First Friday

Posted on December 5, 2014 by jwfisch

th-13It’s the first Friday in December. That means our little town swings into Christmas mode tonight in a big way. At 5:00 p.m. the main street in the center of town will be blocked off and stages will be set up, tables in most of the shops will be stocked with wine, cheese, hot cocoa and other treats, and Santa’s house will be brought in for his arrival. Then, in the following couple of hours, choirs will sing, bands will play, speeches will be made, the big tree in front of Town Hall will be lit, and Santa will ride into town on a vintage 1920s fire truck and set up shop in his house, ready to meet with the children already lined up and waiting to see him. Continue reading →

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Of hats and head-butts

Posted on December 4, 2014 by jwfisch
Why is John wearing a hat?

Why is John wearing a hat?

I’ve taken to wearing hats a lot because I keep banging my head on things, and a hat hides my wounds and scars. I don’t know what it is about me, but my head keeps getting in the way, and since I’m quite bald, as well as wearing my hair pretty short these days, every bang and every bung shows up.

We have a very small house — Marti calls it a Hobbit house — and there are places you have to remember to duck, like going into the cellar under the house, and also under the garage, and then there’s crawling around in the attic, which I will be doing soon the get the Christmas boxes down. Every December I sport a Christmas bang from that. You’d think by now I’d remember to duck, but not so. I’m walking around, thinking about something else, and “Bang!” there I go again. Continue reading →

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On the door

Posted on December 3, 2014 by jwfisch

th-12Martin Luther had his 95 Theses. We have our Declaration of Independence. And the Catch has its Declaration for a Marketplace Christian. Every decade or so, and depending on the current tension and cultural significance, it becomes necessary for me to redefine the key elements of truth for the time. Continue reading →

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Giving everyday

Posted on December 2, 2014 by jwfisch

God so loved the world that He gave… – John 3:16

th-11Giving Tuesday (also known as #GivingTuesday) was started in 2012 by the 92nd Street Y and the United Nations Foundation as a response to commercialization and consumerism in the post-Thanksgiving season. With Black Friday and Cyber Monday grabbing all the attention, it seemed appropriate to turn the tables and encourage people to give on Tuesday. It’s an opportunity to channel the generous spirit of the holiday season to inspire action around charitable giving, globally. Giving Tuesday has been praised as an antidote to consumer culture and as a way for people to give back. Continue reading →

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Variations on a Thanksgiving theme

Posted on December 1, 2014 by jwfisch
Not one of the more attractive animals out there.

Not one of the more attractive animals out there.

Family is one of the things Thanksgiving is all about, and it’s so nice to have family members all together. Why is it also nice to have them all go? Because we’re not used to having so many people around, and there are times when you just want to have your house back. It’s not normal having all these people around, and in our case, having all these dogs around. Continue reading →

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Thanksgiving (how you can make it happy)

Posted on November 26, 2014 by jwfisch

Grace, grace, God’s grace
Grace that will pardon and cleanse within
Grace, grace, God’s grace
Grace that is greater than all our sin  – Julia H. Johnston

th-7“So what are you going to write about tomorrow?” Marti asked me yesterday. When I didn’t reply right away, she went on, “Please don’t write about what you’re thankful for, and then brag about your family.” By that she didn’t mean that it wasn’t okay to brag about one’s family — we all do that — she meant that when we go public with our families, we have a tendency to tell only the good parts.

So shall I drag out each one of our family members and tell the worst thing about everybody? I could fill up a week’s worth of Catches doing just that, but I’m not so sure this is the time or the place for that. There is a time and a place where facing the worst about us is appropriate, but this is not it. Suffice it to say that we all could go either way on this. To tell only the worst might depress you. To tell only the best would probably depress you even more. Continue reading →

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Holy day

Posted on November 25, 2014 by jwfisch

th-4God loves a good celebration. There are currently twelve Jewish holidays annually that have origins in the Old Testament as celebrations set up by God, and indeed, commanded by God. It’s as if God told his people, “You will stop working. You will eat, drink and be merry. You will celebrate life, family and all that I have given you to enjoy on this earth. I’m setting up these traditions for you so you will put them on your calendar and keep them every year as I have commanded you.” Gosh, I guess we have no choice but to have a good time! Continue reading →

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Freedom

Posted on November 24, 2014 by jwfisch

th-3It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery. Galatians 5:1

Yesterday was Youth Sunday in the church I’ve been attending, and that means Jr. High and High school kids run the whole service. They do everything, from the announcements to the worship to taking the offering and preaching the sermon. There was not one adult anywhere in the service. Continue reading →

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Just one moment

Posted on November 21, 2014 by jwfisch

about-02I never would have imagined we would have a Mixed Martial Arts MTV championship fighter on our BlogTalkRadio show, but last Tuesday night we did. In MMA circles, Chad Robichaux (pronounced Ro-be-cho) is a star fighter. In our eyes, he’s a dedicated survivor of eight combat tours in Marine Corp Special Operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, who almost didn’t survive the ensuing transition back into his marriage, family and civilian life — a rare exception to the 90% divorce rate among his returning comrades, and the 23 veterans of war who commit suicide … every day. Continue reading →

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On the rocks

Posted on November 20, 2014 by jwfisch

intruderWell, we thought today, with Obama’s new immigration laws about to whip up a political firestorm and Ferguson, Missouri, about to erupt into a racial one, that perhaps a bit of comic relief might be in order – sort of the calm before the dreaded storm. In light of that, by the way, it would be good for us all to be praying that these storms do not get out of hand, and that Christians familiar with the Gospel of Welcome and grace turned outward would be like rain on the fire. (More on that tomorrow.)

In the meantime, to our comic relief … and who better to provide it than our ever-entertaining daughter, Anne. It turns out she has been entertaining people for a while on our Facebook page with a picture of her climbing up on a rock off the coast of southern California usually reserved for sunning seals. It’s not the best picture in the world but you can make out Anne mounting the rock on the left and the ensuing commotion her presence has created among the seals who are all looking over at her undoubtedly wondering, “What the …?” Continue reading →

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