Alternative Ending!!!!!

In order to keep the boys minds sharp during the summer vacation from school, as well as to keep them from being bored, my wife gave them a writing exercise this morning. They were each to write an alternative ending to the story of the Princess and the Frog.

They both moaned and groaned, saying "school is out for the summer.", but they ended up having fun with assignment. I especially enjoyed the work of our ten year old. He wrote, "The Princess kissed the frog. The dog ate the frog. The dog lived happily ever after."

A Case of Mistaken Identity?

A couple of days ago, I received a phone call from a man I could hardly understand. I asked that he email his request so I could study it. Here is what I received:

Dear Rev.Bryant ,

Nice to speak to you this morning .
I am working for a Japanese Television called " TV Asahi " .
My name is Hideyuki MIyauchi .
TV Asahi has a weekly informational program called " Shiru Shiru MIshiru "( literally translated " To see is to know ") .

Their next subject is " What is the better ball to fly further by a baseball bat ? "
This is a kind of scientific research .
They like to invite you to Japan to hit various balls at s studio if you can .

They offer the cost of staying in Japan : trip , meeting , shooting , trip back .
The date they will shoot up to you soon as possible .

About your guarantee or donation to your church is up to you .
Please let us know .

I am sorry to bother you by a strange offer .
We have still a lot of your fans in Japan .

If you are willing to accept this offer , please let me know soon as possible .

Thank you so much for your time .

Best ,

HIdeyuki MIyauchi

Upon reading the missive, I realized that this executive thought he was speaking to the former Major League and Japanese League home run hitting star, not some old hotcornerhasbeen. I replied that I would be happy to accept his offer, but I thought he would be disappointed to discover he had found the wrong Ralph Bryant.

Parenting By The Book

Over a period of years, maybe beginning in the mid-1990s, Jo and I did not spend as much time reading books about parenting as we had previous the decade or two. But in the last few years circumstances have caused us to revert back to old reading patterns. In our raising two grandsons, one of the things that we've discovered is that boys are different from girls. So we thought we might need a few pointers on ways to raise them.

We went first to some of our old favorite authors like Gary Smalley and James Dobson. Most recently we have both read a book by an author we did not know until the book was recommended (by Billy Mack). He is John Rosemond, and apparently he has been well-respected for quite a number of years by some of those that we've held in high esteem. The title of the book is Parenting by the Book.

Dr. Rosemond is very pointed in his holding that the best approach to raising children, boys or girls, is to raise them using the wisdom of Scripture. Rosemond was trained in what he now calls postmodern psychological parenting. The book does a good job pointing out the damage that has been done to our culture by those methods and ideologies. I found some of his points eye-opening. It is very easy to see some of his conclusions all around us today, even among Christian parents.

Rosemond also provide some thoughts about the ways to extract and apply biblical wisdom to our parenting methods. He is very practical even as he is very certain that biblical wisdom cannot be surpassed for successful child rearing. I was so impressed with this book that, even before I finished it, I had ordered several copies. I believe it is the kind of book that I will want to share with others in the days to come. I'm going to donate one to our church library in the name of my grandmother Marie Bryant. I believe she would approve of the common sense that Rosemond expounds. She would never have written it in a book, but I believe her methods are exactly what Rosemond wishes all of us would use to bring up our children.

Requested Quote From 5-23-10

Yesterday in the lesson from 1 Chronicles 22, I presented a portion of the inaugural address of John F. Kennedy in 1961. Afterward I presented a reword of his statement, trying to embrace our spiritual commitment. I received requests for copies, so I am posting it here. The reword was done by a preacher named Dave Owens.

I want us to be able to declare…“Let the word go forth from this time and place…to friend and foe alike…that the torch has been passed to a new generation of Christians living in our secular society…Let it be known that we are proud of our Lord Jesus and His Word and His body, the church…let every person know that we will pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe, to assure the survival and success of the church. This much we pledge and more!”

Remembering Robin Roberts

May 31, 1957, was a magical night for a young baseball fan from South Texas. My family was visiting my mother's family in Bordentown, New Jersey for a couple of weeks. My dad and my uncle took me to Connie Mack Stadium in Philadelphia to see my first Major League game in person.

