It's a Tuesday

Yes, I do know my days of the week and the Rangers lost again. I listened to some of the post-game radio show and there are calls to hire a new hitting coach. People are so reactive at times. There are times when nothing but time will fix things. The hitting coach has been regarded as a guru for years and players who are suffering at the plate want to come to him to find what they have lost. Just because not everyone finds it at once, on the same pace, at the same time, others want to denounce the guy who can help them the most? Crazy.
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We had a bit of a cold front yesterday and I actually saw a temperature of 77 and felt a few rain drops. Woohoo! Do you ever wonder why God doesn't set the thermostat at 75 degrees around the world and leave it there?
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One of the best things in my life are people who will talk to me about what they believe and what I believe, share our agreements and differences, challenge each other to think and examine our beliefs more and do it with mutual respect and love for each other. It's a beautiful gift.

It's a Monday

I can't get going this morning.

I've wondered while watching all the Michael Jackson hoopla and Iran protests on TV what it would have been like if there was TV back in Jesus' day.

I enjoyed it while the Rangers were on top. Now I'm left to wonder what the rest of the season will be like. The past few years, the Rangers have started off horribly and finished strong. Maybe they are in a collective slump and will still finish strong and be in the playoff hunt.

I am a little concerned with all the trade talk. I don't think they are in a position to contend for a World Series spot this year so why trade the prized farm system they keep talking about. Play the string out and see what the young guys can do unless we can get a great deal.

The Angels are coming to town. We want learn everything over the next 3 games but we may learn about the heart of the team. I'll be watching.

I wonder how much more attention Farrah Fawcett's death would have received if Michael Jackson hadn't died the same day.

I love to grill but it's weird thinking about starting a fire when it's 108 degrees outside.

We've started a class at church titled "What Is Truth?" Pilate asks Jesus that question and then walks away. Why wouldn't he stay for an answer? We're just a few classes in but I'm interested to see where it goes. I keep asking myself what we have done to truth over the years. Have we really upheld truth or have we mutated it to fit our desires, have we legalized it thinking it would make it easier to follow? Have we stayed true to exactly what Jesus taught? Questions that I don't have all the answer to.

I know this...God loves me deeply and He loves you the same way. He paid an incredible price for me and for you because He loves each of us so much. That is truth.

Grace and peace to you.

Being Clear

It's hard in a short blog to always cover all the bases but I want to add a little bit more to my last two posts.

The finger I am pointing is pointing square at me. It's not pointing at my current church or past churches I have attended. It's not pointing at the church across the street or around the corner. Just at me.

Maybe there's a better way to phrase "my church experience" but it's all I came up with . Anyway, it's MY experience and it's MY heart that has needed changing all along. I will say if you felt your toes were getting stepped on you may want to examine your own heart but please do not think I was talking about you or anyone else.

I am growing and experiencing a new relationship with God and through that my eyes are opening to all sorts of things. My church experience was a part of that. Do I think there are lots of people out there who were like me? Sure. I am trying to point out their issues? NO. Just mine.

I have learned that my view is shaped in great part by my heart relationship with God. I'm sharing some of what I'm learning because a) it is part of my healing and b) it may help someone else who has traveled the same or similar paths to mine.

Please know and believe my desire is to build up the kingdom. I believe God is a perfect God and I believe His ways and His desires are perfect.

I love God and shout hallelujah that I am His.

Grace and peace to you.

The Other Side of the Coin

I beat up on my church experience yesterday but I don't want to leave the story there because it's not complete. The crazy thing about a church is that it will not be perfect. It's made up of people who, though made in God's image, are sinful. I think God knew this was going to happen but it didn't stop Him from creating the church.

When I was a teenager, I was at a friend's lakehouse and his dad told me "I can find God out here easier than I can at church." At the time, I didn't know what to say and, even today, I'm not sure I can give a good response to him because it's not about the church but his heart. Christ established the church with Peter. In Matthew 16, ¹⁷Jesus replied, "Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by man, but by my Father in heaven. ¹⁸And I tell you that you are Peter,^a]">[a] and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades^b]">[b] will not overcome it.^c]">[c] ¹⁹I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be^d]">[d] bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be^e]">[e] loosed in heaven."

