Reap What you Sow

I have been waiting for the right time to share this story. One morning, I was standing in line at the supermarket. A lady was in front of me with a cart of items. She forgot something and went to get it. While she was gone I pushed her cart forward until she returned.

She paid for her items and asked the cashier for singles. She needed singles to take the bus, but the cashier didn't have any to spare. Since I had two singles, I gave them to her.

This is where the story gets good.

Tanya and I drove to Orlando that afternoon to watch the school's basketball team play in a tournament. Thanks to the direction on my iphone, we wound up at the back of the arena. As I parked the car and looked for an entrance, I noticed a gentleman holding open a door and talking on his cell phone. I asked if this was the entrance and he said no, but he would hold the door for me.

We gathered our belongings and entered through the door. The gentleman was actually one of the referees for our game. As we walked with him, he told the other refs that we were his guests. Remember...we don't know him and he simply allowed us to enter with him.

This is where the story get great.

We went to the bleachers and watched the game. Half way through the game, I gentleman came to Tanya and I to ask if we wanted two tickets for the VIP/hospitality room. Thanks to him, we didn't have to buy dinner that night, because the hospitality room provided food.

Oh...the following game, two days later...we got in free again.

I'm not saying that my giving that lady $2 dollars is the reason we got the red carpet treatment, but I'm also not saying that it didn't. Those $2 saved us about $40.

According to Pastor Troy at Flamingo Road Church, when you have entered into a covenant with God, you have put on the God-jersey and belong to his team. I want to talk all the team members who took great care of Tanya and I.

As my cousin Allan Rashford says, "keep the fire burning."

Say What you Mean.

I think we need to define the terms that we are using so that a common language is shared between us. War is a state or period of armed hostility between two or more separate entities, aimed at reorganizing a subjectively designed, geo-politically desired result. Terrorism is the use of violence and intimidation in the pursuit of political aims. When we consider the acts of extremist, "acts of war," we legitimize and give credibility to them and their cause. Saying that you are at war with a terrorist is like comparing a boxing match to a street fight. One has a measured outcome and "rules" the other, no sense of purpose or measurable outcome. Who is the true winner in a street fight? The one with the most punches landed or the one that causes the greatest damage? We have killed 100,000+ terrorist and insurgents over the past 9 years. We have even removed a head of state (Sadam Hussein) from his position. People and countries have been bombed, attacked and held under siege. September 11, 2001 still remains vivid in our minds and continues to challenge all we hold sacred and dear to our heart. How did someone reach across the oceans and cause such grave damage to our homeland? The aim of a terrorist is simple..terror. Whether someone claims to have political gains in mind, their only goal is terror. On September 11, 2001, I watched the second plane hit the tower live. I returned to my classroom and watched it with my students. Those feelings reminded me of the day Ronald Reagan was shot. If someone could shoot the president, how safe am I. If a terrorist could penetrate our defenses and complete such a coordinated and devastating attack, what's next? That's the goal of terror! I have no fear of war, terrorism...that's a different story.