Ale for the Soul

After an easy day working my primary job, I headed to the smoke shop for my first night back at work.  People were asking where I had been, and I simply stated I took a four month vacation from working at Tobacco Lane.  Now I'm back.  Maybe it shouldn't be surprising how easily I slipped back in to the rhythm of the shop.  I worked by myself from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. and did not run in to any difficulty.  Right before I closed down for the evening, the manager called to welcome me back home.  Yes, this is old hat.  It's like those old pajamas you keep going back too, the sense of warmth and comfort when the rest of the world may be storming outside.  Did I make the right decision in returning to this part-time job?  Who knows!  But I must make the best of it as I really need the extra money.  At any rate, I enjoyed hanging out with the customers, conversing on a wide variety of subjects.  By the end of the evening, I was glad to find myself once again in the routine of habit an

On Monday morning, the owner of the smoke shop I formerly worked at called me.  In a subtle manner, he implored me to come back to work part-time as he recently had to let go of a long-time employee.  Strictly as a favor to him, I agreed to do so.  He was very happy, but I immediately had the feeling of regret and asked myself, "What have I done?"  All the memories of the way I was poorly treated and crapped on came flooding back.  Maybe my attitude and the store's treatment of me will be different.  The irony of the situation is this was an answer to prayer.  A surprising confession is to acknowledge I maybe should never have left in the first place.  To work both jobs will definitely become a blessing financially as I feel as if I'm hemorrhaging money, unable to adequately pay off debts and to save for the future.  If nothing else, the stress of working two jobs will be short-term as the smoke shop will close in October, a mere four months away.  So, I guess it'

Jack FM 100.3 held its annual Jack's Throwback celebration last night at the South Side Ballroom in Dallas, Texas.  Many cover bands were present representing such acts as Elton John, Fleetwood Mac, and AC/DC.  My two best friends traveled to Dallas in order to attend the event with yours truly.  We had a blast and stayed nearly the whole time.  Considering the size of the crowd in attendance, I expected to experience a nightmare in trying to leave.  So we collectively decided to duck out about 45 minutes early to avoid any sort of car logjam at the traffic lights and intersections.  By the time I arrived back at the apartment well past midnight, I was exhausted, but it was worth my time and effort.  Today (Sunday) we all met again for a time of fellowship over food and then coffee.  I had never eaten Korean B-B-Q, but my friends convinced me to try it.  It was good.  Our day was capped off by coffee and hot tea at a nearby coffee shop called Java Me Up.  Overall it was a great,

William Lyon Phelps (1865-1943) was an American educator, literary critic and author. He served as a professor of English at Yale University from 1901 to 1933. His works include  Advance of the English Novel and  Essays on Modern Dramatists . On April 6, 1933, he delivered this speech during a radio broadcast. His reverence for books was not shared by everyone, especially those in Nazi Germany. On May 10, 1933, the Nazis had staged an event unseen since the Middle Ages as young German students from universities, formerly regarded as among the finest in the world, had gathered in Berlin and other German cities to burn books with "un-German" ideas. The habit of reading is one of the greatest resources of mankind; and we enjoy reading books that belong to us much more than if they are borrowed. A borrowed book is like a guest in the house; it must be treated with punctiliousness, with a certain considerate formality. You must see that it sustains no damage; it must not

What a wonderful idea...Public Service Day!  Generally speaking, people are so selfish they do not want to give of their time and effort unless there is a benefit or payment involved.  People of this persuasion are always asking, "What's in it for me?" or "How much will I get paid?"  Of course, yours truly is not exempt from selfishness or asking such questions.  If I were honest, in the back of my mind are the questions, "How much will this cost me?" and "What is the return on my investment?"  These same type of selfish people will also use someone with a giving heart to their own advantage, like a puppet on a string or lap dog, making them feel guilty if they don't perform what is asked or expected of them.  As a result, a sense of discernment is always a good skill to practice.  Both in church and when I formerly attended Alcoholics Anonymous, heavy emphasis was placed on service work, and rightly so.  I liked the phrase, "Getting

You are beautiful beyond description Too marvelous for words Too wonderful for comprehension Like nothing ever seen or heard Who can grasp Your infinite wisdom Who can fathom the depth of Your love You are beautiful beyond description Majesty enthroned above And I stand, I stand in awe of You I stand, I stand in awe of You Only God to whom all praise is due I stand in awe of You I stand in awe of You You are beautiful beyond description Too marvelous for words Too wonderful for comprehension Like nothing ever seen or heard Who can grasp Your infinite wisdom Who can fathom the depth of Your love You are beautiful beyond description Majesty enthroned above And I stand, I stand in awe of You I stand, I stand in awe of You Only God to whom all praise is due I stand in awe of You I stand, I stand in awe of You I stand, I stand in awe of You Only God to whom all praise is due I stand in awe of You I stand in awe of You

