That's a "Come On Man!"

One of our favorite things about the fall season is Monday Night Football. It's an EVENT. My husband and I eat our dinner (something "football appropriate") in front of the television, watch the game and wait anxiously for halftime. Excitement builds as the title of our favorite segment slowly inches its way up the side of the screen, ever so close to airing (8:17pm). It's called, "Come On Man!"  This is when the sportscasters highlight bad plays, unbelievable passes and catches or just plain "crazy talk" from the players and/or coaches. After each, we hear Chris Berman, Cris Carter or one of the other sportscasters yell, "Come On Man!" 

At the Canelos house, this phrase has become a "staple." With 3 children (2 of which are teenagers), it is required quite often.

Yesterday, after a long day of frustration at work, Sam and I used garden hoes to cut thistles out of the yard. Actually, Sam just "hacked" them into a million tiny pieces, but it was a good effort. Hey, he's 4 years old ... at least he "showed up!" We were both tired (okay, I was tired) as we put away the garden tools and went inside to help make dinner.

We were all sitting at the dinner table, having a family meeting about things that needed to be done around the house. There was a discussion about the development of a "chore chart" and how to split up the chores among the 5 of us.

Then it happened ...

My 15-year old genius** said, "Doing the dishes is women's work, so I think the girls should have to do them! The guys can just do the outside stuff." (This is the point in the television sitcom where everything comes to a screeching halt and you hear the "scratching record" sound.) I thought my head was going to explode. COME ON MAN!!!

When I stop and think about it, there are many things in my day that prompt a "Come On Man!" When I was driving to work this morning, I saw the bright light of the giant LED sign at the truck stop on I-35 flashing $3.69 for fuel (as my husband and I both drive 80 miles round trip to work every day ... each!!!) "COME ON MAN!"

As the frustrations at home boil over and I voice them to my husband ... I know he's thinking, "Come On Man!" When a woman at the grocery store blocks the aisle as she stands there and chit chats her BFF and you need to get home to make dinner ... that's a total "Come On Man!" When cell phones ring during the church service ... "Come On Man!" When I see a FB post about my friend's twenty-something, male children not being able to "hit the toilet" ... that is most definitely a "Come On Man!"

OH, you know where I am going with this ... how many times do we give God a reason to think, "Come On Man!" When our thoughts and our actions betray Him ... when we hear things coming out of our mouths and we can't stop ourselves ... when we say we are too busy meditate on His Word, pray or even get ourselves out of bed to honor Him with our presence in worship ... "COME ON MAN!"

I am going to try harder this week not to let inward frustrations turn into outward "expressions." I don't want to give God a reason to say, "Come On Man!"

(I input the phrase "Come On Man" in the bible.com search field, but it didn't display any results. Don't worry, He's got this one covered too ... He provides endless instruction regarding obedience!) I hope you have a blessed day ... without any "Come On Man(s)!"

**genius (of the Wile E. Coyote variety) = no where to be found when the "outside" work (i.e. the so-called man's work) was being done for the past several weekends!

Sometimes You Just "Gotta Call A Guy ..."

My husband and I spent the past couple of weekends sawing, chopping, picking up, hauling ... We have pain in our lower backs to prove it!

If you saw my FB page, you saw the debris left by our determination to rid our home of mulberry trees, dead trees/branches and overgrown bushes. It looks like a tornado hit and yes, we have quite a mess to clean up.

On Saturday, I did what I could to keep up with Paul and his newfound love for the gas-powered chain saw. I kept dragging and hauling branches and logs to the "gigantor" (Sam's favorite word) pile of brush "ruining" the view on the east edge of our yard. It was so high, I literally had to throw things to reach the top of the heap.

We just kept going on Sunday and created an even bigger mess. We just stood and stared at our "war-torn" yard with fallen branches everywhere. I kept thinking to myself ... it feels so good to have this done, but where are we going to put it all?!

On Monday, I ended up looking up a service to haul it away. Paul was skeptical about hiring someone, determined that we could burn a little each week and make it disappear. I told him that I had made an executive decision and "called a guy" to come clean it up and haul it away. Listen, there are times in life, when you know you are in over your head and you just have to "call a guy!"

Much like our Christian walk ... there are times when you just have to ask for help and "call THE Guy!" There are things that, as humans, we can't handle on our own and we reach out to the Lord in prayer. If you are facing something today, that you can't handle or feels too large for you to "lift" by yourself. There is no "Guy" bigger than God and He will help you bear those burdens...so call "THE Guy!"

April Fool's Day

1 Corinthians 4:10
We are fools for Christ's sake, but you are prudent in Christ; we are weak, but you are strong; you are distinguished, but we are without honor.

While others find our faith foolish, we must stand for our faith and be "fools" for Christ.

Be a "fool" for Jesus today!!!!