Pretty Good Stuff

A cold front came through and brought with it Fall like temperatures. Seeing as we are 3 days shy of Halloween it seems appropriate that the thermometer would drop. However, I've lived in Texas nearly my entire life, so I've experienced both the "coat-covered-costume" and the "sweating-through-my-Superman-tights-as-my-chocolate-bars-melt" Halloweens. Looks like we'll be somewhere in between that this year. The forecast calls for a warming trend over the next few days.

Should be a nice weekend as we "fall back" and gain an hour of sleep Saturday night. As a church goer, I always look forward to the fall back and dread the spring forward. In my teenage years I began to seriously question a faith whose contenders insisted on gathering so early on Sunday mornings. Truth be told, I've never totally come to terms with the theory behind this tradition. Not that there's anything wrong with tradition...

Last weekend I was in Austin for a wedding. It's difficult to describe how pleasant an experience this was. My old and dear friend Allen Robertson married my sweet and new friend Cynthia Ray. It was a small gathering in a beautiful setting and everyone there was so happy for the couple; I mean genuinely happy. There was no pretense to the proceedings. There was simply honest sharing and an exchanging of vows in the company of loved ones and God Himself. It was a wedding that inspired me to love my wife more deeply, appreciate my children more, give thanks for my friends and make every effort to influence my community in a positive way.

All you had to do was notice to the way Cynthia looked at Allen, pay attention to the sincere feelings Allen shared so eloquently about Cynthia and listen to the stories being told as we shared a meal after the ceremony. The bride and the groom exude a spontaneous goodness in every aspect of their lives and that, my friends is as unique as it is good for this world.

Good friends, new relationships, inspiration, a changing of the seasons, all accompanied by neighbors sharing candy. Pretty good stuff.

Tackling the Important Issues

With all of the tumultuous activity in our world these days, I've decided to skip the cute anecdotes about my family, step outside of my role at work and contribute some thoughts about the truly important issues of our day.

The War - You cannot win the war without winning the battles for field position. With Mat McBriar out and a sketchy offensive plan that will include an old man or an injured man at Quarterback and no Felix Jones, new punter Sam Paulescu needs to step up and take dead aim at the coffin corners.

The Economy - The situation being what it is, we cannot afford to pay Tony Romo a guaranteed $30 million and have him sitting on the bench. He must play, even when hurt. We have a new stadium to open next season that is costing in excess of $1 billion to build. Grandpa Johnson ain't puttin' butts in those seats. That leads us to...

Health Care - If the offensive line doesn't get its act together, Romo is destined for an early retirement. With Pac-Man in alcohol rehab somewhere perhaps never to return, and Terence Newman and Roy Williams attempting to come back from injuries, the defensive backfield is T-H-I-N. That relates to...

Education - Mike Jenkins and Orlando Scandrick are about to get one as the two rookies will start this week. Has Jerry Jones learned anything while dealing with the Pac-Man situation? What I've learned is something about...

Leadership - This is Jerry's team top to bottom. Wade Phillips seems like a very nice man, but he's a powder puff of a leader and Jones likes it that way. It's all good when they're winning Super Bowls, but Tony Romo was 16 years old the last time the Cowboys won a playoff game. Jason Witten and DeMarcus Ware were 14. At least there is one potential bright spot...

Immigration - Wide Receiver Roy Williams is coming home to Texas. Let's hope he can do his home state proud.

May God bless you and may God bless America's team.

How to Make Your Head Spin

It's been awhile since I've blogged...actually, I begin a lot of blogs like that now that I think of it. Oh well, I still believe it's a valuable, if not consistent exercise for me.

Today I simply wanted to share a recipe I just tried. It's a recipe for making ones head spin.

First, get out your Old Testament and read Amos start to finish. I recommend The Message for this as the updated language might freshen it up for you.

Next, listen to a sermon about how the religious people of Jesus' day responded to the healing of an invalid man on the Sabbath in John 5.

Finally, pick up the book Jesus Wants to Save Christians by Rob Bell and Don Golden and read it in one sitting.

Commence head spinning.

Most good recipe's include wine and this one is no exception. After following the first three steps, you will more than likely need a drink.

Warning: Watching or listening to a presidential debate after trying the above mentioned recipe could actually cause one's head to explode. Please take necessary precautions.