Subjects in the Labels List (Labels Which Begin with the Letter A, range aa to al)

             This blog is ακωλυτως, unhindered. (Acts 28:31) Any subject is fair game. Below is a listing of the LABELS which begin with the letter A. All can be searched from the list which follows the last posted article on this page or by using the SEARCH button at the top of the page. Most will call up multiple postings in which they appear.

            a capella, A Contract with God, AAR, Aaron, abandonment of position, abba, abduction, ability, Abingdon Press, abjad, Abner, abortion, Abraham, Abraham Lincoln, Abram, Absalom Jones, absolute truth, abuse of power, academics, Academy Awards, acoustics, acrobatics, acrostics, acting, action figures, activism, actor, actress, Acts, Acts of the Apostles, AD, Adam and Eve, addiction to pornography, adolescents, Adolf Hitler, Adonai, Adoniram Judson, adoption, adoptionism, Adrian Peterson, Adrienne Barbeau, adultery, adults, advertisements, advice, aeronautics, affective disorders, Affirmation Declaration, Africa, African American, African Methodist Episcopal Church, Afrikaans, afterlife, age, aging, agnostic, agnosticism, Agrippa, Ahab, Ahaz, Ahaziah, Ahmadinejad, AI, AIDS, Air Force, airline, airplane, Akiane, Akira Kurosawa, Akkadia, Al Sharpton, al- Qaida, Alabama, Alabama A&M University, Alabama football, Alabama State University, Alabaster Box, Alaric, Alaska, Albania, Albanian, Albert Einstein, Albert Pujols, alcohol, Alcoholics Anonymous, Aldous Huxley, Aleister Crowley, alternate spiritualities, Alexander, Alexander Campbell, Alexander Kazembek, Alexander the Great, Alexandria, Alfred the Great, Algeria, Algonquian, Alice Cooper, alienation, Alistair Crowley, Allah, allegory, alligator, Alon Nil, and alphabet.

A Dream About Jesus and the National Championship Game

When I heard this, at first I thought that JJ was having a Michael Jr. moment but, then, about halfway into his story, I realized that he had veered off into a totally different direction.  As long time readers of this blog already know, Michael Jr. is my favorite comedian.  Michael tells funny stories and then, suddenly, the story becomes a sermon or a twist of the Holy Spirit’s sword, exposing our failings or hypocrisies.

I find this video to be troublesome.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6W6QAy9dR78

I am not going to tell you what to think, or why.  Make up your own mind.

National Championship Football Game

Please forgive me this indulgence.  I am excited about the University of Alabama football team playing tonight against the Louisiana State University team for the national championship of college football.  Both teams are in the same football conference, The Southeastern Conference, and amazingly, in the same division of the conference.

The videos below are of Sara Evans, an outspoken Christian, singing the United States national anthem at an Alabama football game and of her husband, Jay Barker, also an outspoken Christian, who is now a radio talk show host but was formerly a collegiate (University of Alabama, of course) and professional football player.

(Some videos will not play properly when you click on the triangle.  Instead,  click on the title line in the picture and the video will begin .  When the video is completed, close the You Tube pop-up window to return to this blog.)

Update: The University of Alabama football team defeated the Louisiana State University team 21-0 to win the national collegiate championship.

God Didn't Approve

We in the American South are often accused of making college football into a religion.  We laugh about it but know there is at least a hint of truth to the charge.  It was on display at the Southeastern Conference  (SEC) Media Days recently (Friday, 22 July 2011) at the Wynfrey Hotel in Hoover, Alaabama.

Each year the SEC football coaches, their staffs, some of their players, and innumerable newspaper, magazine, radio, television, and internet reporters gather to discuss the upcoming football season.  They talk about team strengths and weaknesses, up and coming players, and anything football related.

An Alabama fan, Eric Blackerby, of Columbiana, Alabama, was spotted wearing a tee-shirt with the logo "I HATE AUBURN ."  Asked about the shirt, NIck Saban , the coach of the University of Alabama football team responded, "I would tell him it's not personal, that it really isn't personal.  That is not really the way that we should respect the opponents that we have."

Asked later about Saban's comment, Blackerby responded, "It's like I went to church and God told me that he didn't approve."

Roll Tide in Jerusalem

Here in Birmingham we are often accused of making Alabama and Auburn football into a religion.  It's probably true. We love our football.  You rarely go a day without seeing someone wearing a sweatshirt from one of the two teams (and from other Southeastern Conference schools and numerous other less well known smaller colleges and universities). You'll often see a car with Alabama or Auburn insignia on the side panels or with school flags flapping in the wind.  My favorite is a tiger tail hanging out of a car trunk, as if someone has abducted Aubie, the mascot of Auburn University.

Ashley Makar is a divinity student at Yale University and a Birmingham native.  She is of Egyptian ancestry.  Her father is a cardiologist in Birmingham.  Recently, in Jerusalem, she ran upon a startling sight, the Alabama the Heart of Dixie souvenir shop.  Of course, she had to check this out.

The owner of the shop is Hani Imam, who lived in Tuscaloosa, Alabama from 1984 to 1994.  At the shop he has Alabama items and decorations but sells Christian, Muslim, and Jewish Holy Land items to religious tourists.  Imam watches Alabama football games on his satellite television and is hoping for them to repeat as national champions.

As Makar left the shop, the Muslim manager, Dia Abdeen, smiled and said, "Roll Tide!"

Makar, Ashley, "Viewpoints: There's a Heart of Dixie and a Roll Tide in Jerusalem," al.com.  http://blog.al.com/birmingham-news-commentary/2010/09/viewpoints_theres_a_heart_of_d.html

Sweaty Football Player on a Bench

My wife was having surgery the other day (a total knee replacement!).  As I sat waiting to hear that her surgery was completed and that she was heading to her room, I saw a man walking down the hall.  He had on a red sweatshirt (crimson, actually. Roll Tide!).  On the front of the shirt was a picture of a lone football player sitting on a bench, his helmet by his feet, head bowed in fatigue, with sweat dripping. 

Hmmmm!???

On the back of the shirt was the slogan: "The true image of a champion is one of a man, sitting on a bench, dripping sweat, with no else around."

This is the attitude Christians need to take in their Bible study and prayer life.  We need to be champions.