Yeah, I ripped this off of the Dave’s site. I did it because it was funny and because I’m a much better thief than the 2 in the video. Hilarious.

So, I went down to Vac & Dash yesterday and signed myself and my sister, Vance’s mom, up for the Freedom 5k in Oakboro next Saturday (June 28th). I’m excited about experiencing my very first race day. My goals are very simple.

1. Have fun with Mary
2. Finish
3. Don’t look like this guy at the end

That’s it. I’ll post the results after the race.

2 Samuel 14:14
Like water spilled on the ground, which cannot be recovered, so we must die.

Over the years of my ministry as a youth pastor, I’ve spent my share of time in funerals. I’ve attended the services for people that I knew and people that I didn’t. I’ve preached them, too, even the funeral of my brother. But the one I sat in yesterday almost brought me to my knees in anguish because eternity never felt more real to me than it did then.

Ecclesiastes 3:11 says that God has set eternity in our hearts, and so it shouldn’t really sneak up on us, even though it often does. It seems that we spend the great part of our lives trying to escape eternity. We live day to day and really don’t stop to consider eternity, and it’s easy to understand why. You see, you and I live in The Land of Second Chances. It’s a hard place to live in at times, full of mistakes, careless words, even anger-filled tantrums. It’s a place where on any given night we can hurt the ones that we love the most. It’s a place where we often lay our heads on the pillow of regret. Admittedly, it can be a land of pain, confusion, and raw, unbridled emotion. But at the end of the day, it is still The Land of Second Chances.

What does that mean to those of us who live there? Continue reading