Welcome back! At least that is what I am saying to myself right now. I feel like I have been really busy lately.
Oh wait, I have. Being a school teacher, this is a crazy part of the year. So yes, I have been busy but now I am ready to write!
I started a series back in August. Here is the first post, and also the second. These can help give you context.
Free Parking
You have probably figured out by now that this series will all have Monopoly titles. While these titles may not be specifically related to the content, they will be directly drawn from the game.
Hence, Free Parking.
In the rules of Monopoly, Free Parking is just a space. It is a free space on which to land. You don’t get anything or pay anything. There are house rules that are certainly different from the original though!
On my road trip, we had one day in which we took a mini trip to Philadelphia.
Even though I had never been to Philly before, I had some places on my wish list that I needed to visit.
Liberty Bell, check.
Liberty Hall (where the Declaration of Independence was signed), check.
See the steps where Rocky ascended in the movie, check.
Eat a Philly cheese steak sandwich, check.
These were places (or food items) that I knew about. We also discovered a few more hidden gems along the way.
So in order to keep this to two minutes, I will have multiple posts regarding Philadelphia.
Here is the first connection from Philly that I would like to share.
It involves the Declaration of Independence, more accurately, the signing of the Declaration.
I am not concerned with how many signers there were.
It doesn’t matter where they were.
The signatures are of differing sizes, so what.
I am intrigued by the timing of the signing.
When these men laid ink to parchment, they were not free men. They were still under British rule.
The founding fathers chose to identify with the spiritual King, not their earthly king.
They were acting on their future freedom in America, not their present prison from England.
For me, the connection came to me when we were standing in Liberty Hall.
It hit me about the timing.
Technically, British rule still applied. But these men did not want that fact to determine the outcome of their life.
They were free. They said it, signed it, and sealed it!
You might recognize the title of this post. You certainly will if you have ever played Monopoly.
As I mentioned in my last post, (click here to read) I recently was on a road trip with my family.
In the rule book from the original Monopoly game, there is a reference to Atlantic City. The creator of Monopoly had vacationed in Atlantic City with his wife. When he made the game, he named all of the streets after streets that he saw in Atlantic City.
So I made it my mission, as a lover of board games, to find these streets.
There are some websites with pertinent information and of course generic internet searches.
I was warned by some locals that the streets are not exactly the same ones that are used in the game.
I was lenient in my expectations. Over the course of the week, I took selfies with all of the streets in the game.
Take a look.
I hope you can read the words!
My wife and kids were also enjoying the adventure.
Before the week was out, I completed the quest!
So what would the connection be here?
John 10:10 says that Jesus came “to give life and life more abundantly”.
It is my opinion that my quest in Atlantic City was part of the “life more abundantly”.
God gives blessings to His children. And I feel blessed by HIm every day.
If you read my post form last Tuesday, you would not be expecting any new content today.
Plans change.
Here is a link for last week so you can catch up. Summer break!
My original plan was to not post anything new until September. I wanted to focus more on a novel I am trying to write.
Plans change.
A thought came to mind while I was reading a book. I try to do this on a regular basis.
The book is entitled 33 A.D. It is the second of two in a series.
Ted Dekker, the author, blends the life of Jesus into a fictional story. I am almost done with the second book. They are really engaging and thought-provoking.
There are no spoilers here just some praise for a good read.
There is one section that describes the scene at the Garden of Gethsemane. The night before the crucifixion, Jesus and his disciples go to the garden after the last supper.
Two things take place.
Jesus wept. (Luke 22)
Jesus went to God with his pain, concern, anxiety, and troubles. He knew that he was destined to be killed.
But his flesh did not want it to happen. After all, he was fully human as well as fully God.
2. Peter slept. (Luke 22)
He was tired. Maybe he was trying to stay awake but he failed. We know that later that night, he denied Jesus.
His flesh was also pulling on his mind. And he yielded to it.
When we choose to be like Jesus, we become adept at getting through trials.
If we behave like Peter, we stay inept while being tempted.
Isn’t it nice how those four words rhyme?
Jesus wept and in doing so, became adept at overcoming temptation.
Peter slept and in doing so, was inept to fighting the temptation.
We all have Gethsemane moments in our lives. Sometimes daily.
One of 2 things is happening: sleeping or weeping.
Two Minutes With Tim 