Kopp Disclosure
(John 3:19-21)
@#$%
After a painful loss, I said to my dad, "We would've won if it hadn't rained so hard."
Response: "Well, son, it's a good thing that it didn't rain when they had the ball."
"But," I noted, "it did."
"Oh," he sniffled.
He's not big on excuses or rationalizations which, uh, are really lies.
@#$%
Rick Reilly for ESPN The Magazine (12/1/08): "There are things in the sports pages sometimes that make you want to ralph in your Special K...Marion Jones telling Oprah that the reason she lied...was that 'I didn't love myself enough'...Figure skater Johnny Weir, on his lousy performance in the 2006 Winter Olympics: 'I didn't feel my inner peace. I didn't feel my aura'...Pete Rose saying he gambled...because he had 'oppositional defiant disorder'...Long-distance runner Dieter Baumann, on why he tested positive for steroids in 1999: 'My toothpaste was spiked'...And the best ever, from Zambian tennis player Liighton Ndefwayl, after a 1992 loss: 'My jockstrap was too tight.'"
Casey Stengal, first manager of the hapless Mets at NYC's Polo Grounds, quoted catcher Choo Choo Coleman's excuse for dropping a foul ball during a night game: "The moon got in my eyes."
Grandpa Jacob and I heard that last one ourselves over the radio on Grove Street in Ridgewood (NYC).
Back to RR: "This is why I like Kerry Collins. Whether he plays like Fran Tarkenton or Fran Drescher, he never makes excuses. After he performed like a Xanaxed ferret in the 2001 Super Bowl,...he stood at the podium and said, 'I sucked today. I was prepared. I was ready. I just played terrible.'"
Collins played at Penn State before the Giants, Titans, and somebody else.
My dad lives in Pennsylvania.
Hmm.
@#$%
1 John 1:5-10.
@#$%
Victorious Ministry Through Christ, a powerful tool of deliverance from the past enabling redemption and encouraging total commitment to Jesus through confession and repentance, has taught a valuable lesson to me: "Dump your garbage before someone digs it up because people who dig it up won't be as graceful as God."
John 3:19-21.
1 John 1:5-10.
If you'd like to get in touch with VMTC, let me know and I'll connect you to its central office.
@#$%
With only a third of the season left, here are KD's power rankings and predictions/whatevers:
1. Giants (9-1) - Eli's Coming!...Again!
2. Jets (7-3) - Thank you, Green Bay!
3. Steelers (7-3) - Big Ben is the most overpaid in the NFL
but Troy/Hines are the real deals.
4. Patriots (6-4) - O.K., he cheats; but so does our
government which usually ends up on top too.
5. Colts (6-4) - Never count out big brother who should
make more than Big Ben.
6. Cardinals (7-3) - Best two receivers in the NFL
with a confessional QB!
7. Titans (10-0) - Overrated and not Young enough!
8. Panthers (8-2) - Who?
9. Buccaneers (7-3) - That Chucky!
10. Dolphins (6-4) - Watch out for the really Big Tuna!
11. Packers (5-5) - Please, please, please come back!
12. Cowboys (6-4) - TO is BO to morale and anybody dating...
13. Redskins (6-4) - Tough to figure like their neighbors in D.C.
14. Ravens (6-4) - Always deadly with that real killer at LB.
15. Falcons (6-4) - Michael who?
16. Broncos (6-4) - With thanks to that zebra!
17. Chargers (4-6) - Where is that zebra?
18. Eagles (5-4-1) - Rules? What rules?
19. Bills (5-5) - Jim Kelly disease...
20. Saints (5-5) - Bushwhacked.
21. Vikings (5-5) - Bud Grant disease...
22. Jaguars (4-6) - Who?
23. Browns (4-6) - Giant(s) killers aka SOBs (see below).
24. Bears (5-5) - It's time to draft a real QB.
25. Chiefs (1-9) - You play to win the... Ah, forget it!
26. Texans (3-7) - I didn't know Texas had pro teams. They don't.
27. 49ers (3-7) - Hey, Joe!
