12 men

We ate breakfast at a local diner near our hotel. In the center of the room was a long table with men sitting around drinking coffee and  talking.  When the last man came in, they bowed their heads and the man at the head of the table prayed.  Mark  and I bowed our heads and felt like a part of the group for just a moment. 12 senior men with obvious affection for each other and love for the Lord.  In the center of the table was a jar full of money with a sign that said, "for the church".  What a testimony.

The coldest morning of the year, we happen to stay in a hotel where the heater went out during the night.  The solution of the management was to bring us an extra blanket and a fan for noise.  So, I woke up a little grouchy and cold.  Sitting at the next booth was a couple and I spoke to them. The man said, what a great day...I woke up, it's a nice cool day and the sun is shining.  He stood up to leave and his wife was sitting there trying to clean the table before leaving.  He kept saying come on honey, it's alright, they can clean up the mess.  She was saying," I know, I just can't help myself."  He looked up at me and smiled and said,"I have the sweetest wife in the world,  have a nice day."... my day was already better by that brief encounter .  The couple happen to be black, and I thought to myself, what if every child had that kind of male influence in their life.  What a different world we would have.