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This past Sunday afternoon our church took an afternoon out. Twenty of us met at CiCi's. If you don't know what a CiCi's is, it is a buffet pizza place that is really inexpensive. We ate our fill. Some of us ate our fill and the fill of some of the people who were not able to be there. Of course that fulfilled one of the "Three F's" of Christianity; faith, fellowship and food. Following the food we went to the local bowling alley here in Georgetown to have some more fun (guess that's also an "F" of the church).

Bowling is classified as a sporting activity. I remember telling my doctor once that I was bowling for exercise. He told me that I could save money and get a sixteen pound weight to keep next to my chair while watching TV. Every commercial break I could grab the weight, walk five steps and swing the weight. He said that if I did that through the entire commercial break for every commercial break of an hour long show I would have the equivalent of having bowled three games. Yeah, but where's the satisfaction of knocking down the pins and even getting a strike?

We did go bowling, renting three lanes for ninety minutes. That gave us just enough time to actually bowl two games with four people to each lane. (Yes, I know twenty of us ate, but only twelve bowled...that left eight people to cheer and chat) The kids had a blast as did the grownups. Funny thing. Later that night I felt some odd twinges in some muscles that I had forgotten I even had. The twinges became pain and the pain ultimately gave way to cramps. Bowling may not rank up there with tennis and soccer as an active sport, but if you are somewhat sedentary it will make you use muscles that don't normally get worked.

Actually, that is a good thing. Every now and then we need to work muscles that we don't normally use. It helps our overall fitness and strength. How much of our spiritual selves are we using? If we stay locked into our normal Christian walk we may not be using all the blessings God has intended us to use. Why would God give us challenges if He did not need us to accept at least some of them? Which begs the question, do we use all the blessings God gives us?

"Be hospitable to one another without grumbling. As each one has received a gift, minister it to one another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God. If anyone speaks, let him speak as the oracles of God. If anyone ministers, let him do it as with the ability which God supplies, that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom belong the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen." 1 Peter 4:9-11 "As with the ability which God supplies..." That's the key. It means using God's spiritual blessings to us rather than just using our own desire and the ability we have developed. It means getting off the spiritual couch (a church pew?) and bowling that strike.

"Word from Scotland" from Sandy Shaw

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