hardest transition is when a wonderful person needs to be replaced by someone who is more equipped to handle the growth. Moral failures are easy to transition. In these situations, Willow Creek moves much slower (6 to 9 months).If you don’t deal with challenging people in your organization then you devalue and drag down the high-performing people. Often, challenging people aren’t happy anyway, and they may even return to thank you!

3. Are you naming, facing, and resolving the problems your organization is facing right now? In Acts 6, the leaders of the early church addressed and resolved a problem they were facing. As a result, the leaders gained credibility, and the church grew (Acts 6:7). We come from a long line of leaders who were willing to tackle and solve the problems they faced. Are we willing to do so? The life cycle diagram should be used to evaluate all of our ministries and programs. The life cycle starts with accelerating then moves on to booming then on to decelerating before finally tanking. Create reinvention teams to move from decelerating to accelerating before that area falls into tanking. Looking problems straight in the eye and solving them gives your team confidence to face and solve the next challenges.

4. When is the last time you evaluated your core mission and vision? It is easier than we realize to lose the plot of what we are supposed to be doing. Churches are in the people-transformation business! The power of the Gospel, the message of Jesus, is the only thing that can truly transform people. In 5 words, explain the central message of Jesus (without using churchy words). This exercise can generate some heated discussion! Hybel’s words include: love, evil, rescue, choice, and restoration. When you are clear about your core, there is no end to what God can do.

5. Have you had your leadership bell rung recently? Has any crisis, book, conversation, etc. rocked you lately? Too often, we aren’t willing to learn unless we get our bell rung. Our God-given job is not just pontificating or preserving something from its demise, but to move our organization from here to there! Why not make your next 5 years your best 5 years?!? How we finish will be how we will be remembered! Don’t end with a whimper!

University Of Maryland Football Uniforms By Under Armour

2011-09-06T16:55:00.000-05:00

I watched the Miami vs Maryland football game last night, though not with a great deal of interest. After all, neither team is on my "must-watch" list, but it was Monday night and nothing much else was on.

But then I saw the Maryland Terrapins come onto the field...in these uniforms!

For a little bit of the game I found myself thinking (as did my son): "There look to be 3 teams on the field." Most people blame Oregon for this sudden move to wild uniforms and colors, bragging how they have a hundred or so combinations/options they can put together.

Most people will tell you that I am not a fashion plate--so rarely do I ever worry about a combination like wearing this shirt with these pants and those shoes with these socks and this belt...and yes...my special matching wallet! Do they have an assistant coach now just in charge of dressing the players?

As a freshman in high school I was thrilled to make the Varsity traveling squad. I got one of the last jerseys (about 2 sizes too small), and I had to wear my practice pants since there were not enough "game" ones left for us lowly 9th graders who got to suit up. I could not even raise my hands above my head because the jersey was so tight!

To the best of my recollection, I do not think the uniform top had much more than a number on the front and back--with no names. Helmets were plain white--not even a "C" for Concordia! Combination's were limited to white jersey for home and a blue jersey for away!

Maybe we were just happy to play the game--and not make a style statement. At least that's what I'd like to think!

The Winner? Fried Bubblegum!

2011-09-05T11:40:00.002-05:00

It's Christmas Day for fried food fans, the day The State Fair of Texas announces its annual "Big Tex" Choice Awards for the best fried foods.

This is the Seventh Annual Big Tex Choice Awards hosted by the 2011 State Fair of Texas wherein food vendors vie for two key prizes: "Best Taste" and "Most Creative."

Last year's winners were Fried Beer for most creative and Texas Fried FRITOS Pie for Best Taste.

The first round of contestants submitted recipes in August. Judges narrowed the field down to eight. On Labor Day, those eight contestants will present their creations to a panel of four judges, who will pick the final two winners.

Finalists named for Big Tex® Choice Awards:

Buffalo Chicken in a Flapjack
Deep Fried Pineapple Upside Down Cake
Deep Fried Texas Salsa™
El Bananarito
Fried Autumn Pie
Fried Bubblegum
Hans' Kraut Ball
Walking Taco

And now, the mouth-watering descriptions:

Buffalo Chicken in a Flapjack - A buffalo chicken strip is coated in flapjack batter, rolled in jalapeno bread crumbs, deep fried to a golden brown, skewed, and served with a side of syrup. Crowd pleasing appetizer or a meal in itself!

Deep Fried Pineapple Upside Down Cake - Fresh and sweet pineapple rings are delicately dipped in cake batter, fried, and coated with a caramel, sugar, and cinnamon glaze. What tropical treat is complete without a cherry on top?

Deep Fried Texas Salsa™ - This spicy medley of jalapenos, roasted garlic, onion, tomato, and pepper is rolled together, dipped in masa, and covered in crunchy tortilla chips. Into the fryer and served with warm, deliciously creamy queso.

El Bananarito - In case you are wondering, it’s a deep fried banana rolled in a flour tortilla, topped with whipped cream, powdered sugar, a dusting of cinnamon, and a touch of vanilla extract. Top it off with your choice of smooth, hot caramel or decadent chocolate syrup. Concessionaire contact: Lydia Turner at the Funnel Cake stand on Fun Way near the intersection of Pike and Fun Way and in the Tower Building.

Fried Autumn Pie - Fairgoers will fall for this hard-to-resist puff pastry infused with a scrumptious combination of pumpkin, cream cheese, powdered sugar, and fall spices. Deep fried and rolled in ginger, cinnamon, and sugar.

Fried Bubblegum - You’ll swear it’s bubblegum! A light as a feather bubble gum flavored marshmallow is dipped in batter and lightly fried to perfection. Decorated with a swirl of icing. A final sprinkling of powdered sugar completes this treat! It will blow you away!

Hans’ Kraut Ball - A conglomeration of taste: browned pork sausage, onion, garlic, a zing of sauerkraut, mustard, and tasty seasonings all rolled into a mouth-watering ball of delight. Covered with seasoned bread crumbs, deep fried, and served with your choice Spicy Mustard, Rasberry Chipotle, or Ranch.

Walking Taco - Stroll down the Midway with this concoction of seasoned hamburger meat, lettuce, onion, fresh tomato, grated cheese, sour cream, and tasty salsa. Inventively served up in a Nacho Cheese flavored Doritos bag!

Teresa Gubbins (Pegasus News)

Good Things Come in Small Packages

2011-09-04T18:55:00.000-05:00

Imagine my surprise Friday when FedEx dropped off a small package at my house. Picking it up, it felt a bit heavy and I could feel something hard on the inside. I will refrain from telling you what the return address was--but will tell you that it was a strong hint as to what was inside!

So, grabbing a scissors I opened the package and found a single bottle of Schlafly's Porter inside. While it was warm (hot trip from St. Louis to Texarkana), it quickly cooled off in the friendly confines of my refrigerator, awaiting Sunday's evening's pizza and the glass that is being chilled in the freezer!

Without further ado--let me thanks my beer-gifter, Jay, for the seasonal ale. As you can tell...he kept the other 5! My review of said suds is below the photo:

Considering that this bottle of Porter traveled a bit...shaken and stirred and heated...I was very careful in the opening process...not wanting to be baptized with this brew...or spraying down the kitchen walls.

The word porter was first used to describe a relatively strong, dark beer, popular amongst the working class. And for me (even though I am among the working class), it is not a beer I would go back for. It is a dark brown/black liquid with a limited foam head. The initial sniff brought a touch of malt...but it was faint. As a non-porter person...the taste reminded me of bitter chocolate and coffee.

