What to do on a day off?

Read a blog, that's what!!! Or sleep until the sun is starting to go down over the horizon. Today is President's Day and the yoots (youths) are out of school and the mailmen get to stay home too. Unfortunately, Youth Ministers have to work. Oh, well. If I don't work, I don't get paid! So, here I am, toiling away at my desk commenting again on life as I see it. I always loved having days off of school and still get excited for my kids when they're out for a day. I took a quick poll last night in youth group (which, by the way, was one of the biggest groups we've had all year!) to see how many late sleepers and early risers we had. Wouldn't you know that the late sleepers out numbered the early risers by 17 to 2 (Randy and I were the 2!)? I then determined that our youth are normal and well on their way to becoming well-practiced college students (because college students live on sleeping in and having days off from school). Hopefully, they will learn to appreciate these days off while they have them because anyone with a highschool diploma knows that in the real world, days off are few and far between. Unless of course, you become a teacher or a mailman!

Proverbs 21:8 (NASB) says, "The way of a guilty man is crooked, but as for the pure, his conduct is upright". I'm big on body language. I always try and read beyond just what people are saying with their lips when they talk. Some folks are like stone walls and are like reading Chinese, but most people have expressions that are more telling than words. What a person feels will many times come across in how that person looks. Guilt causes a look. Usually included in guilty body language are fleeting eyes, a worried look, and a downward focus. The verse here says the way of a guilty man is crooked. Could it be that the reason for this crooked path is that his guilt is forcing him to look downward? A humorous illustration to this serious subject comes to mind here. One Sunday while getting ready for an ultimate football game, Michael came by and asked to help. I had him "cut the lines" into the field with the push mower. I had set up the cones as a guide and he started in. As he went along though, he didn't keep his focus on the cone ahead, many times staring at the ground in front of him, causing his lines to be very crooked. Staring at the ground instead of focusing on the straight line caused his path to be crooked! The pure have nothing to be guilty of. Their lives are not full of impurities and when they do sin, they don't spend long hours dwelling on what's already been done. They get on working toward the goal. Michael and this verse help us to realize that we can go through life letting our load of guilt force our eyes downward. Living a pure, God-, and goal-focused life keeps our eyes up and our path straight.

This Saturday 2/26: People of Prayer @ 6:00 pm.
Sign up for:
Jr. High Winter Retreat @ Camp Illiana, $18.
Sr. High Spring Retreat @ Johnson Bible College, $30+ food & souvies.

Later...