Firm Foundation

The stone that formed the tablets on which God etched his covenant with Israel. The stones pulled from the Jordan by the 12 tribes as they crossed on dry land into the Promised Land. The smooth, small stone hurled from David's sling that brought down a giant. The stones clutched by the Pharisees but not hurled at the woman caught in adultery.

They're all still around. Somewhere. And just as the stones are permanent, so are the promises and characteristics of God that each stone represents.

That's the premise of Living Stones: Bedrock Truths for Quicksand Times by Oklahoma Christian University Professor Philip Patterson, published this year by World Publishing.

It's hard for me to objectively review the book, because Patterson is the one who taught me much of what I know about writing. And books like this one remind me how much I still have to learn.

Living Stones is not only readable, it's relevant. If you've ever struggled with seeing God as real; if you've ever failed to see the God of the little things -- the details of everyday life -- this book is a must read. Each chapter begins with a Biblical passage about a rock or stone, followed by an explanation of what the story -- the stone -- tells us about God.

After the Bible story comes personal anecdotes from Patterson's life that illustrate how the God of Abraham and Isaac and Jacob is God of Philip and you and I. And some truths, like a few prominent stones in God's eternal plan, never change and never go away.

For a fresh look at timeless truths, ask for Living Stones at your local Christian bookstore. Suggested retail price is $16.95.

In keeping with the Living Stones theme, your music for today is Free Indeed's Firm Foundation, available on Volume 5 of the Sing a New Song Series.

Enjoy.

Boston in the fall

In case you're wondering, Sept. 19 is International Talk Like a Pirate Day, matey, hence the get-up.

I can't really look mean, even when I try. But you'd think I was a hardened criminal if you didn't know any better.

After not getting a traffic ticket in more than six years, seems yesterday I made a right turn on red at an intersection in OKC where one isn't supposed to do that.

No warning, no slack. I'm not female.

The price for such a heinous crime? $172 shekels of gold.

Aaargh!

Shiver me timbers and pillage my booty. Guess I'll pick me two weeks here in the next month when I can do without eating so I can pay me fine.

It's not about the money, they say. It's about the lesson. Which I find kinda funny, because a warning or a $5 ticket would have taught the same lesson. People should respect the law, they say. How patronizing. I'd respect the law a whole lot more if, rather than sticking a plainclothes cop at a sparsely-traveled intersection on a Sunday afternoon they'd assign that officer to something useful. Like maybe trying to find out who broke the window in my car last year and rummaged through the glovebox. Or maybe the person who stole the car I had before that two years ago. To my knowledge, no one has been brought to justice in either case.

I'd respect the law a whole lot more if we convicted a rapist and made him serve more than six months of his 15-year prison term before we let him out on parole.

But $172 for an illegal right turn, not to mention three years of increased insurance premiums? That doesn't make me respect the law; that gives me an attitude about cops. And I don't apologize for it. One of these days they'll wake up and figure out why public perception is what it is. Meantime, violent criminals will continue to be underpunished by the system while absent-minded drivers walk the plank.

Anyway, hope you enjoyed International Talk Like a Pirate Day. Reminded me of my favorite pirates, Larry, Pa Grape and Mr. Lunt of Veggie Tales fame -- the Pirates Who Don't Do Anything. I've taken a break from Free Indeed today to play you the Pirates' song from the movie Jonah.


Ahoy.

Bloggus Interruptus

Burned a little nighttime oil at the office, and was thinking about what to write about in the blog tonight as I was shutting down the work computer and getting ready to head for the house.

Then the call came out over the scanner -- armed robbery at the local golf course. So, since it was pretty close to evening news time, I was fairly certain none of the local TV stations would come up to Edmond to do a live shot from the golf course. I figured if I ran out there, I could have the story in tomorrow's paper, and my loyal readers could get it from me before anyone else, assuming TV even bothers to follow on it tomorrow.

Being a reporter really isn't as exciting as it sounds. In cases like tonight, it can be a whole lot of "hurry up and wait"....which is what I did in the parking lot of the golf course for nearly an hour and a half before I could get someone official to come out and talk to me. In case you're wondering, no one was hurt, a gun was shown, but not discharged. A lone male suspect in his 40s, medium build with dark hair and a one-week beard wearing a green shirt and blue wind pants is the guy they're looking for. If you've seen him, by all means, call the Edmond PD.

I did get to spend some quality time with a little green frog while I waited in the parking lot. For whatever reason, he wasn't afraid of me, or at least he wasn't going to show it if he was. Nudged him from behind with my shoe. He didn't hop away. Put my shoe in front of him; he wasn't fazed. Brought back memories of times when, as a younger man, I would walk the mall at Oklahoma Christian University sometimes at night. In the summer, there would be dozens of toads/frogs on the mall, and now and then I'd go collecting them...tossing them into the fountain in the center of the mall whenever I caught one. Hey...I was bored. What can I tell ya?

Of course the downside to the experience for the frogs was that they couldn't get out of Mr. Fountain -- at least not on their own. So in a day or two, someone would happen by the fountain during the day, see the exhausted frogs in the water and fish them out.

Not a whole lot for a frog to do in a body of water he can't get out of except swim, and maybe see if any fair young froggie maidens were among those trapped in the water at the same time. Turns out there were some. So froggie(s) went a' courtin' and ......uh huh.