Thanks again for sending this Jay. As you know it is my hope to make it to St. Louis and join you in sampling a few more at the brewery itself..

Texas Translations of California Euphemisms

2011-09-03T13:08:00.000-05:00

CALIFORNIA	TEXAS
Arsenal of Weapons	Gun Collection
Delicate Wetlands	Swamp
Undocumented Worker	Illegal Alien
Cruelty-Free Materials	Synthetic Fiber
Assault and Battery	Attitude Adjustment
Heavily Armed	Well-protected
Narrow-minded	Righteous
Taxes or Your Fair Share	Coerced Theft
Commonsense Gun Control	Gun Confiscation Plot
Illegal Hazardous Explosives	Fireworks or Stump Removal
Nonviable Tissue Mass	Unborn Baby
Equal Access to Opportunity	Socialism
Multicultural Community	High Crime Area
Fairness or Social Progress	Marxism
Upper Class or "The Rich "	Self-Employed
Progressive, Change	Big Government Scheme
Homeless or Disadvantaged	Bums or Welfare Leeches
Sniper Rifle	Scoped Deer Rifle
Investment For the Future	Higher Taxes
Healthcare Reform	Socialized Medicine
Extremist, Judgmental, or Hater	Conservative
Truants	Homeschoolers
Victim or Oppressed	Criminal or Lazy Good-For-Nothing
High Capacity Magazine	Standard Capacity Magazine
Religious Zealot	Church-going
Reintroduced Wolves	Sheep and Elk Killers
Fair Trade Coffee	Overpriced Yuppie Coffee
Exploiters or "The Rich "	Employed or Land Owner
The Gun Lobby	NRA Members
Assault Weapon	Semi-Auto (Grandpa's M1 Carbine)
Fiscal Stimulus	New Taxes and Higher Taxes
Mandated Eco-Friendly Lighting	Chinese Mercury-Laden Light Bulbs

Note: No trees were killed in the sending of this message,

but a large number of electrons were terribly inconvenienced.

How To Stay Focused

2011-09-03T06:10:00.000-05:00

In a world of constant distractions, learning to achieve and sustain a laser-like focus on your priorities gives you an enormous competitive advantage in the marketplace – as well as enormous benefits to your personal life. If keeping your focus has never been harder, the payoffs have never been better. How do you achieve laser-like concentration? I’m going to share with you seven principles of achieving and sustaining an intense, productive and energizing focus.

Keep the Big Picture in Mind. To successfully sustain you focus, you must first have a big-picture view of your goals and priorities, and a clear vision of what you hope to accomplish. After all, achieving an intense and sustained focus is not an end in itself, but a powerful means of achieving your long-term goals. The clearer, and more specific and more vividly you visualize the big picture of what you hope to accomplish, the more successfully you can focus on the means of achieving it.
Set Goals That Excite You. One characteristic shared by virtually every highly successful person is that they had big dreams and specific goals. The higher you aim, the higher you’ll go – even if you fail to hit your target. And if you shoot for the moon, even if you miss, you’ll still land among the stars.
Be Mindful. By targeting your attention with laser-beam accuracy to the matter at hand, you are literally unable to entertain destructive thoughts. Concentrating on the present reality eliminates fear of future possibilities. In this way, being mindful not only increases your effectiveness, it enhances your peace of mind.
Track Your Progress. When you see the advances you have made, it is easier to concentrate on covering the ground that remains. Tracking your past progress enables you to enter unfamiliar terrain with the confidence that comes from success and experience. Some strategies that will help enable you to monitor and accelerate your progress include setting deadlines, taking time for re-evaluation and allowing for adjustments.
Use Time As Your Servant. Counting time is not nearly as important as making time count. Here are some management strategies that will help you stay focused:
----Tackle the most difficult aspects of your mission during your “prime time” – your period of greatest productivity and energy.
----Deal decisively with interruptions. Think and write down ways to prevent such interruptions from happening in the first place. It is best to avoid them whenever possible.
----Learn to say “no.” Sustaining your focus on your priorities will require that you decline invitations, refuse requests, and even pass up some interesting opportunities.
Keep Your Balance. The purpose of keeping your focus is to enable you to spend your time and energy on the people and things that are most important. Just as keeping your balance is essential to enjoying the benefits of your achievements.
Anticipate Obstacles. To sustain your focus and achieve your goals, you must not only anticipate obstacles, you must prepare for them.

Overly Eschatalogical? by Alan Danielson

2011-09-01T09:15:00.000-05:00

Mark 13:1-37 is one of the “end times” or eschatological passages that really makes people’s heads spin. Shoot, my head’s spinning just thinking about the $4 word, “eschatological”. Anyway, if you’re not familiar with this passage, you might want to read it now.

In Mark 13:4, Peter, James, and John inquired of Jesus, “Tell us, when will these things happen? And what will be the sign that they are all about to be fulfilled?"

That’s the same question people have been asking for over 2000 years. Oddly enough, Jesus didn’t answer their question directly. In fact, his answer is pretty confusing. I’m not exactly sure why he answered the way he did, but here are my thoughts:

1. Because mission plays the most important role in the end times.

The end won’t come until the gospel is preached to all nations (Mark 13:10). Usually when this passage is studied, we dive into the minutia of meaning and trying to understand the nature of the apocalyptic message. However, most of the time we miss the point: Preach the gospel so all nations will hear.

2. Because our focus should be on doing the Master’s business.

When the master returns, what will please him more: finding his servants sitting around his living room studying what he said or finding his servants working hard to DO what he said (Mark 13:32-37)? One of the greatest problems Christians struggle with is that we are sometimes educated beyond our level of obedience.

Studying end times is a worthy activity, but it can sometimes bog us down. The problem comes when we neglect His work by getting too caught up studying the final culmination of His work. All I know for sure about eschatology is this: Jesus is coming back, and we have plenty of work to do in the meantime, so let’s get busy!

Smith Center--A New Season

2011-08-31T14:53:00.000-05:00

For a number of years I have been following the Smith Center (KS) Redmen. This year will be no different! They open their season Friday night (9-2-11) at the Rawlins County Buffaloes, 7pm.

Cash in Your Confederate Money?

2011-08-30T11:26:00.000-05:00

Very few of us are unaware of the plunge of the Stock Market in the wake of recent decisions made by Washington leaders and Wall Street investors. Standard advice for investors in such times is this: “Leave your investments where they are, because this will pass and things will get better again.” It’s wise counsel for most of us.

A long time ago when there was far less wealth among the faithful, Rabbi Jesus of Nazareth told His disciples, “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasurers in heaven” (Matthew 6:19-20).

Imagine you’re alive at the end of the Civil War. You are a Northerner but living in the South. You know the end of the war is near, and you plan to move home to the North as soon as the war is over. While in the South you’ve accumulated some Confederate money. What should you do with your Confederate money?

Wisdom would dictate you should cash in your Confederate money for Federal money, which will have the only value when the war is over. But you would still keep enough Confederate funds to meet your needs while you are still in the South. To think your Confederate money will still have value after the war is foolish, because you know everything will be different then.

This analogy has meaning for us today. The Bible says there will be a time of upheaval before Satan is defeated and Christ returns to earth, making all things new. No one knows when this will happen. But we do know that all earthly goods we possess will become meaningless when Christ returns, or when we die, whichever comes first. Either event could happen to us at any time.