The Phillies' pitcher that night was the awesome right-hander Robin Roberts. He was in the midst of 6 consecutive seasons of 20 wins. And he was facing the Brooklyn Dodger with their awesome line-up, Gilliam, Cimoli, Snider, Furillo, Hodges, Campanella, Neal, Zimmer, and the Don Drysdale as the opposing pitcher.

The game lived up to my imagination. There was excellent pitching and defense. There was a majestic by the great Dodger catcher, Roy Campanella, off the top of the stadium. But Roberts only gave up three hits, pitched a complete game and got the win. For years after that magical night I would want to be a second baseman like Junior Gilliam. And, in my mind, I would pitch, copying Robin Roberts and throwing the perfect pitch in the pressure situation.

Robin Roberts passed away yesterday. But the memory of his mastery will live as long as I do!

Johnny Neun Quote!

I just read a quote by a man who was in his late eighties and still swinging his fungo in spring training at the time. Johnny Neun had played in the 1920's for Ty Cobb and managed the Yankees and Reds. Young players today would do well to listen.

"It is important to remember how careful you have to be about the way you live your life. It's to your advantage not to do too many things off the field that interfere with your life on the field. You turn on the TV and you hear that some committee or other is investigating things out of someone's past and lives get ruined. When you play this game, you're in the public eye. I once heard a great poet say that if you're going to go public with your life, your life belongs to the public. Be careful with our life. In the long run the thing that's going to be the most precious to you, the thing you're going to treasure all your life, is your peace of mind."

Dig in and make sure you get the full benefit of your natural ability. Only a few of you are going to make the Big Club. But for the others, you ought to be able to leave saying. 'I gave it my best.' Don't worry about tomorrow. Don't worry about things you have no control over. Do it this way and someone may walk up to you and say, 'you're the one.'"

National Day of Prayer in League City

I got a call from a League City resident named Becky Gualt this morning. I have never met Ms. Gualt. She called to inform me of a plan that she and a number of ladies with whom she meets to study the Bible have developed for the National Day of Prayer that is scheduled for May 6. I liked her plan and her approach to the whole matter and thought you would like to know about it.

First, they have reserved the club house in the Magnolia Creek subdivision, 4752 League City Parkway, for the day. It will be open from 6:30 am till 7 pm, in order to accommodate commuters who leave early or get home late. They are making a true DAY of prayer rather than a short gathering. It is a non-denominational activity.

Second, they have set as their purpose to Pray for our families; Pray for our schools-Administrators; Teachers; Students; Support Personnel; Pray for our community – Local Businesses; Civic Volunteers; Pray for our churches – Pastor and family; Pastoral Staff; Congregations; Pray for our Law Enforcement Officers Pray for State and Local Government; Pray for the three branches of our Government –Legislative; Executive; Judicial; Pray for the Armed Forces; Pray for the media

Ken Clark, a county commissioner, has agreed to take part, though the schedule has not been set as of this writing. I have told Ms. Gualt that I will participate as a concerned citizen, but not as a representative of the congregation here. Whether you want to participate in the community effort, please make a special effort in your personal prayers to lift up acknowledge the power of God and our need for Him.

Opening Day At Minute Maid '10!!!

Opening Day has been a huge part of life for my wife and I. We have celebrated 43 anniversaries, 42 of them at Opening Day for the Astros. The only time we missed was when we celebrated our 35th in New York City. We just returned from the 2010 edition.

Roy Oswalt started for the 'Stros against Tim Lincecum of the San Francisco Giants, the reigning back to back Cy Young winner. Oswalt pitched creditably, but not well enough to avoid the loss. He gave up three runs in his six innings of work, while Lincecum did not allow a run in his seven innings of work.

Houston did not hit the ball hard very often tonight. Carlos Lee had a line drive off the wall in left, but the next well struck ball was in the 9th inning when J. R. Towles had a double to left center field to drive in the second run of the evening for Houston.

There were not too many bright spots for the over 43,000 in attendance. I wonder how many fans will be in the stands tomorrow.

What Did You Do For Fun On The Weekend, Johnny?

