It's a Mystery to Me!

On one day of the year, America stops most of its usual activities to celebrate a football ritual. Of course, I refer to Super Bowl Sunday. During the coming year, Super Bowl Sunday will occur on February 5. I’m intrigued by the great number of people who become involved in the day’s activities who pay little or no attention to football the rest of the year. These people go to parties, perhaps bet on the game and even watch the game on TV. This is the day when the National Football League puts its best foot forward to present a good image of itself to the world.

With this in mind, the selection of the city to host this event is very important. There are activities all week leading up to Super Bowl Sunday, and I think the venue for these activities is very important. Tell me. What was the National Football League thinking of when the selected Detroit for the Super Bowl? Can you think of anything Detroit has to offer of a positive nature? Can you imagine someone bragging to his/her friends that he/she was taking a vacation to Detroit?

Of course, there has to be something good about Detroit, and I think I found it! It has an adequate airport to allow one to depart rapidly!

A Great Analogy:

Recently, I had the small misfortune of experiencing an infected tooth. I marveled at how much discomfort and inconvenience one little tooth could cause! For quite a while it became the most important item in my thoughts. There was the difficulty eating, the lack of sleep and difficulty concentrating on important matters; all due to the pain that little tooth caused.

Somehow, this experience made me think of the analogy St. Paul made when he described each of us as being members of the body of Christ. It’s amazing that what you and I do as members of the body of Christ, really matters. Just like that little troublesome tooth, when one of us suffers, the whole body suffers.

I don’t know about you, but this experience has given me a new appreciation for every member of the body of Christ. Here’s hoping that I’ll be inspired to do a better job of helping these members in the future.

Contests:

I love contests! I have entered many through the years, and have had more than my share of success. I have participated by telephone, mail and email.

There is one type of contest however, with which I am not comfortable; that is, the food eating contest. For example, contestants determine how many hot dogs they can consume in fifteen minutes. The thought that troubles me regarding this type of contest is that while this food is being eaten by the contestants, others in the world are going hungry. I readily admit that the amount of food involved is tremendously small, and the number of people is so great who remain hungry. You might ask, “Then, why all the fuss?” In reply I quote an old saying I heard many years ago. “It’s better to light one candle than to curse the darkness.”

The Powerful Sense of Smell!

Have you noticed that certain smells bring back vivid memories of past experiences in our lives?

I remember shortly after we were married, on Saturdays when I came home from work, I would be greeted with the wonderful smell of apple pie baking in the oven. On a cold fall evening, I experienced the feeling of security as I entered the warm house. Perhaps we would have an elixir (just one) before enjoying a well prepared dinner. The fragrance of baking apple pie still brings back fond memories for me.

Back to School for a Day!

It had been a long time since I was in a classroom with very young children. Two weeks ago, I had the opportunity to speak to the class where my grand-daughter is a member.

Several things surprised me during that visit. The children were really attentive, extremely polite and they asked very intelligent questions. Even more impressive than all this was the dedication and love the teacher and her aid had for these 35 eager children. It was obvious how eager the teachers were to take advantage of every teaching opportunity. I wish that every child in America could have dedicated teachers such as these two dedicated ladies.

In my view, since this visit, the future for our nations seems a little brighter.