Black Beauty Stumbles in the Stretch

She's still a great car, though.

Let's hope the folks at Freedom Dodge can get her healthy again...

Are They Being Serious About the Name?

Doing My Part

Last week my normal, regular, run-of-the-mill reusable Kroger shopping bag had a blowout and came apart at the seam.  So tonight I decided to ask at the customer service desk if they'd replace it.  "No problem...just find another bag and I'll keep this one."

The problem was that there were no bags like the one I had, and the customer service guy didn't seem to feel empowered to give me a nice insulated one to replace my regular $0.99 bag.  After calling back to check the stocking room, a manager returned and reported that they still had some of the pink Susan G. Komen breast cancer awareness bags and that I was welcome to exchange for one of those.

Eternity seemed to pass while the three of us men stared at each other to see who would speak first.

I finally agreed to take the pink bag.  After all, was I supposed to say I wasn't in favor of healthy breasts?

This Hardly Ever Happens...

Serious Rain

Contentment

Hebrews 13:5 Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.” (NIV, emphasis mine)

A good friend recently reminded me that contentment is being thankful for what we have, rather than spending time thinking about what we don't have. Well said...

Discipline

Hebrews 12:5 And you have forgotten that word of encouragement that addresses you as sons: “My son, do not make light of the Lord’s discipline, and do not lose heart when he rebukes you, 6because the Lord disciplines those he loves, and he punishes everyone he accepts as a son.”a

7Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as sons. For what son is not disciplined by his father? 8If you are not disciplined (and everyone undergoes discipline), then you are illegitimate children and not true sons. 9Moreover, we have all had human fathers who disciplined us and we respected them for it. How much more should we submit to the Father of our spirits and live! 10Our fathers disciplined us for a little while as they thought best; but God disciplines us for our good, that we may share in his holiness. 11No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it. (NIV)