The Word Of God

For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek.

Romans 1:16

Your word is very pure; Therefore Your servant loves it.

Psalms 119:140

    For the past few days I have been plagued by a statement I read. When the word of God is read what is your first thought? Do you hear the words like someone reading a story? Do you hear some good instruction like the latest self help book? Do you hear the voice of God speaking to you?
    God's word is more than just an old book it is God communicating with us. Not just with mankind but speaking specifically to you and to me. He is speaking to everyone who loves Him and is willing to listen. While within the pages you can find a message of hope to the world you will also find God speaking to you right where you are, no matter what the situation. They are not just words to read they are truth and words to live by.
    When you hear God's Word what is your response? What are your thoughts?

By:Dan Follette

Just sign and Drive....ha I don't think the car lots had this in mind!!!

I had to forgive someone this morning. Two people actually. You see I was driving back to work from my lunch break and there was a car in front of me that was driving abnormally slow. They were also swerving around in a way that made it impossible to go around. I quickly realized that two things were taking place. Number one: I was witnessing for the first time in my life, two people clearly arguing IN SIGN LANGUAGE while driving down the highway!!! It was a sight to behold to say the least. My mind has never imagined that scenario before so when I actually witnessed it….it took me a minute. (Let me say I have nothing against people who use sign language, I think it is an amazing skill and I have nothing but love for my ASL using brethren.) it just freaked me out a little that’s all, and I was seriously worried for their safety.


Number two: I was genuinely upset by these people who where in my way, and not driving as fast or as straight as I would have liked for them to be.

I needed to forgive; and I needed to be forgiven.
There is a chance you are tired of hearing about this subject. There is an even greater chance that I am tired of writing about it. Believe me when I say I would rather be pelted by corn-hole bags from the hands of a 14 year old sore loser…(Sorry Dakota..much love to my favorite back yard adversary). Anyway… the truth of the matter is this. Until we figure it out. It needs to be talked about. And from what I’ve been seeing. It needs to be talked about more often than not.

It’s so easy to get upset with People. Sometimes it’s petty things like:

1. slow driving signers lost in heated conversation,

2. someone used the last of the toilet paper roll and forgot to refill the dispenser

3. someone ate your cheese cake

4. Someone caused the wait at Cheddar’s to be 30 to 45min instead of 15-20.



And other times it’s really “big” things, like:

1. Someone spread lies about you and your family

2. Someone stole from you

3. Someone molested you or someone you love

4. Someone murdered your child

5. Someone did……….


YOU CHOOSE THE ISSUE. Because you see, it’s not the issue that even matters. It’s the response.

Who told you that “your issue” got to decide whether or not you forgave?


What gives you the right to say, “I can never forgive this person.”?

Since when did the bible ever say, “If you do not forgive men their sins your Father will not forgive your sins….unless the sin against you was a “really big one”, then God is okay with your disobedience and selfishness”?


Oh yea that’s in
Matthew 6:15-The watered down and totally re-written-to-fit-my-lifestyle, not God's standards, version.


I know it’s hard….sometimes it’s RRRREEEAAALLLYYYYYY hard. But it is still required.


The Mercy of God is New EVERY morning.

The question is …….. is Your mercy new every morning too?

Revival

When I sat down to write this post I had every intention of writing something that would, in the end, convince you that we need revival to sweep through our church. I was fully prepared to give a plethora of scripture references that would motivate you and “pump you up” for Jesus and revival. It was coming. I was bringing my “A” game today folks…
Then I heard a still small voice- as crystal clear as any I’ve ever heard. It sent chills down my spine.
This is what it said.
“Don’t tell them we need it…..tell them ...it’s here. There is only one thing left to do. Receive it by faith.”


God has done what he said He would do. Now I am asking you to receive it. walk in it. Swim in it.

don't know how?

It is a 4 step process.

It looks like this:
2 Chronicles 7:14

“If my people, who are called by my name, will (1) humble themselves and (2) pray, and (3) seek my face, and (4) turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and I will forgive their sin, and heal their land”



“the river is rushing………and the river is here.”

