Tuesday message (?) and fantasy football

Last night, instead of having one raccoon wake us up three times,  it was two raccoons doing it twice.  After a bathroom trip, I tried to get back to sleep at 9... and as usual paid for it with a very unenjoyable dream (Hint to those of you that believe dreams are warnings:  NEVER combine a bank and a laundromat.)  So by the time I did force myself up, I was achy, whiny, not really happy with things.

But I am also smart enough to know that my body's aches and pains (and my mind's unwillingness to work at a job) are nothing compared to what a LOT of others are going through.  Some of you reading are going through stuff; I have a friend right nopw who'll be coming back to Ft. Wayne soon for a while to help her dad through his second (or third, I lose track) health breakdown since the summer.  And, I found out Sunday that an aunt had passed away- albeit one I really didn't know (in fact, when my sister called me, I told her I thought she had already passed, and my sister said, "Don't feel bad! John {brother # 2} didn't remember who she even was!"). 

And so, as Scrappy and I took our walk, I prayed.  I prayed for these dear people- and you guys- and mused to God that He set things up so that "we have to live on earth so we don't forget to appreciate heaven".  And went back through many of the things about "being stuck here" that I've went through with you right here in the past.  I thought about the many comments I've had on Sunday's message, especially the one I read this morning from Skippy, and how my job here on earth has seemed to be messing up six days a week, learning a lesson about what I've done on Sunday morning, and sharing it with you (actually, it was more like, "why not just have me exist only on Sunday, and put me in a closet the rest of the week?" "because then you don't need the lesson", etc.).  And finally I came to a point and prayed, "I wish You would start me over from scratch, keep the good parts, and throw out all the rest."

And that still, small voice that Christians know and atheists fail to grasp said, "I already have."

Isn't it wonderful that God can answer 15 minutes of legitimate prayers and petitions mixed with a lot of lazy, self-serving whining in just three words?

_______________________________

Now, on to football.  Once again, Laurie rose to the (unasked but appreciated) task of keeping most of the scores.  The Beagles overcame having three out of four receivers on the bye week- mostly through the amazing night Aaron Rodgers had against Houston- to post a 39-26 win over the B2s.  The Beagles win their third straight and the B2s (who had two out of three RBs off) lost their third straight, despite that 15-point Rothlesberger to Wallace TD pass.

The KCAs break out of their mini-slump, breaking the Beagles' high point mark for the season with an 84-36 romp over the Elks.  I suppose we should thank Phillip Rivers- it was his Monday night miscues that netted Denver's D 25 points to push the score.  But Ray Rice and AJ Green had already chipped in 27 to make it a foregone conclusion.

The Angels win for the second time this year, parlaying 12 Josh Freeman points and a Monday night TD from Denarious Thomas into a 44-35 win over the Ducks.

The Aguas opened a can on the Clock BBQs, getting 12-spots from Dez Bryant and Arian Foster for a 53-33 victory.  Christian Ponder got 8 points in his first start for CBBQs.

In a game still in doubt going into last night, Phillip Rivers couldn't outscore Eric Decker (at least not for his OWN team), and Buzz hangs on to a 30-19 win over the formerly-streaking Greenwoods.

And finally, the still-streaking Porkchops win their third straight, 51-29 over the Rangers.  Shaun Greene amazingly led the 'Chops with his 3 TDs, and the once promising Rangers' season has turned into 3 losses in their last 4 games.




The season's second half starts with a repeat of week four, with the Beagles and Angels (that was the game the Beagles won 83-32), KCAs and Rangers (the last time the Rangers managed to win a game, 33-17), the Aguas and Greenwoods ( the Elves won the 47-46 shootout last time), the Clock BBQs and Ducks (CBBQ 48-42), Buzz and B2s (Buzz started the B2 losing streak 46-18), and the Porkchops and Elks ('Chops 41-39).  The Elks are due; they haven't won since they beat Buzz in the season opener (wow, a five-game losing streak!), but Porkchop has averaged 51 points the last three games, and the Elks are averaging 34 for the year (ironically enough, winning their one game with 34 points).