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Show Me Thanksgiving!

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  Son-Day at the On-set of the Holiday Season The Tuss Experience on Capitol Hill Show Me Thanksgiving Before I start, once again I am writing a few days after Sunday.  The delayed message this week is due to my job.  I am one of the leaders of our contract bargaining team.  Last Thursday, at 9 AM, we started negotiations and it did not end until 9 AM Friday.  Yes, 24 hours straight arguing a million different proposals. Most of the issues were not related to finances.  You would be surprised what people want from their employer.   On top of the 24 hour session, I still had to work Friday.  I whining a little here only because when I walked into the conference room I saw a week's supply of provisions, yoga mats, pillows, blankets, and sleepwear.  The people we negotiating with were not sincere in bargaining in good faith.  Their only strategy was to wait us out and continue talks until we cave. We did not cave.  Unfortunately, we will conduct another round of negotiations later thi
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The Great I Am

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Happy Son-day and Harvest Time A Tuss Adventure in Foggy Bottom DC The Great I am All weekend, Jo and I were playing farmers Bubba Joe and Mamma Jo.  We harvested the plentiful bounty of our Elm, Ash, Maple, and Birch tree; 10 trees total. We hauled to the recyle center approximately 3,300 pounds of 🍁.  Our trees are fruitful; no need to biblically curse the trees. So, we lost a weekend and are now catching up. At North Central, in our homiletics (sermon writing and speaking class) courses, we were taught do not get too cute during the Thanksgiving, Christmas, and Easter holidays in terms of sermon topics.  Speak on things relative to season. I was going to do exactly that, until a still voice said, but I want you to go a slightly different direction with a focus on the great "I Am" ( Exodus 3:14-15, John 8:24,28, 58) .  This phrase is God's way of reveling His existence to us. The actual word He used was Yahweh which literally means "I am".  The name speaks of
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Why Thanks?

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  Good Son-Day with More Daylight Autumn Day Meanderings Why Thanks? It is that time of the year when Jo and I are looking at menu options for Thanksgiving.  In past years, we would do the traditional shopping, which included over-shopping and spending way too much for the four-day weekend.   The food was all good, but making room in the fridge was a pain and dealing with the leftover turkey was a problem.  I do not eat anything with hooves or feathers and we learned that Jo and BJ are not big time turkey eaters as well. Our strategy has changed, we now order our dinner.  The first time was a couple of years ago.  We ordered a ham dinner package from Cubs for roughly $100.  It was a good deal and the food was tasty.  Last year, we ordered from Hy-Vee and the results were the same.  Although, we will not go there again.  Their service was rude.   This year, we will look at other options, including Angelea's Soul Food restaurant. Additionally, I will smoke a prime rib roast.  Jo and
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Fact-Finding about Halloween

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Good Son-Day is Every Day! And It's Not My Birthday Fact-Finding about Halloween With Halloween occurring on Thursday, I wanted to offer an opinion piece on a holiday that has been controversial for many believers. The Origins of Halloween Halloween has its roots in Samhain.  It was a 2,000-year-old Celtic festival held on November 1.  It marked the end of the harvest season and beginning of winter or "darker half" of the year. It also is the Irish name for November. Celebrations began on the evening of 31 October, since the Celtic day began and ended at sunset.  It also was a time associated with death (leaves falling and plants dying) and the thinning of the veil between the living and the dead The tradition of wearing costumes on Halloween has its roots in Samhain, where people believed that the boundaries between the living and the dead blurred on this night.  To ward off evil spirits, people would disguise themselves to blend in or scare them away. Over time, this pr
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Bring Some Flavor

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Smile it's a Good Son-Day!!!! 🛩  Up, Up, and Away🛫🚀 Bring Some Flavor This week, the message will shift from God's dynamics to the joy we are directed to bring to others.  Christ calls us the salt of the earth.  In ancient times, salt was as valuable as money.  In fact, in some civilizations, it was used as money. The first home refrigerator was not available until 1913.  During the time of Christ, roughly 30 AD, food was preserved by immersing food items in salt.   Salt draws water out of food cells, creating an environment where bacteria can't grow.   More on salt . . . Ask any expert beef cooking expert, and they will tell you salt changes the texture of the meat to something more desirable. It can break down tough meat fibers. Make it softer Salt  releases dopamine, which can make you feel good.   Salt, in moderation, is necessary for our biological functions, and the brain comes to crave it.  Salt makes food taste better.  While eating at different restaurants this
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And Here are the Good Things God Can't Do

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🍂 God Son-day with the Autumn Colors🍂🍂 Exquisite Pieces And Here are the Good Things God Can't Do Forty-four years ago, I took multiple courses on Theology (Greek, Theo = God; ology = study).  The courses rooted me and kept me in awe of the greatest ever, forever. I am about to share what I learned back in the day and recently heard it again. I am not stating anything you do not know, but some may need a reminder to realize His power in your life and achieve His destiny in your life. The children and believers of God will be shaken and inspired. I am stoked; so here it goes. God is perfect, correct? Yet there are some things He cannot do.   First, God cannot lie.  Hebrews 6:18  So God has given both His promise and His oath. These two things are unchangeable because it is impossible for God to lie .  Second, God cannot fail.  Joshua 1:5  No one will be able to stand against you as long as you live. For I will be with you as I was with Moses. I will not   fail   you or abandon
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Are You a Consumer or Contributor?

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Chilling (literally) on Son-Day! The Beauty, Cutie, and Corn Pone Are You a Consumer or Contributor? Now I am about to go on a rant here about consumers and contributors.  This morning, I had breakfast with my bride, my sister Roma and her groom David. We talked about a variety things including a conversation I had with a parent yesterday who was giving me valuable advice on how to coach in the middle of the game while I was passing on plays to the kids.   The thing is,   my team was up 27-0,  and  we're currently 5-1 on the season.   I looked him and stated, "Please not now. Where were you six weeks when I asked for coaches and no one came forward?"   The response, "I have things I have to do".  Not, "I am working".  He went on to say, "I can come once every two weeks to help".  I told him, "Seriously, kids need consistent and stable support, much like we do".  He walked away. It's frustrating to have people who are quick to cr
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