Opinion
Pastor's Blog - Advent
The Christian season of anticipation and preparation just preceding Christmas is called Advent. If you choose to attend church during Advent, you will probably see candles lit each Sunday in remembrance of the coming of our Lord into our world, both as a babe and as a King. Who is this Jesus, who was born in a manger in Bethlehem, 2000+ years ago, and will return to earth someday riding on a white horse to become King to all? Let’s take a look at Holy Scripture for a glimpse.
How to survive another winter driving season
I once had the enlightening experience of working with a teenage girl who had already wrecked her car two or three times.
She did not seem to make the connection between driving decisions and unpleasant results.
One a day when the weather was more appropriate for staying home (especially for certain drivers), this girl was driving to Cedar Rapids on Highway 30. Where are all the presidential candidates?
Is it something we said?
Over the six to eight months of the multi-facited battle that has become the race for the 2012 Republican nomination for President of the United States, something has struck me as odd. And what is funny about it is that it is exactly the same thing that happened four years ago.
Think back a bit to 2007.
A lesson in sportsmanship, and life
You don't have to be a Green Bay Packer fan, or even a follower of football, to appreciate what happened on Sunday between Packer Charles Woodson and New York Giant Hakeem Nicks.
In one of the closest games of the season, Nicks, a Giants receiver, jumped high in the air to catch a pass from Eli Manning, with Woodson, also airborne, holding on to him and trying to knock the ball away. Gentlemen: Never forget your mistakes!
There are important lessons we men learn in life. One of the single most important is that no matter what it is your significant other does, you might need to keep your big, fat mouth shut about it, because there is probably a pretty good chance you've done something dumber.
One of my past mistakes, which actually absolves my wife of a multitude of errors in life, occurred just about a month over nine years ago.
Pastor's Blog - Christmas is a Happy Holiday
“Happy Holiday” has become a surprisingly controversial greeting. Use of this greeting is mandatory for some, especially employees of certain large retailers, TV personalities, and others who must avoid sounding religious. It is anathema to others who fear it somehow makes Christmas less Christian. Both are misguided. At risk of seeming to be on the wrong side of the argument or triggering some sort of boycott, let me suggest that Christmas is a happy holiday.
The winner, and loser of the 2012 Iowa Caucus
It's only Dec. 1, but I can already predict the impact of the Iowa GOP caucus on the 2012 presidential race. I can safely predict the biggest winner, and loser.
The winner: Won't matter.
The loser: The Iowa Caucus.
Sure, a few candidates will drop out of the race after not winning enough votes in Iowa to be elected mayor of most cities.
VT: The one and only
… and then there was one.
When we started Vinton Today, we looked around the state, and the nation, to see if there were other online-only newspapers in Iowa, and the U.S.
We found one in Iowa: The Iowa Independent.
We found a few across America, as well. San Diego, Dallas and St. Louis all have online-only publications that began when newspaper staff reductions left a lot of experienced journalists out of work.
Tim Tebow: An Inconvenient Hero
Back in 1961, the San Francisco 49ers drafted a single-wing halfback from UCLA by the name of Billy Kilmer. He was drafted, primarily, to be a back-up quarterback, but over six seasons, the only thing Kilmer was ever known for was fumbling – playing as a halfback – in a game against the Minnesota Vikings. Hall of Famer Jim Marshall picked up the ball and proceeded to run it 80 yards, the wrong way for a 49er safety.
Give winter blues the Dickens
The worst thing about winter is the darkness. Most of us go to work while it's still mostly dark, and get home just in time to see the last of the sunlight disappear.
That's depressing.
Even more depressing is the intelligence-insulting barrage of nonsense on network television, the latest bad news about the economy, President Barack Obama's approval ratings, and the latest scandal or screw-up among Republican presidential candidates.