The No Kool Aid Zone

Remembering Jim Freeman

Posted by Webbie Dude Paul July 3rd, 2009 at 8:09 am
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Thirty-five years ago, Roanoke lost a music legend in Jim Freeman. Today, his grandson has found a couple of never-recorded Freeman original songs and is bringing them to life. Read about it in today’s Roanoke Times…

And hear Jim Freeman…

Radio station WSLC-AM paid tribute to bluegrass singer Jim Freeman after he died on July 4, 1974. Thirty-five years later, his grandson, John “J.D.” Sutphin, is performing songs his grandfather wrote and songs he covered — including this one, “Swing Low Sweet Chariot.” Freeman performs here with the Bluegrass Cavaliers.

Ed Thomas, Godly Football Coach and Leader of Men, Slain

Posted by Webbie Dude Paul June 25th, 2009 at 7:07 pm
Filed Under In a Handbasket, Life as a Jesus-follower | Leave a Comment |

Truly a sad story here; a football coach, noted for his Christian walk and influence, was shot and killed by a former player.

Read more about it at Between Two Worlds: Coach Ed Thomas as a Witness to Christ

Please Pray For Sherry’s Husband Mike

Posted by Webbie Dude Paul June 25th, 2009 at 7:02 pm
Filed Under Webbie Dude Paul | 2 Comments |

Regular readers will recognize Sherry as a frequent commenter here. Yesterday her husband Mike suffered a heart attack. He is currently in the hospital and will be undergoing triple bypass surgery tomorrow (Friday) morning. Please keep Mike (and Sherry and their two daughters) in your prayers.

Webbie Dude Paul’s Hiatus Interruptus

Posted by Webbie Dude Paul June 25th, 2009 at 6:57 pm
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Greetings all.

While Byron is taking his much needed hiatus to recharge and refocus, I have decided, with Byron’s approval, to post here occasionally to keep TNKZ ‘alive” and active.

Those that have followed this blog for a while know that my usual pop in posts have tended to be, shall we say, not so serious. And I may still post an occasional silly post, especially if it helps keep Byron’s ego in check. But, for the most part, my posts will be on more serious matters, allowing me to explore things, and express opinions that I might normally not expand upon.

And, seriously, I hope to maintain the integrity and quality that Byron has so diligently built into this blog.

So please keep The No Kool Aid Zone on your radar, Byron may be on hiatus, but Webbie Dude Paul is in the house…

A Sad Break from Hiatus

Posted by Byron June 13th, 2009 at 11:35 pm
Filed Under Free for Coming... | Leave a Comment |

Only long enough to post the sad news that another great friend of mine, Pastor Bobby Edwards, has passed away. The past 16 months have now seen two of the finest men I’ve ever counted as friends depart this life for an eternity with Christ. Though Bobby’s departure was not sudden, as was Rusty’s, it is nonetheless, humanly-speaking, a bitter pill to swallow. It is true, as I said of Rusty, that “we sorrow not as those who have no hope”, according to Scripture, and I’ve seen that true on so many occasions, but at the same time, the Bible does not say, “we sorrow not”, for if it did, it wouldn’t be true.

I’d have to think long and hard to come up with a contemporary of mine who fulfilled Micah 6:8 as did Bobby. His loss is profound to many, beginning with his family: his wife, Donna, a high school friend of mine, and his children Allison, Austin, and Emily, three wonderful kids. Though most of you readers did not have the privilege of knowing Bobby, if you’d lift up his dear family in prayer as you read this, I’d so much appreciate it.

I’m going back on hiatus, but I could not fail to leave at least a brief tribute to this compassionate pastor, devoted husband and father, and tremendous friend. Bobby, ’til we meet again at the Master’s feet…

Blog Hiatus

Posted by Byron May 29th, 2009 at 9:13 am
Filed Under Free for Coming... | 9 Comments |

Dear Readers (all 6 of you–just kidding, I know there are more of you out there than that!),

It’s time for me to take a hiatus of undetermined length from this blog. I wish I could be more specific as to the length, but here’s the truth: I am in a season of life in which I need to focus my life a lot more than it has been, to put aside, at least for a time, some of the things I’m doing, in order to do fewer things better. Put another way, I’ve got too many balls in the air right now, and I’m not really juggling any of them all that well; way too many drops. Call it “back to basics”, call it what you will, but I don’t feel that I’ve done this blog justice for some time, and I need to focus my life. I do plan to be back, but I really don’t know when. Thanks for your patience and understanding.

Byron

P.S. I will monitor the site, and reserve the right to comment if we get people posting out on the fringes; Laurie, Jack, et al, your contributions in refuting the way-out are invaluable, and keep it up. The Camping post seems to be doing pretty well yet; some good discussions with a minimum of flaming, so that’s good.

Ida: Missing Link, or the Next American Idol?

Posted by Byron May 28th, 2009 at 9:55 am
Filed Under Life as a Jesus-follower, Matters of Life and Death | 1 Comment |

So, you’ve heard of Ida, the “missing link” that proves Darwinism? She’s the latest rock star of the fossil world, and her mug has been splashed all over the place for the last couple of weeks, accompanied by breathless words of praise from hyperventilating science-types (”the missing link is no longer missing!” – Sir David Attenborough). This is it; we can put the ID’ers in their place once and for all, and those darn creationists will have nothing to say about this one! Only…

Only the likelihood is that we’ve seen this movie before. Many times. Where’s “Lucy” these days, by the way? A fossil is wheeled out that proves something important–but after further review, is either a hoax (plenty of those in the Darwinist wastebasket) or an overhyped, ultimately insignificant relic. Chances seem great that this is the case again:

Seeking a Missing Link and a Mass Audience

Overblown Claims and a Worrying Precedent

Ida the Lemur and Media Manipulation

So the chances seem less-than-stellar that Ida will live up to the hype, but they seem excellent that she’ll prove to be the next American Idol.