Sanctification = Killing Reluctance

I am officially a fan of Keith Drury. Keith has been writing books for a long time. He has written dozens of books and Teaches Christian Ministry at Indiana Wesleyan University.


I am currently reading his book “Holiness For Ordinary People” and I gotta say, It totally nails the dilemma in our church.
Much of this post contains Keith’s Thoughts…not mine….so it’s definitely worth the read!

Here goes:
Sanctification is a word that we all should know. “It begins the moment we become a Christian. Since sanctification is all of God’s inner work transforming us into Christ likeness it has already begun…it happened when we were born again… But we need more of Christ and Christ needs more of us…God continues to perform a gradual sanctification in us day by day, making us more like Jesus” (Drury, 17)



Actually I got that part already….you probably have too

Here is where I was ROCKED.

It is safe to say that for the most part we equate sanctification with the gradual elimination of sin in our lives…..right?
And that’s true....
And as a church I feel that those of us who embrace this teaching are moving in that general direction.

However it is also equally true that Sanctification results in greater service for the kingdom!!!! …..oh my goodness.



Pop the balloon of self righteousness and mop up the spill of excuse juice that I hear nearly every week from dear saints in our church.

“It doesn’t fit my personally”

“I’m too old”

“I’m too young”

“I’m too shy”

“I’m not qualified to do that”

Can we take all of those excuses and put them in a stretchy hefty bag along with all of our Stryper cassettes and with that other excuse that I used last week when I was watching something I shouldn’t have been on TV. Has anybody else every said…. “I was just flipping the channels!”?

And let’s burn them in a ceremonial “Excuse Cremation”


We need Sanctification power for 2 things:
Power over Sin
And
Power for Loving Service

Case and point.

Guy in our church. We’ll call him Raz. Felt what he called “a holy spirit ulcer” eating at him to join the worship team. Didn’t match his personality….GOD DIDN’T CARE!!

So he joins the worship team…now he is denying his shy-ness nearly every week… serving God..Fufilling his calling....
Oh and last week…he sang a one verse solo….. You rock Raz

"Oh God, Light the fire on all the Excuses and may it burn along with it all of our reluctance to serve you."
                                                   
                                                                                                                                    -Josh

Learning Lessons from Little Lunch Ladies

I happen to work at a local Middle School. Love my Job! but sometimes, like the majority of humans, i get a little frustrated
Okay so was going through the salad bar line today for lunch. i usually don't eat here because its middle school cafeteria food. but today i figured, "It's salad. no one can screw with that too much." so i approached with my compartmentalized tray in hand.
…there were two rather large signs. One read “Choice of two meats” the other "Two meats only!!"

I thought to my self, "hmm. Be careful with the meat choices, Joshie. These people mean business."

So I look and notice only one meat—ham. No problem I like ham. Ham is delicious. All is well.



I also put some cheddar cheese and some eggs and some onion and broccoli and imitation bacon bits.(yummy…I know)
It's important to note:

I am the first one in the line and actually the lunch lady is still putting stuff out.
So I say to her, “I notice the sign said two meat choices and that you were still putting things out. Is there another meat choice that you will be putting out instead of just ham?" She looks at me and says smugly, “there are five meat choices out here already. The eggs the ham the shredded cheese, the cottage cheese, and the imitation bacon bits!!

Okay wait one cotton picking---( please see blog related to Christian cursing) minute!!!
Was she even for real????? I look around to see if I’m getting punked. Ashton Kutcher is no where to be found. This lady is offended that I only thought there was one meat in her line!
Are we officially eliminating the dairy food group??? Sure I understand that cheese comes from milk, which comes from cows.. (Or any number of other mammals.) And I can even see where one could make the argument that an egg is a meat because if you fertilized it, and then sat on it for 28 days in the right conditions it would eventually become a chicken which is, in fact, a meat.
I just immediately pictured a nervous 6th grader cramming for his first big FCS test on the major food groups and receiving the devastating news from our narcissistic lunch lady that cottage cheese is now a meat.
And for the record- If cottage cheese is a meat…. Wouldn’t plain milk be a meat as well? If that is the case…I owe our lunch ladies some more money because I apparently consumed way too much meat today.

