The Main Point by Michael Main

TOYS FOR BOYS

I was asked this week what was the favorite toy I received as a Christmas present when I was a kid. It was an impromptu conversation "on the air" so I thought fast and remembered my "Man From Uncle" toy machine gun that folded up into a radio. I must have enjoyed it...I remembered it.

This morning I was looking through some old pictures and I remembered the Beanie and Cecil dolls I received. Cecil had one of those strings you pulled to make him talk, which had to be one of the first toys that did that.

I loved those dolls when I was very little.

Looking at the Beanie doll though, from this picture off an Ebay auction, I have to say...he looks pretty frightening now.

So what was your favorite Christmas toy?

TIS THE SEASON

It's getting close. The day I've been dreading. Soon I'm going to have to start shopping for Christmas.

But not today.

THE LAZY DAYS OF WINTER

I started writing here nine or ten months ago, vowing to write something every day. I'm now considering taking weekends off, or at least not feeling guilty if I don't write Friday through Sunday. The readership (both of you) tends to drop off over the weekends anyway. I'm not committing to weekends free, but if you see nothing here for a few days, don't freak out.

JACOB & ROY

We had a little mini-party at the church last night. Joey did caricatures. There was face painting and scrap booking. Wassail and chai tea.

I got out of the car to be greeted by Tiffany. Apparently everyone else knew she was driving down to be with us, except me. It was a wonderful way to start the evening. All three kids were together for the first time in a year.

They spent much of the night ignoring Amy and me...it was just like old times.

I took this grainy shot of my friend Roy and little Jacob, who has quickly won the hearts of the congregation.

Jacob is a joy to watch as he delights in the world around him. Roy, some 65 plus years his senior, is much the same. He's won our hearts too.

DISCIPLESHIP

Is there someone in your life you haven't reached with the Gospel? Maybe it's time you just hurled it at them.

I don't know, as cheesy as this is, I still sort of like it.

When it comes to outreach, sometimes you have to throw it out there and see where it lands.

TOOLS OF GOD

A friend called this afternoon to talk with Amy. She wanted to get something off her chest. She told Amy she had some problems in the past.

Amy told her so has everyone.

She wanted to know now that she was closer to God, that she had a more organized spiritual life, if she should be less reliant on the support systems she had used to overcome some of her problems

Amy told her those support systems were gifts from God..

She wondered if she should be able to rely on God for everything ...to be strong.

Amy told her we should rely on Him, but we shouldn't overlook the tools He gives us to do that.

We're not perfect.

God knows that.

He still loves us.

That's why God is perfect.

Matthew 6:8

Your Father knows what you need before you ask him.

TIGHTLY WRAPPED

I am covetous of my sleeping hours. But I've never gone to this extreme.

THE PRODIGAL STEPSON

Joey's home. My stepson who schools in Ohio flew in yesterday. The house is gradually becoming messy... it's noisy a lot more often with the sound of people instead of just dogs.

It's all coming back to me now.

Family.

It feels very right.

PEDESTALED IN TRIUMPH

For I am that way going to temptation, where prayers cross. -Shakespeare

The other night Amy and I were sitting around the house when I decided to walk into the bedroom for something. When I grabbed the door knob it came off in my hand. Amy walked up behind me and immediately stuck her finger in the opening and her finger got stuck.

I can resist everything...except temptation - Oscar Wilde

I had lunch this afternoon at a fancy steak house - the company paid for it as a holiday treat/ratings reward. The waiter who brought me my slab of beef cautioned, "Don't touch the plate, it's very hot!" I immediately touched the plate.

I guess it's our nature.

I will say this, when Amy got her finger stuck, she spent several minutes trying to free it as we both laughed hysterically. She dared me to get the camera and post proof the incident had happened.

I resisted.

There are several good protections against temptation, but the surest is cowardice. - Mark Twain

THAT'S NOT SANTA

Capitalism, you gotta love it.

The bearded Saddam dolls are already for sale.

For the little boy in all of us.

AS TIME DRIVES BY

There was a time when I really liked to drive. I could drive all day and all night. Back in my young, carefree and single days, I took a "boy and his dog" trip that lasted two weeks. In one day I drove through seven states and would have gone further but I got distracted by the lights of Las Vegas. I loved it.

We used to drive to Ohio each summer in one fell swoop...23 hours.

Maybe it's because all the other cars on the road are SO BIG now. Maybe it's because my car has a funky window and the traffic noise seems louder. Maybe it's the difference between driving for pleasure and just driving.

Maybe there are just more miles on me.

Whatever the reason, a 350 mile trip today took its toll. I am worn out.

Driving did give me time to think though.

Tomorrow - thoughts on the temptation of hot plates, and broken doorknobs.

Tonight my mind is driven towards slumber.

ALL ROADS LEAD TO BAYLOR

Amy and I are off to lovely Waco today. Time to retrieve the youngest daughter from college. Lisa will be home with us tonight and then will be able to meet Joey at the airport when he flies in tomorrow.

It beginning to feel a lot like Christmas.

CAPTURE CAPITALISM

First the beard ...now the Saddam capture music.

THE PERFECT STOCKING STUFFER

It's weird the stuff that runs through my mind when I am trying to take a nap. This afternoon I was trying to catch a few zzz's when this odd thought popped into my head.

I had to go on Ebay just to see if my suspicions were true.

Sure enough there's someone else out there with a twisted reality.

ADDENDUM- Ebay pulled the auction of "genuine clippings of Saddam's beard"

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

It's always nice to open one present before Christmas.

What a pleasant way to start the day.

I pray this is the turning point toward making life much safer for members of the military.

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