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!

Bearing Burdens

I got an email late last night from a long time friend. She had had a day of car trouble. She has also had a hard time finding a job, not to mention a life with health and family issues that seem to plague her. I read the message before I went to bed, but could not think how to reply, so I went to bed to sleep on it. Below is what I wrote to her this morning.

I hope all is better today. Car troubles are a pain in the back side, but usually we can figure out how to deal with them in a relatively short period of time. Some of the other things in life are a lot more difficult to deal with in a way that really fixes the problem. They mostly demand that we take another step today, even if we don't feel like making the effort. Prayer and trust are key elements of coping, but they are often laid by the side of the road so we can carry the load on our own shoulders. Wouldn't we be a lot wiser, and a lot more blessed, if we did it the other way around--lay the burdens down and proceed in prayer and trust?

That's all I've got today, hope it helps a bit!

I love you.

Manhattan Declaration

I just heard about a development that I will probably give some serious thought to over the next few days, in an effort to try to digest. It is called the Manhattan Declaration. There was a group of 150 religious leaders from many Christian backgrounds that issued the Declaration on November 20, 2009. Their intention is to call people of faith to stand against the secular agenda in our country. I have not read all 4700 words yet, but below is an excerpt I extracted from a news story by Tom Strode and Michael Foust.

"[W]e will not comply with any edict that purports to compel our institutions to participate in abortions, embryo-destructive research, assisted suicide and euthanasia, or any other anti-life act," the statement says, "nor will we bend to any rule purporting to force us to bless immoral sexual partnerships, treat them as marriages or the equivalent, or refrain from proclaiming the truth, as we know it, about morality and immorality and marriage and the family. We will fully and ungrudgingly render to Caesar what is Caesar's. But under no circumstances will we render to Caesar what is God's."

To read the document, you can go to ManhattanDeclaration.org

Can It Really Be So Long?

I began going to church when I was five. I went to VBS at the invitation of Arta Jackson, a widowed neighbor lady. I loved it and I loved my teacher. I continued to go with Mrs. Jackson, every Sunday. Sometime later my Sunday school teacher came to our house to meet my mom. Soon Mom, my sister and brother started going to services, too. Mom was baptized when I was in third grade. When I was in the sixth grade, 12 years old, I decided I needed to be baptized for the remission of my sins.

When I told Mom of decision, she told me I had to tell Dad as well. I was afraid to tell him, because he was not a Christian, and was not very supportive of my mom in her faith. But when I did tell Dad I was surprised at his response. He told me I needed to be very sure that’s what I wanted to do, but that if I became a Christian I should be the best Christian I knew how to be. Maybe I should not have been so surprised, because that was his philosophy about everything.

At any rate, I remember Mom then calling the preacher to come talk to me about what I needed to know, to assure that I was indeed ready to make the step. Hank Tankersley brought Oral Farris, an elder in the congregation, with him. My mom put us her bedroom so we would have some privacy. The men sat on the foot of the bed. I was sitting on the floor with my back against Mom’s dresser. They asked me questions, and found that I was serious and that I knew about Jesus and His sacrifice for my sins. The following Sunday night, Hank Tankersley baptized me into Jesus for the forgiveness of my sins.

It was November, 1960!

Do Not Argue With the Alarm Clock!

Procrastination is an insidious evil. It creeps into our lives and grasps us before we even suspect we are in the wrong. Awareness and a willingness to act ought to become a part of the fiber of our character.

There are times when you should not make quick judgments, when you should be judicious in your actions. But the sooner you act to avoid temptation, the better. Dallying over a decision and rationalizing over a situation puts your final verdict in jeopardy, because the scales tend to tip to the side of the half truths.

When the alarm clock goes off in the morning, don't argue with it, get up. You are the one who made the decision last night what time to arise today.

Make a stand, act decisively. You will begin to like yourself better. Don't put off till later what you can do now. Something important may come up later! And if not you can rest when you are through, without the task still in front of you.

Proverbs 6:9-11 "How long wilt thou sleep, O sluggard? When wilt thou arise out of thy sleep? Yet a little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to sleep. So Shall thy poverty come..."

As a Man Thinketh in His Heart...

What a man (or woman) thinks of himself is very important, because it determines his behavior. We all live our lives according to the mental image we have of ourselves. Therefore, it is essential that we have a clear picture of self, with as few distortions as possible.

We are not to think more highly of ourselves than we ought (Romans 12:3). But as children of God we must not think too lowly of ourselves either. A positive self image is not just a noisy display of conceit. It is the quiet peace and contentment in realizing your personal significance as a unique creation of God.


It is respect for self, an inner feeling of worth. When you have this awareness, down deep inside, you are glad you are you. You are designed by God for a special relationship with him and with those who come into your life.


Self image is the key to the way you present yourself.


Proverbs 23:7 "For as a man thinketh in his heart, so is he."