It’s Football Weather
People have been commenting on the weather lately saying, “It’s cold.” I respond with the mantra I learned in high school:
It’s football weather.
In the blistering sun of August during two-a-days, it was football weather.
In the raw, rainy, sloppy, muddy practices on a puddle soaked field in October, it was football weather.
In frosty, snow-dusted late November, it was football weather.
Whatever the conditions outside, it was football weather. Good or bad, it was great for football. The soccer kids would whine when it got wet and chilly, but you couldn’t blame them because it wasn’t soccer weather. The cross country guys weren’t too thrilled either, but that was okay because it wasn’t running weather. It was football weather – and we would thrive in it.
Now as a Christian, it’s live like a Christian weather. Yeah, it’s not as aesthetically pleasing on the ear as “football weather,” but it’s so much more important.
In football we use strength, agility, instinct, courage, and knowledge of the game plan. It takes our best physically and mentally to play well. And we do it every day because hey, it’s always football weather.
In our Christian walk we use faith, humility, service, discernment, conviction, wisdom, doctrine, and love (but the list could go on and on) to live pleasing to the Lord. But we don’t do it as much as we should. It isn’t always Christian weather for us all of the time – but it should be.
We let the adverse conditions of discouragement, worry, anger, and pride (this list too, could go on and on) make us shiver and wish for practice indoors. We can’t do that. We have no off season, and we have a strong opponent.
Our hope is in our Trainer, the Great Physician, and our Omniscient Head Coach. Follow His game plan and give it all you got – everyday – because hey, it’s Christian weather.
“For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind…” II Timothy 1:7
Pink Hats
Pink Hats annoy Red Sox fans.
A Pink Hat is a person who goes to the Red Sox games, sings Sweet Caroline in the eighth inning, wears fashionable Red Sox gear, cheers like crazy, and has no idea of what is happening on the field. Pink Hats know little to nothing about the team, let alone the game of baseball. They are followers of the Red Sox “aura,” not followers of the Red Sox. They love Jacoby Ellsbury because he’s cute and Jonathan Papelbon because he dances – just don’t ask the pink hats what positions Ellsbury and Papelbon play.
Again, this is annoying to real Red Sox fans.
Also annoying are Pink Hat Christians. They have the Jesus bumper stickers and the cross pendants. They post Christian song lyrics on their Facebook statuses and have IM screen names like jesusgurl88 or godrox4eva. They go to church on Sundays and sing with the worship team. Pink Hat Christians also like to go out to the club with their friends. They like their shows and movies more than they like to spend time with their Savior. They crack open a Bud Light before they crack open their Bible. Hypocrisy is a big turn off. People don’t like Pink Hats. In fact, Jesus had a problem with the Pink Hats of His day – back then they were called Scribes and Pharisees.
Matthew 23:23 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For ye pay tithe of mint and anise and cumin, and have omitted the weightier matters of the law, judgment, mercy, and faith: these ought ye to have done, and not leave the other undone.
Low Scoring and Boring
All of a sudden America is caught up in soccer fever. Okay, it’s the World Cup. Big deal. It’s still soccer.
What’s the fascination, America? And if soccer is so incredible, why is the MLS still a joke of a pro league? Don’t give me the excuse that the product is not that good…have you seen the crazy cram packed stadiums to high school football games in Texas? Even my little hometown of North Attleboro has the whole poulation show up to their home games. You can’t tell me that the decline of skill from pro to high school is less of a decline than FIFA to MLS soccer.
So I must assume that that there is more to this World Cup thing than the sport itself. Whatever that mystical, crowd maddening thing is, I can’t seem to pick it up.
I guess soccer would be a good spectator sport if … You know, I don’t see how it could be a good spectator sport – unless you shrunk the field, flooded it with ice, changed the ball into a very small cylindrical piece of hardened rubber, made the nets smaller, allowed hitting, gave the players sticks and skates, and called it hockey.
If I have offended any soccer fans, I am sorry…just be thankful you are not into NASCAR.
Dunkin’ Drive Through
It’s been a while since I wrote anything in my blog, but it’s time to get back to it.
