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French-Fry Fridays are a chance to lighten the mood and enjoy ourselves a bit after a week of serious, sometimes deep discussions.

• • •

This and that while I pack my T-shirts, swim trunks and sunscreen and prepare to load up Betty for the family vacation:

1. One-third of the way into the baseball season, my beloved Texas Rangers are in first place! May the ghost of Rusty Greer carry us to our first playoff appearance in 10 years.

2.  I bought “Mambo No. 5” on iTunes last week and have been jamming ever since with my stuffed primate son Bobby the Monkey. B-Monk really knows how to “take one step left and one step right.” (I wanted to include the YouTube video, but then I discovered that it’s not G-rated.)

3.  ET (the internationally renowned Christian journalist, not the extra-terrestrial from the 1982 movie) and I are headed to Amsterdam and Accra, Ghana, on a reporting trip next month. Just figured out that President Obama will be making his first visit as president to Africa — specifically Accra — while we’re there. If Barry wants to get together with us, I’m sure we’ll try to fit him into our busy schedule.

4. I was a band geek back in high school. I played the tuba for four years. Now you know. (Of course, I spilled the beans in my Inside Story column this month in The Christian Chronicle, so maybe you already knew.)

5. My favorite week of the year is the one I spend on the lake in Tennessee with the extended Ross family: Papa, Grandma, Mom, Dad, brother, sister, sister-in-law, sons, daughter, nephews and niece. Swimming, fishing (by folks other than me who like sticking worms on hooks and standing in the hot sun), burgers, barbecue, relaxing, reading by the pool, frying the fish that other people catch. And then we typically head to the Bootheel in southeastern Missouri to see relatives on my mother’s side of the family. Can’t wait to see cousins Kim, Angie, Kristy and baby Ella Marie!

We leave Saturday on this annual adventure, so forgive me for hanging the “Gone Fishing” sign (figuratively speaking, of course) on this blog for just a bit.

— Bobby

French-Fry Fridays are a chance to lighten the mood and enjoy ourselves a bit after a week of serious, sometimes deep discussions.

• • •

Dear Keaton,

Just a note from Dad on your birthday.

I wanted to remind you to clean your room and take out the trash. “HAAA! HAAHAHA!” as Alf would say. “I’m just kidding!” (We’ve been watching “Alf” on Netflix, for those who aren’t Keaton and wonder why I’d choose a reference to a 1980s sitcom for a kid born in 1997.)

You turn 12 on Saturday, and it’s kind of hard to believe. Your last day of fifth grade was Thursday (four A-pluses and three A’s for the fourth quarter). After a much-deserved, three-month summer vacation, you start middle school. You’ll be a — dare I say it — TEENAGER this time next year. But let’s not get ahead of ourselves!

You’ve still got a few more hours left to be 11. Although I know you are the not the type of kid who would ever complain about being bored (insert sound of crickets chirping here), I thought I’d remind you that you’ve had a pretty incredible year. If you recall, your birthday present last year (not to be topped this year — there is that whole economic downturn thing, you know) was a trip to New York City with Dad. I even wrote about our experience for The Christian Chronicle. You also saw a Fourth of July baseball game in St. Louis between the Cubs and Cardinals (and almost got slugged in a fight by drunk fans). Even though basketball is an inferior sport to baseball, you enjoyed ringing in the new year at an Oklahoma City Thunder game (can you believe Oklahoma City has a major-league team!?).

You accompanied Dad on an Election Night reporting assignment and posed for a photo with Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin (a cardboard cutout of her, that is). You also traveled with Dad to San Diego and posed with a street clown while Dad worked on a story across the border in Tijuana, Mexico.

You participated in Leadership Training for Christ and led a song at church on a Sunday night. You joined the Edmond church campus ministry on a mission trip to Phoenix and not only did mission work but also attended a Texas Rangers’ spring-training game and met Josh Hamilton (I prefer to call him “Hambone” and hope he starts hitting more home runs soon because my fantasy team is suffering). The next day, on the drive home, you visited the Grand Canyon.

