Tag Archives: Holidays

by Anthony Baker | April 8, 2013 · 6:00 am

90 and Kicking

Grandmommy

“Grandmommy” is my wife’s grandmother on her mother’s side. Her actual name is Helen, and we celebrated her 90th birthday with a big party at our place (in the fellowship hall of our church – I’m the only guy on the block with a gym in his back yard).

It was a real treat to be able to take part in such a rare occasion. 90th birthdays don’t come around too often. As a matter of fact, living to 90 is nearly 20 years beyond the average. So, it was a privilege to be able to play music with my daughter as she sang for her great-grandmother.

One of the greatest moments (in my mind) was when Mr. Monkey sang happy birthday. Of course he would only sing when my face was covered. For some reason he couldn’t sing when I was looking.

Another great moment was when she sat there staring at the candles as they slowly burned, dripping melted wax onto the icing of her cake. “Make a wish, Grandmommy!” they would say. “I don’t know what to wish for,” she replied.

“How about another 90 years?” I suggested. Nervous laughter, like an “lol” that is never really “out loud” filled the room.

New Family

Besides getting to celebrate a birthday, I got to meet a wonderful young couple, Ian and Lisa, who is now part of the family. Both of them are graduates of Liberty University and love the Lord. We had a lot of things in common, even though I was 20 years older. They even laughed at Mr. Monkey, so how bad could they be, right?

Crosses

As I was talking with Lisa I found out she had a website and business. She makes little cross necklaces out of horseshoe nails. Below is a link to her website. Check it out, and if you buy anything, let her know you found out about her on this blog.

Visit Nailed4Christ.com

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Filed under Relationships and Family

Tagged as Birthday, Family, Grandmommy, Grandparent, Holidays, Liberty University, Lord, Monkey

by Anthony Baker | December 2, 2012 · 4:58 pm

Christmas Is the Gospel

The first Sunday of December brought with it many sermons about Christmas, I am sure. Riverside Baptist Church was no exception. The message this morning had to do with Christmas, but especially the “good news” of Christmas…the Gospel.

You may never have the opportunity to visit our little church in Chattanooga, but today I am going to give you an opportunity to hear what I preached. The recording isn’t fancy, but it is understandable. I recorded it on my iPhone…the same one I used to record Mr. Monkey acting like a fool (or is that me?).

Pick up a Bible and turn to the book of Luke, chapter two, and follow along.

Listen: Christmas is the Gospel

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Filed under Christmas, God, Preaching, salvation

Tagged as Bible, Christmas, Church, faith, Gospel, Gospel of Luke, Holidays, preaching, Religion, Riverside Baptist Church, Theology

by Anthony Baker | September 17, 2012 · 9:31 am

Monday Monkey “Happy Birthday” (Episode 30)

Woo Hoo! Happy Birthday!

Yep, it’s my birthday. I am 45 years old. 45 years ago one woman was given the honor to be my mother.

Will there be cake? I don’t know. Will there be presents? I don’t know. Will there be donations sent in from around the world to the Keep Anthony from Being Poor fund? I don’t know.

What Matters

Aside from a loving family and a roof over my head, what more could I ask for? Riches? No. A new car? Uh, no. I think I have been pretty blessed. And what’s more, I have something that no one else in the world has…

I have a monkey that can sing “happy birthday” to me.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?list=UUF5CxPOVEXebEURkvrQeiXg&v=_3d3QHwMx_4&feature=player_detailpage

Monday Monkey “What if You Cross a Monkey With Time?” (Episode 28) (therecoveringlegalist.com)
Monday Monkey “Monkeys Hate Alarm Clocks” (Episode 29) (therecoveringlegalist.com)

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Filed under Humor, Monday Monkey, Uncategorized

Tagged as Birthday, Comedy, faith, Holidays, Monkey, People, Religion

by Anthony Baker | November 26, 2011 · 12:04 pm

The Season Begins

So, Thanksgiving is behind us. All the cooking and Pilgrim costumes are a thing of the past. Of course, there are still plenty of leftovers to have for breakfast, lunch, dinner, late visitors, desert, bedtime snacks, brunch, and dog treats.

Now, all we have to do is look forward to the holiday renowned for peace (clearing throat in a sarcastic way).

Black Friday

For the first time ever, I actually went shopping in the early-morning hours of Black Friday. I could not convince my wife to stay in bed until the crowds were finished assaulting each other after waiting hours in the cold for the stores to open. No, we had to get up and stand in line for something they had only 50 of, even though we were 150th in line.

Eventually, after whining enough, my wife agrees to drag us to the mall. There, the stores had already been open since 4am, so the stampedes were essentially over. Everyone had a pleasant, cheerful attitude. The rest were already being booked at the county jail.

I have an idea for next year. We need to go stand in line where the first 50 customers get a new iPad3 for $25 and do some witnessing. I bet if we do our best Ray Comfort/Kirk Cameron impressions for a few hours, we’d either have a whole new congregation of believers, or we would be martyred for our faith. If not that, we would be sure to move up in line.

Recording Friday

I heard on the news that yesterday actually set some records. How ironic is that? I made a record (well, I recorded something).

Yesterday, my daughter and I recorded a radio program to be broadcast this Sunday. It was unusual to have my daughter, Katie, on the program, since it is usually a time for me to preach. Nevertheless, it was pretty cool to interview her and talk about what God had showed her in His word.

While we were in the recording mood, Katie wanted to record a song. Actually, it was a medley – “This is My Father’s World / What a Wonderful World.” I am including it in today’s post. Hope you enjoy it.

This Is My Father’s World Medley