Mental Musings

After nearly 15 months of planning, 9 months of meetings, 6 months of rehearsals, 2 months of set design and painting, and many hours and miles of searching for props and costumes, we had our opening night for Jingle in the City: a 1940s Christmas in New York City. And from all reports and comments, it was very well received. The most important details: 6 people indicates that they accepted Jesus into their life for the first time tonight as a result of the musical and there were 8 people who shared that they rededicated their lives to Christ. Now for some of the comments: Excellent! Wonderful production and cast. Beautiful message to keep us always mindful of Christmas and God's ever present love. Each year's play is better than the one before. Truly inspiring and well performed. It truly reminded me of the meaning of Christmas. Such lovely voices and talented young people! Kudos to the director! I thoroughly enjoyed this production and all the effort that we...

In 1995 we spent Thanksgiving in Ajloun Jordan. Wendy was very pregnant with Ashton, who would be born only about 10 days later in Amman Jordan. I am not sure that either of us were too excited about the Thanksgiving meal or even fellowship time. Wendy was miserable because of gestational diabetes. I was exhausted because the little bed we had to sleep in was not big enough for me and a very pregnant wife. Wendy typically took up 80% of the bed. I usually tried to sleep on my side with my arms hanging off the side of the bed. The next year, we were driving through Louisiana on our way from Blue Springs, Missouri, to Big Point, Mississippi, to attend my niece and nephew's wedding. Around lunch time we tried to stop somewhere to get lunch in this little town in the middle of nowhere. The only business that was open was a Piggly Wiggly grocery store. We went in and found out they were closing in a few minutes. We grabbed a can of Gerber's baby food (turkey) for Ashton, a bag ...

It is easy for us to look at scripture and wonder how in the world the Israelites kept making such poor choices. Their journey started immediately after miraculous displays of God's power and protection, yet as soon as they came upon a watery obstacle they started to whine and complain. Then they all witnesses the power of God to dry up the water before them so that they could cross out of harms way, yet shortly after they started making idols to gods who had shown no such power, no such protection for them. For forty years they traveled with visible representations of God leading them, with God providing for their meals miraculously every day, and still they complained and wanted to go back into slavery. They continually made bad decisions even though they were in the very presence of God Almighty. They made very bad choices. But we continue to do the same things even though we have the historical documents of the failures of others to remind us. The Israelites were in n...

Perhaps President Obama was right when he said that America is not a Christian nation. We used to be,. We were founded on Christian values. Religious freedom was at the core of our Constitution. But I believe the evidence shows that as a nation we have turned our face from God. Have we finally reached the tipping point where Christians have no real sway in the moral direction of our country? When Evangelical Christians and the Catholic church cannot convince Americans that issues such as abortion on demand and same-sex marriage are things which should not be allowed in our nation, I think we must face the fact that we are on the losing side of the culture war. I was beyond sad to see Christians show their support for same-sex marriage, abortion, and even gambling. When we see Christians who have been blinded to God's word by those who claim that these sins are "rights of women" or "equality for all" than we are not only losing the culture war, we are losing ...

If I had been born into a wealthy family, I probably would have never come so close to death so often. While we never had to do without food or electricity, we were far from being considered wealthy. This was partly because my dad did not want to exercise his right to get cheap housing and live on a military base with his family. To be honest, I think he was afraid to live on base. And I don’t think anyone who knew the Poole family would have blamed him. You see, the military had this very effective method for ensuring peace and tranquility on base: they punished the enlisted personnel for any crimes or misdemeanors by their family. This meant that my dad would be punished for any infractions on base that were caused by his children. Therefore, he took his small housing allowance and used it to buy or rent a home off base. This decision did make it difficult for him at times. Mom told us how Dad would go fishing after he was finished with his duties on base each day. If he caugh...

Only a few days until the elections and here are a few things I want (not in any specific order): 1. people who will uphold our constitution instead of trying to rewrite it 2. people who will defend our country from enemies without and within 3. people who will protect our freedoms instead of listening to the politically correct 4. people who will protect all life, including life in the womb 5. people who will provide an atmosphere for stability and growth 6. people who will encourage us to strive for the best rather than teach us to depend on the government 7. people who believe in State's rights rather than Federal control 8. people who care for our military and first responders and will not use them for political gain or damage control 9. people who desire for our country to be energy independent 10. people who will stand for America and our allies 11. people who believe the US should lead rather than follow the authority of the UN 12. people who believe in using th...