Faded Fish

Last weekend, my 3-year old son and I had some father/son bonding time as we washed the cars together. First, we washed Jen's car. Morgan had a blast! He was scrubbing with the soapy rag, just grinning from ear to ear. Then, daddy brought out the water hose. His face lit up. His eyes widened. Oh my! "Daddy! Can I do it?" "Yes, beautiful boy. Here you go!" He was spraying water everywhere! Awesome. Just awesome. For some reason he was obsessed with the headlights on momma's car. He would run around and spray the rest of the car but he kept coming back to the headlights. They were sparkly clean by the time we were done, looking brand new! Then, we moved onto daddy's Jeep. Morgan LOVES daddy's Jeep. It's nothing too fancy. It's 11 years old, been around the block a time or two (nearly 100K miles.) I just bought it a few months ago and this is the first time that I really spent time cleaning it. It wasn't until we were finished when I noticed something on the front driver's side panel. A barely noticeable fade from one of those fish symbols. Someone had put it on the Jeep in the past, but it was long gone. I thought about that a lot over the past week. I wonder if my spiritual walk isn't like that sometimes. I wonder if the only obvious sign to others that I'm a Christian has become faded..barely noticeable. Honestly, I feel that way often. I feel like I sometimes take steps that are so far away from what I believe. Perhaps not intentionally. But I'll get preoccupied, distracted and the next thing I know, I've ventured off the path. A faded shadow of what I want to be. I am trying my best not to be a faded fish in this world. It's not always easy. And I won't make any promises. But just in case you're wondering, yes I love Jesus! And I believe in Him with all my heart, soul, mind and strength. I believe He was God incarnate. I believe He was crucified, dead and buried. And I believe He rose from the dead to save us all from eternal hell...if we'll only believe. And, I believe He's like my 3-year old son with a water hose. When God needed a salvation plan, Jesus said, "Daddy, can I do it?" I believe His salvation message is plenty for all, but for some reason He's intent on focusing on the individual. He wants a relationship. He wants to make sure that--like the headlights on momma's car--I am shiny, clean and looking new.

A Friend In Need...

This morning, I received an email from a friend in Texas. She is in need of prayer. Lois Buford's teenage son, Collin, was involved in a horrific crash on highway 80 near Forney, Texas last Wednesday.

Take a look at the pic and you'll know exactly what I mean by "horrific."

I can't imagine how scary it must be for a parent to see their child go through something like this. I hope I never know. But right now, the Buford family needs prayer. Collin has already undergone three surgeries. He broke his right leg, arm and crushed a vertebrae in his lower back.

That's a lot for an 18-year old to endure. It's a lot for his parents to endure. Will you take a moment and lift up Collin Buford in prayer? Will you also pray for his parents, Philip and Lois Buford, as they watch their little boy go through this?

If you'd like more information on the accident, you can check out the story here.

Crunch

So...after 25 years of driving, it finally happened. My first accident. I was on my way to work this morning. It was beautiful...sunny. I had the top down on the Jeep, singing along to Extreme's Hole Hearted. There was one car in front of me doing about 30mph when the light turned yellow...and it appeared she wasn't going to stop, so I figured I'd follow right behind her. Mistake. She DID decide to stop. She rode her brakes pretty hard...and I slammed on mine. Only my big bruiser jeep has anti-lock brakes and 33 inch tires. It wasn't going to stop anytime soon. It felt like an eternity. I put all of my weight into both feet on the brake pedal as I focused on the back end of her brand new, shiny silver 2008 Nissan Sentra. CRUNCH! "*&^%$#!" Yeah, I said a few things I'm not proud of. I immediately jumped out of the car to ask her if she was okay. She said "Yes." Thank God. I asked her to pull over to the shoulder and she did. I called the police. It took forever for them to get there. Meanwhile, there's that feeling of being on display for everyone else who's driving by. The shame. I exchanged information with the other driver. I got a ticket. The back end of her Nissan with the temporary paper plates was scrunched...caved in. Undrivable. My Jeep, on the other hand, looked like it had nothing wrong with it. Except the license plate was a little bent. After all the dispensing of information, I drove away...leaving that poor woman crying there. But thankfully her husband had arrived to console her. Ugh. What a crappy way to start the day...for both of us. Thankfully we both have insurance. More importantly, thankfully, no one was hurt.

Bumper Stickers

I like to read bumper stickers. They say a lot about a driver's personality. Some are funny. Some are crude. Some are big and bold...while others have such small text that it's almost impossible to read. (So, if I'm riding you pretty close in traffic, I'm not trying to be a jerk, I just want to read what it is that you're so passionate about that you'd advertise it on your car.)

My wife was called up for jury duty once last year. As she was sitting in the courtroom with other potential juror candidates, one of the lawyers asked, "What bumper stickers do you have on your car?" He knows that bumper stickers say a lot about a person's passions. She doesn't have any bumper stickers on her car. Neither do I. But I do enjoy reading them.

But some of them are just plain confusing. Today, I saw a couple of bumper stickers that just threw me:

"I love ghosts."

and

"I walk in the ways of the ancient ones."

Okay, aside from the fact that those are just odd messages (I certainly don't get what the second one means), but I couldn't help but wonder: Who makes these bumper stickers? Who said, "Ya know, I bet if I create a "I walk in the ways of the ancient ones" bumper sticker, it would sell like hotcakes!" Isn't the point of marketing to create a product that has a mass audience appeal?

Some of the best bumper stickers are political in nature. Here's one that I saw...that I just love!

And another that makes a really good point:

Now those, I imagine, DO have mass appeal!

What bumper stickers do you have on your car? Or at least share some that you like.