Uh-Oh
Pittsburgh Steelers fans are beside themselves after Ben Roethlisberger's motorcycle accident yesterday. Many are downright selfish, disappointed that his performance as a football player could be jeopardized--and their own hopes for a second Steelers superbowl victory could be dashed.

I've heard many a pastor say that anything (even football) can become a god, and thus we break the1st commandment. Of course, we can enjoy a good game and not "worship" the sport, but I have witnessed many people here in Pittsburgh who love their Steelers so much that the performance of a team in a game actually affects their emotional outlook for days on end--for good or bad. That's when we are in danger of breaking the 1st Commandment. Now, I'm not saying that people who are concerned about Big Ben now are breaking the 1st Commandment. I'm simply saying that holding anything in our hearts as more important than God would be wrong.

I hope Ben recovers. Even with a full recovery, however, I can't imagine that getting beat up during football games would actually help him this fall.

I'm 37 years old, and really it wasn't until I became a mother 10 years ago that I started realizing that I have limitations--and that I'd better be responsible. That's not to say that I went around hang gliding and riding motorcycles without a helmet before then. But it was all the responsibilities of being a mom that made me change my attitude. It's the folly of youth to think that they are immortal, and yet that's what often gives young soldiers the courage to face death everyday. Anyway, here's the latest on Ben. Sounds like he may not even have had a motorcycle license.

Good Search
Recently, we discovered a new search engine, which you can use like Google, which helps raise money for charity. It's called Good Search. You can enter the name of our church, Concordia Lutheran Church, in Pittsburgh, PA, and for every search you do, the church gets a penny. It seems like it would take awhile to earn any significant amount of money, but it could add up if enough people do it. So, it would be awesome if a bunch of people make that their homepage and then do all their searches through that site.

A Note on Cheep! Cheep!
A few people in Pittsburgh have asked me where they can find my book. Well...you can always order it from Amazon or someplace like that (and for more info, you can go to my website: juliestiegemeyer.com). There are also a number of copies available at the Barnes & Noble at the Waterfront, FYI. Thanks for asking!!