I’m a HUGE football fan . . . SEC football, that is. I graduated from the University of Georgia and proudly call myself a Bulldog. I can bark with the best of them.
Georgia fans have started a new tradition at the beginning of the fourth quarter—doesn’t matter whether we’re home or away. We flick on our phones’ flashlights, hold them high and wave them in rhythm to the Redcoat Band’s anthem. It’s pure magic.
I hope this special show of support for our players becomes part of our culture, along with the Calling of the Dawgs, the pre-game trumpet solo and the ringing of the chapel bell. May God bless all our football teams this season and keep them safe.
Why do retailers set up their shelves of Christmas products BEFORE Halloween and start playing Christmas music the day after?
Because Christians are enabling this commercialization.
Remember that the Advent season of preparation for the celebration of Christmas starts the fourth Sunday before December 25. This year, Advent begins Sunday, December 3.
Help stop the disrespect toward the symbolic birthday of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Here are a few things you can do to protest:
Tell the store manager you’re offended and that you won’t shop there anymore if they don’t observe the true Christmas season. Then, don’t shop there.
Write to the store headquarters with the same complaint.
Tell everyone who’ll listen about the season of Advent and why Christmas is celebrated.
Wish everyone a Merry Christmas once Advent begins.
There’s never a dull moment with my daughter. Last week, she graced me with a few days at home during her Spring Break. It just so happened that the final day fell on one of the most important Mommy/Daughter annual traditions that we share—attending High Heels & High Times.
Established as a small fundraiser for the Junior League of Gwinnett & North Fulton Counties nine years ago, the event has grown to become the organization’s primary money maker. Attendees are treated to a scrumptious lunch, a fashion show and boutique shopping with local vendors. We get to hug on old friends, pose for outlandish photos and learn about the League’s volunteer opportunities. It’s a four-hour extravaganza!
Each year, we return home loaded with shopping bags and full hearts. We can’t wait to celebrate the 10-year anniversary of HHHT next Spring. I think I’ll join the planning committee. What do you think about a celebrity fashion show?
I was honored to attend the last Ringling Bros. Barnum & Bailey circus performance in Georgia. We watched it ringside last night at the Infinite Energy Arena in Duluth. It was everything I remembered from when we took our children to see it at Philips Arena in Atlanta. Except, well, the elephants.
Yes, it was the elephants that caused the downfall of RBB&B, according to our usher. He pointed out that since the animal rights activists were successful in banning elephants from the circus, attendance had been down. Evidently, people didn’t want to go if they couldn’t see the elephants.
Sadly, after 146 years of being the “Greatest Show on Earth,” the big tents will come down. The final performance will be held May 21 in Uniondale, NY. Hundreds will be without jobs. And what will happen to the camels, tigers and poodles? The usher had heard the tigers would be joining another circus.
And what about the ringmaster? Kristen Michelle Wilson was awesome! She was the 39th to hold the legendary position . . . and the first female. I understand she beat out hundreds of competitors with her powerhouse voice and dynamic personality. Hopefully, we’ll see her again in another high-profile job.
If you have a chance to attend a performance, take it. And buy some cotton candy while you’re there. You won’t be sorry.
Can you tell in the left photograph that her eyes are different colors? This observation triggered our first veterinary visit. Bella is seven years old and had the most beautiful golden eyes until about a year ago when I noticed one had darkened. The veterinarian said not to worry, eye color change is very common in cats.
A month ago, at her annual physical, Bella turned her eyes toward the window. The veterinarian caught sight of a little growth on the side of Bella’s eyeball. Concerned, she sent us to a kitty ophthalmologist. Who knew there was such a speciality? And that one would be located within 20 miles of us?
After extensive testing, the ophthalmologist determined Bella had a cancerous growth behind her eye. Surgery was necessary, and quickly. Yesterday, she went under the knife. I was so afraid for her. I had all my friends praying for a successful procedure. Our prayers were answered. Bella came through with no complications. Praise God! Tests report the cancer is completely gone.
Bella’s a little discombobulated—not quite ready to jump on furniture, but I’m sure she’ll make a full recovery. I wonder if she’ll wear the pirate eye patch my friend made her?
We hold season tickets to the University of Georgia Bulldog home games and usually attend at least one away game each year. We had season tickets to the Atlanta Falcons home games, but gave them up after several colossally frustrating seasons. Between the three-hour, round-trip commutes and the predictable loses, we gave up.
That’s my son—#62. His team lost every game that year, but they never gave up.
But, the Dirty Birds didn’t give up. Their brotherhood rallying cry became, “Rise Up!” In January, they shocked the nation with stunning wins over the Seahawks and the Packers. They even made it look easy. Advancing to the Super Bowl, they dominated the first half. Atlanta celebrated while Lady Gaga and her wondrous drones rocked the halftime show.
Then something went terribly wrong in the third quarter. The unraveling of the Falcons’ banner year continued through the end of the fourth quarter until they were tied with the Patriots. For the first time in history, a Super Bowl game went into overtime. The Patriots won the toss, charged down the field and dealt the death blow of six points. The season was over. The Falcons had lost 34-28.
Atlanta closed its eyes and sighed. Been there. Done that.
No worries. Atlanta always rises—from the ashes in Sherman’s Civil War march to the global hub for civil rights advancement and air transportation. Home to more than 5.3 million diversified people, Atlanta is known for its southern hospitality . . . and good sportsmanship.
We congratulate the Patriots on their amazing comeback and historic record. You deserved to win.
Like the Falcons, we’ll be faced with head-smacking “How did this happen?” times in our lives. Let’s use these epic fails as lessons. Let’s be like Tom Brady, who focused on his mission, tuned out all distractions and made it happen.
Last Saturday, I helped one of my oldest and dearest friends lay her husband to rest. I loved that man like a brother. He could weave the most magnificent tales, argue politics until you crumpled, and outrun his dogs in a footrace to the end of the dock while bellowing, “Rumbo, rumbo, hey, Poppa Joe,” at the top of his lungs.
She and I are really hurting—not because he left this world too soon or because their three children really need their father or because we’ll never hear his boisterous laugh again.
We’re hurting because we’re not entirely sure we’ll see him again in Heaven. He was a professed atheist, attending church from time to time to make his family happy. But, that was the only reason. Born in Wales, he never embraced the American South’s whole-hearted Bible Belt style of religion. His heart rested with his books, research, music and sports.
On his deathbed in extreme pain, he called on God to save him. Was this enough? I have to believe it is.
All my life, I’ve written for someone else—grade school teachers, college professors, newspaper editors, magazine publishers, corporate managers and high-tech clients. I was established. Why would I want to give up a steady salary to wear out my keyboard in the risky book publishing industry?
God.
Yep, He nudged me. In fact, He all but hit me over the head with a book. I first felt His pressure when my daughter and son were on summer break from high school. I thought I’d poke around a few bookstores for some reading material for them to take on vacation. I found only a handful of clean, Christian books for teens. Tracking down the shop managers, I asked why. Each replied that there wasn’t a market for it.
What? Are there not enough teens wanting to read clean fiction?
I believe there is, but they don’t have a lot of fiction reading time so they don’t buy enough books for this genre to merit a special section. I hope I live to see the day young adult Christian fiction is featured in all bookstores, when teens head straight to this section and when they share their Bible-based purchases with others.
I feel God’s hand on my back pushing me to contribute. I pray I serve him well.
