Mom vs. the Dot: Making it COUNT!

Many things in life are hard. Taxes are hard. Figuring out your new insurance is hard. Parenting is hard. Choosing Jesus is easy. It's like this.  Jesus did all the hard work of living and dying for us, paying for our sins through his death on the cross.  In doing this, he gift-wrapped lifetime forgiveness of sins and is offering it to any person who says, "Yes.  I want that.  Thank you!" It's that easy.   You don't have to know theology.  You don't have to be a pastor or belong to a certain church. Or speak a certain language or read a specific version of the Bible. While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. He remembers creating us and thinks we're pretty awesome.  So much, in fact, that he wants to forgive every wrong thing we've ever done. Grown-ups like to make things hard.  We make up rules and classes and books and standards to get to heaven.  We add all this stuff to salvation, bu...

I just love celebrating the New Year! Even though it is just the difference between Thursday and Friday this year, it also is a time to start over.  To try again.  To set goals and try to achieve them once more. I remember celebrating with my dad's whole family when I was just a child.  One year my cousin made homemade fortune cookies for the event.  Almost everyone said they wanted to lose weight, but I think there were other resolutions left unsaid because they were the more serious ones.  Like working on marriages, trying for greater success at work, or other important matters.  It's about adopting a new attitude.  Leaving whatever happened in the past 365 days behind us, opening a brand-new calendar and beginning again. I love The Sandlot , as you may already know.  In the movie, the boys yell, "Do over!" when things haven't gone quite right and they need to start their game back at square one.  All of them understand this....