28. Seahawks (2-8) - Latte, please!
29. Rams (2-8) - We love LA!
30. Bengals (1-8-1) - Myron was right: Bungles.
31. Raiders (2-8) - Talk about someone who needs to retire...
32. Lions (0-10) - DOA.
If you think other KD musings have been controversial...
@#$%
Getting to the Brownies as promised, TE Kellen Winslow, who is better than his Hall of Fame dad by self-admission, was fined $235,294 for questioning the ownership's handling of his staph infection.
This is on the heels of Dolphins' eventual Hall of Fame LB Joey Porter being fined $20K for saying referees occasionally make bad calls.
This is a trend mirrored in our ecclesiastical culture.
Questions about and dissents from the party line are increasingly met by disdain, disqualification, and dark conspiracies to isolate and even exterminate.
Conscience is captive to who's in charge.
If you don't believe that, talk to Kellen, Joey, TO, Joe Lieberman, or anyone who isn't an ideological lemming.
And if you're a mainline clergywoman/man, "You better watch out, you better not pout, you better not..."
@#$%
Speaking of lies, members of the moronic media (check out the Greek in Matthew 7:26) are touting Camelot II and comparing MO to JFK's Mrs.
I know I'll get into trouble for saying this but PBHO shows a lot more loyalty to MO as a wife, mother, and First Lady than JFK ever afforded to Jackie.
MO comes across as a strong leader in her own right and not some matchmaker's trophy wife.
And since we're into comparisons, while I'm not into Time drawing parallels between PBHO and Jesus, I do think their cover of PBHO looking like FDR was kinda fun and MO may be more like FDR's Mrs. than JFK's.
@#$%
Mail Time!
From Rhode Island: "Thank you, thank you, thank you for KDs which I forward all over the place. I don't always agree with you but you always make me think. I can't wait until you start the website but I always want to get those first editions. I don't know how you stay a step ahead of the headline news, but you do. Do you sleep?"
You're very kind, friend. I sleep...on occasion.
From Illinois: "I just have to let you know the name of the show where "Hated It!" came from was actually called In Living Color which starred the Wayans brothers. I thought you would want to know because then the Cyndi Lauper reference doesn't work out. See, I do read them!"
Oops! O.K., how about this? Don't tell. Besides you're the only other cracker I know besides me who watched it.
From denomnationaljingoismville: "I'd rather not get KDs. I do not care for your style of writing; as much as I often agree with your conclusions. The manner in which you write does enormous disservice to the ideas that you wish to convey."
Does this mean you're not going to send in a donation this year? Geez. My guess is the really, really, really properly religious who have no problems divorcing reality from auto-suggestedly extra-Biblical theology/sociology/pathology/idolatry find KDs to be too offensively and obnoxiously (saltish) honest (lightish) for their unadmitted tastes for watching soaps and reading tabloids when no one is watching; while others who take His talk about wineskins and allegiances and affections apart from idolatries seriously can handle a little spice now and then. Truth is this guy has hated me for years because I'm not convinced God favors Presbyterians and the PCUSA more than everybody else and have this habit of exposing the empire's nakedness.
From town: "Here's another dad story. My dad came storming up to me at the end of the 1st quarter of a football game when I was playing for Belvidere Junior Tackle. I had just gone to the sideline with an injury. He asked in front of the team, 'Joe, does that hurt?' I answered, 'Yes.' He said, 'I did not feel a thing.' I finished the game and then went to the hospital with a broken arm. He used that line on me my entire life. I have used it on my son at least 200 times. The apple does not fall too far from the tree."
While some soccer moms would like to slap you and dad upside the head, the big point is important. Excuses - woulda, coulda, shoulda - don't win games and don't propel us to excellence in life and discipleship. We're all injured somehow by somebody sometime along the way. That's when we take His hand and walk! When Jesus saw a crippled man from birth, He didn't make excuses for him or Himself. He said, "Get up and walk!" Success begins with the first step. I hope folks get your point. I do. Of course, it's like Grandpa Jacob often urged me, "Don't miss the forest for the trees!" Let me put it another way. That guy who doesn't like the way I write hasn't read 1 Corinthians 12. Varieties, friend! One Lord. One Savior. Varieties of discipleship as long as they're consistent with Biblical revelation.
