Fortune Cookie Theology
We all have done it. If you haven’t, you must have been born on Mars or the Moon. This past Sunday afternoon I did it again and I’m sure it will happen yet another time in the not too distant future. As many good Christians (tongue in cheek) do on Sunday afternoon, my wife, Hudson, and I, along with our dear friends from India decided to go to “King Super Buffet.”
Yes, you guessed it: one of those gigantic Chinese buffet restaurants that seems to have every sort of grade B and C and D food product available from Costco and GFS. This place was particularly crammed tight with people because it just so happened to be Father’s Day. After we finished packing ourselves with all the decadent mounds of fried, deep fried, oven fried, and grease bathed chicken, beef, pork, and other items of questionable nature, we all took a deep breath as we got ready to swallow the only healthy item on the table – fortune cookies!
Invisible People
Once a week, my amazing husband watches the kids while I go out by myself for a few hours to run errands. I’m certainly blessed to have a husband who cares so much about me and enjoys helping with our kiddos.
Recently, on one of my excursions I decided to stop by our local Salvation Army. My goal was to get in and get out, and score a bunch of kid’s clothes for cheap. As I was perusing through old and dusty clothing, I heard right next to me, “Excuse me? Excuse me!”
Foretastes of the Rain
Yesterday afternoon, as I was talking with Hudson about all the rainy weather we’ve been experiencing, I remembered a little jingle we used to sing as kids, “rain, rain, go away, come again another day…” Hudson enthusiastically bobbed up and down and ran around the house shouting at 110 decibels, “it’s rain’in… Ooo…rain’in!!!” Lately, he’s been turning everything into a song or jumbled rhapsody of joy. Stephanie and I don’t mind at all, that is, unless he scrapes up to the far reaches of 120-130 piercing decibels. Oh yes, he can pull this feat off at any given moment without warning. Yet, we love our little buddy just the same.
The Ruckus about Rain
All this ruckus about rain around our house got me thinking. So often we complain about the rain – especially when three or four days go by without any warm sunshine. Such was becoming the case around the Breznau home. Yet, then I remembered a time not too long ago when rain was a very welcome relief.
God’s Tears and the Tornado
We’re not afraid of the Day after Tomorrow. No, we are torn and tear-stained because it is the day after yesterday. Why did life have to rip apart… yesterday? The singular event engulfing thousands of minds today is what happened yesterday.
Today, hundreds of moms and dads, brothers and sisters, aunts and uncles, and grandmas and grandpas are attempting to piece the puzzle of life together amid tear-stained eyes and aching hearts.
Carrot Christianity
Does behavior “A” always result in “B” – every time? Is Christianity just a cause and effect cycle? Does God keep the carrot of heaven’s hope or hell’s punishment out in front of our noses so that we behave properly? Does God say, “If you behave correctly, you’ll be safe and get what you want! So you better be a nice person, give money to the church, and not have sex before marriage!” Or is there something more?
To be honest, a lot of preaching in today’s culture resembles a man dangling a carrot in front of a donkey’s nose – “Just keep going – the carrot is your cause!”
Losing My Voice
What would you do if you totally lost your voice? What if you could no longer sing, or even worse, no longer talk? To a singer, your voice is as dear as a pianist’s fingers or a soccer player’s legs. It’s part of our identity. What if those limbs and gifts were taken away in the blink of an eye?