Tim Ellsworth

Christianity Today’s Stan Guthrie interviewed “Everybody Loves Raymond” star Patricia Heaton.

Dan Kimball, one of the cogs in the Emergent Church wheel, has responded to a cricitism of the EC by John MacArthur.

Hat tip: Tony

Tim Challies has started a series of posts about why he and his wife have chosen to send their children to public schools. Part one is up today.

I’m looking forward to reading the rest of what he has to say. For us, we’ve ruled out public schools and are leaning toward a Christian school — but I’m still mulling some things over about home schooling.

Gene Wojciechowski struggled over his vote for the FedEx Orange Bowl/Football Writers Association of America Courage Award, for good reason — there are so many who are so deserving. In his column, Wojo runs down a list of some of the candidates. Good stuff.

Hat tip: Steven

James Dobson, in Time magazine, has responded to the news that Mary Cheney is pregnant and will raise her child with her lesbian partner.

With all due respect to Cheney and her partner, Heather Poe, the majority of more than 30 years of social-science evidence indicates that children do best on every measure of well-being when raised by their married mother and father. That is not to say Cheney and Poe will not love their child. But love alone is not enough to guarantee healthy growth and development. The two most loving women in the world cannot provide a daddy for a little boy–any more than the two most loving men can be complete role models for a little girl.

And that’s the way it is.

The name says it all: www.crummychurchsigns.com. Read much of the content and you’ll be both entertained and depressed. The site’s owner, Joel, gives some hilarious commentary on the signs.

For example:

Church sign: “Kill the devil”
Joel’s review: “Can we … do that? What’s taken so long, then?”

Church sign: “Faith in yourself has won many a race….never quit trying.”
Joel’s review: “Yes, folks, the cornerstone of the universal church, as established by God Himself, since time eternal: ‘Faith in Yourself.’”

Church sign: “Church the way it used to be”
Joel’s review: “You mean hiding in houses, trying to escape persecution from Roman soldiers?”

Church sign: “God is alive and God lives”
Joel’s review: “Really? He does both at the very same time?”

Church sign: “The dyslexic atheist believes there is no Dog.”
Joel’s review: “And the dyslexic church sign reviewer says this sign is a big ‘lipe of parc.’”

Lots more where these came from. Check it out.

Hat tip: Tony

Albert Mohler has a good commentary about psycho feminist Linda Hirshman and her new book, “Get to Work: A Manifesto for Women of the World.”

Anybody watching this show? Jeremy just provided me with the entire series thus far on DVD, and I’ve been watching them the past few nights. Consider me impressed. I have one or two more episodes left to watch, so don’t spoil anything for me.

Hope you and your family are enjoying this Christmas season as much as we are.

Greg Maddux to the Padres, J.D. Drew and Julio Lugo to the Red Sox, Manny Ramirez still with the Red Sox.

Some other items of note:

– Tony LaRussa has indicated that Braden Looper might be a possibility for the rotation next year. Um, say what?

– Jacque Jones has suggested he wants out of Chicago.

– Barry Bonds is still unemployed.

From AP:

The Supreme Court stepped into a dispute over free speech Friday involving a suspended high school student and his banner that proclaimed “Bong Hits 4 Jesus.”

The justices agreed to hear the appeal by the Juneau, Alaska, school board and principal Deborah Morse of a lower court ruling that allowed the student’s civil rights lawsuit to proceed. The school board hired former Whitewater prosecutor Kenneth Starr to argue its case to the high court.

Morse suspended Frederick after he displayed the banner, with its reference to marijuana use, when the Olympic torch passed through Juneau in 2002 on its way to the Winter Games in Salt Lake City.

Frederick, then a senior, was off school property when he hoisted the banner but was suspended for violating the school’s policy of promoting illegal substances at a school-sanctioned event.

I don’t even know what to say.

Hat tip: jrazz

The Sacred Sandwich includes a spoof about Pat Robertson being named Meteorologist of the Year by the American Meteorologist Society.

“He may be a false prophet, but he’s one heck of a weatherman” said AMS spokesman Ned Wainwright in his praise of the famous 700 Club host. “We believe that Pat exemplifies the quintessential meteorologist when he proves that we don’t know squat about weather forecasting. Sure, his hurricane prediction was a colossal blunder, but when was the last time Willard Scott got anything right?”

If you’re not reading the Sandwich, you’re missing some funny stuff.

Hat tip: Challies

Chris Carpenter will be wearing the birds on the bat through at least 2011, after he and the Cardinals agreed to a five-year extension.

Way to go, Walt.

From ESPN:

Albert Pujols apparently feels like his words have been lost in translation.

In an interview with USA Today, Pujols said his recent comments about Ryan Howard’s unworthiness as National League MVP were misinterpreted and he wants to apologize to the Phillies’ slugging first baseman.

“I feel so bad because I love Ryan Howard,” Pujols told USA Today. “I never said he didn’t deserve the MVP. He is deserving of that award. He earned it. That’s why he got it. I’m not trying to defend myself; I just want to tell him that I’m sorry for all of this because he earned the MVP. The last thing I want to do is spoil this for him.”