You finished second in your school spelling bee and advanced to the regional bee (where you became a bit tongue-tied and missed a word you knew. Hey, that kind of thing happens to everybody now and then!). You were the lead actor and quite funny in your class play performed in front of the entire school (check out the YouTube video below!). And you were the only fifth-grade boy chosen to paint a permanent tile to stay in your elementary school when your class goes on to middle school.

Wow, what a year, Keaton. I can’t wait to see what God has in store for you this next year. My prayer for you is that your faith will continue to grow and that you will find ways, even at your young age, to let your light shine.

And, oh yeah, HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!

Love,

Dad

P.S. I promise to stop calling you “Keester.” You seemed to enjoy that nickname much more as an infant than you do now.

• • •

French-Fry Fridays are a chance to lighten the mood and enjoy ourselves a bit after a week of serious, sometimes deep discussions.

• • •

My Christian Chronicle colleagues and I have been doing a bit of chest-thumping — bragging, if you will — over an award we won from the Associated Church Press.

I figured: Why not go all the way?

So, I give you … the official video of the award-winning Chronicle. (Since many of you are Church of Christ members, despite what your Facebook quiz results say, I feel like I must stress: This is a joke! )

French-Fry Fridays are a chance to lighten the mood and enjoy ourselves a bit after a week of serious, sometimes deep discussions.

• • •

Barton Stone

Alexander Campbell

• • •

Through an Oprah-ishly modern social networking Web site called Twitter, I have had the privilege to connect with two righteously antique dudes: Barton Stone and Alexander Campbell.

Despite reports of their demise, these key figures in the Restoration Movement (sometimes called the Stone-Campbell Movement) remain alive and well on the World Wide Web. As does their sense of humor, even in the 140-character sound bites allowed by Twitter.

To illustrate, consider the following Twitter exchange between me, Barton and Alexander after I asked my followers (people who keep up with my tweets) to vote for my friend Randy Roper in a contest to win a free trip to New York. (Randy won the trip, by the way!)

Me (my Twitter handle is @cofcnews): Vote to send friend/minister Randy Roper on a free trip to NY. Click on “Gonna Wear My Thunderwear” at http://bit.ly/n7QU2 and pass it on!

Alexander Campbell: @CofCnews Wait. We’re voting for this guy?!?! Why wasn’t there a vote to send me to Pepperdine this week??

Me: @Alxndrcampbell Me and you both! We are the only Restorationists not on the beach — I mean, listening to Bible lectures — this week.

Alexander Campbell: @CofCnews Lectures…. indeed… why else would we be there…

Barton Stone: @CofCnews I’m not there either, and not to make comparisons, but I’m way more of a restorationist than you are.

Me: @BartonStone Can we ever obtain unity with those kind of statements on your part?

Barton Stone: @cofcnews You DID leave me out, mentioning restorationists not at Pepperdine. This is the STONE-Campbell movement, for goodness sakes!

Me: @bartonstone I do hope you’ll accept my sincere apology. No offense intended.

Barton Stone: @cofcnews Apology accepted. In fact, I have mailed you half of a heart shaped locket. I’ll keep the other half and put your picture in it.

• • •

• • •

Then there was the Twitter exchange that ensued yesterday after I posted an item from The Tennessean newspaper about a couple who waited to kiss until their wedding:

Me: Couples save first kiss for wedding day (Harpeth Hills Church of Christ): http://bit.ly/ANFb3

John Dobbs (@johndobbs): @CofCnews I think that’s weird.

Alexander Campbell: @cofcnews @johndobbs I also think that’s weird.

Me: @johndobbs @Alxndrcampbell It’s the whole slippery slope thing. You are familiar with that, aren’t you? Ask @bartonstone

Barton Stone: Not sure what kissing could lead to, @CofCnews @Alxndrcampbell @johndobbs, but DANCING is indeed a slippery slope!

Me: @BartonStone You’d be surprised at the number of Restoration teens who actually go to the prom these days.

Barton Stone: @CofCnews The numbers of sexually active teens is also considerably high these days. Coincidence? I don’t think so.