Diced meat

Shredded meat

Cottage meat

Imitation bits of meat
Then I washed it all down with a carton of skim meat!


I think for the sake of learning correct information…we should make them at least change the sign to say “two meat, or animal related choices.”
Spiritual applications:

Patience
Long suffering
Praying for others
Fasting


I still haven’t fully figured out which category the imitation bacon bits go into.
Have great day!!!!
Josh

Shaken......

A few weeks ago I posted a quick blog requesting everyone to pray for Austin Kirby and to go visit the website and sign the guest book. Essentially, what I did was ask you to "put yourself into someone else trial". Let me be the first to say….. That is so hard to do- even if we have a sincere heart and good intentions- even if we do mention Someone’s name during our prayers for weeks- even if we sign the guest book….. It is nearly impossible to feel what that person or that family is feeling on the “inside” during those times where the world is falling apart.

I believe That is why at different times in our lives….we have to go there for ourselves.


My son, Isaiah, starting having seizures a couple of weeks ago. He had been running a mild temperature that day and had been given a TDAP shot a few days earlier. (can’t totally point the finger at the TDAP shot….but let’s just say I’ve got plenty of reasons to scratch my chin…..)
Anyway…. when a child or close familiy member, Specifically, YOUR CHILD starts experiencing something that is beyond your control it instantly breaks you open and crashes you and your securities all over the floor. There is no worse experience than being totally helpless and having to watch your son or daughter, suffer. In that moment, I would have done anything to make the shaking stop. I would have given my life…

The next part is the Key….after the helplessness had sunk in a little bit and I realized that there is NOTHING I could do….I had a choice.

Run to Jesus....
or
walk away completely.

This is "The Crossroad of tragedy."

“Jesus, I fully trust you to take care of my son.”
 Or
“Jesus, you don’t care about my son. I am through with you.”
I was at that crossroad for the first time in my life. Let me just say…Although the circumstances leading up to that moment are ALWAYS less than appealing… I pray that one day you stand at that same fork in the road. Why? Because when you let go of everything that you have ever trusted in, (i.e. your strength, your money, your friends and family, doctors, lawyers, books, ect….) and you lay every single ounce of your broken mess at the feet of Jesus. Something inside you releases.

Your spirit is set free.

Peace washes over you.

Love overflows

Every Burden....Gone

You have no doubt whatsoever that you and your family are in the arms of the One you were destined to be in since the beginning of time.
The only sad part.....
 It was all because... there was absolutely no where else to go.

The irony is…as soon as I got there… I realized there is no where else I’d rather be.



Father, at the risk of sounding like a completely insensitive father myself, I say thank you for Isaiah’s seizures. They shook MY entire perspective of who You are and just how much you love your children. I trust you. I trust you. I trust you. I trust you….

Have you been there?
What did it change about your life?
Has it worn off?

Do you need a new "Shaking"?

Yuck

If I could add to my Previous Post I would add one additional “Least favorite thing”......I promise this gets Spiritual…just read.



11. I really dislike it when people throw up around me. I mean one minute I’m sitting at work minding my own business, typing up a report for my boss, then, all of a sudden… out of the corner of the classroom there comes this…..**open mouth gag** ….followed by another **open mouth gag** and I just close my eyes and think to myself, “I have one of the smallest classrooms in this school. There are enough smells already lingering in this tiny, storage closet of a room… if this kid throws up in here, on my floor, I am going to seriously consider renting a ninja to take this kid, his Air Jordan backpack, and his vomit, to a secluded area in the jungle to dispose of all three of them.” Luckily there was a trash can within my reach. I instinctively jumped to my feet, grabbed the can and hurled it towards the heaving individual. And on the third **open mouth gag**….it all came tumbling down…I was just in the nick of time!!!....I of course thought to myself, “wow…I don’t need to rent a ninja….I am a ninja…and he should really learn to chew those chocolate donuts more.”