From a frightened pastor somewhere in the South: "How do you get away with what you write? My congregation would kill me."
Well, I still get lots of offers from other churches which helps with the bravery thing. Parenthetically, don't tell anyone but I love our family of faith and will die for 'em (actually, I am in so many ways already). Here's the key. People know I'm always available for them whenever, wherever, and whatever. Everybody knows I love 'em and don't judge 'em. Anybody who asks knows I give straight answers to direct questions. Anybody who has confronted me about anything knows I'll admit when I'm wrong; but they also know right and wrong are more a matter of Biblical revelation than their prejudices. If you spend more than a minute with me, you know I have only one Master. So, friend, "they" don't even bother. Maybe it's age. Maybe it's vocational security. Maybe it's the first half of the Decalogue which goes without saying and the second half which, uh, should go without saying. In short, they know I love 'em and will die for 'em because Jesus comes first. Or maybe you've just got a typically mainline congregation that is long on propriety and short on prophecy. Seriously, I will pray the breaking of your chains through a fresh, compelling, and boldly liberating regeneration in Jesus. Or I'll just recommend you to another church where you'll be appreciated. Try VMTC!
@#$%
It's hard for anyone to disagree with us if it's all about Jesus as attested in Holy Scripture and not about us.
If they do, it's His problem anyway.
Reimagine that!
Some people think what they think can be juxtaposed to divine revelation in Jesus and Holy Scripture as if life and eternity are one big introductory college freshman class on religion: "I know that's what Jesus and the Bible say, but I think..."
I'd rather excuse my humanity for His divinity than assume my humanity competes with His...
It's kinda like games with a clock.
When time runs out, so do excuses.
@#$%
Blessings and Love!
(John 3:19-21)
@#$%
After a painful loss, I said to my dad, "We would've won if it hadn't rained so hard."
Response: "Well, son, it's a good thing that it didn't rain when they had the ball."
"But," I noted, "it did."
"Oh," he sniffled.
He's not big on excuses or rationalizations which, uh, are really lies.
@#$%
Rick Reilly for ESPN The Magazine (12/1/08): "There are things in the sports pages sometimes that make you want to ralph in your Special K...Marion Jones telling Oprah that the reason she lied...was that 'I didn't love myself enough'...Figure skater Johnny Weir, on his lousy performance in the 2006 Winter Olympics: 'I didn't feel my inner peace. I didn't feel my aura'...Pete Rose saying he gambled...because he had 'oppositional defiant disorder'...Long-distance runner Dieter Baumann, on why he tested positive for steroids in 1999: 'My toothpaste was spiked'...And the best ever, from Zambian tennis player Liighton Ndefwayl, after a 1992 loss: 'My jockstrap was too tight.'"
Casey Stengal, first manager of the hapless Mets at NYC's Polo Grounds, quoted catcher Choo Choo Coleman's excuse for dropping a foul ball during a night game: "The moon got in my eyes."
Grandpa Jacob and I heard that last one ourselves over the radio on Grove Street in Ridgewood (NYC).
Back to RR: "This is why I like Kerry Collins. Whether he plays like Fran Tarkenton or Fran Drescher, he never makes excuses. After he performed like a Xanaxed ferret in the 2001 Super Bowl,...he stood at the podium and said, 'I sucked today. I was prepared. I was ready. I just played terrible.'"
Collins played at Penn State before the Giants, Titans, and somebody else.
My dad lives in Pennsylvania.
Hmm.
@#$%
1 John 1:5-10.
@#$%
Victorious Ministry Through Christ, a powerful tool of deliverance from the past enabling redemption and encouraging total commitment to Jesus through confession and repentance, has taught a valuable lesson to me: "Dump your garbage before someone digs it up because people who dig it up won't be as graceful as God."
