The Almanac

  • No Eggageration

    ByJames Butler

    In Arizona eggs are so expensive that even the hens have gone to laying Visa cards. They call it “lay-a-way”!

  • The U.S. Takes a Haircut

    ByJames Butler

    Today I spent $27.50 for a local haircut, after tip and tax (post cut pic below). This week a small cup of plain coffee at a national chain … $5.00. I’m channeling my inner childhood memories of a haircuts on the front porch using a kitchen chair and table cloth for a drape. The US…

  • Fascism Rising

    ByJames Butler

    Fascism rises on the wind of popular vote, lifted by the wings of fear and hate. “Bella ciao” (Traditional Italian Partisan Song): This is a very famous Italian folk song that originated among the mondine (rice paddy workers) in the late 19th century. During the Italian resistance against fascism in World War II, it was…

  • How to Read the Bible in Church

    ByJames Butler

    “Finders Keepers!” John Huddleston was known by his Arkansas neighbors as a “son of a sharecropper” and a “dreamy backwoodsman.” John and Sarah purchased their 49 acre home farm in 1889 for $100, later expanded to 243 acres.  One day while walking a road through his property he found two crystals which were shortly identified…

  • “Amen!” or “Oh, Me!”?

    ByJames Butler

    “Amen!” … or “Oh, Me! I could write a book about church fights I mediated (or instigated) Chapter 1 – Change of worship time … Chapter 2- Install a PowerPoint projector in the sanctuary … 3- Launch any building project … 4-Clean out and toss all the junk in an unused classroom and destroy the…

  • The Liver & Onions Test

    ByJames Butler

    As Walmart steaks run $30 for a package of two, folks turn stares of disbelief to beef liver as the affordable cut of meat. The $300 grocery tab reinforces a gut punch that politicians delivered a message, “Let them eat liver!” Applying the liver & onions test to the church, what one ministry stands as…