Well, it’s back. This is the time of year when we get college basketball out the wazoo and no one in their right mind complains about it. This is when many will fill out their brackets and attempt — usually in vain — to pick the winners of all the NCAA basketball tournament games. All 67 matchups.

We all have hopes of the perfect bracket. Hopes which usually last until halfway through the first round. By the end of the second round, most have given up hope of even a halfway decent bracket. But still we try.

There’s always something magical about seeing a low-seeded underdog of a team making a deep run in the tournament. I always love seeing a good upset. It reminds me that even the little guys can win from time to time.

Around this time, you’ll start hearing the David vs. Goliath analogies. There will be at least one team that statistically has no chance of beating its much bigger and higher ranked opponent. But still they play the game. Because who knows? On any given day, the underdog might get the hot hand and pull off the unexpected.

I love March Madness because it reminds me that if you get up each morning and keep showing up and not giving up, then amazing things can happen. If you keep trying when everything in you and around you tells you to quit, then you just might be the one to pull off the unexpected and surprise some people. All it takes is one more try.

Ok, remind me again why we still bother with daylight savings? Is there really a reason or is it just because we’ve done it for so long that it’s almost like an 11th commandment, like “thou shalt move thy clocks forward exactly one hour in the spring. Not two hours shalt thou move the hands of the clock, but one. Three is certainly too much, but one is just right, so thou best gettest to it while the getting is good.”

It just feels like I’m losing an hour of sleep, which I am. It also feels like I already need a nap tomorrow, because I will. And in 8 months or so, we’ll just set the clocks back an hour like it was all a mistake in the first place. Why can’t we just say we did and leave it at that?

I believe there are places that have never bothered with all this daylight savings nonsense. I stand with you, Arizona and Hawaii. Leave those clocks alone. Let’s all just go get tacos instead.

As I type these words, I can look out the window to see the falling snow. A few days ago I was wearing shorts and a t-shirt. Earlier today, it was in the 60s. Now it is heading toward freezing temperatures and there is white stuff on the ground. What in the actual ham sandwich?

As long as I’ve lived in this state (which is all my life), you’d think I’d be used to it by now. You’d think I would take it all in stride when we get three or four seasons in one week. But even now, I’m left scratching my head and wondering how in the world it could be snowing when it is practically spring.

I guess I can just enjoy it while it lasts and wait for the next unexpected crazy turn in the weather. Maybe a monsoon? Hopefully, it’ll just be sunny and 75.

Had I known more about what it means to be grown up, I probably wouldn’t have been in such a hurry to grow up. I think I might have savored being a kid more. But then again, who knows? I don’t feel like I was mature enough to appreciate my childhood until it was over.

Basically, being an adult means going to bed when you don’t want to so you can get up when you don’t want to. You drive to a job every day whether you want to go or not. And it’s not like school where you get spring break and summers off. You go year around.

I remember being a lot more excited about stuff when I was a kid. Now things like two for one toothpaste are what make me happy. It’s not the same. Had I known that, I’d have done all I could to stay a kid for as long as I could.

People say that you get to do all sorts of things when you grow up that you can’t when you’re little. What people forget to tell you is that more than likely you’ll be too tired to do those things and when you go places and do things, you’ll wish that you were home in bed instead.

“Joy does not come from positive predictions about the state of the world. It does not depend on the ups and downs of the circumstances of our lives. Joy is based on the spiritual knowledge that, while the world in which we live is shrouded in darkness, God has overcome the world. Jesus says it loudly and clearly: ‘In the world you will have troubles, but rejoice, I have overcome the world.’

The surprise is not that, unexpectedly, things turn out better than expected. No, the real surprise is that God’s light is more real than all the darkness, that God’s truth is more powerful than all human lies, that God’s love is stronger than death” (Henri Nouwen).

