I just returned from a whirlwind ministry trip to Fort Payne, Alabama, just southwest of Chattanooga. The trip went well, all things considered, but in retrospect, flying out of Denver at 7a, Wednesday, with a return flight from Atlanta at 7a, Friday, wasn’t such a good idea. I think I’m older than I used to be! My former Air Force boss and good friend the late colonel Jack Flannery used to say, “You should bump your limits every now and then so you’ll know what they are!” I just did, and now I know.

Anyway, in addition to fruitful meetings with the leadership of Wills Valley Community Church, I picked up fodder for a whimsical blog. My lodgings in Fort Payne, a hotel chain that shall remain nameless, boasted a Fitness Center. I finally found it, on the second floor as advertised, smaller than a standard room with a mirror on one side to make it appear twice as big. There were two pieces of equipment: a stationary bicycle that you sit down to use (they hurt my back) and a treadmill (I can walk just as easily outside). But I couldn’t have used it anyway, given the signage.

Do you see the problem? One sign says, “DO NOT USE ALONE.” The other sign, at the opposite end of the room, says, “LIMIT ONE GUEST AT A TIME.” No wonder it was empty!

So I’m out walking in the general vicinity of the hotel, and I come to this street sign:

Ruby Tuesday Lane…except there is no Ruby Tuesday on Ruby Tuesday Lane!

Lesson learned? I guess you can’t take signs too seriously in Fort Payne.

Let what you say be simply ‘Yes’ or ‘No’; anything more than this comes from evil. (Matthew 5.37, ESV)

No human being can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison. With it we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse people who are made in the likeness of God. From the same mouth come blessing and cursing. My brothers, these things ought not to be so. Does a spring pour forth from the same opening both fresh and salt water? (James 3.8 – 11, ESV)