The Widick Family Tooth Story

Once upon a time, there was a family called the Widicks. They were a good family, with a daddy Widick, a mama Widick, and a little baby Widick.

One day, daddy Widick was eating a chip at a football game. He chewed it in a bad spot, and crushed his tooth. He had to go the dentist, and gave the dentist lots of dollars to fix it. Finally, after two weeks of having a metal tooth in his mouth, daddy got his new permanent tooth. It sure is shiny.

While daddy Widick was sitting in the dentist's chair, mama Widick gave daddy Widick a phone call. Mama Widick was letting daddy Widick know that little baby Widick was growing her very own, very first tooth. Much joy ensued.

For four nights in a row, little baby Widick decided she would cry and be restless during the night instead of sleep, since her very own very first tooth was about to pierce through the skin. Daddy Widick slept in the recliner rocking her, getting her to sleep for a few minutes at a time. Daddy Widick got about 5 hours for those four nights.

Daddy Widick went to his office, sitting there like a zombie. His mind would tell his fingers what to type, but his fingers just wouldn't move. He sat there hoping that tonight, little baby Widick, with her very own very first tooth would sleep through the night...

...to be continued.

Being Transformed

Romans 12:2 has an interesting perspective that I like to remind myself of from time to time. The NLT version reads like this:

"Don't copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God's will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect."

In essence, its impossible to transform your life until you transform your mind. There was a song that came out a few years ago called "Change Your Mind" by Sister Hazel. The words simply went

"If you want to be somebody else,
If you're tired of fighting battles with yourself
If you want to be somebody else
Change your mind..."

Do you ever look in the mirror and see someone you don't recognize. Maybe you look at yourself and realize the hope you used to have is gone. Maybe the happiness is no longer there. Maybe, just maybe, you want to be somebody else.

2 Corinthians 5:17 says "If you are in Christ you were made new." Obviously, after you give your life to Christ, you are a new creature. People see you emerge from your watery tomb and see a soaking wet, clean and pure creature.

You now have the name of Christian. You now have the hope you did not have before.

Your identity is new, yes. But what about your mind? When you think like you used to think before you gave your life over to Christ, chances are you will begin to act like that once again.

So be transformed, from the inside out. If the inside of your home is dirty, you don't fix that by raking the leaves and cleaning out the gutters outside. You clean the inside. My favorite Max Lucado illustration was always the one where he talked about how he went on vacation and the chest freezer in his garage blew a fuse, and all of the meat and food inside spoiled. He asked "How do I clean the freezer?", and obviously, if you just cleaned the outside of it, it would do no good.

Romans 12:2 does say: "let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think," and that's how we truly become new. But the part at the end of the verse is even more exciting:

"Then you will learn to know God's will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect."

When we achieve that threshold of renewing our mind, wanting to live like Christ, THEN He's going to let us in on what He has planned for us. He realizes that until we can change our minds into the mind of a Christian, we won't be able to comprehend His plans for us. And His will is always good, pleasing, and perfect.

A Mansion, A Robe, and a Crown

I figured out the other day, that in order to get a crown, you better have a Mansion, and probably a robe.

The mansion- well, to afford a crown without dental insurance, you need to live in a mansion.

The Robe- I had to lay on the "chair" for over an hour while the dentist drilled and cut and sliced around in my mouth.

The Crown- it will arrive in two weeks, matched to the shade of the teeth around it.

Friday night, at the last Guntersville High School Football game, I broke a tooth eating nachos. Sounds pathetic, to say the least, but do you ever bite into a chip that maybe is a bit harder than the others? Sometimes cooked a bit longer, folded over, or burned? That's what happened to me. I bit into it, and then I felt my tooth break, and pieces of it fall into my mouth.

Fortunately I had a filling that stayed intact, or otherwise it may have been extremely painful.

Also, they did not have to do a root canal, the tooth was still alive and well. They just filed it down, fit me for a crown, and told me to come back in two weeks.

All for a measly $700.

But I'd rather pay that than lose the tooth completely.

On another note, Josie continues to grow up on us. Her latest thing now is that not only can she roll over, but she can continue to roll over and over and over. Its amazing watching them develop these skills.

Now if we can only get her potty-trained so we won't have to buy these diapers...

Corn Nuts

Have you ever eaten a corn nut? Its basically a corn chip condensed into a smaller piece, being ultra crunchy and leaves a horrible taste in your mouth.

Yeah, that's how a lot of people are going to feel after the election. This won't be like when Reagan won 49 states, all but Minnesota, in 1984. I have a feeling its not going to be pretty, and the nation will still continue to be divided.

So I thought I'd put some lighter news up today.

Fulmer is out as Head Coach of the UT Vols. Even though I'm a Bama fan, I hate to see Fulmer go. He was a great coach.

The Guntersville Wildcats host a playoff game this week. Will the streak continue? Every time Guntersville plays and wins, the Crimson Tide and the Titans win.

Speaking of which...had you told me my beloved Titans would be 8-0, I would have said "Well, it would be nice, but it won't happen." I suppose after this season, anything is possible. They still have to play the Bears, the Jets, and then the Colts again, so its not going to be a cake-walk. The most brutal team left would the rivaled Pittsburgh Steelers on Dec. 21.

The Crimson Tide is Number One. I can't believe that either. Whether or not they stay there is a different story. Texas Tech is all the rage, and if they win out, I feel like they'll be hoisted to number 1. Sorry Joe Pa, Penn State just isn't going to make it.

I may not like everything Barack Obama says, but I did like his interview last night with Chris Mortensen calling for a college football playoff. If he wins, I hope that's the first thing he signs into law.

Don't forget, regardless of what happens tonight, Fulmer is still leaving, with a hefty $6 million buy out. Not too shabby.