This of course got me thinking about throw-up and how different people approach it. As far as I know, there are three schools of thought concerning “vomiting”:
1. I Have To Vomit As Quickly As Possible to Get It Out and Over With – these people understand that usually when they vomit they instantly feel better. When they feel it coming. They run to the toilet, and force themselves to look at the inside rim. The vomit quickly arrives. Then they get up. Take a few deep breaths, brush there teeth and go on about their day! My wife falls into this category. I envy her and anyone else who belongs here.

2. I Vomit because it is easier than Buying all those Slimfast Shakes. That is not even funny and you need to get some help.

3. I Vomit only when it is the LAST POSSIBLE OPTION and I can no longer hold it down!!! – Unfortunately I fall into this category. I would rather be absolutely miserable all day long, sometimes multiple days instead of doing what I know is going to eventually have to be done anyway. It hurts to throw up. It’s hard to breathe, it’s smelly and embarrassing. Who would willingly go do that??? even if they knew it was going to help???


Waiting on the Spiritual Application?????? Here it is:

I wish we would view SIN like MY WIFE views vomiting.


I know it’s inside of me festering and I hate it. I have to get it out as quickly as possible so that I can get on with my life.

The problem is we usually view sin more like I view vomit. That is: Even though I hate it and know it is eventually going to have to go. I know it will hurt to get rid of it, so I am going to hold onto it as long as I can. I instead choose to continue to live in pain and hurt because I know if I get rid of it, it is going to be painful and hurt.…….WOW. That doesn’t even make sense when you read it on paper. But that’s what we do.

Jesus Said The wages of sin is death. He also tells us that he himself is like my wife when it comes to throwing up… Revelation 3: 15-16 “I know your deeds that you are neither Hot nor cold. I wish you were one or the other. Because you are lukewarm, I will vomit you out of my mouth.”

He is not going to let your sin linger in his presence. It's going to make Him hurl. I Promise. Neither should we let it linger in ours… get it out…..throw it up.

These are a few of my least favorite things:

Move over Mr. Rogers and Mr. Hammerstein II. Step aside Julie Andrews. I mean seriously… whose favorite thing would ever be the whiskers off a kitten… that’s just sick.
Here is my top ten least favorite things….at least for today: (in No particular order)

1. Changing a flat tire in the middle of winter at night without a good flashlight, a decent lug wrench, gloves, or knowledge of how to lower the spare from under the van. Here’s a hint…you have to lift up the carpet behind the passenger seat and locate a nut…why didn’t I think of that?!?!

2. Picking dog poo out of your shoe with a stick. I put in the “with a stick” part because 9 times out of 10 that is the only thing that is around that you would actually want to use to get it out with. Wiping it in the grass only does so much. Scraping it on the step….ditto. The worst part actually comes several hours after you have first stepped in it. You have wiped off as much as you could in the grass and prayed that the people at work are not going to notice the faint odor coming from your general direction. Then a few hours later you remember “Oh yea…I still have lingering poo on my shoe that is probably dry now and needs to get scraped off completely” so you go outside and find….the stick, and begin chiseling away. This is the worst part for me. The smell returns and fills your nostrils again, people are walking by looking and smiling or laughing…..it’s humiliating and embarrassing. You find you self silently cursing about dogs and wildlife in general (yes even you Christians…. “That darn dog. I’d love to kick the heck out of him! I don’t give a rip what they say, SUGARFOOT!! ” does that sound familiar???) ….anyway It has to go on my list

3. Using words like ‘sugarfoot’ to try to make cursing a more Christian experience. This in my opinion reflects an attitude that needs to change much more then the need for a different word bank. It annoys me…especially when I do it myself.