• • •

French-Fry Fridays are a chance to lighten the mood and enjoy ourselves a bit after a week of serious, sometimes deep discussions. Or in the case of this week, it’s a chance to blog again after dedicating most of the week to press deadlines for The Christian Chronicle and playing Mr. Mom during my wife’s flu misery.

• • •

I covered Dave Ramsey’s nationwide “Town Hall for Hope” meeting at an Oklahoma City area megachurch Thursday night and wrote a profile of Ramsey for Religion News Service.

Erik Tryggestad of Trygg Thursday fame came along and snapped some excellent photos of the run-through. (Organizers would not allow pictures to be taken during the actual event.)

• • •

• • •

Ramsey is known for his witticisms. Here are a few from his Oklahoma appearance:

• “Even a turkey can fly in a tornado, y’all.” (On how any idiot could make money when the economy was really booming.)

• “I legislated the credit-card companies that were in my life with a pair of scissors.” (On President Barack Obama’s call for a new credit-card law better protecting consumers.)

• “When you play with snakes, you get bit. Stay away from snakes.” (On why he cut up his credit cards.)

• “I’ve got a friend who says, ‘When the tide goes out, you can tell who was skinny dipping.’” (On how financial underbellies were exposed by the recession.)

• “You can be sincere and still be stupid.” (On his opposition to federal bailouts of big business.)

• “I almost lost my marriage and my sanity, and I did lose my hair.” (On going bankrupt in his 20s and turning to the Bible for financial principles.)

• “When I went broke, I spent about six months whining. … I thought it was a form of prayer.”

• “No, you’re 16, you can’t have a new Corvette. With your income, you get a ’94 Chevette.” (On learning to make better financial decisions and say “no.”)

• “No, you can’t buy a house, you’re freaking broke.” (On not investing in real estate until you have money in the bank and an emergency fund.)

• Sometimes, Christians’ prayer is code for, ‘I don’t want to face reality.’ Sometimes, Christians’ prayer is code for, ‘I’m just going to sit back and watch Oprah reruns and have life fix itself.’ You can pray while you’re working.”

• “A lot of people are worried about their 401(k) plans because if you look at them, a lot of them look like 201(k) plans.”

• “You’re at Kmart, honey, and the blue light’s on.” (On his view that low home prices will rise again.)

• • •

• • •

• “It’s the best time in 30 years to buy a house, but don’t buy a house if you’re broke. … Otherwise, Murphy will move in with you with his friends: Broke, Desperate and Stupid.”

• “I think gold is the Snuggie of investments. What I mean is, if it’s sold on midnight cable and you buy it, it’ll make you look stupid.”

• “I’m not complaining. It’s just humorous. Somebody always starts off with a Scripture right before they tear my head off.” (On “Christian hate mail” from folks who don’t agree with his approach to debt and finances.)

• “There’s probably some government employee out there with his hand on the plug.” (On his microphones losing power midway through the event, after he had spent considerable time criticizing government intervention in the recession.)

• “Failure is a possibility. Yes, it’s a long way down there. That’s why I’d be flapping.” (Moving his arms like a bird as he called for a capitalistic approach where people are allowed to succeed or fail based on their hard work and ingenuity.)

• “The average millionaire can’t tell you who got thrown off the island.”

Are you a Ramsey fan? If so, what wittisms did I miss that you like? Are you a Ramsey critic? If so, please do share your perspective and let the, um, dialogue flow. (If you’re a heretic who didn’t like “Fireproof,” please know that any anti-Ramsey statements are likely to engender the same level of weeping and gnashing of teeth. )

Have a terrific weekend!

— Bobby

• • •

French-Fry Fridays are a chance to lighten the mood and enjoy ourselves a bit after a week of serious, sometimes deep discussions.

The first French-Fry Friday provided a “how-to” on raising your cholesterol level by listing the top 10 french fries — thus the name.

Enjoy this week’s post and have a great Easter weekend!

– Bobby

• • •

In my travels with The Christian Chronicle — and in my ordinary life — remarkable Christian couples so often bless me.

