Newt Gringrich is calling for Nancy Pelosi to resign. Politics are crazy and while I am no fan of Pelosi and think we would be better off without her as Speaker of the House, I’m no longer in touch with all the happenings to make that call other than personal preference. It sure seems like she has thrown herself into hot water with her comments about the CIA and I applaud Leon Panetta, a Democrat lifer, for speaking up for the CIA. It’s just another circus we will sit back and watch.
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The Rangers lost and, worse, can’t seem to win in Detroit. I think they are 0-9 at Comerica Park. Hamilton’s hurt again but hopefully will be back tonight and maybe the Rangers will break the jinx and get back to winning. I like it when they win 7 in a row more than when they lose 1.
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I’ve seen a few interviews with Toby Slough, the pastor of Cross Timbers Community Church in Argyle, on local and national news lately because of the amount of money they have given away in the past few months to people in need. I think it’s great to hear these stories, especially one so close to us, instead of all the gloom and doom we seem to hear and I think it’s great for a church family to get recognized for their good works even thought that’s not the reason they do it. Praise God for what He is doing through people who love Him.

OK, there was Chris Davis’ walk off homer and then Josh Hamilton makes another (painfully) incredible catch climbing halfway up the wall in right-center field. That’s after he made a great throw from center field to throw out a runner at home the night before. Great pitching and some really, really good defense and hits at the right time. 121 more wins and they clinch the West. OK, OK, I shouldn’t get ahead of myself. The Yankees are coming up soon and some games against East division teams will show us more but it’s been REAL fun so far being a Rangers fan.
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I got to hear another great sermon yesterday focused around the story of the good Samaritan. It’s a story I’ve heard hundreds of times but as my walk takes me closer to God, the story takes on new significance and new understanding. As I have learned to look at people with God’s eyes (a weak imitation but getting better), I have come to experience people in such a different light. Things that used to make me mad, irritated, turned off, resentful, judgmental…now I spend time wondering how to help them see the light of God, see the joy that I am seeing in being His child and living in His love.

God, give me your eyes so I can see like you and give me your heart so I can love like you.

I should leave the Rangers alone for awhile but yesterday’s walk-off 2 run homer was sweet. Chris Davis, Longview native, hit a big blast when they needed it. Don’t let the fact that he is on pace to set the strikeout record interfere with what he did yesterday. Lights out. Now, the 2nd place Angels come to town.
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I feel sorry for the Chrysler dealerships that got “the letter” yesterday. Chrysler is rolling up dealerships, putting some out of business so that others may thrive. I guess dealers know that Chrysler has that power but I always hate to hear when the bad news is delivered through a letter filled with corporate-ese.

GM is doing it today.
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One of the incredible experiences of being on a journey with God is exploring where he wants you to go. I have experienced some radical changes in my thought processes of what it means to be a Christ-follower. I see baptism in a whole new light – much deeper, richer and more meaningful experience than I ever imagined it to be. I see church attendance in a whole new light – not as a regulation but as a place of peace in the presence of God. These are just a couple of examples of things I have grown up with thinking I understood but figuring out I never really went very far with them. I have heard the battles over grace versus works and used to try to have some intellectual answer to the question. How silly I was. I am coming to see that these and many other subjects similar are not matters of interpretation or research as much as they are matters of the heart and my hearts desire for God.

I may never enter in to another conversation about baptism being essential because if a true heart for God doesn’t lead someone into the waters, my reasoning will not be adequate for what they can experience. I may never enter in to another conversation about what “forsaking the assembly” means because a true heart for God will draw you into worship. Going to church because you are supposed to go to church can actually be damaging in the search for God. And grace versus works? Wow. How can 2 things that create incredible synergy ever be opposed to each other. When someone truly experiences grace, the desire to work will burn within them. I venture to say the person who does not have a desire to serve God in any way possible may not yet have experienced the incredible power of His grace.

I say all of this from my own experience, not some idea that I have it all figured out because I am still on a journey to truly know my Lord. It is incredible. It is filled with new insights every day. It is filled with tears and joy and shivers that run down my spine and peace…a perfect peace that He is in control, that He will lead me where He wants me to be, that He will protect me, encourage me and love me no matter what. It’s a journey I am treasuring every minute of – good and bad – because it is pulling my heart closer to my Creator, my Savior, my Lord.

