Jesus was a the temple one day and a crowd of people gathered. Jesus sat down and began to teach them.  As he was speaking, in the middle of his lesson, a group of religious people rushed up to Jesus dragging along a woman who had been cheating and was caught having sex with him.

Ahem, let me repeat that CAUGHT IN THE ACT of adultery.  

Two things stand out here for me.  One, the incredible shame and humiliation of being interrupted, caught, captured, paraded and “posterized” as an adulterer.  Second, if she was “caught”, where’s the guy she was with?!?

Tonight I mentioned that I would like to live and to die with self-respect.  I have made many mistakes, but I do not settle for “that’s the way I am.”  Our world is filled with low expectation.  It’s too easy to have low standards.

I intentionally live the way I wish that other people did.  Rather than complain and judge others for not being this or that I strive to fess up when I screw up, or blame no one for my choices. I am accountable and want to help others by my example first, my words second.

It’s cost awareness that prompted President Obama’s health care plan.  It’s cost awareness that prompted his supporters to support his plan.  And, it’s cost awareness that prompts his detractors to scream and howl.

I must admit that the dollar signs and costs of the health care plan has caused me to glaze over.  I also glaze over when:

- A baseball player, even one as good as Ryan Howard, needs $125 million dollars to play a game he loves.

- I cannot grasp the benefit of searching for Noah’s Ark

- I cannot grasp the complexity of the debt problems in Greece