I am by no means an earthly investment advisor, and I know nothing of investment timing. But the Lord has given us a few trustworthy financial instruments while we still live here in the “South.” We trust that the Lord will provide for our needs through them, and for them we give Him thanks and praise.

We all should remember that Jesus’ forecast for this earth is bleak. He urges us in His Word to invest in things in heaven: faith, hope, love, sharing good, and helping those in need. In His Holy Word, He instructs us to transfer our trust from things of earth, which are shaky, to the unshakable things of heaven. Faith in Christ as our Savior is all we need for eternal life. Such faith is totally dependable, insured by God Himself.

There is nothing wrong with having Confederate money, as long as we realize its limits. Don’t forget that its value is temporary. To accumulate treasures that we can’t possibly hold on to, is equivalent to stockpiling Confederate money even though we know it’s about to become worthless.

Storing up earthly treasures cannot bring us to heaven, but faith in Christ can.

A Little Thunderstorm Cell

2011-08-29T17:13:00.000-05:00

ESPN's Bottom 10

2011-08-29T12:50:00.000-05:00


RANK	TEAM	RECORD	COMMENT
1.	New Mexico	0-0	"Say It Ain't So": We still can't believe the Lobos brought back coach Mike Locksley for a third season, which begins with Saturday's home game against Colorado State, this week's Pillow Fight of the Week.
2.	Memphis	0-0	"Photograph": The Tigers, who allowed 39.8 points per game in 2010, might want to take a snap shot of the Liberty Bowl scoreboard before Saturday's opener against No. 20 Mississippi State.
3.	San Jose State	0-0	"El Scorcho": The Spartans have lost 25 of their last 26 games against FBS foes, and we're guessing they'll get scorched at No. 7 Stanford in Saturday's opener.
4.	Akron	0-0	"This Is Such a Pity": Ohio State will be looking to take out its frustrations on someone after what was a very long, hot summer. Up first: The Zips, who open the season in the 'Shoe.
T5.	Miami, Ohio State	0-2	"I'm Your Daddy": The Buckeyes found their (sugar) daddy in tattoo parlor owner Edward Rife, who traded free body art and other benefits for the players' coveted gold pants and other memorabilia. The Hurricanes' (sugar) daddy was Nevin Shapiro, a 5-foot-5 booster, who showered them with cash, yacht rides and trips to strip clubs.
7.	Buffalo	0-0	"Buddy Holly": Do the Bulls have any chance of upsetting Pittsburgh on the road in Saturday's opener? As Holly once sang, "That'll be the day."
8.	Eastern Michigan	0-0	"The Good Life": How's this for the good life? The Eagles, who have won 10 games the past five seasons combined, open the season against FCS foes Howard and Alabama State.
9.	Western Kentucky	0-0	"Why Bother?" The Hilltoppers, who haven't beaten a team from a BCS conference since 1975, open the season at Kentucky on Thursday night.
10.	New Mexico State	0-0	"Pork and Beans": We're thinking it's an appropriate victory meal for the winning team from the Oct. 1 showdown between the Aggies and Lobos.

Waiting list: Baton Rouge bar fights, West Virginia football politics, coach-in-waiting, Vanderbilt (2-10), Washington State (2-10), Wyoming (3-9), UNLV (2-11), Oregon's Speed Racer, Willie Lyles' recruiting services, 7-on-7 football, Central Michigan (3-9), Bowling Green (2-10), UNC's timing, Minnesota (3-9), Five strikes in South Carolina, Duke (3-9), Danny Sheridan, Wake Forest (3-9), Kansas (3-9).

Weird Names...Weird Brews

2011-08-28T18:44:00.003-05:00

There are some micro-breweries that are fun to check out--if only for the crazy names they come up with! Dogfish Head is no exception. Check out their website for some weird concoctions.

Lawnmower (I found a spare bottle locally...how it got to Texas is a mystery). According to their website--it is the intro for those who need a little help jumping feet first into the crazy world that is Dogfish Head beer. It's a starter beer, but it's not dumbed down. Lawnmower--as the brewer says--is made with quality ingredients and is a great thirst quencher - perfect to enjoy after a day in the sun mowing the lawn (or anything else that gets you hot and bothered)!

About the only thing I liked about this brew was the bottle...and the name. It is a very light beer...with a slight smell of fresh-mown grass...but short on taste!

Jeffersonian Democracy

2011-08-26T09:10:00.000-05:00

John F. Kennedy held a dinner in the white House for a group of the brightest minds in the nation at that time. He made this statement: "This is perhaps the assembly of the most intelligence ever to gather at one time in the White House with the exception of when Thomas Jefferson dined alone."

"When we get piled upon one another in large cities, as in Europe, we shall become as corrupt as Europe ." -- Thomas Jefferson

"The democracy will cease to exist when you take away from those who are willing to work and give to those who would not."

-- Thomas Jefferson

"It is incumbent on every generation to pay its own debts as it goes. A principle which if acted on would save one-half the wars of the world."

-- Thomas Jefferson

"I predict future happiness for Americans if they can prevent the government from wasting the labors of the people under the pretense of taking care of them." -- Thomas Jefferson

"My reading of history convinces me that most bad government results from too much government." -- Thomas Jefferson

"No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms." -- Thomas Jefferson

"The strongest reason for the people to retain the right to keep and bear arms is, as a last resort, to protect themselves against tyranny in government."

-- Thomas Jefferson

"The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants." -- Thomas Jefferson

"To compel a man to subsidize with his taxes the propagation of ideas which he disbelieves and abhors is sinful and tyrannical."

-- Thomas Jefferson

Thomas Jefferson said in 1802:

"I believe that banking institutions are more dangerous to our liberties than standing armies.

If the American people ever allow private banks to control the issue of their currency, first by inflation, then by deflation, the banks and corporations that will grow up around the banks will deprive the people of all property - until their children wake-up homeless on the continent their fathers conquered."

Interesting Perspective

2011-08-25T18:29:00.003-05:00

Matthew Yglesias writes: America used to have tons of craft breweries but then they were put out of commission by Prohibition. When legal beer came back into existence, it was controlled by a handful of large firms:

By 1979, most of these local brewers were no more. I remember a few from growing up in the Pacific Northwest–Henry Weinhard, Olympia, Rainier, Lucky. Friends of mine a bit older could remember beers like Great Falls Select. But most were gone.

However, in that year, President Carter deregulated the beer industry, allowing the sale of malt, hops, and yeast to home brewers. Thus began the microbrew revolution. From the perspective of Miller executives, this sucks because they have to produce an ever-increasing number of beers to keep control of the market.

From my perspective of course, this is an unadulterated good. Not only has it allowed the United States to become second only to Belgium in the production of quality beer (and I’ll take an argument that the US is #1), but it has opened the minds of even people who would normally be happy to drink crappy beer.

I mean, Shock Top and Blue Moon are not good beers, but they are better than Bud Light.

If No One Was There--Did It Count?

2011-08-25T13:11:00.000-05:00

If a baseball game happens in South Florida, and no one is there to see it, does it still count in the standings? Marlins fan Justin Cohen noticed a few empty seats at Sun Life Stadium -not exactly a rarity - on a sunny Wednesday afternoon for Game 1 of a doubleheader with the Cincinnati Reds.

He decided he would count the number of fans in attendance.

