Doubly Hard

Carin and I briefly caught up with a friend during our son’s basketball game last night. My heart moved when our friend said sometimes things are "doubly hard.” As she was holding her toddler, she remarked, "It’s like one hard thing leads to the next hard thing.”

This friend’s uncle passed away on Thanksgiving. The funeral is going to take place out of town on the same day as a wedding of a young cousin on the other side of the family. It was hard enough grieving the loss of a dear uncle. Now her family, her teenage sons in particular, will have a hard time missing a fun and joyful wedding celebration. I understand the sentiment: hard times frequently follow hard times. 

What’s interesting was the joy and confidence present in our friend in the midst of these hard events. 

What’s interesting is how my friend faithfully serves her family and how she faithfully says yes to God even when life is difficult. 

That kind of resilient faith encourages me. 

Listen to another hard story from Luke 1:26-38. 

26 In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, 27 to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. And the virgin's name was Mary. 28 And he came to her and said, “Greetings, O favored one, the Lord is with you!” 29 But she was greatly troubled at the saying, and tried to discern what sort of greeting this might be. 30 And the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. 31 And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus. 32 He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David, 33 and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.”

34 And Mary said to the angel, “How will this be, since I am a virgin?”

35 And the angel answered her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy—the Son of God. 36 And behold, your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son, and this is the sixth month with her who was called barren. 37 For nothing will be impossible with God.” 38 And Mary said, “Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.” And the angel departed from her.

God tells Mary through Gabriel that she will have a son. This is good news, news to be celebrated. Today we celebrate birth announcements by posting videos and photos immediately to Instagram. We throw gender reveal parties. We pop open the champagne (just none for the expectant mother). We plan baby showers. We buy paint and order furniture. 

But Mary wasn’t even fully married yet, and God is asking her to give birth to and adopt his son. I need you to love him, feed him, raise him, care for him, and provide for him even though you have essentially no resources. This good news is “greatly troubling” news, too.

Of course this first hard thing led to the doubly hard. It’s time to go to Bethlehem for the census. Surely, since this baby is the Lord’s request there will be a private charter jet to take Mary and Joseph on their journey. No? Can they at least fly first class Delta priority? How about a helicopter or a limousine? Still no? 

There was not even a chariot, a carriage, or a horse. But I bet if you asked Mary after the fact, she would tell you how grateful she was for the donkey. 

Then comes the next hard thing. There is no hospital and no midwife. They didn’t even have a flash light. I have a flashlight on my pocket-sized phone that can be turned on and off by speaking. They had nothing. But I bet if you asked them after the fact, Mary and Joseph would tell you how grateful they were for the moon. 

This weekend my family traveled to Nashville, Tennessee to see a gospel presentation at the historic Ryman Auditorium. As part of the presentation Jill Phillips sang this Andrew Peterson song while Andy Gullahorn played guitar and Ben Shive played piano. The lyrics are poetry; poetry about hard things. 

It was not a silent night

There was blood on the ground

You could hear a woman cry

In the alleyways that night

On the streets of David's town

And the stable was not clean

And the cobblestones were cold

And little Mary full of grace

With the tears upon her face

Had no mother's hand to hold

It was a labor of pain

It was a cold sky above

But for the girl on the ground in the dark

Every beat of her beautiful heart

Was a labor of love

Noble Joseph by her side

His callused hands and weary eyes

There were no midwives to be found

On the streets of David's town

In the middle of the night

And so, he held her, and he prayed

Shafts of moonlight on his face

But the baby in her womb

He was the maker of the moon

He was the author of the faith

That could make the mountains move

It was a labor of pain

It was a cold sky above

But for the girl on the ground in the dark

Every beat of her beautiful heart

Was a labor of love

For little Mary full of grace

With the tears upon her face

It was a labor of love

It was not a silent night

On the streets of David's town

Here’s the thought for today. 

God asks his people to do hard things. He invites us into hard labor. And most of the time when you say yes to God, the hard work gets harder. We might say it becomes impossible. 

But all of the time, one hundred percent of the time, when we say yes to God, things get better. Harder but better. For nothing will be impossible with God. 

After all, Emmanuel means God with us. 

My hope and prayer in the midst of the doubly hard is that we respond just as Mary did. “I am the Lord’s servant, may it be to me as you have said.” 

