Over the River?

Holidays, in general, are times when we think about being with family and friends. Popular bits of holiday culture, like the song alluded to in the title of this blog and various movies -- including the perennial favorite White Christmas, present the warmth and joy that come from being with those we love.

Plans in our household were made to make that happen this year. That would make this year a banner year. As a minister who is involved with services all year, including holiday times, it can be difficult to get away to make the trip to visit family and friends who live elsewhere. This year, though, was going to be different. Leave after service on Sunday; return on Christmas night. Everything was working out perfectly.

AND THEN ... , Friday, the curse of the horseless carriage hit. My advice to all is not to have car trouble on Friday afternoon on the weekend before Christmas. You do not have many options available.

Our alternator died a horrible death. Vicki and I were actually on our way to a repair shop to get it checked before the planned for trip to Tennessee. We had made it about 6 miles down the highway when the engine started to cut out. A wait for the tow truck, a trip to the repair shop, a wait for confirmation of the problem, and then the sticker shock of the repair -- $547. After I started breathing normally again, I realized that this repair blew the budget for the trip.

So, for everyone who is with extended family on Christmas Day, blessings upon you. For those, like us, who are not, blessings upon you too. You probably would have eaten too much anyway.

Reflections for Christmas

Just days before Christmas, it seems appropriate to post something about the holiday. It is tempting for me to join in the clamor over the so-called "War on Christmas," but I shall not. Instead, I would like to share a piece I came across while searching for something for my sermon on December 23.

Chesterton wrote this piece in the early 20th century. That was a time of great transition and, for many, a time of failed hopes. To me, the most poignant lines of the poem are in the third stanza and speak of how we have lost our hearts, despite all that we have gained.

As you celebrate Christmas with your family and friends, Chesterton may provide some material for reflection for you.

The House of Christmas -- G. K. Chesterton

There fared a mother driven forth
Out of an inn to roam;
In the place where she was homeless
All men are at home.
The crazy stable close at hand,
With shaking timber and shifting sand,
Grew a stronger thing to abide and stand
Than the square stones of Rome.

For men are homesick in their homes,
And strangers under the sun,
And they lay on their heads in a foreign land
Whenever the day is done.
Here we have battle and blazing eyes,
And chance and honour and high surprise,
But our homes are under miraculous skies
Where the yule tale was begun.

A Child in a foul stable,
Where the beasts feed and foam;
Only where He was homeless
Are you and I at home;
We have hands that fashion and heads that know,
But our hearts we lost - how long ago!
In a place no chart nor ship can show
Under the sky's dome.

This world is wild as an old wives' tale,
And strange the plain things are,
The earth is enough and the air is enough
For our wonder and our war;
But our rest is as far as the fire-drake swings
And our peace is put in impossible things
Where clashed and thundered unthinkable wings
Round an incredible star.

To an open house in the evening
Home shall men come,
To an older place than Eden
And a taller town than Rome.
To the end of the way of the wandering star,
To the things that cannot be and that are,
To the place where God was homeless
And all men are at home

Found at: http://www.cse.dmu.ac.uk/~mward/gkc/books/spring.html

Doing Good at Christmas and beyond

Christmas is the time of year when we think of others. Always, it seems, we think of our family and friends and what we could give them for Christmas. Often, we are more open to helping various charitable endeavors. Charitable groups know this and flood our mail boxes with pleas for help during this season of peace and good will to all people.

Let me suggest two ways that you could do good this year with very little effort or cost. Check out http://freerice.com and www.thehungersite.com.

Free rice presents a challenging word game. With each word for which you select the correct definition, the various advertisers will donate 20 grains of rice to those in hunger.

The hunger site is the first of a series of cause oriented sites that: provide food for the hungry, help pay for mammograms for women in need, help fund health care for children in need, help provide books to children, help protect the rain forest, and give food to pets in animal shelters.

Neither site requires much time. Neither site makes any demands of you beyond visiting and clicking. How much easier could it be?

Both sites can become a way for you to give at Christmas and beyond.

Shallow Analysis and Quick Comments

Last night, I went to the Fitness center on campus. I was planning on a quick work-out on the elliptical machines. As normal, the TV was tuned to FOX News. I will confess that I try to change channels when that happens, but there were others on the machines watching the television, so I refrained.

One of the segments involved a 5th grade girl in Florida who had been suspended -- and taken away by the police -- for using a knife to cut her lunch. It was reported that the girl made no threatening gestures with the knife. The shallow analysis and quick comments by the reporters led to much indignation on how horrible this was and what is our country becoming. A former high-powered judge was brought in to lend the proper amount of gravitas to the discussion. All those involved were in agreement. This should never have happened.

I, obviously, do not know all the details of the case. I am not even certain of the specifics of all that was said by the guests. I do have a couple of observations, though.

I have had enough experience with school rules to know that they are covered at the beginning of the school year or as soon as they become effective. Typically, both the student and parents have to sign a form indicating they have reviewed the rules and understand them. So, I wondered -- Did this happen with this student and her parents? If so, why wasn't this mentioned? Did anyone reporting the story think of this, or were they just trying to make some kind of political noise?

Then, I thought about the difficulties in enforcing any rule or law. For a rule to be effective, it must be enforceable. For a rule to be enforceable, it must be unambiguous.

At one point in my life, I taught chemistry in a high school in Tennessee. The school had a rule that there was to be no gum chewing in class. As a conscientious teacher, I tried to enforce that rule. I spent most of my time chasing after students who were chewing paper or an eraser or just chewing. Eventually, my rule became "NO CHEWING OF ANYTHING OR CHEWING MOTIONS WILL BE ALLOWED." Unambiguous. Stupid, perhaps, but enforceable.

The reason why schools have had to implement rules about knives or other potentially dangerous objects is because students have used such things on other students, on faculty, or on themselves. If the rule states that knives can be brought to school as long as no threatening gestures are made, the debate becomes then centers on when a gesture becomes threatening. How can anyone enforce this?

If someone wants to argue the inherent silliness of such rules, they have that right. It would be nice, if too idealistic, to think that a more thoughtful analysis would be employed.

In the Beginning

After being inspired by my daughter-in-law, Jill, who has had a blog for many months now, I have decided to attempt a blog. If nothing else, this should provide me with an outlet that I do not currently have for sharing my observations.

My interests are widely divergent, and I suspect this forum will reflect that. I might reflect on something philosophical and theological or something scientific. I may reminisce or expound on current news.

My cultural DNA is southern. I grew up in Knoxville Tennessee and have lived in Virginia, Kentucky, and Alabama, and presently reside in Georgia, though I have also lived in Columbus, Ohio and Wichita, Kansas. I have a Ph.D. from The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, but I currently am the minister of a Congregational church, that is associated with Piedmont College in Demorest Georgia, where I teach some religion classes.Formerly, I was quick to dismiss bloogers with a disdainful, "Why do they think anyone will be interested in what they have to say?" But, I guess, the same could be said of anyone who writes anything or anyone who preaches on a regular basis.

So, on with the project.