I’m sorry for driving the speed limit this morning.  I’m sorry that Cobb County drops the speed limit to 35 miles per hour when the same road in Paulding county is 45 miles per hour.  I’m sorry if I made you late getting to whatever emergency had you riding my bumper and swerving back and forth like a NASCAR driver trying to find a way around.

However, I would like to remind you why you bought that shiny, new, red Toyota Prius… to save the environment.  I’d like to remind you that at speeds under 40 miles per hour the Prius runs on its battery so that it is not consuming fuel.  I’d like to remind you that rapidly accelerating to get around the guy driving his gas-hogging Ford Explorer at the speed limit expends more fuel than driving at a constant speed and requires your Prius to kick the engine on.

I hope you made it wherever your were going on time.  I am not upset or angry.  I just find it ironic.  I am thinking I may go cut down a tree in your honor.

Sincerly,

The guy in the white Ford Explorer

I have been thinking about this for several days now since the photo of Michael Phelps with the Marijuana pipe surfaced.  I was impressed that rather than pull the President Clinton approach of saying, “I didn’t inhale” or the Michael Vick approach of, “I didn’t do it” he came right out and apologized.  He didn’t try to pass the blame, make excuses, or claim he didn’t do it.  He simply said he was sorry and that he made a mistake.  Resfreshing in light of the typical way things like this are handled by celebrities.  I think Dara Torres summed it up well, “he didn’t let the USA down at the games, so we shouldn’t let him down.â€?

On another unrelated note.  I opened a new jar of peanut butter this morning.  For the first time ever I found myself looking for the address of the manaufacturer to see if it was a Georgia (or Texas) address.  There is no address for the manufacturer just the distributor.  I think the FDA should require the manufacturer’s name and address to be printed on all food labels in the future.  Hopefully the peanut butter is safe because I ate some!

I didn’t vote for him and I may not agree with him on several issues but as the President of the United State he is now My President.  Those words are not hard to say (or type in this case) because the beauty of our democratic system is that the people vote in the leader.  This means that sometimes the person you want to win does not and you have to live with that result because the people have spoken.

Overall I think we needed some change in Washington an I hope that Obama can make that happen.  He has a lot of problems to deal with right away and I do not envy his position right now.  The next 100 days or so will really show us how the next 4 years are going to go.

For the record, there are several things that I criticize Bush for over the past 8 years as well.  So even if the guy I voted for had gotten into office there is a good chance I would have had problems with his policy as well.

I had a friend contact me today with the following story:

A close trusted friend of mine has an urgent need.  During the hurricanes in Mississippi, many of his family members lost their homes.  His brother lost everything and came to live with him and his family for a short time.  He helped his brother’s family get back on their feet, but in the process fell behind on his own mortgage.  The mortgage company has given him until Monday the 22^nd or they will begin the foreclosure proceedings.

My friend is a solid Christian.  Though he has nothing, he works in his community to provide for the kids that have less and coordinates their local sports (football and basketball).  He is frugal and thrifty.  He only asks for assistance as a last result.

I consider myself a generous person.  But, this is a complete stranger and I just gave money to Bikes or Bust at my Church.  On top of that there is the December 24th gift offering at church and all the other gifts and costs that go along with Christmas.  I could easily walk away from this opportunity to use God’s money he has trusted me with and still feel like a generous person.

I could do that.  But I fear that Matthew 25:35-40 would ring in my ears for a long time if I did:

I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’ “Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’ “The King will reply, ‘I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.’

What about you?  Are you generous?  How firmly do you hold onto God’s money that he has entrusted you with?  Could you help a complete stranger just because someone you knew passed their story along?

P.S. If you feel like you would like to help this particular “least of these brothers of mine” let me know and I can give you the details.

First things first… I am not comtemplating suicide or ending it all so there is no need to rush to my aid.  I just wonder if anyone else has ever had that same question?  Maybe it would be better to ask if anyone has ever not asked themselves this question.  This morning I was reading in 1 Chronicles as I ate my breakfast.  This is a part of the Bible I normally skip over because it is pretty boring.  I don’t really care who fathered who, who then went on to father so-and-so.  Most the names I cannot even pronounce anyway.  As I finished reading the geanology of one of the tribes I noticed, “And these are the they whom David set over the service of song in the house of the LORD.”  Then it hit me.  Many of the people listed before this verse it only said, “so-and-so fathered so-and-so” within nothing more important after it.  What does this mean?  Does it mean that some people are simply placed on earth just to raise the next geeration?  Is it possible that Shane fathered Chad and Chase and while I may not do great things one of them might?  I know this is pretty deep thinking for a Monday morning but thought I would pass it on anyway.