Jesus said this to Peter, the same Peter who would later vehemently deny he knew the Christ, Peter the fiery cut-off-someone's-ear guy. Hmmm. Maybe, just maybe, even Jesus knew things wouldn't always run perfectly in the church because Jesus says "on this rock I will build my church" and surely He knew what Peter would later do. Should we think He expects we will be better than that?

What I have found at my church are some people who love the Lord our God deeply and intimately. I have found some people who will carry each other's burdens an extra mile. I have found people who love unconditionally, who bear with each other, who endure with each other and who believe in each other. I have found people who come together on Sunday morning to worship, fall at the feet of and give praise to the Lord.

For all the imperfections that exist, there is also something perfect in the church - the desire of God for us to come together and it is in that perfection that I have grown to love my church and look forward to the times we are together in worship and in fellowship.

Grace and peace to you.

Where Did It Change?

I'm part of a theological movement often referred to as the Restoration Movement - the idea being to restore the 1st century church. I think it's a great idea but as I look at my church experience, I don't think I see things matching up real well.

This from Acts 2:
⁴²They devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. ⁴³Everyone was filled with awe, and many wonders and miraculous signs were done by the apostles. ⁴⁴All the believers were together and had everything in common. ⁴⁵Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need. ⁴⁶Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, ⁴⁷praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.

I am guilty of participating in being devoted to a lot of things other than the apostles' teaching, fellowship, breaking of bread and prayer, of being together with everything in common, of giving all I have to anyone as they have need, of meeting every day to study.

I am guilty of participating with people in the church who are more concerned about getting to keep all my money because I earned it instead of giving it all away.
I am guilty of participating with people in the church of being more devoted to a certain political groups teachings and fighting the other group instead of focused on the apostles' teaching.
I am guilty of participating with people in church who want to segregate ourselves from other groups because our worship style is different or we want to fight a public battle over our doctrine while the lost stand on the outside wandering what all the fuss is about but knowing they don't want anything to do with it.
I am guilty of participating with people in the church who pass emails around with Congressman explaining why we are a Judeo-Christian nation to build up our country instead of talking to people who don't know Jesus and building up the kingdom.

I'm not saying my church isn't important because it was something established by Christ. I think the church is very important (and I'll have more to say about that another day because we just aren't perfect people, are we?) but I also think our movement has been less about restoring 1st century Christianity than it should be. I think many of us have been misguided and I think there are spiritual forces at work that want to keep it that way - let us fight over music and dress and women's roles and buildings and a 1,000 other things instead of doing what the church in Acts 2 was doing.

I pray for churches that are led by the Spirit and not the desire of men. I pray for churches that are building up the kingdom instead of fighting the battles of egos and politics. I pray for churches that are enjoying the favor of people and enjoying the fruit of the Lord adding to their numbers daily. I am praying that I will begin to look more like a 1st century Christian than I do today.

Grace and peace to you.

The Coming Week

I've got several ideas for posts this week and hope I can get them all done without writing a novel and making sense. I may have to stew on some of them a little longer.

Today, health care seems to be back in the spotlight. I didn't hear all that was said this morning on GMA but know they were talking about the pros and cons of Obama's plan that is coming soon. While government run anything makes me immediately think "FAILURE" I'm also an advocate that our current system doesn't work so well either. Currently, I make 2 house payments each month - one for my house and one for my health plan. It's not a joke, I pay roughly the same amounts for my mortgage and insurance. Does that sound like a good plan? Then, I've got Newt Gingrich as the Republican spokesman for the evils of Obama's plan. A guy who is living off a government paid pension funded my tax dollars, a guy with the best health care available fund funded by my tax dollars and a guy who gets paid millions of dollars to speak while still taking a salary paid for by my tax dollars. Great. What I would like is for my spokesman to be the husband of one of the ladies in my office. She's pregnant and his company just cut health insurance to save money. I think he's got a better grip on reality than Newt for most Americans.

