EYE TURNER 1 of 2

This post will likely not be about anything close to what you thought the title implied. This will be a public service announcement and life lesson all rolled into one, I mean two.

Roll mental camera…

My youngest son Cade finished a year long therapy a few months ago, for what many people call a lazy eye or turned eye. The correct terminology is strabismus. When it was originally diagnosed our pediatrician referred us to an eye surgeon to cut on his eye and force it straight. The surgery would make the eyes line up, if the surgery worked, but it wouldn’t fix the vision problem. We couldn’t live with that.

Thank God one of our friends referred us to Dr. White that was totally opposed to surgery and instead had a ground breaking therapy for eye turns. There are only a few doctors in the US doing this and he was right here in Edmond, OK. We met families from many different states and, believe it or not, countries. After therapy Cade’s eyes are straight and working in perfect harmony. No more double vision.

If you have a child or know anyone that has a child with an eye turn please tell them about Dr. White. Even if it is just a focusing issue or they are having a hard time reading, it could be because their eyes are not focusing together. Tell them to go see Dr. White for a free screening. His phone number is 405-216-0707. Read more here.

Anyone else have a modern day miracle worker that we need to know about?

I would love to hear if this post helped anyone, Life lesson tomorrow…

FRIDAY UNSCRIPTED

I think I have cramped my father-in-law's brain with trying to think up Vavrinaisms so I will finish this post with one and until then enjoy some of the funniest buttons of all time.

For you Wal-Mart fans


For you ladder climbers


For you home schoolers (totally kidding of course)


For the gratuity getters


For the on edge


And for those of you too nice to say it out loud




Finally one Vavrinaism from the heart


FATHER FORGIVE THEM
THEY KNOW NOT WHAT THEY DO
FOR THEY ARE BUT CATERPILLARS
AND NOT YET BUTTERFLIES

JUST FLOAT

I figured I had one more story in me about the river trip. I am just not sure I could pull any more meaning out of a guy’s weekend. I think I am breaking a man law by finding any meaning in it at all. Something about the brain must be checked with the attendant before departure.

Roll mental camera…

Our group of manly men was getting passed on the river by kids in canoes, teens in inner tubes, an old lady with a walker… the pity. I know, you are thinking how utterly cool we looked walking beside our raft because we were too heavy to ride in it. But I am thinking the people that were staring thought we just looked like utters (pun intended). So I decided enough was enough and lightened the load. I snapped a life vest around my backside and another on my chest, grabbed my favorite canned beverage and floated. The only thing the guys I was with could see of me was the tip of my head and my hand holding my drink out of the water.

It was incredible how my frustrations just melted away when I gave up and just went with the flow. I didn’t try to guide myself down stream I just let it take me. Just laid back and stared at the sky between the trees. No phones, no faxes, no TV, no nothing. Just me and the beauty God created, and I let the river take charge. Thank goodness there were no waterfalls or man swallowing whirlpools, because I would have never even noticed until it was too late. Not sure I would have cared at that moment.

When was the last time you just stared at the sky in wonder?

How often to you give up control and just float?

Peaceful isn’t it…

BIG MAN SMALL KAYAK

Kayaking always looked like so much fun so on our river adventure I just had to give it a try. My brother-in-law was an expert kayaker and was going to instruct me. As I said in my previous post on Monday I was the comic relief and this was the icing on the cake.

Roll mental camera…

As we walked to the river with kayak in tow I asked him if this kayak would fit a guy of 6’5”, to which he replied “no problem.” I hop in and snap on the wetsuit like cover, called a spraydeck, over the opening. He tells me if I flip upside down and can’t turn back over just pull the cords on the spraydeck and I will pop right out. He was holding the front of the Kayak letting me get the hang of balancing. He had me roll over on purpose and told me to use the paddle to push off the bottom. This worked like a charm and I popped right back up. I was ready… so I thought

He lets me go and not 20 feet into the river and I lose my balance and over I go. But when I stab my paddle at the riverbed it doesn’t hit bottom. The river had gotten deep fast and so I popped the spraydeck and… NOTHING. My hips were stuck like glue inside this thing. Sardine anyone!

