ForeverLOVEd

It was not by their sword that they won the land, nor did their arm bring them victory; it was your right hand, your arm, and the light of your face, for you loved them. Psalm 44:3 Last week, the news was swamped with fans outraged at the results of Monday Night Football. Fans were in arms over the result of the game. People lost millions of dollars betting on the game, due to the amateur officials they had on the field. And the outcome had the NFL making some changes to better accommodate the league. The incident was so profound, not because football is so important to our day to day lives or because it was life or death, it was because the fans are passionate. They put everything into their team. They dress in the gear, scream at the TV, and put money on the line. They commit to their team all the way and will follow them through good and bad. Those fans, on fire for their team, are what make sports come alive. We say we are fans of sports all the time. We pick our teams. B

17 For it is better, if God should will it so, that you suffer for doing what is right rather than for doing what is wrong. 18 For Christ also died for sins once for all, the just for the unjust, so that He might bring us to God, having been put to death in the flesh, but made alive in the spirit; 1 Peter 3:17-18 With the first day of fall already come and gone and stores crowded with costumes galore, it's hard not to naturally get excited for everything that's so great about this coming season. Here, in Southern California, the weather hasn't really caught up with the whole idea of autumn yet. But the promises of scarves, pumpkin ale, and pumpkin carving still await and give us hope for a change that is bound to come. A dinner conversation the other night had our friend quoting an episode of Jimmy Kimmel from last fall. The premise of the segment was to have parents tell their kids they took all their candy the morning after trick-or-treating. I didn't recall the

Turn away my eyes from looking at vanity, And revive me in Your ways. Establish Your word to Your servant, As that which produces reverence for You. Psalm 119:37-38 A Saturday afternoon, a million errands to get done, and 90 degree weather already had me in a mood. So it's no surprise that as we entered the jam packed parking lot and made our way to the crowded entrance of Costco, I was still not too impressed by this one-stop shop. Because the millions of people and crowded aisles weren't enough to set me off, I began to become annoyed by the people at every corner trying to sell me the next best lunch meat or the greatest potato salad you've ever tasted. Besides the fact that these claims were over the top and ridiculous, I was not shopping for these items and didn't want to hear all the selling points. I know some people could make a day cruising the aisles and trying everything at every corner. But to me, in the midst of my busy day, it was just annoying. Mi

“The glory of God is man fully alive.” St. Irenaeu This week I celebrated my 26th birthday. For 26 years I have crawled and then walked on this earth being, what we would call, alive. As the day approached that marked another year of life I started getting really stressed! I suppose this was a culmination of many things; health issues, a new school year at work, and the daunting task of deciding what to do to celebrate. But beyond all that, I have this fear, and almost dread, as another year passes by and I'm left becoming more and more, as some of my friends would say, "old as dirt". It's not that I cannot appreciate the years I've had. Or that I don't see how they have in so many ways helped me to find out who I am. Or that 26 is even that old for that matter. But, in so many ways, I am left at these markers in my life wondering what I have to show for my time here on earth. On the surface, I was not exactly looking forward to my big day, yet inside,