Deep Fry

I don't know about you, but I love watching Frank Capra's, "It's a Wonderful Life". Whether it's the charisma, the story arc or the underlying message, there's simply something magical about the experience, especially this time of year.
And so...after attending a recent matinee showing at the Franklin Theater, I couldn't help but leave reignited...stirred by fresh perspective and driven to seek its application. 
Thus, in the spirit of seasonal illumination, I present you with five inspired musings from "It's a Wonderful Life" based upon my most recent viewing.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1) You can't loan love.
While the plot's periphery outlines the decisions and dealings of George Bailey, the heart of the film flies on his character. Take away George's compassion, and suddenly, you have a stalled storyline with significantly les…

I’ve always loved Christmas lights.

The sparkle. The illumination. The flair of color.

 The whole works.


In fact, when I was a toddler, rumor has it I would break down crying if a light burnt out or if a bulb broke (Clearly, I wasn’t aware of a magical, little thing called a spare).

Regardless of infant emotions, point is: it didn’t take long for a fascination to spark.

And as I grew older, I made it a tradition to put up the outdoor Christmas lines every Black Friday, while the rest of the family focused on internal décor.

So as I recently returned to my big box of lights and started decking the brush, I couldn’t help but wonder how Christmas lights are actually fitting reminders as to why we celebrate the season as passionately as we do.

For before Christ could come to be the light of the world, there had to be a willing vessel with the faith to contain it. Pretty crazy, eh? To think at any point in history, a teenage girl would accept one of the most sacred calls in bearing the Son of God…

Do you remember me? And how I came to set you free The chains of death, I came to break The sin of man, I came to take
Yet, before nails could pierce my hand A manger was my promised land The desert sparkle giving gleam On son of man, a Godsent dream
The hope of glory, laid to rest The depths of hell, my life to test
Yet for a time, my skin lay bare In stable hay, in tender care My baby anthems shouts of joy For love divine was now in ploy
Do you remember me? And how I came on bended knee How I was sent to become flesh So you could start a life afresh
Yet, before I could bare your shame I knew your face, I knew your name I saw the sparkle in His eye And that is why I came to die
Do you remember me? And how I came to turn the key To reconcile God to man To redeem His initial plan
Of everlasting life and rest With all of heaven, highly blest
Behold your King! Behold him dear For I came to love, for love to be near So all of men could surely see The God-revealing light in me
Do you remember me? And how I came to let ma…

Thought it would be fitting to post a brief weather update on the day of my 10th prime birthday... I'm going to be honest: the weather outside doesn't feel anything like December...which is rather anticlimactic and depressing; however, we did have the 7th coldest November on record here in Nashville, so a reverse/seesaw pattern isn't too surprising. Around this time every year, I get asked if we'll see a 'white Christmas'. The last two times it's happened here in Nashville was 2010 and 1993...and climatologically speaking, we see one in Nashville every 14-15 years. Thus, I wouldn't invest in the idea of one this year, especially if you buy into the law of averages. 
However, the main reason I doubt it will happen this year is due to the current positive AO/NAO, which is bottling up the colder air in Canada and causing the northern snowpack to diminish. If you check out the first map (valid on 12/14), you'll see a classic ridging setup over the eastern …

Does it ever bother you how Christmas seems to start a little earlier ever year?

I know I fall into that camp.

Seriously…it’s like our culture is allergic to Thanksgiving. Fall arrives…and it’s Halloween for two months. Halloween ends…and it’s Christmas for two months. Yet, lost in between…within the crazy carousel of “to do” lists, peppy parties and shopping sessions is the most underrated holiday of the year…
… (*turkey drumstick roll please*)…Thanksgiving. Now, don’t get me wrong. I love me a cup of Yuletide bliss. I’m not trying to undercut the most wonderful season of all. It’s just that I balk at the idea of jumping on the premature Christmas celebration bandwagon. And note: for those who don’t know, yes, I do consider pre-Thanksgiving Christmas celebration to be premature. I mean…think about it. Our American calendar is not friendly to ‘Turkey Day’ at all. Not only is it sandwiched between Halloween and Christmas, but every year, you have Black Friday encroaching on its territory. In fa…

We’ve all been there before.
The crave for caffeinated fulfillment… The mid-afternoon coffee rush… The anticipation of one cup of steeped goodness igniting the day’s doldrums… When you think about it…it’s pretty amazing how a single coffeeshop stop…and a demitasse of brewed bliss with its steamed satisfaction…can seem to alter the day’s course.

Granted, not every pitstop can afford to be so rewarding.
Take yesterday, for example, when me and some TDOT colleagues moseyed down to a local Starbucks to take advantage of a ‘Buy One, Get One Free’ holiday drink special.
As we approached the main entrance, we noticed  the coffeeshop was highly congested with a line nearly extending out the door into the brutal cold.
Thankfully, having purchased coffee at the store before, and seeing how the line progression worked, I was able to educate my group in navigating the shop’s awkward floor plan. Essentially, to keep upcoming guests from waiting out in the cold, we decided to walk through a second entrance…

Recently, I was reading in 1 Corinthians 5:9-13, discussing the passage with LEGACYouth, when a coupled things jumped out at me.

When Paul says in v. 11: "I am writing to you not to associate with anyone who bears the name of brother if he is guilty of sexual immorality or greed, or is an idolater, reviler, drunkard, or swindler—not even to eat with such a one"...it can be easy to misinterpret or misapply this passage. 

Paul isn't saying 'wall up' against those who are backsliding or lost. He isn't saying ignore or cut off all ties with those who are struggling in their faith/to live righteously. On the contrary, he is saying don't associate...don't join in with the decisions they're making...with the lies they're buying into. Again, we have to remember to filter our interpretation of Scripture through the lens of Ephesians 6:12, in the sense what we wrestle with is principalities and powers of darkness, not flesh and blood. When we remember the…

When it comes to long-term weather forecasting,  as I've said before to quote the great James Spann: "There's simply no skill in pinning down details past seven days."
In other words, while it takes specialized training to know how to dicpher real-time computer model data, when the conversation changes to, "Will we see snow on Christmas Day this year?", it's really anyone's guess.

Thus, I completely understand if one considers long-term forecast specialists to be professionals in "crap shooting". After all, the weather can seem to have a mind of its own.

However, as the clock has turned into November, there's been considerable buzz surrounding the weather pattern for Thanksgiving week...which is only fair as it's one of the most traveled weeks of the entire year.

And though I remain fairly conservative in posting any resemblance of a forecast 2-3 weeks out, I have to admit, I'm pretty impressed with model consistency regarding…