Shawn Stutz

Thought I posted this a while back…guess I never did finish my brilliant thoughts either!

“Well, I’ve finished the fourth season and now I’m lost than ever.  I can’t wait until January!  All I have to say is — ‘It had better be a good season 5!’

… See you in another life brother!”

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Here is a great post from a friend of mine’s blog.  It’s actually a guest post, but the topic is really great.  It’s a post like this that brings up some great questions!

Questions like:  I wonder what our “3rd Place” is or should be?  Is it the gym?  The soccer field?  The church?  Or is it the off-limits social-networking setting where many lost and seeking seem to gather around a well that contains little to no living water?  How will they learn to drink from the Jesus well?

Read it and tell me your thoughts.

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Pints and Saints Part VI

A guest post by Mark Steffey

Third Places
Followers of Jesus need to actively involve themselves in the life of the community in which they live, especially in the leisurely activities of the people who they find themselves surrounded by.

click here for remainder of the article.

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It’s actually interesting how often I get called cheap.  So yes, I still think free food is one of the greatest things ever!  Yes, I will let you pay for my meal.  Yes, I will study a menu to figure out which combo element is actually cheaper outside the combo purchase… then order water!

What’s wrong with that?  I don’t consider that cheap… just smart.  So, just because I care for my faithful (5) readers, I’m going to clue you in on how I save money in a routinely cheap way while still enjoying life’s little pleasures.

• MOVIES: The DVDPlay (at SafeWay on McHenry) and RedBox (SaveMart & Raley’s on Tully) video vending machines are great!  They rent for $1-$1.49 a night for all great new releases.  All it takes is a credit or debit card and your index finger.  If you are really clever, you’ll go online here to get a text message code for a free rental every Monday.  With DVDPlay, you can request a free rental once a month.  Needless to say, I haven’t paid for a DVD in months!
• FAST FOOD: Taco Tuesday Night @ Del Taco.  I have fed my 4-member family for less than $10… and we were full (wait, that’s another taco place).  * NOTE:  Not crazy healthy though… obviously.
• DINNER OUT: The new BJ’s has a great cheap lunch menu.  Chevy’s and Applebee’s has a kids eat free night on Mondays/Tuesdays… of course it’s with the purchase of an adult entree.  And if you just buy the appetizer sampler with one’s kids meal on any other night at Chevy’s (with waters) you’re looking at about $15+tip!  My family has does this a few times now… can’t beat that, especially with free chips.
• STARBUCKS:  If you are among the bad or devious, these methods are usable.  I have found (by accident of course) that you can get a free coffee by asking for a drip coffee when you notice they are out of regular drip.  You can also squeak a free coffee refill by going to another Starbucks with an older cup.  * NOTE:  These are not the moral methods… choose wisely!

If you have any smarty pants, wonder-$-saving methods, then send them my way.  Let the savings continue (or begin)!!

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Let me tell you about how messed up I am at times.  I saw a homeless man the other day while riding my bike to work.  Now, he too was riding his bike (but with far more recyclables in tow).  Of course, I have great compassion at seeing the saddened faces of the homeless, but this was different.  Instead of having a sad face or a down look, he was grinning from ear to ear.

What’s disturbing to me is that instead of thinking, ‘Wow, this guy takes joy in life even in the midst of such great lows (garbage picking for aluminum and plastic),’ I thought, “This guy is senile! Look at him smiling that big.” The Lord quickly convicted me of being so judgmental.  How is it that I can look at a sad homeless man and have compassion and yet a happy one moves me straight to comments of senility!?

Soon after seeing smiley, I witnessed a blind man walking down Tully.  I couldn’t believe it.  How could anyone blind walk down such a busy, noisy sidewalk and not worry about getting hurt or hit.  How can the one to whom everything is invisible hear his way through the chaos of lunch traffic?  Did he hear me pass him?  Then it struck me…

I’m sure his other four senses have been trained to a greater sensitivity to compensate for the one missing.  His sense of hearing, smell, and touch allowed him to comprehend the invisible.  He knew what noises to shun and which ones to embrace.

When it comes to our invisible God, I need to take a lesson from the blind man.  I need be careful to shun the noise that keeps me from navigating closer to Him while embracing the ways in which He speaks; inviting me close.  Maybe if I tune out the unhelpful messages received by my senses, I might instead sense the closeness of God… my proximity to invisibility.

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Eddie Bauer Performance Shoes Performance... seriously?

Horses & Shoes

“Who decided that it would be a good idea to throw horse shoes?”

“Would horses ever throw human shoes?”

“Is there a market for designer shoes for horses?”  “If not, should there be?”  It might be funny… and truly profitable!

Dogs & Strollers

I saw a person walking their dog in a stroller!  In a stroller… yes, you read that right!  Don’t dogs have 4 legs?  Don’t people walk dogs?

“Should be confiscate strollers from people who use them to walk their dogs?”

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