A Busy Day in Sports

USC is banned from post season play for two years, will be stripped of scholarships, and vacate wins from atleast 2004 possibly 2005. Tom Izzo (Michigan State Head Coach) is currently being wooed by the Cleveland Cavaliers and is expected to take their head coaching job. Colorado has joined the Pac 10 Conference and Nebraska is expected to accept an invitation to join the Big 10 Conference. This should completely shake up the landscape of college football and we'll start to see a series of mega conferences. This should move college football one step closer to a playoff instead of the BCS. If you care about hockey, the Chicago Blackhawks won their first Stanley Cup in 49 years. Steven Strausburg is the real deal rookie pitcher for the Washington Nationals as he strikes out 14 batters in his first start. Lebron and other superstars could be switching teams in the NBA. Oh and speaking of the NBA, the finals are going on right now between the rival Celtics and Lakers. My thoughts on all of these stories when I get more facts. In the meantime I'll try to catch my breath....

The Lizard

If you are reading this, you probably shouldn't mention this to my mom. But yesterday, I was reading in the living room and I noticed a lizard next to the back door. Now if you know my mom, then you know: #1 She hates lizards and #2 She hates lizards in the house. So, I was just hoping to get this thing out of the house before she found out! This was quite the interesting lizard. He started changing colors to try to blend in with his surroundings. First, I tried to sick my cats on the lizard. In my cats' younger years they had been known to torture an animal or two so I thought this would work. However, now, my cats are old. So naturally they didn't want anything to do with the lizard. Next, I tried to to pick the lizard up and throw him out. But lizards are quick creatures and I wasn't able to accomplish this task. As a result, the lizard went into hiding. I kept this on the dl because my mom wouldn't have been able to sleep knowing there was a lizard in the house. Skip ahead to this morning, and I see the crafty little lizard in the same spot by the door. I quickly act and get a broom and head over to the little guy. The lizard didn't go out without a fight! In fact, he tried to go into hiding again, but I wouldn't allow it this time. I had to move a few bookcases to get to him, but I finally succeeded in sweeping the lizard out of the house! I feel quite accomplished.

Sin

I was reading a little bit of When Sinners Say I Do and it came to my attention that I tend to divide my sins as little sins and big sins. But Harvey makes a good point. All sins are against God, so all sins ARE BIG SINS. It's not that I downplay my sins, it's just that I feel worse about some sin over other sins. I need God's grace! Although by the blood of Christ on the cross I have his righteousness, I still sin. I press on though and ask forgiveness! What a merciful God I serve and what a awesome Savior! We wouldn't need a Savior if we didn't need to be saved from something. Even though I'm justified by God, I still have great sin, and it just increases my need for a great Savior!

Lest Your Deeds Be Exposed

Also while I was cutting the grass today, I noticed a snake in the yard. At first, I got real excited because I had personally never gotten the opportunity to kill a snake before. So I got an axe and made my way to the snake. It was creeping between some trees in our backyard. It looked like it was within striking distance, so I took and swing and before I could breathe again the snake crawled quickly back into the darkness of the trees. I was disappointed, but I knew he couldn't hide in there much longer. So when the snake came out I was ready..... or not! I swung and missed again. The snake crawled back into the darkness. I attempted one more time when the snake came out and missed a third time. I couldn't help but think of the garden of Eden and how the serpent deceived Adam and Eve. God created an evil, cunning, sly, and slippery snake and his creation is perfect. The snake is deceptive and I swung and missed three times, and where did the snake go? He crawled back into the darkness, so I wouldn't kill him. I know I'm going to kill the snake, when he comes into the light.

Cutting the Grass

Today, after I went to the beach, I cut the grass. As I was cutting the grass, I began thinking of of a friend who has recently made some bad decisions that I have fallen into before. I haven't talked with this friend since he went off to school. However, we have shared some good times together and we even went to the Passion Conference a few years back. I'm ashamed to say I haven't talked much about spiritual things with him much at all, but I feel like he has experienced Christ before. I was thinking about rooming with this friend and some other guys I know next year at FSU but I really feel like the Lord was telling me to go to UWF instead. Before God revealed this to me, I visited this friend and I was wondering where he went to church and I was excited to go there on the Sunday before I headed back to Pace. We stayed up really late on Saturday night and into Sunday morning and when it was time to go to church, everyone was left snoozing. I was pretty disappointed in my friend and I had noticed that his priorities were not where I had thought they were. Anyways, I think that was the point where I noticed a change in him, and it wasn't good.

As I began thinking of my friend, I really felt like God was telling me to share some words of encouragement tonight with him. I don't exactly know what I'm supposed to say to him, or if I will even get the opportunity. However, I do know that I will see him tonight. Pray that if the opportunity opens up, that I would be able to speak what God places on my heart and that I would be a light for Christ to this friend.

A Special Night for the Pepsi Guy

So in case you didn't know, I fill the Pepsi machines at Pace High School. I like my job. I like filling machines up with delicious Pepsi products. It gives me a great sense of accomplishment. However, the past weeks have been kind of disappointing. The person in charge of ordering the drinks has left me hanging and has not ordered any drinks for the machines. As a result, the machines have been empty. It brings me great sorrow to think of a kid not getting his daily Diet Sunkist for lunch. Wednesdays are typically big shipment days, so I usually work for a long time on Wednesday nights. To my joy, I finally got a big shipment of drinks today. This afternoon Bethany helped me fill up some machines for an hour. She is such a great sister! Then, after care groups tonight, I went and did two more hours worth of drinks. It is with great pleasure that I can say most of the machines are fully stocked and ready for the students tomorrow at Pace High.

Now this was a special night, but there is more to being the Pepsi guy than one would want to know. I don't like doing drinks while students are present because often kids beg me for free drinks and that is just annoying. Since I don't do drinks during the day, I have to do them at night. This usually means I'm up there all alone in the darkness and creepiness of Pace High School. There are some creepy things that go on behind the doors of Pace when no one is watching. I won't tell the horror stories on this blog post because I can honestly say I have become numb to everything that goes on there at night.

It should also be said that I have befriended the janitors and that we have a good time. That is pretty sad, but they are likable people. I know I wouldn't want to do their job, so I have respect for them.

Tonight, a new memory was added to my collection. I was filling up some machines next to the weight room, when I noticed a huge roach that looked like it was on steroids. Then suddenly, the roach started flying! I thought I was dreaming at first, but then I blinked and it really was flying! I started working a little faster and then I noticed more flying roaches coming towards me. These things were the biggest roaches I had ever seen and I was wondering why there were so many of them grouped together. To make a long story short, I was finished with the machines and was trying to make my way back but the army of flying roaches were blocking me. It was at that point that I decided it was time to release my wrath on the roaches! Crunch by crunch, I killed off the roaches. I felt like Leonidus in the movie 300. I think I even belted out, "THIS IS SPARTA!" It was a satisfying ending to a full night of drinks.

Joy Doubled in the Joy of Another

I've been slowly reading through Desiring God by John Piper and this is a quote from the end of the chapter on love.

"Love is the overflow of joy in God that meets the needs of others. The overflow is experienced consciously as the pursuit of our joy in the joy of another. We double our delight in God as we expand it in the lives of others. If our ultimate goal were anything less than joy in God, we would be idolaters and no eternal help to anyone.Therefore, the pursuit of pleasure is an essential motive for every good deed. And if you aim to abandon the pursuit of full and lasting pleasure, you cannot love people or please God."