Because of my feeble brain, I realize I am going to leave out couples who belong on this list (if you’re one of them, please forgive me!). But I decided to go ahead and name 10 couples who have blessed me recently. My hope is that this will inspire you to share a few such examples in your own life.

My list is in alphabetical order:

Terry and Suzy Brown

1. Terry and Suzy Brown.

I got to know Terry and Suzy when I stayed with them in the Kansas City area while working on a story about Suzy’s divorce recovery ministry. Terry is Catholic and goes to Mass every morning, but also joins Suzy at the Overland Park Church of Christ each Sunday. He made breakfast and even ironed for me during my brief stay and endeared himself to me with his wonderful sense of humor. Last summer, the Browns hosted Tamie, the kids and me when we stopped in Kansas City to visit an amusement park and go see a Royals game.

• • •

Evan and Rachel Burkett, on a Mexico mission trip

2. Evan and Rachel Burkett.

Evan left his comfortable position in the insurance industry to become campus minister at our home congregation. Talk about a leap of faith. I have known Evan and Rachel (though not as well as now) since college. It has been wonderful to watch them grow into this ministry and see them in action, as we did on Edmond’s recent spring break mission trip to Phoenix.

• • •

Dan and Katherine Cooper

3. Dan and Katherine Cooper.

Dan is minister of the Pitman Church of Christ in Sewell, N.J., which will be featured in the Chronicle’s Churches That Work series next month. When a snowstorm interrupted my peaceful visit to their area to report the CTW story, Dan and Katherine invited me into their home rather than risk me getting snowed in at my hotel. Just an incredible couple with loving Christian hearts and an exceptional ministry.

• • •

Jason and Laura Dean and family

4. Jason and Laura Dean.

Jason and Laura are a couple at our church who are a few years younger than Tamie and me. We first spent time with them at Edmond’s couples retreat a few years ago and have enjoyed getting to know them better. Jason is one of the regular song leaders at our church. He and Laura have young children and always seem to have smiles on their faces. Just fun people to be around, even if he is an Oklahoma State Cowboys fan.

• • •

David and Barbara Duncan, with Emma and Anna Beth

5. David and Barbara Duncan.

This couple barely made the list, mainly because of David. But Barbara is such an exceptional wife and mother that I decided to include them anyway. It’s hard to believe that it’s been 10 years since David, Don Vinzant and I traveled to Brazil together, and David and I got to know each other sharing a room and eating Cheese Nips. After his time as a Brazil missionary, David was outreach minister at Edmond before moving to Houston as pulpit minister at the Memorial Church of Christ. He was in town last Friday, and I enjoyed going to lunch with him and insulting him in front of one of his elders and fellow ministers.

• • •

W.L. and Marilyn Fletcher, with Keaton

6. W.L. and Marilyn Fletcher.

W.L. is on the Chronicle’s national board of trustees and a big supporter of the Chronicle’s mission to inform, inspire and unite Churches of Christ. He and Marilyn graciously opened their home to Keaton and me during our recent trip to San Diego. W.L. and Marilyn were gone at one point when a couple showed up at their door for a Bible study. It’s so obvious that this wonderful couple spend so much time in the Word. I had not met them in person before our visit, and it was such a treat to spend time with them.

• • •

Kirk and Jenny Garrison

7. Kirk and Jenny Garrison.

Kirk and Jenny came to work with the Carrollton Avenue Church of Christ in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina. They are doing such remarkable (and I know I am using such adjectives a lot in this post!) ministry and really have a heart for reaching the lost in a city that desperately needs Jesus (as all cities do). It’s been a while since I visited with Kirk and Jenny in New Orleans, but they continue to bless me through Facebook and e-mail.

• • •

Barry and Tonda Stafford

8. Barry and Tonda Stafford.

Tonda is one of our beloved staff members at the Chronicle. Tamie and I had a great time with them at an Oklahoma City Thunder game on New Year’s Eve. Unfortunately, not long after that, they found out that their teenage daughter Rebecca has cancer. We have missed Tonda at work these last several weeks but keep the entire family in our prayers. Throughout this ordeal, Tonda has kept everyone informed via regular updates on Rebecca’s CaringBridge page. We pray that God will restore Rebecca to full health and allow Tonda to return to work soon.