Luckily I was tall enough that I could lean back and get my lips out of the water just enough to breathe. I yelled “I’m stuck”, to which I heard nothing but laughter. “No really”, more laughter. With each breath I yelled louder. “This isn’t funny”, more laughter… “I’m going to kick”(went under), more laughter. “You dirty stinking”(under again), more laughter. “When I get out of this…” They thought I was just being funny they had no idea I was really in trouble. It wasn’t until they saw the boat going under and me not coming up to breathe that they came to help.

There are probably a ton of people I talk to everyday that all I hear them say is “I’m fine” or “everything is great,” When really they are saying “HELP ME.” I think their joking nature is just for fun when in fact it is a cover for deep down hurt. I can’t see through the smoke screen. Too often I let people start to sink before I finally wake the heck up and realize they were screaming for help all along.

God grant me the vision to see the real need and not be blinded by the smoke!

Are you good at knowing when someone is in need even when everything they say is the opposite?

Did or do you act on it, knowing the other person my not be ready to accept the help?

Be honest, are you guilty of hearing “Everything is great” so you don’t have to get involved?
I was for too many years

FOLLOW THE LEADER

I talked about the raging river of death yesterday. Well with the treacherous walk down the river came two night of camping under the stars. Thank goodness I was with people who knew what they were doing.

Roll mental camera...

Camping is not my thing, unless you consider fully furnished cabins with central heat and air camping. SO showing up to my father-in-laws house with just a sleeping bag and toothbrush, solidified me as the comic relief for the entire trip. As we started to pack the truck I was amazed at all of the things they were bringing along. I would have been up the river without a paddle if it wasn’t for the camping masters. They packed firewood, a full size gas grill, heaters, lanterns, tents, cots, rakes, shovels and a dozen other things I am not sure I even recognized. I realized at that moment that this city boy was going to be roughing it. Images of Deliverance came to mind. Anybody got a banjo.

When we got to the campsite my theory changed. Now I understood if we wouldn’t have brought everything we did we really would have been roughing it. We used everything we brought and by the time night fell we had the campsite in livable condition.

I have never been much of a follower. Usually I am the one in charge. But I am humble enough to know my limitations and will gladly follow when those limitations are met. Until recently being a Christ follower for me, was a simple as packing a sleeping bag and a toothbrush. But now I feel I need to know more of what to pack so I can be better prepared. There are many people that I come into contact with, some face to face and some by blogs, that have their truck packed with all the good stuff. I enjoy learning how to pack from each of you so thanks. Maybe some day I can return the favor.

Who do you know that can use some help with their packing?

Any good people with their trucks packed that I can learn from?

Any good camping stories out there?

GIDDY LIKE SCHOOL GIRLS

The heart pounding thrill of surging down a class 5 rapid… The raft barely holding together as it pounds against boulders… Paddles slapping the water with rhythmic perfection… Closing in on death with every turn…

This story is the polar opposite of that.

Roll mental camera…

The picture you see above was the mental image I had of what I was to undertake. A few years ago my brother-in-law put together a men’s weekend for all the guys in our family. It was to be a white water adventure, as he put it. We all were giddy like school girls as we drove the last few miles to the river (I know, scary sight). When we arrived we found that the raging river of death had been reduced to trickle that even a man with a prostate condition wouldn’t have been proud of. The corps of engineers had closed the dam upstream, evil doers thwarting our chance at river supremacy.

So what started as a testosterone filled regression to primordial idiocy, ended up being a slow float down a lazy river. That might even be an overstatement. We actually ended up carrying the raft over rocks and spots in the river where the water wasn’t deep enough. All manhood lost… Tarzan like grunts reduced to whimpers.

Have you ever had one of those days that fell so short of what you expected it depressed you? I had one of those days 2 weeks ago MCing in Toon Town. It didn’t seem to matter what I did, the kids just weren’t responding. I felt like a comic telling knock knock jokes. Crickets chirping. I always have such high hopes for what that time will bring and when it misses the mark it is a hard pill to swallow. Thank God this week was different. I kept my hopes high and Easter brought a ton of new kids and the place was rocking. I had never seen so much energy.

