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.

I have a sinus infection or something of that sort that is wearing me out today. I’m going home in a bit to try and get some sleep that I have missed the last 2 nights. I’m sure you are all happy to know that. 🙂
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I don’t know what makes the swine flu worse than the regular flu. The deaths from this flu are tragic but I hear about deaths from the flu every year. I certainly don’t want it and hope those who have it will recover.

I can’t imagine the death of a 23 month old from swine flu. My heart goes out to that family.
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Arlen Specter has converted from Republican to Democrat. I don’t understand how a sitting legislator can do that and it not require an immediate vote to see if the people of his state want to replace him. It should certainly apply both ways but I don’t think it’s fair to the country or the people he represents for him to change his party affiliation without laying out his reasoning and being subjected to a new election under the new party.
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I used to eat and breathe politics. Now I don’t want to think about it much. At what point the voting is over, there’s not much I can control. However, the change of Specter’s affiliation and the pending Minnesota race can give the Democrats a super majority in the Senate (I think) and that does give me some concern.
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The Mavericks beat San Antonio and I didn’t see a minute of it. I don’t like the team, I don’t care for the coach and the owner can easily turn me off. From what little I’ve seen, I would be a fan if the keep JJ Berea and Bass and ship the rest off and only bring in players I approve of.
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The Rangers are back to .500 and battling through some games for wins. Go Rangers!
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God is so good. As I learn to trust him more each day, I find life to be more and more peaceful. It doesn’t mean things are perfect or I don’t encounter problems but there is peace.

I hope you are finding the blessings, love, mercy, grace and hope that God affords everyone single one of us.

I watched a beautiful thing last night as a young lady was baptized after study and making a decision to turn her life over to Christ, our Lord.

Over the years I have rode a wave of thoughts on baptism. Is it essential? Is it necessary? Is it an act of obedience? Growing up in a Church of Christ fellowship, the necessity of baptism gets hammered pretty hard. After reading scripture and thinking about what I believe God is saying, I have come to the conclusion that baptism is essential, not out of obedience or following rules, but as an act of submission. It is a decided act to step in the water and leave an old life behind to start a new life. It is a thought-out act of following in Christ’s footsteps, albeit much simpler, to show our submission to a life with Him. There is beauty in submission.

I love the language of Romans 6. I see beauty in the language of the writer. Verse 4-5 says “We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life. If we have been united (italics mine) with him like this in his death, we will certainly be united with him in his resurrection (bold mine).” I read this and wonder how someone would not RUN to the water after deciding to accept Christ and follow him because I see beauty in how God has allowed us to be united with Christ in death and in life.

Last night I saw glory and power and love and forgiveness and hope all wrapped up in a beautiful act of baptism.

My son’s baseball team had the best tournament of the year yesterday. His team was 1-12 coming in to the day and starting bracket play as the 9th (and last) seed. They played the 8th seed and got a 9-3 lead before letting the other team come back and almost win. Our guys prevailed 10-9 but it appeared they had the sense they would end up losing another one and played tentatively in the latter innings. The next game was against the #1 seed and we were off and running with a 5-0 lead before letting the other team tie it in the 5th inning and then watched as they scored the winning run in the 6th to beat us 6-5. Again, it looked like our boys got nervous and tight down the stretch afraid of blowing it instead of taking their play up another notch.

Sometimes, we get used to defeat and think that no matter how good things seem, it will all go away and we will be on the losing end. Or, we get so used to defeat that we learn to live in it thinking of victory as something the lucky people get.

My Christian walk has taken on that feel at times. I wanted to win, I wanted to live Christ-like but knew I had blown it before and would probably blow it again. I would get close and then let something move me back to my old ways. Praise God that I feel like I am moving away from that thinking and realizing that victories are there for the taking if I will trust in the Lord and live courageously for Him. I’m learning to walk in faith and turn away from my old thoughts of not being able to do the right thing, to win. I realize that the win isn’t mine alone but a team victory. I win when I rely on God and allow Him to work through me using His perfect and wonderful Spirit and He gives me other people who want to help.

I want to continue to learn to win in God’s plan for me. Victory is sweet and He has paved the way for me to enjoy it.

I love my church. It is imperfect, filled with people who have all sorts of problems. It has the people who think instrumental music is wrong and those who don’t take issue with it. It has people who have never had a drop of alcohol cross their lips and those who have battled addiction. It has people who think showing up every Sunday is what’s most important and those who don’t show up often but share the compassion of Christ with other people daily. It has people who’s families are almost perfect and people who’s families are in shambles. My church has people of all sizes and shapes, of various socio-economic backgrounds and, to some degree, different cultures and colors. My church is wonderful because in all it’s greatness and problems, it is the church Christ created.

I read an article by Jud Wilhite tonight that reminded me why I love the church. Wilhite is the pastor of Central Christian Church in Las Vegas (yes, sin city) and he said something that really matches what I think about church.

“I believe with all my heart that the Church is the world’s hope. Government can’t change the heart. Education, as important as it is, can’t change the heart. Healthcare and Social Security reform won’t change the heart. Only God can do that. And He uses people – the Church – to reach out and impact others. Many people are cynical and skeptical about church. And who can deny all the scandals and hypocrisy that occur in the name of God? It is truly awful. Yet, for every scandal there are thousands and thousands of churches making a real difference and doing their best to help others.“

I love my church and I hope God continues to give us opportunity to reach a lost and hurting world AND I hope we will meet the opportunity with the heart of Christ. I see it happening through different people in different ways and it excites me. The Church, the body of Christ, offers hope through the resurrected Savior.