John 3:19-21.
1 John 1:5-10.
If you'd like to get in touch with VMTC, let me know and I'll connect you to its central office.
@#$%
With only a third of the season left, here are KD's power rankings and predictions/whatevers:
1. Giants (9-1) - Eli's Coming!...Again!
2. Jets (7-3) - Thank you, Green Bay!
3. Steelers (7-3) - Big Ben is the most overpaid in the NFL
but Troy/Hines are the real deals.
4. Patriots (6-4) - O.K., he cheats; but so does our
government which usually ends up on top too.
5. Colts (6-4) - Never count out big brother who should
make more than Big Ben.
6. Cardinals (7-3) - Best two receivers in the NFL
with a confessional QB!
7. Titans (10-0) - Overrated and not Young enough!
8. Panthers (8-2) - Who?
9. Buccaneers (7-3) - That Chucky!
10. Dolphins (6-4) - Watch out for the really Big Tuna!
11. Packers (5-5) - Please, please, please come back!
12. Cowboys (6-4) - TO is BO to morale and anybody dating...
13. Redskins (6-4) - Tough to figure like their neighbors in D.C.
14. Ravens (6-4) - Always deadly with that real killer at LB.
15. Falcons (6-4) - Michael who?
16. Broncos (6-4) - With thanks to that zebra!
17. Chargers (4-6) - Where is that zebra?
18. Eagles (5-4-1) - Rules? What rules?
19. Bills (5-5) - Jim Kelly disease...
20. Saints (5-5) - Bushwhacked.
21. Vikings (5-5) - Bud Grant disease...
22. Jaguars (4-6) - Who?
23. Browns (4-6) - Giant(s) killers aka SOBs (see below).
24. Bears (5-5) - It's time to draft a real QB.
25. Chiefs (1-9) - You play to win the... Ah, forget it!
26. Texans (3-7) - I didn't know Texas had pro teams. They don't.
27. 49ers (3-7) - Hey, Joe!
28. Seahawks (2-8) - Latte, please!
29. Rams (2-8) - We love LA!
30. Bengals (1-8-1) - Myron was right: Bungles.
31. Raiders (2-8) - Talk about someone who needs to retire...
32. Lions (0-10) - DOA.
If you think other KD musings have been controversial...
@#$%
Getting to the Brownies as promised, TE Kellen Winslow, who is better than his Hall of Fame dad by self-admission, was fined $235,294 for questioning the ownership's handling of his staph infection.
This is on the heels of Dolphins' eventual Hall of Fame LB Joey Porter being fined $20K for saying referees occasionally make bad calls.
This is a trend mirrored in our ecclesiastical culture.
Questions about and dissents from the party line are increasingly met by disdain, disqualification, and dark conspiracies to isolate and even exterminate.
Conscience is captive to who's in charge.
If you don't believe that, talk to Kellen, Joey, TO, Joe Lieberman, or anyone who isn't an ideological lemming.
And if you're a mainline clergywoman/man, "You better watch out, you better not pout, you better not..."
@#$%
Speaking of lies, members of the moronic media (check out the Greek in Matthew 7:26) are touting Camelot II and comparing MO to JFK's Mrs.
I know I'll get into trouble for saying this but PBHO shows a lot more loyalty to MO as a wife, mother, and First Lady than JFK ever afforded to Jackie.
MO comes across as a strong leader in her own right and not some matchmaker's trophy wife.
And since we're into comparisons, while I'm not into Time drawing parallels between PBHO and Jesus, I do think their cover of PBHO looking like FDR was kinda fun and MO may be more like FDR's Mrs. than JFK's.
@#$%
Mail Time!
From Rhode Island: "Thank you, thank you, thank you for KDs which I forward all over the place. I don't always agree with you but you always make me think. I can't wait until you start the website but I always want to get those first editions. I don't know how you stay a step ahead of the headline news, but you do. Do you sleep?"
You're very kind, friend. I sleep...on occasion.