This morning I needed an iced coffee, so I pulled into the first of many Dunkin’ Donuts on my hour long commute to work. The place sure was busy (or so I thought) because the drive through lane was backed up by seven or eight cars. Before I drove off to the next DD on my way, I peered inside the actual donut shop. There was one person in line, and he was receiving his order.
Hmmm….
Eight car wait versus no wait. I thought about that for a moment. How lazy are we that we would wait that long in a drive through when we could just get served immediately inside? I can understand the mom in the minivan who does not want to unbuckle three kids, herd them into the shop, and listen to them beg for the sprinkle donuts and strawberry milk and cookies and those twisty things and why can’t they have coffee and they have to go potty now and Billy just kicked me and she pinched me first and where did little Jessica go?
There were no moms in minivans in the line of cars and trucks consisted on individuals riding alone.
I parked, bought my coffee, grabbed napkins, popped the straw into the cup, stirred up the delicious beverage, wiped down the cup, strolled to my car, and drove off. The truck that was the last in line when I arrived had just placed his order and was three cars away from the receiving window.
So why does everybody choose the long-wait drive through over going in to the shop? I first mention laziness, but looking at the people in line (many construction workers, roofers, landscapers – not a lazy or sedentary demographic) I changed my thoughts. I believe that they are in line because that’s what they always do. It’s a habit. It’s normally a faster way to get their morning java, so they assume it will always be. This morning, they got caught. They didn’t pay attention, and they paid for it with a few more minutes of wasted time.
So what’s the big deal? Why do I mention this? I’m glad you asked.
We Christians (and if you’re not one, let’s talk) do the same thing. We go about our life the same way everyday. The ho-hum of scheduled monotony (yeah, our lives are crazy and busy, and crazy busy, but they still tend to be monotonous because we’re doing the same crazy things every day – for example, look at how boring Robin Williams is now; we’ve seen his shtick for over 30 years already) sometimes zones us out – in our devotional life, in our families, and most glaringly in our churches.
We will do the same rituals, and miss out when something new and good comes along. Oh, that can’t be a right way of doing things, because it’s not the way it’s always been done. Well, here’s a concept that is going to rock your world, Mr. “It’s always been done that way.”
THERE IS NO ‘WAY IT’S ALWAYS BEEN DONE.’
Culture changes by region, by time, by technological advances, by all kinds of stuff. If we go back to the real beginning of the New Testament church and do things the way they were done then, we would pretty much be living together in a commune (see Acts 2). The same elements remain (Song, Prayer, God’s Word Preached), but some methods might change a little.
Change is good when change is good. That might sound redundant, but if you let it tumble around in your head for a while you’ll understand what I’m trying to say.
Here are just a few changes that have improved the way church is done:
The printing press, then the internet
The organ, then the piano, then the guitar, then the soundtrack
Sunday School, then the midweek prayer service
The pen and paper, then the word possessor
Indoor plumbing, then air freshener
The telephone, then the cell phone (that holds the Bible, concordances, lexicons, search tools, commentaries, any other book you could read as well as the ability to send portions of any one of those things to someone around the world in a second and a half)
The air conditioner, then central air
The tape recorder, then digital recording
The overhead projector (the ones that display transparencies that never really appear clear), then the overhead projector (the ones that display input from any number of sources such as computers, DVD players, satellite signals, etc)
There are others, but you get the point. Don’t get caught in the slow drive through lane. Change is good when change is good.
All I want for Christmas is to get suspended.
What reminds you of Christmas? Santa Claus? Christmas trees? Jingle bells? Frosty the snowman? Stockings filled with candy and toys? Turkey dinners? Visiting relatives? Aliens from space? Muhammad? Shrek? Dogs playing poker?
You can think of anything you want, but if you’re a Taunton gradeschooler, you better not think of Jesus. . . especially if He’s on the cross. After all, Chritmas is a time of joy and happiness-not a time to think of what that cute little baby in the manger came to do. We’ll save that for Easter.
No, on second thought, Easter is for bunnies and eggs and fancy dresses and hats. Nevermind the Jesus thing. You can think about that on your non-holiday time. But not during work or school.