Sitting by the River at Wesley Gardens in October Reading Acts 3:1-10

The marsh grass bends,
submitting, not opposed,
to the autumn breeze at the place called Beautiful.

The falling acorn thumps, speaks,
sent to preach beyond this living oak.

The river, watching, full eyes flowing by,
easing, calming: 
steady.

Heart and mind, knee bends 
submitting, not opposed to the Word,
to the Word dwelling in those 
without silver, without gold.

Only the Name, 
a gaze, eyes direct
looking into, clutching right hand.
Firming ankles, walking, now sent to grow.

The Name rivers by, Glory praised, 
leaping, walking, forever changed. 

 

Maybe It's Time to Play a New Game: Catan, Monopoly, and Government Shutdowns

Is it safe to assume there’s a copy of Monopoly somewhere in your home? There is a copy or two at my parent’s house and one at my in-law’s house. You can find the regular version and the Georgia Tech version, Techopoly, at my house.  

Do you enjoy playing Monopoly? Even though I will probably play the McDonald’s Monopoly game this week (returning October 6), I most likely won’t be playing the Monopoly board game any time soon. 

Growing up in the 1980s, after maturing past Chutes & Ladders, Candy Land, and Life, Monopoly was the game everyone was playing. If you’re like me then the dad of your best friend won big every time you stayed over at your friend’s house. Or your already-college-aged cousin completely dominated you and your siblings at family gatherings on Sunday afternoons and holidays. 

If I was going to play a game for hours on end and lose, could I at least be the race car? And who would ever want to be the thimble? Or the iron? 

Monopoly seemed like the perfect game for families to play growing up in a capitalistic economy. It never seemed strange to me that the game promoted and rewarded something that was actually illegal - outright monopolies. I wouldn’t have even thought of that except that my parents also had a copy of the Mad Magazine Game released in 1979 by Parker Brothers. It was a Monopoly parody. You won by being the first player to lose all of your money. Mad Magazine itself was, after all, a satirical media trying to laugh with irreverence at popular society. 

Satire presents you with humor and questions. Is Monopoly the game we ought to be playing? Is it time for a new game?

I’m glad you asked. If you have not heard of Catan, then it’s time to order a copy from Amazon. It’s also on the shelves at Wal-Mart, Target, Barnes and Noble, etc. 

Catan doesn’t yet have the ubiquitous presence of Monopoly, but Catan has been steadily gaining market strength since its release in 1995. I highly recommend playing Catan with your family. Let me know if you need to demo the game with us at our house! 

I love to play Catan (also known as The Settlers of Catan). I own a copy of the 3rd, 4th, and 5th editions. I would love to have one of the collectible 3-D editions, or a 1st edition. I also want to purchase a newly released 6th edition because, well, why not?

Why do I love this game so much? Probably because I am a nerd. But also because the game is exciting and fun. Each player is racing to ten victory points that you earn by settling the island of Catan. You must produce resources, and manage your resources well, so that you can build more settlements, turn your settlements into cities, build long roads, and have the largest army. Growth. Production. Expansion.

The board is too small, of course, for every player to be successful. You must play to win by subtly cutting off your opponents, indirectly dealing them damage and placing obstacles in their way. That’s what Eurogames are known for, indirect conflict. 

Sometimes the conflict does not feel so subtle and indirect. There will probably be an argument about the robber, probably between spouses. Tempers might flare because another player takes all the ore, or wheat, right before you attempt to build a city. 

I love the tension, the drama, and the suspense. 

Many people (fellow nerds) have written about the gameplay differences in Monopoly and Catan. The most interesting difference to me is this. The way to win in Monopoly is to eliminate your opponents. Monopoly is direct. I will overpower. I will take all of your things. I will destroy you. 

In Catan you are never eliminated. Even if you are stuck at three victory points while two other players are battling it out at eight or nine victory points, you still get to play. You still have a turn even if it’s clear you are going to lose the game. 

As a result, the social economy in Catan plays a huge and dynamic role. Part of every player’s turn involves willingly trading resources with other players. In many Catan games the winning players can only win because of trades they make with the losing players. 

Since you need each other to win, you do not behave arrogantly and you do not talk trash. Acting that way means, most likely, that no one in Catan will trade with you. No trades means no wins. 

