December 9, 2024 - Good Morning! It’s Monday, December 9.
Today we begin a holiday-themed series called “The Twelve Days of Christmas”. It will take us all the way to Christmas Eve. Hope you enjoy it! We start off with a little quiz. Here are five thoughts about the nativity story. You be the judge . . . in the Bible or not?
December 6, 2024 - Good Morning! It’s Friday, December 6.
Tomorrow is parade day in Center, Texas - our annual lighted, night-time Christmas Parade. Hundreds of people will line the streets around our historic courthouse to see floats and hear bands and have fun! It’s a great local holiday tradition.
December 4, 2024 - Good Morning! It’s Wednesday, December 4.
On December 4, 1858, one of the world’s greatest inventors was born in Farmington, Maine. His name was Chester Greenwood and, at the young age of fifteen, he invented . . . ear muffs. Winters up in Maine get really, really cold, and unprotected ears had been needlessly suffering for centuries. But, for every great problem, there is a great mind, a mind that somehow was able to envision two pieces of cloth connected by a wire. A miracle of modern ingenuity.
December 3, 2024 - Good Morning! It’s Tuesday, December 3.
Have you ever been to Pittsburg? No, not Pittsburg, Pennsylvania - Pittsburg, Texas! It’s an East Texas town with several “claims to fame”. It’s the headquarters of Pilgrims Pride Chicken, the birthplace of car racing great Carroll Shelby, and the location of a very unusual flying machine - the Ezekiel Air Ship. You can view a replica of that odd aircraft in a museum in Pittsburg, just down the street from First Baptist Church (where Bo Pilgrim was a deacon).
December 2, 2024 - Good Morning! It’s Monday, December 2.
Yesterday, December 1, was the beginning of an important holiday season. No, not the Christmas season, but the season of Advent. On the traditional church calendar, Advent is the period that includes the four Sundays leading to Christmas Day. The Christmas season, on that calendar, doesn’t begin until December 25, and continues to January 6 - the “twelve days of Christmas”!
November 26, 2024 - Good Morning! It’s Tuesday, November 26.
On this day in 1948, the pace of modern life got just a little bit quicker, as the Polaroid company introduced the first instant camera. I have one of those “Land” cameras in my collection. I once thought they were called that to differentiate them from “sea” cameras, but they were actually named after their inventor, Edwin Land. Suddenly, snapshots didn’t require a dark room or a professional film developer, they could appear right before your eyes - like magic.
November 25, 2024 - Good Morning! It’s Monday, November 25.
Early this morning, I was sitting on my porch, enjoying my first cup of coffee, when I looked up to see a pair of deer crossing my property. They took their time and provided me a long, lingering look. It was a blessing. And it reminded me of a sermon story I heard almost thirty years ago.