I remember playing t-ball. The rules said that no scores would be kept. I also

remember going over to my mom between innings because she was keeping score

on a napkin or envelope from her purse. We all keep score in life, it's just that most of

us are keeping the wrong score!

Have you ever asked for help looking for something? You’ve searched the whole

house for your keys and you haven’t been able to find them when someone says,

“have you looked in the kitchen?” You’ve looked in the kitchen 13 times so you just

turn and walk away only to hear, “here they are, in the kitchen!” Sometimes we need

help to see what we need to see.

We’ve all wanted to be chosen for something. Maybe the candidates for a position at work were whittled down to three, or you were anxious about being selected for a team or the choir at school or you hoped for the invitation to the party or date, whatever the circumstance you know what it’s like to desire to be chosen.

There is a TV show called Dr. Pimple Popper. It follows a dermatologist as she treats patients and, well, pops pimples. It’s amazing what people will watch! I guess when something bursts we tend to want to take a look! Jesus bursts on the scene in Mark 2 and people gather to take a look.

Punxsutawney Phil predicted there would be six more weeks of winter. As I look out

the window at the snow covered earth, cloudy sunless sky and think about the single digit temperatures, I’m worried that little rodent might be right. And yet I know that this series will end with Easter and Spring will arrive! Hope abounds!

There are so many jokes about marriage that make marriage out to be some kind of prison sentence or punishment. A Godly marriage is blessing that can’t be topped.

Marriage has certainly changed over the years. It has moved from being based mostly on political and economical unions to relationships based upon attraction

and fulfillment. The age of those getting married as shifted much older along with the overall marriage rate dropping drastically - all in the last century. Some

experts predict that marriage will be extinct within 30 years. The 'when' we marry along with the roles of those relationships have perhaps changed but for followers of Jesus the why we marry really hasn’t. Marriage has always been valued by God and He has always had a plan for marriage.

“Definition of ‘true to oneself ‘: acting in a way that agrees with one's beliefs or values” Of course we should stay true to others around us, as well, especially the most important people in our lives - like our spouses! To remain true to the people we love means starting right now, no matter what season we are experiencing in our relationship right now.

Football teams are drafted, they practice all the way through training camp and they come to game day! It is on game day when they run through the tunnel and cheerleaders yell, a band plays and the team shows off all they’ve been preparing!

Do you remember choosing sides for a game at recess? Two captains were selected and then the captains took turns choosing teammates for the game of

kickball or pick up basketball. If you were lucky you were picked early either because of your skill or the quality of your relationship with the captain. It was a

nerve wracking experience wondering if you would get picked or not. Paul wanted the Believers in Rome to know that they were a part of God’s team! We can

know that we are a part of His team and that each of us can be great teammates!