Once again, this is a new holiday for me, and I like the implication.  A new identity.  What does that entail?  Not only in biblical times, but also up through till the previous hundred years, names had meaning and were often familial names.  My first name is Phillip, and it means lover of horses .  Elliott is a Greek name, and my surname is German.  A little research on my part reveals the etymology of both.  Often someone who had a bad reputation or criminal history would change his or her name to elude detection.  With today's fingerprinting and computer technology that is harder to get away with, but that was the norm till recent times.  In seeing today's holiday, what really came to mind was the giving of a new name, a new identity by God Himself, particularly Jacob.  After wrestling all night with the Angel of the Lord, God gave Jacob the new name of Israel, for he was to become a patriarch of that great nation.  More importantly, Jacob was never to walk the same again, b

Time marches on as I celebrate the first official day of summer.  Whew, I could tell it and wow, was it hot!  If it's this hot now, I can't imagine what it will be like when July and August roll around.  They are the hottest months of summer, and I am already dreading it.  For me, summer is equivalent to the doldrums of the sea...hot, humid, and lacking any breeze.  The only thing I like about summer is it is only a few months away from fall and winter.  Ha!  Of course, with my luck, the rain will stop long enough to camp, but it will be too damn hot to do so.  Is this Mother Nature's way of exacting revenge on me for some perceived wrong?  At any rate, if you're anything like me, I want to encourage you to bear with the summer temperatures long enough to get to the better seasons of the year.  This particular season has a way of zapping and draining a person's energy and drive to engage life.  Don't give up.  Fall and winter are only right around the corner.  U

On January 1, 1863, the Emancipation Proclamation became official; however, the implication had little impact or statutory "teeth" as there were too few Union troops in or anywhere near Texas to enforce the executive authority of the document.  It wasn't until Major General Gordon Granger landed in Galveston, Texas, on June 19, 1865, that the enslaved were truly set free.  There are various stories for reasons why there was a two and a half year delay in the Proclamation's enforcement and effect, but the reactions on the news of its reading were shock and awe, followed by jubilation.  Through the efforts of African-American state legislator Al Edwards, June 19th (Juneteenth) became an official state holiday on January 1, 1980.  There is more history concerning the holiday that is beyond the purpose of this post, but you may find it on the History website (www.history.com).  The blight of slavery is unfortunately a part of this nation's history, but its horrible me

The history of Father's Day is rather interesting.  It officially began in Washington in the early 1900s, and didn't become an official holiday until 1972 under then President Richard Nixon.  Mother's Day as a holiday had already been well established, and many men disdained a day devoted in their honor as fathers.  Hmm!?  Until President Nixon, several presidents urged the citizenry of the country to observe a day recognizing fathers; however, none felt the pressing need to see the day turned in to a national holiday.  Fast forward to the present day.  Many countries around the world now celebrate the official holiday on the third Sunday of June.  In fact, Father's Day ranks fourth in the amount of greeting cards sent.  My favorite story is of Germany.  The men are relieved of their parenting duties for the day only to load up wagons (think Little Red Flyer) full of alcohol and pull it to the local park.  Do I even need to finish this line of thought?  Yes, I'm sur

Who has believed our message       and to whom has the arm  of the  Lord  been revealed? He grew up before him like a tender shoot,      and like a root  out of dry ground. He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him,      nothing in his appearance  that we should desire him. He was despised and rejected by mankind,      a man of suffering,  and familiar with pain. Like one from whom people hide  their faces      he was despised,  and we held him in low esteem. Surely he took up our pain  and bore our suffering, yet we considered him punished by God,      stricken by him, and afflicted. But he was pierced  for our transgressions,      he was crushed  for our iniquities; the punishment  that brought us peace  was on him,      and by his wounds  we are healed. We all, like sheep, have gone astray,      each of us has turned to our own way; and the  Lord  has laid on him  the iniquity  of us all. He was oppressed  and afflicted,  yet he did not open his mouth; he was led li

I am sincerely happy to be here on the occasion of the 327th commencement of this old and most prestigious university. My congratulations and very best wishes to all of today's graduates. Harvard's motto is "VERITAS." Many of you have already found out, and others will find out in the course of their lives, that truth eludes us if we do not concentrate our attention totally on it's pursuit. But even while it eludes us, the illusion of knowing it still lingers and leads to many misunderstandings. Also, truth seldom is pleasant; it is almost invariably bitter. There is some bitterness in my today's speech too, but I want to stress that it comes not from an adversary, but from a friend. Three years ago in the United States I said certain things which at that time appeared unacceptable. Today, however, many people agree with what I then said. The split in today's world is perceptible even to a hasty glance. Any of our contemporaries readily identifies t