How To Be A Christian Without Being A Jerk
Faith in real life
LIFEhouse Church Christmas 2013
Phil Robertson and other Christians
Why public support of Phil Robertson makes sense coming from gay and liberal Christians…
Grandpa Diary #36
Dear Kaylee,
Happy five months! You are sure getting to be a big girl. As we talked about earlier this week, it was your mommy and daddys’ wedding anniversary on Tuesday. The second anniversary is a “cotton” anniversary, so your mommy gave your daddy some clothes and your daddy cooked your mommy a wonderful dinner with dessert, all made from scratch, because your daddy is a great cook! He even studied at cooking school.
What about the cotton? Your daddy had cotton scented candles…
Kaylee, I’ll tell you a story about your mommy relating to your daddy. When they started going out, your mommy was pretty interested in your daddy. Then, later, I knew she was really interested because we had a daddy/ daughter talk.
We were in Maui in August, and we went for a walk along the beach at night. It was a beautiful night (always is in Maui as you will find out) and we sat on a rock wall next to the beach. Your mommy was telling me all about your daddy, and I knew, “O, O,” this could be the “one.”
Well, sure enough, your daddy was the “one.” Still is, except this time, now your mommy has the one, your daddy; your daddy has the one, your mommy; and together they have the one…
You, Kaylee
Love,
Grandpa
Thinking about the afterdeath
Sermon from December 8.
Dry bones point to new life with the “shock” of resurrection…
Grandpa Diary #35
Dear Kaylee,
Well, today is a special day for your mommy and daddy. It is their second wedding anniversary! Only two short years ago today they were married at our church. It was a beautiful wedding filled with so much joy.
Kaylee, guess what? At your mommy and daddy’s wedding, Grandpa got to pretend he was like Superman…
Here is what happened.
As you know, Grandpa is a pastor, but at weddings it is the custom for the father of the bride to walk her down the aisle. So, what do I do?
Well, I walked your mommy down the aisle wearing my tuxedo, and then gave your mommy to your daddy as the sign of our blessing. Then, I quickly went behind the altar and took my coat off and put on my robe and came back to your mommy and daddy as the pastor, ready to continue the service.
Madonna? Beyonce? Gaga? They got nothing on Grandpa!
Kaylee, chances are, someday you are going to get married. You will meet a special man like your mommy did and then your daddy will walk you down the aisle. I pray to God that I will be there waiting as the pastor, and this time, I can just keep my robe on and not have to do a “costume change.”
Love,
Grandpa
No Jesus? No Mandela
Nelson Mandela is an awesome leader whom we would not be remembering today except for Jesus. You see, you don’t get transformation of South Africa unless you get Jesus…
Grandpa Diary #34
Great-Great Grandma Hanson
Dear Kaylee,
I told you I went back to visit my mommy two weeks ago. While I was there, I got the chance to look at old pictures that my mommy and daddy collected over the years and I saw a picture of my Grandma Hanson. She was such a wonderful part of my life. She loved me lots just like your grandmas. The most love she ever showed is that she really had an influence on my faith in Jesus. She would read to me from the Bible, tell me Bible stories, and she would pray with me, all from when I was just a little baby like you. Some of my earliest memories of my grandma I connect with Jesus.
Grandma Hanson was quiet and calm and she would never let anything get her upset. Here is one story about this.
You are going to discover that your Grandpa (me) will forget where I put stuff. Always have since I was a little boy. Well, one day, when I was probably about 14 years old or so, Grandma Hanson was nice enough to drive me to the golf course. I used the car keys to open up the trunk of her car, got my golf clubs out, but I had put the keys in the trunk and forgot to grab them when I shut the trunk. In those days there was no switch to open the trunk in the car. So, we were stuck.
At least your great-great grandma was stuck. She said I needed to get going and play golf and she would call my Grandpa Hanson and ask him to come out with spare keys to open the trunk. So that’s what I did. Well, my Grandpa wasn’t the calmest guy in the world, and as I am writing about this now, I realize he must have yelled at Grandma Hanson and probably wasn’t very nice about it.
“For crying out loud, Kap…!!” (Her nickname was, “Kap”)
All I know is that when I was done golfing, Grandma Hanson came back to pick me up and never said a word about the keys.
Kaylee, your mommy has a lot of patience, too. She has 12.5% of Grandma Hanson in her DNA, so that shouldn’t be a surprise. This means you get 6.25% of your great-great grandma, too. Boy, are you lucky! You would have loved your great-great Grandma Hanson. She would have kissed you, hugged you, made you cookies, and never once get angry with you.
I don’t know how she did it, but I think it might have something to do with how much she loved Jesus…
Love,
Grandpa
7 Things I Love About Living in LA…
My top seven countdown of the seven things I most appreciate about living in Los Angeles (and California).
Grandpa Diary #33
Dear Kaylee,
I sure am glad they invented Facetime and Google +. You can make a video call and see someone, as well as talk to them. This was especially good when I was visiting my mommy and daddy, so they got the chance to see you “live.” They enjoyed that so much! Got the chance to see you smile and make faces.
My favorite thing is like what happened last night. I called your mommy on Google+ and she said you had been fussy. Yep, you were doing a bit of whining in your crib, but when your mommy put the phone in front of you and I said, “Kaaaayleeee! Kaaaayleeeee!” you stopped whining and broke out in a big smile.
Grandpa’s voice did the trick!
It is funny how my voice calms you down when, of course, I am a pretty loud person. So, for you, loud means, “Grandpa!”
I can whisper to you, too, so I guess that will sound like a normal person and Nana will like that better…
Love,
Loud Grandpa
