Thursday, December 26, 2019

2020 investments

Caroline and I had a full Christmas holiday with work, church, symphony, and family commitments.   We still have some more fun in store with Caroline's sister visiting and a trip to NC to see Caroline's family.  The approach of the new year causes many of us to think of resolutions that might make 2020 better than 2019.  I have my normal goal to drop the holiday 5 pounds - along with about 20 more that crept in somehow.  Last night, Caroline and I had an unusual (and treasured) moment alone to talk about next year.  We want to work harder at relationships and started naming people that we would like to know more.  We came up with a pretty fun list.  I don't want to set an unrealistic goal, but I think if we could schedule time with at least one of those couples each month, it could be very rewarding for us.  I hope I can do better at that resolution than my history with the weight loss one.  I hope you had a great 2019 and have an even better 2020 teed up.  Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.

Tuesday, December 17, 2019

Better than Santa?


My apologies to you if "Santa Got Run Over By a Reindeer" is your go-to Christmas song.   I think this one may top it.  Lauren Daigle's performance of "Noel" is hauntingly beautiful, and the words remind us of why the Christmas holiday is even on our calendar.  Watch and listen.  Merry Christmas.

Thursday, December 12, 2019

Making sense

Last night, our ConnnectGroup finished up Timothy Keller's Making Sense of God.   The book was written for believers and non-believers, but most of it is focused on why believer's believe.  At times, the group was frustrated spending time discussing why we believe what we already believe, but I think most felt it was beneficial to have a better understanding of why others who don't believe in God, don't believe.  Last week, when one of our members was asked why she believed, she said (paraphrased),  "I know what my life was like before I knew God, and I know how much better it is now that I know Him.  That is all the proof I need."  God wants us to know Him so badly that He came to Earth to show us how to do that.  He then died a gruesome death as payment for our sins, and rose from the dead as proof that He is God.  I believe.

Thursday, December 5, 2019

A new kind of baller

There is quite a bit of hype around the upcoming College Football Playoff.   I, for one, am excited that UGA has a shot at the SEC championship and the national title, but I continue to be impressed by the guys from Clemson.  I posted about Deshaun Watson a while back.  In case you don't follow football, Deshaun led Clemson to a national championship and now plays for the Houston Texans.  He had a hard start to his life, but there were people around him that picked him up and pointed him in the right direction, including Clemson's head coach, Dabo Swinney.  Dabo is a class guy, and he is helping groom top-tier athletes that are also men full of integrity.  Deshaun continues to demonstrate he is a man of character and authored this new article recently.  There are a lot of celebrity athletes that let the notoriety and money go to their head in a bad way.   I don't know everything about Deshaun, but I love the parts of him I see.   I pray for more men like Dabo and Deshaun who have the opportunity for enormous positive influence.