Side note for families: the lack of player elimination is also why Catan is a much better family game than Monopoly. Not only does Catan end in only 60-90 minutes, you never lose your seat at the table. You always still have a role to play even if you are on the losing side of things. 

What does any of this have to do with a government shutdown? 

Is it too big of a stretch to say we need our elected leaders to start playing a different game? I would like to suggest a game where they aren’t trying to eliminate each other all the time. Most certainly I want to suggest a game where they aren’t demonizing each other all the time. 

I don’t know that much about government structure, so I wondered how the shutdown could even happen. Doesn’t one party currently control all parts of the federal government - the White House, the Senate, and the House of Representatives? Yes. 

Isn’t it interesting, then, that keeping the government open requires seven voices of the currently losing team to trade and work with the currently winning team? 

Almost every government leader I’ve heard, from almost every stance I’ve seen, currently seems to also be guilty of the criticism I am about to offer. Since the President is the leader at the top, however, I’ll focus the criticism on him for a minute. 

What if the President’s approach had been different over the last stretch of months? What would it be like if he wasn’t name-calling all the time? What would it be like if he wasn’t marginalizing others so much? I know you’ve heard it (“liberal left lunatics,” “I hate my opponents,” “I deserve a Nobel Peace Prize,” “my heart is bigger than yours”). If the President’s rhetoric and actions had been full of respect and courtesy, do you think other people would be more willing to help him, now that he is stuck in a position that requires their help? 

I am not talking about any policy or issue. I am not saying a Republican should be more progressive or that a Democrat should be more conservative. I don’t actually want to talk about progressive or conservative policies and positions at all. I just want to talk about the ways we talk about and treat each other. 

As it is the President consistently, and somewhat constantly, goes out of his way to belittle, insult, vilify, and denigrate his opponents. Is it any surprise that the losing team isn’t willing to trade anything with him?

Unfortunately, the direct-conflict-Monopoly-approach has made the President extremely popular in America. Likewise, any leader willing to stoop to that same level grows in popularity. It appears that we are entertained by and attracted to hate-filled fights. We seem to be a blood-thirsty people.  

Call me naive. Call me idealistic. I want change from all of our elected leaders. I want the leaders of our country to play a new game. I’ve grown weary of the old game. 

I want the genuine concern of others to have incredibly more influence. I want our leaders to argue and disagree while simultaneously showing respect to each other. I want our leaders to offer courtesy and dignity to people they don’t represent. I want our leaders to assume the best about each other rather than constantly calling out the worst traits of each other. 

I believe it’s better to play a new game, one where even the losing players are considered important. 

Attempting to Reflect on the Horrific Events of this Week

In the work place, on the team, in the neighborhood, and in church we love to work and live alongside people who share credit when things go right and who accept blame when things go wrong. 

Jesus is the perfect example.

He didn’t do any of the wrong in my life. I am 100% responsible for every bad decision I have ever made and every sin I have committed. But Jesus, because he loved me, didn’t let the blame fall only on me. Instead Jesus went to the cross to bear my burden. Jesus paid the price for the wrong I have done.

Unlike me, Jesus never did anything wrong in his life. Jesus is perfect holy righteousness. Instead of taking all the credit for himself, Jesus shared his righteousness with me. Now when God looks at me he no longer sees my sin. God now sees the righteousness of Christ, not because of what I have done. I don't deserve it. I didn't earn it. It’s only because of who Jesus is and what Jesus did. 

Jesus takes on our blame, paying the price and punishment himself, and he shares his perfect righteousness with us. 2 Corinthians 5:21

In our American culture this week we all experienced evil, hatred, murder…so much wrong. Unfortunately we quickly jumped to placing blame on the others around us. This horrific tragedy happened and we think it’s the fault of some other ideology. It’s the fault of some other way of thinking. Our hearts fill with anger, seeking vengeance for some other side. 

Let’s take a different approach. Please. Everyone knows a heinous and wicked wrong occurred. Let’s take a share of the blame ourselves. Let’s own the part of this that is our fault. Let’s assume that within our own approach to life and politics there is a flaw. Let’s assume that we aren’t perfect. 