Tell me the government cannot effectively manage a health program and I can't disagree with you. Tell me the plan we have now is good enough and I will disagree with you. Tell me the Republicans have a better alternative and I'll just laugh. Ask me for a solution and I'll tell you I'm as lost as the next person because I don't have the time to invest in it right now. Who does you ask? Unfortunately it's the people who are getting paid by my tax dollars, people who don't live in the real world and who don't seem to really understand the needs of the typical American.
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This is leading me to a place I don't fully understand and reserve the right to change my opinions as I think out loud. For today, I'll simply throw the broad question out of what is the church's role going to be in the future?

Grace and peace to you.

Strength

I talked to a friend yesterday who just quit his job. Yep, just quit. He doesn't have another job lined up. The job he had paid him as much as his previous jobs had paid in 2-3 years. He just quit.

OK, he didn't just walk out. He talked to his boss, the owner of the company, before walking out. They had a talk and then he quit.

Crazy, huh? In this economy, who in their right mind quits his job? And what would possess someone to do something like that?

My friend and his boss, the owner, were interviewing a guy for a position at the company. They had asked if the guy was willing to move and the guy responded to the effect of "yes, my wife and I have been praying about it so that we make the right decision for our family and we think God is leading us to move." At this point, the boss excuses himself to go to the restroom while my friend finished the interview.

After the candidate is gone, my friend finds the boss and asks what he thought. "I left because I'm not hiring another Christian hypocrite around here. I'm not interested." There was more to it than that but you get the idea.

My friend wrestled with it for a few days. He had promised his high school aged daughter he wouldn't move her again. He was making good money. He called someone and they suggested he talk to his daughter and tell her what happened to which she responded, "you can't stay there daddy." So he told his boss how he felt and his boss told him he didn't care. So he quit.

Strength. Not muscles, not force but a strength that comes from a faith I wonder if I would have. Strength that allows him to trust that God will take care of him. Strength.

Grace and peace to you.

Twittering

Technology can bring good and bad to our world. Twitter is one of those things I've been somewhat fascinated by because lots of people use it and it doesn't make the company any money. I guess that's perfect in this economy but it doesn't seem like a long-term solution.

Anyway, Twitter was planning to shut down this weekend for some maintenance and has been asked by the U.S. government to postpone it so protesters in Iran can communicate what is going on using Twitter. The Iranian government has stopped most news outlets from reporting and people are using their cell phones and Twitter to let the world in. Crazy.

I still think Twitter is going to have to find a way to make money.
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If you fly much, or even if you don't, and want to read something fun, google "29E letter" and read the comments from a passenger who was having a bad flight. There is some coarse language so beware but the letter is one of the funniest things I've read. There's a similar letter from a guy flying from Mumbai to Heathrow on Virgin Airways that ranks right there with it. You can find it through google also.
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The Rangers won in extra innings last night. I'm glad we are beating the bad teams but want to see us beat a Boston, New York or Los Angeles Dodger type team before I get too excited about making any trades to make a run this year. There are still too many holes to begin giving up valuable talent in the farm system to hope for a Series this year.

No one from the Rangers has ever asked my opinion.
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Grace and peace.

Shocking (Or Not)

Word out that Sammy Sosa tested positive for steroids in 2003. Really? OK, everyone who is suprised to hear this, raise your left hand. The numbers are skewed and there's no going back so let's move on. No one cared when it was happening - not MLB or the Players Association, not owners, reporters or fans. Now people are outraged? Give it up and move on.
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Obama is proposing several new positions to monitor private industry. It's hilarious to think some government nerd really has a clue what happens in the real world but big business sure seems to have trouble policing itself and it's owners (stockholders) want immediate returns so what does anyone expect but short term thinking and pushing to make numbers look pretty? Anyway, throw the government beauracracy in the mix and prepare for disaster. Not that business managers won't bring disaster on themselves anyway. Remember MCI? Enron? Hundreds of other companies that went belly-up because of bad management and took lots of people down with them?

