Natalia's Story

Christians Gone Wild

By now, you have probably heard about the woe's of Jim Tressel (recently the former head coach of Ohio State University). And if you don't know, you probably don't care about sports, or at least sports in the mid-west. Tressel just recently lost his cushy head coaching position after it was found out that he had clearly lied to the NCAA about knowing of certain violations in which his athletes had been involved in. This of course is a big deal in the world of college athletics. For us folks in the mid-west, this is a HUGE deal.

Why? Here's a little background...

I was born and raised in the great lake state of Michigan. I will be forever proud that I can show you where I live just by holding up the palm of my hand and pointing. Who else can do that? There are too many things to love about this state. But I think the one thing that makes Michigan stand out is the multiple number of sport rivalries people of this state involve themselves in. I figure when it snows for 5-6 months of the year, people need sports to distract them from the lack of natural vitamin D production. Hands down the most well known rivalry exists between Michigan vs Ohio State. I grew up loving all sport teams from the University of Michigan. Blue through and through! Anything Ohio State is considered blasphemous. Seriously, there are stories where people from both states travel to the other and will not stop for gas so to not contribute financially to the state. Quite possibly a myth, but who knows for sure.    

Memorial Day

Being that it is Memorial Day, I felt that it was only fitting to share this video. Because of my military roots, I've listened to this song too many times to count, but it still means a lot to me. I feel that it is important to remember those who have given their lives for this country. Thank you to those in uniform today! God Bless America!

And Justice For All...

For the past four months, I have been studying the book of Isaiah with some pretty cool women. I think my initial expectations were that I would learn about more history of the Bible and even some prophecy. Quite possibly making me the biggest geek, but excited nonetheless. I would later learn that God had much more planned for me than a history lesson.

Lucky for you, I am not going to give a thorough analysis of this 63 chapter book! In all honesty, I think the first and last chapters sum up most, if not the whole book. But that can left for a future debate. The verse that struck a cord with me was indeed from the first chapter:

"...learn to do good; seek justice, correct oppression; bring justice to the fatherless, plead the widow's cause." Isaiah 1:17

I was spurred to want to put my faith in action, more than I had before. But what? I live in a small town, so I was not that familiar with the opportunities available to reach out to those in need. My first thoughts were I needed to find a shelter in town to give of my time and possibly money. Something. Anything. I guess I didn't fully understand the verse when I read it the first couple times. But God wasn't just saying to give money to the homeless or go work at a food shelter. No, the message was very clear: seek to also provide justice for those who are not able to do it themselves. Plead the widow's cause...