Brad said I forgot to tell you about the woman’s reaction.

She said nothing.

She didn’t scream, she didn’t utter a sound.

That’s right, one look at me and she was speechless.

Either that or it was a great coincidence to offer a cup of coffee to a half naked mute woman.

Think about how much worse it would have been had she let loose with the kind of scream you would expect in such a situation.

Seriously, I told the guys I was changing my clothes and speaking Spanish the rest of the day just to avoid any potential ID effort.

Can you picture the lineup?  Sir, please take a step forward extend the cup of coffee and say “here’s your coffee.”

AND, I had referred to Brad on a couple of occassions as “princess” so can you imagine if I would have said “hey princess, here’s your coffee!“

If you didn’t read the first part of the story on Greg’s Blog go do that before reading any further.

So, yes, I realize my first mistake was letting Greg lead the way.  If you’ve read his blog for any length of time you would know what a colossal mistake that was.  Fact is, the moment I followed him out of the elevator we were doomed.

Had you been watching these events unfold, like a good mystery movie, you would have been screaming at the television screen your specific instructions.

Have you ever been in one of those situations where you pick up on things that just don’t seem right but you don’t process the subtle changes fast enough and so you keep on headed down the collision course?

We walked into our room and I noticed the following things that were definetely out of the ordinary.

First, the lights were out and the shades were drawn.

Second, the bedding from the hide-a-bed were folded and stacked neatly on the chair.

Third, some clothes (including a pink shirt) were piled on a living room chair.

Before I get to the fourth item (a key item) I must remind you that I observed every single one of these changes as indepenent events and did not connect the dots until about 10 seconds after anomaly number 4.

Fourth, Brad’s door was open and lying on the floor of his room was a bra.

I paused for 10 seconds debating if it was appropriate to publicly tease him for this article of clothing.  Hey wether it’s the BRO or the MANZIER, some fellas are into that (not that there’s anything wrong with that).

He was using Lisa’s suitcase so it could have just been in there from a previous trip.

While I was considering my next course of action (talk to Brad about the BRO or tease Brad about the MANZIER) I decided to give Brad his coffee.

Now when we left Brad he was on the couch reconnecting with his laptop.  No big deal, he decided to hop in the shower and get ready for the day.

While Greg started turning on lights in the room, I knocked on the bathroom door.

The door opened and I extended a cup of coffee to Brad and said “here’s your coffee.”

The problem was, and believe me this was a huge problem, the person who I had just offered Brad’s coffee too was not Brad.

Standing before me, wearing nothing but a small towel and a surprised look on her face was a woman I did not know.

I can tell you that as a single man it would have been an answer to prayer to encounter a recently bathed woman in nothing but a bath towel.

I can also tell you that as a married man the encounter with a recently bathed woman in nothing but a towel was not something I’ve been praying for.

The next words out of my mouth were not “can I borrow your towel, my car just hit a water buffalo?”

I said, “UHOH WE’RE IN THE WRONG ROOM!”

At that very moment, every single out of place item, every single “what’s wrong this picture” item made sense.

We turned as fast as two old guys could (while holding coffee) and made our way back out.

We looked at the room number (as if we needed more verification) and made our way back to our real room where everything was (including Brad) exactly as we left them.

You will need to visit Greg’s blog today for the first part of the story.

The speaker yesterday said that every single church is either

__ Growing

or

__ Sick

__ Dying

or

__ Dead

Is it that simple?

I must admit surprise at the way the many propositions sorted themselves out here in California.

It seems any proposition that required any amount of money was turned down.

One particular proposition (related to farm animals) passed with a significant minority.

Propositions related to abortion and marriage carried by small margins.

It seems when it comes to the treatment of animals, we (Californians) are of one accord.

When it comes to people – we’re still trying to sort it all out.

A significant number of Californians exercise the vote by mail option.

It’s convenient and you can take your time filling out your ballot and making sense of the language in the propositions.

We did the vote by mail this year without the by mail part.

You can still fill out your ballot (as we did) and walked it over to our polling place (which we did) and dropped it in the box (which we did).

Not sure what it’s like in your neck of the woods but no lines so far in Stockton, California (or at least in our neighborhood anyway).

In addition to the general elections choices, Californians will go to the polls tomorrow and decide on 12 propositions.

The most divisive proposition so far is certainly proposition 8.

Proposition 8 seeks to amend the constitution of California defining marriage as the union between a man and a woman.

You can imagine the hysteria and debate surrounding this particular proposition – especially in California.

You might even imagine the battle lines drawn.

Would we imagine the casualties from this battle?

As a preacher I’m expected to rally the troops and get the vote out to support proposition 8.

As a minister of reconciliation I’m expected to bring a message of peace and redemption, the love of God for all people.

As a Christ follower I’m expected to draw people to Christ not expell them from his presence.

The newsfeed last night showed the conflict on city streets between supporters and opponents of this proposition.

How, in the name of God, do we justify being so caustic and divisive?

And why do we think that God wants us to bring Him into this?

We’ve felt the freedom to reject or disobey God in everything else he’s wanted for us so why is this proposition any different?

I think this particular proposition (probably like the rest) and those who fiercely support it or oppose it has more to do with winning than it does with what God truly wants for his people.

The only thing this kind of proposition provides is plenty of fuel for the furnace of self-righteousness and moral superiority.

I wonder if what would happen if we’d take half the effort to support or defend such a proposition and invest that effort into strengthening existing marriages?

Regardless of the elections results, there will be no winners from proposition 8.

I’m not telling you that should you vote yes or no when it comes to proposition 8.

I am telling you that it’s what you are doing and HOW you are doing what you are doing to work within the plan of God, as a participant in God’s redemptive movement, that is of utmost importance.

It’s not just about how you will vote on such propositions.

It’s how you will treat those who disagree with you.

It’s how you will work within the confines of this fallen world to be light, salt, and a blessing to those around you – to the glory of God, the Father.