I’ve grown to have a nuisance for certain things we Christians accept as truth or the norm, that, going by the Book aren’t accurate—but the dogmatic ritual having a deep running history causes an incidental indoctrination of erroneous thoughts having no validity outside naïve habitual repetition.  Well, ok, lots of things fall into that category, but for now I just kinda want to blurp on a phrase I’ve coined “Aftermath Prophecy.”   And, that phrase has recently linked to me of another one, where we as believers are often “Silent Agnostics…”  oh snap…here goes…

I can probably best explain that by making up an example.  Let’s just say this guy named Bob, within a few months gets a job promotion, an inheritance check for $100,000, and doubles his savings with well played investments.  Bob is a good guy, goes to church, gives generously, etc.  A lady at church, Suzy, says to Bob that this is a reward from God, and that God is pleased with Bob, and that because of all the good things Bob did Bob now gets a blessing.  Bob is now ecstatic and enthusiastic about his faith and tells others this story as a “witness” to the goodness of God.

Next year, Bob continues to give money generously & lives his life relatively the same in terms of character & integrity and such.  Suddenly, the stock market crashes, his industry has a lay off and he is included, and between having no job and a fallen market his inheritance is reduced to rubble.  A few weeks after this, he consults good ol’ Suzy the church lady.  He is puzzled about where God is in all of this.  Suzy then informs him that God is wanting to test him.  She says that “this was God’s will” and that “God saw this coming” (though, of course, she His mouth piece sure didn’t) and that, in fact, she has a “feeling” that God orchestrated this as a way to test the faith of dear ol’ Bob.  Bob, in the mean time, is not nearly as energetic about his faith, and, even deep down thinks that God doesn’t love him as much.  After all, last year, according to that word from Suzy, God was displaying His love through good stuff, and it was largely based on what he did…so, secretly, silently, Bob has a sense of agnosticism even as a Christian (agnosticism is simply thinking that God exists but that he isn’t connected to day to day life and circumstances) because he doesn’t see God in his situation any more.

After another year, Bob gets a new job.  It’s not as good of pay as the old one, but, he’s content.  He manages to pay off debt accrued from his layoff, and starts to get back on his feet.  This time he doesn’t bother to talk to Suzy about it, but she approaches Bob.  She tells him that God did in fact have a plan, and that God is now rewarding him….etc etc…

We’ve all ran into lots of “Suzie’s” in modern Christianity.  This story could continue to go in in the highs and lows of Bob’s life in a repetitive cycle where a person conveys God’s Will to Bob after a particular situation has transpired.  Each time something good happens, a Suzy or a Frank or a whoever could approach a Bob and tell them something about God’s will being involved, and they could appear to hear his voice, etc.  In the low moments, they could say a lot of really well meaning things, with intentions of encouraging Bob by telling him what they think God is saying through this situation.

We’ve all probably done this, and we’ve all even been thankful for such “words” from God.  And, while I do think that God’s voice can come through any person, at any time, I have one serious dilemma with all of this: there is, it seems to me, nearly no one in the Church today who has the gusto to speak unless it corresponds exactly to the exact situation which has already transpired.  This is what I mean by the phrase I coined, “Aftermath Prophecy.”

I probably wouldn’t be so hard on us about this, if it weren’t by the fact that most of the Charismatic wing of the Body believes that the “prophetic” is being restored to the Church and that God is wishing that “all would prophecy” (which is a Scripture so I’m not negating the valid aspects of that but it’s interpretation).  In the words of my buddy Will, it’s like people are using “prophetic revolvers” like men in a Western movie who want to see who is the quickest to draw.  We “shoot” words to people, feeling that we have every right and capability to accurately discern the mystery of God’s Will within seconds.  And again, my wish is not to say that the adverse would be better—that God is not speaking and that God cannot and will not speak through a man or a woman today.  I still am a firm believer that God can (and, I think he has spoken to me at times even recently through movies and t.v. shows) and does speak to us today.