Since we aren’t perfect, let’s ask the Holy Spirit to show us the hatred living within our own hearts. Expose it. Bring it from the darkness into the light. Pray. Surrender. Repent. 

My mentor always said, “quit looking for the right one and be the right one.” If I can accept part of this American problem as my own problem, then I can ask for help in working out what’s wrong within my heart peacefully, lovingly, and rightly. 

Let’s not place the blame on “the others.” Let’s own our part, and surrender our hearts to Jesus. 

Handwritten Recipe Cards

Forever resist the urge to type a recipe. You should always copy it in your handwriting, or even better ask the owner of the recipe to write out a copy for you. Then for the rest of time, when you need the recipe, it will be a wonderful handwritten treasure for you. 

I made some homemade ice cream tonight for Memorial Day Weekend. For years and years making homemade ice cream has been a family tradition for us on the big summer holidays: Memorial Day (beginning of summer), July 4th (middle of summer), and Labor Day (end of summer). There’s so much nostalgia in pouring the rock salt over the ice, turning on the motor, and waiting. I can still remember before there was a motor when my sisters and I had to take turns cranking the ice cream maker by hand. We all wanted a turn even though our arms would tire out so quickly. 

Making homemade ice cream makes me think of my father and mother sitting at the table in the kitchen at our Goldcup Court house where we lived from 1979 to 1992. I think of my mother’s cousin, Tim. Tim liked homemade peach ice cream. My Great Uncle Robert always had a soft serve ice cream maker at his pool. Aunt Shirley and Uncle Terry would put their ice cream maker in the garage to keep the noise outside of the house. 

One time my mother-in-law ran out of time to make some homemade ice cream so she bought Breyer’s Chocolate and put it in the stainless steel freezer can to make it look homemade. Believe it or not after one bite I knew it was impostor ice cream! 

In the summer of 1999, when Carin and I were dating, she invited me to come with her family to Uncle Howe’s Lake Burton house for the 4th of July fireworks. Of course Uncle Howe and Aunt Vicki made some homemade ice cream. Uncle Howe then waited in just the right spot for me to walk around the corner on the dock. When I turned that corner he dumped the leftover rock salt, ice, and below-freezing water all over me. I was stunned - and I will never forget it. 

All of these memories ran through my head tonight as I mixed together the ingredients for homemade ice cream. Even though I’ve made it about a hundred times before, I still read the recipe card over and over to make sure I did it just right. Our homemade ice cream recipe is written in Carin’s handwriting, with one note on the back in my handwriting (if you want chocolate just add a family size container of Hershey’s syrup before you start the motor). 

Carin copied our recipe for homemade ice cream from my mother’s recipe card. Carin’s copy now sits in the recipe box in our kitchen. Within that little box we have recipe cards written in both of our mother’s handwriting. There are recipe cards copied down by Aunt Diane, Aunt Marnie and many others. There’s even one in our daughter's childhood handwriting where she once copied one of her grandmother’s recipes that she wanted. 

I feel so loved thumbing through our recipe cards. There’s precious handwriting, precious memories, and really good food. 

Never type a recipe. Always copy it by hand, and then give it to someone you love.

Should We Talk About the Officiating of the Georgia Tech Football Game?

Because I am a graduate of the Institute, the Georgia Tech football game on November 29, 2024 was brutal and excruciating. If you are a true fan then you know what it's like for your team to lose a monster-level-intensity type of game. This particular game last Friday will be considered a classic for the ages, and it's absolutely terrible.

The Tech football team is good, just not yet good enough to close out a game against the other big football school in the state. It is true that Georgia Tech has come so far over the last two and a half years. They are headed in a great direction. But they still lost the game last Friday.

I appreciate more than ever that in the post game moments Brent Key, Haynes King, and Kyle Efford owned their performances. During the game they gave everything they had to give; they left it all on the field. After the game they acknowledged how tough it was to realize, to know and to honestly see, that they came up short. They gave their all and their all did not get the job done.

One notable thing Coach Key and Quarterback Haynes King did not do was blame anyone else. They made no excuses. They especially made no mention of bad officiating when explaining the loss.

Should we talk about the officiating as a reason Tech lost? Were there some questionable calls (or no-calls) that influenced the game in a meaningful way? Was Georgia Tech robbed of what they deserved?

