Well, they’re at it again.

Friday, we discussed a particular, unnamed church that’s now getting attention for its zeal in disciplining one of its 10,000 members.

Of course, you know this can’t be an isolated incident.

I have, right here, another church discipline contract, sent to me on the condition that the sender remain anonymous.  Apparently, sending your church discipline contract to bloggers is grounds for more church discipline.  (If you need a refresher on the contract that’s received all the attention, it’s here.)

Check it out after the break, and then let’s play a little game…

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Aloha, friends.

If you asked the average person, they could probably name no more than ten religions.  But the fact is that there are thousands of religions all over the world.

And I’m not the judgmental type.  I’m respectful of other cultures and beliefs that are different from my own…

Yes, there are people who worship this guy.

…But there are some crazy, flat out stupid religions out there.  Forget Scientology or Baha’i.  They are just barely scratching the depths of crazy.  And I know that I believe that a Jewish rabbi was born as the Son of God 2,000 years ago and rose from the dead after being executed on a cross, and that sounds kind of crazy on the surface, but these religions will make even Christian beliefs seem perfectly normal.

Are you ready?  Let’s take a little tour of a few of the crazy religions you could be joining.

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It’s no secret, I am pretty awesome at a lot of things.

I like to think of it as part of being a well-rounded person.  It’s important to be awesome at as many things as possible.

But, of all the things I have mastered, there is one skill I still lack, much to my dismay:

Confronting people in public.

We’ve all been there, in a place where someone is being a major tool in public.  Some self-absorbed idiot is talking loudly on her phone on the bus, or there’s a drunk guy at the movies.  They make everyone angry.  But there are very few, proud, honorable warriors for common decency who will take a stand and bawl out these people in front of everyone.

Today, I salute you, people who aren’t afraid to say what everyone is thinking.  You are too often taken for granted and I hope I can grow up to be like you.  Here are just a few heroic stories of your valiant exploits.

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Yesterday was one of those rare occasions for me.  A day that might come but once a year.

I called in sick to work.

I don’t get sick that often.  I might get a 24 hour bug a couple of times a year.  But when I sick, I mean I’m S.I.C.K. unhealthy.

I really hate sick days.  I try to ward them off by slathering my hands, nose, and mouth with Germ-X several times a day, and giving everyone I meet a healthy spray of Lysol to the face.  But they are inevitable, especially working in a school.  I always try to identify the culprit, the little germ factory who must’ve secretly sneezed on me when I wasn’t looking.  But by the time I can feel something coming along, they are long gone, boogers and all.

But sick days aren’t all bad.  With nothing to do but sit on the couch and eat pudding cups, it always gives me time for personal reflection and self-discovery.  What follows are the insights and inspirations gained in the hazy stupor of my sick day.  You may just find something to help you make the most of your next sick day.

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Back to school!

Over the next several days, millions of children and teenagers will head back to class.  There, they’ll learn important skills in math, reading, and doing holiday themed word searches and busy work.

And as parents, teachers, and students get their school supplies and classrooms ready, it reminds me of a few of the ways school has drastically changed, just since I was a student (which was not all that long ago.)  Sure, math and history hasn’t changed much.  But there are all kinds of things that used to be commonplace in every school, things that kids don’t even know they’re missing!

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Thank you, everyone who entered the Guest Post Contest last Friday!

It was tough whittling down the entries to just three people who will appear here and three blogs that I’ll post for.  Seriously, if you are in need of some fresh blogs to read, you should be clicking on the names in the comments.

I’ve contacted the winners, so if you haven’t heard from me, I am sorry to disappoint you.  There were no bad entries.  I thought it would only take two days for me to decide who to pick, but it ended up taking nearly a week.

So, we can all look forward to seeing our first guest blogger take the stage in a few weeks!

Okay, today’s blog is short and sweet…but that’s for a good reason!

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