I think a perfectly good example (a touchy one, but a good one) is the recent elections of this past year.  I remember having this sick-to-my-gut feeling with all the prayer-vigils called together to “pray in” John McCain, and to “rise up with authority” to ensure that Barack Obama would not be elected president.  Many dominant leaders in the Church proclaimed that if only we fasted & prayed enough, a Republican would be elected president.  (I know I just stuck my hand in a bee-hive but endure this with me please).  And, I equally remember that pseudo-somber feeling many expressed when (now) President Obama won the election, feeling that a cloud of doom and gloom was enveloping our country; and that our political situation was in exact relation to our spiritual condition…  Some continued to spew words from their mouth, (in my opinion, transferring their subconscious blame of having to admit they weren’t right about all the words / wishes they dished out) thinking that the anti-Christ sat up his throne in the Oval Office and that, based upon what already happened, this was another “sign” of the end.  Personally, I think it’s very unkind of many of those leaders to call churches to extreme prayer to appoint a Republican leader, and then announce that the reason he lost was because there wasn’t enough prayer.  That, to me, is speaking as the voice of God without having to follow up on anything you say.  You can dish out whatever you want, and just stamp Jesus’ copyright on it afterwards, and you’re good to go.  Meanwhile, a generation is left un-empowered in faith, wondering why God chose to not hear their prayer for their political-spiritual leader to win (which is essentially the belief of an agnostic, by definition).

My main issue, though, is that most the time we are just really, really, really off.  Really off.  Did I say really off yet?  I don’t think it’s a matter of “relevance” or any of our other buzz words.  I don’t think that we need to package it different, that we need to be more “tolerant” or nice or other ways of saying sugar coating.  I just think we need to grasp this: that while being able to speak for God is an immense joy and a gift given us based on grace, it is yet an immense responsibility and the very moment you or I dare to proclaim the words of the Mightiest One we enter into accountability with that word and are judged with greater strictness—remember if even a teacher is judged with greater strictness, how much more so will be the judgment of a (potentially) self-proclaimed prophet?!?!?!

And may I just blurp in here really quick, I’m not trying to drive into judgment land myself.  I think, though, we need a refreshing on the areas of our spiritual journey that are grace given.  Things like our salvation, our ability to be a friend of God, and even our physical healings are those things that are free of charge to anyone, Biblically speaking.  But things like being a mouth piece for GOD are extremely expensive and come at a great price.  That’s the mystical mastery in God’s Will, where Jesus would lavishly love a skanky woman caught in the act of adulterous sex and yet rebuke his buddy Peter for saying that it wasn’t God’s Will for the Messiah to suffer at a cross.  Grace flows freely and in Isaiah 55:1 & 2 we can get wine, milk, and bread for free, but other things, we are told, must be “purchased with gold refined by fire” (Rev. 3:18).  So, bread—those elementary things, are free. But, gold—the deeper things, come with cost.

These things aren’t our actual sickness, but I think they are the coughs that reflect our cold.  These symptoms go down to a much deeper root.  We read this Book where our prayers should NOT be long and eloquent, especially in public, for to do so is to be like the Pagans (Words of Jesus in His Sermon on the Mount).  Yet, most our prayers and proclamations, to me are a mix of a pouring of our heart, shaken together with some soul, adding a few drops of tears and spiced with a few dashing words—and yet utterly devoid of any power or any immediate (or just any, in general) effect.  I’d love to be proved wrong here, I’d love to know of a man who says little but raises much from the dead.  Please, show me such a man!  Be such a man (or woman ☺)!

And, I’m not claiming that I know which is which, nor am I saying to stop thinking that God can speak through you or someone else.  But, I dare one person out there to know when it’s going to rain in a drought, or to know when poverty will pounce on a palace—before it happens.  If that were to happen, I may believe that person was sent from God, but I refuse to settle for the money-marketing of spiritual gifts displayed in the bankrupt Body today, where the gifts are used with a crossing of the fingers and a hope that they will be effectual.

May our prayers no longer be a mere wish, and may our “Words from God” never, ever, return so void…

OK first off, on the health front, I haven’t really updated anyone about me & Will’s friendly bet a few months back. Well, that was likely because neither of us got to our goals in time, and…uh…that’s no fun to type. But, the good news for me is that I’ve finally got back down to 245 lbs! I’ve been averaging that for a few weeks, which is a combination of joy and frustration. I’m looking at the glass half full, in that it could be worse. BUT it COULD be better…which is why Will & I are shooting to loose 10 lbs in 10 days. Starting today (yesterday on the phone actually) till Feb. 1st. I think that’s more like 11 days. And frankly, I don’t care if I shoot for the stars and only make it to the moon on this one. I just want to get down into the 230′s. I don’t think I’ve been in the 230′s since high school, or, my first year or two of college at the least. It’s a big deal for me both emotionally and mentally and it’s helped my overall health greatly. I kinda like the fact that I did slump the last few years and gain almost 50 pounds but that in the past year I’ve made a decision to re-loose all that flab…it proves to me, for the rest of my life, that no matter how bad I let things get, I can always pick myself up, dust myself off, and get going again. I’ve learned a lot in the process of physical health, esp. that it is so much more about a long-term outlook rather than a short term perspective. When I had surgery in July I wasn’t physically able to exercise for over a month, save a few short walks and small 5 pound weight lifting. To top it off I was almost in a virtual state of emotional depression from a broken engagement and I used food for comfort once again and managed to put back on 20 of the pounds I had lost at that time, putting me back up into the 260′s somewhere. Well, finally after 5 months of exercise I’ve managed to get back to that point, and am proud of the fact that for an entire year I maintained a loss of over / about 35 lbs. I’ve still got at least 10 to go, maybe 15 or more. But, overall, the health journey has proven fruitful and has helped me to….