When was the last time reality didn’t measure up to the vision of grandeur in your head?

Do your hopes stay high like mine even when the situation doesn't measure up?

Keep your hopes high because the rapids in life are way more fun.

FRIDAY UNSCRIPTED

We interrupt the regularly scheduled vavrinaisms…

I want to give a huge shout out to Kyle over at A Tentmaker’s Journey for his help last week. A friend of mine in Tulsa was looking for a new church for her and her husband. I invited her to try the LifeChurch.tv campus in Tulsa. Since I do not live there I thought I would give Kyle a shout at his blog and see if he would hook them up. Kyle called my friend and set it all up and had her feeling right at home before she even walked in the doors. She not only loved it, but has already invited one of her friends to join them this week. It is so awesome to have people like Kyle on the good side. THANKS KYLE!

Now back to our regularly scheduled Vavrinaisms...

• There are three kinds of people: Those who can count and those who can't.

• I started out with nothing and I still have most of it.

• Change is inevitable, except from a vending machine.

• Sometimes I wake up grumpy; other times I let her sleep.

• What's the speed of dark?

• The sooner you fall behind the more time you'll have to catch up.

• As long as there are tests, there will be prayer in public schools.

And of course we finish with

• Old lawyers never die they just lose their appeal.

Oh and a quick quote from "Three Amigos" for Natalie

"We pruned the hedges of many small villages"

BABY SCARE

The birth of my first son Connor was one of the most amazing and yet scary days of my life. The background on this is my wife has juvenile diabetes making her pregnancies “High Risk”.

Roll mental camera…

So the morning starts with a foot long needle the size of my lower leg being jammed into my wife’s abdomen for an amniocentesis. We needed to know if our bun was fully cooked. Shelly started to have some wicked labor during this so they stopped and sent us up to delivery anyway. We get into a room. More labor… Dirty looks my way because it is my fault… Questions on when the epidural is coming… You guys no the drill. At least she didn’t pull my bottom lip over my head.

So now down to the business end of it all, and I mean that literally. Shelly is now numb for the waist down and asking me if she is pushing. Everything is great until I hear the doctor ask “Is there a neonatologist on call?” The nurse replies, “yes.” To this the doctor grunts, “get him in here now!” I thought I was going to get sick all over my wife. I could see the fear in the doctor’s eyes. Connor’s vitals were dropping fast so the doctor had to go after him with the forceps and pull him out in a big hurry. They snatched Connor up, gave us a quick peek and raced him to the neonatal intensive care unit. The first thing I did was pray and promised to do anything God asked if He would protect Connor.

Connor ended up being just fine and it was all just a precaution but the fear at the time was earth shattering. Back then I felt guilty about the prayer I prayed because I was not in the right place with God. Today it would have been different. I don’t think I would have been as freaked and when I prayed that prayer I would have been at peace knowing it wasn’t a one time scream for help. I think I am now making good on that promise which is a very cool feeling.

Any times in your life where you made “The Prayer” where you promised ______, as long as God would fix your problem?

Did you follow through on your promise?

Any good birthing stories I need to hear? (Nothing to graphic ladies, we men might not be able to handle it)

ODE TO TAXES

As my good friend Momma from the movie “The Waterboy” would say “taxes are the devil.” Well maybe she didn’t, but I would agree with her if she did. I know the tax deadline is still a month away but most of you have probably already filed, so enjoy.

Roll mental camera…

As I sit here doing my own taxes (because I am too cheap and pig headed to pay someone to do it), I realize that there must be a good poem, song or ditty in there somewhere. More than likely, if it were a song, it would be a country song. David Allen Coe has already sung the best country song of all time. (listen HERE if you don’t know the song I am referring to) I can’t compete with that. So I figured a poem would work.

ODE TO TAXES

There once was an IRS agent from Nantucket
Who demanded all the cash from my pocket

When that wasn’t enough
He dug through my stuff

But found no more and said Fiddle sticks

OK 1 more

Hickory Dickory Dock
The IRS was watching the clock

Your taxes were late
They don’t discriminate

So enjoy your time in the cell block

Alright so tax poems are corny at best. But they made me feel better about the battle I just waged. I know there are some other poets out there.