4. Beets. Those things are nasty. Partly because they almost look good to the eye. They are red and sort of shiny and juicy…like a wonderful piece of fruit. But when you take a bite you realize that it is actually a horrendously indescribable piece of “nasty” camouflaged in enticing greatness. The thought sickens me. I’ll bet that’s what the fruit in the Garden of Eden tasted like….. “Surprise that’s what you get for disobeying my only command!!!”…yes I know a beet is a vegetable.

5. Losing a 5 dollar fishing lure. I know that doesn’t seem like a lot, but trust me it will ruin an otherwise perfect day very quickly

6. Hearing public testimonies from someone clearly and publicly living in sin about how God is really working in their life and blessing them and helping them minister to people, and blah blah blah… Forgive me if that sounds judgmental…but seriously, those are only believable for about 2 seconds. What I dislike about those the most though is that they make God look so bad. “Yes I’m living in habitual sin and everyone knows it but God doesn’t mind, see He Helped me get this great boyfriend…his name is Butch…well, at least that’s what the tattoo on his face says. Praise the Lord! It is so Great to be a Christian!”
Sure God is Merciful and Patient….He is also Holy and Just.

7. Snow day letdowns- see previous post below.

8. Accidently changing the channel to ‘Chitty Chitty Bang Bang’ and inadvertently getting the theme song stuck in your head for 4 days. “*Bang bang *Chitty Chitty Bang Bang* our fine four fendered friend*” Ha ha!!!! See how you like it!

9. Unforgiveness- Seriously, I see more people on their way to hell because of un-forgiveness in their hearts then anything else (see Matthew 6:15) I know from personal experience how hard it can be to forgive….Oh but it’s so worth it! And I’m not just talking about Heaven… the weight that gets lifted off of your shoulders is indescribable. Someone once said “Forgiveness is setting a prisoner free and then realizing that the prisoner was you.” They were right.

10. realizing that it is really hard to make a list of my least favorite things



Have a great weekend!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! WOOO HOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Al Gore Would Be So Proud!!

How many of you recycle?? I’m not talking about the bin at work that you are required to put scrap paper in, or the shoe box that you use to store photos in…
I wanna know where your milk jugs and cereal boxes are going.

Let me pose this question: Is it possible to be a Christian without caring about the earth?

And is it possible to say, “Yes. I care about the earth” and mean it when you can’t even make time to separate your plastic from the rest of your trash?!!
I have never been concerned about the environment. In fact I used to regularly throw things out the window of the school bus. My mom taught me littering was wrong, so to appease her, I would simultaneously yell to the hillside, “Hey could you throw that away for me???” as the coke bottle or whatever else went bouncing down the highway.

Then when I got a little older I started noticing cigarette butts on the road. It thoroughly grossed me out. I also noticed coke bottles and other garbage littered up and down the roads. I was starting to evolve……

Then I started doing mission work in Haiti. It was there that I finally realized why we should be concerned about the environment. The garbage in Haiti is piled in the streets. The smell would…like my grandpa would say… “knock a fly off the poo poo wagon”. I started to realize, “hey this could happen in America just like it has happened here.
I still didn’t do anything about it until my wife declared, “no more throwing away plastic. We are going to recycle!” I said, “Cool! How much money do you get??” (The answer by the way….is none.)
Someone much smarter than me once said, “We have not inherited the earth from our grandparents, but have borrowed it from our grandchildren.”
Listen

I’m not talking about standing front-and-center at a global warming rally…..so much of that is utterly ridiculous…. But what I am talking about is being very real and very practical and very respectful.
Usually if you even mention “helping the earth” to people they automatically assume you’re a tree huggin, Gore groupie who voted for John Kerry, drives a Toyota Prius, hates conservatism, and boycotts deodorant and anything that runs on any energy other than solar winds

I don’t know where you stand on this issue. You may not see the importance since we all know that the earth is going to be destroyed eventually anyway… but look at it like this:

We preserve and honor the pictures and crafts that our children make with their hands, yet mistreat and disrespect the creation that our Lord spoke into being.

Have a blessed day!

A Thought On Marriage

You're getting a short one today. If you could see what my classroom looked like you would know why!!



