bierkergaard

This morning I was grinding up some coffee beans for the morning brew. It got my mind churning (what doesn't?) I have come a long way from instant coffee. Yesterday, I had about the worst coffee in years at a restaurant in York where I meet with my buddy John for accountability and fellowship. I couldn't shake the taste all day...truly, it left a bad taste in my mouth. Not sure if they have started buying an even worse brand than before. At least it used to be drinkable. I would rather delay drinking coffee at all if it is bad, unless there is no prospect of getting anything better all day. If no other coffee is within drinking distance; then I will drink under protest. If I can get to a better cup of coffee, I will pass the two cups now in hand for one in the bush. Wherever it may be. One way to find that good coffee in the bush? The I-Phone App. that will locate the nearest Starbucks and give you directions there (accounting for your present location). Lina and I used it se...

For those in my huge audience that turn to my blog for deep thoughts, you will have to search out Jack Handey for your bowl of meaning this day. Brace yourself....today, I fear, is going to be frivolous. Will you still respect me in the morning? I also will not dishonor the Word by attaching it to this tripe. Maybe I could have a "Fluffy Friday" feature where I write about an inane issue weekly. I have a way to tell when I need a haircut. You might thing that the trigger is long, wild, and untamed hair. No. Well, that is not quite correct. It is hair...but it is my eyebrow hair. Though I don't quite have a "Unibrow," I think it accurate to say that my eyebrows are like Siamese Twins. When my eyebrows start looking like they need a weed-whacker, and when I can no longer see without the bramble-brow filtering the sun, then I head to my barber. For quite some time, I went to Holiday Hair in Columbia. But, the last time I was there, I got in the middle of some type...

Romans 10:17 "So faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ. " The capitalization of "I AM" is intentional. For when we listen or read the Word of God, the Bible, I AM speaks. "I AM" reminds me of something that my cranky yet competent 8th grade English teacher Mrs. Bowman said. She noted, over and over again during the year, that only God could say "I AM" with nothing else in the sentence. He is self-defining and self-referential. I also remember that she used to pick her nose like a drill spinning into a hole...so quickly, that one just might miss it unless paying close attention. She thought she was getting over...out and in without us noticing. Not a chance. Critics of the Bible like to note that since the New Testament Gospels were not written down until a decade or two later after Jesus lived on earth, then somehow these book are highly unhistorical and mythological. Skeptics disbelieve the promise that Jesus gave to his Disc...

OK, I am going to stick to this "Resolution" theme like the Rocky movies (I, II, III, etc.). As in the case of Rocky, I intend this round of blogs to become increasingly more untenable. Hmm, I didn't realize that there were six of them. That might stretch my Blog to the breaking point. I did think it cool that Stallone salvaged the last Rocky flick (Rocky Balboa) by returning to the roots of Rocky...South Philly, down and out, the memories and loss of Adrian. In hopefully the final film, Stallone redeemed the Rocky story, even though the plot was probably the most unlikely of all (a nearly 60 year old man going in the ring against the virile and violent Heavyweight boxing champ of the world). By the age 60, George Foreman had been out of the ring for 12 years and selling his grills--a substantially more lucrative and less dangerous activity than getting your brains beat in by a young buck. His "punchers chance" became the equivalent of winning Powerball (known...

Romans 5:3 "And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience." The word for patience in the Greek is elpis (el-pece') which means to anticipate, usually with pleasure. Lina and I have a Sunday tradition of watching the Eagles play. She has come to adopt the Eagles as her home team. I am from the Philly area, so I am pretty much a Philadelphia sports fan as a straight ticket. I define myself as a "No-Fault" fan of the Eagles. If they win, I am happy. If they lose, I experience a slight tinge of disappointment, but then move on. I guess that does not make me a true fan. You'd think some Eagles fans as a "widow wearing black" based on how they mourn a loss of the Eagles, the Phils, or the Flyers. The Sixers are so bad now that their fans, if they have any left, really can't mourn anymore. They are just numb. It is pretty pathetic how people grieve the loss of "their" sports team. Maybe it bec...