Theology 101: Forgiveness > Bitterness Mercy > Judgment Love > Hate

"Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness". - Isaiah 41:10

I love this story about my brother, who is in transitional housing, almost in possession of the key to his own apartment (!). He loves to go to breakfast on Mondays at this church that makes French toast, eggs, sausage, bacon, and grits for the homeless population. (I love that they serve them such a classy breakfast.) He never had grits until this year, and he loves theirs. He also loves the folks who get their breakfast there, the rough sleepers, each with his/her own survivor story. Sometimes he ends up last in line for food because he's busy talking or cleaning up coffee spills or whatever. Yesterday was typical in that manner, and he got the last serving of grits. The server knows him and his love for them and scraped the edges of the pan for him while also loading up his plate with everything else. My brother says, "He saved the best for last." As he was savoring his grits, another guy came in to eat, but everything was gone, so my brother, who really only wanted the grits, offered the guy everything else on his plate which the guy gladly took. My brother told me, "It was great! I got my grits AND I got to feed the hungry.". I love my brother.

Josh, you have been so dear to me. I legitimately love you. I don’t even like writing this reply but I’m flummoxed. Numbers 4 and 5. What are we to make of the apostle Paul whose life was the furthest thing from inconsequential and unfulfilled? Or of his recommendation of singleness to those who could control their passions? And, Josh, cute girls? Is that our qualification for being a good pick to marry?

A prayer for Charlie, our warriors, and for our nation.