Well, we’ve survived a 6th Christmas holiday.  This time, there were noticeably more grown up gifts…  Santa brought Jacob a bike.  A very cool one!  At the end of an hour he was riding 50 yards or so by himself.  Woohoo!  Amberlee got a Barbie trike, and is equally ecstatic about it.  Then there’s the Star Wars lego video game, the Princess this, Princess that.  But I think more than anything we were thankful to be able to have healthy family, this year.

Elizabeth was herself today for the first time in a while – she’s simply been uncomfortable for a great many days (or weeks) now.  After her kidney stone passed – a week ago tonight – I was curious how it would turn out.  I think the Lord timed it right.  It didn’t happen until we had a solid health plan for medical coverage.  But today, it was awesome just to sit and play with the kids, watch CARS with the fam, eat some good grub, and shoot some pool with my brother.  God is so good!  We had a lesson with Amberlee this Christmas… that all good gifts are from above, according to the NT book of James.  It took her a while, but I think she is beginning to understand the reason we do this gift “thing” is because the greatest gift of all was given to us; a Savior’s love.  At least she knows the “most important thing” is to make God happy, and be like Jesus.

No, no… I’m not talking about Rocky Balboa.  I’m talking about the story of James J. Braddock, better known as “Cinderella Man.”  It is on TV tonight, and I was reminded of how much I fell in love with it the first time I rented it (3 or 4 times!).  Unfortunately, I must warn you that it DOES have some heavy foul language, although it’s PG-13.  If you don’t know the story, it’s a true story of a man who was a truly regular guy.  A hard working man from the depression era, who was deeply impacted throughout the period himself, a man who stood in bread lines, and later made headlines because he re-paid his handout that he had received from welfare.

I got interested in this story when I saw Cinderella Man with Russell Crowe (also the Gladiator, A Beautiful Mind), and was reduced to tears several times throughout the movie.  One of Braddock’s granddaughters plays a main role in the movie, and she also played a huge role as a consultant for her family; the body language, accent, demeanor, and everything about James J. Braddock was very carefully scripted.  He was of the generation of most of our Grandfathers… perhaps the strongest generation our country has ever seen.  The moral fiber of this man’s life was amazingly strong.  Through extreme poverty, he refused to allow his children to be sent away to relatives, and refused to do anything BUT stand up for his family.  He was formerly a prize fighter, a boxer who was decent, but never amazing. 

After an injury caused him to stop fighting and go to the shipyards (or wherever he could land a job), he worked for several years and totally forgot about boxing.  When a top contender’s opponent quits prior to the fight, Braddock’s old manager got Braddock the fight without his own consent!  The money for even stepping into the ring was more than he’d made in years and years.

To make a long story short, he stuns the crowd (and world at that time!) and defeated the top contender, with NO training, and only guts and an iron will.  It wasn’t long before he was a folk hero, because he had character and class.  Once in the press conference prior to the Heavyweight Championship bout with Max Baer, he was asked, “Mr. Braddock, what are you fighting for… what motivates you in this fight?”  Jim replied simply, “Milk.”  He was Rocky before there was Rocky.  He was the people’s champion, and a force that the depression era working man became empowered by to rise out of his own circumstances.  If you haven’t seen it, RENT the movie today!  Oh… and he wins the heavyweight championship, stays married to the same woman through it all, and he never loses faith.  It’s an incredible “cinderella” story of human will.

Father, your people in China are struggling.  While they seem to be hungrily consuming your word and many are coming to Christ, some are being taken by a cult and overpowered by the enemy.  Please strengthen their resolve.  Help them to see within themselves that they must ground themselves in a way to resist the shameless and shrewd enticements of these Eastern Lightning folks.  Be with all those ministering to them, from far off or from within their own.  I praise you for the rich soil that you’ve begun to cultivate these saints in.  While it seems communist China would be terribly opposed to the gospel, they are warming up to it; and you have provided that by your saints living faithful lives and becoming productive children for their Lord.  In this, they serve their daily tasks with holiness, and I pray that you would continue that.  Provide a web of strength for your children to resist the difficult challenges of this cult and to be able to stand together.  Help them to know that all is well in Christ Jesus.  Empower them to love and show their good deeds daily as an outpouring of their election.  In the name of Jesus, who gives all strength and whose risen tomb is the power we have, amen.

By the title, that may sound pretty disrespectful.  But I have a question for all of you seasoned parents out there who’ve “been there, done that.”  Do the lessons we pound and pound into the brains of our mushheaded children ever sink in?  I feel like I have totally filled a sponge with water sometimes and am commanding it to take in more water!  MORE WATER!!!

I guess I’m starting to really understand Bill Cosby’s perspective on “brain damage.”  Ours are starting to show it.  I mean, I LOVE my kids, and Elizabeth and I adore them more than anything.  They laugh and play, and teach us daily; and we’ve not laughed as much in my family ever as when this little girl came around.

Case in point:  tonight I had just finished telling Jacob twice, “son, don’t tap your fork any more.”  TWICE!  Then he went ahead and started tapping…  BRAIN DAMAGE!  He actually said, “yes sir” both times, but it didn’t matter!  In this case it was trivial and he was sooooo excited about Tellini’s spaghetti.  –  This morning  – Amberlee had bacon grease on her fingers.  She’s running around and stopped to wipe her hand on the couch at Nanna and Pap’s house.  I said, “Amberlee, come here and wipe your hands.”  She said, “yes m’am” and stayed there.  (I’m just glad she’s saying the m’am part OR the sir part)  I told her again, because it may not have registered the first time.  She stayed.  Then she wiped her hand on the couch again!  Agggghhhhh!!!

