Iron Bowl 2017

The Auburn Tigers beat (former) #1 ranked Alabama 26 to 14.
WAR EAGLE!

And I actually got to watch THE WHOLE GAME!! That is kinda becoming a thing now. Jinx my @$$!

My Gym Family invited me to their home for the game. I had warned them of the "jinx" that had been foisted on me nearly 20 years ago. I cautiously watched the first half , standing half in the kitchen, half in the den. I would peep around the corner but would walk back into the kitchen when I was afraid things were going down hill.

As it turned out, I was worried about nothing. I grew more confident that I was not jinxing my team (however Lee Courso may have helped us out a bit by announcing he felt bama would be victorious....lol) and finally was able to settle down on the couch.

 And now, I must watch every game there until the streak is over.  LOL

Hey, it's only crazy if it doesn't work!

There are a couple of things that must happen in order to keep the streak alive.

1) Flex, their 8 month old grandson, must also be present, as does nephew Stone. There was a moment that I may have traumatized the little Flex. Scoring our final touchdown, I screamed. Grandpa Phil simultaneously tossed the little guy into the air in an attempt to make him laugh. Flex gave me the stink eye for the remainder of the evening.
2) Trudi and I can not be out of the room at the same time. We learned this the hard way, thank you second half touchdown. Note to Self; Purchase all provisions prior to the game.
3) Phil has announced that we must all wear the exact same clothes we wore tonight. Yeah, okay, I get that.
4)We will also be eating the exact same food. The cheese dip and chips was meant to be a one time treat, as we are getting serious again next week. Oh well, we all make sacrifices, right?

After the victory, I texted all my other Auburn peeps in celebration of our victory.

Trudi and I hoped into the car to run down to the local coffee shop to purchase a celebratory cup of joe. Because sometimes it could be unnerving when it happened, I thought I'd better warn her about the Bluetooth feature in my car. I had just got out of my mouth, that when someone texted me, the music would stop and the car would ask if I wanted it to read my text, when my brother responded to my text.   What. a great time for a demonstration. My brother, trying to be funny, responded that I must have not been anywhere near a TV, but I happily informed him that I watched EVERY SINGLE DOWN.  He told me that he was impressed. I told Bluetooth that I was done.

"Wow....they really DO get on you about that jinx thing!" Trudi exclaimed, a little wide eyed. 

Yep...for twenty long years.

The aftermath in Auburn is still unfolding. The resulting "blizzard" is nothing short of spectacular!

Can't go to Toomers to be part of the fun, so I had a little fun of my own. I know the neighbors think that I am crazy.

Toomers in the day light is no less spectacular.

So I updated my photo as well.

EnJOY!

5 Signs of an Evil Heart

I came across this article today and felt I should share. So many people I know meet these criteria that I am seriously reconsidering some of my friends and acquaintances. You know who you are.

Sorry Leslie Vernick of the Association of Biblical Counselors. Because of the weird way Crosswalk.com set up the article, I am having to copy/paste it here instead of linking it here. Bonus: The blue text links back to a Bible app to show the corresponding Bible verse.  Pretty nifty, especially if you don't own a Bible.

So here goes:

1. Evil hearts are experts at creating confusion and contention.

They twist the facts, mislead, lie, avoid taking responsibility, deny reality, make up stories, and withhold information. (Psalms 5:8; 10:7; 58:3; 109:2–5; 140:2; Proverbs 6:13,14; 6:18,19; 12:13; 16:20; 16:27, 28; 30:14; Job 15:35; Jeremiah 18:18; Nehemiah 6:8; Micah 2:1; Matthew 12:34,35; Acts 6:11–13; 2 Peter 3:16)

2. Evil hearts are experts at fooling others with their smooth speech and flattering words.

But if you look at the fruit of their lives or the follow through of their words, you will find no real evidence of godly growth or change. It’s all smoke and mirrors. (Psalms 50:19; 52:2,3; 57:4; 59:7; 101:7; Proverbs 12:5; 26:23–26; 26:28; Job 20:12; Jeremiah 12:6; Matthew 26:59; Acts 6:11–13; Romans 16:17,18; 2 Corinthians 11:13,14; 2 Timothy 3:2–5; 3:13; Titus 1:10,16).