HERE WE GO.....


I’m married, and if you are too, then statistically speaking, one of us is going to get a divorce.

I’m not writing that to be sensational, but I just want to be clear that it’s a big deal. And I don’t know if we Christians do a very good job of treating it as such.

Look at it this way: if one out of every two neighbors on your street got mauled by a bear, would you be more careful about bears? Would you buy books on how to keep your house safe from bears? Would you carry a gun and bear spray if there were, in fact, such a thing as bear spray? Probably. Yet, when it comes to divorce, we don’t do many equivalent things.

Valentines day is coming….that would be a great time to Bear proof the house a little. How have you Bear proofed in the past??  Leave a comment. We all want to know!!!

Maybe I'm Wrong

Yesterday’s bible study made me totally rethink the idea of the infamous “Help Committee” at many churches. (This is the group usually responsible for deciding whether or not a family or individual asking for money from the church will get it.)


I know if I insert my own words too much in this post….I might take some heat!! So instead I will just quote a few verses from scripture and let your minds do the rest.

Psalm 37:25 “…I have not seen the righteous forsaken, or His children begging for bread.”

Oh MY GOSH!!! What a powerful verse!


Pair that verse with this one Proverbs 30:8 “Keep Falsehood and lies far from me; give me neither poverty nor riches, but only my daily bread.
I think we live in a time where we believe that only having our “daily bread” is not nearly enough. We look at our pantry and think, “I have to do something Quick we are almost out of food”(usually in my house that means “we are almost out of food that we like” and we run out and try to take care of everything ourselves. God is saying that He wants to take care of it and that actually…having only your daily bread- is not a problem at all. (This principle goes soooo far beyond the need for food, by the way) However, we make it a problem when we spend our money on things we don’t need and even on things we know we shouldn’t be involved in the first place.

I will also reiterate the above verse when it says that the righteous are not forsaken and that His children don’t have to beg for bread.
In all of my experience with seeing people put their hand out, (my experience, I will admit is not much) I can usually always trace it back to one of my new favorite verses in the bible, Psalm 37:25 “I have not seen the righteous forsaken, or His children begging for bread.” That may seem judgmental to some, but it’s the truth because it is written in the book of truth. The question then becomes “How do we fix it???” the answer in my opinion is “quit handing out money until you first hand out What it means to Righteous and to live daily as “His Child”. Maybe I’m wrong.

I out-thunk myself again!!!!!

I refuse to pay a hundred dollars for a pair of shoes.


I am not picky, hard to please, or a cheapskate. I just simply cannot throw a hundred dollars at something that usually cost less than 4 dollars to produce. (Don’t ask me where I got that number, I think I heard it on Oprah once). Granted, I do wear shoes a lot-usually every day. Not only that but I also hardly ever spend money on anything else wardrobe related. In fact, I still wear jeans that I wore in High school. Sure they are much tighter and I am not going to be making any sudden movements, (i.e. anything other than walking slowly and sitting very slowly). To spend a hundred dollars on shoes or any other “one article of clothing” sounds very….um….. Un-Christian to me.
I would rather Dive all over town (ten dollars worth of Gas, not to mention the bad mood I am in when I go home empty handed), then pack up the whole family for an impromptu trip to Evansville (another ten dollars in gas, not to mention the price of the restaurant we now have to eat at because, seriously, how often do we get the chance to eat at a place that is not available in our home town. Bill=30 bucks.) All this in order to get all the way over to Evansville then find the perfect pair of shoes! (Except for the fact that they cost 30 dollars more then I had originally planed on paying in the first place).

So the breakdown looks like this:

I want 50 dollar shoes. That is a reasonable price Right????

+10 dollars gas around Owensboro

+10 dollars gas to Evansville.

+30 dollars Food

+30 extra for the “perfect pair”

Oh my….

I paid 130 dollars for my shoes. That is unacceptable. I would take them back, but that would cost too much money. When you see them…pray for me.