But… later I said, “Amberlee, do you want to go to see Uncle Morgan?”  She said, “I’m not Amburrrrlee.”  I said, “oh, ok, then who are you?”  to which she replied, “I’m PRINCESS Amburrrrlee.”  I think we’ve taken the Disney thing too far.  Maybe we’re the ones brain damaged.  Later, on the way to Tellini’s, I put Star Wars Episode II in the DVD player.  Amberlee heard Anakin backtalking Obi Wan, and she said, “he not bein’ nice.”  I just turned around for a second, and I heard her mutter, “he need be like Jedus (Jesus).” 

“Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it.”  That wise Proverb rings in my head, often.  I guess we just keep on keeping on, and try to live holy lives ourselves so they see it in action.  Sometimes, they regurgitate those teachings when we least expect them!

Kramer – or Michael Richards in real life – professionally committed suicide.  His blunder will follow him to his grave, I’m sure.  You know the incident… the one in which he “lost it” in the middle of his comedy stand when 2 African American guys taunted him from the seats.  He lashed out and verbally punished those two black guys a couple of weeks ago, repeatedly calling them the N word… and clearly was enraged in his response.   To me this demonstrated a deep issue for him.  My take on the deal is this; I saw the clip, and I saw the apology.  He’s a comedian!  I believe he got mad, I believe he was truly enraged by whatever they did to taunt him.  In his response, it seriously seemed a little over-dramatic. 

Oh, I really do think he was mad.  And I think he probably didn’t mean to start the N-word thing, but he did.  It was absolutely cruel, out of line, and certainly sociably and morally unacceptable.  As for me, I think his apology was sincere.  His body language and total control and downtrodden nature on Letterman seemed legitimate.  Talk show and TV show hosts for the last 2 weeks have raved about this, and debated the situational use of the N-word to determine all manner of things; is there a double-standard by African Americans using it to describe one another, versus a Caucasian person saying it.

I have a mixed perspective on the thing.  Not that I approve of Richards, or approve of EVER saying “nigger” at all.  It’s an ugly, derogatory term that has never done anything but harm.  But I will share the other perspective as well.  My wife and I adopted a healthy baby boy in 2000.  We prayed and prayed for him, and when God sent him, he was a little boy of African American descent.  We rejoiced and learned, and prayed, and tearfully embraced our little boy of 3 weeks.  I never dreamed what I’m about to say would have ever happened.

One day after work at FedEx, when we first moved to Memphis, I was taking a young black guy home to the inner city.  I had been warned by my (also African American) boss, “don’t take that N home, man… it’ll never stop!”  I frequently heard the N word from one black guy to another, and never in any way felt it was being used in a derogatory way.  Well, I took the guy home.  I continued taking him home.  After he learned more about me, that I had “color” in my family, and that my sister-in-law was black as well, things really opened up.

The day came that he was cracking jokes, and we were talking very comfortably with one another.  Somehow we got into the discussion of what he would do if he saw me getting beat up (how I don’t remember).  I’ll never forget when he said, “I’d go to bat for you brah…”  -to which I responded, “why, man?”  His response was, “’cause you’re my N…” 

Jesse Jackson and many others are probably right for calling for all people – black or white – to cease using the N-word.  It’s use started in a derogatory way, and never has meant anything good.  But slang changes with the times…  How could I be a N?  I’m as Caucasian as they come!  The point is that when Gavin used that word toward me, the word meant friend.  Although… I still don’t think Jesus would ever use it… 

Our new place rocks.  We relocated this last week from the beautiful and spacious Spring Hill, TN to the Green Hills area of Nashville.  More than anything it’s close to what we do MOST of the week which is in town; work, hobby, etc.  We’re about 2 mins. from Lipscomb University, and about 10 from where my office will be downtown for the Barbershop Harmony Society.  All I know is that it’s cool to finally throw JUNK away that you’ve needed to do for years, but never had the guts.  Move into a 2-bedroom place with a 4-person family, and you will see just how badly you need that extra box of junk you may never use again.  It’s a cool place, and plenty of room for hosting company.  We are so blessed that everything went smoothly and can’t wait to settle in.

What an amazing experience!  Not so much for me, but for my bro-in-law, Grey Powell.  After being the underdog on the way into the state final game with a record of 11-3, the JCS Eagles knocked off the previously 14-0 Friendship Christian Commanders on Friday, Dec. 1.  The cool thing is this – Grey started this year and was added to a coaching staff with a brand new head coach, and almost an entirely new staff of coaches to boot.  Grey brought many things to the table; the spread offense, a knowledge of football that few 32 y/olds have, and most importantly (for a Christian school and football program) – spiritual clout.  While he doesn’t want or need the glory (God does… that’s the point!), Grey introduced the 4:13 principle (Phil. 4:13, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.”) as something that the team should and must do to glorify God in all of their efforts.  It became something that the entire school became involved in, and praise God that JCS is focusing more on the Father than they have in a long time.  http://www.jcseagles.org 

Granted, it’s football.  But doesn’t scripture remind us, “whatever your hand finds to do, do it with your might.”?  As a coaching staff, a team, and a school, 4:13 became something that captivated the Eagles  nd gave them something bigger than themselves to fight for.  Not to mention, they’ve NEVER been to the State Championship, and most certainly never won.  Pretty awesome experience for the whole group over in Jackson.  Praise God for your focus on character, JCS!  Feel free to check out the story on the Facing the Giants’ website.  http://www.facingthegiants.com/news.php?id=2