I Eat Magic Stars

It's been a while since I've posted. I've been busy with travelling, stomach viruses, and working on my wife's new blog, momconformist.com (you should probably check it out). I worked on a lot of the background stuff that you can't see and if something messes up it's probably my handiwork.  I've spent a lot of time thinking through the future of this blog and where we're going next with it.

There was one thing that was constant in the past two weeks.

Magic Stars

Oh yes. I eat Magic Stars.

Before you go off an assume that Magic Stars is some sort of nickname for illicit and illegal substances let me explain.

Since Molls has decided to stay home with our kids, we've started bargain hunting. This is especially true for groceries.  A couple of weeks ago I had to go pick up some things from the grocery store. On that list was cereal. That's when I saw them.....MAGIC STARS.

MAGIC STARS are the Food Lion brand of Lucky Charms. They are off brand so they are cheaper than Lucky Charms but that day was my lucky day. A box of MAGIC STARS (seriously, all caps? are they so magical that they have to yell at us?) cost about $3. This day they were on sale for 2.39....and buy one, get one!  That's right 2 boxes of cereal for $2.39!!!

Now the average person might step back and think...."2 boxes of cereal for $2.39?? It probably taste like cardboard." The average person would be right. Luckily, I'm not the average person. I bought both boxes and carried my prize home.

I triumphantly marched into the house and declared, "WIFE! SEE WHAT I HAVE DONE!"  (side note, you usually want to call your spouse by their name, not by their relation to you...) I pulled out both boxes of cereal and showed them to her.

"What is that?"
"Magic Stars!"
"....."
"2 for $2.39!!!"
" "


Apparently she was not amused. But that's OK I had found my bargain!

And then I tried Magic Stars. The only thing magical is that I didn't spit them across the room. They didn't taste like cardboard. They tasted like the Food Lion no name brand of cardboard. They were terrible. But it got me thinking about bargains.

There's a reason that something is a bargain. It's because usually it's of substandard quality. It's not worth a whole lot so it can be sold for a bargain. If you want quality you are going to have to give up more.(granted there are a few exceptions)

I find that I often settle for Bargain Faith.

Bargain Faith is great because it's cheap. It doesn't cost me anything. I can just say I follow God and life is good. I go to church every week and feel important in life. I get all of the promises of God without any of the effort.

It seems so great because it's cheap, but honestly Bargain Faith taste like crap. See Genuine Faith costs more than Bargain Faith. Just look at the book of Matthew in the Bible.

If you read through the Book of Matthew you see Jesus teaching his followers what it takes to follow Him.  Here's the thing, none of it's easy.

Sell everything you have and give to the poor.
Leave your family behind if necessary
Pick up your Cross and follow me.

Genuine Faith costs A LOT.  But it taste so much better.  Jesus says in the book of John that He came so that we may live life to the fullest.  As odd as it is, having Genuine Faith is the ONLY way you will live a completely fulfilled life.

You can settle for Bargain Faith but you won't be fulfilled. You'll still be longing for something more. You'll be longing for the real thing.

So here's a challenge to you. Put down the crappy bargain faith and start genuinely following God.

I think I'm going to get a bowl of Lucky Charms.


Jon