You may or may not know that I am an Auburn fan.  Pretty big one, I think.  And this year they are doing really well.  Living in the land of the Bulldogs and Jackets, I proudly display as much Auburn paraphernalia on my desk as possible.

One of the reasons Auburn has done well this year is because of the transfer of an extremely talented player, Cam Newton.  Cam chose the University of Florida over Auburn.  However, after an off-the-field incident involving a stolen computer, he transfered to Binn Junior College where he led his team to a national championship.  Having now transfered to Auburn and having a stellar year, he is now on the top of many lists for the Heisman trophy.

He was actually the subject of conversation between me and a good friend of mine, who just happens to pull for "the other school."  His ribbing on Cam is not on his play, (there is nothing he can say about that) but rather his past.  And my friend is not the only one.  I saw this article the other night which describes the incident in Florida and questions whether or not he is worthy of the Heisman because of those events.

I don't know Cam.  I don't know anyone that does know Cam.  I have cheered for him and am extremely thankful he plays for Auburn and not some other SEC school!  But can a person make a mistake and change?  Can they be in the wrong place, do something less than stellar, and pay the consequences, coming out on the other side more mature and different?  I am not saying he has or hasn't.  I just want to ask the question.  I am not the only one.

A couple of things I do know.  I do know someone very well who was the head coach at a large Division 1 NCAA football program.  I heard him talk numerous times about the opportunity he had as a coach to invest in the young men in their program.  And not just help them do better.  This man is a firm believer in Christ and he saw it as an opportunity to live and speak the Gospel to these guys.  I know as well that Mark Richt, head coach at the University of Georgia, is a devoted follower of Christ whose faith has had an impact on numerous players.  And I spoke to someone this summer who had recently heard coach Gene Chizik speak at a summer F.C.A. camp and share his faith in Christ.

I am not saying that having a Christian coach means that your players are all saints.  Unfortunately, coach Richt has had that splashed all over the place this season.  In fact, I am not even so much thinking about football any more.  I am thinking about grace.

I am reminded of Paul's words:

"Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God."  1 Corinthians 6:9-11 (emphasis added)

And such were some of you.  That's the ever present reminder of grace.  Because of our sinfulness, we all have things in our past that disqualify us for more than a mere trophy.  We have rebellion that sets us at odds with God.  We all are guilty.  And yet, in steps Christ who bears God's wrath and showers us with His grace.  We are not worthy, but His sacrifice makes us worthy.

Has Cam changed?  I hope so.  Has Cam changed because of Jesus is King of his life?  I really, really hope so.  Is coach Chizik pouring a Jesus-saturated example into Cam's life and the lives of the other men on the team?  I pray so.

Nonetheless, let's remember that grace is the only hope we have.  I don't want to be a Pharisee that takes grace and gives wrath.  Life's more than football.  Our convictions must carry over in every facet of our lives.  Even when it means giving a guy the benefit of the doubt.

My wife makes me smile. Often.  Someone posted this video about ketchup and it made me laugh.  She is a fan of Heinz ketchup (not Hunts!) and I thought it would make her smile.  Maybe you will get a kick out of it too!

Today I had to run some errands to nail down some details on an even we are going to have through our student ministry this Saturday.  One of those errands involved heading to Wal-mart.  While there, I told my wife that I would pick up some milk.

I chose what I hoped to be the shortest line.  When I did, I noticed that the guy in front of me was talking to everyone around.  To be honest, I thought he was a little off-center.  Then I realized that He was talking about Jesus.  I wasn't sure where this was going to go, but I began nodding in agreement with some of what he was saying.  I was counting out some change to pay for my milk, and he looked at me and said, "God loves you on a Monday morning when you don't have the money to buy milk."  He then looked at the cashier and said he was going to buy my milk.  I told him that I truly appreciated it, that I was a brother in Christ, and that he really didn't need to buy my milk.  He simply smiled and said that whether I had the money or not, he wanted to buy my milk.  Somebody brought him groceries one time and he just wanted to do the same.  We talked for a few moments, and then parted ways.

Mike, his real name, has two things I admire.  One is a heart to tell people about Jesus.  The other is a desire to be a blessing to others.  He was a blessing to me.  And he was a great challenge to this pastor as well.  May my life be one that overflows with words about Jesus and love to others.

Mike, I may never see you again and you will probably never read this, but thanks for buying my milk.  And thank you even more for stirring my soul to be more earnest in my love for others.

Tonight we were on the back deck, getting ready to grill. Something fell from one of the trees and made a loud clank as it hit the roof of our small storage shed. Caleb, our three year old, asked, "what was that, Daddy?!" so I told him. Then he asked the obvious follow up question, "why did it fall?" I then began to attempt an explanation of gravity to him. In the middle of what I thought was a good explanation, he said, "hey Daddy watch my car!" and drove it down the steps.

As he drove his Hot Wheel monster truck down the handrail, I couldn't get gravity out of my mind. What would life be like without it? It is essential for all that we know. Without it, my grill would float away. Without it, my excitement over college football season would be pointless. Without it, driving to the hospital for the arrival of our third child would be precarious at best.

Gravity is God's idea along with electricity, atoms, seasons, and everything else we take for granted or think nothing of from day to day. When you take a moment and actually stop to think about how amazing gravity is, how can you not stand in awe of the infinitely creative, powerful, and sovereign Creator?!?!

"For you, O LORD, have made me glad by your work; at the works of your hands I sing for joy. How great are your works, O LORD! Your thoughts are very deep!" Psalms 92:4-5

Ever have one of those days? You know the kind where you want to go back to bed around 10 in the morning in hopes that it will all just go away? Yeah...that was my day yesterday. While I will spare you all of the details, I will give you a few:

Right before lunch I arrived at Caleb's dayschool to find he is in time out while everyone else is on the playground. It seems he and another little boy refused to listen to his teacher and were running around pushing and shoving. He and I had to have a "conversation" when we got home.

After work we drove out to a nearby town to pick up a swing for our backyard that we found on Craig's list. Really good deal. That is until we got there and I noticed the fluid coming out from the engine of my truck. The truck had overheated the day before and I spent all night fixing it, or so I thought. We loaded the swing and headed home. We didn't make it. So Carrie, Noah, Caleb, and myself were stranded at the Catfish Den in Hiram, Georgia. To make things worse, none of us had eaten.

God sent a Good Samaritan to help us (thanks Brian!) and our good friend Eric came out to follow us home. Its a good thing he did since we made it about 3 miles from home where the truck sounded like it was going to explode. Thankfully it didn't. It was nine o'clock and the boys are hungry and starting to melt down.

We loaded into Eric's car and pulled into McDonalds. It's closed for repairs. We drove to Wendy's which had large orders because McDonalds is closed. We finally got home around 9:15 and Eric and I took some water to the truck in order to limp it home.

That's when Reggie showed up. Reggie is a good friend from church who came to look at our computer. Yeah it was dead too. But Reggie is the man and he fixed it. That part wasn't so bad. In fact, that's kind of why I decided to post this.

I woke up this morning. That's good.
My coffee pot is working. That's good.
I have a great family and a warm home. That's good.
I have my Bible. That's really good.
My bad days have no bearing on God's goodness, love, mercy, grace, justice, righteousness, faithfulness, and overall disposition towards me. That's so good, good, good.

I don't like bad days. But I do love God. And even in the bad days I can say "Your steadfast love is better than life so my lips will praise You!" (Psalm 63:3)