The danger, to me, is that people begin to focus on the government agencies as the problem when the people running the company are the problem - but make millions and millions and get to walk away financially secure while the line workers lose their retirement.
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That leads me towards another post I'm working on that asks how much we should care and where our focus and efforts should be. Some people will think I have lost my mind...and I couldn't disagree with them.
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Grace and peace to you.

Deep Stuff

Not really any deep stuff here today.

Letterman has apologized to Palin for his jokes. This little explosion, what little attention I've paid to it, simply disgusts me. Letterman's joke was out of line regardless of which daughter he thought was at the ballgame. Plain and simple out of line, inappropriate and crude. He should know better and should have apologized immediately. On the other hand, Palin continues to use it for her political stature. Someone asked me what I would have done had it been my child. I hope I would have been forgiving and merciful and let it go. Does it help the girl that her mother keeps beating the dead horse in the public forum. Surely not. It drags it on and on. I hope Palin apologizes for her actions. She did far more than defend her daughter, she exploited it for her own gain.

This ordeal only brings me back to the way I am trying to see things in my life. Do you really think this was just a bad actor and an overzealous politician...or is it something more, something darker that wants to use just these actions to pull our thoughts away from Christ-like living? I reserve the right to be dead wrong but I tend to see these things as part of the spiritual warfare that is going on around us. Would satan rather us be caught up in a battle between people or service to our Savior? Who looks at Letterman and Palin as simply a late night TV guy and a politician and who sees them as falliable children of the Creator? Does seeing them as children of God, made in His image, susceptible to lure of evil just like me, change the way I feel about them?
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It's this kind of baloney that has pushed me to quit watching the news programs. Local, CNN, Fox...they are in business to sensationalize information so as to get the people watching and listening up in arms. What drives ratings? The crazy and the bizarre.
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If you find yourself looking for stuff in the Bible, try www.biblegateway.com. It's a great tool with a good search function and works similar to a concordance but does even more.

Grace and peace.

Done For The Week

No more posts this week. When I'm done with this one, you will likely I think I was done with posts yesterday.

The Rangers won a 1-0 game last night that was over at 9:45. The Rangers. Yes, a game won with pitching and defense! A Ranger game that took less than 3 hours. A Ranger game won with pitching and defense...did I mention that one already? Who is that team playing in Arlington and what did they do with the guys we are used to watching?

Anyone watching 4th and 1 on SpikeTV? It's Michael Irvin's reality show that started with 6 receivers and 6 defensive backs competing for a spot at Cowboys training camp. I'm pretty sure Jerry is behind it somehow since it's promoting his team but I think I'll be pulling for whoever wins to make the team. So far, all these guys seem happy to have the opportunity. It's Irvin being the taskmaster with Bill Bates as the defensive coach and Joe Avezzano as the offensive coach. Irvin has the line he gives them whenever he cuts one but each guy that got cut is respectful and thankful for the shot.

One of the last things I heard on Good Morning America this morning was that we would all get to hear one of the American Idol people say these 3 words, "I am gay." But GMA isn't about sensationalism. Seriously? Sadly, there are people who will tune in just to hear the big news with some thinking he's the greatest thing since sliced bread for coming out and others who will hate him for it.

I wish GMA would roll the I Am Second lineup of folks out on their stage so they can say those words to the world. Josh Hamilton, Jason Witten, Darren Waltrip, Brian "Head" Welch, Jason Castro and a bunch of others...why not make that the big news?

Whew. Breathe deeply. Calm. Imagine your favorite peaceful place. OK, I'm better now.

I hope you have a wonderful weekend and remember that God loves you tremendously.

Why?