Kiss dating HELLO!!! That’s a play-on-words from a book years ago about “Kissing Dating Goodbye” and though I never read it, it did affect my teenage-life a lot. It came from this idea, based in good morals and such, about not dating until you find “the one.” Well, I chose not to date in high school, not necessarily in direct connection to that book, but, with some of the same mentalities such as “I need to wait until this magical moment when I know that so and so is the one for me.” Deal is, I’ve been burnt on that line of thinking, burnt to a crispy ash I may add. And I’m not necessarily saying it’s wrong, I think “if in doubt wait it out” (that’s original not from the book, yes yes copyrights please is likely your best bet and will save you from heartache of time wasted on empty, pointless relationships. HOWEVER I have specialized in single-hood hoping that I would find “the one” throughout nearly all of high school (save the few small flings that lasted a matter of days or weeks only) and now through a majority of adulthood. I would then go from gear negative 2 to gear 5 with regards to women, and got awfully serious a few times only to then go back to where I was to start with.  Never did I truly “date” in, the sense of simply taking a swing at things and not worrying about figuring out 50 years of marriage and my wifes retirement package on the 2nd month of our relationship…I have in my adult years gotten more into the dating swing, but, it’s only been this year that….

I’ve finally had the confidence, courage, & healthy self-esteem to approach girls I’m attracted to and ask them out. It’s been utterly life changing for me, and it’s only about 90 days old or so. I finally managed to get my physical health to a point I’m decently proud of, realizing that how I let myself look is 100% my choice. I’ve in the past few months gone on a number of coffee-dates or other simple dates with several women. That’s a first for me. I’m honestly not bragging. Here I am, approaching 26 soon, and bracing myself for age 30. I’ve been to hell and back in the dating world, given my heart away a few times only to have it ripped out, chewed up for dinner, regurgitated and scavenged by wild predators. A lot of my spiritual friends have told me many well meaning things trying to help get me through my pain last year, about how if I were to just pray a bit more or believe in God a bit more everything will be ok. I’ve done those things, and believe in those things. But if you see a hungry dude that hasn’t had food in 20 days and tell him to pray to God for food, frankly, you are full of crap. Not because that guy shouldn’t pray but just because you are putting all the blame on God and taking zero responsibility.  Likewise, I don’t think that God is looking for me to just pray my way into finding a chicka (I do think that is a part of it) I think finding the option of fish in the sea takes a bit of fishing.  TRUST ME I’d love for my future hot-as-the-sun wife to just fall out of the sky with an accompaniment of angels holding neon signs saying “this is-ith thy wife-y thoust shalt marry her right now”.  I’d say boo-ya to that.  But, fact of the matter is, I think I need to get out on the scene, keep my horizons open enough to find the Mrs. Sanow-babe I’m looking for.

So, somehow, all these thoughts tie into one for me.  Let’s face it: physical health affects us in every way.  I think sometimes our outlook on life is clouded literally just because we are low-blood sugared.  Eating well cheers us up, gives us energy, and will help us live longer.  We’ll be alive and healthy when our kids are in high school and college.  It’s not arrogant to get physically healthy and make it a focus of your life—you can be far more self centered by spending way too much money on fast food & junk food.  For me, it’s meant I’ve finally gotten confident enough to enjoy approach girls and enjoy a number of low key dates.  I’ve even been asked out on a few occasions! (only to quickly remember why I prefer to do the asking and usually don’t need much help, if I’m interested, you’ll find out from me first—nonetheless though it’s been flattering and is a new happening in my life). I don’t know why life wasn’t like this for me growing up and why it’s taken me till my mid-2o’s to get here.  But it’s not, for me, about bragging rights AT ALL or about anything like that.  I just feel like there is this little inner wound of years of rejection melting away through simple moments of attention & attraction, and that a lot of my inner wounds & insecurities have largely been my choice to face up to the plate & deal with—physical health is just one thing that can be picturesque of that.

