I’m excited to have Mark Moore and the Manabago gang coming to Abilene as part of their cross-country tour.
I first got close to Mark when I was preaching at the College Church in Searcy and he was a Harding student. We stayed close through his family’s eight years in Uganda. And since then I’ve enjoyed following his career as an advocate for Africa in DC and now as the CEO and founder of MANA (Mother Administered Nutritive Aid). (I have a close friend who has said several times that if he ever wins the lotto he wants to use the money just to fund all the kingdom dreams that Mark Moore has!)
Some talk about feeding the world. Mark and the Mana folks have a plan.
Peanut butter.
Yep, you can read Mark’s editorial in the Huffington Post about it here.
How do you get word out about this amazing idea? Well, rent a 1971 Winnebago, dub it the “Manabago,” and take off to college campuses (and other places, including the famous Lanier Christmas Party in Houston), of course.
Can’t wait for Mark to speak to my class on Monday morning. If you’re in Abilene, watch for the Manabago and come visit!
I was there in St. Louis in 1964. (I’ve written before on this blog about my dirty secret: I cheered for the Yankees. 
My only defense: I was eight years old and Mickey Mantle was one of my two baseball heroes [along with Willie Mays]). For many people 1964 was the year of the Beatles. For me, it was the year of Mickey Mantle, Roger Marris, and Bob Gibson.
I was there again in 1967. And 1968. And 1982. And 1985.
There were certain privileges to being in a newspaper family. Scoring World Series tickets was among them!
But this is my fantasy World Series. My favorite AL team (Texas Rangers) vs. my favorite NL team (St. Louis Cardinals). Many have asked me who I’m rooting for, and I can’t really decide. Maybe I’m leaning more into the Rangers because they’re our home team. But if they win, I hope it’s despite an amazing performance by Albert Pujols, the best player in baseball (go ahead: Google the words “best player in baseball” and see what comes up!) and one of the best players in the game’s history.
And yes, I’d love to go to a game with my sons. We’re keeping an eye on stub hub!
[10/21/11 update: tickets scored! Nosebleed section, but still in the ballpark.]
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Here’s a chance to bid on two tickets from Touch-a-Life:
People have been wondering who’d be crazy enough to try to follow Jerry Rushford? They should have thought back: who was crazy enough to follow Jim Woodroof and Lynn Anderson?
Here’s the article and interview from the Christian Chronicle. (Thanks so much, Bobby!) Let me just say: it is a joy and pleasure to work with President Andy Benton, Rick Gibson, Joella Michael, Tami Williamson, and all the people at Pepperdine.
http://www.christianchronicle.org/blog/2011/10/the-new-jerry-rushford-mike-cope-to-direct-pepperdine-bible-lectures/
I’ve confessed before that I don’t drink coffee. Not ten cups of coffee for the first 54 years of my life.
But now the tense of the verb has to change: I didn’t used to drink coffee.
About six months ago, I was staying with a friend in Vermont, sipping on my sad little Diet Dr. Pepper at 7:00 in the morning while he was luxuriating over a cup of coffee. So I gave it a try.
Now, half a year later, I’m wondering: why did I think I didn’t like coffee? I love coffee. Strong, bold, black. No sugar, no cream. I like it from Peet’s, from Starbucks, from our Cuisinart Keurig.
But I’m WAY behind. I still just basically am able to say, “I’d like a coffee.” So educate me. What’s great coffee? What’s your favorite? What’s your favorite way to buy it? Why is Starbucks such a cultural phenomenon? What’s the deeper message of coffee?
Are there some true coffee people out there? Teach me!
Meanwhile, I’m now battling my coffee addiction. I may have to cut back.
I grew up 18 miles from Joplin. This was my first time to see it since the tornado attacked. Most of the devastation can’t be represented well in pictures because, well, there’s nothing left. But here are a few shots I snapped today:
Joplin High School:
Across the street from the high school:
Further west:
All that survived of one church building
The foundation (foreground) where a nursing home stood—where eleven died instantly and from which many others who suffered injuries (including my relative Alice Cope) later died:
St. John’s Regional Hospital:
Any last minute suggestions? (www.ironmanbranson.com)
This performance by U2 was on 9/1/11. After the attack ten days later, it became an anthem of courage:
Walk on, walk on
What you got they can’t steal it
No they can’t even feel it
Walk on, walk on…
Stay safe tonight.
