Monday Morning Blahs

I'm feeling them this morning. I'm tired and void of energy. I needed to walk last night and didn't and I think I'm feeling the payback for it today.

The weekend baseball tournament wasn't rewarding overall but my son did pretty well and I'm happy for that. He went 1-3 and was on base 4 of 6 trips to the plate. The first two games were ugly for our team. Errors kill in baseball and we gave up a BUNCH of runs and came back to bracket play as the last seed. The two teams we played Saturday ended up being the #1 and #2 seeds and we played the #3 seed in our first bracket game. What luck, huh? Our guys battled yesterday and lost 11-10 in the last inning. It was a great game with lots of real baseball strategy thrown in to make it interesting. Better luck next time...I hope.
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I continue to wonder what will come up next in the Presidential battle for the Democrats. Will they play nicer and just have their mouthpieces do all the talking or will there be more mud-slinging between the two candidates? Does anyone remember who the Republican candidate is?

I don't know what to hope for as this all plays out but I sure wish we could start over with a new group of people I could get behind.

Sounds of Silence

I've had a lot going on lately but nothing worthy of blog-land.

I'm ready for the weekend. My son plays in a baseball tournament and I'm excited to get out and watch him. Now that I'm not coaching, I don't ride the highs and lows of the team so much and get to focus on 1 child instead of 10 or more. I don't feel the pressure of dealing with a "coach's kid" either which is kind of nice. I still sit through all of practice and give him my thoughts from time to time because I can't quit coaching altogether. I hope he does well this weekend and hope he has a lot of fun playing a game with some old and new friends.

One of the assistant coaches ran practice last night and made them practice sitting in the dugout, taking the field after a 3rd out and getting off the field when they got a 3rd out. I love organization in practice and love it on the field.

I have nothing more today. Maybe a weekend of ball and some time away from work will help refresh my mind and my thoughts.

I hope you have a great weekend and feel God's presence with you.

Easter + 1

I wonder what the disciples of Jesus felt like today. I can only imagine they still felt like they were in a dream to some degree. They had seen Jesus die on the cross and today He is with them again - alive and teaching. I imagine they were filled with a feeling of awe for what had happened and I imagine God felt as real to them at that moment as He ever had to them or their forefathers.

As I listened to the preacher at a church I was visiting, as I heard him talk about the proof people had seeing the stone rolled back, seeing the tomb empty, I couldn't help but think how many people are skeptical today or who refuse to believe. What is their hope? What do they see for the future?

I have hope because of what I celebrated yesterday. It is not a hope built on what I have seen or what I have touched or what I can even prove but a hope built on faith that Thomas and many others did see and believed. I have a hope built on faith that I have seen God work in my life and faith that it is more than coincidence or fate. I have hope built on faith secured by seeing the miracle of two babies born into this world and faith that only a great God could create such precious things. Because of my faith, I have hope for a future that is so much better than anything I know or can imagine here. I look forward to my last day on earth + 1 because I have faith I will wake up in what seems like a dream but will become a beautiful reality.

Out of Order

Bear Stearns almost going bust. $3.99 diesel. The bathrooms at a recent baseball tournament. All things that are out of order. Not as they should be. Changed in a seemingly sad, almost painful way.

My life gets out of order pretty often. I drift off course and wind up bumping into things I don't care to bump into. Stephen Covey, in his 7 Habits book, notes how a plane constantly drifts off course and has to be returned to the proper path, either manually or by computers that now figure that stuff out.

Last night, my daughter made me aware of a young girl whose life drifted off course. It was a girl I had coached in basketball 5 years ago and I remember her as a happy girl then. I don't know her emotional state today but I think, I hope, she's trying to get her life back on course. I hope last night was a step for her to connect with God and overcome the things she has been bumping into. I hope.
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Way Out Wise will be out of order tomorrow. I'm headed to T-town (that's Tyler to you non-hip folks) for a quick visit with the parental units. I'm going to do my best to be there no later than 3:00 tomorrow afternoon. That's when Texas begins their assault on reaching the Final Four - it should be a national holiday - and I'm sure they can't do it without me glued to the TV yelling at the refs.

