On Busted Brackets and Unused Gift-cards...

What a boring first day of the tournament (For those of you not into the whole March Madness thing you may just want to skip ahead to the next paragraph.) Not only was there only one upset but that upset was the only truly great finish to a game. To make matters even worse, the MSU game was ending at the same time, and even though it wasn't close they held us on it til the last possible second. They barely got us over to the Duke finish in time to see the last play, with zero time to really get into what was going on in the game. Seriously, was there any Michigan State fan who would rather watch them ho hum there way through some last minute free throws than watch the last two minutes of an exciting back and forth battle with an upset brewing? Very frustrating day of College basketball overall, capped off with the knowledge that Michigan got bumped out of the NIT. The only positives from the day were that Duke lost (They truly are the Yankees of College Bball), and that the Big 10 had a great first day.

"Dicer boy" story of the week: Justin (who just turned 6) recently received a Target gift card for his Birthday. It was one of those cute gift-cards that is more than just a piece of plastic. This one had a picture of a dragon fly on it with the eyes cut out and replaced by prism glass, so that you can look through it as if you are a bug. Justin tore open the envelope, saw the card, and immediately said, "This is awesome!" He then proceeded to tear through the house making buzzing noises. After I told him that the card was actually a gift card that he could use to buy something at Target, he looked at me quizzically for a few seconds and offered, "I think I'll keep the card instead". (Reader warning: spiritual application ahead, if you just wanted a cute story, turn back now.) After laughing a bit and explaining that he could actually do both (you should have seen the joy on his face after that revelation), I got to thinking about how surface level I treat the gifts that God often gives me. Sometimes I know I've been that little boy, zooming around, making buzzing noises, never knowing that there was more that God had for me. I even think I've often treated salvation this way, excited at the gift of forgiveness and grace, yet almost oblivious that there is more joy to be had in the application of these truths in real life. As if God is saying, "You know, you can actually do something with that thing I gave you."

Today, don't just play with your gift card, go buy something.

Comments? Questions? Did you know that $4.8 billion of this year's gift cards will go unused? All feedback welcome below :)