manna?

Dave Miller at 84 East Febuary 12, 2005 and Febuary 14, 2005

Posted by Ed and Lois

Need a valentine dinner idea? (You know who you are)

It’s hard to believe you’d be out two nights in a row but if you are, Dave will be playing from 7:00ish to the last request is played on Saturday and Monday from 7:00 to 10:00. Lets see: My Funny Valentine, The Way You Look Tonight, Stardust and yea maybe a song called Coffee. 

Movie Revue: Napolean Dynamite By David Higgs (The Ooze)

Posted by Ed and Lois

Everyone seen this movie? What did you think? Fav parts?

What do I think? Well…of all the experiences that have convinced me that I am truly a Grey Beard and that I am completely “nowhere” when it come to my teenagers cultural tastes, this movie is the clearest.

I enjoyed watching my kids laugh at the movie and I laughed a lot a them laughing at the movie. For myself, however, I mostly just sat with my head cocked slightly to the right with a confused look on my face. I remember occasionally shaking my head from side to side and feeling like I was in some sci-fi episode with Rod Serling…“For your consideration…a formally hip middle aged man in a room full of laughing young people. Everyone really gets it but him. He is no longer on the inside. He is no longer ahead of the curve…he had suddenly found himself in…The Twilight Zone.”

They tell me I had a glazed look on my face, and was muttering something about fruit in my oatmeal, when they realized something was wrong, terribly wrong. Apparently my son helped me out of the room and into my recliner with some assistance from my daughter. When I came to I had a cool cloth on my forehead and a cold, freshly poured, glass of Ensure in my trembling hands.

After 3 or 4 episodes of The Andy Griffin Show and 2 re-runs of Hawaii 5-0, I was back to normal, at least for me.

Still, sometimes late at night, I will wake up in a cold sweat…and feel afraid and strangely empty inside. The counselor says this will eventually pass, after the second round of shock treetment.

I guess it could have been worse, I could have been watching it alone. Anyway I will not try watching it again…I can’t affore the brain cells.

At least that was this Grey Beard’s (near death) experience with Napoleon Dynamite

The Problems I Have With Programs by John O’Keefe (Oooze)

Posted by Ed and Lois

Ever since “The Passion of the Christ,” I have been wondering why am I so “anti-program?” I know I tend to be a bit of a rebel, but I still wonder why things “programmed” drive me crazy.

When I say “crazy” I mean, they drive me crazy and I just can’t seem to get a grip on why. It seems that modern churches and modern church “leaders” gravitate to the “latest and greatest” in the church program area – flashy books, great titles, cool pics and all the eye candy one can muster. I can remember sitting at a meeting of the local Pastors and hearing them talk about how “The Passion” (the newest “latest and greatest” program) was going to flood our churches with non-believers seeking to know more about Christ. What they could not grasp in reality was when I tried to explain that most non-believers do not see the church as “the place” where those questions are asked, and honestly answered. Most non-believers are going to have that conversation in the local bar, their living room or their kitchen and many be on Thursday night at the bowling ally; places where most “good christians” would never get caught walking out of (notice I did not say they would not go in, just that they would never get caught coming out).

The Main Problem:
Here is the main problem I think I am having with this whole “purpose driven” thing (and in reality you can put any of the many programs in those quotes) - when I read statements that claim, “this program changed my life” or “if not for this program our church would have closed” or “I love this program because it made me see my life clearer” I get freaked, because many modern “leaders” hear those types of statements and think, “the purpose driven program will change the lives of my people and the culture of my church. We will start to grow and become a bigger church, I need that program.” The problem is the program does nothing – nothing – it changes nothing as I see it. I believe the gospel message changed the people, but we give credit to the program and the author of the program, but it is the message of Christ that changes lives and church culture.
Full Post:http://www.theooze.com/articles/article.cfm?id=864

Sunday Febuary 6,2005

Posted by Ed and Lois

Manna meets @ 10:42 AM in the Park Theatre

248 South River Avenue
Holland, Mi. 49423-3201

We promise to be done before the pre-game shows start.
As always dress warm.

Super Sunday: The Best Excuse To Party by Gary Mihoces (USA Today)

Posted by Ed and Lois

Party at Dave and Di’s

JACKSONVILLE — Ready, set, dip your chips. An avocado industry group projects 43.8 million pounds of the fruit will be eaten during Super Bowl XXXIX — most in the form of creamy guacamole.
Super Sunday will be the No. 1 day of the year for consumption of Hass avocados, the primary variety marketed in the USA, according to Liz Wilkins, spokeswoman for the Hass Avocado Board.

Think of Alltel Stadium, site of this year’s game between the New England Patriots and the Philadelphia Eagles, as one big party bowl.

Most won’t be devoured here. It will be scooped at parties large and small in homes and gathering places where Super Sunday has become a ritualized, midwinter break — a perfect excuse to party.

Crunch these numbers from a National Retail Federation survey: 21.5 million people will throw Super Bowl bashes, 9.9 million will party at restaurants and bars and consumers who plan to watch the game will spend an average of $49.27 (or $5.6 billion total) on Super Bowl-related items from food and drink to new TV sets, lounge chairs and entertainment centers.

The buffet table is full of theories on why the Super Bowl makes us reach out for friends, family, hot sausages and cold beverages: perfect seasonal timing when not much else is going on, everybody else is watching, TV ads that always create buzz, the halftime shows (spiced last year by Janet Jackson’s “wardrobe malfunction”), a national urge to escape the stress of current times and more.

“Super Bowl has evolved probably really in the last decade. It is almost a national holiday. It’s not a national holiday, but it’s a national event,” says Rachel Bolton, spokeswoman for Hallmark Cards, which monitors holiday and celebratory trends and markets a line of Super Bowl partyware.

“It’s a perfect chance to blow off steam,” Bolton adds. “There’s kind a letdown after Christmas and the holidays. ... There was a need, and it all worked together. It became a cultural icon. Everybody knows what it is.”

Full Post:http://www.usatoday.com/sports/football/super/2005-02-03-bonus-1_x.htm