Vikings So Bad It's Scary

The Minnesota Vikings left at least one fan moaning, "Booo!" this week in their 38-13 pre-Halloween loss to the Carolina Panthers. The blood-curdling screams were of course due to the play of the offense, which seemed to have risen from the dead last week against the Packers, but proved this week to be only zombies. The defense also looked lifeless, making me wish they had electrodes on their neck so I could give them a jump-start. I'd like to dress up as a fan of a different team because the Vikings, like vampires, "suck."

Christmas Cometh

It's way, way early I know. It's not even Halloween, much less Thanksgiving. But I always get so busy just before Christmas that by the time it finally arrives my mind is a blur and before I know it everything we've been preparing for has already happened and I wind up feeling like we missed it. Last year, I had vacation time so I took off work the week before Christmas. What a difference that made! Our shopping was done early, I had time to do the little things that needed to be done, and when Christmas came I felt like I was ready for it. Not that it's a magical date or anything, but the whole season really does have a holy feel to it. We have some Christians in our family and some non-Christians so we have some of the secular "Santa Claus" business, although he doesn't stop at our house. To me, that's a pointless way to celebrate Christmas. Like July 4th is a celebration of America's independence, but if you don't believe in Jesus then what's the point of Christmas or Easter? It seems so empty, and with nothing holy about them. They lose that mystique.

It's real early, but that's my point. I highly recommend starting early so you can take your time this December and appreciate your family and friends, maybe do something kind for a stranger, and contemplate all that changed when God took on flesh.

Minnesota Sends Green Bay Packing

Probably for no other reason than to burn me, the Vikings (who I had completely given up on) came back from a 17-0 hole to beat the Packers 23-20 on a 56-yard field goal with 2 seconds left in the game. I think they did it because I had been a Packers fan after deserting the Vikes a few years ago. Or maybe to deprive me of the joy of laughing at them while my backup team whooped their butts. At any rate, I owe them some credit this week. After looking absolutely HORRIBLE in the first half, they played downright "good" in the second half and I hate to admit it, but they impressed me. And no arrests this week!

Just to get my hopes up so next week's loss will hurt that much more.

My Funny Story

This story is NOT hilarious, so don't expect too much, but I do think it's funny.
A bit of background.
My wife had her gall bladder removed a few days ago, and for like a week prior to that, she had been on what amounted to a no-fat diet. That means a lot of bland food. She came out of the grocery store depressed because nothing she bought was anything she wanted to eat.
She's feeling better now, so tonight we went out to the Olive Garden to get some soup to bring home for dinner. The "to go" window at the Olive Garden is at the bar, so we went over and ordered our soup from the bartender. "One Zuppa Tuscana and one Minestrone soup to go". The bartender rang up our bill and handed me the receipt for like $9 or something (it comes with breadsticks and whatever.) As he was packing up our soup, I jokingly asked, "Can you put a tall Miller Lite in there too?" The bartender said, "No problem."

As I was recording the $9 in the checkbook, he gave me a receipt for the amount of $13.95, and I looked at my wife like "huh?" She pointed to the bartender, who was pouring me a tall Miller Lite. So there we sat with our bag of soup to go, while I sipped the Miller Lite I really didn't want. That'll teach me to be a wise guy.

Bears, like Bengals, Maul Vikings

With their 28-3 loss? (that word is really inadequate) to the Chicago Bears, the Vikings have set up a showdown next week against the Green Bay Packers.

"The Battle For The Basement"

It's really sad because when the Vikings first went in the tank a couple years ago, I made the Packers my team in disgust, since the two are arch-rivals. Then the Vikes started improving, so I came back and made the Packers my back-up team. I never saw THIS coming. Now they'll be playing each other to see who is the worst team in our division. Maybe in the whole NFL. It's a sad, sad day in Derifterville.

My Passion For Fabric!

Firstly, let me apologize to anyone who came here hoping to read about my passion for fabric. I really don't have a passion for fabric. I'm only writing this post as a way to take some of the pressure off of one of my other posts, Space And Time, which has seen a record number (for this site) of comments. I envision "My Passion For Fabric!" as a quiet place where I'll be able to come and spend some alone time, just relaxing and enjoying a break from all the comments. I suppose if you really were looking to read about fabric, you could read a different post and imagine how that topic is like the fabric that binds us all together, but that can get into some pretty deep fabric theory. Don't go there unprepared!

Falcons Prey On Vikings

I was going to rip into the Vikings this week because they looked SO BAD against Atlanta that I felt sorry for them. But they did surprise me last week by beating New Orleans and even looked good doing it, so even though they don't deserve it I'll cut them some slack.

Living Love

This is not earth-shattering, but just something that caught my eye yesterday in church. A mom who was a few rows ahead of us was singing, with a hand raised to God, when her little boy (maybe 3 years old) started leaning from daddy toward his mom, wanting to be picked up by her. She didn't see him, because she was looking up toward the ceiling and maybe had her eyes closed.

I wondered just for a second, "What will she do when she notices him wanting to be held? Continue worshipping, because it's an intimate moment with God, or interrupt that intimate moment to hold her child?"

I was happy to see her bend down and pick up her boy. It was a subtle little reminder to me that the intimate moments we spend with God would be in vain if His love for us stopped there. This mom enjoyed her time with her Father, then shared that love with her little boy.