Middletree

Many years ago, a college classmate who had worked in restaurants for many years told how how consistently rude the Church People were, especially on Sundays at lunchtime. First, they'd make it obvious they are Christians by praying, not inconspicuously, before beginning to eat. Then once the meal ensued, they'd be very picky, sending food back for various reasons. They'd be mean to the waiter, leave a lousy tip, and then would do the worst thing they could possibly do in that situation: they'd hand the waiter a tract. Often, the tracts collected on Sunday afternoons would be collected by the waitstaff and burned in the kitchen while everyone watched and laughed. A few years ago, my friend Tim, who loved people more than anyone I have ever known, demonstrated to me the right way to go out to eat. When the waiter/waitress would arrive at the table, before my friend even got a drink order, he asked their name. He introduced himself, usually by shaking hands. He asked th...

I received a free copy of Michael Larsen's book, "How To Write a Book Review" from Thomas Nelson Publishing as part of their Booksneeze program for bloggers.   I don't know if I will ever write a book, but I can dream, can't I?   Having never written one, I can't say for sure that this book will be effective, but it sure is an interesting read. It appears to have all the bases covered. This book is divided into many very small, easy to digest chapters, and I look forward to applying it, once I figure out what to write about. Sadly, that is the one bit of information this book doesn't offer. But I cannot hold that against it.   "How to Write a Book Proposal" not only contains directions and advice for crafting a book proposal, but also guidance on the writing of the book, writing an outline, hiring a publicist, finding a niche, promoting your book, and several other items, plus four sample proposals. The Appendix, with links to dozens of helpf...

As I write this, it's been exactly 24 hours since I first heard that Osama Bin Laden had been killed by our military. Within a few minutes of the announcement, I went from feeling relieved to feeling sad. The sadness was a result of the chest-thumping I was seeing all across Facebook, Twitter, blogs, and other forms of instant communication. As this went on, all I could think was: Once again, we missed it. We had a chance to be humble, to pray, to acknowledge God's sovereignty, and we blew it. And it's not the first time. About 9 1/2 years ago, right after the attacks of September 11, our nation went from Point A --shocked by a sucker-punch-- to Point B--chest-thumping,  in very short order. We should have been humbled as a nation. We should have taken the hint God was giving us, and laid down before Him, repenting, acknowledging that He is in control, and we blew it. We puffed out our collective chest and announced to the world that we're too good to be brought d...