Anyone willing to share one?

A sonnet, limerick or Haiku?

How do you feel about taxes?

FOR THE LOVE OF SALSA

Salsa is one of my favorite things. I am feeling a bit like Julie Andrews in The Sound of Music singing about her favorite things. Nope sorry just a bit of heartburn all better now. Whew for a minute there I was starting to worry… awkward silence…

Roll mental camera…

So I was out at Freedom Farm tonight and the place was on fire (not literally). For those of you who do not know what freedom farm is, check it out here. This place reminds me of the salsa I so love to make. All kinds of different ingredients come together to make something really awesome. There are men and women There that are turning their lives away from drugs and alcohol through the word of God. They are old, young, black and white all devoted to letting God change them.

Without all of my super secret ingredients my salsa would just not be the same. I am not sure if freedom Farm would be the same without all the diversity, but it sure is an awesome sight. To see people from so many different backgrounds coming together and helping each other to know Jesus is so inspiring to me. I go every week and come home knowing I can be that person God wants me to be. The diversity shows me that it doesn’t matter who you are, you are loved just the same.

I think diversity makes anything better.

Is your salsa just a bowl of red paste or do you like lots of ingredients?

Is you life cookie cutter or does diversity keep you on your toes?

ROLL IT UP

OK for those of you die hard sushi buffs, I know that the picture is not actually sushi. But for most of us we can live with just calling anything served in a “sushi bar” sushi. So no comments on how it is actually makizushi. For those of you who didn’t know the difference well I am not sure I helped enlighten you.

Roll mental camera…

So I had a big ol’ heapin’ helpin’ of sushi today and man it was good. Spicy tuna roll, crunchy dynamite, rock and roll, just to name a few. If you like sushi like I do then you know half the fun is reading the descriptions of the rolls. The names really tell you nothing and neither does the picture. Sometimes even the description doesn’t help. You have to be a Japanese marine biologist to know what some of that stuff is without asking. But all of that just adds to the mystery of what you are about to eat.

Unless you order something really funky, most of the rolls look really similar from the outside. Until they are cut and you pick them up with your chopsticks you are not sure what is inside. (If you use a fork to eat sushi you might be a red neck… Well I guess if you were a red neck you wouldn’t eat it you would use it as bait)

For those of you with kids you will remember Shrek talking about ogres being like onion and Donkey saying he was like parfait. I think I see a lot of sushi walking around on two legs, me included. We can all usually pick out the funky roll in a group and he is usually the most transparent of the bunch. What you see is what you get, you know it going in. But too many of us look just right from the outside covered in our seaweed or rice but underneath is _____________ (fill in the blank)

I pray everyday (OK almost everyday) that I will become more and more transparent. The less people have to employ that Japanese marine biologist to figure me out the better.

Do people need a detailed menu to figure you out?

Why is it so hard to stay unrolled and transparent?

What is you favorite roll and from where?

FRIDAY UNSCRIPTED

Vavrinaisms by category this week. Now remember these are all in good fun so no using them on your spouses or friends. Enjoy your weekend

FOR THE MIND

• Artificial Intelligence usually beats real stupidity.
• Better to understand a little than to misunderstand a lot.
• Everyone has a photographic memory. Some just don't have film.
• I just got lost in thought... It was unfamiliar territory.
• I used to be indecisive... Now I'm not sure.
• Madness takes its toll… Please have exact change.

FOR YOU MARRIAGE/LOVE/HUSBAND/WIFE BLOGGERS THIS WEEK

• Love may be blind but marriage is a real eye-opener.
• Few women admit their age. Few men act theirs.
• Never mess up an apology with an excuse.
• Never miss a good chance to shut up.
• For every action there is an equal and opposite roll of the eye.

FOR THE SPIRITUAL (the following are not the views of rollmentalcamera or its author)

• 668 the next door neighbor to the beast.
• Atheism is a non-prophet organization.
• Oh Lord, give me patience, and GIVE IT TO ME NOW!
• Jesus loves you, but everyone else thinks you're a butthead.

