Genuine Joy

I like the NFL draft and all, but if my TV choices are live baseball or NBA or NHL playoffs my remote trigger finger is only going back to guys in suits on a stage as a commercial buster.

Last night, thankfully, I WAS watching when Gerald McCoy was taken as the third pick by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. His reaction was joyous, tearful and, above all, genuine. So I put his name into my YouTube search today and came up with this:

There were many great stories of perseverance in the faces of young men about to become millionaires last night. Demaryius Thomas was taken later in the first round by the Denver Broncos. His mother and grandmother were caught trafficking cocaine when Thomas was 12. They are doing a combined 60 years in jail for the crime. This sentence from an SI.com piece about Thomas should speak to us, "... and he was shuttled from family member to family member before finally landing three years later with an uncle who was a preacher. That set him on the right track." 1 Peter 1 says:

⁷These [trials] have come so that your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed.

I saw some genuine joy last night. Sounds like some genuine faith was behind it.

Why So Fickle?

The Philadelphia Phillies lost a tough one two nights ago. The Atlanta Braves hit two home runs in the ninth inning to turn a 3-0 deficit into a tie game. And then the Braves homered in the 10th to win the game.

A smattering of fan comments I saw online:

"Great headline (Kendrick's Night Wasted). I think I might have to pitch relief after last night's efforts. Man, another disappointing performance."

"I thought I'd feel better about the loss this morning but it still really stings. What a nightmare!"

"I was sick at the end of that game."

Game number 13 of 162 and you're sick after the game?! Another disappointing performance from a team that's been in the World Series the last two years?!

How did the Phillies respond last night? By playing great defense and getting another tremendous pitching effort from Roy Halladay and, yes, winning.

Took me back to Holy Week services just a few short weeks ago. A week that began in Hosannas led to jeers, and much worse, just five days later. Even those closest to him did not come through for Jesus as Matthew 26 recounts:

⁴⁰Then he returned to his disciples and found them sleeping. "Could you men not keep watch with me for one hour?" he asked Peter. ⁴¹"Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the body is weak."

Keep your spirits and bodies strong today. And encourage others rather than, like fickle fans, tearing them down.

"Cannot Say Enough"

These guys will be in town tomorrow night. Seen them twice, and hope to see them again. This was the song that stood out that first time. The Hallellujahs echoed through the New Jersey arena, and they brought with them the Holy Spirit.

But still we praise our savior, In spirit and in truth, For we cannot say enough about you.

Marathons

This Monday brought one of sport's greatest traditions -- the running of the Boston Marathon. The race went off for the 114th time.

Over the weekend, the Mets and the Cardinals played a 20-inning baseball game. So much fun for a baseball fan to look at a box score with 130 at-bats for both teams -- St. Louis catcher Yadier Molina had nine of them -- two position players forced into pitching roles, and a game time of six hours, 53 minutes! Men's winner Robert Cheruiyot, who won Boston in 2:05.52, could have run three marathons in the time it took to finish ONE baseball game.

I've earned greater respect for major leaguers in recent years. Their season is a marathon like no other sport in that they go out almost every day for six months -- longer if they make the postseason -- and grind out pitch after pitch, at-bat after at-bat. Practices never replicate game pressure, and baseball players face that every day with a win or a loss on the line.

To me, baseball is the most lifelike of any sport. There are no practice days in the roles of worker, parent, friend ... or Christian, for that matter. As people of faith, we should strive for our game-best every day with the eternal reward as our banner. James writes in chapter 1:

¹²Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him.

Seven hours on the baseball field. Two hours on the streets of Boston. Nothing compared to the 24 hours of God-given opportunity with eternal implications! 

"Little Talent" Can't Hold You Down

One of the highlights of my working career was my time with Princeton men's basketball, coached at that time by Hall of Fame head coach Pete Carril.

I had met Coach Carril as a junior high school kid, attending his summer camps for a couple of years in a row. There are so many Carril stories and quotes that it's hard to pick my favorites. At that camp, for example, he stopped drills one day and had everyone line up on the baseline with a simple instruction -- dribble the length of the floor with your off hand. Balls went rolling and then went flying as they rolled into the paths of the other lines. He then sat us all down and read us the riot act about not being able to do the basics. It was loud, and it was "colorful."

Two of my favorite Carril-isms. "Hey Coach, see you later." His response invariably was, "Thanks for the warning." As a way to "encourage" you when you hadn't played well in noontime hoops would come this gem while you sat disconsolately in the locker area. "Kid," he would come over with a hand on your shoulder, "Just do the best you can with what little talent you have." You knew the emphasis was on "little" because it came with his sly grin. How that made me feel great, I'm not sure, but it did. A great man with a great heart and a sense of humor like no other.

The writer, James, kinda wrote Carril's words this way:

¹⁴Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. ¹⁵Instead, you ought to say, "If it is the Lord's will, we will live and do this or that."

 While we are mist, we should do the best we can with what little talent we have. And God knows our best.

There's No Place Like Home

We were fortunate for many years, finding a church family that was Goldilocks-comfy.

My wife and I were involved in youth ministry, in community service projects, in small groups, in significant giving, and in general service to the congregation.

And then we moved.

Our search still continues almost a year later. It's been challenging. It's been rewarding. It's been frustrating. Above all, it's been necessary. For those of you who think you can do this whole Christian thing without a church home -- and I know there are plenty of you out there -- it's not possible and it's not biblical. Hebrews 10:25 says:

²⁵Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.

We need others, and others need us. I'll let you know how the search ends up!

Surprise Song of the Night

When I go to concerts, I know I am going to hear my favorite songs. I will never forget the first time I saw the Eagles and heard "Hotel California" played live (1979 in Buffalo, for the record). But there is always a song that catches me by surprise. I was never a real fan of "Paper in Fire," for example, until I heard John Mellencamp crank it up live. As a Springsteen novice in the 1980s I'd never really heard "Jungleland," but when Clarence's sax echoed in the rafters of Washington, D.C.'s Capital Center it was an unforgettable moment.

And so it was again last night at the Casting Crowns show. This was the song came from nowhere:


Also got to hear Tenth Avenue North again, and they were very well-received by the crowd. And being there reminded me of the good work done by World Vision. Please consider getting involved. And, finally, a great verse from this morning's Men of Integrity devotional. Romans 12:3 says:

"I give each of you this warning: Don't think you are better than you really are. Be honest in your evaluation of yourselves, measuring yourselves by the faith God has given us."

A Walk in the Desert

Recipe for spiritual famine:

3 parts no prayer
2 parts no daily devotions with Bible reading
1 part no Christian radio listening
1 part no church attendance during family vacation
1 part stopping daily blog writing

Is it any wonder why I felt this way at times during the month of March:

Psalm 102:6

⁶I am like an owl in the desert,

like a little owl in a far-off wilderness.

 

Today's Men of Integrity devotional reminded me why I started to write this blog:

I know that we're all the sheep of God, and sheep require a shepherd to feed them. But there must come a time when we become shepherds who feed others. Over 60 percent of Americans are overweight or obese. Is this also true in the arena of personal spirituality? Are we too much about us getting fed and too little about exercising our faith?

—Erwin McManus in An Unstoppable Force

And the best thing is that although I do hope to feed others, it's also nice to feed yourself.