The dream is dead

The Kansas City Royals were officially eliminated from all post season consideration yesterday, August 30. I'll sleep on a tear stained pillow tonight.

Commitment to God

What is commitment to God? Is it a commitment to a church? Is it a commitment to the Church? Is it commitment to other people? Is it a commitment to pray? Is it a commmitment to read the Bible? Is there a specific time to be committed to God? Is it commitment to spiritual growth? Is it commitment to a pastor?

Is there something special about the time and place one expresses their commitment to God? Does it have to be at 11:00 on Sunday morning?

I think that it is a commitment to spiritual growth. It is spiritual growth that brings us closer to God. It is spiritual growth that makes us more like Christ. What good is church if we are not changed? It's no more useful than sitting and staring at the wall. The same could be said for prayer and Bible reading. If it doesn't change us, it's useless. Church, prayer and Bible reading, among other things are tools to our spiritual growth.

A momentous day in baseball

Well, August 24 is a momentous day in baseball, especially for the once proud franchise Kansas City Royals. The team of Baseball Hall of Famer George Brett. They have been officially eliminated from contention of the American League Central division. They were eliminated before the end of August. That is absolutely amazing. It's still a week and a half before Labor Day, and the Royals are finished.

But wait! There's always the wild card. The Royals are not officially, mathematically eliminated from that, yet. Imagine with me. There is a monumental collapse on the part of the Chicago White Sox, Minnesota Twins, Boston Red Sox, Los Angeles Angels (of Anaheim), Toronto Blue Jays, Texas Rangers, Cleveland Indians, Seattle Mariners, Baltimore Orioles, and Tampa Bay Devil Rays. All those teams (every one of them) falls completely apart. The Royals pull it together, and hello, October. It could happen. Keep the dream alive.

This was a team that was in post-season play seven times between 1976 and 1985, including two pennants and a world championship. In the last 21 years? Nothing. Nada. Zippo. A goose egg.

This is a profound embarrassment for anyone associated with that franchise. Don't boo-hoo about small market this and that. The Oakland A's, Minnesota Twins, and Cincinnati Reds are all small market teams that have been successful. The Twins and A's have even had sustained runs over the last 5-7 years.

School Time

School is back in session for the fall semester. We started last week. I've jumped up to four classes from three. I'm excited about it. I'm teaching a new class this fall. Who would have ever thought that someone with a degree in history would be teaching math.

I'm looking forward to this semester. My classes seem to have many good students, and some duds too.

It's kind of strange. Back when I was in college, my goal was to be a college professor (in history, of course). Then I answered God's call into the ministry. Now, I teaching, but in math. I still have the opportunity to minister at the church we are currently attending.

For all the students out there, have a great semester.

Vacation

We just got back from vacation the other day. We visited the northeast part of the United States.

We visited the Baseball Hall of Fame (the picture above) in Cooperstown, NY. Having been a baseball fan for years, I was like a kid in a candy store. Never have I seen so many middle-aged men bouncing around a museum gleefully followed by so many bored wives.

After that we headed to New Hampshire via the Vermont. Then we went on to Massachusetts. We went up to Maine for a lobster dinner.

We spent a couple days in Boston. We visited the John F. Kennedy Library and Museum. We then walked The Freedom Trail in Boston. This included the Old State House of Massachusetts, Faneuil Hall, the Old North Church, and other places. The next we looked at the Adams Historic Park in Quincy, Mass. just south of Boston, and then we visited Fenway Park, home of the Boston Red Sox.

After that, we headed for New York City. I have never seen so many people. We visited Ground Zero where the World Trade Center was attacked, the Statue of Liberty, Ellis Island and went to a New York Yankees game. We even rode the New York City subway. We got back from the game after 11:00 PM. I was a little nervous about our two-block walk to the hotel at that hour. I thought the streets would be desserted. At that hour, the streets were full. I could not believe it. It really is "the city that never sleeps."

We also stopped in Philadelphia to see the Liberty Bell, which was smaller than I had thought it would be.

It was good to get away, but it was also good to get home again.