If you haven’t heard the story yet, I’ll quickly summerize it for you:
A Taunton second grader was suspended from school for drawing Jesus on the cross (with ‘x’ eyes) when the teacher asked the class to draw something that reminded them of Christmas.
This boy had the most accurate picture if what Christmas is truly all about.
Sure, it’s about love – unconditional sacrificial love that brought Jesus to humble himself, clothe himself in humanity, and pay our sin debt on that cross.
Sure, it’s about joy – the joy that was set before Him as he endured the shame of that cross.
Sure, it’s about peace – the peace that passes all understanding to those who trust in Him and his work on that cross.
So kudos to you, young Taunton man. Stay true.
Baby, it’s cold outside…
I stopped into a little bakery/pizza-place/coffee-shop this morning and ordered an iced coffee. The nice lady behind the counter looked at me as if I had more than the usual allotted number of heads and asked, “Did you say ICED coffee?”
“Yes,” I responded, thinking that it should not be a weird thing to drink cold beverages when the morning cold, too.
I’m sure that later on today someone will order a pizza for lunch and grab an ice cold soda from the fridge. It could be forty below zero, but a cold soda is okay for lunch – so is hot coffee.
Hot coffee is socially acceptable to drink at any time of the day or year. Whether it is mid January or early August, everyone is free to consume piping hot java without being persecuted by the coffee shop counter people.
Hot cocoa, on the other hand, is completely taboo during the warmer months. Try ordering a hot chocolate in July and watch what happens. The kid who takes your order will pause for up to fifteen seconds as his brain tries to remember what this strange request could be. You can see his eyes roll to the back of his head in efforts to think of what the stuff is and how to get it. You can almost read his thoughts, “Hot chocolate, hot chocolate, hot chocolate . . . it sounds so familiar . . . uuuuhhhh . . . that might have been on my history final . . .”
You finally get your cocoa and the patrons of the coffee shop eye you like you’re a Nazi as they mutter less than complimentary remarks under their breath. You think you hear something about Osama Bin Laden. Chair legs screech on the floor as people scoot as far away from you as possible. The guy mopping the floor stops his work and watches your every move as you exit the building. His stare silently warns, “And don’t come back, Cocoa-Boy.”
Let’s just stop the beverage bigotry. Let’s break down these walls of temperature intolerance and drink what we want when we want! I can’t wait to make hot mulled cider when the thermometer reads 92 degrees!
…And Oc-snow-ber is only half over.
It’s not supposed to snow in mid October. And the Red Sox are not supposed to get swept by the Angels. And the entire nation is not supposed to be wringing-hands worried about a boy who really isn’t in mortal danger while traveling solo in a homemade hot air balloon. And a Nobel Peace Prize recipient should not be a recipient if three out of five judges have objections to handing the award to said recipient.
Things happen that “aren’t supposed to happen” all the time – in weather, sports, everyday life, politics, and (most notably) the Christian pilgrimage. “Expect the unexpected,” however cliché it may be, should be somewhat of a mantra to us.
Righteous Job was not supposed to lose everything he had (save a nagging wife – a problem I know nothing about, by the way), but God had something to prove.
Israel was not supposed to get beat down by the little army of Ai, but there was sin in the camp.
The small band of apostles was not supposed to make such a world-wide impact that would last indefinitely, but that’s what God wanted them to do.
Persecution in the early church was not supposed to strengthen the fellowship of believers, but God’s ways are not man’s ways.
Make plans, dream big, set goals, but be flexible enough to bend (or break) them to conform to the will of God. He usually reveals it one step at a time, so “expect the unexpected.”
Olympic athletes get BO, but BO doesn’t get the Olympic athletes
This may be old news, but the more I think of it, the funnier it gets (to me, anyway). This is just a little bit of venting, so I’m not even going to correct my grammar.
What I find amusing is that after all of the president’s global boot-licking and bowing and apologizing and the all around America-should-be-ashamed-of-itself, dog-with-tail-between-the-legs attitude, the global community responds in an unexpected manner.
Well, unexpected to the president – not to most thinking people.
