Favorite Jeans

This next exert was taken from a fellow classmate of mine, Jessica Stotz. She is a brilliant writer and heads up a weekly motivational/devotional thought that she sends out to our class. This one I found particularly fitting because let's face it everyone has that favorite pair of jeans.


Favorite jeans. Everybody's got them. The pair that slides on and
practically fastens itself... a second skin, if you will. The pair that
has been to adventure and back, with the knees distressed a little, the
fabric softened. The jeans that make you comfortable: comfortable in your
surroundings, comfortable with yourself, comfortable in any situation.
Chuck Norris has a favorite pair of jeans. Chuck Norris has no place in
this note besides the fact that Chuck Norris can be wherever he wants to
be. Chuck Norris is also comfortable here, because he has his favorite
jeans on.
I don't like washing my favorite jeans. They always come out dry and
stiff, and a little tighter than they were before. It takes a few hours of
wear after the dryer cycle to get them back to normal. (Can't blame them;
if you put me on high heat for 65 minutes, I'm pretty sure I'd be stiff
and abnormal, too.)

We like comfortable. We like to wear our jeans until they become soft and
supple and non-restricting. We avoid washing them for as long as possible
- some avoid it longer than others, but we won't get into that.

We like comfortable. We like to set up our patterns and habits and stick
to them, avoiding changing and refreshing our actions, becoming relaxed
and unaware of how filthy things are becoming.

We fear vulnerability. We don't like to strip down, to allow our
comfortable exterior to be scrubbed and washed and pressed, returned
sparkling and vivid and clean... and stiff. We don't like discomfort.

Comfortable and Christian are far from synonyms. Paul wasn't exactly
comfortable in a dank, dark prison. Content, maybe, but not comfortable.
Timothy wasn't in his comfort zone when he left home to proclaim the news
of the resurrection of a presumed lunatic. I can't imagine John leaned
back and asked the guards to turn on the bubbles in his hot oil bath.
If I'm going to affiliate myself with the Man of Sorrows, I'd better get
ready to be uncomfortable.

There's nothing wrong with being comfortable in your favorite jeans. Just
remember to give them up to be washed, and let a little time outside your
comfort zone remind you what joy awaits 'way beyond the blue (denim).

Have a good week everyone. 4 more days then I'm off to Colorado; can't wait to see my mom and all my friends that ventured out to the Rockies.

Man's Best Friend

Today was a rough day at the Lusk household with longtime companion Sam, our dog of 10+ years, being put to sleep. The old man was put to rest with his best friend, my dad, holding him during his final breaths. It has been a fairly regular conversation as to when ole Sam-Bo would be finally put down as the intense summer heat and father time were bearing down on him. The family decided it was finally time to end the suffering with Sam really struggling the last couple weeks getting up due to degeneration of his hips. He gave it one hell of a fight and he will be dearly missed roaming the backyard with his joyful demeanor. He was one of the best behaved dogs I have ever seen and back in his prime could run forever and track any pheasant in the land.

Sam you will be missed buddy. Rest in peace and run like you always did with the great big smile!

Facing the inevitable

Taking it all in one last time. Rest in peace Sam-Bo