A little laugh.....

Sometimes it's good to laugh - even if the laugh is at our own expense. A Recent thread over at SharperIron is taking a rather humorous approach to the subject of "You Might be a Fundamentalist...."

Enjoy!

A letter to Ted Thompson and the Green Bay Packers...

I've got a three word solution to this entire Brett Favre situation: Take him back.

It’s simple really…..one of the top 5 quarterbacks in NFL history is coming off arguably his best season ever and he wants to throw the ball for another year or so. Take him back. The man had such an incredible season last year that he actually got an MVP vote even with the year that Tom Brady put together and he wants to give it another shot this year. Take him back.

Let’s face reality….without Brett Favre during the last 15 years, the Packers would likely still be mired in meiocrity as they were prior to his emergence as a dominating force in the NFL. Three MVP’s, two Super Bowl appearances, a perennial Pro Bowler, the career leader in every major QB stat…..and he’s still playing at the top of his game! Take him back!

I know it’s tough. Pride’s a rough thing and Favre has gone about trying to get his way in somewhat of an embarrassing manner. He’s all but used the word “liar” to describe you. And while he’s still one of the most likeable individuals to ever don an NFL uniform, he’s been a bit of a drama queen about the whole retirement thing. But in making your decision about this entire situation you should keep one thing in mind…..he’s Brett Favre! Every NFL team would love to have a guy leading their team with the kind of grit, determination, and pure toughness that Favre has displayed season after season and week after week. He’s the closest thing the NFL has to Superman and all you have to do is take him back!

Sure, this Aaron Rogers thing is tough. He’s been on the sidelines for three years (by the way, Steve Young spent 4 years on the sidelines watching Montana) and he’s chomping at the bit to take over this great franchise. Rogers had a great game against Dallas last year. On that particular day he was the better quarterback. He outplayed Favre and went toe-to-toe with Romo….but that was only one game. Other than that, what’s he done? I don’t recall a single preseason game where he’s looked anything other than mediocre. He broke a foot in another regular season appearance and spent the rest of that season on crutches….Favre wouldn’t have used crutches and he would have kept playing. Now I certainly am not saying that Rogers can’t play. Who knows…he might be the next Steve Young. However, he might be the next Ryan Leaf. With Favre you know what you’re going to get: a certified winner.

Listen, you can’t win this battle by any means other than surrender. If you let Favre go things could get real ugly. The only way you win that one is if two things happen: Favre has the worst season he’s ever had and Aaron Rogers leads the Pack to a dominating Super Bowl victory. Now if you are willing to bet the farm on those two things happening….and they both have to happen….then go ahead and send Brett packing. But let’s face it; the notion of Rogers leading the Packers to a Super Bowl victory this season is pretty farfetched. If you let Favre back at the helm this season, you can’t lose – unless of course he has an abysmal year, but that’s not likely to happen given the season he’s coming off of. If you keep Rogers as your starter, every single loss will sting a little bit more. Think about it, what if you go from a 13-3 season that ended with on OT loss in the NFC Championship to a 7-9 season and no appearance in the playoffs? Not likely with Favre at the helm; a possibility with Rogers there.

If you choose not to take Favre back as your starter, I’ll understand. I’ve never responded well to employees dictating terms to me, either. Oh, I’ll mourn a bit if Favre’s wearing a different jersey. I’ll even be cheering for whatever team Favre goes to, but I’ll still support the Pack. And if Favre’s new team meets the Packers this year, you can bet that I’ll be cheering for Woodson and Harris to pick off every pass he throws and for KGB and Hawk to hit him in the mouth a couple of times. But a part of me will be a little sick at the spectacle….Favre needs to be in a Packers uniform this year finishing the job left over from last year. Take him back…….please.

“In Remembrance of Me….”

Note: Our two oldest children both recently – at different times – made professions of faith. We’ve been extremely careful in not forcing the issue with either one of them and we’ve also been quite cautious with our choice of words. We’ve never told them that they were saved and we continue to proceed with a great deal of caution as we watch for some developing fruit. For additional thoughts on children and salvation, please read a post I added some time ago on the subject - it can be found here.

The other night I had one of those first time experiences that I think is a blessing for every Christian father. We were observing the Lord’s Supper at our Sunday evening church service. My wife and youngest son were both at home sick, so it was just Trey, Ashleigh, and me. I spoke to both of them about Communion on the way to church and asked if they wanted to take part….they did. I asked them to pay "extra-close attention" to what our pastor was saying and to let me know if they had any questions at any time. As the elements were being passed to us I took the opportunity to whisper to each of them individually the significance of each element…what it was and wasn’t, as well as the symbolism involved.

I think they understood and approached it all with a measure of gravity. I certainly approached it much differently than in the past. Explaining to them what we were doing and why….walking through the crucifixion story and reflecting on salvation…..all of it caused me to reflect deeper on the sacrifice and love shown to us by the Savior. In all it was one of those experiences that I’ll always treasure!