The prime purpose of eloquence is to keep others from talking.

If you're a news junkie like I am these are heady days. We've got dirty politics, murder mysteries, economic cliff-hangers and the usual assortment of professional athletes acting like 2-year olds. Christmas all month long.

Unlike Illinois, where they auction off public offices, here in Arizona we play craps. Delson Sunn and Adrian Hernandez got exactly the same number of votes in their effort to win a seat on a local elementary school board - nine votes each. How to settle the tie? Arizona statute stipulates that any ties shall be decided by a game of chance. Yep, they decided to roll dice at a special meeting tonight to determine the winner. Wanna guess what happened on the first roll?
You can't make this stuff up.

I think I may be coming down with Pam's cold. This is not good, especially since it seems to involve laryngitis.

Two years ago economists bemoaned the pitiful level of American savings, or the lack of it. We not only spent every dollar we earned, we spent more, borrowing money so we could indulge our materialism. New clothes, cars every two years, the latest electronic wizzardry, and always looking to move up to a bigger house. Every year the amount of installment debt for the average American grew.
Today it's reported that for the first time in history household debt levels dropped. Over the last quarter they dropped .8%, the only decline of any degree in the 50 years they've been keeping records.
Good news? A positive sign that Americans have finally learned to curb their thirst for MORE and think long term? Nope. Bad for the economy. If Americans stop spending, especially if they stop using someone else's money to buy things they don't really need, the economy will slowly grind to a halt. We need more consumption, especially consumption based on credit. That's why we need to loosen up the credit market, so Americans can go back out and buy clothes, cars and computers.
Something has gone really haywire.
I'm glad I have Scripture to inform my consumption of goods and services instead of economists.

I've thought for some time that for all the good brought about by the Protestant Reformation - and there is an almost immeasurable amount - it created a backlash in some areas. In an effot to counter some of the more eggregious heresies of the Roman Catholic Church the early Protestants sometimes fell into the trap of running too far the other direction.
IMHO the best example of that is the subject of Mary, the mother of Jesus. I think the term Mariolatry is a fair description of the R.C. doctrines and attitudes about Mary. She is seen as both Co-Redemptrix and Mediatrix, two non-biblical, that is to say, heretical views.
But a Christian could spend decades in an evangelical church and never hear a word about Mary. The subject of the virgin birth will be discussed, especially this time of year, but a sermon about Mary?
Which is why I resolved a couple of weeks ago to preach that sermon. And why I spent this morning reading and re-reading those portions of Matthew and Luke, especially the Magnificat. Good stuff, there. I hope I can bring it to light Sunday.