Haaaaaaa Lelujah! Haaaaaaa Lelujah!Ha Le Lu Jah, Ha Le Lu Jah
Ha Leeeeeeeeeee Lu Jaaaaaaaaaaaah!
Finally. Maybe I shouldn't have sold my entire seasons tickets... Not that it will matter. They're still ridiculously horrible for an NFL franchise. They still don't have the required talent to compete on this level, and they still don't (in my humble opinion) have a coach who can develop talent. Let's face it, Marinelli is a Line Coach, and nothing more. We need someone with a bit of tenacity to light a fire where the Sun don't shine, and get the correct personnel in the locker room, and on the field.
Going on 20 years (1989) since we drafted Barry Sanders (the best draft pick in Lion's history) we've had a running gag of an offensive line. We've never been successful in the trenches, we've never had a successful secondary, and we've never had a successful Quarterback at the helm. Is it possible the team is cursed? Some believe so...
I'm ecstatic that Millen is gone. I'm overwhelmed with the thought that new cornbread will soon be coming out of the kitchens at Ford Field. I'm also reminded to keep calm, and rationalize that we're still the worst NFL franchise in the last 10 years, and nothing on the field level has changed, or will change immediately. It's time for Kitna to sit down and watch Stanton make mistakes, and gain experience. This season is done, Cherilus, Stanton, Smith, Fluellon, etc... all need to be starting and taking the majority of plays at their respective roles. I doubt it will happen, as Marinelli will do what he can to save his own tail at this point... and those rooks don't represent his best chance to win. However, they likely have more heart than the idiots who've taken the field the last 3 weeks.
They say time heals all wounds.... 51 years and counting, it still hurts.
This morning, after a doctor's appt. and on my way to work, I decided to grab a quick bite. While waiting in the drive-through I decided on the parfait. Yogurt is good for you, essential nutrients and plenty of protein, and when has fruit ever been a bad thing? I was quite pleased with my decision, and so was my wallet. We felt good about it, and headed in to work.
While munching my delicious breakfast, I came to the middle layer of fruit, which to my surprise, was frozen. Apparently this parfait had been made a few hours earlier, and just removed from the freezer before being handed out the drive-through window. I could eat the frozen fruit, sure. But then I'm crunching through ice, making my teeth go crazy with the sensitivity, and not enjoying anything about it. I chose to let the parfait sit for 20 minutes, and then I'd pick it back up and devour it in a display, nothing short of pure awesomeness.
Ever had a bad parfait? I have... It's not cool at all. Bad yogurt, or rotten fruit, regardless of which, it's just bad. Ever feel like life is like a bad parfait? I have. Sometimes you have this awesome layer of creamy smooth yogurt, covering up a layer of nasty rottenness. Often times, our fruit is disgusting and we do everything we can to cover it up with layers of creamy goodness. The problem is, if your fruit is rotten, your creamy covering will soon show it.
Ever hear the cliche "it's what's on the inside that counts"...? Yeah, me too. I hate that cliche. Mostly because it's lame, but it's also true. Jesus said this:
(Mat 12:33 MKJV) Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or else make the tree corrupt and its fruit corrupt; for the tree is known by its fruit.
Allow me to paraphrase for my analogy, but the parfait is also known by it's fruit. Sometimes, I feel like the worst parfait in history. Sure, I can cover it up and gloss over my nasty fruit, and most people are none the wiser. But those who know me, who really know me, are there to keep me accountable. I truly appreciate those people in my life, as they don't allow me to let my fruit become rotten. They challenge me, they force me to grow spiritually, they encourage my walk with the Lord. If it weren't for these types of friends and mentors in my life, I'd be a nasty parfait, permanently. Luckily, God allows us to refresh our ingredients all the time. It's a matter of the heart.
What type of parfait are you?
For the past month or so, the kitchen's at Ford Field have been cooking it non-stop. It's been a lucrative business for the Ford's for the past 50 years or so. It happens every year around the same time, and every year we local yocals buy it in oversized portions. We love the smell of that hot, buttery, cornbread. It looks delicious, it smells even better, and it tastes great when going down in generous portions. But it never fails... we all get sick from it, every year. Why oh why don't we learn from our past mistakes?
If you don't already know, Cornbread is a common term for Detroit Lion fans. The Lions make claims, they feed us wonderful lies, and pleasurable stories of grandeur which ultimately unwind each season, as soon as regular season play begins. Most fans eat the "cornbread" and get all excited and hopeful as we're told year after year, "this season will be different than past years, we're building something good here!". Then the regular season arrives, and we're all full and punch-drunk off the hot, buttery cornbread which we ate against our better judgment. No more than 5 minutes into game one in Atlanta, I became violently sick. It appears the cornbread was stale, again.
It's ok, I've been sick like this every year for the past... well, the Lions have never been successful, so I suppose all 29 years of my existence. I'm used to it at this point. The good thing is, I know how to cure the illness. I have to reevaluate my expectations for the season, and line them up with reality. I was hoping for 9 and 7, I was expecting 7 and 9. But now I realize, I should be expecting 3 and 13.
Go Lions!!!....
Ahh... Tuesday Mournings. No, not my previous album. Rather, today began a new journey in our household as my son, Caleb, started pre-school. He looked like a little man today, with his backpack and Spiderman lunchbox (which I have to admit, I'm quite jealous of). He was quite prepared (thanks to T.W. (the wife) and my Mother-in-law) and very excited to embark on said journey. While I was excited for him, I have to admit I'm somewhat worried all the same. I haven't been in school for 10+ years, and I know kids can be cruel. Would my son be the outcast? Will he care? Will he say or do something to get himself in trouble? What if my kid is the school bully? Ok, breathe... relax... Most of these things I have no control over, but one thing I know for sure, he's an awesome kid. He's well behaved, even when he's not behaving. He's attentive (sometimes) and more importantly, he likes to be challenged. So I'm sure he'll do great at pre-school. Better than I'm doing today.
Which brings me to part II of this entry. While my son is playing learning games and reading stories, I'm busy at work. So busy, I've found time to blog about it. It's been quite an exciting day so far. DTE (Detroit Edison power company) is working in the nearby area for new construction, and they cut power to our entire building for most of the morning. No PC's, no Internet, no lights in the bathroom. Interesting to say the least. It's funny how the corporate world is made up of regular Joe's who revert to child-like mentalities when something like this happens. Water-cooler discussions of business deals turn into monologues from Office Space and Lumberg impressions. Just an observation...
I took the down-time as an opportunity to catch up on some reading. I'm currently reading Isaiah, Luke, and Psalms. So I took hold of the free time, and read a chapter or twenty. Good times, good reading. Ironically I was reading in Luke 19, the passage about Jesus driving out the business men from the temple. Jesus says "It is written 'My House is a House of prayer', but you have made it a den of robbers!". Strangely enough, I'm in a place of business which has turned into a place of disorder due to a simple loss of power. Lacking electricity, our place of business has turned into something it shouldn't be, in a matter of minutes.
I have to ask myself, do we... do I, do this as well? Within a short period of time, being withdrawn from God, His word, and His people in fellowship, we revert to child-like behavior and mannerisms, spiritually speaking. Critical spirits quickly arrive, and we become defensive and sometimes abrasive to others. We let our guard down with the things we allow in, and often let out. I know I do, at least. All the more reason to be in the Word daily, and refueling the spiritual reservoir which quickly runs dry. I know I need it more than most, I'm likely the worst offender.
Well, back to work... for the time being anyway.