Doel

I thought I saw animals lining up two-by-two yesterday afternoon. Man, it rained and rained and then it rained some more. I am thankful it was a steady rain at our place since too much water coming too fast always gets me worried about flooding. Instead, I just enjoyed the sound of it falling and am thankful the ground is moist again.
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I had the opportunity to take my children to a Stars game Saturday night and sit in a suite. It was a good treat for both kids and I think my daughter really enjoyed it. We had a pasta chef for the evening who made some really tasty food but it wasn't his food that was most interesting to me but his story. We arrived 20 minutes before anyone else so he cooked us a sampler platter (shrimp, sausage, chicken, mushrooms, artichoke, tomatoes, broccoli and pasta cooked in olive oil with some garlic, red pepper and cheese - YUMMY) and I started visiting with him about how he got started cooking. He opened his life to me, his youth in Illinois as a boxer and baseball player, his wife and two children and a job with a brother-in-law that led to a conviction of money laundering and 10 years in a federal prison. He's 5 years out of prison and still struggling to get back to where he wants to be spiritually, emotionally and financially. He's going through a program in Dallas that helps people get on their feet, find work and get on their own again but his admitted biggest need is to get right with God.

His name is Doel and he told me that prison was the best thing that happened to him because he met God there. He didn't enjoy it and wouldn't do it again but the time led him to a relationship with God that he doesn't believe that would have happened any other way. Since he's been out, Doel said he's been trying to do it on his own again and realized that wasn't the right way. He's seeking God again and wanting to follow Him.

I'm praying for Doel. What a story and lesson of what we sometimes have to go through to return to God.

Gambling Fever

The title sounds like it ought to be a song, huh?

My FAVORITE time of the year is upon us...yes, March Madness has started with the bracket selection yesterday and once again, I will be wagering heavily on the NCAA tournament. My habit started in 1988 at Weaver & Tidwell, CPAs where a young man in the IT department started a pool on the March Madness brackets. I played and for several years always won a little money back. The trick was being able to watch every televised conference tournament and figuring out who the hot teams were. I even one the tournament in one of those early years. Lately, I've been close to the money but it's all been a donation to the pot.

I'm back this year, again with hopes to turn my little wager into big money. Yep, I'm going to part with my $5 per bracket (I limit myself to 3 brackets at the most) and see if I can't reel in the prize money. The guy who runs it is hoping for 600...yes, 600 entries. That's the neat thing about this particular pool - most of the money goes to help the All Church Home in Ft. Worth. I know he takes kids to the Rangers game, I think coaches baseball teams for them and does other things I'm not as aware of.

If you like playing your hunch, you can go to www.madnessinmarch.com and sign up online. You'll have to send some money in and hope your teams win.

The Email Loop

I'm getting an email again that was first sent to me at least a couple of years ago. It's about a boy who was walking home from school with all of this books and supplies on a Friday. A classmate saw him and wondered why anyone would carry so much home on the weekend when he saw some other kids start bullying the boy with all the books. The classmate goes over to help the boy and walks home with him just being friendly. That strikes up a friendship that remains through high school. The book boy is the valedictorian and gives the commencement address and tells the story of his friend helping him on that day revealing his plans were to go home that day and commit suicide. He was carrying all of his stuff so his mom wouldn't have to go clean out his locker but the classmate, in an act of compassion, changed his desire. The point of the story is how one person can make a difference.

It's a touching email but the story is more than just touching. We may never know when a person is at their lowest or on their way there and we may never know when a single act of kindness or compassion can change the course of someone's life - but it can happen. As Christians, our actions may not only save some mortal problem, it might just lead someone to eternal life with God and it can all be started with the simplest of actions.

A Day Afield

I spent a good bit of yesterday hunting pheasant near the Red River. I didn't get as many opportunities to shoot as I would have liked but I never do but it was a fun day spent with two good friends. I enjoy my days hunting and fishing because it takes me into God's handiwork and I spend some time slowing down and seeing the wonders of His hand.

Last night, I had another opportunity to speak to our youth group and I am always thankful for that. I've mentioned before that speaking to a group of 13-18 year olds worries more than speaking to 40 year olds because I'm speaking to the future. I pray my words help them find their way to God.
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Obama's preacher was on TV today. Wow. I can't imagine if similar words came out of our pulpit. I appreciate the fact that I don't understand what it's like to live in "black America" as one lady described it on TV but when someone stands in a pulpit and damns America, the tone I hear isn't one of reconciliation but continued division.

The preacher won't affect my vote one bit but it does make me question how the divide between black and white will ever be eliminated when I hear his words.

Lonely People

Do you know a lonely person? It's a group of people I feel for. I guy who used to work for us was separated from his wife for a time and I really thought he might go crazy he was so lonely. Another man who works for us now strikes me as being a lonely person. He and I often talk about hunting and where all the quail have gone but he is very guarded when asked anything personal and says little about what he does with his time now. I hope I'm wrong and he's doing great but I feel for him today because I believe he is lonely.

