I was going to post a comment on this, and I still might, later on, but, Lawrence, a couple of weird things were posted as comments to old entries--I'm not all that computer or blog-savvy, but I wanted to make sure you weren't being spammed or worse.

I am being spammed. I am spammed all the time. It is a constant process of weeding to get unwanted comments off my blog. You should see the ones that are actually filtered out. I'd say that for every genuine comment I get there are about 50 spam comments. Maybe more.

I've thought about raising the security level of my blog, but I don't want to discourage real commenters when their messages don't appear right away.

Anyway, just know that about twice a day I junk unwanted comments. You just happened to see my blog between weedings. The fact that you've been reading my blog this long and just noticed them tells me I'm doing a pretty good job.

I take this verse as a reminder of what we are really fighting for and against. We are fighting to save our souls and the souls of all men against the powers of Satan, who is doing his best to lead us into Hell. It gives what we do a larger significance. If I can govern my temper, for example, I am not only just becoming a better person, and I am not just, say, becoming a better wife, mother, friend, etc., but I am also helping to fight the influence of Satan in my life and the lives of others. As we try to follow Christ and lead others to him, we are fighting a spiritual battle, which is more important than the gains and losses we experience on earth. (Luke 12:4-5). Unfortunately, I lose sight of this every day, being so caught up in the minutiae of daily life that I lose my focus and neglect what is truly important--centering my life around God's word and working to bring others to Christ. I hate to think what I am accountable for, and how I keep falling short, but then I remember that we all do, and that is why Christ came to redeem us.