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Since Susan isn't able to cook any more, that duty falls upon me. I've always dabbled at cooking, but you know, she was the woman and it was her job to cook. Ok, ok, don't thrash me, she was a good cook, and I am still a male chauvinist.

I enjoy cooking, so mine and Susan's favorite TV programs are now on the Food Network. The Chef's on the Foods Network use all fresh spices and herbs, and lots of different items that I haven't had the pleasure of trying. What has prompted this article is that as I'm sitting here at my computer, I'm about to drive myself crazy because I smell so much like garlic. The sad thing is, I haven't even eaten anything with garlic. I saw garlic on sale at Kroger the other day, three bunches for a dollar. Well, my lightning fast mind said that this was the time to "try" using fresh garlic. Those clusters have been sitting in the fridge for a few days so today I decided to use some of them.

I went to tthe Food Network and got a recipe from Bobby Flay (one of my favorite Chef's from the network) for meatballs. This recipe just happened to call for fresh garlic. I've watched Bobby Flay smack that garlic with the flat side of his knife and just pull that out skin off the garlic. He made it look so easy. So, I took out those clusters of garlic. I broke a few cloves off, smacked them with the flat side of my knife and proceeded to pick off that dry skin from the garlic. Bobby Flay makes it look so easy to get that skin off. I started pulling that skin and it started sticking to my fingers. The fresh part of the garlic was kind of sticky and everything was sticking to my fingers. I mean everything was sticking, the dry skin, the fresh garlic, the plastic bag that I had the other clusters of garlic in, everything!!!!! I chopped up the garlic that I needed, mixed all the stuff for the meatballs and got them in the oven. Being successful to this point, I decided that while I had the mess of the garlic already out, why no go ahead and chop up more of the garlic, freeze it, and have it ready to use later. My lightning fast mind thought this was a good idea. Let me tell you something I learned about garlic. Even though I washed my hands after touching the garlic, the more I touched the fresh peeled garlic, the stronger the odor got. Another thing I learned is that the longer the sticky stuff has been on your hands, the stronger the odor. I smell like one of those guys you had a meeting with, right after they ate at Olive Garden. Please, I can't stand myself.

I try to learn something from all my little tragedies, so I looked at what was happening here. I do know that I don't have to go anywhere or do anything and anyone who comes around me right now will get a real whiff of the garlic opdor that is coming off of me. I started wandering what the rest of the world is smelling when they come around us Christians. I recently read a comment from a Louisville Newspaper in the Letters To The Editor section. This person was responding to the possibility of the NQC moving from Louisville to Indianapollis. Her response was "Good Ridence". It seems that the "smell" coming from our little convention in Louisville is that of rude, arrogant people who are also bad tippers when they leave a restaurant.

What "smell" is coming off after you perform at a concert, or after you leave from attending a concert? I was at WalMart the other day when a nice lady and her daughter recognized me from the concerts we promote and wanted to know when our next concert was. After our conversation, I found myself wondering what I was doing just before she approached me. Thankfully, I was in my good behavior made and didn't embarrass myself, but there have been times when somebody took the parking spot I was going for and my attitude may not have been the best. There have been times when my wife and I may have had "words" and I wonder if someone was watching us and we may have put out a bad odor to those around us.

We need to remember that our actions are the only Bible that some people will ever read, and our actions may be the only exposure some people will ever get of Southern Gospel Music. Even after I have tried to clean my hands from that garlic smell, the smell lingers in my nose. I'm afraid that sometimes our actions leave a lingering smell in the nose of the world that we are trying to reach.

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