One of the joys we should find in God is never being alone but I know in my life, I have often tried to keep my distance from God while I wallowed in whatever emotion that was prevalent at the time. It wasn't that God didn't want to be near me but that I was attempting to keep my distance from God. I think a lot of loneliness, sorrow, hatred, fear, self-pity and every other emotion could be alleviated from my life if I would always be searching for God instead of turning away from Him.

My hope today is that I will seek Him every day, every hour, every minute and draw Him closer to me instead of doing the opposite.

Ballin'

My son and I headed to Chickasha, OK last Friday for a cold weekend. I went Friday to tour the plant of one of our manufacturers and then my son was playing baseball over the weekend. The team didn't fare so well but I felt like my son had a good tournament and was happy to see him playing again. It was collllddddddddd. All day Saturday and Sunday morning I was bundled up with thermals, turtleneck, sweatshirt and coat, gloves and beanie (that's what they call 'em these days) and I was still cold. Sunday afternoon finally saw some sun and upper-50 degree temperatures.

Sunday morning, we met in a hotel room with another family to sing, pray and read God's Word. I couldn't help but think what the early church was like - maybe just a few families studying the Word, singing - maybe not the prettiest but with hearts attuned to God, and prayers lifted up by young and old. In some ways, I felt a closeness to God I don't always feel in a big group. In a small group, you're either plugged in and invested or you're on the outside looking in. Please don't misunderstand, I am not criticizing our big facilities and large numbers but simply saying I enjoyed the time we had Sunday, just a few of us, everyone participating and all focused on our wonderful Lord.

Total Control

I'm reviewing a software system for one of our entities named Total Control. It will supposedly give me total control over everything we need to do to make the company successful. As I sat in class last night thinking about my relationship with God, I thought it funny that the idea behind the software is often the idea behind how I try to run my life - with total control. Over the years, I think I've done a better job of letting God be in control, trusting that He will guide me through my days but I still find myself in situations where I rush to make a decision instead of stepping back and praying for/waiting on guidance.

I want to give God the control. It doesn't mean I won't make decisions, but instead, that I will make decisions based on His desire for me instead of my desire for myself. I want to surrender my will, my ego, my ways for His will, His love and His ways. I only want to make one decision on my own - to follow God and walk in His paths.

What If?

In my conversation with an 11 year old about the election last night, I was told that voting for one of the Democrats was bad because they were for abortion. He wondered if one of the Democrats was elected President, would there be more abortion. While we discussed the idea that the thing a President can do to affect legalized abortion is being able to place a Supreme Court Justice on the court who would uphold the current ruling, we also discussed what impact a wave of people who had decided to live more Christ-like would have.

For years, I have looked at politicians to uphold moral dignity for this country but for me, it's becoming more clearly focused that politicians only do what they believe the people want them to do. Having a Baptist preacher or a Mormon or an agnostic for President want make much difference in the morality of the country if the people of the country want to live a certain way. All that to say, each day I am realizing that the more I can live a Christ-like life and affect someone else to live that way...well, it's like that hair commercial from a few years ago where one lady used the shampoo, liked it and told someone and that person told two people and the good news about the shampoo grew exponentially.

I still believe picking a good person for President (or any elected office) is important but not near as important as me living in God's will every day and hopefully setting a good example for someone else to live in God's will and they affect two people and those two each affect two people and so on. Can you imagine what would happen to abortion if 50% of our country lived in God's will everyday? What would happen to drug use, alcohol abuse, hatred?

While this may sound idealistic, I believe it to be truth. You and I can have as big or bigger an impact on changing the world today than our President. The question is, will I live to change it for the better or worse?

Election Day

Today's the day Texas gets to play in the political scene. I've lost my appetite for election coverage over the past few years but I think tonight I will likely be watching the TV and keeping up with what is happening. While I will vote for neither Clinton nor Obama, I will be most interested in seeing which one pulls out the victory in Texas and Ohio. While I don't care for their politics, they have made it an interesting year.

I more concerned because I haven't done the job in getting familiar with more local races. I do know I have received a number of recorded phone calls from a few candidates and that alone has made me less inclined to vote for them. If some politician thinks interrupting the privacy of my home and talking about how wonderful he is will endear me to him, that is VERY wrong thinking.
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If you want to hear the Word proclaimed, spend some time at the Decatur Church of Christ. The past few Wednesday nights, I have listened to some incredible messages about baptism and the cost of bearing the name of Jesus from our youth minister, Jacob Baker. Rick Ross, our minister has finished a series of sermons on Heaven and started one on the cross and both have kept me captivated and motivated to know God and see His hope and plan for us. I'm getting the CD's of both series to keep and listen to from time to time to remain challenged and convinced in my desire to be a child of God.