And no, I did not forget whose birthday it is!

Happy Birthday to the greatest basketball player EVAH...Michael Jordan!

A very happy and blessed birthday to the man who taught me how to dribble a basketball, my father. He also taught me how to behave in church. And pray. And many more innumerable things. I love you, Daddy!

Exit question, Daddio: If your grandson is known as "Little Man", then what would you prefer to be called?

Ashes to ashes

Thoughts:

1) He is perfect, we are not. We cannot save ourselves, so He did. "I am yours, save me."

2) Advent is for kids, Lent is for adults.

3) It's been awhile since I've heard such a loud meltdown from a kid in church tonight. I started thinking, what if that was my kid, and how embarrassing that would be.

And then I remembered who my father is. "Pray!!"

4) Three cute little boys today: Two and a half year old grandson of a colleague; infant son of church family in the pew behind me; fourteen month old son of church friend after service. He kept reaching for my cookie. I probably didn't help by giving him part of it. :)
They all made me smile, but not as much as when I see my nephew!

5) Nephew (Little Man) likes to play peek-a-boo. He puts his hands over his face, palms out, and grinning waits for the reaction that inevitably comes. "Where's Little Man? Where'd he go?"
He lowers his hands, toofers showing. Then comes the favorite part.

"Dere he is!!!!" The funny thing isn't that he could do it for hours. The funny thing is when it's your turn to do it you have just as much fun as he does.

I love you, Little Man.

You Don't See This Every Day

At least, I don't. So I left work around five, crossed the street and walked in front of Walgreens as usual. Then I saw a cop, standing in front of the automatic doors. I kept walking past. I saw another police officer in front of me, guiding a woman in handcuffs to the cruiser in the parking lot. Hmmm...

Curiosity - It made me think about the unknown woman. What did she do? Stealing is the most likely scenario. But what would she steal? They wouldn't call the cops if she was slipping lip balm into her purse. If I had to guess, I would say the situation had something to do with prescription drugs. There's a pharmacy in that particular Walgreens, and meth is a huge problem.

Of course, this is all idle speculation. I hope that whatever it was, the arrested woman gets herself sorted out. She seemed to be going with the officer willingly. He wasn't dragging her, and they seemed to be talking.

How quickly things can change. Most people popping in the local convenience store don't intend to walk out with their wrists bound.

Here Comes The Sun

Well, it came today. And it received a very warm welcome from us here in the Midwest. It isn't that I want it to go away again; I just think the folks on the East Coast would love to take a look.

Oy.

Ephesians 6:5-8:

"Slaves, obey your earthly masters with respect and fear, and with sincerity of heart, just as you would obey Christ. Obey them not only to win their favor when their eye is on you, but like slaves of Christ, doing the will of God from your heart. Serve wholeheartedly, as if you were serving the Lord, not men, because you know that the Lord will reward everyone for whatever good he does, whether he is slave or free."

This passage was explained to me in a new way (for me) today. First, the whole "slaves" and "masters" terminology should, in the modern sense, be understood as "employees" and "employers". That being said, the other point made was that employees should obey their employers as if they (the employers) are Christ.

Ummm...ouch. Yes, because that's exactly what I think when I skip into work each day!

Not that this passage hit me in a personal way or anything...

Monday Night Musings

1) God is more important than football. Which is easy to say in February AFTER the Super Bowl is over, and way BEFORE the college football season starts.

2) A friend of mine was blessed with a niece February 3rd. Yay for new life and February birthdays! And wedding anniversaries too...

3) Why is it so annoying when the local news forecasts snow and there isn't any? Maybe it's because they get it so wrong. It would be one thing to say, "There will be two inches of snow" and not to have any. They have a tendency, however, to say things like "WE'RE GETTING SIX INCHES OF SNOW AND WE'RE GOING TO DIE!!!!" and then...nothing.

4) 58 would be a spectacular score on the golf course, but in the bowling alley, it means I stink.
.
5) Ephesians 5 is one firecracker of a chapter. Read the whole thing, and whatever you do ladies, don't stop after verse 22 and dismiss the rest. Because there's so much more beyond submission than what we know (speaking as a member of the female species, I'll leave it to others to decide whether I'm a lady or not)

And finally,
6) "In-law" is a term, when attached to a member of the family, that often inspires a negative response. This isn't the case with me (so far). For example, my sister-in-law I think of as my sister. It makes it easier to just drop the extra part. Also, I've known her since she was about seven years old. She has a blog that is far superior to mine. She also manages to post interesting things in it far more than I do. If her blog was a bowling score, it would be about a 290. Here's the link:
http://everythingelsea.blogspot.com/ Love you, R! (And you too, C.)

My blog is a 58, but like my game, I'm working on improving it. Love to all, including the other "IL", Brother J.

" I wanna be a STAAAAAAAAARRRRR!!!"

So shouteth Lady Gaga at the Grammys Sunday night. It is fortunate that the sentiment was overtaken by a surprisingly sweet duet with Elton John, performing his "Your Song". The performance made me think of why we think of such people as "stars". They become so by shining truth onto the human condition. Consider:

I hope you don't mind/I hope you don't mind
That I put down in words/How wonderful life is
While you're in the world.

Even in our most base, crooked and inward-looking condition, there is still acknowledgment of others. That is why the morphing into celebrities, "idols", stars, et cetera, is so dehumanizing. When one becomes a star, all light (so to speak) comes from that source. Everything is concentrated on the self, making it nearly impossible to see anything beyond.
And yet...

Who created the stars, both those in the heavens and those in Hollywood? Light comes from them, but they grow old, burn out, wither away; sometimes they implode or explode. The Light that created them does not grow old; He does not wither, implode or explode. Instead, He poured His Light into the creation to reflect His majesty. He sent His only Son, the Vine, so that we may not wither, but grow in His grace and mercy. And He sent the Holy Spirit, the Comforter, to burn in His children; not to make us perish but to praise Him.

I don't want to be a star. I belong to the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, and that is enough.