The NIT

The National Invitational Tournament: It is amazing how the NIT used to be the tournament that teams wanted to get into and now it is considered the second option for teams that don't make it into the NCAA tournament. Isn't that interesting how things change over time.
I'm trying to think of some other things that over time people have changed how they view them. I'm stuck. Writer's block. I could use some help here.

Lent...

During Lent, the 40 days leading up to Easter, many people give up or go without something that they feel God wants them to let go of or that is distracting them from following Jesus.
I decided to give up some stuff for lent. The temptation is to just say, "if I can just get to Easter then I am good", but is it about just getting to Easter?
We live in a world that is all about the results and getting it done and sometimes we take that approach with following Jesus: results, behaviors, destinations and the end products.
Is the end produced to say that I fasted 40 days until Easter?
No, the blessing is in the journey. Jesus wants us to know that He is the only thing that we need. He wants us to rely on Him. He wants to be with us in the journey and not just in the results. I'm learning to enjoy the journey with Jesus and not just get it done; but to learn and lean on Jesus during the journey.

is that effective?

Walking through my neighborhood the other morning, I witnessed something that has bugged me to no end. I saw an individual on their back porch calling their cat with a pan and a fork [no kidding here]. They were banging the fork on the pan in an attempt to get the cat's attention. My initial thought was "that's not something that you see every day" and then I asked myself, "Is that the most effective way to communicate with a cat?" As I pondered more on the subject I wondered who is observing me try and communicate with other people and are my methods effective or just a bunch of noise? If I was the cat, I wouldn't have returned home. What are some of the ways that you have found effective when communicating with people or things that you do to make your communication better? I think we always need to be asking if we are being effective with people and especially with the gospel.

hit and run...

I parked my jeep on the road the other night instead of in the driveway. I woke up the next morning and my jeep had its front two wheels on the curb and was perdendicular to the sidewalk. My first thought was "am I that bad of a parallel parker?"
Then I realized that I had been hit during the night and the person had just left the scene and had not even bothered to contact me or even take responsibility for what they had done. My initial reaction was anger because I was going to have to pay the price for what someone else did. I was going to have to live with the damage caused by someone that I didn't know.
Then I started to think about the situation and I thought about how many times I have been the perpetrator of a hit and run incident. Not a physical one but an emotional or conversational one. How many times have a disquised a shot at someone with a joke or how many times have I made a jabbing comment and then laughed it off and let the conversation while the damage of my comment remains for them to deal with. That is just as bad as physically running into someone and then leaving the scene of the crime.
So here's to whoever hit my car; I forgive you.