Yes I'm Angry. No you cannot have my tacos.

I’ll admit I’m a little aggravated. Okay I am a lot aggravated!!!!


This is not a spiritual problem per say, more like a problem that reaches all the way back to most of our childhoods and yet gets amplified by a million when you become an adult and work in the profession that I work in.

Let me explain:
I want you to think back for a minute, if you will, to the days of your childhood. Let’s start with summer. Sorry Spring, even though you are one of my favorites, you are getting left out in this post but don’t worry…we will see and speak of you soon enough. Back to Summer… Oh The baseball games in the backyard!! (usually with at least one neighbor kid you didn’t really like but needed someone to play right field and go get the foul balls), the trips to the dairy drive-in down the street (I can’t tell you haw many times I flipped over the couch cushions and raided the floorboard of my moms car to find that last nickel I needed in order to get a small swirl cone!). The water balloon fights you would spend 2 hours preparing for and it would last a total of 6 minutes including the three time-outs you called so that your big sister didn’t totally cream you in the face with the biggest water balloon she had….Then comes autumn.

Baseball switched to football and the kids you didn't like still played. Only this time you were really happy to have them playing…..especially if your mom had to run to the grocery store and the game could temporarily switch to tackle football with kidney punches and eye gouges allowed. Don’t forget the leaf raking and burning days. Those too were awesome for a kid. Fire is always cool (no pun intended) to a kid. But along with Fall, also came school. This was not so enjoyable for most of us.

Sure you nerdy folks with your pocket protectors and your abacuses and your special “home made” lunches with fresh chocolate chip cookies and hand written notes that reminded you of how gifted and talented and awesome you were every day, sure you enjoyed school. Most of us were not so lucky. I was the high pitched borderline fat kid with the ridiculous amounts of acne (beginning in 5th grade) that carried the hammy down backpack and used the boring yellow non-mechanical pencils. I don’t even need to describe how a typical school day felt for me. But nevertheless we all usually managed just fine with school during the Fall because we at least had a few things to look forward to when we got home. see above for football and kidney punch story..…then came the dog days of winter.

In the winter for the most part there was not a great deal of things to do. I mean sure you could lock your sister out of the house when it was her turn to feed the dog. Or you could begin making out your list for Santa and try to go ahead and explain exactly why you had thrown bubbles into your sister’s eyes and why you thought it would be a respectable thing put the Woopie Cushion under grandma at thanksgiving. Chances are Santa wouldn’t be fooled and all your efforts to persuade the big man for a go-cart were going to go in one ear and right out the other. But it was at least something to do. HOWEVER!!!!! Regardless of your age, gender, or cool status there were always two little words during this time of year that got every single kid in the world excited enough to go streaking through the house at 6 am with nothing on but Darkwing Duck underware, that should have been retired a long….long time ago. Those magnificent words……… Snow Day.

Ah yes the snow day. The day where all of ones hopes and dreams come true and the biggest responsibility of the day changes from vocabulary test to lets see how many letters of the alphabet we can write in the snow. (you boys know exactly what I am talking about). The day when you sleep in, then eat 4 bowls of cereal while watching the price is right. Next comes the first trip outside. You check the viscosity of the snow and pat out the first few balls of ammunition. Then you quickly see if you can still hit the neighbor’s birdfeeder from your back yard. Nope. They moved it. But that doesn’t matter because sooner or later your friends will come over and it begins the best day of winter so far!!!!

That is unless…..”Snow day Letdown” occurs.

Herein lies today’s reason for frustration.
I work in the public school system and as a teacher( technically I am the In-house Supervisor and not a teacher but who cares) We have a much more involved process that occurs leading up to a snow day.

The feeling a child has is nothing compared to the feelings of a teacher. You remember as a kid the feelings of glee, the feeling of excitement, the feeling that the world was yours for the taking and nothing could hold you down. Now take that feeling and multiply it by a million. This is what a teacher experiences.

