It's a Beaver.

If you're not from around these parts or even if you are and you've just never stopped at a Buc-ee's you are missing out.  For those not so familiar with the friendly beaver beacon of the highway, Buc-ee's is a chain of convenience stores owned by Arch "Beaver" Aplin III and Don Wasek.  The business partners opened their first store in Lake Jackson in 1982 and have since gone on to open 20 more in Texas (like we needed one more reason to be the most awesome state in the union).  As far as rest stops go they are amazing.  They are well-stocked, well-staffed and freakishly clean.  Their gift section is so amazing that my sister, Terri, plans to do all of her Christmas shopping at Buc-ee's this year.  But the best thing about Buc-ee's....okay, second best since clean bathrooms is a pretty big priority...are the Beaver Nuggets.  Beaver Nuggets are what would happen if a Cheetos puff mated with Crunch-n-Munch and the cheese part didn't make the DNA cut.  As far as snacks go they are amazing.  Every time I buy a bag I eat the whole thing.  Once my sister bought a bag and I ate hers, too.  They are delicious.  And I'm sure loaded with vitamins and fiber.  I don't know.  I'm afraid to read the label.  Anyhooo.....the thing about Beaver Nuggets is that I never mean to eat the whole bag.  I intend to ration it.  But as it sits on the kitchen counter I grab a handful on my way to the laundry room.  And then back to the living room.  And then to the pantry.  And the backyard and so on and so on until, in the matter of a day or two, I have consumed the whole bag.  Sin sort of works the same way.  No one wakes up looking to make a huge mistake, but one misstep here, another there.  One compromise leads to another and before we know it the bag is empty.  Each small handful of actions has turned into a huge collection of problems and God seems very much left out.  Any nutrition professional will tell you that the key to eating healthier is to pay attention to all the little extras that by the end of the day really start to add up.  The same concept applies to our spiritual health.  One explicit lyric here and there may not seem like much but an entire album of them?  An entire season of television shows full of affairs, murder and deceit?  How can we not be affected by all that?  It's a slippery slope to sin (or in this case a crunchy, buttery, sweet slope), but rest assured God will always be waiting at the bottom waiting to tip the decline back up in your favor.  He is the ultimate Alka Seltzer for your bag of Beaver Nuggets (I may have just taken this analogy too far).  "Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable--if anything is excellent or praiseworthy--think about such things" Philippians 4:8.  Put your mind on all the very good and wonderful things Christ has put before us and work like a beaver on a dam to keep it there.  But should you start to waver (and we always do) know that there is no distance so far for you to travel that God will not and can not pull you back to His side.  It is the gift of grace and it is for each one of us.  XOXO...Kelly

P.S. Terri...I want some Beaver Nuggets for Christmas.