Pastor-Eye-Zzed–Milking Your Message

June 20th, 2011

Jonathan Payton (cow)Jonathan Payton has a message to share. At least I think he does, but I have no idea what that message might be. All I know is that most people don’t purposely draw attention to themselves when they’re about to break the law—unless they are making a significant statement. This is the kind of approach an organization like Green Peace has used to bring attention to important animal rights issues, for example. They sometimes break the law to get media attention.

Now, I have no idea what Jonathan’s message is, but maybe if I tell you what he did, you can help me figure it out. OK, so what exactly did Jonathan do? Well, first of all, he dressed up in a cow suite. This, in itself, is a statement of sorts, don’t you think? I mean you don’t just wake up in the morning and think—“Today definitely feels like a cow-suit day!” There had to be a reason for his choice of vestments—particularly when you find out what he did next.

Jonathan then proceeded to enter a Wal-Mart, load up a cart with 26 gallons of milk and then he ran out of the store without paying. As he sought greener pastures, he gave the milk away to passers-by. Galloping from the scene, he went right past a local McDonald’s (thankfully McDonald’s doesn’t seem too interested in using fresh beef or things could have “ground” to horrific halt! What would have happened if it were Wendy’s instead?). Jonathan was eventually corralled by local police. They gave him a summons, and then released him in “udder” disgrace.

Read the rest of this entry �

Pastor-Eye-zzed: Of Faith
and Cinnamon Rolls

March 23rd, 2011

cinnamon roll

What do faith and cinnamon rolls have in common? Well, if ‘life is like a box of chocolates’ why can’t faith be like a plate cinnamon rolls? Am I deep or what?

We were in Jerome Arizona. Jerome is a great town up in the mountains of Arizona. From all accounts it was once a rip-snorting, rough and ready mining town in the 1800’s, but eventually it became pretty much an empty ghost town until the 1960’s. It was then that the flower children discovered it. They soon moved in or ‘squatted,’ depending on your perspective, and started living in Jerome. Of course, as soon as the town started to fill up, those who had abandoned it remembered that they owned it, and they decided it was time to start charging rent or expecting buy-outs.

Well, to make a long story short, the creativity and the optimism of the 1960’s won out as the new residents started up small business to pay the bills and tourism went through the roof. Many of those hippies still live there and Jerome is now the third largest tourist attraction in Arizona—after the Grand Canyon and Sedona. I love this story because it has the feel of frontier risk and opportunity. But, more than that, to take something lost and give it a second chance is downright Christian, is it not? Christ is all about taking that which is lost and giving it new life, but I digress.

While we were there, we had to do the most essential thing any traveller has to do—no, not that! Remember that I am from Canada and the most essential thing for Canadian travellers is that we find GOOD coffee. We went to a place that my buddy Rick knew of, but alas it was closed. I almost started to panic, but the high altitude and lack of caffeine made panicking too difficult. Thankfully, next door and down a few steps was this little shop that you could easily walk by without noticing. This harbinger of delight is called “Gisel’s Café and Bakery.”

Read the rest of this entry �

Pastor-Eye-zzed

I’ve been writing observational/devotional material since I started my own website way back in the days of hamster-powered computers (1996). I love writing because it makes me walk through life looking for God’s fingerprints. –Grant