And of course I have to finish with THE LAW

• Criminal Lawyer is a redundancy

FEEDING FRENZY

Two posts this week really got my mind racing. Read Natalie’s and Jimmy’s and see if they do the same for you. But at least be kind enough to do it after reading this, my last vacation post.

Roll mental camera…

So Connor and I went out snorkeling off the beach in Grand Cayman. If you haven’t been, I would recommend it to anyone. The reefs are just a short swim off the beach and there are no waves to push you around. The water was so clear I could still see the Rastafarians yelling ya man in Jamaica. Back to the point…

Connor and I were amazed by all of the fish. When I say fish I mean fish, storms of fish. As Jefe from the “Three Amigo’s”, would say “You have a plethora of fish, El Guapo.”

I had taken some of our lunch with us so we could get the fish in closer. As soon as I pulled out the hot dog bun I was sucked into the eye of a fish tornado. It was crazy. They had picked the water clean in seconds. At one point I actually had a huge fish eating a hot dog right out of my hand. Sorry to whoever ends up eating that one as he may be bad for your health.

Point is, I have been feeling like those fish when it comes to learning about my faith. Any morsel I can read or hear I just snatch up and “pick the water clean” so to speak. But Natalie and Jimmy have sparked a frenzy. So thanks to the two of you and all you other bloggers that challenge.

What are you frenzied about right now?

What are you feeding on?

Who can quote “Three Amigo’s” like I can?

YA MAN

There are times when certain words or phrases can just wear on you. There are also times when words or phrase makes you want to cram bamboo shoots under your fingernails just to take your mind off of them.

Roll mental camera…

So the thong story from yesterday happened on the island of Jamaica. For those of you who have been there you might relate to this story. But if you really love that island then you might want to stop reading now.

Besides my ravaged feet, Jamaica was not our favorite place a due almost entirely to the phrase YA MAN. I can’t believe how much they say that phrase. I wonder if they say it amongst themselves or if they just bring it out for the tourists. They lay ya man on thicker than the smog in LA (say hi to the Cali bloggers Theresa and Heidi while you imagine that). By noon I was worn fairly slick after having to say ya man no less than 30 times to make the taxi driver happy. Oh and then there was the attendant at the beach, the snack bar person, the endless string of people trying to sell us stuff, the butcher, baker and candle stick maker, all wanting to hear us say YA MAN!!!

By the time we said our last ya man to the shuttle driver at the pier I would have rather walked another hour in those freaking sandals than to say it again. It literally took everything in me just to type those letters.

I also had a client once that every time you answered any of his questions he said toche´, but that is another post all together. No moral tie up today, just had to get that off my chest.

Any sayings people use that bug you to no end?

If someone says “roll mental camera” I will cry and throw a tantrum

Anyone actually enjoy Jamaica and the never ending flurry of ya mans?

These posts have got me vacations hungry, where is your favorite vacation spot?

TIGHT THONGS

Nice thong huh? Ok so most people call it a flip flop but I couldn’t resist the title. Have you ever had a new pair of shoes that felt so good when you put them on but then by the end of the day they were tearing you apart?

Roll mental camera…

The cruise I spoke about yesterday was well over a year ago but I can still recall the pain the above pair of THONGS caused me. Before our trip I was introduced to Keens by Gina who loved hers. I decided to buy a pair to take with us. For our first land excursion we just decided to walk around and go to the beach. I had on the Keens and was loving them. But as the day progressed the rubbing started…
Then blisters… then sea water…then sand…
limping… whining… hamburger meat...

What started out to be a fun new pair of shoes turned out to be the government’s newest torture method. It is called the “Sandy Flip Flops of Death” method and if that doesn’t work they actually add a sandy thong into the equation. Walk a mile with a cheese grater wedgy and see how fast you talk.

Seriously, I was not prepared to take on those keens. I wear them all the time now but my feet have had time to get used to them. I should have spent the time to break them in before wearing them for 8 hours straight.

How often do we jump into something thinking we can handle it and it eats us up? Missions are a great example. How often have we gone on a mission to help others but didn’t prepare ourselves for what was about to happen. I have seen people wrecked over a mission and not in a good way. It can shake your faith if you have not prepared yourself.

Do you prepare yourself for situations that could be difficult?