By hand. He then posted his unofficial findings on Twitter (@790Justin): 347 die-hards in the building. Just in case you were wondering, Sun Life holds 38,560 fans for baseball.

Why More Politicians Should Be in Toastmasters

2011-08-25T10:38:00.001-05:00

When arriving at my current church, I noticed that we hosted a weekly Toastmaster's meeting. Shortly thereafter, Distinguished Toastmaster John Fooks invited me to attend. Not long after, I joined, and the rest as they say, is history.

As a "professional speaker" for 45 years, a lot of people wondered why I joined. "What can you learn?" they asked. The answer is, "A lot!" Little things like eliminating the "ahs and uhs" (President Obama really could use some help here!) and speaking in complete sentences, the ability to think logically in impromptu speeches, and avoiding trainwrecks!

I could go on and on...but that is exactly what VP Joe Biden did a few days ago...and what a trainwreck. Check this out and cringe:

At Sichuan University on Sunday, after Biden delivered a 4,600-word speech, a student asked him about the importance of public speaking. "That is a very good question," Biden said as he launched into an 863-word answer. In the midst of those 863 words, Biden paid a tribute to brevity in an incoherent sentence of 68 words. The White House transcribed this Bidenesque brilliance as follows: "And so language, the ability not only to master the ability to put your ideas into words succinctly on a platform to communicate ideas to your own people, it is even more impressive when you have the capacity to do that and communicate your ideas, especially as future business and political and moral leaders of the world in the language of the people to whom you are speaking."

Joe...we meet every Thursday, 12 noon, in the fellowship hall of FLC in Texarkana, TX...and the lunch is great! While you are at it, drag the POTUS along! He could use some tips as well!

One...The Loneliest Number?

2011-08-24T17:07:00.000-05:00

One of my former high school students posted a song on FaceBook today titled "One" by U2. While I actually like much of what U2 does, just the mention of that song took me back a few years earlier in time to Three Dog Night's "One is the Loneliest Number."

So I just had to find it on YouTube--and was elated to find a performance with a symphony orchestra. It was a great song back in 1969, but even sounded better, done with a rock-estra!

What also amazes me is how many of the "oldies" still hold up for so long--and in many (most) cases outshine today's "musicians" musically.

Then again--I may be the only one who thinks this way--and it's such a lonely number as you know!

Good Reminder from Steve Furtick

2011-08-23T07:53:00.000-05:00

He removed the high places, smashed the sacred stones and cut down the Asherah poles. He broke into pieces the bronze snake Moses had made, for up to that time the Israelites had been burning incense to it. 2 Kings 18:4

It wasn’t supposed to be this way.

The bronze snake had at one time been an instrument of transformation. It healed people. Saved them from the consequences of their sin. But then the people turned it into an object of worship. And thereby ruined it and robbed it of its power.

This is the essence of traditionalism. It’s not simply holding onto Grandma’s preferences. It’s when we take things. Good things. Effective things. And we end up worshipping them instead of the God who used them for a season. And it can happen to anything.

Hymns. Or modern worship.
Live preaching. Or video preaching.
One campus. Or multiple campuses.
Sunday School. Or small groups.

None of these are bad things, but they’re also not the ultimate thing. And therefore we shouldn’t treat them as such. Otherwise we run a dangerous risk.The very thing that you hold up as a tool for transformation today can easily become an idol of tradition tomorrow.

And God has a way of smashing our idols. Or rendering them powerless.

Don’t get me wrong. We should never lose our appreciation or respect for the things God uses to reach people and transform their lives. But we should also never allow them to steal God’s glory by becoming a greater object of our affections than God or the new ways He wants to work among us.

God’s glory is greater than Grandma’s traditions.

And our own as well.

Could Life Get Any Harder?

2011-08-22T09:08:00.002-05:00

This was one of those Washington Post Style Invitational things…some of 'em are pretty funny. Results from Week 523, in which people were asked to propose ways to make modern life harder than it needs to be (hopefully our government does not get wind of these...or more regulations will be forthcoming...).

Winners:

It is no longer sufficient to clean up after your dog. By law, you must catch the offending substance before it hits the ground.

Replace the computer mouse with two Etch-a-Sketch knobs.

Eliminate surnames, as in the old days. (Danny the Elder, son of Joseph of Great Neck)

Honorable Mentions:

Drive-on-the-left-side-of-the-road Thursday.

Supermarkets arrange goods alphabetically: Lettuce, lamb and Lysol are now contiguous.

Convert stoplights to stopspeakers.

Introduce "17-29 Items" lanes at the supermarket.

ATMs require a urine specimen. (Judith Cottrill, New York)

Standardize the size and shape of all keys, so the only difference between them is the variation in the teeth. Also, make key rings and key chains illegal.

Replace friendly, knowledgeable humans with an automated voice that prompts callers to ceaselessly punch buttons until they no longer remember why they called or even have the will to live. Oh, wait…

Adapt to all appliances the "Are you sure?" message that computers demand before deleting something. Microwave a burrito: "Are you sure?" Change the channel: "Are you sure?"

All pills must be suppositories.

"Lather. Rinse. Calculate the cube root of the number on the bottle's bar code. Repeat."

Bicycle-pedaled flush toilets.

Sell tires only in multiples of seven.

Mandatory fee of a nickel if you hum or whistle a copyrighted song.

Phone book arranged in alphabetical order—by first name.

Adopt California recall rules for all government positions. If you get 500 signatures and a filing fee, you can recall your postman.

More buttons on the TV remote.

HOV use now requires three humans, a dog and a family of chickens.

Subdivide time zones into 60 parts, observing local time to the minute.

Double-Header

2011-08-22T09:01:00.000-05:00

Another weekend and another adult beverage. Actually--this will be a double-header since I quaffed a Leinenkugel's Honey Weiss Saturday evening--a beer touted as the "official beer of the Friday night fish fry." Maybe it would've been better had I had some fish and not a hamburger steak!

The first sip certainly sold the honey part of the name. After that it seemed "worse"...but maybe that is because I had a honey BBQ sauce on my meat! The beer poured a pale golden color--almost anemic--but had a nice head. The aroma (and initial taste) is a mixture of lightly toasted malt/wheat and honey. While it went down easy on a 108 degree day (what wouldn't?), the honey was a bit much for my tastes.

On a hot day...a cold glass of this beer would be acceptable--but not my first choice. Then again...if I were at a Friday night fish fry somewhere in Door County, WI--maybe it would taste better.

It is now Sunday--and tonight it is Howling Wolf Weisse Bier--an unfiltered Bavarian-style Hefeweizen. Brewed with a hearty amount of wheat, this Weissbier pours a light clouded golden color with a generous head. At 5% alcohol by volume, this light-bodied ale is a refreshing session beer for any time of year.

Brewed by Grand Teton Brewery in Victor, ID it is not a bad beer. I just wish the moon was full--so I could howl as I drank it. But then--what would the neighbors think?

Twilght Zone

2011-08-21T14:27:00.002-05:00

On Friday I had an outpatient procedure. As some of you know I have not had a whole lot of "luck" with those in the last 2 years (2 out-patients surgeries = 11 days in the hospital). But even with that in mind I was quite relaxed heading to our local hospital--so much so that my pulse rate was about 54 and the blood pressure was 120/65. Two nurses even remarked how "relaxed" I was.

Of course I was relaxed! That is what confidence in the Lord does!

At any rate...what i wanted to write about today is that anesthesia they often refer to as "twilight."

