According to Doug

Wow...I didn't realize it had been 5 days. What a game last night. My boy Roy picks one off and runs it back to give the Cowboys a huge win against the Eagles. How bout them Cowboys? We're not going to talk about my last place fantasy team....just let it go...

You know........I was thinking about friends, relationships, and stuff today. Sometimes keeping things together can be really hard. Fights, arguments, bad choices, and conflict are just a part of life that most of us do not like dealing with at any time. Whether it's a husband and wife, or just a few friends, keeping things together can be very difficult.

I'm sure the disciples completely got on each others nerves at times. Twelve guys hanging out together, trying to learn from Christ, and interpret His lessons....you know there were differences of opinions. Peter may be my favorite apostle. It seems that he was constantly sticking his foot in his mouth, jumping the gun on something, or reacting without thinking. I can just see Christ kind of shaking his head and saying good help is sure hard to find. You know they got fed up with each other. But they did hold one another accountable for the things they had been taught by their Master. They were men who had given up everything to follow Christ. I'm sure there were times they thought about going back to the things they knew best. There were days Peter just wanted to go fishing. I think Paul was probably an athlete, or at least a fan of sports. Many times when things don't go just right, we retreat to what we know best. There are also times that we make bad choices, and surround ourselves with people doing the same thing so we don't feel inferior or out of place. That's much easier than facing our shortcomings head on.

We need friends that let us know when we're screwing up. It can hurt to hear it, but there are times we need it. Jesus loved his disciples. He loved them enough to call them out when they were wrong. When they doubted, when they denied, and when they betrayed, he still loved them. Making them confront the bad choices they sometimes made did not change the fact that He loved them more than they could imagine. As Christ followers, we need to encourage each other in our walk with Christ. But we also need to call attention to the things that might be a "stumbling block" to others. I have friends that I count on to keep me in line. I have a wife that does not hesitate to remind me of whose I am, and why I'm here. She's awesome!! Think of the people in your life that God has given you to help you in your walk. The friends that love you enough to watch out for you, and love you unconditionally. Most of the time the pain of what they say is due to truths being revealed that we'd rather forget or ignore.

Thanks Kelly (my wife)....thanks Greg, Michael, Harp, Gerry, Bob, Ray, Keith, Jay, just to name a few of my honest buddies.

I'm out...........here are some pics from the Jeremy Camp concert w/The Afters, and Bethany Dillon...what a great concert...