Maybe I’m being repetitive but I’m enjoying the Rangers right now. If you didn’t stay up to watch the end of last night’s game, you missed a great finish. Offense won the game in the 11th inning but decent pitching and defense kept them in the game. A win today is important because it will lead to the 2nd place Angels coming to town for a weekend series. Go Rangers!
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I got to hear a presentation from a friend last Sunday on a recent trip to Ecuador. I think we forget, or maybe don’t understand, the conditions that so many people live in around the world. He told us about two children found living on the streets. The brother was out rounding up rotten fruit or whatever he could find to feed his sister and all they had was the rags they wore as clothes. The were brought to an orphanage and for 60 days, they had to take treatments to kill the worms in their stomachs. I can’t remember their age but I’m pretty sure they were around 5 and 3 years old at the time. He told us about a boy who came to the orphanage who had been living in a pig sty. He didn’t know his name or how old he was so they let him pick his own name. They found out his mother was a prostitute who had left him on the streets to die.

We have our own sad stories too. Kids who have so much that they turn to drugs for excitement and end up overdosing or landing in jail. People who turn to alcohol or other evils because they have lost a job or can’t make as much money as they want to.

The world needs God. I watched some more video the other night from the I Am Second website (www.iamsecond.com) and am reminded the depravity we drive ourselves to and the incredible mercy that we find in our Creator. I am so thankful for where I am with God right now and hope my relationship continues to grow bigger and closer and more intimate. It in an incredible journey full of insight, peaks and valleys and hope.

I hope today is filled with His peace and joy for you.

OK, they are still in 1st place. Great stuff. Elvis is incredible. He’ll still make some mistakes but he also makes some incredible plays. Last night was another one. Josh Hamilton came back with a bang (homerun) and I’m hoping he gets back in his groove. The pitching is what has been carrying through many of the games so far. Yes, I said the pitching. Millwood has been great almost every outing but the offense hasn’t been there to in some of his games to do it’s part. It’s no wonder everyone thought this Holland kid would be a top prospect. He can deal it.
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I just heard Jeremy Camp’s “Give Me Jesus” rendition last night. I think I probably listened to it 5 or 6 times in a row before moving on to another song. It’s a powerful message wrapped in a pretty simple song.
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I hope your day is filled with the love and peace that comes only from God.

For your battle is not against flesh and blood…

Why did Mark Cuban tell Kenyon Martin’s mom that Kenyon is a thug? What would cause someone to do that? Can we say it’s the heat of the battle? Emotions? Pain?

For years, I have responded to people by the way they made me feel. If they caused me to feel good, I was nice to them. If they caused me to feel bad, I didn’t treat them so well. I thought the problem was what they were doing. I don’t think that way anymore.

Satan wants us stirred up. He wants the heat of the battle, emotions and pain to guide us. All of those situations are about us and satan wants our lives to be about us. Did satan make Mark Cuban say those things? No, but I do believe satan has influence on Cuban (and everyone else) to cause Cuban to make his response from his feelings. Do you think Cuban really things Martin is a thug because he plays a game physically? Do you think Cuban really wanted to tell Martin’s mom her son was a thug? In fact, he has written an apology and I think Cuban is sorry for doing that but may not understand what really caused him to spout off like that.

I’m using an extreme example of how satan works because I truly believe satan is not given enough credence for his role in our lives. Satan wants us to think the battle is against the person who is aggravating us or hurting us and that is a lie. The battle is against satan and his forces of evil. Our battle is against forces we cannot see (and for most of my life, forces I didn’t even fathom, didn’t understand and didn’t care to understand) and that is they way satan wants it. He wants us to battle what we can see and we fall for it because it is easy.

I don’t know how many times I have read Romans 6 and gone right through it without listening and heeding to what is said. Because I can’t see the rulers and authorities of the dark world, I didn’t pay much attention but continued to focus on flesh and blood. When I read Romans 6 today, I shiver because I now know those forces are fighting for my thoughts and actions every day but I also know I have been completely equipped by God to hold them off. God has given me all I need if I just reach for the tools, the weapons he has made for me.

The battle is not against flesh and blood and cannot be fought by flesh and blood alone. I thank God for his preparation for me and for his Spirit that will fight for me and with me to fend off the true battle.

Our home Internet service has been down for several days and it’s been odd, frustrating and liberating. It’s odd not coming in and flipping on the computer to check email or fantasy baseball stats or all that other important stuff I have to look at every night. It’s frustrating because there is some information that I need to get to and can’t and it’s somewhat liberating because it’s one less thing I get caught up doing.