Here is how it worked on me--to the best of my knowledge! After being prepped (lovely hospital gown and a saline IV drip), I was moved to the procedure room (lower GI endoscopy if you must know). Here I was hooked up to the usual stuff...oxygen in the nose, heart/pulse monitor on the finger, and blood pressure cuff.

After the surgeon asked if I had any questions (nope), a nurse said, "I am now going to start the anesthesia and will be asking you your name until you no longer respond."

And that, folks, at 11:30 am, was the last thing I remember!

The next thing I recall was my wife telling me I should wake up or I wouldn't be able to sleep that night. Glancing at the bedside clock, it was 6:30pm.

How I got dressed, how I got home, the fact that we went through the drive-thru at McDonald's where I ordered a quarter-pounder with cheese and a pineapple mango smoothie, the fact that I ate it before I got home, walking into the house, putting on my pajamas and going back to bed...none of that do I remember!

Today at lunch I quizzed my wife on everything I couldn't remember...and to the best of her memory...I did not divulge any state secrets or stories about hanging out with the Rat Pack growing up, etc.

That's my story...and I am sticking to it!

Free Speech...Maybe...Maybe Not...

2011-08-21T13:20:00.000-05:00

Facebook apologized Saturday for deleting a post from Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer’s Facebook page that was critical of President Barack Obama’s new illegal immigration policy. The two-sentence statement from the social networking site called the post’s removal “an error” and apologized for any inconvenience.

: Facebook removed this image posted by Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer, before apologizing Saturday and calling it “an error.”

Brewer’s post featured an image depicting the governor as the iconic 1940s “Rosie the Riveter” with the words “Arizona: Doing the Job the Feds Won’t Do!” In it, the Republican governor called Obama’s new executive order stopping automatic deportation of illegal immigrants “backdoor amnesty” and made reference to the unfolding “Fast and Furious” scandal: The Obama administration cannot get its amnesty schemes through Congress, so now it has resorted to implementing its plans via executive fiat. There‘s simply no other description for today’s announcement that the federal government will not pursue the deportation of individuals who are in the country illegally but meet certain criteria. This plan amounts to backdoor amnesty for hundreds of thousands — if not millions — of illegal aliens. Especially disturbing is that it comes in the wake of the Obama administration sanctioning the sale of weapons to Mexican drug cartels — even as border states such as Arizona come under threat from those same illicit organizations. With this announcement, the President is encouraging more illegal immigration at the exact moment we need federal focus on border security.

Creationism & Global Warming

2011-08-21T08:17:00.000-05:00

As a Bible-believing Christian, I see a pretty clear line of distinction between these 2 GOP candidates...and not just because Rick Perry is my Governor. For one thing--I accept the 7-day creation--and I do not think that 98% of climate scientists agree about global warming. But that is just me...and no doubt some of you readers will disagree.

---

Jon Huntsman, a former Utah governor who was President Barack Obama’s first ambassador to China, has trailed in early polls nationally and in early voting states, leading his campaign to pledge more aggressive attacks on the top candidates.

Rick Perry, who entered the race last weekend and has surged to a prominent role, has provided Huntsman with an ample opening to take shots. Perry said in New Hampshire this past week that he didn’t believe in manmade global warming, branding it an unproven scientific theory. He also defended the teaching of creationism in schools because evolution “has some gaps to it.”

“When we take a position that isn’t willing to embrace evolution, when we take a position that basically runs counter to what 98 of 100 climate scientists have said, what the National Academy of Science has said about what is causing climate change and man’s contribution to it, I think we find ourselves on the wrong side of science, and, therefore, in a losing position,” Huntsman told ABC’s “This Week.”

Don’t Sweat The Small Stuff

2011-08-20T07:25:00.000-05:00

Here are some simple ways to keep the little things from taking over your life:

Ask yourself the question, “Will this matter a year from now?” Is what you are worked up over going to matter a year from now? If not, don’t let it destroy you today.
Practice Humility. The less compelled you are to try to prove yourself to others, the easier it is to feel peace inside.
Remember that you become what you practice the most. How do you spend your time? What you do is what you become.
Every day, tell at least one person something you like, admire, or appreciate about them. Telling others that you appreciate them takes almost no effort, but pays enormous dividends.
Choose your battles wisely. Every circumstance or problem is not worth the fight. There will always be things and people that don’t do right.
Life is a test. It is only a test. When you look at life as a test, you begin to see each issue as an opportunity to grow.
Remind yourself that when you die, your “In Basket” won’t be empty. The purpose of life isn’t necessarily to get it all done, but to do the right things.
Learn to live in the present moment. “Life is what’s happening while we’re busy making other plans.”
Think of what you have, instead of what you want. The Apostle Paul taught contentment and not always waiting for some future event to happen.
Understand the statement, “Wherever you go, there you are.” We tend to believe that if we were somewhere else, we’d be happy. Whatever you are, that’s what you’ll be wherever you go.
Become a better listener. Most of us are only adequate listeners, but the best gift you can give someone is to listen.
Remember, one hundred years from now, all new people. A hundred years from now, we will all be gone from this planet. Remembering this can help us keep perspective during times of stress.
Be grateful when you’re feeling good and graceful when you’re feeling bad. Good and bad come and go. No one is neither happy nor sad all the time.
Resist the urge to criticize. When we judge or criticize someone, it says nothing about that person; it merely says something about our own need to be critical.
See the innocence. One of the most frustrating aspects of life is not being able to understand other people’s behavior. We see them as “guilty” instead of “innocent.” But, when you see others as not trying to hurt you, you can relax.

When Beer Goes Sour...Intentionally

2011-08-19T19:22:00.000-05:00

Just like wine, beer is brewed in a nearly infinite range of flavors. Some are designed to be easy-drinking and as friendly and inviting as the bikini-clad vixens in the commercials that sell them. Others are made to blow minds and taste buds with hops as bitter as Wisconsin politics. And then there are the weird ones. The ones that feature flavors as strange and oddly endearing as McLovin – like sour ales.

Sour ale is a catch-all term for a fairly long list of beer styles. Most popular in Belgium, these include lambics, gueuzes and Flemish sour ales, just to name a few. Made by fermenting the beers with odd strains of yeast, and even lactic acid, these beers typically taste radically different than any beer most in this country have tried before. Sour and tangy, with aggressive fruit, funk and vinegar flavors that use sweetness and a malty spine to hang it all together and remind drinkers that it really is beer in that glass, people tend to love or hate these. There aren't many on the fence about this style of brew.

Despite the heavy flavors, there's something incredibly refreshing about them. That lemonade-like tang is easy to associate with hot weather, and these beers have a lip-smacking quality that cools and pairs surprisingly well with hot dogs, sausage and other traditional summer and fall eats. In other words, these funky draughts are about as tailgate friendly as it gets, especially since many of them come in massive bottles tailor-made for sharing. They can be tough to find, but they're well worth seeking out. Here are a few bottles to go out of your way for.

New Belgium La Folie – A sour brown ale, La Folie ages in French oak barrels for up to three years before it hits the bottle. Designed to mimic the spontaneous fermentation used to brew many traditional sour ales – meaning instead of introducing particular yeast strains the beer is exposed to the air to allow wild yeast and bacteria to do the work – La Folie is a deep brown with ruby highlights in the glass. There's heavy-duty sour cherry here, with some vinegary tang and a little bit of vanilla and bitter tannins from the oak. With only light carbonation, it's easy to find some satisfying bready chew to it, but it has a funky overlay that could put off some folks. Of course, so does Fergie, and people still seem to like her.