My image of a warrior is someone who is always ready for a fight, always prepared for battle, always looking for the enemy and ready to use all the weapons and tools they have to win the battle.

I wonder what happens when the battle is over. What does a warrior do? What goes through the mind of that person who is so ready for battle that they look forward to it because it has become their comfort zone? How easily can they adapt to peace? I wonder if it is scary to a warrior when the battle they are fighting comes to an end.

I have been reading and trying to better understand spiritual warfare and this is one of the questions I have been mulling. What happens to people who are in the midst of a spiritual battle and they see it coming to an end? Do they exhale and become thankful and relax or do they fear the end because they have equipped themselves to keep on fighting? Or what happens to them when they are between battles? They have been fighting then the fight subsides. How do they keep from getting lazy while enjoying the peace?

I know some of these questions are a little over the top and don’t apply to every person and every situation. They are just thoughts I’ve had bouncing around in my head and in my heart. I have used them in looking at my life and how I have and will deal with spiritual battles. I don’t think there is a one-size-fits-all answer to any of the questions but they are questions that make me stop, even haunt me a little.

I know this. God is good and will provide everything I need if I rely on him. It’s when I rely on me that things fall apart. Maybe I’m coming up with those questions with a “me” mentality because none of them ask what God does in the heart of a warrior. I need to think about it some more.

May your hearts and lives be filled with His grace and peace.

I spent the weekend at Camp Deer Run with 100+ young people and some other adults. It was a spiritual retreat for our youth group and 4 other churches (2 from Arkansas, Bowie and Early) and a wonderful and wet time. I appreciate my time with our youth group because they always offer hope…hope for today and tomorrow, hope for more Christ-likeness, more openness about our Savior and hope that the kingdom of God will continue to become stronger and more in love with Him.

I saw some incredibly loving and caring youth ministers and their families and I was once again reminded how blessed we are to have Jacob and Heather Baker in our church family. I am repeatedly overwhelmed by their love for our kids and their desire to share Christ.
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I saw a report on the news today there is a case in front of the Supreme Court to decide whether schools can strip search children. It focuses around a girl who was 13 at the time, an honor student with no history of trouble. Another girl was caught with drugs and blamed it on the honor student. The honor student said she knew nothing about it so the Assistant Principal got the school nurse to strip search her. The girl recanted being down to just her undergarments and being told to take them off also. This was all done WITHOUT the parent’s knowledge.

As I listened to the story, I thought about that happening to one of my kids. Now, if you know me well you know I have a bit of a temper. It doesn’t go off often but when it does things tend to get broken. I can only imagine finding out that the school had strip searched one of my children without my knowledge and I’m pretty sure the temper alarm would go off and nothing good would happen after that.

I hope the Supreme Court uses some common sense and does not allow for strip searches without parental consent at a minimum. The 13 year old girl was horrified and ended up leaving that school because she was made fun of and worse.
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I’m really trying to work on my temper. As I have come to understand the spiritual battles for my heart better, I know that is one area that satan can use.
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Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind and with all your strength.

Learning to deny myself is hard. I’ve always lived in a world where what I thought/felt/knew/understood/imagined was my guiding principle. Moving to a life where I call on God to fill me with His desire seems like a much better way to live but I still try to interject what I think God would be happy with.

I’ve told people that God wants them to act, not just sit around and wait on Him and that’s still kind of true but I don’t think I was ever really waiting on Him. I thought I knew what God would want and I did it…or I did what I felt like was right or fair to me.

I want to live differently. I am trying to follow a path where I wait to hear from God and then try to act according to what I am led to, not what I create. It tries my patience and sometimes, I go back to my old routine of doing what I think is best. It’s a hard habit to break and one I know the evil forces around me don’t want me to break.

I want to press on, even when it’s difficult. There have been days where I felt alone, like God wasn’t there to guide me and then something happens that I know is His reminder that He is at work, not in my time but His.

I want to live for Him. I want to walk away from my thought processes of the past and move to a paradigm that is centered around God. Something I was reading earlier made the comment that we sometimes have to leave what is familiar to truly find God. We have to break out of our routine and go to a place that is new, maybe uncomfortable, so that we will cling to God and grow in Him. I’m ready to make that trip. I don’t do it thinking it will be all smiles and sunshine but knowing there will be things that stretch me and challenge me but I will have all I need to overcome them…and all I have to do is call on God and trust in His glory and goodness to carry me through.

Scientists at USC released a report stating that Facebook and Twitter create the danger of an amoral society. There thought is that all the computer interaction takes out emotion and psychological issues we notice in face-to-face contact.

Fewer people talk as we have entered a world of texting, tweeting, abbreviations and so on. I wonder if the USC folks aren’t on to something?
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Last week I was imagining the Rangers going 162-0. Today, I’m hoping they win another game.
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Speaking of the Rangers, 8 games into their season they are already planning to reschedule a game because it conflicts with the opening of JerryWorld and the first Cowboys game. We sure wouldn’t anything getting in the way of that now, would we?
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That’s it for today. God loves you.