Most of the world hates America anyway. Why? Because America was strong. She had values. She fought for the freedom of its people – and for the freedoms of others. She provided opportunity for success for those who were willing to work for it. She was the land of the free – and she did not care if anybody was offended by it. Her sons and daughters shed their blood and sacrificed everything for liberty. America may have been hated, but she was respected. It’s sad that I use the past tense here.
America once said, “We’re not going to take it!” Now she says, “I’m so sorry that we didn’t take it.”
Is it any wonder that the IOC all but laughed in the face of the president? Well, when you pretty much wipe your backside with the Constitution, you not only lose respect from Americans who care, you lose respect from America haters, too.
A Politician and a Hotel (and it does not even involve an affair)
“In these tough economic times…” is the opening line for many recent articles, speeches, blogs, and other rants – including this one.
So in these tough economic times, businesses must make hard decisions. Because of this, individuals and families must toughen up as their employers/former employers buckle down. It is not an easy time for the working man . . . er, working person.
For many workers, it’s downright scary out there. Office carpets have been replaced with eggshells, and heavy machines are teetering on the edges of cliffs. The swagger of security has melted into the sweat of uncertainty.
What doesn’t help is the government telling Americans that they are not competent enough to run their own businesses. Nope. Without the government’s greasy sausage fingers messing around in your company, it will be sure to fail. For one thing, I don’t want any help from an organization that plunges into the red and tries to find its way out by diving down further into the limitless depths of Wallet of the average American. It’s like the Firefighters’ Academy being staffed by Arsons Anonymous. Ridiculous.
For another thing, isn’t the freedom to fail part of what makes our nation great? Failure gives education a boost. When you fail because you’re lazy, you (should) learn to put forth more effort (and apply that knowledge). If you fail because you just made a mistake or misunderstood something, you learn to be more careful. If you fail because you don’t have the capacity for something, you learn your need for education (I want to be a doctor), for practice (I want to be a musician), for patience (I want to be an old man), or for redirection (I want to be a superhero). Yes, there are things some of us simply cannot do – maybe I’ll discuss that in more detail some other time…
Anyway (I told you this was a rant), the latest stupid thing to come from the governor’s office is his condemnation of the Hyatt Corporation. In fact, the governor even threatens not to attend any functions held at any Hyatt location.
Why? Because the Hyatt has terminated some union (don’t even get me started on unions – many years ago, I and a couple hundred others lost employment when the union pushed too hard and the company moved waaaay South) housekeeping staff in order to hire other workers who will do the same jobs for almost half the cost. Of course Deval has a problem with this because he cannot grasp the concept of cost-cutting! Does it hurt? Yes, but it’s better than closing a few locations altogether.
According Governor Patrick’s philosophy, you can spend all you want, just as long as you force people to pay you more (sales tax hike). There’s no need to trim the fat and waste that already exists when you can just tell the taxpayers to reach a little further into their pockets . . . oh, and he’ll take that lint you got there, too.
Saving Cake on Cake
Last week, we celebrated my son’s birthday. So Carl IV is now IV years old. Although we have gone through sixteen other child birthdays in our household over the past seven and a half years, the cost of novelty birthday cakes still takes me by surprise. I’m sorry, but having Spiderman swing across a web of vanilla icing to say, “Happy Birthday, Birthday Hero,” is not worth an extra five bucks.
To my sheer delight, my little guy requested a Patriots cake! He also wanted to get a football for his birthday gift! You’ll have to pardon me as I pause for a moment – I’m getting a little misty-eyed here …
… Okay, I have composed myself. On we go.
Anyway, I have found a way to make a great, customized birthday cake for a fraction of the cost of a regular birthday cake. I will share these great tips with you. To thank me, just invite me over to share in the enjoyment of your cake.
Tip 1: Make friends with someone who works in the Friendly’s ice cream manufacturing facility. They can get you a good sized ice cream sheet cake for an extreme discount. If you can’t find such a friend, go to Tip 2. Otherwise, go to Tip 3.