There are at least three major news outlets that published articles questioning the officiating in this game (click the names to read the articles).

USA Today

Sports Illustrated

ESPN (scroll to the section titled Clean Old-Fashioned Hate)

Why would these sports writers take this critical approach? Why do I take comfort and consolation in knowing that someone else thought my team was possibly cheated? Could it be that I'm looking for a way out of having to deal with the reality and truth that my team just wasn't good enough for this big moment?

I confess - I want to gripe, complain, and mope about the bad calls. It feels natural to do so even though I know griping about the officials is the modern day core trait of a sore loser. Being a sore loser is bad enough, but there's something worse. When I blame the officials for Georgia Tech's loss, I undermine the inspiration that came from watching the Tech athletes lay it all on the line. To question the officials is to diminish and dishonor the sacrifice, commitment, and investment of the athletes and coaches on both teams. 

Unfortunately we are swimming in a culture that normalizes the practice of avoiding our faults. We shy away from loss. We try to hide when self-induced consequences are hard. We want to believe in and blame a rigged system because that would lessen the burden of any fault of our own. 

Look at the news outside of sports and you see similar stories. A President pardons a guilty relative. A President continuously denies losing an election and then skips the inauguration of the winner. These recent Presidents, one a Republican and one a Democrat, have taken the growth-stunting pathway of denying truth and avoiding consequences. 

This might be a serious problem for you and me as well. Denying hard truths about our lives will prohibit healthy growth, diminishing and dishonoring each and every one of us. 

Is there a hopeful solution? Yes. 

I suggest we start small. Can we agree to calling a cease fire on the game officials from last Friday? Please, let's stop blaming the refs for Georgia Tech's loss. Just let it be. Trust that the pain of falling short will be a catalyst for hard work and growth in the Georgia Tech football program. 

On a personal level, you know, since I don't actually play on or have any affiliation with the Tech football team, there is nothing for me to lose by admitting the team lost on its own accord. It's just a good practice to put a stop to any habits of complaining about officiating in sports. 

After that I say we move on to more significant areas of life. What things do you and I deny about our lives because it would be too painful to admit and accept? Who can help a person even process a question like that? 

I am so thankful for my church and my community group at church. I am grateful for Christian friends and family who remind me of the grace and truth Jesus provides as we surrender our lives to Him - even the icky parts of our lives. There might very well be something to lose when we own our personal failures and surrender those failures to Jesus. But there's hope. If nurtured in a healthy way with the good news of the gospel, a loss can be the very beginning of strong growth, flourishing character, and solid maturity. 

Some Curious (and Hopefully Thoughtful) Questions About Art

Friday gave social media a strong and much needed reprieve from the 2024 American election cycle. The Olympics started, and there has been some controversy following the Opening Ceremony. Perhaps the biggest gaffe was the introduction of the athletes from South Korea. https://apnews.com/article/olympics-2024-opening-ceremony-south-korea-585dfdce64f9e066fd1a6d0f329598c3

The biggest response and frustration, however, was produced by the reenactment of some classical art. As part of the Opening Ceremony, the organizers were trying to meld together themes from the ancient Olympics and from modern day Paris. If you asked me in the moment, I would have said there was a portrayal of Leonardo da Vinci’s iconic masterpiece The Last Supper. 

One of my seminary professors, Dr. Blowers, posted a thoughtful question: Why use The Last Supper when it has nothing to do with the Olympics and is not connected to French culture? The Last Supper currently resides in Italy. I don’t think France wants to brag on Italy. 

Blowers was pointing out that a mockery of The Last Supper makes absolutely no sense. When every other part of the Opening Ceremony pointed to the Olympics or to French culture, why break with a parody of The Last Supper?

I had some other questions to add to Dr. Blowers.

Weren’t there more than 13 people in the Opening Ceremony portrayal? The Last Supper only has Jesus and the 12 disciples. Similarly, why are the people in the Opening Ceremony on both sides of the table when everyone in The Last Supper is only on one side? 

Why does the central figure have a halo when the central figure in da Vinci’s painting does not have a halo? What about the tattoos on the arms of the central figure in the Opening Ceremony? What in the world does the audio mixer/DJ equipment on the table signify?