Great Bible verse today. Psalm 46:10.
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Why do tragedies occur? Why do we hurt each other and do things that are so senseless at times? You have probably heard about the white supremacist that entered the Holocaust Museum in Washington, D.C. yesterday and started shooting people because he hates Jews and blacks. I haven't heard the whole story but know he killed at least 1 person.

I don't know that I can fully imagine the evil influence a person is under to want to kill people because of the color of their skin or their religious beliefs. The murderer and his victim were both created in the image of God, yet one of them chose to hate the other.

We are all caught in a spiritual battle. Our feelings may not be the same as the man who decided to kill but the goal of the battle is just the same, to steal our heart and soul from God. My prayer is that we can see our battles and seek God with all of our strength to overcome satan and his evil plans.

Battles

The Rangers aren't surviving their battles against Toronto very well. Last night was so ugly I quit watching it. And Elvis made an error. I think the world's axis must have tilted off course last night.

I love Colossians 3:13. I have appreciated it for a long time but I have learned to love it powerfully the more I have come to know God.

I got an email that asks, "If satan and his demons were having a board meeting about their competition, would your name come up? Would they know you were a threat?" What a great question. How many professing Christians roam the world and pose no threat to satan? I ask because there was a time I was that description fit me well. I hope that's not true today.

More from Os Hillman:
If you are seeking to fully follow the Lord, you can expect harassment from the enemy. God permits temptation because it drives us deeper into the soil of God. These times reveal God's power to keep us and walk us through the temptations. Our message becomes fruitful when it is born out of obedience and suffering for His name. Do not consider it strange if you find yourself fighting major battles the more obedient you become to the Master. God desires each of us to become a feared enemy of hell in order to affect satan's domain. When you begin to feel harassed, chances are you are beginning to affect the kingdom of darkness, and satan doesn't like this. So, how many demons do you think are assigned to you?

I hope I lead a life that disrupts satan's plans and brings the light of God into the world. I'm still traveling a path to a better understanding and knowledge of God, of what the Holy Spirit can and does do in my life but as I walk, I hope my light will begin to shine brighter and brighter to a lost world that is full of satan's work.

Mental Toast

Breathing in dust, grass clippings and other factors are causing me to go into mental shutdown this morning. The yard looks pretty good (thanks to lots of God's watering) but I still have to do the back this evening...meaning more dust, grass clippings...yoweee.

It was a baseball whipping yesterday. Rangers picked up the option on Ron Washington's contract for next year. That's not saying a lot for the Rangers but the first time Ron's had any job security. Josh Hamilton will have surgery. Not good for us Hamilton fans. Brandon McCarthy has a stress fracture in his shoulder and will be out for a month or more. Not good for pitching fans. Frank Francisco is having shoulder trouble again. Not good for those of us who white knuckle the arms of our chair every time C.J. Wilson runs on to the field. The Rangers lost to Toronto last night. They made a good run at it and a Hank Blalock shot last night with Nelson Cruz on deck almost made it really good but, unfortunately, Hank hit it towards centerfield where the very, very capable Vernon Wells hangs out. Wells made the catch and that was that.

The Longhorns beat TCU to earn a spot in the College World Series. I would have loved to see TCU purple in Omaha but not at the expense of burnt orange being there.

That's all for today.

Years Of Frustration

The Rangers go to New York and Boston and leave with a 3 wins and 3 losses record. WOW! For Rangers fans who have suffered through years of bad pitching and bad defense, the start to this season is fun to watch. I bet there are plenty, like me, who keep preparing for the wheels to fall off but I'm not so sure they will. Nelson Cruz, the guy who was out of options, who couldn't get off to a good start at the top level, has gone deep 17 times. Kinsler, Andrus, Young, Davis...strong. Millwood, Feldman, Wonderboy (Holland)...steady. Padilla...a nut job who can pitch pretty well when his head is in the game. This is fun, really fun to watch.
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Have you ever waited on something to happen and thought it never would? Did you get frustrated? Ready to give up? I know I feel that way at times and I wonder if God ever does. For some of us, coming to a true relationship with God has taken a long time with several missteps (to put it kindly) along the way. I wonder if He ever got frustrated? Ever wanted to give up?

