Rambling Church

I've always had a little trouble with hearing things like this: "My car broke down the other night, but God was so good because it happened right under a street light." Not to be heretical, but wouldn't He have been even better if your car had not broken down at all?

When you're standing around the burial of the family cat, your wife won't find it funny if you grab the back of her ankle and yell, "Meow." Trust me on this one.

Christians have it both ways. If things are going tough, we claim that this is what Christ told us to expect when we were doing His will. If they're going good, well . . . . God blesses His own! Does the world realize this is what they're fighting?

I was walking by a room that was having a prayer meeting in it and I saw a sign on the door that cited Isaiah 65:24 "Before they call I will answer, while they are still speaking I will hear" and it almost made me not want to pray. Why bother? Then I went back to my room and read the text and saw it was out of context and I breathed (prayed) easier.

There's a guy in my church who pulls you in for a hug whenever you shake hands with him. That's what prayer is like. You go in for a handshake and God pulls you into a bear hug.

I love the story of the prodigal son but it should not be my continuing life's testimony.

I also love how God uses my mistakes to grow me. But this also shouldn't be the continuing pattern of my life because each mistake hurts someone and it would be somewhat self-centered to leave a wake of hurting people behind in the name of personal growth.

The world is tough and God wants us to advance His kingdom in it. He must be tougher.

I pulled a mat off my cat Calvin yesterday and I realized that this is how sin is: it grows into your skin and is very uncomfortable but if you put up with it long enough it eventually becomes a part of you and you learn to live with it.

Speaking of Calvin, I was looking out the window and he was trying to "go to the bathroom" in the deep snow, when it caved in. I thought to myself, "Hmmm, this is going to be awkward." Then he climbed out and looked at me and we both had an uncomfortable moment of silence, so I looked away. (That's one mat I'm not pulling off.)