Did your parents have some phrases that are stuck in your head? Sometimes that can be bad, but sometimes that can be very good. For example, the text that we are planning to study this week includes a line that says, “make straight paths for your feet.” I can’t read that without thinking of a couple of phrases my dad liked to use, 1) “Sit up straight like a man ought to” and 2) “Straighten up you birds.” The context is not hard to figure out. The first one was used in church when I would slide down the pew into a total slouch with my chin nearly resting on my chest. I was a boy but in church I was expected to sit straight like a man. You’ll note that the second phrase is plural. It was used when my brothers were present and we were getting a bit out of line, we were boys but at that moment we were referred to as birds that needed to get in formation. I don’t need therapy for either one of those phrases. Dad simply had some expectations of us that were realistic for our present and future lives. Admittedly, I still struggle to sit up straight and I don’t always fly in formation but the training helped! I do know that there are times when good posture speaks volumes about the posture of one’s heart and I do know that there are times in community that one can get carried away to a fault. I’m actually grateful for the training. In the context of discipline (training), the writer of Hebrews reminds that instead of being discouraged in discipline, we should straighten up, strengthen our knees, get a grip on things and move forward in holiness and obedience. How we respond to the Lord’s training and rebukes is up to us, but responding in appropriate action will be better for us and the people in our sphere of life.