Pollen...my Saturn Ion and I both hate it!

Welcome back my faithful readers! I hope I haven't lost anyone over this long hiatus. There is one thing however that has been lost...my voice. If you've read the title of this entry than you probably have a good guess as to why my voice has up and left...that's right Pollen. According to the weathermen (you can always trust them), the Pollen is worse this year than any other year in recent memory. Pollen is everywhere, on cars, on buildings, and apparently my lungs. Everything is coated with a thin yellow glaze, giving me the impression of what a nuclear fallout might look like. I've never experienced anything like this; and my body's telling me so. Allergy medicine has always been my best friend in the Spring, but I have never lost my voice before. Usually I become congested but never does that congestion drain into my throat and rob me of my voice, something I rely upon so heavily, especially in my line of work (And this weekend is no exception, with the 30 Hour Famine quickly approaching!). Hopefully, there will be some heavy rain showers on the horizon (though this doesn't seem to be the case) to wash away this yellow haze and nourish our dry, sandy land.

Included below is the opening segment I wrote for this week's High School Announcements email for some more insight into this pollen invasion. I have also included some pictures of my car for those of you located outside the Columbia area so that you can see with your own eyes the destruction. Need more proof? Just give me a call and listen to my gnarley voice.

Though I like Spring and the warmth that comes with it, there's one thing I don't like, all the pollen. As I'm sure most of you are aware, I own a black car. I love my car, especially after it's just been washed. There's nothing like a shiny black car, there's also nothing harder to keep clean than a shiny black car! Since my car was in dire need of a bath I decided to stop by Frank's Tuesday morning. After shining up the car, rims, tires, and vacuuming the inside I came to work. Much to my dismay, when I left the office my car was covered with yellow dust; I was highly upset. Though I'm well aware of the difficulties that go along with keeping a black car pristine, I like to keep it clean for at least a couple of days. After going back to Frank's on Wednesday to take advantage of the "24 Hour Clean Car Guarantee", my car was once again covered with yellow dust by day's end. Well this got me thinking, no I'm not going to carry a car cover in my trunk, but it got me thinking about how this is like our Christian journey. There are times we strive so hard to be right with God by obeying His holy Word and following His commandments. However, no matter how hard we work, nothing's going to keep us "spotless", we will always mess up and disappoint God; we will get covered with the "yellow dust" so to speak. However, we have a God that offers something even better than a "24 Hour Clean Car Guarantee", we have a God that offers forgiveness through the blood of Christ; anytime, all the time. A God that constantly washes away the "dust" and makes us shiny and new. Continue to follow hard and fast after Him, and remember to study His Word and bow before Him daily in prayer uplifting your requests and confessing your sins and He will wash you clean from the sin that so easily dirties our lives.

I told you my car doesn't like the pollen!
Every time I get in my car I turn on the windshield wipers to clear all the pollen; if I don't, there's no way I can see the road in front of me.
Getting in and out of the car can be tricky, one has to be careful not to take the pollen with them.