My college friend, Justin Jackson, shared the details of another classical painting with me. Take a look at Jan Harmensz van Bijlert’s 1635 painting titled The Feast of the Gods. https://www.artsy.net/artwork/jan-hermansz-van-bijlert-le-festin-des-dieux-the-feast-of-the-gods

It’s possible, and I would say plausible, that this is the painting being reenacted. Jan van Bijlert’s painting currently resides in Dijon, France as you might expect. 

What does it have to do with the Olympics? The painting is set presumably on Mount Olympus and depicts the mythological Greek gods and goddesses at the wedding feast of Peleus and Thetis. Here’s a snippet from Encyclopedia Britannica's website about this wedding feast: “Peleus later won the sea nymph Thetis by capture, and all the gods except Eris (the goddess of discord) were invited to the wedding. The golden apple that Eris spitefully sent to the wedding guests led to the “judgment of Paris” and thence to the Trojan War.”

This painting melds the Olympics with Paris. I believe that was the intent of the Opening Ceremony organizers. 

Look again at the painting. You’ll see that this Jan van Bijlert painting also makes sense with the other questions I’ve asked. The painting has more than 13 people and they are on both sides of the table. The central figure, Apollo, has the halo and the tattoos. Zoom in on Apollo and you’ll see a lyre in his hands - thus the audio mixer in front of the central figure of the Opening Ceremony. When you look at these visual clues, you start to feel like Nicholas Cage in a wild scavenger hunt where you uncovered the connections. 

But doesn’t the reenactment also look like The Last Supper? Without a doubt it looks like The Last Supper. 

Sometimes art imitates art. Do you remember the Ed Sheerhan song that sounded so similar to a Marvin Gaye song? https://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/jury-reaches-verdict-ed-sheeran-copyright-infringement-case/story?id=99022695

From what I could read on the internet about classical art, Jan van Bijlert was influenced by Caravaggio who was influenced by da Vinci. And both paintings had people around a table. That is to say, I thought it was The Last Supper, too, until I was able to dig much deeper into the details. 

I would wager that 999 out of 1,000 people watching the Opening Ceremony would take a look and say it was The Last Supper. I would also wager that most haven’t heard of Jan van Bijlert. I sure hadn’t. 

Likewise I suspect Jan van Bijlert’s painting wouldn’t even make a list of top 100 classical art pieces being studied and memorized by students in private classical schools in 2024. Ironically I don’t think The Last Supper makes that list either but for an opposite reason. The Last Supper is so iconic it’s almost ubiquitous, too easy to know. 

Should Christians be outraged by the similarities of the reenactment to The Last Supper? It’s upsetting at first. It can lead to anger. But once you realize the reenactment was clearly pointing at a different painting the anger should go away. We should offer grace, and chalk it up to a misunderstanding. 

Am I bothered by the promiscuous and hedonistic values communicated by the Opening Ceremony? Yes, of course. The program didn’t resonate well with me. I felt the same way I feel when I’ve recently watched the Oscars, the Grammys, and so many other programs highlighting current culture. 

Should I be shocked and outraged when my Christian values don’t align with current culture? No, I believe Jesus told us to expect it. 

Does a scene of Greek gods and goddesses, including Dionysus, point to idolatry? Yes, I think any monotheistic culture would say there is an idolatry issue taking place. 

Of course, my local culture in Savannah, GA is also overflowing with idolatry issues. I am guilty of this idolatry, too. I worship sometimes at a little synagogue at the corner of North Avenue and Techwood Drive in Atlanta. It’s called Bobby Dodd Stadium, where my beloved Yellow Jackets play football. A lot of my friends in Savannah prefer to worship elsewhere. They visit a much bigger temple in Athens called Sanford Stadium. Interestingly enough, the saints from Georgia Tech and UGA seem to unite when visiting the professional cathedrals, Truist Park and Mercedes Benz Stadium. It costs more than a tenth of my weekly pay for entrance and small refreshments at these architectural titans. 

I’m joking now. I hope you are able to laugh a little at that. At the same time I hope it is a good reminder that we need weekly and daily help to reorient our hearts towards Jesus, the one and only Savior.  It’s hard to find things in the midst of current culture that point us to Jesus.  In light of that, let us commit to showing the love of Jesus to everyone we can in every place we can. Let us be the ambassadors for Christ, the reminders that point to Jesus alone.