The Dissident – Brewed in hipster heaven, aka: Portland, The Dissident is a Flanders oud bruin and it's easy to mark it as a sour ale from a few feet away. It gives off a deep vinegary odor, but bear with it – the flavor puts the vinegar in the back seat and brings up lemon and cherry, with a caramelized sugar aftertaste keeping things in check while heavier carbonation than is typical for sour ales breaks up some of the heavy funk. It's an impressively complex beer, and while it doesn't pair up with food as well of some of its compatriots, its 10.5 percent alcohol content means it's a great choice for when your team is trailing at halftime and their performance soured your appetite.

The Lost Abbey Cuvee De Tomme – While some beers, like La Folie, mimic spontaneous fermentation, a new breed of brewers are going right after it. Cuvee De Tomme is an American Wild Ale, using the natural yeasts and bacteria in the air to create a bottle that varies dramatically year to year, depending on the mix of organisms driving the fermentation. The bottle we got our hands on had a powerful yeasty funk, with sour cherries, tart apple and an almost balsamic vinegar-like background. With little carbonation to break it up, it's a chewy beer and could be a bit too cloying, coating the mouth in a weird way that could be off putting to some. But with the brew varying so much from bottle to bottle it can be something of a crap shoot, which when you think about it, is half the fun.

Rodenbach Grand Cru – About as classic as a sour ale can get, this Flander's red ale is nigh-perfectly balanced between sweet and sour. It's a bit more processed than some of the others on the list, with consistent flavors from year to year, but that polish makes the beer incredibly sessionable. This is a beer for those from the “Thank you sir, may I have another” school of thought. There's a lot of sour fruit up front, but more thick bready texture and flavor than others from the sour ale family. That same balance makes it all sorts of refreshing and cooling. Plus, the women on our tasting panel thought it rocked. So whoever shows up with this stuff gets to play the hero by providing something with a little more flavor than the Buds and Millers that typically show up in coolers at summer BBQs. Brownie points are never a bad thing to have.

Batting 1.000? Nope...Blogging 1000!

2011-08-18T15:30:00.000-05:00

Little did I know until today that I had surpassed the 1000 blog posting mark. That either means that I have written a lot or that lots of time has passed. The answer is--probably a little of both!

Interestingly enough, it even generates a fair amount of traffic (readers). Hopefully, as you read this, you are one of those who actually enjoys seeing and/or reading what is on here.

Here's a little trivia for you about this blog:

It averages 75 page views a day
A blog about NCIS Special Agent Gibbs' Rules has the most hits (2000+)
Riding the Roller Coaster is second with 1000+
While most visitors are from the USA, other countries who have been on this site (in order of hits) are: Netherlands, Germany, United Kingdom, France, South Korea, Canada, Russia, India & Latvia.
1% of the traffic is now via Flipboard (if you are an iPad user you know what it is)
My once-a-week beer blogs seems to be popular!

One other "attraction" on the blog generates a lot of hits as well...Sermon Player. All I can say about that is "thanks for listening!"

And...thanks for reading!

Gravel Road Anticipation...Well-Founded?

2011-08-14T18:54:00.000-05:00

From the time that Rahr & Sons Brewery announced that they had a new summer brew called Gravel Road, I have waited for a trip to Dallas to ferret out some of this dark amber liquid! The problem with anticipation is that sometimes it does match reality.

But, I was able to secure 6 of the brown bottles from a large selection of Rahr products while attending my grandson's graduation from UNT this weekend. So here I sit...with a few slices of DiGiorno 3-meat pizza, ready to imbibe and then to write.

Interestingly enough, the glass I poured looks almost exactly like the glass in the photo. A sniff lets you know that this brew has some strong malt and hops...about what you'd expect from a German-Style Sticke Altbier (old beer). And I might add, it has a slightly higher kick than your regular beer, with 7.25% alcohol by volume!

And just because my grandpa always did it...I sprinkled in a bit of salt...to watch it sparkle to the bottom. But this adult beverage is so "murky" that it doesn't really show! Rats!

Now back to the taste: The flavor isn't all that intense, but it does have a bit of toffee along with a biscuit/bread and toasted malts. There are very light hop notes as well as some hints of fruit (mostly grape my buds tell me).

Sadly I must report that it did not live up to the expectations...but it was good nonetheless. If I actually graded it...it would be 2 and 1/2 stars or maybe a B- / C+.

Next up...break out the bagpipes (sorry Anna) with your lederhosen for Iron Thistle Scotch Ale – Rahr’s first National Grand Champion winner. This dark, Scottish ale supposedly has a bold taste dominated by a smooth, sweet maltiness balanced with a low, hoppy bitterness. So (if I had them) I might don a kilt and enjoy. Slàinte! Prosit!

14 Household Uses for Beer

2011-08-14T13:49:00.000-05:00

HERE IS MY DISCLAIMER: This guy's article has some useful hints..but if you are going to try any of them...buy CHEAP beer!

Most of us don't usually think of beer as an earth-friendly alternative to improving our gardens and lawns or dealing with a host of pests. However, if you can bring yourself to part ways with your favorite brew, or at least invest in some of the cheap stuff, you'll be surprised by beer's many uses.

1. Trap slugs and snails: Place dishes or jars of beer around your garden, especially in the evening. In the morning, the slimy critters, which have been drawn by the beer's aroma/fermentation, will have drowned. The beer can be re-used until it evaporates for garden pest control.

2. Trap fruit flies: If you keep a compost pail in your kitchen, you will also likely have fruit flies. Just place a jar or can of beer on the kitchen counter. Cover the top with plastic wrap or paper, leaving a small opening for the flies to get into. The fruit flies won't be able to get back out.

3. Distract bees and wasps from your outdoor gathering: Beer placed in cups around the outskirts of your picnic or barbeque will attract bees and wasps. It's not a long-term wasp control tactic; it's more like placing difficult relatives at the furthest table.

4. Get rid of mice: If you don't have a cat, a small amount of beer placed in a pail will help take care of a mouse problem, especially if you prefer to capture mice in a humane fashion. Just put an inch or so of beer in the pail, place some type of ramp, such as a piece of wood for the mice to crawl up. The mice fall into the pail and then you can remove your inebriated mice to some place outside.

5. Cockroach trap: Put a piece of bread soaked in beer in a jar. Put Vaseline around the lip of the jar. Roaches are attracted, get in, and can't get out.

6. Fertilize your gardens: The sugars in beer are also enjoyed by your garden vegetables and flowers.

7. Fertilize your indoor plants: Yep, they like beer too. You don't want to over-do it with indoor plants since they are contained and not subject to the cleansing distribution of rain. Use flat beer, just a small amount at the base of the plant.

8. Get rid of brown spots in your lawn: The acids in beer kill off fungi and pests, and the fermented sugars feed the grass.

9. Stain removal: Instead of pulling out a chemical cleaner when you've dribbled tea or coffee on your clothing or rug, soak the stain in beer. Let the beer sit for awhile then dab with a clean cloth. Wash well with soap and water once the spot has soaked. Always spot-test the fabric first.

10. Spruce up wooden furniture: Rub flat beer gently onto furniture using a soft cloth. The beer will help restore some of the polish and color.