Those wacky economists. They crank out their studies and come to conclusions that often overturn popular opinion. Which is part of why I faithfully listen to the Freakonomics podcast.
Recently, a group of economists on the program (8/16/11) talked about parenting. Their opinion, from experience but much more from studies, is that the obsessive parenting that many engage in today—thinking their child’s future as an athlete or scholar or productive member of society is at stake!—is misguided.
They found that, on average, those who are parents are less happy than those who aren’t parents. And the reason is that they’re stressing themselves (and their kids!) out with the need to provide every possible opportunity. They push their child to read early or learn another language. They insist on shuttling around from soccer practice to karate to music lessons.
Is anything wrong with wanting your child to find something he or she excels in? Absolutely not.
But that has to be balanced with a sane pace. If your child plays regular baseball rather than the high-charged (and expensive) select baseball, it probably won’t keep him from being the next Albert Pujols. (If you don’t know who that is, type “best player in baseball” and go to the first entry.)
Recently the parenting ante just got raised by Amy Chua’s insistence that kids need a “Tiger Mother.” But Bryan Caplan, one of the economists, points out that Chua’s children have done well not because of the strict, high-achieving parental style but because their parents are best-selling authors and Yale professors. Genetics, not strict parenting.
used by permission
So does anything matter in the long haul? The answer is an unequivocal yes! What matters, these studies indicate, is . . . (cue the warm fuzzies) . . . warmth. Are the parents warm and loving? Do they spend time with the kids having fun?
Here’s some sane advice from Caplan:
Struggling to mold your children isn’t just ineffective, but counter-productive. Pushing your child to be something he’s not rarely succeeds, but it often sours the relationship between parent and child. The Ask the Children survey asked over a thousand kids in grades three to twelve about their lives. Few kids feel starved for parental attention. Their big complaints are that parents are too tired, stressed, and angry. The lesson: More relaxed parenting is better for everyone. Stop pushing yourself so hard. Your child will turn out about the same, you’ll feel better about your life, and your child will feel better about you.
Recently a church in Ohio put up this billboard:
The Mid Ohio Atheists organization responded with this note on their website:
Members of Mid Ohio Atheists have had people contact them and congratulate them on putting up our first billboard.
While we certainly do agree with the sentiment expressed on the billboard- that there is no god, and that people should not believe everything they hear, we want to clarify that this is not our billboard. It was not paid for by us in part or in the whole. Nether were we involved in the design of the billboard.
We do want to thank the McElroy Rd. Church of Christ for advertising our thoughts on this important subject. But, frankly, it puzzles us that McElroy Rd. Church of Christ paid to put up this sign, aren’t they afraid to lose church members?
So why pick the Branson Half-Ironman for my first 70.3 (1.2 mile swim, 56 mile bike, 13.1 mile run)?
Because it’s a return to my roots. I was born in Neosho, MO, and graduated there. Table Rock Lake was our weekend get-a-way spot. I grew up swimming, skiing, fishing, and running trot lines in the clear waters there. We went to Shepherd of the Hills play and Silver Dollar City—long before Branson became the “live music capital of the world.”
Nearly every weekend of every summer, or so it seems in my memory, we took off for a cabin on Table Rock. On Sunday morning, we’d be at the Shell Knob Church of Christ. Often when my dad walked in, he was given the five minute warning that he’d be leading singing. My brother (younger by five grades) and I would double the size of the teenage class. This church still holds a special place in my heart.
So, it’s back to Table Rock Lake for the Branson Ironman 70.3. I’m about ready for the swim and the cycling. But getting ready for the running part in the record-setting heat of this summer has been challenging. Constant cramping has kept my runs short.
My goal? Finish in under 8.5 hours (the official cutoff time). It looks like last year exactly half (26 of 52) of the men in my age group met that goal.
Here’s the course:
