Good Son-Day!!!
Colossians 2:14 - He has taken it (sin) out of the way, having nailed it to the cross.
You will always find the “Good News” here.
Love, Milwaukee Style
The Jogger Who Read My Neck Before My Garish Shirt
Hi, everyone!
I took a hiatus for a few weeks — football season kickoff, a family reunion, and a new job all conspired against my blogging schedule. But I'm back.
This week, I want to share an experience from Veterans Park, in Milwaukee's downtown lakeshore area.
Let me start with a confession: I am not a clotheshorse. But I do have an affinity for colorful, garish Hawaiian shirts, the kind that regularly draw side-eye from the fashion police. My weekday uniform is a suit and tie, so on my off days, I need an apparel diversion. My well-being, frankly, depends on palm trees, oversized leaves, paisley swirls, suns, and moons printed on whatever I'm wearing.
While shopping at a Milwaukee Walmart, I picked up a silver cross necklace — not a crucifix necklace. More on that distinction later.
So my beach-day fit was: a yellow Milwaukee Brewers baseball cap, light blue shorts, a dark blue T-shirt, sandals, a blue Hawaiian shirt, baby oil on my ashy knees, and the cross necklace.
The vibe I was going for was: "I am on vacation, chilling along the shores of Lake Michigan — yeah, mon!"
I wore the cross as an unapologetic statement of faith, and honestly, I liked how it completed the look — a happy man of faith, having a grand time.
Jo and I sat on one of the shoreline benches, and I got a real kick out of the number of people — men and women — who walked by and complimented the shirt.
Take that, fashion police.
But the most meaningful comment came from a jogger who slowed his pace just to say, "Deep, bro. Deep." At first, I figured he meant the shirt — my stylings are loud, after all. But no. He put his hand over his heart (referring to my cross necklace) and said he appreciated the sentiment, then sped back up and went on his way.
That acknowledgment stuck with me.
Expressing my love of Christ in my own particular way — Hawaiian shirt and all — had an impact on someone. Chalk that up to a good day.
Now, a cross (or a crucifix, which includes the body of Christ) signifies for many people Christ's sacrifice, love, redemption, and hope. People wear the cross pendant for all kinds of reasons — faith, declaration, protection, tradition.
Scripture offers its own perspective on the message of the cross:
"For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God." — 1 Corinthians 1:18
Of course, you've also seen plenty of villains in movies and TV wearing cross pendants — Alonzo Harris in Training Day (Denzel Washington), Tony Montana in Scarface (Al Pacino), Stringer Bell in The Wire (Idris Elba).
From a Hollywood storytelling standpoint, the reasons vary — inner conflict, irony ("I'm wrong, but I believe in right" — moral complexity), or guilt over what the character is doing.
My point in sharing all this isn't to convince every believer to wear a cross necklace; that's a personal choice. It's simply this: if you do wear one, there's a real chance someone will notice, identify with it, and feel a little more affirmed in their own faith because of your quiet declaration.
That's a wonderful testimony. And a wonderful outcome.
Hallelujah! Sing a New Song to GOD. Sing HIS praise in the assembly of godly people. Psalm 149:1.
"Praise On Go", 2026, Canton Jones
Definitely stadium music for gospel lovers. Put your hands say- Gooooooo!
Lyrics in video.
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