Spring Break 2011.
This week I took a road trip to visit my brother and sister-in-law. Then the three of us went to Chicago to visit our aunt and uncle and cousins for a few days. It had been about six years since I had seen them so it was good to spend time with everyone and catch up. We went to downtown Chicago, tried a polish hot dog that looked like it had worms on it but they were really fried onions, and got to go up in the Sears Tower. And of course while we were there over the two days we stuffed our faces with deep dish Chicago style pizza 
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None of that really has to do with the title of my blog, but it helps you understand the next part of my story and why on earth I’m driving 12 hrs halfway across the country.
So I had said my good-byes and began my 12 hr drive home on Friday. As you can imagine, 12 hrs of driving can be pretty boring. After awhile of listening to music, I started reviewing Phillipians in my mind, which I’m memorizing. I got stuck on the few verses where Paul began, “Whatever happens conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the Gospel…” so I was saying them over and over to engrave it it in my mind.
Next thing I know, a pickup truck in the right lane tries to merge into my lane to pass the car in front of him…only there’s a slight problem-I’m in the very spot he’s trying to merge into!!
So with my quick wit and fast reflexes I do what I’m sure no one else would do in that situation- I lay on my horn. That is when I found out that said driver must have been deaf, because he continued to merge!
Frustrated I quickly swerve my truck to the left onto the rumble strip and grass, barely avoiding him, all while laying on the horn, I may or may not have even muttered a few curse words 
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Needless to say, I was quite scared and frustrated. All this happened over a few seconds so after I caught my breath and my heart slowed down from feeling like I had just sprinted a mile, I went back to reviewing, “whatever happens conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the Gospel” “whatever happens conduct yourselves in a mann-“ and stopped short.
What was I doing??! Here I am memorizing these verses but not even applying them to my life at the very moment I’m saying them! If I can’t even stop from being upset at a little thing like that how on earth am I going to do it in other situations?
I spent some time thinking about this and thought about when James says, “Do not merely listen to the Word and so deceive yourselves, do what it says.” If I am memorizing all these verses but not putting them into practice then it’s of no value. I have to make sure that I'm actually doing something with the words I’m saying rather than merely memorizing them for the sake of saying I memorized them.
Oh the things I learn on a 12 hr drive!
