Eye of the Tiger...

"It's the eye of the tiger
It's the thrill of the fight
Rising up to the challenge of our rival
And the last known survivor
Stalks his prey in the night
And he's watching us all with the eye of the tiger"

It's Rocky III.  And Rocky is in the heat of the battle with Mr. T, Hulk Hogan, and Apollo!!  Okay, you've probably heard the song.  And now you've got it stuck in your head for the rest of the day :-)

You're probably wondering, how does this song apply to my life right now?  Well, if you're weird like me, you live in the 80's.  No, I'm just kidding.  But you might associate such an adrenaline-junkie movie and theme song to the ongoing challenges that Satan places in our lives.  He always picks the best times too, doesn't he?  You know, right when you're ready for him?  And expecting him, right?  Ha!

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Emily's mom, Carole, left our house on Saturday to return to Texas.  I knew the next few days after her departure would be tough for Emily (and me).  Therefore, I decided to take Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday off from work so I could be with her.  And it was good that I did.  We slept in (REALLY late!), talked (a LOT), laughed (even MORE), and shared our hearts with each other.  You don't even know how blessed I am to have a wife like Emily!  She is the essence of a Christian lady and mommy-to-be.  She is my [pick any and all romantic and cliche word(s) to describe an amazing woman and insert here]!!  Truly a God send.

Well, my mini-vacation ended this morning :-(  So, after hitting the snooze button 3 times, I rolled out of my warm bed and quietly meandered my way downstairs to the kitchen, playing with my cats along the way.  Once I finally arrived at my coffee mecca, I made a few cups of joe for the road.  While still rubbing sleepies out of my eyes, I washed a few dishes, wrote Emily a little note to say "I love you," and then finally journeyed back upstairs to get ready for work.  Right before I left the house, I poured my mug full of steaming hot, freshly brewed coffee.  Most of the time, I take my coffee black - I've convinced myself that black coffee wakes me up better.  But I'm pretty sure this is only a mental thing - no real truth to that belief at all!  This morning, however, I decided to add a little milk.  Bad idea.  Apparently, the milk had soured.  Now, my steaming hot, freshly brewed coffee was not so fresh!  Thankfully, I realized this before I took a sip.  I shamingly poured out the rest of the milk.  Then, I dumped my coffee mug into the sink as I shook my head in disbelief. 

Having felt defeated by my own inability to interpret a "use by date," I left the house to go to work without coffee.  I passed the local school, waved good morning to the crossing guard, and drove out of our neighborhood.  As I turned onto the first street in town, I realized, "I don't have my wallet."  Awesome.

So, I turned around.  I passed the crossing guard.  Again.  And I drove back to the house.  I grabbed my wallet out of yesterday's pants' pocket.   And then I drove out of the neighborhood.  For the second time today.  The crossing guard for the local school must have thought I was nuts!  But she was very friendly, enthusiastically waving at me and smiling all three times that I passed her!

It's about a 30 minute drive to work.  So, I was still good on my timing...I was determined not to be late for work on my first day back this week!  Then, I got on the highway.  There was a jack-knifed tractor-trailer on the opposite side of the highway...and emergency vehicles were using my side of the highway to access the accident...7 miles up the road!  So, I sat in traffic.  For 95 minutes.  Without coffee.

Spiritual warfare sucks.  And "Eye of the Tiger" all of a sudden seems appropriate. 


So, put a smile on your face.
Key your best air guitar.
Play your most obnoxious drumming rendition
And shout at the top of your lungs!! 

"It's the eye of the tiger
It's the thrill of the fight
Rising up to the challenge of our rival
And the last known survivor
stalks his prey in the night
And he's watching us all with the eye of the tiger"

Satan, meet Rocky!!  Because God's about to knock you out!