Can you imagine hearing God say "(state your name), I'm tired of trying, I'm tired of waiting, I'm frustrated and I'm ready to give up on you." The first time I imagined that question with my name in the blank, it brought me to tears and sent chills down my spine. It still does at times because it's a question I continue to use when I feel myself drifting away from complete trust and faith in God, a trust and faith that He will bring to a place greater than what I am hoping for, greater than I can likely imagine. It doesn't mean the path is all sunshine and roses because there are evil forces along with the way wanting me to quit, to give up. But God is good, He's never given up on me, He never quit trying, He never quit loving me...and He never will.

I still hear the voices and feel the pull to walk away but the question hasn't let me do that. I want to live in the answer, the answer that says "I am with you always..."

The End of The Week

I have a friend who is leaving for a Colorado vacation today. Lucky dog.

That, in itself, pretty well has me shut down from having any other thoughts today.

The only "do what?" thought is that he is going to be camping the whole time. He said he probably spent more on camping equipment than he would have on a nice hotel but he didn't want a TV wherever he was.

I'm not sure the idea of unplugging the TV crossed his mind. Even cutting the power cord off the TV and paying to replace it would be worth it when considering sleeping in a bed or on the ground at our advanced ages.

OK, I'm picking at him because he will spend the next week in Colorado and I won't...but my day is coming quickly!

I hope to be back next week with some better thoughts to go exploring with. Have a great weekend and remember that God loves you and wants you in a relationship with Him that is full of the best He has to offer - amazing grace, incredible love and compassion and a beautiful hope for what lies before us.

Not Much Today

I'm working on thoughts that might make the blog next week. It's kind my mental motor locked down right now.

ESPN's #2 Play of the Day last night - 2 clips of Elvis Andrus making some lights out plays against the Evil Empire. Rangers win! Rangers win!

I wonder what they will do with Vincente Padilla. I can't imagine they will get much for him in a trade but I wonder if they would want much. He's supposed to be the number 2 guy but he's a bit of a head-case. Dump all or most of his salary with the plan to bring in Ben Sheets and pull Perez up from the minors? Is a Blalock for a pitcher trade still in the works? It's going to be an interesting year.

Did you hear about the banker jumping from the 14th floor of a parking garage yesterday? Saw a snippet that the ME ruled he jumped on his own. Tragic. I can only imagine the pain that drove him to do that.

I've only heard snippets about Obama's speech in Egypt yesterday. I wonder how he's been received and I wonder how he's representing the USA. I used to be much more wrapped up in all of that but don't have near the concern or time for it anymore. I'm not too worried about what Obama is going to do because I have come to believe this country has been on a downhill slide for several years and it has little to do with who's in office but everything to do with the condition of the people of this country.

Kids sure spend a lot of time on Facebook while they are in school. Social media is one more avenue that good things can come from but a whole lot of bad things can come from. It's another one of those things that can be neat but we would not be any worse off if it went away.

I upgraded to 5MB Internet service at home. I'm not sure I can tell the difference yet.

I love reading Romans. There's more to learn every time I open it up.

UpWayLate

I was up later than I wanted to be last night and I'm feeling it this morning. I'm wondering if anyone will mind me drinking coffee straight from the coffee pot.

I think the Yankees have the Rangers number. Things looked good with Cruz hit his 3-run homer to put the Rangers ahead 3-2...then the Yankees tacked on 10 runs and it didn't look so good. Thank goodness the Angels were facing Roy Halladay and lost. Maybe tonight will be better for the Rangers but I'm starting to think the pinstripes are the Rangers kryptonite.

Can someone turn the humidity down? Please.