If so how do you go about it?

Any shoes that qualify for government torture?

ANIMAL MAGNETISM

Have you ever noticed how animals can just tell the true heart and soul of a person? We chose a land excursion on our cruise to swim with dolphins. There were 6 other people that joined us that day but this story revolves around just one. Lets call her Madzilla. (she is the second from the left in the picture, click on the pic for a better look, if you dare)

Roll mental camera…

We had to walk about 8 blocks from the pier to meet the bus to the dolphin park. Madzilla was not happy from the start. Even though the information on the excursion boldly stated there would be extensive walking, two blocks in Madzilla ripped into our tour guide about making her walk. Since there were no cars allowed in the town we were in the tour guide offered to have her bike taxied to the bus. Madzilla refused saying it was singling her out for her weight, heart condition, high blood pressure and a dozen other things.

She complained that the bus was too hot, that her favorite drink wasn’t available and that she was missing American Idol. OK so I made that last one up, but had to toss something in for my blog roll peeps that love the show. Fast forward to the water…

The dolphin handler told us the dolphin (Bylee) would swim around us and we could all rub her back. She said dolphins could sense a person that could be trusted and might roll over for a belly rub. Bylee swam by us and immediately rolled over and we rubbed her belly. We had animal magnetism. She let everyone pet her multiple times, EXCEPT MADZILLA. Bylee wouldn’t get within 5 feet of her. The handler tried every trick including luring her with fish. Bylee that is, not Madzilla. Nothing worked, Bylee wanted nothing to do with her.

Sorry the story was so long but I wanted you to get the full picture. Bylee didn’t hear the things Madzilla was saying before she got in the water but still knew she didn’t want any part of it. If Madzilla wouldn’t have been so vocal we probably wouldn’t have picked up on it. We probably all have a Madzilla in our lives that is subtly poisoning us with their hate and negativity. We don’t always recognize the Madzillas so we need to be more like Bylee and see through that outer shell and see the real heart and soul of the person. If they are bad for us then pray for them and just swim away.

Do you have a Madzilla in your life you need to swim away from?

Do you have some tips on how to see through the outer shell to the heart of someone?

Would you miss American Idol to swim with dolphins?

FRIDAY UNSCRIPTED

Vavrinaisms round 3. So sit back, relax and laugh along.

• I saw this sign on a maternity room door... PUSH, PUSH, PUSH

• In a vet's waiting room... BACK IN FIVE MINUTES, SIT! STAY!

• On a fence... SALESMEN WELCOME, DOG FOOD IS EXPENSIVE

• At an aquarium... SUSHI IN ITS NATURAL HABITAT

• At a demolition derby... HELMETS MANDATORY, TEETH OPTIONAL

And to finish it off with our favorite topic from last week

• At an attorney's office... LAND SHARK!!! (sorry to those of you too young to remember one of the funniest Saturday Night live skits ever)

SOLVE IT

I am a total geek when in comes to manipulation puzzles like the Rubik’s Cube. But once you solve them they are usually pretty easy to solve again.

Roll mental Camera…

I try and get my hands on every manipulation puzzle I can find just to see how fast I can solve them. Some I can see the solution before I even pick it up. But the Rubik’s cube was always my nemesis. That freaking multi-colored box of insanity frustrated me for years. It was one of the few puzzles I would actually have to hide in a drawer or I would sit and try and solve it for hours. Just when I thought I had it solved I would turn it the wrong way and would be back to square one. I let that square of pure evil do that to me time and time again. So after many years of misery I gave up for good, or so I thought.

That was until Connor my 9 year old got one for his birthday a few months ago. It was on like Donkey Kong. My wife was just about to banish the cube of death when I solved it. At first I thought it was a fluke, but then I did it again and again. I of course had to do my best touchdown dance and spike the cube in my living room.

Have you ever noticed that once you solve a puzzle in your life it is always much easier to do it again. I know I am not going to be sin free, but the older I get and the more times I make those mistakes, the easier it is to fix them and the less likely I am to do it again.

What puzzle in your life have you solved?

What puzzles are still waiting for a solution?