It’s a time of life where my overall health is on the up & up: emotionally, physically, mentally, & spiritually.

Deal is, though, I’ve got issues with anyone who abuses their authority and uses it in improper ways.

In the Church today, authority has virtually become an absolute doctrine.  I can’t write about how that is taken so out of context so much of the time…right now, I’m actually going to go at this at a different vantage point:  even if and when we are called to submit to someones authority (in other words lets just assume that we are) at what point, I ask you, do we not submit to that authority any longer??? Extreme example:  your pastor begins to teach you that Jesus is not the only way to heaven.  Buddha is now entirely acceptable, and gold communion plates will now be melted into those little fat man statues.  Do you submit to that?  Obviously not. Again that’s very extreme, but, if at that point you wake up and realize you are free to move on in order to preserve your faith…see where I’m going with this????

The definition of child abuse has a few varieties of definition.  One is “actions that result in harm by any caregiver to a child.”  Another is “failure to act in a way which presents an imminent risk of serious harm.”  Perhaps the one most pertinent to this discussion though is “neglect, in which the responsible adult fails to adequately provide for various needs, including physical (failure to provide adequate food, clothing, or hygiene), emotional (failure to provide nurturing or affection) or educational (failure to enroll a child in school).”

I have to ask a question which will be, perhaps hauntingly annoying to some church goers, but, it has to be asked…don’t you think that, in the Church, that spiritual children often sit underneath many, many, many forms of neglect????

Let me be clear:  I believe retaliation only perpetuates the cycle of abuse.  I heard it once said, “hurt people…hurt people” or in other words hurting people will hurt other people.  So, I’m not trying to gather troops and go burn down church buildings and point at any specific leaders pieces of sawdust specks with that continual plank I’m trying to surgically remove from my eye…with that said, however, at one point does a leader loose his authority ??? (again this is assuming that there is massive New Testament Biblical basis for such forms of authority which for now I’m not negating)

In plain words, I just watch, with pain in my heart, as a lot of my friends confide in me and tell me that they are underneath someone or something that is limiting them in what they would like to do, but, they wouldn’t want to step up from underneath it because, after all, the Bible tells us millions and billions of times over that we are to submit (okay that was definitely sarcastic about the billions part but I’m being pretty kind overall).  Again, to be clear, I don’t ever tell those people to step out from underneath whoever it is they feel like they are supposed to be under.  I do ask them to look at the Bible, and to find verses on the word Submit.  In fact, I’d encourage you to go home and look up that word, too.  You’ll likely find, as I have, that the NT theme for submitting is “to submit unto one another.”  Or, you’ll find the words of Jesus, “the pagans lord over others…NOT SO AMONG YOU….the greatest among you must be a servant…”  Jesus was so NOT a CEO.  And He never called anyone to ever be put in a place where they are told that they are “underneath” another man.  He doesn’t look at any of His kids as less than any other kids.  We do.  He doesn’t.  Golly I’d like to rant and rave about  that but times almost up…

Personally, I love expressing my faith in Jesus in the way I do (meeting in homes with people all week long) for many, many reasons, and along these lines because of the fact that authority is often put back in it’s proper place…it’s shared with mutual respect, honesty, and true transparency by those who may perhaps be facilitating a meeting.  I find complete and total Biblical merit to do this, after all, the first day of the Church took place in a house.  It allows for everyone to be put in check, everyone to be held accountable, and everyone to be equal.

I just think that a lot of people are sitting in spiritual child abuse.  And I think that any time a man needs to preach about his authority on a frequent basis, he needs to double check himself and ask why people don’t want to follow him instinctively.  He needs to see where he lacks the ability to inspire people with the quality and character of his life.  I mean for goodness sakes, Jesus is the flippin King of the universe and He calls us a friend…God became a man…God was made an equal among us…HE took a lesser road…without success…God calls us friend, but, we as spiritual leaders do not call our followers friends.  We tell them to submit.  That sounds more like a business than a Church, to me.

I watched the other day “Uncle Toms Cabin” and I saw this big fat white guy beat his slaves.  But he loved the Bible.  He loved, in particular, “slaves obey your masters.”

