Christspeak, Rx

Ever heard somebody say something like, "I don't believe in a God who...?" I sure have, in truth, I've said it myself. The question reveals a remarkable disregard for the all powerful, creator God of the Old and New Testament. It may even suggest the speaker believes he knows better than the God of the Bible.

It's true that believing in God requires faith, but its just as true that the reality of Christ is independant of a person's unbelief. So ask yourself a couple of questions:

• Where does faith in Christ come from? (hint- the answer is in Romans)
• Do you believe in a man made God, or a God who creates man?

I've seen it twice and I'm still giddy about it. It is the first Bond Film that stays true to the book.

Ian Feming, one of the creators of England's real spy network in WWII, introduced the world to the spy network he helped create with his first novel, Casino Royale. This film introduces Ian Fleming's genius to movie viewers.

All through my first viewing of the film, my mind was so trained to the Bond film formula, I was certain I missed key points of the plot. Nothing about this film follows that formula.

Here's some key differences:

• There's plenty of action and violence, but none of the trite quips after someone is killed.
• There's no ridiculous stunts- well, maybe a couple- but at no time are you forced to suspend belief in order to make the scene work.
• The women are pretty, but hardly playboy material- and there's none of the typical Bond sex scenes.
• After a chase, Bond drips with sweat and his clothes are ruined.
• After a fight, Bond's knuckles are swollen and bruised- as is his face... and his clothes actually look like he's been in a fight.
• There's a real mystery and plenty of twists.
• There's no super human bad guys- just a network of truly evil terrorists.

One of my Mom's best friends, the mother of 6 children, loves to tell the story of her oldest daughter visiting her for the first time after giving birth to triplets. Her daughter spent 2 days coaching her Mom how to handle the babies... get it?

Today, Mary Mac comes home with my grandson for the first time... and I'm under orders not to over stimulate 31 day old little Adam. By definition, I am a living stimulant to children- especially those in my family.

Now I understand the real bonding and fun starts for grand pa's when the kid starts crawling, some 6-9 months after grand ma's done her thing, but I've been waiting for this moment for years . I was born to be a father, uncle and grand dad. If it were up to me, we'd have at least 5 kids. (When I expressed this goal to my wife after our 3rd child was born, she said fine, my next wife could have the next two...).

So today's the big day. I'm practicing calm.

Christmas of 2001, we had just invested all of our money in a retail showroom and opened it the week of 9-11. Actually, we opened on that very day. We had carefully planned the one thing that was a sure bet to get the business booming, but we never figured on the terror of 9-11, followed by the myriad of stock market scams, illegal accounting practices and fraudulent behavior of Wall Street giants. We suffered, survived and eventually began to thrive- but I am writing this because it is the backdrop of that Christmas, and 5 years later, this Christmas.

In 2001 Elizabeth an I had carefully budgeted $600 to spend on our 3 kids- and agreed to give each other a hug. Somehow I knew Elizabeth needed more, she certainly deserved more. So the week of Christmas I robbed petty cash and borrowed from a line of credit, went to straight to Art and Martha Nading's fabulous "Extra Ingrediant" store and purhased a complete set of Denby china. On Christmas morning, when Elizabeth saw I had given her an enormous package, she flew into a rage and quit speaking... until she opened the present. Our daughter, Mary Mac, sealed the moment forever in our memories when she pointed at her smiling mother and exclaimed, "busted!"

Elizabeth is not shallow, but she needed a special gift that day, and more than that- I needed a gift that showed my appreciation, respect, admiration and adoration for her.

Alot has changed since that Christmas. Our business is solid. 2 of our kids are happily married, we have our first grandson, our baby is loving life at Carolina.

This Christmas Elizabeth needs another special gift, (and I need just as much to give her one.) But this Christmas I won't be able to borrow, we've spent 5 long years getting out of debt. I have no idea what to do and it makes me feel somewhat helpless. (There are many other more significant areas I fall short in as a husband, but this is a Christmas story.)

That is partially the background to the post about Psalm 37. I am left with one thing to do:

1. Trust God
2. Do Good.

So, after the previous post, I prayed to God about my concerns... and did 2 things I never do. I made up the bed and washed and waxed the kitchen floor. Merry Christmas honey!

...from a way cool friend of mine:

"Take a break from yourself over the holidays and get into Psalm 37." He smiled at me and said, "there's a really cool line in the Psalm that reads, "Trust in the Lord and do good."

Some of you may recall that my daughter's , (Mary Mac), father in law is Gary Brookins, a nationally syndicated cartoonist. He draws Shoe and Pluggers among others. What you don't know is that Gary and I are new, first time grand paws!!!

Click here to see our grandson's nationally syndicated birth announcement!

By the way- since Pluggers isn't carried here in the Triad, I've copied the definition of a Plugger from the Plugger website...

Dictionary definition of a "Plugger" Plugger \Plug"ger\, n. One who, or that which, plugs. (2) Steady, dogged and usually uninspired worker. Source: Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary Plugger n: someone who is an active supporter and advocate [syn: promoter, booster] Source: WordNet ® 1.6

OK all dictionaries aside, what's a Plugger? Pluggers are the hard-working people the world depends on. They represent the 80 percent of humanity who unceremoniously keep plugging along, balancing work, play and family life. Pluggers encounter and conquer obstacles in their lives, but they always have a positive attitude and a good sense of humor. They're the people who work hard for what they get. Even if they're struggling, they are optimistic about life.

Here's another cool thing about the Pluggers' strip... you can submit your own ideas for a cartoon that fits around the definition.