At a conference for Youth Leaders more than a decade ago, a speaker stated that the most often mis-quoted verse in the Bible is Matthew 7:1 "Judge not, that you be not judged" or in a more modern translation, "Do not judge, or you too will be judged"

Christians often use this as justification for not, well, passing judgment on others. Others use it to tell Christians they shouldn't be judging their behavior. For the good or the bad, the teaching continues in verse two: "For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you."

As Christians, we are called to be watchmen, we are to call out sin when we see it and shine a light into a dark world. Knowing that we however will be judged by the same standard we hold others to.

A week ago someone wronged me. It was bad, nor horrible, but I brought upon them the full force of the law, literally. I held this person to the letter, tilde & punctuation mark of the rules and have made her pay for her wronging of me.

Today however, I myself made a very small infraction towards someone else - nothing big, no one who witnessed what happened would think it a big deal - but this person decided to raise a stink, said a couple of "magic words" that prickle people's hairs (they were outright lying, but I had put myself into a position where what they said was plausible, I was in a bind. I was not 'without sin' even though I had not done what they said I had done.) The full force of the law (rules) that held jurisdiction over the situation were brought down upon me.

I accepted them and moved on with the day. It stunk, my day was changed, but I've had worse, much worse, days in my life. I immediately thought of the woman to whom I brought the full force of the 'rules' upon. I thought of Matthew Chapter 7 and I thought of the beatitudes, which read, in part, "Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy."

Perhaps had I shown more mercy to she who wronged me earlier in the week and perhaps had I not judged her so harshly, I would not have been held to such a high standard myself. I did not do what was suggested, however, I deserved punishment as that is what I would have expected done to another in a similar situation. I will work on showing more mercy this week. Not only is it probably healthier, it's also biblical.

Although I have been lax in keeping up with this blog, I have been setting aside items of note throughout the summer. Those that still have legs, I will start commenting and posting on again. Thanks for your continued readership...

In late July, The New York Times asked, "Is Italy Too Italian?" in a fascinating article that delved into the world of Yarn Spas (yes, you read that correctly) to Guilds (not of the Lollipop variety however) to the true meaning of "Made in Italy" especially and specifically when it comes to those fine Italian Suits. Great read, promise.

Photo Credit: TailorDave.com

I can not fully explain right now, but as the night continues and I grow tired, I felt it appropriate to share here some brief, albeit deep, thoughts.

I haven't posted here since April, 4 solid months ago. In that time, I have flown 2,000 miles to a family reunion, I have driven 2,000 miles on a mid-west road trip and have thoroughly enjoyed what I have been saying is "possibly my last summer with the boys."

This blog has been on my mind throughout this journey. I even composed a "goodbye" post once using the line that "all good things must come to an end" caped with "for every thing there is a season."

Alas, I have decided to just take the summer and come back re-invigorated. Although I have no idea what readership I have remaining...

As I leave this nugget of information, let me tease you with this... In church last week, I specifically prayed that the Lord would show me "my place in this world" - yeah, that ancient Michael W Smith song popped into my brain during worship. Why I don't know, but it did.

For the past few months, I have felt myself in a period of transition. Tomorrow will be a key date in said transition. For the good or the better, tomorrow will commence 'change.' Change can take many forms - it can be noticeable, tangible, today is different from yesterday change. Or it can be more subtle in that "things have changed." None the less, change is in the air, and I am thrilled for it - one way or the other.

Perhaps it's me, but I enjoy change. Part of the reason is that change shuffles the deck. People get comfortable in what they are doing, change puts people on a level playing field. If at work, your boss changes, the old guard, the old boys club no longer has clout and everyone's back to square one, earning what they get, not getting what they earned under previous regimes politically. Change is good. The books written on change started as "Who moved my cheese" to "Our Iceberg is Melting" - vastly different philosophies, IMHO.

I've spent a considerable amount of time in the past few months in The Word, I've spent a lot of time this past week in prayer and I've spent a lot more time the past few nights working on financial spreadsheets. I've come to one conclusion: My life, my well being, my family, my needs are in the hands of the One who owns the cattle on a thousand hills.

I've reached two conclusions over the past few days. One is mine and says one thing. The other is that a serve a God who is so big, He "daily loads us with benefits." When I read that this morning, I imagined a dump truck backing up to off-load its cargo - benefits. Like a Woot-Off - you never know what's in there, but you know it's something awesome!

So perhaps I'm getting all sentimental because my iTunes is stuck on a MWS streak as I write this, or perhaps it's because I'm tired, or moreso, it's because... well, who knows...

Note: The last time I quotes MWS publicly was when we moved to Michigan and I used "Go West Young Man" as our theme for the trip ;-)

Oh the trouble I could get into if I were in school right now. As it was, I forged High School Report cards, ala War Games, cheated on Physics tests using cutting edge (1989) programmable calculators that the teachers didn't yet understand. If I were in school today, I dare wonder what new and fascinating things I would dream up - all in the attempt to not study as hard as I should.

Props: Gizmodo

Found this video thanks to the crew at Buzz Out Loud...

I love video racing games - it's my primary video game expertise.  Gran Turismo, Project Gotham Racing, Need For Speed, etc.

So when a group of folks decided to test the "third person" driving experience in a real car, all I could say is, "I can do better!"  I *so* want to give this a try...