11. Clean gold jewelry: Similar to how you would use commercial gold-cleaning chemicals, just place your gold jewelry in a dish of beer. Let it soak, then remove, rinse, and gently polish with a dry cloth.

12. Polishing brass pots: Using a soft cloth, gently rub beer onto the pot. Let the pot sit for awhile, rinse, and dry with another soft cloth. The acids in beer work wonders on most metals.

13. Loosen rusty bolts: Using beer to loosen bolts is a bit "Macgiver-ish", but the acids in the beer may dissolve enough rust to allow you to get them loose.

14. Insulation: Lastly, for the truly adventurous and creative, if you use full, unopened cans of beer in construction of walls, the beer absorbs the cold and won't freeze in temperate climates (due to the alcohol content).

Cris Carl is a Hometalk - http://www.hometalk.com - writer. Read more articles like this one - http://www.networx.com/article/14-uses-for-beer-around-the-house - or get help with your home project on Hometalk.com.

Labor Unions

2011-08-11T16:01:00.000-05:00

For a few more funny ones...go to: http://video.despair.com/

Stop Digging!

2011-08-09T13:47:00.000-05:00

They say that when you find yourself stuck in a hole, step one is to stop digging. In President Obama’s case, step one might be to stop talking.

Lately, every time he’s tried to reassure Americans about the economy, things have gotten worse. Monday, he made another attempt to shore up the markets. The speech was barely 10 minutes long, but the rout rolled on all day, with the Dow finally ending down 634 points which means it went down 200 points as soon as he spoke. Add that to last week’s drop, and stocks have lost nearly 7 percent of their value in one week. For good measure, S&P lowered the credit ratings of the government mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, too.

But it wasn’t so much what President Obama said that failed to inspire confidence. It’s that he just keeps repeating the same boilerplate stuff that hasn’t worked. Right down to yet another call for more stimulus spending, even after Obama himself admitted that the only shovels the stimulus bill got moving were those that shovel tax money down a rat hole.

Doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results was Albert Einstein’s definition of insanity.

You could actually watch the Dow tick lower and lower as investors realized that his reaction to our credit downgrade wasn’t to propose bold new policies to boost business, cut spending and regulation, and reduce the debt, but to attack S&P and shift blame.

Granted, at least he didn’t blame the Tea Party for the debt crisis, when they seem to be the only faction in Washington that’s serious about solving it. Instead, he blamed “gridlock.” “Gridlock” is every politician’s favorite punching bag. It’s easy to slam because it’s value-free. If the problem is simply that nothing can get done, then you can just throw your hands up and walk away without getting into messy subjects like what you think actually SHOULD be done and how you plan to make it happen anyway.

S&P made it abundantly clear: they lowered our credit rating because the government spends too much and isn’t making a serious effort to reign it in. If we want to reverse that, we all know how. Most of us have had to do it ourselves.

But you don’t get it done by attacking the messenger, demonizing political opponents and continuing the status quo. Investors weren’t reassured because they heard nothing to suggest that Obama is ready to take the lead, change directions and make some really tough reforms.

In fact, when he was running late, and some cable outlets just ran video of the Presidential lectern standing empty for 45 minutes as the Dow fell and fell, I began to wonder if that picture would go down in history as the iconic image of the Obama years.

(transcription of Mike Huckabee)

Sound Familar?

2011-08-09T07:11:00.000-05:00

In simple terms, the Peter Principle states that: “In a Hierarchy Every Employee Tends to Rise to His level of Incompetence."

In Chapter VII of Dr. Laurence J. Peter book, The Peter Principle, it states under Hierarchiology and Politics, that: “…when public speaking was a high art, spellbinding orator hope for nomination by a party, and the best orator among the candidates might win the seat. But of course the ability to charm to amuse, to inflame a crowd of ten thousand voters with voice and gestures did not necessarily carry with it the ability to think sensibly, to debate soberly and to vote wisely on the nation’s business.”

Feeling Stimulated Yet? (Jeffrey H. Anderson)

2011-08-08T08:22:00.001-05:00

The stock market lost all of its 2011 gains on Thursday. Investors lost a staggering $787 billion — the exact same amount of money President Obama’s economic “stimulus” was originally supposed to cost (before its costs were adjusted upward).

Unemployment is now at 9.1 percent, up from 7.3 percent when the “stimulus” was being debated. Gas is now $3.70 a gallon, about double what it was on Inauguration Day.

It is therefore entirely understandable that the president of the United States would have something to say to the American people — and, accordingly, President Obama issued a proclamation yesterday, hours before Standard & Poor’s downgraded America’s long-term debt. Dated August 5, 2011, it reads, in part,

I, BARACK OBAMA, President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim the week of August 7 through August 13, 2011, as National Health Center Week. I encourage all Americans to celebrate this week by visiting their local community health center, meeting local health center providers, and exploring the programs they offer to help keep their families healthy.

The proclamation also notes that the “stimulus” and Obamacare have funneled “new money” into these centers, with Obamacare having “provided for the Health Centers Advanced Primary Care Practice demonstration project, which will use community health centers to test the impact of team-based treatment approaches on the care of elderly patients.”

So, as we “celebrate” this week, we would also do well to remember Obamacare’s contribution to it.

Keys to Communication

2011-08-08T07:26:00.002-05:00

American society is in the midst of a communications explosion. All sorts of electronic and print media vie for people’s attention. Amid this cultural revolution, there you are, trying to communicate the most important message of all time – the good news of Jesus Christ. How can you possibly compete? Following these 10 principles will ensure greater impact for your preaching.

Believe in what you say. Ferdinand Foch said, “The most powerful weapon on earth is the human soul on fire.” All the crafting in the world can’t save a message that has no passion in it. If you can’t get excited about a subject, don’t preach on it.
Believe that people can change. Keep in mind that all great communicators have one thing in common: They expect their message to change lives.
Live what you say. Unless you have credibility, even the best content will get you nowhere. If you don’t live it, your listeners won’t either.
Know when to say it. Be observant of people’s reactions to your message. When you sense that people are receptive, it is time to ask for a response.
Know how to say it. Creativity greatly enhances communication. Use all the tools you can to make the message interesting and memorable: plays on words, acrostics, humor, stories, skits, music – all can help increase your impact. Avoid being too predictable. If people always know what you are about to say or how you will say it, they will tune you out.
Know why to say it. Develop an action-oriented thesis instead of a subject- oriented thesis. You’d be surprised by how many preachers expect their people to apply what they’ve learned without ever being asked to.
Have fun saying it. Don’t take yourself too seriously. Relax and show that you enjoy communicating your message. Nobody likes an uptight speaker.
Show it as you say it. People are visually oriented. Use body language, hand gestures, descriptive language and word pictures that bring life to what you are saying.
Say it so people can own it. People will not respond to a message that doesn’t seem to apply to them. Know your audience and make them a part of the message instead of mere observers.
Say it so people will do it. For people to act, four requirements must be met. They must have a receptive attitude, see the benefits of acting, understand how to act and be capable of acting. Even the best-planned and delivered message will be useless if the people don’t have a clear picture of how to carry it out.

Light and Fruity Should've Been a Warning...

2011-08-07T18:57:00.002-05:00

One of the first things I do when I try a new brew on a Sunday night is to see what the maker of said suds has to say about it. Some companies are pretty funny, other pretty stiff. Some of them could stand to hire better PR people.

