Retirement Practice Makes Perfect, I Hope

by Kevin Burton    I’ve got retirement fever now. May it spark in me a desire for discipline.     Retirement has been on my mind for a while, but the taste for it was whetted during our recent vacation, spent mostly in Nebraska and South Dakota. We called the trip retirement practice. I would say …

My Tangled Contribution To Pasta Day

by Kevin Burton    World Pasta Day was yesterday. Sorry I didn’t warn you ahead of time, but that was not my only pasta failure.    I prepared a contribution to the celebration but it left quite a bit to be desired.  It did taste better on day two then when I first made it. …

Flip Phone Flips Out For The Last Time

by Kevin Burton    When it was time, I knew it was time. I took firm control of matters, no hesitation.    The technological advancements, the conveniences, the newly-allowed mobility, all these things and more brought me to the decision to scrap my flip phone and begin using my I-phone Thursday.     In the end, …

Building A Life On The Chief Cornerstone

by Dane Massey    (Dane Massey is the former Pastor of Mulvane Christian Church. He is now in ministry in Houston, Texas.)      Have you ever stopped to consider the amazing list of architectural terms used in scripture?    Today I want to talk about building on the foundation of Christ the “Chief Cornerstone.” We, …

Visiting Johnny Carson’s Boyhood Home Town

by Kevin Burton    There was a time when one man captured this nation’s attention, made us laugh and in a way, held us together.    And that national smile began with the first five notes of that song, The Tonight Show theme.     “Daaaaa dum dum daaaa daaaa….”     You heard those notes and …

Rage And Despair In The Business Center

by Kevin Burton    Dear, gentle, intelligent Page 7 reader, may I ask you a question?    What would you say is the key element, all things considered, in the business center of a hotel? What makes a business center a business center?    If you were told by a hotel employee that, yes, said …

Dakota Territory Welcomes The Burtons

by Kevin Burton    After more than half a century’s absence, I returned to the Dakota Territory last week.   We determined that the covered wagon wasn’t roadworthy, so my wife and I took the Toyota instead.    This was part of our long-awaited, much-needed vacation.  We think Kansas is a great place to be, but …

Songwriter Cynthia Weil Turns 82

by Kevin Burton    Happy 82nd birthday to a great American songwriter you may not know much about, Cynthia Weil.     If her name doesn’t ring a bell, her music sure will.  She and her husband Barry Mann formed one of the most important songwriting teams of the 60s. They were contemporaries of writers you …

New Zealand Tries To Tax Burping Cows

by Kevin Burton    Politicians, working in committees, will find a way.     Bet you five dollars they will. And cows will be cows.    This story from the Associated Press out of Wellington New Zealand, marries politics, agriculture and the unseemly but altogether natural acts of cows.     “New Zealand’s government on Tuesday proposed …

Fruit Of The Spirit: Self-Control

by Kevin Burton    Self-control is the final Gift of the Spirit listed in Galatians 5:22-23. It is potentially the most confusing.    This is the ninth and final part of our series.    Self-control is an easy enough concept, but the self part could throw us off. The power is not in self. It …