Since I’ve already discussed spiritual applications from political matters such as primaries and debates, I thought I might as well complete the cycle and go all the way to election day this week. It serves little purpose to discuss why it is that Candidate X aspires to win a particular election. Ostensibly it is an…
Facts are stubborn things, said John Adams. But being stubborn does not always win you an argument. We have all been in “discussions” in which we were correct and the simpleton on the other side of the table was not. We laid out the facts as plainly as anyone could. And they remained unconvinced.
Maybe they found comfort in character assassination, or muddied the waters with irrelevant information. Maybe they just threw up their hands and left the room. Maybe they even took a swing at you. What they didn’t do, though, is change their mind. Facts had nothing to do with their position, either before or after the discussion.
The whole point of s’mores is fireplace, firepit or campfire entertainment with the family. You roast the marshmallow on an actual flame, then use the residual heat to melt a chocolate bar, grip the gooey goodness between two graham crackers, and go to town on it. Making them is far more enjoyable than eating them. Watching your children make them is even better.
You can do it in the microwave instead, if you like. But the crackers lose their crispiness, the marshmallow slides everywhere, it’s just a mess. There is, however, a device that will make the best microwave s’mores ever.
A Facebook “preachers” group that I somehow became attached to (you social media types know how easily that can happen) brought a preacher in Tuscumbia, Alabama, named Jesse Winn to my attention. After e-mailing Bro. Winn and exchanging a few thoughts and pleasantries, I decided (with his permission) to include his name and a link to the article in question. You can find the article here. I encourage you to read his article with the same prayer, spirit and consideration I ask when you read mine. The gist of his article was this (his emphasis):
We tried a new restaurant the other evening. We all disliked pretty much everything. The place looked like your grandmother’s house — that is, if you are in your 80s and your grandmother was a sharecropper. The paneling on the walls was ugly. The décor (if you would even call it that) was worse. The location was inconvenient. The menus were cheap. (Ironically, the prices were expensive.)
The food, however, was outstanding. Interesting. Attractive. Tasty. The worst thing I could say about it was that there was too much of it. We will be back.
