For God’s Sake Archive

When the temperatures recently dipped into the 20s here on the Emerald Coast, I was robbed of a favorite seasonal pastime: flaunting our balmy weather before my family and friends living in the north.

Instead, they mocked me as I whined about temperatures they consider to be a warming trend. I have grown so soft that what little fashion sense I possess is lost in such weather.

Several months ago, I wrote a column about deceased Christian apologist Ravi Zacharias and how I had benefited from his ministry.

Recently in the news I read that the accusations of sexual misconduct and sexual abuse leveled against him in recent years by several women have proven true.

A lifetime ago, I was the lead guitarist for a rock band.

When I admit this in church circles, it is met with a bemused look that says, “Really?” I will admit, I bear little resemblance to a “rocker” with my gray hair and conservative attire but put a guitar in my hands and my claim is quickly validated.

From early on in our marriage, my wife and I wanted to get a dog, but with full-time jobs, it didn’t seem wise.

Seeing people walking dogs in our neighborhood and cute dogs in TV commercials relentlessly threatened our resolve.

Forrest Gump told the lady at the bus stop, “My momma always said life was like a box of chocolates, you never know what you’re gonna get,” then he popped one into his mouth.

Clearly, that was before candy companies put key cards in the boxes because, Forrest, you can know exactly “what you’re gonna get.”

In seminary, future preachers are encouraged to collect potential sermon illustrations – emotion-packed, real-life stories, a funny joke or a personal life experience.

God must have realized that I would need extra help in this because he gave us Brewster.

Looking around our home, post-Christmas, I noticed something – we have a lot of empty cardboard boxes.

In addition to a nice collection in our garage, we have a fine display of sturdy, reliable boxes in our dining room, a room we rarely use. I know what you are thinking – somebody got a load of presents this Christmas.

An essential industry tool back when I worked as an animator was the character sheet. The character sheet displayed sketches of the cartoon character we were animating.

The character designer produced it to show the animator what the character should look from different angles, in different poses and emotions.