INSIDE STORY: Just for fun, counting down the top three

I read somewhere that most of us will pay attention to anything presented in list form. We are, apparently, obsessed with ranking things.
With that in mind, I submit my “lists of three.”
Three things I love about Sunday:
1. Bible study and worship with fellow Christians.
2. Roast and mashed potatoes.
3. Napping at my “respective place of abode.”
Three babies I can’t resist mentioning:
1. Blake Adalyn Ware. The granddaughter of Virginia Ware, The Christian Chronicle’s terrific administrative assistant, and her husband, John, was born Dec. 23 in Fort Worth, Texas. The proud parents are Ryan and Meredith Ware.
2. Margaret Jean Tryggestad. The daughter of Erik Tryggestad, the Chronicle’s assistant managing editor, and his wife, Jeanie, was born Jan. 16 in Oklahoma City. Training will begin soon for Maggie’s future career as an international correspondent for the Chronicle.
3. Emily Alyse Ash. The daughter of my cousin Mandy Ash and her husband, Aaron, was born Sept. 20 in Evansville, Ind. The proud great-great-grandparents are my grandparents Lloyd and Margaret Ross, members of the Huntingdon, Tenn., church.
Three country songs that might make great sermons:
1. “When I Get Where I’m Going,” by Brad Paisley and Dolly Parton.
2. “Live Like You Were Dying,” by Tim McGraw.
3. “Bubba Shot The Jukebox,” by Mark Chesnutt. (Just kidding, but if anybody preaches it, please send me a tape!)
Three interesting things I (or my significant other) have eaten:
1. A fried oyster and a piece of rabbit. I succumbed to peer pressure while enjoying dinner at Drago’s Seafood in New Orleans with a group from the Carrollton Avenue church. The company was wonderful, but I’m still regretting taking a bite of Bugs! I’ll stick with the catfish next time.
2. Shoofly pie. When I stayed with Mark Niehls, superintendent of Coventry Christian Schools in Pottstown, Pa., and his wife, Bev, they welcomed me with a piece of shoofly pie (a molasses pie considered traditional among the Pennsylvania Dutch) topped with vanilla ice cream. Delicious!
3. Meat. For two-plus years, my lovely bride, Tamie, was a vegetarian. But after recent surgery to remove her gallbladder, she invited creatures that once roamed the earth back to her plate. I almost became teary-eyed when, soon after the surgery, we shared a smoked chicken at my favorite barbecue restaurant.
Three baseball stars I have interviewed for the Chronicle :
1. Cecil Cooper, manager of the Houston Astros and member of the Anderson Street church in Sealy, Texas.
2. Bobby Murcer, New York Yankees broadcaster and member of the Memorial Road church in Oklahoma City.
3. Terry Rush, St. Louis Cardinals “center fielder” and minister of the Memorial Drive church in Tulsa, Okla. (Read all about Terry’s career in this issue. Here’s hoping he won’t quit his day job.)
Three blogs I enjoy reading:
1. Jim Gardner – Jim is minister of the Woodward Park church in Fresno, Calif. I love his mix of spiritual insights and discussion of sports, particularly the Texas Rangers. Jim and I are both long-suffering Rangers’ fans. We have never met, but have become “friends” through e-mail and blogging.
2. Al Sturgeon – Al is minister of the Ocean Springs, Miss., church, although he’s leaving later this year to enroll in law school. I like the excellent photos on his blog, along with his posts about his ministry, his family and, yes, his love of sports.
3. John Dobbs – John, former minister of the Central church in Pascagoula, Miss., introduced my wife and me to blogging in 2005. Now minister at the Forsythe Avenue church in Monroe, La., John is one of the kings of the Church of Christ blogging universe.
Three bits of news about my kids:
1. Brady, 14, is recovering from knee surgery after falling while running down a mountain on our church’s spring break mission trip to Mexico last year. But no, this won’t stop us from going back — we can’t wait to unpack our tents in Aquiles!
2. Keaton, 10, won his school spelling bee and gained notoriety in the local newspaper with a headline that proclaimed “Keaton Ross spells w-i-n-n-er.” His parents couldn’t agree more.
3. Kendall, 8, got braces recently. She picked out some sweet little heart brackets for her front teeth to liven things up a bit. She is, without a doubt, the cutest third-grader in the world.