Do I have any Rubik’s cube lovers out there? I will tutor you in the solution for a small fee

THE RITUAL

Have you ever or do you still have a ritual in your life. I think all of us have a little OCD in some way, good or bad.

Roll mental camera…

Getting ready for bed as a kid was ritual city in my room. I had total faith that the boogie man was going to get me unless I took the following steps… religiously… every night… until I was 10. First of all every light had to be turned on. Then a thorough search of the closet and under my bed had to be done. The closet was then shut tightly and a chair had to be placed under the knob. Of course no clothes could be on the chair because as soon as the lights went out those clothes started moving (I swear!!). I would then climb into bed and draw a line on my sheets starting at one shoulder and around the feet and back to the other shoulder. This was the demon demarcation line and would protect me as long as no part of my body left the perimeter. My parents then would place one stuffed animal on either side of my head. The boogie man, you see, was not very smart and if he reached up from under the bed to snatch me he would grab the stuffed animal instead. The lights could then be turned out but the door had to remain open enough to have an escape route if all else failed.

This could have been brought on by my father thinking it was OK for me to watch American Werewolf in London but who knows.

We may not call them rituals but anything we do on a consistent basis is a ritual. It could be our work, happy hour, blogging, who knows. We all know how comfortable that ritual can be. But the fact is, if that ritual is leading us away from God or our families we have got to break free.

What ritual is coming between you and God, you and your family or both?

Did you let you feet hang out of the covers as a kid? Come on be honest…

CASPER THE FRIENDLY GHOST

So I guess I will stay with the basketball stories for at least one more day. Looking back I am surprised I lived through high school.

Roll mental camera...

Senior year and I was a starter. Our team always ordered a specific shoe for that season through a sporting goods supplier. They always were some design in blue to match our uniforms. I had already worn out a pair and was waiting for another pair to arrive. I was so relieved when the new pair was delivered right before one of our home games. That was until I opened the box. They were the same brand, they were the same style but they were stark WHITE. When I say white I mean every part was white. There was not a single bit of color anywhere on the shoe.

I had no options. I had ripped the tongue out of one of my old shoes and the other had part of the sole coming off. So I had to wear the Casper the friendly ghost shoes. Weird thing is I had one of the best night of my life. I was the leading scorer and hit the last second shot to win the game. But kids will be kids and a majority of them took pleasure in making sure I knew how "retro" or "radical" my awesome white shoes were. A few kids were kind and congratulated me on a game well played and didn't even mention the shoes.

As adults we may not come right out and say things about people we see but our body language tells it all. The roll of the eye, the stare down, the cold shoulder or a dozen other signs we give off that say the exact same thing. I am trying to be more like the few.

Were you one of the majority in school?

How about now?

LAUGH IT OFF

Do you have one of those memories that you wish you could go back and relive? I still have some as well, but I have changed the way I look at most of them.

Roll mental camera…

It was high school basketball season and I was playing a home game. As a sophomore I played both junior varsity and varsity. When we played at home I would always take off my jersey after the JV game to let it dry a bit before the varsity game. This day we were playing one of our big rivals so the house was packed. Coach got us into the locker room earlier than usual and started in with the pep talk. Right at the peak of hysteria he screamed, “now get out there and kick some butt.” That is all we needed to hear and poured out on to the court for warm up.

It was about half way through the 2^nd quarter and it was nearly tied. The fans were going crazy and the gym was vibrating with excitement. Coach yells to me to go check in and I ran to the scorer's table and whipped off my shooting shirt. An eerie silence fell over the crowd as a cool breeze chilled my bare skin.

Yep you guess it... In the craziness I had forgotten to put my jersey back on before the varsity game. I had just flashed the entire gym my pasty white body. Time stood still and I think I heard crickets chirping for a moment before the gym erupted in laughter. Needless to say the cheers changed for the rest of that game.

That day used to be a day I would relive over and over because of the embarrassment. I wanted so much to go back and put on that jersey. But as I have gotten older I have laughed it off and realized that it is one funny story. I am so glad I have it to tell. As long as you are willing to laugh with people when it comes to times like these then they will never be laughing at you.

Do you have any memories that you need to finally laugh off?

Brave enough to share any?