Go Mavs

I'm headed to the Mavericks game tonight. They are playing the lowly Atlanta Hawks so I don't know how much we will get to see Dirk and Josh play but I'm still looking forward to it. I'm taking my parents to see the game and hope it will be a good one. I'm not a big fan of pro basketball, I don't watch many games on TV and I don't get to very many games but it is still amazing what some of these guys can do. The Mavericks are building all the pressure for themselves this year with an incredible record. I heard on the radio the other day that the Mavs have the 4th best record at the all-star break in history and the teams that were in the 1st-3rd spot and the team that is now in the 5th spot on that list all won the NBA championship.
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The Rangers are in training camp and Sammy Sosa arrived the other day with hundreds of reporters following. On one hand, I'm disappointed they brought Sosa in because of the potential distraction and his recent past history. On the other hand, it may be good for the Rangers to get a bit more publicity, get a few more guys used to the circus atmosphere and, who knows, Sosa could be the next Frank Thomas. If not, it doesn't cost the Rangers much of anything and they still get a lot of publicity away from the east coast teams. Sounds like someone tore a page out of Jerry's playbook.
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Our preacher delivered a challenging message yesterday about prejudice. Whenever I hear the word, my immediate thought is towards race and while that is certainly still an issue, prejudice covers so much more for us in the church. Race, social class, clothing, history. I see it. I've done it. I've been more friendly to the people who looked and acted like me than I do to those who don't. I've been more accepting of the person I didn't know had a history of problems than the person I did know had a history of problems (gambling, porn, drinking, sex...you pick the problem).

I'm thankful for a Savior that doesn't qualify me.

We were talking about favorite scriptures in our class yesterday. I think one of my tops has to be Romans 5:8. To paraphrase, it says that God loves us so much that he sent his Son to die for us, even while we were sinners. Wow, I don't have to be perfect for God to save me. He doesn't separate people into groups but saved everyone that could fall into the "sinner" group.

That's power. That's awesomeness. That's true love.