3. Evil hearts crave and demand control, and their highest authority is their own self-reference.

They reject feedback, real accountability, and make up their own rules to live by. They use Scripture to their own advantage but ignore and reject passages that might require self-correction and repentance. (Romans 2:8; Psalms 10; 36:1–4; 50:16–22; 54:5,6; 73:6–9; Proverbs 21:24; Jude 1:8–16).

4. Evil hearts play on the sympathies of good-willed people, often trumping the grace card.

They demand mercy but give none themselves. They demand warmth, forgiveness, and intimacy from those they have harmed with no empathy for the pain they have caused and no real intention of making amends or working hard to rebuild broken trust. (Proverbs 21:10; 1 Peter 2:16; Jude 1:4).

5. Evil hearts have no conscience, no remorse.

They do not struggle against sin or evil—they delight in it—all the while masquerading as someone of noble character. (Proverbs 2:14–15; 10:23; 12:10; 21:27,29; Isaiah 32:6; Romans 1:30; 2 Corinthians 11:13–15)

Do you know someone like this?

If you are working with someone who exhibits these characteristics, it’s important that you confront them head on. You must name evil for what it is. The longer you try to reason with them or show mercy towards them, the more you, as the Christian counselor, will become a pawn in his or her game.
They want you to believe that:

1. Their horrible actions should have no serious or painful consequences.

When they say “I’m sorry,” they look to you as the pastor or Christian counselor to be their advocate for amnesty with the person he or she has harmed. They believe grace means they are immediately granted immunity from the relational fallout of their serious sin. They believe forgiveness entitles them to full reconciliation and will pressure you and their victim to comply.
The Bible warns us saying, “But when grace is shown to the wicked, they do not learn righteousness; even in a land of uprightness they go on doing evil and do not regard the majesty of the Lord (Isaiah 26:10).
The Bible tells us that talking doesn’t wake up evil people, but painful consequences might. Jesus didn’t wake up the Pharisee’s with his talk nor did God’s counsel impact Cain (Genesis 4). In addition, the Bible shows us that when someone is truly sorry for the pain they have caused, he or she is eager to make amends to those they have harmed by their sin (see Zacchaeus’ response when he repented of his greed in Luke 19).

Tim Keller writes,

“If you have been the victim of a heinous crime. If you have suffered violence, and the perpetrator (or even the judge) says, ‘Sorry, can’t we just let it go?’ You would say, ‘No, that would be an injustice.’ Your refusal would rightly have nothing to do with bitterness or vengeance. If you have been badly wronged, you know that saying sorry is never enough. Something else is required—some kind of costly payment must be made to put things right.”1
As Biblical counselors let’s not collude with the evil one by turning our attention to the victim, requiring her to forgive, to forget, to trust again when there has been no evidence of inner change. Proverbs says, “Trusting in a treacherous man in time of trouble is like a bad tooth or a foot that slips” (Proverbs. 25:19). It’s foolishness.
The evil person will also try to get you to believe...

2. That if I talk like a gospel-believing Christian I am one, even if my actions don’t line up with my talk.

Remember, Satan masquerades as an angel of light (2 Corinthians 11:13–15). He knows more true doctrine than you or I will ever know, but his heart is wicked. Why? Because although he knows the truth, he does not believe it or live it.
The Bible has some strong words for those whose actions do not match their talk (1 John 3:17,18; Jeremiah 7:8,10; James 1:22, 26). John the Baptist said it best when he admonished the religious leaders, “Prove by the way you live that you have repented of your sins and turned to God” (Luke 3:8).
If week after week you hear the talk but there is no change in the walk, you have every reason to question someone’s relationship with God.

Can an evil person really change?

Part of our maturity as spiritual leaders is that we have been trained to discern between good and evil. Why is that so important? It’s important because evil usually pretends to be good, and without discernment we can be easily fooled (Hebrews 5:14).
When you confront evil, chances are good that the evil heart will stop counseling with you because the darkness hates the light (John 3:20) and the foolish and evil heart reject correction (Proverbs 9:7,8). But that outcome is far better than allowing the evil heart to believe you are on his or her side, or that “he’s not that bad” or “that he’s really sorry” or “that he’s changing” when, in fact, he is not.
Daniel says, “[T]he wicked will continue to be wicked” (Daniel 12:10), which begs the question, do you think an evil person can really change?

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