The Heat is On

 Dear Friends

Are you feeling the heat?  Are you going to Sizzler’s this week?

Talk about sunny side up! I wonder how long it would take for an egg on the sidewalk to become poached, or an egg still in the shell to become hard boiled. How about roasting marshmallows---easy! No stick or hanger or long fork required. Just drop the mini sized ones on the sidewalk, wait ten seconds, turn them over, wait ten more seconds, and then pop them in your mouth. Jesus may have changed water into wine, but this coming eight days in Corona, we can change iced tea into hot tea, change chocolate milk into hot chocolate…the possibilities are endless.

Well, in the meantime, may I suggest some hymns, actually Christmas carols, for this coming Sunday?

How about #110, “The snow lay on the ground”?  Or the first verse of #112:

In the bleak mid-winter, frosty wind made moan,

Earth stood still as iron, water like a stone;

Snow had fallen snow on snow, snow on snow,

In the bleak mid-winter, long ago.*

And whatever else you do to cope this week, visualize and keep in mind this refrain: Let is snow, let it snow, let is snow. 

But while we are coping and waiting for cooler temperatures and perhaps praying for rain, we need to also be praying for those from Pakistan to Mississippi, where there is far too much rain, causing so much pain and suffering and death.

Finally, I am reminded of a lady who was asked what her favorite weather was. She said, "Next Tuesday", meaning that whatever each day brings, she embraces and makes the best of it. Talk about maintaining a positive attitude!

Lord, help me keep a positive attitude too.

John

*Many scholars, by the way, believe Jesus’ birth was in the spring.

Be like Vin and you always win

 Dear Friends

I want to simply add my “two cents worth” as the tributes to Vin Scully continue to roll in. When he retired six years ago, I put the following message on our church signboard, seen by hundreds of people every day:

BE LIKE VIN SCULLY

NOTICE AND PRAISE

THE GOOD IN EVERYONE

Needless to say, I was happy that a reporter noticed the sign and used it to begin his article. (See pictures below)

I use the same words today because even if he had never called a single baseball game in his life, he was a good and decent human being, a role model to emulate. Character counts and Vin Scully’s life counted and inspired millions.  

At the conclusion of the final game he called in Dodger Stadium, he shared the following Irish Blessing:

May God give you for every storm, a rainbow,

For every tear, a smile,

For every care, a promise,

And a blessing in each trial.

 

For every problem life sends,

A faithful friend to share,

For every sigh, a sweet song,

And an answer for each prayer.

 

So beyond all the great baseball calls and stories and memories that filled my childhood (and continued throughout my life), thank you “Vin” for reminding us of all that is good and decent and true, and showing us how to treat each other with kindness and respect.

Now the cry is not just Vin’s opening line “It’s time for Dodger Baseball”....

It’s time to be more like Vin Scully. 

Be like Vin and you always win!

John