I believe in authority, but I believe in fatherly authority.  If a dad raises a son who only listens to what he’s been told if punishment, discipline or other forms of authority are issued, the question has to be asked about why in the world that child became like that.  I believe it is vital that spiritual fathers rise up to wield any possible right to authority they may (or may not) have with great humility.  I believe in submission, and I intentionally pursue advice from people older than me and wiser than me on a normal basis.  But I don’t believe in submitting to a spiritual father if I am suffering spiritual child abuse, i.e. neglect.  That is not a pastor, by it’s very definition (the word pastor means to shepherd not necessarily to preach).

David didn’t strike back against Saul.  So, so true.  But, when spears were thrown at him, he didn’t stay in the palace.  He left.

Just a thought.  May each man choose his own way.  I’m not looking to tell anyone what to do here–that would be an oxymoron in and of  itself.  But just enjoy freedom…not freedom to indulge in your selfish nature…but the freedom of knowing what your rights are as a child of God.

in love

Nate

if you know me you know I’m not a big fan of most the big name ministry stuff—but don’t worry this isn’t a bitter rant and rave.  In fact, the opposite.  Of anyone who has a big profile ministry with multiple millions of dollars coming in, etc etc, Joyce Meyer is probably the one person I respect the most.  She just strikes me as someone who is legit…like she somehow flies under the radar with a humble, honest, real nature about her and avidly avoids the entrapment of pride amidst her success; quite unlike the thorn & wheat mixture many in her league sadly develop (ok, that’s my only blurp against that I promise).

But tonight, Joyce managed to reach her hand through the t.v. and slap me.  Fo’ realz yo’.  She was talking about all the times in her life when she allowed things to really get her down, sometimes for a long period of time.  Some of them were major things, other were minor.  And you’ve likely seen her on t.v. or heard her talk at some point, so I don’t even need to explain her nature (southern bell accent, impersonation mannerisms of herself and others in a strongly sarcastic way, crazy jokes and the likes) to you…but needless to say it was funny, transparent, and annoyingly bringing things up to my conscience.  What was it that allowed her to get over all the stuff that bothered her so much?  In her words, “GET OVER IT!”  I think she also told the crowd (me) stuff like “stop being a wussy” and “don’t give up that easily” and the like…

Again, I could elaborate much more on this.  But, point being is that I was soon after this pondering a lot of very personal things…and realized I’ve let way too many things and way too many people say or do things to me that have robbed me of joy.  I’ve actually kept a list this year (not kidding) of all the things that have flat out sucked.  And I remind people of those things often, thinking that “woe is me” will somehow bring comfort to me….funny thing is, no matter how much I vent on my friends, no matter how much I hear people say kind things about how “you didn’t deserve that” etc etc…none of it fulfills and I am essentially left to continue my slavery to any word or deed someone has said or done against me.

But tonight I think Joyce slapped some sense into me.  And, I’d really like to try to be more joyful, and let go. If you’re my friend, I invite you to go on that journey with me and help me do that.  Call me out if I’m being a pessimistic punk. I don’t know that it is as easy as just wish it & want it and it’s yours, but, I know that at the least trying to be optimistic sure won’t hurt.  Cheers to that, with a half-full glass…

p.s.  soon after this Joyce butt kicking, I listened to “There Will Be a Day” by Jeremy Camp about 100 times (I’m really not exaggerating).  I’ve never bought much of his stuff before and don’t normally care for it…but I’m telling you, it will be the best 99 cents on iTunes you’ve spent in awhile.  Complete, total hope just gushing from that song.

I’m going to try to keep this short (compared to what I’d like to say anyhoo), because I’d be really interested to see what people say.  I’m a big fan of being able to blog and import into notes on Facebook, so, I hope to maybe stir up a group convo.  And really I’ve got more questions on this subject than I do answers.  Plus, it’s about 2 am.  I can’t help but want to blog at these hours.  I just got in from a really good night where a bunch of us met in a house to express our worship and to have a beautiful chat with one another about what we were going through and it was one of the more raw, honest, and transparent nights I have participated in.  Some people, such as myself, expressed their time with God lately has been more  like being in a ring with Hulk Hogan than a date with Jessica Beil (if ladies get to have the typical Brad crush that is irrevocably my choice).  I was brewing some of these thoughts during a 1 am phone call the other night with a best-bud of mine, so…

Here goes: is it okay to question God on things?  Choose your answer wisely.  Even if you go by the book on this, Jesus questioned God, and, questioned whether or not he would follow through with that whole extreme torturous death thingy he had to do (can’t say I blame him).  I would even say that almost 50% of the psalms are questions, not answers.  Read ‘em and weep.  I’m just saying if you do answer this, please don’t be textbook and say neither of two extremes: A (I imagine this in a high pitch voice for some reason) “No, no, I would never, ever question God.  I just love Jesus way too much.  He’s so good.”  B. “YES!  I question Him!  Life is miserable!  The sky is falling, it’s falling!  The economy is crashing!  Life is horrible!” I guess what I’m saying is take maybe 10 seconds and then answer.  Think about your roughest days ever…your mistakes…etc…think about 911, the Holocaust, & the 3rd world today…but also think about ice cream, bacon, and yes, Jessica Beil.