Tip 2: This plan requires a bit of planning. Attend as many birthday parties as you can and bring a few friends with you (If, on your travels, you see a mailbox decorated with balloons, pull into the driveway and act like distant relatives). Accept as many pieces of cake as you can, place them in the Rubbermaid container you bring with you, and run home with your treasure. At home, arrange the individual pieces of cake into as neat a structure as you can. A little whipped cream (color with food coloring if desired) and a level will smooth out your birthday bonanza, and voila! Frankencake!
Tip 3: Use Google Images to find a nice picture you can print and cut out and lay on top of your cake. Just remember to take it off right before serving.
Tip 4: Use the same concept for your birthday wishes. Type out your message on your word processor, print, cut, place, done! An advantage to this is that you will be notified if you spell berfdey wrong.
Tip 5: I hope you saved the number “4” candle that you had on your daughter’s cake three years ago.
Tip 6: Sanitize some of your child’s action figures and stand them up on the cake for 3-D birthday fun!
Tip 7: Don’t let that candle burn too long. Your seven year old is going to be 14 before you know it!
Ready for some football…
The Patriots begin their season tonight at 7:00PM, and I can’t wait. Football fans all over the country have been looking forward to this weekend since the Superbowl. It’s a fresh season, and anything could happen.
Fans have been breaking down trades, draft picks, coaching changes, injuries, and even uniform modifications all off season long. The predictions have all been made, logged in on spreadsheets and flowcharts, scribbled on legal pads and pinned to cubicle walls right next to the team schedule that has been displayed for months already.
The anticipation has been building up for a while now. The tension, stomach butterflies, and (dare I say) anxiety shall come to a sweet release when that first kickoff is booted.
But why? Why do I (and so many others) get so excited about something as trivial as a game of football?
It is because of those two words at the beginning of the team’s name: New England. When they step on the field, Tom Brady, Randy Moss, Matt Light, and all others who bear the Patriots uniform are representing New England. They are on the field playing as ambassadors for New England. That’s why I can include myself with the team and say, “We are going to dismantle Buffalo tonight.”
Now, when the team does well and performs the way it’s supposed to, the fans get more excited, cheer louder, and give the team more support. When the team underachieves, the fans tend to get lethargic.
With this in mind, check out II Corinthians 5:20:
“Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us; we pray you in Christ’s stead, be ye reconciled to God.”
If you are a believer, you are putting on your “Jesus Christ” jersey and marching on the field of your everyday life. How are you playing? Is Christ pumping his fists and cheering you on as you strive for His cause, or is He not so much?
Senator Wilson Speaks!
Joe Wilson said something very funny the other day. It was funny because it was true. Hey, he was only saying what we were all thinking – those of us who were actually thinking.
Of course he had to say he was sorry.
California rep Jerry Lewis (not to be confused with the funny man who hilarified – I just made that word up, but I like it – the phrase ,”Hey lady!”) stated that “anybody who would cat-call the president of the United States addressing this body is very, very inappropriate …”
Wonder why he didn’t speak out during the many times his fellow Dems booed and hissed the previous Commander in Chief (and I’m sure you have heard audio of this over the past few years). I’m just saying.
In reality, it was an inappropriate outburst. Still, I’m glad he said it.
Why four 10?
You might be wondering the reason this blog is called four 10. You’re not? Well I’ll tell you anyway. And since Gods’ words are better than mine, I’ll just use His.
Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve.
Matthew 4:10
Be it known unto you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom ye crucified, whom God raised from the dead, even by him doth this man stand here before you whole.
Acts 4:10
We are fools for Christ’s sake, but ye are wise in Christ; we are weak, but ye are strong; ye are honourable, but we are despised.
1 Corinthians 4:10
Always bearing about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our body.
2 Corinthians 4:10
He that descended is the same also that ascended up far above all heavens, that he might fill all things.
Ephesians 4:10
For therefore we both labour and suffer reproach, because we trust in the living God, who is the Saviour of all men, specially of those that believe.
1 Timothy 4:10
Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up.
James 4:10
As every man hath received the gift, even so minister the same one to another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God.
1 Peter 4:10
Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.
1 John 4:10
The four and twenty elders fall down before him that sat on the throne, and worship him that liveth for ever and ever, and cast their crowns before the throne…
Revelation 4:10
four 10 