Goose Island (a Chicago-based brewery) is sort of middle of the road. So here is their description: The color of sunshine, with a light fruity aroma and a hint of fruity acidity, Goose Island Summertime is the perfect summer session ale. A Kölsch beer brewed in the traditional German fashion, you’ll find yourself enjoying and savoring each sip of summertime as much as you do those hot summer days and cool summer nights.

Now let's see how what they wrote matches up with what I taste and see. Tonight I am doing this especially because of one of their phrases: you’ll find yourself enjoying and savoring each sip of summertime as much as you do those hot summer days and cool summer nights.

After almost 40 straight days of 100+ degree days (and no cool nights...unless you think 85 is a cool night), I am not enjoying the summertime...so this better be one great beer! And as many of you regular readers know, I am not a fan of fruity brews. I drink orange juice in the morning--and not at night with a hint of it in my cold adult beverage (beer)!

With that being said: A weak and somewhat uninspiring offering (especially after having a great Texas Red the night before).. However, this is a crisp, refreshing brew. While it is probably a great summer beer, it is too weak a brew for me to buy again (and glad I only bought one bottle).

On the Road...Gravel Road That Is

2011-08-06T14:25:00.001-05:00

Growing up in Nebraska I drove many a gravel road. I remember the dry, dusty trips. Of course back in the "olden days" before air-conditioning, all the windows of the car were wide open. In my grandpa's case, it was a 1950 Plymouth.

In the summer, after a drive down those roads, you knew the first thing you'd do when you got to where you were driving--you'd get a cold drink!

Many a time, coming home from the farm, we'd stop at a tavern in Staplehurst, NE and my grandpa would get a cold glass of Hamm's beer and I would get a bottle of Husker Pop! Watching grandpa, he'd always sprinkle a bit of salt into the head of that beer and then we'd watch as it sparkled to the bottom.

Every once in while he'd let me sneak a sip--but at that point in my life--the grape version of Husker Pop was more appealing.

Why I am writing about this? It is because there is a new seasonal brew put out by one of my favorite micro-breweries in Texas--Rahr & Sons. It is called Gravel Road. Here's their description:

Way out in the country, there are gravel roads. It's the safest road with gentle slopes, without sudden turnings and without milestones or signposts - it's like a good friend. It's a connection to life - a tie to the past, the key to sanity in an insane world. It shows the final destination and usually the best way to get there. Our Gravel Road is a tribute to this lifestyle. This is a German-Style Sticke Altbier with an amber hue, medium carbonation with great balance between strong malt and hops. Relax as you travel down your gravel road. This is your ale - it's sure to please.

Once I procure this adult beverage--I will tip a cold glass--with a sprinkle of salt--and for a moment in time I will be back in a dark tavern in the little town of Staplehurst, NE, sharing a cold drink on a hot dusty day with my grandpa!

I sure do miss him as I write this blog--and it has nothing to do with a beer on a hot dusty day. It has everything to do with the time we spent together and the amazing things he taught me.

Boomer Tunes...Updated!

2011-08-06T09:07:00.002-05:00

Happily, these are a little over the top… by 20 years… but who wants to hear how 40-somethings would really re-write the songs? Nobody said pop was pretty.

Paul Simon — "Fifty Ways to Lose Your Liver"

Carly Simon — "You're So Varicose Vein"

The Bee Gees — "How Can You Mend a Broken Hip"

Roberta Flack — "The First Time Ever I Forgot Your Face"

Johnny Nash — "I Can't See Clearly Now"

The Temptations — "Papa Got a Kidney Stone"

Nancy Sinatra — "These Boots Give Me Arthritis"

ABBA — "Denture Queen"

Leo Sayer — "You Make Me Feel Like Napping"

Commodores — "Once, Twice, Three Trips to the Bathroom"

Procol Harem — "A Whiter Shade of Hair"

The Beatles — "I Get By with a Little Help From Depends"

Steely Dan — "Rikki Don't Lose Your Car Keys"

Herman's Hermits — "Mrs. Brown You've Got a Lovely Walker"

The Rolling Stones — "You Can't Always Pee When You Want"

Credence Clearwater Revival — "Bad Prune Rising"

Marvin Gaye — "I Heard It Through the Grape Nuts"

The Who — "Talkin' 'Bout My Medication"

The Troggs — "Bald Thing"

Did I Misread the Constitution?

2011-08-06T08:00:00.000-05:00

Texas Governor Rick Perry, who is widely expected to announce a presidential campaign later this month, plans to attend at a prayer and fasting event called "The Response" on Saturday despite criticism that the event inappropriately mixes religion and politics.

Each time I read criticism centered around "mixing church and state", I go back to my little pocket copy of the US Constitution, especially The Bill of Rights. Article I: Freedom of Speech, Press, Religion and Petition: Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

As I understand this (as a former teacher of US History and Government), this article prohibits the government from influencing religion. BUT--NOWHERE DOES IT SAY THAT RELIGION CANNOT INFLUENCE GOVERNMENT.

In fact, the foundation of our freedoms is meant to be influenced by religion. I say this, even though the POTUS often omits part of The Declaration of Independence: When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation. We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.

One more thought--why is it that people (atheists come to mind)--get so bent out of shape when people gather to pray? Just what are they afraid of? If they truly do not believe in a god (s) or the God, what do they care? Somehow I think they really do know that prayer can/does change things.

Personally I am proud that our governor is taking 7 hours to fast and pray with other like-minded folks. And he is doing it in the face of opposition--perhaps that is what leadership is all about.

Great Summer Movie

2011-08-05T16:39:00.001-05:00

While it not Oscar worthy, this movie was what summer films are all about--just good fun. It is a great combination of Indiana Jones meets James Bond meets Wyatt Earp meets Star Wars (with a touch of Alien).

When it is 110 degrees outside...sitting in the dark air-conditioned theater is a great place to be. And, if you like Daniel Craig and Harrison Ford, it is even better.

Coyote Story...California & Texas

2011-08-05T10:11:00.000-05:00

The Governor of California is jogging with his dog along a nature trail. A coyote jumps out and attacks the Governor's dog, then bites the Governor. The Governor starts to intervene, but reflects upon the movie "Bambi" and then realizes he should stop because the coyote is only doing what is natural.

He calls animal control Animal Control captures the coyote and bills the State $200 testing it for diseases and $500 for relocating it.

He calls a veterinarian. The vet collects the dead dog and bills the State $200 testing it for diseases.

The Governor goes to hospital and spends $3,500 getting checked for diseases from the coyote and on getting his bite wound bandaged.

The running trail gets shut down for 6 months while Fish & Game
conducts a $100,000 survey to make sure the area is now free of
dangerous animals.

The Governor spends $50,000 in state funds implementing a "coyote awareness program" for residents of the area.

The State Legislature spends $2 million to study how to better treat rabies and how to permanently eradicate the disease throughout the world.

The Governor's security agent is fired for not stopping the attack. The State spends $150,000 to hire and train a new agent with additional special training re: the nature of coyotes.

PETA protests the coyote's relocation and files a $5 million suit against the State.

The same story in Texas (true, by the way)

The Governor of Texas is jogging with his dog along a nature
trail. A Coyote jumps out and attacks his dog.

The Governor shoots the coyote with his State-issued pistol and
keeps jogging. The Governor has spent $0.50 on a .45 hollow point
cartridge.

The Buzzards eat the dead coyote, completing the circle of life.

And that, my friends, is why California is broke and Texas is not.