PureVolume

I've decided on the new album title:

Butts Up and Spread Eagle: A Comprehensive Guide to Wall Ball

I found that on an index card from a year ago. I laughed.

Today is Good Friday. When I heard we had the day off from school my first thought was, "Good Friday? That's a great Friday!" Sacreligious? Maybe. Honest? Definitely.

The time between Ash Wednesday and Easter is typically a rough time of year for me. I don't know why. Spiritually, I'm usually pretty dry. This year was different. Wait, no it wasn't.

*Sigh*

Today I opened up some Max Lucado. Though he's not the deepest theologian -- some compare his writings to Thomas Kinkade paintings in that they are fluffy and overtly-Christian -- he says things in a very accessible, thought provoking way. I started looking at "He Chose the Nails," a book about the Crucifixion and all the different tools used to carry it out, and I was reminded of God's love.

I am so unbearably cliche sometimes.

Really though, I was. It wasn't so much what Max Lucado said. It was the scripture he included:

"If you hardhearted, sinful men know how to give good gifts to your children, won't your Father in heaven even more certainly give good gifts to those who ask him for them?" (Mt. 7:11, TLB)

On Valentine's Day I was in trouble. I had zero time to pick out the perfect gift for Mandy (my fiancee). What in the world could I get her? My idea was a necklace. Perfect. And I knew just where to start looking: the mall. I hate the mall, but it had to be done.

I set my laser from "stun" to "jewelry" as I power-walked through shopping Mecca. Stopping at several places, I shopped, looked, asked questions, checked price tags, and kept looking. As far as I could tell, I had no chance of picking something she would really like that I could afford.

Then the smoke cleared. The fog lifted. The haze un-hazed. Right in front of me was the perfect necklace. I knew it was. I just knew. Even living in the curse of being a guy with bad taste, I was certain I had picked a winner. And a winner that wouldn't add to my student loans. Thankfully, I was right. She loved it.

So, Max got me thinking: if I know how to give a good gift to my fiancee, how much more can the God who knows her and I inside out give exactly what we need? Infinitely more.

Good Friday. It's good because God is good. Salvation is a pretty amazing thing.
Today God showed how much he loves us. Be reminded.

Thanks for enduring the cliche.

dan