• • •

Walter and Shirley Straker, with a young Christian woman from Japan (I am sorry that I cannot remember her name!)

9. Walter and Shirley Straker.

I stayed with Walter and Shirley during my recent reporting trip to Ontario. One night, they introduced me to Swiss Chalet, a popular Canadian rotisserie and grill. Another night, we played cards (Walter and Shirley are excellent card players and know some games I had never heard of. I must stress that no money changed hands!). They are the kind of couple that you meet, talk to for just a few minutes and then feel like you have known your entire life.

• • •

Aaron and Jennifer Wilmoth, with Hayden

10. Aaron and Jennifer Wilmoth.

Aaron and Jennifer are a young couple in the Detroit area who were involved in a tragic motorcycle accident nearly a year ago. Both lost their lower left legs in the accident, which killed Dan Tarjeft, an elder at the Gateway Church of Christ in Southgate, Mich., and his wife, also named Jennifer. I met the Wilmoths during a reporting trip to Detroit last fall and have kept up with their faith journey. The remarkable (there’s that word again!) way they have handled this nightmare has inspired me, and I am sure it will bless Chronicle readers too. I am writing about them for our next issue.

• • •

There you go. That’s my totally non-exhaustive list. Now, it’s your turn.

Who has blessed you?

• • •

I’ll divulge my first annual ranking of the best french fries in the world in a moment.

But first, a serious-sounding spiel from our founder (me):

So far, so good. This little Web site launched six weeks ago and seems to be accomplishing its goal. That is, to offer an informed, analytical, professional-quality blog on matters of faith and interest to members of Churches of Christ.

Since this is a personal site, not an institutional blog associated with my employer, The Christian Chronicle, I also enjoy the freedom to subject you to occasional diary entries and snapshots of my beautiful wife and children.

At least twice a week, typically on Mondays and Wednesdays, I hope to reflect myself on newsy, relevant topics — or not-so-newsy but still-relevant topics. Occasionally, I may post on the weekends. While this is not a Chronicle blog, I expect that the dialogue and feedback from this site will be helpful in my reporting and writing for the newspaper. (In fact, it already has. This column grew out of a post on this blog.)

And I know you will continue to enjoy Tamie Tuesdays and Trygg Thursdays. I am so excited my Chronicle colleagues Tamie Ross and Erik Tryggestad agreed to write guest posts once a week. Tamie, who lives with me, did so after much begging. Erik is such a great guy that he volunteered to help.

Which brings us to Fridays. It strikes me that all work and no play would make bobbyrossjr.com a dull blog.  So, by the power vested in me by the $10 domain registration fee I paid to GoDaddy.com, I hereby declare the last work day of each week as French-Fry Friday — when we’ll have a little fun on the blog.

Appropriately enough, we’ll inaugurate French-Fry Friday with … french fries.

• • •

Drum roll, please …

The top 10 best french fries in the world …

10. Arby’s curly fries

9. (Tie) Wendy’s, Sonic, Burger King, Whataburger fries

8. Rib Crib fries (dipped in mild sauce with St. Louis ribs)

7. McDonald’s fries

6. Goldie’s Patio Grill fries (try them with an Okie Burger, drenched in gravy)

5. Johnnie’s Charcoal Broiler fries (their onion rings are even better and will top that list if we ever do it!)

4. Braum’s Ice Cream and Dairy Store crinkle-cut fries

3. (Tie) Freddy’s Frozen Custard and Steak n Shake thin fries

2. Chick-Fil-A Waffle Potato Fries

1. In-N-Out Burger freshly cut fries (my first experience with these fries, not to mention my second, third and fourth experiences, came during our recent Phoenix mission trip. Who knew you could find heaven in the desert?)

Now you know my personal favorites. From a rather lively discussion on my Facebook page the other day, I know my friends have their own favorites. Please post your comments with your own Top 10 lists. Or even just your top two or three.

Enjoy your weekend. And eat some french fries!

— Bobby