This is the favorite joke I heard at the Get Motivated seminar on Monday. I believe Rudy Giuliani was talking about integrity when he told the story.

A first grade teacher told her class on Friday afternoon to have some fun on the weekend, and to remember what that fun was because on Monday they would each have a turn to tell what they did for fun on the weekend.

When they all assembled in class on Monday morning, the teacher began to ask students what they had done for fun and each one told their story in turn. When she got to Johnny, she asked him what he had done for fun. He said "My father and I went fishing, we caught 75 catfish and each of them weighed 75 pounds." The teacher said, "Johnny, this is not a time for make believe this is a time for telling what you did for fun on the weekend."

Johnny said, "We went fishing, we caught 75 catfish and each weighed 75 pounds." The teacher told Johnny, "now that's just not possible, and I want you to quit telling stories and tell us what he really did this weekend." Johnny repeated his proclamation. In exasperation the teacher said, "Johnny, if I told you on the weekend I was in my yard and a big grizzly bear came into my yard was about to attack me, but a big yellow dog came and grabbed that grizzly bear by the nose and slammed him to the ground on one side and then slammed into the ground on the other side and when he let him go that grizzly bear ran away. Would you believe that, Johnny?"

Johnny said, "Yes Ma'am. That was my yeller dog!"

Screwtape on Stage!!!!!!

I am not sure I can put into words how impressed I was this afternoon at the stage presentation of Screwtape Letters. Max McLean portrays the demonic Screwtape in this adaptation of the book by C.S. Lewis. The only other character in the play was Karen Wight, who played Toadpipe, a scribe/servant/minion of Screwtape. She never said a word, only made some horrid noises and displayed some repulsive poses, but she was vital to the impact of the play.

McLean was the writer as well as the star of the show, and his work was excellent. He really projected the cunning of the Devil and the passion for his job. And the use of Toadpipe to exhibit his ideas was exceptional. Of course the material he was working from is classic, but the adaptation was first rate. There was very little need to modernize the basic ideas of the book; the truths are still very vivid, even nearly 70 years since they were first penned.

The show was only in Houston for the weekend, and all the seats were sold in a very short time. I am very glad I got to see the production. It will be in Austin next weekend, If you are in that area, go and see it!

Surprise for Phil!!!!!!!!!!

One day while preparing to close our donut shop for the day, my oldest daughter told me she wanted to send a thank you to Jimmy Wynn for the autographed baseball he had given her. She was only four years old and we wanted to nurture in her a spirit of gratitude, so I told her I would write down what she wanted to say, and we would mail it on the way home. I don’t remember the exact words of the note, but she thanked him for the ball and for calling her beautiful. She told him if he ever came to our little town he should come to our shop and she would give him a free donut.

We did not know the actual address, so we just sent the note to Jimmy Wynn, Astrodome, Houston, Texas. I had my doubts it would ever reach the Astros’ star, but I did not tell my little girl. We dropped it in the mailbox on the way home that night.


A few weeks later we went to another game at the Dome. As was usual for us, after the game we went to the loading docks gate, which is where the home team players exited the building. We were waiting at the base of a long ramp, maybe fifteen or twenty yards from those crowding around the door. I saw a boy from the summer league team I coached among the gathering; he was working hard for autographs. He greeted us and asked what we were doing so far back from the action. I told him we were waiting for Jimmy Wynn, so my girl could say hello to her friend. Phil had his doubts that Jimmy Wynn was her friend, and he went back to the door to obtain more signatures.


A little while later Jimmy came through the door. He had a box under one arm and a couple of bats in his other hand. He was walking fast and obviously was not interested in signing a bunch of autographs that night. Phil was trailing him all the way down the ramp, trying to get him to stop, without any luck. As he approached, my daughter called out, “hi Jimmy.”


Wynn walked directly to where I was holding my little one, switching the bats to his other hand so he had an arm free. He said, “Good Evening, Stacey, I received your card. Thank you very much.” He took her from me, kissed her on the lips and proceeded to visit with her about what kind of donut he should get if he came to the shop.

Phil’s jaw bounced off the sidewalk!