Leave Marshawn Lynch Alone!!!

Most days I marvel at how far I've come at remaining calm and positive. Except...
...when I'm driving. When I'm driving in LA, I just want to run some of these drivers off the road. I'm fresh in the door from once again contemplating ways to get away with performing the PIT move on a car while doing 70 in the fast lane. LA has some of the most selfish drivers in the city. These drivers want to go 45 in the fast lane because they're text messaging and driving until you pass (or attempt to pass) them. Once that happens, they think it's Fast and Furious and their Toyota Prius is now a 10 second drift car. (Woosah!!!) That was my rant.

This week was pretty good.

I went to the Valley to help Matthew find an apartment. It wasn't that bad. The Valley is still a pit of despair    but I had a good time. AND I escaped. I got to golf and eat good food. And I finally got a wheel alignment!

Je parle francais tres bien!

I love my French teacher. She's my type of hippie. She drinks wine and lusts after MUCH younger men. She's into participation and pronounciation. And because I keep getting As on the tests, I'm excused from doing homework. My type of hippie. As opposed to the ones that smell bad and try to force their beliefs on everyone else. Tres mauvais!

Which brings us to Marshawn Lynch. I don't watch post-game interviews. However, I get to see the highlights online and/or via social media. When I first saw Marshawn Lynch refusing to talk, I thought it was amusing. By this year's Super Bowl, I'm tired of it. Not tired at all of him. I'm tired of the NFL and the press even bothering to try.
And then I found out the NFL is making him speak. WHY???
There  are 56 players on an NFL team. That's 111 OTHER players to talk to other than Marshawn Lynch. Hell, that's about 44 starters. Everyone is not out going. Why worry about 1 man when you have TWENTY TWO starters to choose from on each team? WTF

Marshawn Lynch is not an asshole. He's articulate. He has a good sense of humor. And, most important, he gives back to his community. He has a REAL charity. Not a tax write off like most people. Let him give what he gives in his own way. Fam 1st is much more valuable than any soundbite.

I hope this is not a Craig Hodges situation. The difference might be Lynch's value to the Seahawks. In general, NFL running backs are becoming expendable. Marshawn Lynch is not the typical NFL running back. Beast Mode is real. Marshawn Lynch is ALL the running backs Seattle will need win the Super Bowl. (Prediction!)

But then again, there are 55 other players on the Seahawks and Lynch is only one man. One man who means a whole lot to his community...

So please NFL! Leave Marshawn Lynch alone.

What I Learned in Church: 1/22/12

Let us pray:

            Forgive me for not seeing/seeking You in everyone. I’ve been distracted by dysfunction. I praise Your name to the highest heavens for giving me one more chance. Thank You for never changing, even when I did.

            Specifically, I got scared to be the man You spent all this time molding me into. I made some early mistakes. I released my passion and unleased the pimp hand physically and verbally. I don’t know if it was my time to act but I know it scared me into distraction and inactivity.

            My prayer is that those I have chosen as my family, will receive your humble ways through my humiliation. Let them see the true meaning of giving. Shw them through my constant humiliation the ultimate gift is self. Give up self. THAT is Christianity! Giving it all away. IT is ego. Give yourself away.

Show us how to give away our feelings, give away our understanding, give away our stuff, our pasts. And when we are stubborn, take it away. We will count it as a blessing. Forgive us and show us how to forgive ourselves. Help us let go of our baggage so we can receive your bounty.

            In Jesus’ name…

Our youth pastor began the sermon. He touched Isaiah 50:4, Psalms 127:3-5, Matthew 18:2-5, Psalms 82, Proverbs 22:6; 6:1, Philippians 4:13, and Leviticus 19:32. The overall message was to stay encouraged on this journey that is your relationship with God. Always stay focused on understanding, pathways and instruction.  “Reach for heaven. Heaven is farther than the stars.”

Then came the charge from the senior pastor:

            Ecclesiastes 12, after we’ve seen it all and realize it’s all vanity, we don’t take any more pleasure in the things we used to do. So…

            “Remember GOD now!”

            We don’t have time to be distracted for even a second. We especially don’t have time to only think about being good on twice a week (Bible Study and Worship day). Hell, we don’t even have time for the morning/bedtime gap. You know how it is. We wake up praising God for giving us one more day. We end the day asking for forgiveness and one more chance to get it right. In between, we miss plenty of opportunities to remember God.

            The church (in every generation) is going to be held accountable for certain things. [ie. money, inventions, music]. The religious tradition is to run these things out of church. The church has to be ready to receive. In James 5:20 we get the picture that He is saving us so we can get to someone else. We go through stuff so that other can see there IS a way out. (Realize I said ‘go through’ not ‘stay stuck’ in stuff.)

            A lot of us have gotten so into doctrine that we try to take control from God. Let God handle the discipline. We just have to be the beacon. Let his light shine through us and our journey.

            Tradition and doctrine have made us lazy. GET UP!!! We used to walk everywhere. Then we get cars and get too tired to drive to church. Hell, we get to tired to drive around the corner let alone walk. WALK? I know I’m talking crazy!

            The bottom line is right now is a serious time to get it in. and it’s not about 2012, the economy, the election, Al Queda, Iran or anything like that. Virtually everyone knows all there is to know about right and wrong. We are and will continue to be held accountable for ALL that we know. If you know better and ain’t doing it…

…just don’t try to block me on my way to glory…

[Talk about Blocks!]