From Illinois: "I just have to let you know the name of the show where "Hated It!" came from was actually called In Living Color which starred the Wayans brothers. I thought you would want to know because then the Cyndi Lauper reference doesn't work out. See, I do read them!"
Oops! O.K., how about this? Don't tell. Besides you're the only other cracker I know besides me who watched it.
From denomnationaljingoismville: "I'd rather not get KDs. I do not care for your style of writing; as much as I often agree with your conclusions. The manner in which you write does enormous disservice to the ideas that you wish to convey."
Does this mean you're not going to send in a donation this year? Geez. My guess is the really, really, really properly religious who have no problems divorcing reality from auto-suggestedly extra-Biblical theology/sociology/pathology/idolatry find KDs to be too offensively and obnoxiously (saltish) honest (lightish) for their unadmitted tastes for watching soaps and reading tabloids when no one is watching; while others who take His talk about wineskins and allegiances and affections apart from idolatries seriously can handle a little spice now and then. Truth is this guy has hated me for years because I'm not convinced God favors Presbyterians and the PCUSA more than everybody else and have this habit of exposing the empire's nakedness.
From town: "Here's another dad story. My dad came storming up to me at the end of the 1st quarter of a football game when I was playing for Belvidere Junior Tackle. I had just gone to the sideline with an injury. He asked in front of the team, 'Joe, does that hurt?' I answered, 'Yes.' He said, 'I did not feel a thing.' I finished the game and then went to the hospital with a broken arm. He used that line on me my entire life. I have used it on my son at least 200 times. The apple does not fall too far from the tree."
While some soccer moms would like to slap you and dad upside the head, the big point is important. Excuses - woulda, coulda, shoulda - don't win games and don't propel us to excellence in life and discipleship. We're all injured somehow by somebody sometime along the way. That's when we take His hand and walk! When Jesus saw a crippled man from birth, He didn't make excuses for him or Himself. He said, "Get up and walk!" Success begins with the first step. I hope folks get your point. I do. Of course, it's like Grandpa Jacob often urged me, "Don't miss the forest for the trees!" Let me put it another way. That guy who doesn't like the way I write hasn't read 1 Corinthians 12. Varieties, friend! One Lord. One Savior. Varieties of discipleship as long as they're consistent with Biblical revelation.
From a frightened pastor somewhere in the South: "How do you get away with what you write? My congregation would kill me."
Well, I still get lots of offers from other churches which helps with the bravery thing. Parenthetically, don't tell anyone but I love our family of faith and will die for 'em (actually, I am in so many ways already). Here's the key. People know I'm always available for them whenever, wherever, and whatever. Everybody knows I love 'em and don't judge 'em. Anybody who asks knows I give straight answers to direct questions. Anybody who has confronted me about anything knows I'll admit when I'm wrong; but they also know right and wrong are more a matter of Biblical revelation than their prejudices. If you spend more than a minute with me, you know I have only one Master. So, friend, "they" don't even bother. Maybe it's age. Maybe it's vocational security. Maybe it's the first half of the Decalogue which goes without saying and the second half which, uh, should go without saying. In short, they know I love 'em and will die for 'em because Jesus comes first. Or maybe you've just got a typically mainline congregation that is long on propriety and short on prophecy. Seriously, I will pray the breaking of your chains through a fresh, compelling, and boldly liberating regeneration in Jesus. Or I'll just recommend you to another church where you'll be appreciated. Try VMTC!
@#$%
It's hard for anyone to disagree with us if it's all about Jesus as attested in Holy Scripture and not about us.
If they do, it's His problem anyway.
Reimagine that!
Some people think what they think can be juxtaposed to divine revelation in Jesus and Holy Scripture as if life and eternity are one big introductory college freshman class on religion: "I know that's what Jesus and the Bible say, but I think..."
I'd rather excuse my humanity for His divinity than assume my humanity competes with His...
It's kinda like games with a clock.
When time runs out, so do excuses.
@#$%
Blessings and Love!
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