Styrofoam sin

Ahh, the bi-monthly Saturday ritual- mowing the lawn.

As I was out cutting the grass, a tiny piece of styrofoam caught my eye. Now my lawn is definitely more "Malcolm in the Middle" than "Lifestyles of the Rich & Famous" but I bent over to pick it up anyway. I noticed another piece a few feet away. Then another, and then another. I realized that I must have shredded a cup underneath the mower without realizing it.

I spent the next minutes grumbling as I picked up the pieces. If I would have just been more careful, I could have simply picked up the little cup before it got chopped up. Instead I found myself bending over to get a squillion little pieces of styrofoam.

But isn't sin just like that? One lie, one lustful thought, one cheat- one little sin can turn into many shredded pieces in our lives just like that. The bible says in James 1:15 that "after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death." The more you allow sin to spread and grow, the worse off it is going to be. The more it is left unchecked, the more pieces get strewn about. It is so much easier to stop it before it starts. Don't let the enemy even have a foothold.

Lord, give us all the strength to pick up the little cup before it is shredded all over the landscape of our lives.

Change

The reunion is not as altogether unpleasant as I thought. It is not altogether pleasant though. It's always a little awkward when you haven't seen people in this long. But, it is nice to share a few laughs and catch up with some old friends.

10 years later and here we are. I am glad that so many people have matured. I guess a decade will do that to you. Cliques and groups kind of fade away. You just don't have the time or energy for that anymore. I mean, who keeps a grudge with someone ten years out of high school? I was very surprised at some of the people I talked to. I had some great conversation with a few guys that I almost never talked to in high school. It was cool.

I guess what I'm trying to say is people are people. They mature and grow, but we all have difficulty actually changing. The old adage is definitely true: the more things change, the more things stay the same. And outside of God, people don't truly change. They can't.

The scenery is nice though. . .

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10 years

Wow! I can't believe I'm heading out soon to the 10 year high school reunion. An entire decade. It sounds like a lot when I say it like that. I'll stick with ten years.

I'm glad to say they were not wasted years. Let's see... since I graduated from high school I have become a believer in Jesus, got married, graduated from college, had 3 kids, moved to the 'burbs, and got myself a career. Not too shabby, Gabby. I have the Good Lord to thank for all that.

Well, we'll see how it all goes. It has been quite a while since I have seen some of these people. Better go hit the yearbook and get myself refreshed.

Rings & things

I had ten years to fully upgrade my wife's engagement ring. I scrounged up a meager $175 about 9 years ago to get the first one. That's how I rolled. Actually when you are 18, you don't do much rolling. More like walking...

Now we got it all taken care of- a new band, a new ring, a new diamond. Everybody's happy. The sales lady actually turned out to be from our church. My wife thinks it was a sign from God. :-)

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Psycho dog

"Are you communicating with me?
Are YOU communicating with ME?"

-What movie is that from? (think ninjas) :-)