The Pursuit

Thanksgiving

Charlie Lachance

Friday, May 30th, 2008 | Thanksgiving, ministry, prayer, service, teaching, testimony | 2 Comments

This post is dedicated to my grandfather, Charlie Lachance. Last night I received word that Charlie had passed away. Charlie and his wife Rachel have been in my life since I was born. They are not my biological grandparents, but they have always treated me like their own grandson, if not their own son. Rachel passed away in the summer of 2003. It was a very sad time for me, she was one of the most loving and caring people that I knew. Charlie and Rachel’s marriage was one that is often unseen today. Sure, like any marriage, they had their share of problems, but the obvious way that they treated and respected one another had always amazed me. I am guilty of being unable to reproduce what they taught me by their example.

Charlie will forever remain one of my heroes. There are only a few men in my life who have influenced me the way that Charlie has influenced me. My childhood memory often fails me, but those fond memories I do have usually include Charlie and Rachel. He was a collector, some might even call him a hoarder. Always being afraid to throw something away because of its sentimental value or even its potential use in the future, Charlie’s house was filled with stuff. I think some of this might be an after effect of living in the depression era. I remember once, in his cabin, we found a locked lock, but no key. After going home he opened a tin with at least 100 keys inside. We searched through trying any key that might fit until we eventually found the right one. The sound of the lock popping was reward enough for our time spent. Charlie was also a keen business man. A postman by profession, but also dealt in antiques (along with his collecting). He would spend his weekends at the Flea market, selling and buying, dealing and trading. He also had a few rented tables throughout some local antique shops. His house was filled with wonderful collectables. But they didn’t mind if you picked them up, looked at them, or even played with them.

Some of my favorite memories of Charlie was the weeks that I would spend at his house. They would let me sleep in their big bed. Charlie and I would get up early in the morning and catch the early horror films on TV. We might go to the playground or we would walk the beach to collect sand dollars and unique shells. Of course, the best part for me was that the day usually ended with a trinket or two for me to play with when we got back. Even the hand buzzer that I would wind up and trick Rachel with… I think she saw it coming each time.

These are the memories that I behold, the love that he and Rachel shared with me will never be forgotten. I thank God for their relationship with me. And I thank you, Charlie, for treating me so kindly and loving me like your own.

Until we meet again.

Love,
Lew

Help, I don’t want to go to church and other funny searches

Monday, January 21st, 2008 | Thanksgiving, bible, books, christmas, church, hell, holidays, humor, just for fun, ministry, money, pastor, prayer, teaching, ten commandments, tradition | 1 Comment

I use Google analytics to track what is happening on my blog. I get to see which pages are most popular, how long people spend at my blog, and also what people search for to end up on my blog. Here are the top 11 funniest searches I’ve had in the past 30 days (in no particular order).

01. “what’s a handbasket and why do we got to hell in one?” - Isn’t it obvious?

02. should christians believe in santa claus - Yes.

03. muslim vs. baptist - The fight of the century!

04. i need molds of the ten commandments - Don’t we all.

05. how to have church without programs book - I recommend the Bible.

06. help, i don’t want to go to church - Help?

07. thigs to be thankful to god for - Google, peanut butter, and two-ply toliet paper.

08. notes on how to have to be a good pastor wife - Amen.

09. is it biblical to pay church volunteers? - Volunteer?

10. god bless me just a little - Me too.

11. churches say they will forgive if you pay us money - Me too!

Holiday vs. Christmas

Tuesday, December 4th, 2007 | Thanksgiving, boycott, christmas, holidays, just for fun, philosophy, tradition | 2 Comments

I always thought how silly it was that people got so upset at other people who would rather say Happy Holiday instead of Merry Christmas. Until the other day when I was listening to the all Christmas Music station on my way home (some of my favorite music is Christmas music). An ad came on for Home Depot. They wanted you to shop there for your Holiday Gifts, Holiday Tree, Holiday everything. For some reason when I heard the word “Holiday” instead of “Christmas” I realized how completely retarded it sounded. I had never noticed before, and frankly I still don’t care if they decide to use it. But seriously, it just doesn’t “fit.”

The reason why I think it sounds so stupid is because of what the word Holiday actually means and how it is being used. In this case Holiday is being used as the name of a specific day, December 25th. Regardless of it’s origin, December 25th in todays society is traditionally named, Christmas - or at least it was. The word “Holiday,” according to the dictionary means, “a day fixed by law or custom on which ordinary business is suspended in commemoration of some event or in honor of some person.” There are actually nine definitions but they are all pretty much the same. You see the problem I have with people saying Happy Holiday in reference to December 25, is not the fact that they are trying to remove Christmas, its the fact that they want to name a holiday - Holiday.

Basically what they want, is for people to say, “Are you coming over for Holiday?” or “Hey, what are you doing on Holiday?” And then they want people to associate that use with December 25th. Instead of the more specific term “Christmas.” But what about all the other holidays that America celebrates? They celebrate Valentines Day, The 4th of July, Thanksgiving, etc. Should we name them all “Holiday”? How would we know which one we are refering to?

You also have to contend with the etymology of the word of holiday. It is made of two words, Holy and Day. So, in order to not offend all the atheists and non-Christians in America, the big wigs have decided to stop calling December 25 “Christmas” in favor of calling it a “Holy Day.” Granted most of those people probably don’t know the etymology. But isn’t it just as “offensive” to call something Holy for someone who doesn’t believe in Holy things? Or to call a particular day Holy, if the atheist and non-Christian does not think the day is Holy?

I call for all companies who do not want to use the word “Christmas” to pick a new word. I’ll let them decide, but some possibilities might be, Gift Day, Giving Day, and Wonder Day (I think Giving Day would be perfect, since we just celebrated Thanksgiving). I know a lot of you might be thinking, “that’ll never work.” But if you look back in history, you’ll find that the Christmas day did just that. It swooped down and took over a whole different holiday on December 25th.