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One of my runs in a fantasy football league finally came to an end after 14 weeks. This is a "Chopped!" league - which means you win or you go home. If you lose even once by having the lowest score in the league, you're done for the season. No second chances. No next week. No chance for redemption. 

How blessed are we that we do not serve a "one and done" kind of a God? If we were "chopped" never to be given another chance at redemption when we failed, how far would have of us ever made it in this life? As it stands, so long as we turn back to God, he's always willing to give us grace and give us another chance. 

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Our kids recently started doing the Elf on the Shelf tradition with me, and it has completely changed their mornings. They don't think about anything else first except for that little mischevious elf. They can't wait to wake up and see what new thing he has gotten into. 

Their joy and excitement convicts me. What is my routine when I first wake up? Do I grab my phone? My coffee? Go back to sleep? Or are my first thoughts about God? Thanking him for this new day and asking him to direct me? Do I wake up joyful, reading to wake the dawn with praises? 

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Our newest dog, Rusty, has grown far bigger than we ever dreamed. He also loves to go outside and get filthy, so bringing him back inside is always a process. If one of the kids lets him in before we can clean him up, he will track dirt all through the house and destroy the place in a matter of minutes. 

The home is to be a sacred and safe place, according to Scripture. We must be careful not to go out into the world, and then come home and track dirt all through the house through the cares and stresses of this world. Our families deserve our best - and we should make sure our homes are a place of peace and security, not chaos and stress. 

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Starbucks released a limited edition collectors item in a glass iced coffee bear cup. People went nuts over them, because each store only got a few each. But others saw this also as an opportunity to fool others, setting up fradulent sites to con others into purchasing what they thought was the real thing. 

We need to see the Kingdom and the Gospel in this way as well. We must search high and low and be willing to do anything to gain entrance into the Kingdom. Yet we also must be wise, because many have gone out to deceive the unsuspecting so that they fall for what is not the real thing. 

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I'm teaching my oldest daughter to ride a bike, and it is a lot harder than she expected. She keeps forgetting to pedal, so she stops moving forward, and that's when she tips over and falls. 

As Christians, our walk with Christ is much harder than many anticipate. But with God, all things are possible - we just have to keep moving forward. When we stop growing is when we will fall - we've got to remember to keep pressing on. 

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I thought it was finally going to happen this year - the Mariners were only 9 outs from advancing to the World Series for the very first time. But in the end, they fell short once again. I guess I'll say what I've had to say ever year: there is always next season. 

But there is no next season with this life. We cannot fail to finish in our walk of faith. We must be faithful to the end to receive a crown of life. We must truly conquer, and to do so we have to finish the race. Don't fall short and miss everything you've set your hope upon. 

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We went on vacation to NC and took our two dogs with us. Our large puppy had never experienced stairs before, and I didn't realize that some dogs didn't know naturally how to go up and down them. He was terrified and I had to carry him before training him. It took a lot of patience and gentleness, but finally he figured it out over the course of the week. 

Those who are seasoned and mature Christians need to exercise the same patience and gentleness with new Christians. Things you're a seasoned pro with are challenging and new for them, and they need taught how to do them. It's not that they don't want to, it's that they can't do them unless they are patiently instructed. 

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We recently went to the Cincinatti zoo with some good friends, and one of the exhibits is for nocturnal animals. It was very dark, and at first the kids could not see a thing. Our friends reminded them to give it time, the longer they stayed in the dark the more comfortable their eyes would become. 

Unfortunately, we can become all to comfortable with darkness too. We can be like those Jeremiah warned about, who don't even know how to feel humiliation anymore. The longer you walk in darkness, the less it bothers you. May we strive to walk in the light. 

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I love chicken and tomatoes. I eat them every week, and they are in many of the meals that we make as a family. However, after getting allergy testing done, it turns out my love for them might be what has been fueling a lot of my health issues. I'm allergic to them both. 

Sin works that way in our lives too, doesn't it? Before we came to Christ, we participated in the flesh every day. Things we didn't know were wrong, things we didn't know were killing us spiritually. But when we came to a knowledge of the truth, we had to make a change. 

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This week has been full of bloodshed and tragedy in the US - from school schootings, merciless and senseless murders, and assasination - hearts are heavy. 

How does the Christian respond to this? 

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