Top Ten Reasons Why I Twit . . . or Tweet.

10. Don't want to disappoint my 16 Followers. Sounds kind of cultic, huh? Not that there is anything wrong with that.

09. Burns Calories.

08. Demi and Austin Twits . . . or Tweets. Need I say more?

07. Dustin Willis does not Tweet. Deep down, since 2006 I have always dreamed of being CTD (Cooler than Dustin). I am living my dreams.

06. Improved thumb speed. Working toward Senior Thumb Olympics 2011.

05. It just seems like the right thing to do.

04. Mr. Culturally Relevant, Ed Stetzer introduced me to Twitter. He also tells me what to Tweet. Scary part . . . I obey him.

03. Going Green.

02. Come on Ma, Everyone else but Dustin is doing it.

01. My Siamese Cat, Lilly, can't read my Twits. Yes! Even though I have a sneaking suspicion she is smarter than me and runs my household behind my back, she does not have a cell phone and is not one of my followers (I don't think . . . ).

Other Peoples' Plates

What a great weekend in the Crescent City! Some of my dearest and closest friends -- where I spent over 16 years of my life . . .

Food is a big deal in New Orleans. No overstatement here. I have lived and traveled in quite a few places. Food is high on most lists list everywhere. So, there is food in New Orleans, and then there is food every place else. If they love you, they feed you in New Orleans. From chocolate covered pecans to stuffed grape leaves I had it all. I did not fall off the wagon, but I did sample a bunch of stuff.

As I thought back on the weekend a pattern emerged. Almost every meal I had, in public, someone with me gave me something off their plate. One meal, someone handed me their plate and ordered another one. We took sharing a meal together to another level. How did it feel? Well, I noticed it. That should tell you something. Over time it looked like a profound lesson, and then lessons.

My grace story has always been . . . getting something I did not deserve, that belonged to someone else, offered freely, with no strings attached. The pattern that emerged from the weekend became a great reminder to me of God. He has put me around people, amazing people, every step of the journey, more than I deserved. People have loved and cared for me, more than I deserved. He gave me a wife, children, grandchildren, son-in-law parents, sister, and more, that is far beyond what I have deserved.

I have been given opportunities to see, do, and serve - far beyond what I deserved. Almost like a great big heavenly plate being pushed over my plate, with a fork saying, here you go, have some! Awkward at times, unexpected, out of the blue, a little personal. How do I feel about it? Well, I am noticing it. That should tell you something.

Marley and Me - Level 10 Girl Movie

Notice I resisted the temptation to say, "Chick Flick." Although never knowing anything in my adult life but Girls 'r Us in my home, I don't think that gives me permission to politically insensitive. Can we agree on girl movie? Girl movies appeal to our feminine sides if we are boys. We all have one, right?. Of course, for the girls, those movies are just another feel good, sinus draining, tear inspiring movie.

Marley and Me seemed to do well at the box office. But when you watch a big yellow lab from birth to death of old age you know you are at level 10. I don't think there was a man part it it, except for the chaos and destruction caused by Marley (the dog named after Bob Marley).

"Journey" is what is in right now. I talk about the journey when I speak, coach, and write. New churches called "The Journey" are common place. I walked away from the DVD version of Marley and Me thinking instead of Marley being a part of the journey, that we were a part of Marley's journey.

As we watched Marley get put to sleep by the vet at the end, as the tears and mucus flowed freely, we all made certain discoveries. Marley meant no harm . . . in all the chaos and destruction he caused from birth. Marley was a good dog with bad habits. Even though he was declared by his owner, as the "world's worse dog," he was the hero of the story. Just another day in the life of Girls 'R Us . . . and the scene of just another . . . Level 10 Girl Movie.