This could be a Merle Haggard kind of Christmas.
It was The Hag who sang the depressingly optimistic tune “If We Make it Through December.”
The song played on the radio the other day and although it was recorded in 1973, it didn’t take any leap at all to relate it to 2008.
Many families across our region [...]
Archive for November, 2008
Margin Call: Feeling haggard
Posted in Uncategorized on November 30, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
What I’m thankful for, 2008 edition
Posted in Ministry, Uncategorized, tagged thanksgiving on November 26, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
Changing seasons
New possibilities
Voting
Bright, shiny new red phone
Bright, shiny new red lawnmower
A mechanic who makes house calls
Long walks
Cozy talks
Electricity
Church business meetings
Threads, new Bible study material
Writing friends
Reading friends
Roots
Conservatives
Homemade frappucinos
Answered prayers
God’s wisdom in not answering all prayers
Falling gas prices
The hurricane didn’t hit New Orleans
I don’t live in New Orleans
Bad alternators
Starlight
Optimism
Web designers
Vacation days
Family recipes
Cowgirls
Vaccines
Margin Calls
Crossword puzzles
Cooking magazines
Fan mail
Hand-me-downs
Opening day draws out the big bucks
Posted in Margin Call, tagged Christmas shopping, hunting on November 23, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
In the early morning hours, long before daylight touches the eastern horizon, a stiff breeze stirs the fallen leaves.
The air crackles with the crisp, clean cold of a November morning and a sense of anticipation.
Under the cover of darkness, the hunter slips into place. The exact location has been carefully selected after poring over maps [...]
Come on, consumer, you can do it!
Posted in Margin Call, tagged bailout, Christmas shopping, consumer, economy on November 16, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
I saw you at Wal-Mart.
You were at the gas station, too, and in line at the grocery store, holding a fistful of coupons.
If I may say so, you were looking a little frazzled.
It seems, dear American Consumer, that the pressure is getting to you. First of all, you are being blamed for getting us into [...]
Margin Call: Chase your dreams, but pay the bills
Posted in Margin Call, tagged agriculture, Boehringer Ingelheim, college on November 10, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
No matter what else people do, they have to eat.
This little truth was an effective tool for recruiting agriculture majors in college. It also contributed to my decision to earn a degree in agriculture science with a journalism minor.
There may come a day when people don’t buy newspapers, but they will always demand bread and [...]
Just say “small”
Posted in Ministry, tagged Matthew 6:27, Starbucks, tall small on November 7, 2008 | 2 Comments »
It was a church mission trip that turned me into a coffee drinker.
So during the recent Missouri Baptist Convention, it was no surprise that within three hours of our arrival in St. Louis, we were at a Starbucks.
It’s always a little confusing ordering there, with the hoity-toity Italian (or is it Latin?) names for their drinks. A sportswriter told [...]
Margin Call: Things that are falling
Posted in Margin Call on November 4, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
Consumer confidence. It’s hard to spot a can-do, upbeat attitude among many shoppers these days.
Gas prices. Never has $1.99 looked so good.
Approval ratings. For presidents, for Congress, for both parties.
Dow Jones Industrial Average. It’s down 600. No wait — it’s up 800. Now it’s down again.
Leaves. I feel like a princess in a fairy tale [...]