Those who look to Jesus and put their hope in Him have joy regardless of circumstances. Regardless of how the situation in the Ukraine plays out. Regardless of whether or not the gas prices continue to soar. Regardless of whether or not all our loved ones remain healthy and safe.

We know that happiness depends on what happens and can come and go and be as fickle as the weather. But joy, true joy that comes from God, will last and outlast any adversity or trial. Joy will endure beyond any suffering or pain because while suffering and pain are temporary, joy is as eternal as its source, God.

I don’t normally do long-winded posts, but this one is a good one and came from one of my absolute favorite people in the world, so here goes:

“Forgiving one another, if anyone has a complaint against another; even as Christ forgave you, so you also must do: We are told to live forgiving one another, after the pattern of Jesus’ forgiveness towards us. Understanding the way Jesus forgave us will always make us more generous with forgiveness, and never less generous.

i. When we consider the staggering debt Jesus forgave for us, and the comparative smallness of the debts others have toward us, it is base ingratitude for us to not forgive them (as in the parable Jesus spoke in Matthew 18:21-35). “The forgiveness they have received is used to enforce the duty of forgiving others.” (Peake)

ii. When one thinks of how Christ forgave you it should make us much more generous with forgiveness.

· God holds back His anger a very long time when we sin against Him. He bears with us a long time, even when we sorely provoke Him.

· God reaches out to bad people to bring forgiveness to them; the habit of man is to not reconcile if the offending person is a person of bad character.

· God makes the first move towards us in forgiveness; the habit of man is to only be reconciled if the offending party craves forgiveness and makes the first move.

· God forgives often knowing that we will sin again, sometimes in the exact same way. It is the habit of man to forgive only if the offending party solemnly promises to never do the wrong again.

· God’s forgiveness is so complete and glorious that He grants adoption to those former offenders. In the habit of man, even when forgiveness is offered, he will not lift again the former offender to a place of high status and partnership.

· God bore all the penalty for the wrong we did against Him. In the habit of man, when he is wronged, he will not forgive unless the offender agrees to bear all the penalty for the wrong done.

· God keeps reaching out to man for reconciliation even when man refuses Him again and again. In the habit of man, one will not continue to offer reconciliation if it is rejected once.

· God requires no probationary period to receive His forgiveness; in the habit of man, one will not restore an offender without a period of probation.

· God’s forgiveness offers complete restoration and honor; in the habit of man, we feel we should be complimented when we merely tolerate those who sin against us.

· Once having forgiven, God puts His trust in us and invites us back to work with Him as co-laborers. In the habit of man, one will not trust someone who has formerly wronged him.

iii. “Suppose that someone had grievously offended any one of you, and that he asked your forgiveness, do you not think that you would probably say to him, ‘Well, yes, I forgive you; but I – I – I – cannot forget it’? Ah! dear friends, that is a sort of forgiveness with one leg chopped off, it is a lame forgiveness, and is not worth much.” (Spurgeon)

The following was penned by an African pastor shortly before he made the ultimate sacrifice by giving his life as a martyr for the cause of Christ:

“I am part of the ‘Fellowship of the Unashamed.’
The die has been cast. I have stepped over the line.
The decision has been made. I am a disciple of
Jesus Christ. I won’t look back, let up, slow down,
back away, or be still. My past is redeemed, my present
makes sense, and my future is secure.
I am finished and done with low living, sight walking,
small planning, smooth knees, colorless dreams,
chintzy giving, and dwarfed goals.

I no longer need pre-eminence, prosperity, position,
promotions, plaudits, or popularity. I now live by
presence, lean by faith, love by patience,
lift by prayer, and labor by power. My pace
is set, my gait is fast, my goal is Heaven, my
road is narrow, my way is rough, my companions few,
my Guide reliable, my mission clear. I cannot be bought,
compromised, deterred, lured away, turned back,
diluted, or delayed.