Hope is a wonderful thing. Remaining hopeful seems to lift me up, boosts my spirit, keeps me smiling and singing (at least on the inside). At times, hope seems to wane but my faith in God keeps bringing it back. I thought about how hope works in my life as I read the following from John Eldredge:

If for all practical purposes we believe that this life is our best shot at happiness, if this is as good as it gets, we will live as desperate, demanding, and eventually despairing men and women. We will place on this world a burden it was never intended to bear. We will try to find a way to sneak back into the Garden and when that fails, as it always does, our heart fails as well. If truth be told, most of us live as though this life is our only hope.

In his wonderful book The Eclipse of Heaven, A. J. Conyers put it quite simply: “We live in a world no longer under heaven.” All the crises of the human soul flow from there. All our addictions and depressions, the rage that simmers just beneath the surface of our Christian facade, and the deadness that characterizes so much of our lives has a common root: We think this is as good as it gets. Take away the hope of arrival and our journey becomes the Battan death march. The best human life is unspeakably sad. Even if we manage to escape some of the bigger tragedies (and few of us do), life rarely matches our expectations. When we do get a taste of what we really long for, it never lasts. Every vacation eventually comes to an end. Friends move away. Our careers don’t quite pan out. Sadly, we feel guilty about our disappointment, as though we ought to be more grateful.

Of course we’re disappointed—we’re made for so much more. “He has also set eternity in the hearts” (Eccl. 3:11). Our longing for heaven whispers to us in our disappointments and screams through our agony. “If I find in myself desires which nothing in this world can satisfy,” C. S. Lewis wrote, “the only logical explanation is that I was made for another world.”

(The Sacred Romance , 179–80)

Lots o' Rain

It was pouring down when I took the kids to school. Once I dropped them off and made my way into the office, it stopped. I'm OK with it raining on Mondays and Tuesdays between 8 and 11 in the morning and after 9 at night. I should avoid getting wet and it leaves the weekends open for outside activities. Seems reasonable, doesn't it?
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Rangers play in New York tonight. It would be good to win this series before heading into Boston. If the Rangers come out of this with more wins than losses they have to be considered as a contender. If they don't, it shows there is more work to be done which isn't all bad either. The bullpen still isn't as good as anyone would want it. I'm guessing the coming months will bring a trade for some pitching and the signing of Ben Sheets. If Nefatali Perez is able to come to the bullpen with his 100mph heat, Holland continues to be steady, Feldman continues to improve and Sheets can be a reliable starter...wow. This could be really fun.

Consider that and the idea of Hamilton and Chris Davis hitting like they are capable of and you've got a good mix if everyone can execute. WOW. This could be really fun!
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I'm just a few days reading into Oswald Chamber's My Utmost for His Highest and loving it. It's as if he was writing it just for me and his comments challenge me to go deeper with God and remind me to wait on Him, rely on Him, trust in Him, live for Him.

More 50

The 50th anniversary party for my parents was great. I got to see some old friends I hadn't seen in 20 years and catch up with some of my high school friends. Of course, it wasn't about me but I enjoyed it. It was good to see so many people come, some from far distances, for my parents. It was special to see so many, young and old, come to honor them for 50 years of marriage and for being a part of the lives of so many people.
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The Rangers are still tearing it up. There's still room for some of you nay-sayers to jump on the bandwagon.
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More Oswald Chambers that struck me last week..."We seem to think that God wants us to give up things! God purified Abraham from this error and the same process is at work in our lives. God never tells us to give up things just for the sake of giving them up, but He tells us to give them up for the sake of the only thing worth having, namely, life with Him."

I have struggled with all the stuff I have and all the stuff I do and have, at times, agonized over what it meant for me as a Christian. Over time, I have come to realize that what I have isn't the issue. Instead, the issue is what I willing to give. Am I giving my money? Am I giving my time? Am I giving my heart? As I draw closer to my God, it's easier to understand that He isn't a God desiring to take away but a God desiring to give. If I am going to walk with God, I must be prepared to give and the life and things that I have will take care of themselves.

I am looking forward to finding what God calls me to give and I am looking forward to building my relationship with Him as I learn to be a servant.