Mistaken Identity!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

A few days ago I received a small package in the mail with a return address to someone that I did not know. When I opened it, it took a few moments for me to realize what was going on. The package included a note, apparently handwritten by young man, three baseball cards in a plastic case and a pen. I recognized the cards, being a collector myself and because, coincidentally, the player and I share the same name.

When I read the letter, I realized that the boy had somehow found my address at the church and had come to the conclusion that the ballplayer had hung up his cleats and become a minister. The boy asked that I sign each of the cards and return them to him in the enclosed self-addressed and stamped envelope. I got a big kick out of the mistake, and so did some of the members here when I showed them the letter and the cards. My grandkids especially had a big laugh. Of course I would not sign the cards, as I am not the ex-ballplayer. At least not the professional ballplayer on the cards.

But I had met the young man on the cards a few years ago, after having seen him play in the Astrodome in Houston. When I showed him my business card he had a laugh. We visited for a few minutes and I told him that I knew there would be some baseball cards coming out in the new year, and I hoped he would be willing to sign some for me. He told me how to get hold of him, and when the cards came out, I sent a few to him, which he returned autographed.

I happened to have an extra one of those still in my collection, so I posted a note back to my young petitioner explaining the situation and included one of my autographed cards, along with his three cards that remained unsigned. I hope he was satisfied, because I really enjoyed that exchange.

Dad's Peach Enchilada Recipe

I do not know where Dad got this recipe, but it produces some really yummy desserts. Let me know when you try it!

2 8 oz tubes of crescent rols
2 sticks of butter
4 firm peaches peeled and quartered (frozen peaches will work)
1 1/4 c sugar (subsitute Splenda if desired)
1 tsp cinnamon
1 12 oz can of Mountain Dew

Melt butter, add sugar & cinnamon
unroll crescents and add peach quarters
Roll from large end to small
Place in 12x10x2" pan
Pour butter mixture over them
Pour Mountain Dew on top
Bake @ 350 for 45 minutes

Eat and enjoy!

Back to the Virtual World!!!!!!!!!

It is time to get back to blogging, isn’t it horrible when real life gets in the way of virtual reality? I had four speaking engagements in different places last week. This week has been spent in celebrating my dad’s 82nd birthday as well as my 61st.

We had a steak at his favorite restaurant, then went back to his place to eat his latest delicacy, peach enchiladas. They are a marvel.

Two days later I took the boys to ride a fast roller coaster at the Kemah Boardwalk, the Bullet. It was fun and my grandsons thought I was cool. They didn’t realize I was just trying to deny my age. Afterwards we went to a Golden Corral for supper.

Evacuate or Else!!!!!

I just heard an announcement that the State of Texas will implement a new law effective September 1. It provides authority to arrest any citizen who refuses a mandatory evactuation notice, such as the ones issued last fall when Hurricane Ike was about to hit our area.

There are always some people who ignore the warnings, at their own peril. There are still some bodies missing from the storm surge Ike brought. The proponents of the law point to the dangers to rescue people in the midst of the storms when the stragglers change their minds. No doubt there is a danger. And perhaps arrest might save lives of those so foolish as to stay in the face of danger.

Still I wonder about such a law. What do you thinK?

Thinking About Francesca!!!

One the second day of our recent mission trip my partner and I came up on a woman who was sitting in the shade of a guava tree, washing clothes by hand in a bucket. Her daughter was sitting on a rock, a few yards away, also in the shade. I introduced myself and told the ladies that I was there to share a message of hope from the Bible. The older woman gave me an answer that was designed to dismiss me, but I responded with a smile and sat down in the shade, between them. I introduced my partner, a 17 year old girl I have known since she came into the world.

I found out the lady, Francesca, is about my age, maybe a few months older. We hit it off well and had a very interesting discussion. When I prepared to leave, an hour or so later, I asked what she was thinking. She told me she found the things I said very interesting. She attended two nights of our crusade or revival meeting, and I went by her home again early in the second week for another discussion.

On our last day in the village, Salisbury, Dominica, I went by to bid Francesca farewell and to see if she had any questions. She was not home, her daughter told us she had gone into the capitol city to sit with her brother who had fallen ill; she had been gone all day. I left by regards and best wishes for both Francesca and her brother.

I was surprised to see Francesca at the service on our last night. After it was over, I asked if I could walk her home and leave a final word with her. It was only a couple of hundred yards to her home, so it did not take long for the walk or the message. When I bid her farewell, she said, “I will be praying that the Lord will add a year of health to both you and I, so that when you come back next year, I will be able to call you my brother.” I told her I was touched. She said, “I am glad.”

I too will be praying!

Colorful Characters Abound!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

'I was asked to review Malcolm R. Campbell’s “Jock Stewart and the Missing Sea of Fire” before publication.”

Readers who enjoy hard-bitten, wisecracking characters will surely fall in love with Jock Stewart, the main character in the new Malcolm Campbell novel, Jock Stewart and the Missing Sea of Fire. The story of the book revolves around the disappearance of the race horse, Sea of Fire, but it features a wagon load of human “horsing around” by the many colorful characters Campbell created, including Coral Snake Smith, Parker House, a preacher named Cotton Mouth and the Krispy Kreme eating police chief Kruller.

While reading the story and gathering the clues, that frequently came to light as Stewart dialogued with his own intuition, readers may find themselves having great fun picking up the puns, word plays and hilarious cloaked references to cultural and historical items. Jock Stewart is an old time newspaperman, whose “blunt force sarcasm” keeps him in hot water with his bosses, co-workers and the police. But if not for his pressing the issue, the mystery would definitely not have been resolved.

Stewart, Malcolm Campbell’s self-acknowledged alter ego, is also the author’s vehicle to decry the effects of the digital age on the craft of writing and the elegance of language. I found the book entertaining, and it might even become profitable, if I can get permission from the author to use the sermon outline he provided in chapter 13!

God's Newest Letter!!!!!!!!!!!!

One day God decided he wanted to write a letter to all his children that were misbehaving and mistreating one another. He wanted to let them know they were jeopardizing their eternal home in heaven. So he asked one of his angels to go to earth and make a list of all those who needed to get the warning letter.

The angel was gone for a long time, and when he returned he was in very bad shape, bloodied and bruised and broken wings. He reported that the list was so long that perhaps it would be better to send a letter to those who were obedient and striving to love their neighbors. God agreed.

So he sent another angel to collect the names of those who should receive that letter. The angel was only gone for a short time and came back in good condition. He presented the list to God. God took it and wrote the letter, and do you know what it said?