John 3:16

The warm, sunny, unseasonable weather we had last week is gone, and fall has firmly settled in to stay. It's cold and rainy, which of course means that my joints ache. But fall is my favorite time of year. I love the colors and the smells. I love the feel of an autumn wind; brisk, cool, full of the scents of fallen leaves and overripe apples. Is there anything better than curling up with a blanket and a good book during a fall thunderstorm?

Homecoming is this week at Oconto Falls High. Molly has cheerleading practice until 6:45 Monday-Wednesday, then building a float for the parade on Thursday. Friday will be busy from the moment she gets to school until the game is over at 10 that night. She's excited to be going to the Saturday night dance with her boyfriend. She has an adorable dress that Jesse's cousin Julie bought for her (pictures will go up this weekend). Doogie won't be going; he has to work, but he's never been into the whole school spirit/dance thing. It's funny how two people can produce two children who are so different!

John 3:16 by Nancy Moser is about what can happen when one person holds up a sign at a football game. How many times have you seen someone at a football game hold up a John 3:16 sign? I've seen them for years and always thought of it as pointless. Who is going to take the time to pay attention or even look it up to see what it means? But Moser's book made me re-evaluate my thinking. When Jesus died and God lost his only son, the world was changed forever. What could happen when a man who loves Jesus dies, taking someone else's only son? How many people could one person's faith change? Moser's novel attempts to answer that question by writing the stories of several people: 33-year-old Maya who is so desperate to have a child she has sacrificed her integrity, Roman the father of a college football player who in his hatred of God has chased away his only son, Velvet the 40-something head of concessions at the football stadium who is suddenly confronted by the sins of his past, Lianne her daughter who is making her mother's mistakes all over again, and Peter a college student who has veered away from his values in order to please a girl. All of these people are so different, and yet they will all be forever changed by the death of a man. Moser captures each of the stories with compassion and honesty, even when the characters are often unlikable. She presents a view of life that I think sometimes only God gets to see. The reader can see the threads connecting each person and how one event changes everything. It's a poignant book about change, sacrifice, and love.

Today's pic is of Molly at the football game from Sept 19th. The cheerleaders have to do push-ups for every point the team gets. The crowd loves it; the girls, not so much.