I know this, because several days later I happened by the fountain during the day and the bottom surface was almost completely darkened by the wiggling bodies of little tadpoles, who no doubt had me to thank for bringing their anphibious parental units together.

At any rate, it's late, and I can't remember what I was gonna blog about before the robbery, so this is it for the day.

The new musical selection is Free Indeed's Days of Elijah, which is available on Vol. 9 of the Sing a New Song series. Enjoy.

Life Group Lifesaver

Forsook the morning assembly today to be with my dad, who is still battling a nasty viral infection of some sort, along with a little extra angina than usual just for good measure. And since we were traveling last Sunday, I'm not exactly up to date with the local church happenings.

So I had that brief moment of panic about 1:30 this afternoon when I remembered I have a life group meeting tonight after church, and will be expected to provide a dessert for the group, as is my custom.

I ended up choosing the peach cobbler recipe I've already shared, primarily because I had enough time to put it together, but also because I've got a hankerin' for peaches today. But it reminded me of an even simpler - though just as tasty - dessert recipe that takes even less prep time, and you can buy all the ingredients (exactly three of them) ahead of time and keep them in the cupboard without a lot of overhead. It's a "dump" cobbler recipe, and I learned it at a dutch oven cooking class. It's popular with campers because it takes few ingredients, doesn't require refrigeration, and can be mixed entirely in the dutch oven if you want. The heat issue also is somewhat flexible, which is handy when you're cooking with wood coals or charcoal briquettes. But it also does equally well in a cake pan in the oven.

What you need:
2 cans of fruit pie filling, whatever fruit excites you
1 box cake mix
1 can of soda pop

If you're making it in the oven, go ahead and preheat to 350ish, or whatever it says on your cake box.

Spread the pie filling in the bottom of your dutch oven or cake pan. If you're in the woods and have limited utensils on hand, you can then spread the dry cake mix evenly over your fruit, then pour on the soda pop, and mix the cake mix and the pop a little bit with a fork until it's blended. You don't have to get it mixed like you would for cake, and you'd want to be careful not to mix down into your fruit. If you're doing it at home and don't mind messing up a mixing bowl, go ahead and mix the cake mix and pop in a mixing bowl, then spread it over the fruit. But don't mix too much....we're not after cake here, we're after crust. A few clumps of powder left in the mixture won't hurt it, and will probably bake right out anyway.

Bake a good 45 minutes or so, until it's done. The general rule is it's done when it smells done, but I usually wait until the crust starts to crack a little on top. Then I know it's done.

That's all there is to it. The beauty of this simple recipe is that the flavor combinations are pretty much left to your imagination. Cherry pie filling with the darkest, fudgiest cake mix you can find in the store is excellent. Apple pie filling with a spice cake crust is also excellent, especially if you were to serve it with say, some homemade caramel sauce on top. While any old pop you have on hand will do, you can also deliberately choose your beverage. When I'm going cherry/chocolate, I get a can of Cherry Coke. For apple/spice, ginger ale is a nice touch. If you're using a white or light cake mix, a clear soda like Sprite or white cream soda will keep that cake mix white.

You can usually get pie filling for around $2 a can or less, and a cake mix for under a buck. Both keep indefinately in the cupboard, so you can always have the ingredients for this quick fix on hand for short-notice needs.

By the way, I'm reading "Living Stones: Bedrock Truths for Quicksand Times" by Philip Patterson. When I've finished, I'll post a review.

Gotta go check my cobbler now.

UNION, OHIO -- I never really expected Smokey Joe Burgess to still be alive when I got here.

That may sound odd, considering Smokey Joe is just in his early 20s. And it's not like his is a hard life. He spends a few hours each day in the summer on the lounge chair on the back patio, taking in some nature between naps. The rest of the day he lounges in the converted garage apartment. He eats when he wants, sleeps when he wants, goes to the bathroom when and where he wants and generally acts cantankerous when he wants.

I guess he's earned that right.

Smokey Joe is a cat. He was my grandmother's cat, and when she passed away some three years ago, I guess I just assumed that Smokey, already pushing 20, wouldn't be far behind. He's just not ready to leave yet, I guess.

Best we can figure, it was 23 years ago that my grandmother, "Nanny," took Smokey in as a stray. No one knows how old he was at the time, but we know it was 23 human years ago when he first marked his territory in Nanny's living room as only a male cat can do. In cat years, that makes Smokey.....well, pretty dadgum old. He's kinda slow gettin around these days, but my uncle tells me he can still bust a move when he wants to.

His was pretty much a mutual love-hate relationship with Nanny. He'd aggravate her by marking early and often and by going into rooms he wasn't supposed to go into. She'd aggravate him by bopping him on the head with a plastic bat whenever he misbehaved or by throwing an empty milk carton with a few marbles in it his direction when ventured some place he wasn't supposed to go.

Still, at the end of every day, Smokey Joe would be there with her in the bed until the next morning.

I can't figure this cat out, but I have a theory.

I think it's love and companionship. My aunt oozes love and kindness. I don't know many people who will pick up a spider with a tissue and put it outside rather than stepping on it. She's one of them. And she's always had a soft spot for cats. Smokey's one of 12 on the current roster. There are no strays in her neighborhood. At least not after they find her house.

So Smokey has plenty of other cats to keep him young, a soft bed to sleep in, and as many square meals a day as he will eat. Life is good.

Love and companionship. The older I get, the more I understand that God gives us things for a reason.

And life is good.