"A doctor gave a man six months to live. The man couldn't pay his bill, so he gave him another six months." Henny Youngman

It is Tuesday, January 17, 2012, and I am on my second day of fasting for my blood work. I had begun Sunday evening but abandoned the process Monday morning after remembering it was a national holiday. I couldn't find out whether the lab would be open or not, therefore, I made an executive decision, boiled up some Community, ate a few low calorie snacks, and postponed my meeting with the needle. I plan on being there this morning when the doors open to get this matter settled. The fasting stuff is not that big of a deal when you talk about it being mostly sleep. The only major hurdle for me is the holding off of the coffee, not because I am addicted to it, no way, just that it is a part of my routine. That's it. And I think everyone knows that I don't like to mess with my routine. The fasting thing does work on your mind. You can't ingest anything but H2O. You talking to me? You telling me what I can and cannot do? See what I mean? That's how it works. The idea that you can't do what you want to do. That's a pretty good description of that old man nature. Like the little kid who refused to sit down on the pew even though his mom scolded him several times. Finally she sat him down and popped him one. He looked up at her and thought to himself, you may have me sitting down but in my mind I'm still standing up. Yep. That would be just about how it works.

I did see a sports headline Sunday morning announcing that the Tebow madness has now ended. He is a rookie. He can get better. Our local team came close. The Texans defense played about as well as any I've seen but here again, a rookie quarterback, along with some muffed plays, turnovers via interceptions, and the Ravens win and advance. If you watched that game there's no way one can say the best team on the field won. But, as they used to say back in the day, that's the way the cookie crumbles. The Saints game against the Forty-Niners was perhaps one of the best games I've seen in a long time. That game had just about everything. Drama, clutch plays, and a last second score to win the game for San Francisco. There you have it. All my favorites out on the same weekend. The Texans, the Saints, the Broncos, and I didn't really care one way or the other about the Giants versus the Packers. But, guess what? These games are history and we still have work to do. We get up and get our stuff together and as my grandfather used to say, "Son, you have the same clothes to get glad in." On a priority scale, football games one way or the other don't really amount to much especially when you think about them in terms of spiritual matters where eternity is at stake. On the other hand, I would just as soon my teams had won. Know what I mean, Vern?

In so many ways, every day we have is one where God allows us to fill in the blank. I am aware there are all kinds of constraints but often we fail to appreciate the opportunities we have to make a difference with the day He has given to us. One thing I have noticed is how that you have a much better opportunity to make a difference if you are looking for an opportunity to make a difference. Duh? Sure, it does sound rather silly to state the obvious but maybe we all can be reminded to remind ourselves how those opportunities are more than we might think, if we just take the time to see them, and to respond to them. We often find ourselves way too impressed with our own schedules, our own business, and our own pursuits. When we become that preoccupied we just might miss out on a God ordained opportunity. Even as I write this today I can well remember times I can look back on where I could have done something that I know God would have had me to do, but I didn't because of being too busy. Thankfully, someone else usually will take up the slack but we miss out on the blessing. I know I need to be reminded of this each day and I wouldn't be surprised if we all could be more sensitive to the opportunities to serve that present themselves to us. Have a great Tuesday and may God add His blessings to it. Amen.          ......More later.