Addiction to Blogging? Not quite.

I took this quiz:
50%How Addicted to Blogging Are You

This Is A Horrible Tragedy

Here is an article about a 12-year-old girl that died as the result of a freak accident on the softball field. There was also the recent death of Minor League coach Mike Coolbaugh.

When I played Little League, I took a line drive right under my left eye during practice. Fortunately, I suffered nothing more than a black eye. The doctor who lived next door prescribed a milkshake, which my parents bought for me. It also made me a little skiddish when fielding after that. I think that is why I never made it to the Major Leagues.

These two articles just brought back the memory of the thud on my face.

Wasteful Christians

One thing has always bugged be about some attitudes within the Christian community. One of those attitudes is wastefulness. My mom works at a Christian daycare. She is constantly bringing food home from the daycare that they were just going to throw away. It ranges from cereal bars to sweet-and-sour chicken (not sure why they get that for a daycare) to baked beans to bread. If she would not take it, it would wind up in the dumpster.

The sad thing is that there is a homeless shelter not too far from the daycare (5 miles or so) that is always in need of food. I guess we have forgotten about the biblical command to feed the hungry.

The Politics of Church Government

Recently I was discussing the issue of politics in church with a friend. This is something that has always bugged me. I'm not necessarily talking about politics in the local church, but that can be a problem. I thinking more on the denomination level.

Politics exists there as much as anywhere. For all the talk of praying and seeking the "guidance of the Holy Spirit," there is as much deal-making and arm-twisting. I want to roll on the floor and laugh every time "prayer" is mentioned in connection with "elected" offices of the church.

Most of the time there is no election. Someone either runs unopposed or is just appointed by the powers that be. That is a fine method, so long as we are honest about it.

How stupid is this?

An NBA referee is under investigation for betting on games, including some he refereed.

ESPN article.

Fox Sports article.

How could anyone put themselves in this position?

If this is true, this is one of worst sports scandals in American history. This is even worse than the Pete Rose gambling scandal. This could further tarnish the NBA's already tarnished reputation.

I rarely watch the NBA the way it is. The games are boring. This will repel me further, if that is possible.

GRE: Date Certain

I just did it. I registered, and paid a whopping $140, to take the GRE test. It all seems much more real now. The date is August 14, which is my dad's birthday. I have commenced projectile sweating.

I did a practice test for the verbal section this morning. I did well on the sentence completion, and the analogies. Doing well on the analogies really surprised me. I was most worried about that. The reading comprehension was not great, but I have never been great at that. I am a more auditory learner. I hardly read anything in college. I absorbed most from the lectures, and fortunately most of my profs tested on the lecture. The antonym section was awful. It is hard to know what the antonym is to a word you have no clue about. Prolix? Who uses the word prolix? It apparently means "wordy."

I have to hone my studying, as the date approaches.

Is this the same person?

Harry S. Truman at age 13.







Harry Potter.





I can hardly tell the difference.

Thoughts on Losing

Losing is tough. No one likes to lose. My daughter's softball team was eliminated from the state tournament. They should have won it all, if not come in second. They had a good team from top to bottom. When they were eliminated by one run, it was a crushing defeat.

Losing, though, offers more life lessons than winning. There are more losers in life than winners. Most professional sports leagues have about thirty teams, but there is only one winner at the end of the season.

I remember one little league season many years ago when I was on the Dodgers. We were awesome. We ran the table undefeated. We entered the tournament at the end of the season riding high. In the semi-final game, we lost. Our only loss of the season came one game shy of the championship game. As we came to the dugout, we all threw our gloves down. It was painful. It hurt, but I learned a lot from that game.

We do not always get what we want. We do not always come out on top. We try our best, and give our best effort.

Life is not all about winning. It's about learning from the many defeats, and getting up and trying again.

Art Linkletter would love this

Art Linkletter used to have a television show called "Kids Say the Darnedest Things." Linkletter would interview children who would (as kids often do) say something so off-the-wall and funny.

