Television Event

When I was a kid there were annual television events: once a year you could see The Wizard of Oz and The Sound of Music among others. If you missed it, you had to wait til next year, there were no VHS tapes, DVDs or Blu-rays, no YouTube or other Internet sources for your enjoyment. It also meant that it was usually a family affair. Children in feety pajamas hoping they could make it til the first commercial if they needed "to go." Parents putting aside their book or evening newspaper (there was a morning edition too in those days) to watch a classic with their family.

So I thought, are there really any television events left? Immediately, I thought about the Super Bowl, people still hold Super Bowl parties, bars and restaurants make it special too. It really is An Event. Tuesday September 11th, 2001 was a television event that most Americans watched. I was not one of them not because I didn't have a TV but I was doing something else. I became aware of the event in progress and since I was in the car I tuned into the news via radio. When I arrived at my destination there was a TV on and I witnessed the first Tower to come down, but I didn't stay. The man standing next to me freaked out. I wanted to know what was going on but I didn't want to be glued to the set. I would tune in later that day. Coverage lasted for days. I watched the President address the nation from a bed and breakfast in Queens. That's right, Queens one of the five New York City boroughs is where I was on September 20th, 2001.

As our friend Bob Dylan likes to say, "times they are a changin' " Some parents will not have their children watch the Super Bowl with them since Janet Jackson's wardrobe malfunction. Other parents allow their children to have their own TV's and often parents have a TV in their bedroom. We can watch classic movies anytime and almost anywhere on a laptop. We have gained so much over the years but we have lost a time, date and place for the family to get together around a television event.

*These thoughts were brought on by my latest email from Barnes and Noble. The 70th anniversary of the Wizard of Oz is out. They even have an ultimate collector's edition. It can sit on your shelf reminding those of us who remember when it was a television event or you can watch it any time with everyone or all by yourself.

TO ALL THOSE WHO ENJOY THINKING,

BEING CHALLENGED

AND WHO LIVE

IN NEW ENGLAND

OUGHT TO CONSIDER

http://www.labri.org/mass/lecture.html

FRIDAY NIGHTS IN

SOUTHBOROUGH, MA

CHECK OUT THE LINK HERE

OR ABOVE FOR TOPICS,

TIMES AND LOCATION.

I HOPE TO SEE YOU THERE.

The Highland Games 2009

My maiden name is MacDonald, I am a second generation American and my paternal grandparents were from Nova Scotia and did not refer to themselves as Canadians but as Scots.  Oddly enough this was the first time I attended the Highland Games, I have never been to Canada but I did learn Scottish Country Dancing as a kid.  

Two of my nieces and my nephew participated in the games.  The girls danced (and placed) and the fine lad piped his way to a first place finish with his band.  I would say that I am a participant of life. It was a challenge and at the same time relaxing to take it in as a spectator.  I am already thinking about next year and wondering how I can join in.  

Our arrival in the early morning met us with a chilly mountain air.  The girls were up first dancing with the wind at their backs and a young lady on the pipes.  The Highland fling is just one of the dances that they competed in wearing matching kilts.  Two of the other dances are the Sword and the Scottish Lilt.  Pipe and drums compete in grades and perform in massed bands.  The sites and sounds are just a part of the culture of these clans from Scotland.  

At some point I ran off to get a progr'm.  Half way through the day I wrote the following that probably best describes my reflection on my day at the games:

"Never too old to dance, to pipe, to drum, to embrace your heritage, to know the history of your people."   CM

"In Essentials UNITY, 

           In Non-Essentials LIBERTY, 

                                   In All things CHARITY."

                                                                    

                                                                                           Rupertus Meldenius 1627

In other words "they will know we are Christians by our love" and if we fail to do so, the apostle Paul reminds us, that we will eat each other alive.  This past week with Katie and the rest of the Communicators for Christ 2009 traveling team I experienced all three and above all was the LOVE.  

Thank you David, Teresa, Wendell and Devin.

Lead and Lead the Escape

Attend Christian Educators Reception 

and/or

Lead the Escape Program

Tomorrow at 330pm and 7 Respectfully

1075 Washington St. Hanover, MA

at 

Living Hope Church

www.instituteforculturalcommunicators.org

Unsubscribed

My inbox has been filled with emails that can disappear with a simple click or two. So, in an attempt to clean out the inbox, I decided that I can minimize the cleaning if there is not as many emails addressed to me.

" Take me off the list, unsubscribe, I have received this email by mistake." Mostly, I am unsubscribing to magazines, department stores which of course also have online stores, and ministries. You can ad to the list ad infinitum. Most of which I never read but had at one time or another, I will read that later. Rarely was that happening. Then I just let my inbox fill up with unread emails.

My kids would look at my number of unread emails and laugh. Now, I just have to get rid of all those ones that I have unsubscribed to and I will be on my way to dealing with the emails that I really want to read, there are probably 3 subscriptions that I read regularly, the rest is pretty much correspondences and at the moment listings for homes in Central MA.

So for my fellow self-inflicted sufferers, I say before you hit the delete button, go ahead and unsubscribe. I know you can do it. If I can do it, anybody can.

The Bread of Life

"For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision counts for anything, but only faith working through love."

"For you were called to freedom, brothers. Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another.  For the whole law is fulfilled in one word: "You shall love your neighbor as yourself." But if you bite and devour one another, watch out that you are not consumed by one another.

But I say, walk by the Spirit and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.  For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do.  But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.  Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies and things like these.  I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.  But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.  And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.

If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit.  Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another."

Galatians 5; 6, 13-26

English Standard Version

Up on a crisp September morning in New England

There is nothing quite like a late summer day in New England that starts out chilly or crisp (not yet cold and no where near freezing, we are 21 degrees above that) that increasingly warms up like the oven does over the course of the morning.  

Today I really need to decide on what Scripture to memorize.*  So I started to think about it and asking myself "what is it that I need in my spiritual life?" Do I need praise? gratitude? truth? the gospel? Yes to all of those things.  

There are some passages in the recent pass that I have read everyday for a matter of weeks or months but I have not committed any to memory.  And I am not too old.  Jesus said that man does not live on bread alone but on the very Word of God.  

Time to pick up my Bible, make a decision and stick with it.  

*I decided it has been way too long since I memorized any Scripture