A new modem is supposed to be delivered today and we should be hooked back in to the information portal tonight. I’m sure it will take a few calls to customer service to make it all work but it will be good to get tied back in.
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I enjoy the rain when it’s convenient for me.
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People are making way too much of the Mavs last second loss. Did the refs blow it? Yes. Did that one thing lose the game for the Mavs? Not really. It’s clear they can’t hang with the Nuggets. My disdain for the Mavs plays in to my thoughts and I’m aware of that but it doesn’t change the fact that they are done.
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On the other hand, the Rangers look like they are primed to go to the World Series. OK, that may be a bit over the top but they are in 1st and playing good so I’ll enjoy it as long as I can.

That’s playing good with Michael Young and Josh Hamilton on the bench hurting right now.
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What’s up with Tiger?
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That’s all today.

I’m beat and me being tired means the wheels in my noggin’ turn slower than normal and I have had nothing to post but babbling. I guess I could have posted that and tried to convince you I was typing in tongues.

The economy is confusing. It seems like it should turn around soon and then we hear that the big banks need another $65 million or billion in capital. Now, where do they go to get that in a bad economy? I don’t think Chrysler will be loaning it to them since they will likely end up being owned by a foreign company who will benefit from US tax dollars being pumped into the company.

Any ideas where they will send the remaining prisoners from Gitmo? Obama’s great idea of shutting it down to make us nicer people means those people have to either a) go back home and catch up on their terrorist techniques or b) be delivered to a prison in the U.S. I’m not seeing many hands go up for the people wanting them in their area.

Manny using steroids. Sad but not surprising. Who’s left? Pujols? Howard?

Mariano Rivera gave up back-to-back home runs last night. That can’t be a good sign of things to come for the Yankees.

I’m surprised people like Romo and Dirk don’t find it easier to be a monk than date someone. Talk about scrutiny. And why does anyone care? Don’t we have enough problems of our own? (Obviously that’s not the case or People, National Enquirer, TMZ and the ilk would be out of business.)

I’m ready to be well again, to sleep through the night again and to feel good again. On the other hand, there’s Romans 5:8 to think about. Hallelujah.

Did you see Chris Davis dive into the stands to catch a foul ball last night? EFFORT with big, bold capital letters.

OK, the idea for this blog started with why I’m not a Mavericks fan but watching Davis jump into the stands and almost make an incredible catch only solidified my feelings. I watched the Mavs today in the 3rd and 4th quarter and saw a team with no heart. Kidd throws balls everywhere and the few that do go to teammates go right by them with little if any effort. Dirk gets a technical when things are really starting to fall apart and gets a chance to take the ball hard to the hoop – maybe drawing a foul, maybe dunking it to make a statement. What does he do? He trys to finesse his way under the arm of the defender and misses the layup. Then he wanders back down the court with the most blank expression you can fathom. The coach is sitting on the bench looking like Rick Perry – he knows he got the job but just can’t figure out how he did it or what he’s supposed to do next. Maybe he’ll convince the Mavericks to secede from the NBA.

The Rangers aren’t good every year. Shoot, you can count the number of years they’ve been good on one hand but they have several players who don’t quit, who lead with actions and words. I’ll take Michael Young and his selflessness and Ian Kinsler and his determination and Hank Blalock and his perseverance and Chris Davis and his doing whatever it takes and Josh Hamilton and his struggle and Andrew Jones and his smile while climbing out of a deep hole and Nelson Cruz who everyone says can’t make it but keeps fighting and Ron Washington and his character when everyone says he needs to go…I’ll take those guys over the Mavs every day of the week. (Yes, I realize there are no pitchers on my list but hopefully they will show up one day.)

After today, I don’t think I can stomach another Mavs game for awhile. So here’s to hoping that the Rangers make it over .500 for the year and the guys keep fighting no matter where they are in the standings and maybe, just maybe, we get some pitching that is hard to expect for Rangers fans.

I’m shutting down the blog until next Monday to prevent the swine flu.

I may be blind to the problem but I think there is a lot of overreaction. I don’t blame people but just chuckle silently. Maybe I’ll be proved to have been too unconcerned. In the meantime, I’ll keep washing my hands more and doing what I can to keep it away.

My son plays in a baseball tournament this weekend and they have suspended the post-game handshake between teams in an effort to thwart spreading the disease.

Until Monday, be well.