Yesterday I spent several hours pushing our lawn mower. After that was done, I was wiped out. I exclaimed, "My legs feel like Jello-O." To which my seven-year-old son replied, "My legs feel like applesauce."

A few weeks ago, my son was preparing to go summer church camp. I told him that he would be in the woods and have to walk through the woods. To this he said, "Will I need a gun to shoot the deer?"

If you want a good laugh, my son will be the next "Last Comic Standing."

Never Thought I Would Say This

It looks like Nancy Pelosi is going to be the "conservative" candidate in her reelection effort!

"[Cindy] Sheehan Launches Pelosi Challenge."

My pants are shrinking

In an effort to be more like "The Reformed Poser," I have included a comic strip.

I think we could change the words, "All-You-Can-Eat Buffet!" to "Church Potluck."

This thanks to the Wizard of Id.

GRE Test Prep

As I mentioned some time ago in this space, I am planning (God willing) to go to grad school starting next spring (2008). In order to enter grad school, one has to jump through numerous hoops. One of those hoops is the Graduate Records Exam (GRE), which is basically to grad school what the SAT is to college. (Look, I made an analogy!)

I went out and purchased Kaplan's GRE study book. As I was studying yesterday, I came across the word "pedant," which means "someone who shows off learning." My immediate thought was, The person who came up with the GRE was pedant.

Oh well, the studying goes on. I just hope that when I finish grad school, I ain't no pedant.

Thoughts on Teamwork

If you have ever been on a team, you understand the value of teamwork. It is not only about sports. It can be on the job, at church, in the family, neighborhood, or anywhere. When a group of people work together, they accomplish much more than an individual can on his own.

My daughter played on a softball team that was, in the beginning, focused on teamwork and the team concept. They met with great success. A raw group of girls, were coming in second consistently, and they even won a few tournaments. After a reshuffle, the team aspect was lost, and the team descended in everyone for herself. Needless to say, they quit winning.

When it is all about the individual, the team fails.

Think of Jesus. Here you have the omnipotent Son of the Most High God. What did he do when he started his earthly ministry? He formed a team. Luke 6:13-16 (NIV) tells us, "When morning came, he called his disciples to him and chose twelve of them, whom he also designated apostles: Simon (whom he named Peter), his brother Andrew, James, John, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Thomas, James son of Alphaeus, Simon who was called the Zealot, Judas son of James, and Judas Iscariot, who became a traitor." They certainly were a motley crew: some fishermen, a tax collector, a political activist, among others. They were not without their problems. James and John's mommy came to ask Jesus for a preferred spot for her sons, which caused quite an uproar amongst the disciples.

The church is no place for competition within the group. We are on the same side. The church that does not function as a team is doomed for collapse. I have seen it. Competing ideas and philosophies combined with competing egos is a sure way to kill a church. Everyone should be on the same page.

Spiritual Growth and Pain

I remember playing football in junior high. Everyone was hollering, "No pain, no gain." Later, in high school, I ran cross country and track. I was not a naturally gifted runner. I was more of a plodder. I ran, and ran, and ran. I ran in the cold winter. I ran in the hot summer. I did not take a day off.

Paul compares the Christian life with a race on several occasions: Acts 20:24; 1 Corinthians 9:24; Galatians 2:2; Galatians 5:5; and 2 Timothy 4:7.

If you have ever taken up the sport of running (or jogging) you know that when you start out, it hurts. Your legs are like lead for a few days when you start. When you feel better, you might push yourself to a higher level. Then there is more pain.

Spiritual growth without pain is like running without pain. It's not possible. If spiritual growth does not cause our spiritual muscles to hurt, we need to question whether or not we are growing.

When God calls us to some deeper level of commitment, we are uncomfortable at first. The first time I ever visited a homeless mission, I was out of place. It was spiritually painful. When God called me to the ministry, I was painful.

I often shy away from pain: physical and spiritual.

God help us all to work through the pain of growth.