WIDE LEFT

Iniquity: [ɪˈnɪkwɪtɪ]  [from Latin inīquitās, from inīquus unfair; disrespectful act, dishonest, violation of the law, absence of respect, lack of spiritual values, sin

I could just see the look of frustration on New Orleans kicker Garrett Hartley’s face.  The Saints had fought so hard to make it into overtime….drive the length of the field…and give him the opportunity to score the winning field goal to defeat the Atlanta Falcons.  As he stood there watching the kick soar past the goal post…the sounds of “wide left” must have echoed in his ears.  He had missed the kick and the Saints went on to lose the game. 

I could just imagine the next morning….Garrett waking up in his suburb condo just outside the city skirts of New Orleans…opening the Times Picayune paper and seeing his image and those words...

FOLLOW UP: IMPORTANT LETTER FROM GARRETT HARTLEY

Dear Pastor Mark,

Thank you for your support of our Saints, and for the kind words regarding my “wide left” kick last week against the Falcons.  While it was a difficult loss for the team to deal with, we also realize that we are one field goal away from a perfect season so far.  There is no need to panic.  I wanted to thank you for your insight on how our iniquities (our mistakes, failures, wrong doings) exposed actually force us to deal with them, learn from them, and hopefully grow through them.  While I am writing to thank you for your kind words, I am also writing to let you know that...

NOT YET OPEN

We were driving through Melbourne, Florida and sitting at a red light.  My wife looked off to the right and noticed a Publix grocery store that was empty and closed.  She stated, “That’s strange, I have never seen a Publix that was closed before…..especially in such a good location.” I was in the middle of a conversation with my son about what we were going to do first when we arrived at Melbourne Beach….one of our favorite family destinations.  As I drove past the Publix……I noticed movement on the inside of the store and quickly deduced that this movement wasn’t movement of “shutting down” or “going out of business”  but movement of “opening up.”  I made the statement that the store wasn’t closing, but rather...