You see the build up for a snow day is usually so much greater for a teacher. I think this is because most of us watch the news regularly and are devoted to the seven day forecast. Once we have seen the predictions all logic goes out the window. We forget that the weatherman is the only guy in the world who gets paid to predict the future, well him and the crazy cat lady down the street who will gladly interpret the warts on your hand and the sleepys in your eyes for 7 dollars and a ride to the liquor store. We forget all of the many times he has been wrong in the past and we allow the adrenaline to begin rocketing through our veins. This anticipation lasts all week. We subtly ask our friends and co-workers what they have heard and What they think is going to happen. When people ask us those same questions we try to sound as professional and rational as we can. We say, “I think there is a possibility, but honestly I would rather come to school and get them over with.” Most nod in agreement. But inside you know they are thinking exactly what you are thinking, “I need this day. I have earned this day…Please God let it snow let it snow let it snow.”

Then comes the night before the prospective day of Exuberance. We try not to get too excited in the presence of other people. We plan as we always do, lunch is packed, clothes are laid out, alarm is set. It is only in the private moments were we allow the excitement to show. After using the bathroom we look in the mirror for a little longer than usual and maybe even whisper to the person staring back at you….”snow day tomorrow…” then we wipe off the smile and head to bed.

You usually do not sleep very well on the night leading up to the “snow day” we check the clock at 3:30 then 5 and never fully enter into a deep sleep. Then as soon as the alarm goes off, we spring out of bed and, race to the T.V. we turn it onto the closet local channel. We read through the scrolling list at the bottom of the screen…..Hmm we wonder. It went from Adair County to Butler County to Grayson County….. “that’s odd”. We’re still heavily in denial. We walk to the window take a deep breath and bend down the blinds…..Snow day Letdown has just occurred.



Yes today was supposed to be a snow day…Yes everyone talked about it all week. Yes the weather man predicted it all week…No it did not happen…..Yes I am angry…At least we are eating tacos tonight… No you can’t have any- unless you can somehow guarantee that snow will come because of my liberal charity.

The "G" Card

Okay Here is the Scenario:

I was dating an older girl named Jennifer. We had been going out for a few months and then things started to get weird. Not “this girl is a psychopathic maniac” weird, more like, “This girl is definitely hanging out with my friend Mike more than me” weird!!!

Anyway, a few weeks later we had all but said to one another, “You are the worst thing that has ever happened to me since The Young Riders went off the air.” When she comes up to me and throws the G-card.

Yes the G-card.

It went something like this, “Josh we need to talk. I have been praying a lot and God told me that we need to break up.”

My response, “Um, like right now??….cause we are at prom and I need a ride home.”

It kills me when someone plays the “G” card!!

This move is where to win an argument you throw the God-card. You say, “Yeah, well that’s what God told me.” That’s a hard one to argue with. What can I say when you say that? “No he didn’t. I know God and he does not want you moving your family to Miami.” It’s a really dangerous move to make in the context of a marriage, too because it stops the conversation and forces your spouse to either give up their point or willingly choose to be on the opposite side of God.

It’s also one of those phrases we Christians use to punctuate or amplify our sentences. For instance, my friend Matt had a guy at his church proclaim in front of the entire congregation that God had told him in a dream that he and his wife were having a baby boy. Why did he do it? So that what he was saying would seem big and holy. It’s like italicizing and bolding your words. But a few months later they had a girl. Which is why you have to be really, really, really careful with the God-card

If someone plays the G-card and it's something they really, completely don't want to do ("God told me to admit to the IRS I've been cheating on my taxes." or "God told me to move to Haiti but I hate hot weather, can't stand rice, and don't feel comfortable taking baths in the river." or "God told me I had to forgive you even though nursing this grudge feels sooo good!"), I believe them.

When someone plays the G-card about something that benefits them, or about something they really want to do, or about something that makes them look really good... Um...not so much.

I’m not saying it will never happen to you. God could easily tell you something very specific about a whole host of things…..but if He does, be very careful how you broadcast it. And whatever you do…do not use it in a way that will make Him regret talking to you to begin with!!!