I will not flinch in the face of sacrifice, hesitate in the
presence of adversity, negotiate at the table of the enemy,
ponder at the pool of popularity, or meander
in the maze of mediocrity.
I am a disciple of Jesus Christ. I must go until
Heaven returns, give until I drop, preach until all know,
and work until He comes. And when He comes to get
His own, He will have no problem recognizing me.
My colors will be clear.

I am not ashamed of the gospel . . . Romans 1:16″

“A seed only flourishes by staying in the ground in which it is sown. When you keep digging the seed up to check whether it is growing, it will never bear fruit. Think of yourself as a little seed planted in rich soil. All you have to do is stay there and trust that the soil contains everything you need to grow. This growth takes place even when you do not feel it” (Henri J. M. Nouwen, The Inner Voice of Love).

Sometimes, you end up in a place that’s not ideal. It’s easy to daydream about what it would be like to quit that job, move to another city, and start over. In fact, you can obsess over possible futures to the point where you miss out on what God is teaching you in the here and now.

The theme for you is to bloom where you’re planted, doing everything to prosper the place where you are until God moves you elsewhere. It helps to be thankful for what you have instead of complaining over what you’re missing out on or lacking.

You might find out that where you are is where you’re supposed to stay and it was you that needed adjusting. Or maybe you’re only called to endure for a season and when you’ve learned all your lessons God will move you to the next chapter of your life.

Either way, it’s better to be still and trust God than to try to move ahead of His plans for you (which is never wise and never works). Keep calm and bloom where you’re planted.

The following comes from a man who preferred to go by the name of Jack, but was unfortunately saddled with the moniker of Clives Staples Lewis, or C. S. Lewis. As most of you know, he was a staunch atheist who gradually eased into theism and finally by his own admission dragged, almost kicking and screaming, into converting to Christianity. This is some of his wisdom:

“If you asked twenty good men today what they thought the highest of the virtues, nineteen of them would reply, Unselfishness. But if you had asked almost any of the great Christians of old, he would have replied, Love. You see what has happened? A negative term has been substituted for a positive, and this is of more than philological importance. The negative idea of Unselfishness carries with it the suggestion not primarily of securing good things for others, but of going without them ourselves, as if our abstinence and not their happiness was the important point. I do not think this is the Christian virtue of Love. The New Testament has lots to say about self-denial, but not about self- denial as an end in itself. We are told to deny ourselves and to take up our crosses in order that we may follow Christ; and nearly every description of what we shall ultimately find if we do so contains an appeal to desire. If there lurks in most modern minds the notion that to desire our own good and earnestly to hope for the enjoyment of it is a bad thing, I submit that this notion has crept in from Kant and the Stoics and is no part of the Christian faith. Indeed, if we consider the unblushing promises of reward and the staggering nature of the rewards promised in the Gospels, it would seem that Our Lord finds our desires not too strong, but too weak. We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea. We are far too easily pleased.”

As of this past Wednesday, it’s Lent again. For those of us who observe this time, it’s about fasting and giving up things in order to create space and room in your life for God to speak into. I confess that I’m a bit new to this practice, so I’m probably not as knowledgeable about it as some.

I always give up social media for Lent. It takes awhile for me to quit opening my Facebook app out of rote habit, but before long, I feel freer than I did when I was checking my statuses every five minutes. Then again, I feel like I’m out of the loop on so many things happening locally and around the world.

Perhaps the best part of no social media is that immediately my FOMO syndrome goes away. That stands for Fear of Missing Out, which always seems to happen when I look at a Facebook or Instagram post and get a little bit envious of what someone else has that I don’t or of someone going places and doing things that I’ve always longed to go to and do.

But during Lent, I feel a bit calmer, a bit more rested, a bit more focused on the present. As usual, I’m hoping to not merely fill the void of social media with more time-wasting amusement, but leave room for the voice of God and leave silence in my day for me to hear it.

Once more, I say with all of God’s people, “Speak, Lord, for Your servants are listening.”