Thoughts from Within

There are times when I am blank and feel nothing is worthy of blogging. Today is not one of those days. Bear with me while I rant... THE NEWTOWN TRAGEDY First, I can't even express the myriad of emotions I feel regarding the tragedy in Newtown, CT last Friday. Having children the same age as the majority of those victims brings it close to home. I, in no way, can understand what the parents and family members of those innocent children are going through. I visualize parents choked with emotion, trying to answer a younger sibling's question of why his brother isn't coming to bed. I imagine distraught parents having to try to decipher between what is too horrific to comprehend and the life that could have been. Events like these go to show several things: 1. Life is short. 2. Life is full of unexpectedness. 3. Senseless acts of violence can't ever be explained or reasoned. 4. The "Where was God?" question isn't that hard to answer. God is a gentlemen....

  With just two and a half weeks until Christmas, children are informing me of what they will be receiving (or in some cases already have received) as gifts this year. Among the list: Playstaion 3's, iPod Touch's, Tablets, Nintendo WiiU's, Nintendo 3DS's - all single-item gifts ranging from $130-350. Some kids are getting more than one of these items and several are under 5 years old. I guess the economy is not so bad after all. I have a real problem with spending that kind of money to buy my kids' happiness. And let's face it... That's what parents are trying to do. Parents are so afraid of disappointing their children that they are willing to dip into savings or debt to keep it from happening. What happened to being satisfied with a new toy car or a train set? What about hand-crafted gifts, which resonate more love? Kids these days (and yes I know I sound like a rambling old grandpa) have no appreciation for those thoughtful kinds of gifts. So we try t...

Did the title catch you off guard? At 55 years old, my earthly father isn't in that market... at least I don't think he is. But the Heavenly Father is looking for more children to bring into his family. Last year, I had the opportunity and privilege to write, direct and perform in a Christmas play entitled A Baseball Card Christmas . Some of you may remember it. The theme of the play was the gift of adoption through God's most precious gift -- His Son Jesus. It was a challenge from writing it to directing it, to performing it; but in the end, more than 160 attended and 3 raised their hand for salvation. A success if I do say so myself. Prompted by several to see it published, I found Performance Possibilities, a company started by my former college speech professor. She read it and accepted it for publication. Now, this weekend, the play will be performed by two more churches -- one in Florida and the other in a nearby Ohio town. I feel so honored that God has used th...