A Few Thoughts...

Recently, Dave Ayers, a zamboni driver, got the most unexpected call.  For those Southerners like me, a zamboni is a machine that smooths over the ice on an ice rink.  They come out in hockey games between the three periods.  Like the people who drag grates over the infield between innings in a baseball game and wet the dirt to smooth things out and avoid dust, the zamboni smooths and refreezes the top of the ice for a smooth playing surface.  So, it was a shock when 42 year old Dave Ayers, a zamboni drive got the call to come into the game. Dave is the emergency goal keeper for the Carolina Hurricanes and the two other keepers were both injured.  Although starting slow and allowing two goals, Dave got up to game speed and being prepared he helped Carolina to a 6-3 victory over the Toronto Maple Leafs by stopping eight shots.  Dave described the event as a once in a lifetime experience.  When the moment came, Dave was ready! Lent is a season of prepara...

Have you ever read the Sermon on the Mount?  Let me commend it to you.  Many people refer to it as the best sermon ever.  You can find the Sermon on the Mount in the gospel of Matthew from chapters 5 to 7.  The sermon is a summation of Jesus’ moral teaching.  And, this sermon of Jesus has been the core of Christian ethics for millennia. This sermon of Jesus begins with the beatitudes and reminders of how those who follow Jesus are blessed and that for each situation, God’s grace is enough.  The sermon then reflects on the Ten Commandments and Jesus expounds upon them in ways that call his followers to a high standard of living through having even pure intentions.  And, as I read and reflect on these passages I am often completely convicted of my own inadequacy and ways that I fall short of God’s will for my life. But recently as I was reading through them, in the middle of the Sermon on the Mount I found the most unexpected blessing.  In the middl...