OK, my other question / comment is why do so many prayers go unanswered?  If you don’t know what I’m talking about, then let me poke a little again.  So, if you’re a charismatic / pentecostal person, have you ever been with someone who has said, “Oh God, let us see your face”??  Did they see it?  Just a question.  Have you been in a group of people where a long prayer for the sick was prayed…where prayer for someone in a wheelchair did not rise and walk…where a tumor remained…Maybe the other way to ask that is have you ever actually seen physical healing take place immediately or relatively soon?  I already here the textbook response: “well, you just need to have faith.”  My sub-question then, is faith blind to reality and simply a spiritually good outlook on life?  Example:  Peter walking on the water.  Did he have to say to himself, “I’m walking on cement.” Nope.  He was likely pretty sure the bottom of his feet were wet.  So, in order for answers to our prayers to come, do we need to say something very optimistic, like “it’s going to be all right” or “God is about to bless me / you” in order for that thing to come about?

Can we present the world a message based on a book with supernatural things but not have any supernatural  events taking place in or around us?   Is that a contradiction in terms?  Or a bad mis-representation?  Why is power so absent?

If you believed you were supposed to pray that a certain leader got elected president, but another one got elected, was that somebodies fault for not praying enough, or, was that because God did not answer your prayer?  (that’s not for the sake of politics as I’m sure we all want a breather, but, a lot of conservative types were assuming that only one of the two candidates was the will of God, and, their choice was not elected—yet they prayed, but, their prayers did not get the candidate they wanted to be elected.  Why?)

These are, I promise, harmless questions.  I’m not asking this because I doubt God but because I believe that  having a non-religious / relational approach to Him means that I can ask Him stuff like this.  And, if I can ask Him, and He still likes me, I hope I can ask you.

Comments, anyone??????????????

I’ve been a Dallas Cowboys fan since I was in 5th grade.  Sure, at the time, I caught a ride on the bandwagon express.  But, I’ve managed to stick with my Boys through thick and thin…though there have been some years I admit that I couldn’t handle the pain of watching them suffer between the era of greatness in the 90′s with the greats like Troy Aikman, Emmit Smith, Michael Irving, Deion Sanders, & Jay Novetcheck, (to name a few) and our current potential era of greatness with newfound heroes in Marion Barber, Felix Jones, Jason Witten, Roy Williams, Terrel Owens, and the one guy we’ve been waiting for a month to get healthy again from a finger injury on his throwing hand: Tony Romo.  (And I may add this paragraph is written at least in part to remind my friend Eric that I am not a “fairweather fan”, as he labeled me after our Boys killed his Pack awhile back).

So, tomorrow I head to Buffalo Wild Wings with my friend Noah to go get some good saturated fat in our guts (yes that means I’m probably loosing even worse to WP) and (hopefully) enjoy the game (which depends, well, upon us winning).  We’ve been in a slump the past month or so, with exception to a low scoring game which essentially was a great defensive win a few weeks back.  If we pull of this win, and if the Philly Eagles (also in our division) don’t soar into success, we will be (tied for) 2nd place in our division(the toughest one in the NFL may I add) and earn some respect in the NFL again.  To have to be so hopeful shouldn’t even be necessary with a team that 8 weeks ago was looking like SuperBowl favorites with a stacked roster deeper than the Pacific.

And I’ve heard lot’s of angles on this game, but really, we are needing our stud-star QB Romo to come back and razzle-dazzle us once again into becoming a playoff contender.  OK, and if TO catches the ball, shuts his mouth and lets his game talk, that’d help, too.  But football is perhaps the only good thing to be found in 30 degree weather (which I passionately hate, esp. after 4 years in FL & almost 2 in Africa).  Bleh.  So, Romo, O Romo, throw it hard and deep my man, and help me salvage some fun out of the next few months with hopes we may make it into the playoffs.  Please!!!!!!!!

So in a month hopefully we look like this guy: