Author: Buddy McElhannon

  • The Years That End in One

    The Years That End in One

    “Teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom.” (Psalm 90:12) The Psalmist reminds us that our days in these earthly bodies are numbered.  How exactly do we “number our days?”  For me, seasonal changes are a time for reflection.  It’s the Fall of 2021, and here in the American…

  • Ethical Ways of Viewing Porn?

    Ethical Ways of Viewing Porn?

    Is it possible to sugarcoat evil?  To normalize the reprehensible? To rationalize doing immoral things?  Apparently, in today’s culture, the answer is “yes.” Axis is a Christian-based media organization aimed at helping parents navigate the cultural changes that impact teens.  They have a periodic email called “Culture Translation” that sums up current cultural trends. It’s…

  • The Sacrifice of Freedom for Order

    The Sacrifice of Freedom for Order

    What do a 1980s evangelist, an Imperial Officer of the Galactic Empire, and the current Bishop of Los Angeles have in common? I connected those dots recently when three of my grandsons spent a weekend with us.  As we continued watching the Star Wars spinoff series called  The Mandalorian, the “aha” moment occurred during a…

  • A Gentleman’s Game?

    A Gentleman’s Game?

    In the movie Bagger Vance, young Hardy Greaves, played by J. Michael Moncrief, caddies for Matt Damon’s character, Rannulph Junuh.  Hardy sums up his view on the game of golf, “Ask anybody. It’s fun. It’s hard, and you stand out there on that green, green grass, and it’s just you and the ball, and there…

  • Dollars and Sense — Part 4

    Dollars and Sense — Part 4

    After Part 1 of this series on Dollars and Sense, a friend reminded me how in the late 1970s my late wife and I helped him and his wife use the envelope system to set up their budget and account for every penny they spent.  They credit that advice to helping them get out and…

  • Dollars and Sense — Part 3

    Dollars and Sense — Part 3

    As noted in my opening post, financial freedom, or at least its foundation, is located at the corner of Word and Wise. The last post surveyed the biblical view of money, the Word. This post shares lessons from the Wise, that is, financial wisdom garnered from those whose life experience validate their credibility. Besides, learning…

  • Dollars and Sense – Part 2

    Dollars and Sense – Part 2

    As a husband and father, I sought to have an attitude of “Always a Student.”  Lifelong learning wasn’t just a hobby; it was a vocation, a necessary tool to survive the ups and downs of life. I explained that mindset in more detail in my blog post  Constantly Improve Your Position, dated August 16, 2018.…

  • Dollars and Sense — Part 1

    Dollars and Sense — Part 1

    What’s the best financial advice you ever got? We live in a time when financial freedom is a dream rather than a reality for most Americans.  Debt has become a way of life, a reluctant but inevitable cost of fulfilling wants and desires.  We have fallen under the beguiling spell that we can borrow our…

  • Writing Opportunities Abound

    Some of my readers have been asking, ”What’s up?  The frequency of your blog posts has dropped!” True enough. Since I started this blog three and a half years ago, TheBuddyBlog.com has averaged 4-5 posts per month.  Since April, it has been only 2-3 per month.  Have I suddenly grown speechless?  Have I lost my…

  • We Saved A Hummingbird Today

    We Saved A Hummingbird Today

    We saved a hummingbird today.   By we, I mean my grandson Luke and I.  Walking into the garage this morning, Luke spotted the ailing bird standing frozen upon the garage floor.  Sadly, it’s a sight we have seen before.  Hummingbirds, for some reason, are attracted to our garage, and once inside, they cannot find…