Wednesday, May 26, 2010

Top 5 Reasons Why I Like Little League Baseball

There are so many reasons to love watching little kids play baseball.  But I will do my best to narrow it down to five.

1. Watching the catcher try to fit into his uniform.

Most of these kids way about 50 pounds and are less than 5 feet tall.  The catchers uniform is meant to keep them safe just in case the get hit by a fastball.  First the pitcher doesn't throw that fast.  Second, the pitcher is lucky if he gets it to the catcher.  But to watch the kids fight to get the uniform on and then to watch them hobble out to the plate like a bow-legged cowboy is very entertaining.

2. Kids who sit down in the field.

What the heck man. This is boring.  The ball is never gonna be hit clear out here.  I think I'll just sit down and pick some grass.
This line of reasoning works well until the ball is actually hit in the outfield.  You can actually see the look of surprise on the kids faces when suddenly, they are forced to jump up and chase after the ball that they could have stopped if they were standing up.

3. Dad's getting in their kids faces.

First the dad has to show up.  It is surprising to me how many families just drop off their kid and then leave.  Wow that really speaks volumes to how much they love their children.  But for those dads that do stay, it's always fascinating to me how many of them live out their major league fantasies through their children.  They get upset of their son is not Nolan Ryan or Derek Jeter at the mound or the plate.  It's one thing to give them some advice, it's another to ridicule them for not throwing that perfect changup.

4. Dads getting kicked out of the park because they argue with the Umpire.

When you mix an ump who has a short fuse and a dad who can't keep his mouth shut, it makes for a volatile situation.  "Hey ump, that ball hit the runner".
"No, it didn't."
"Yes it did."
"No it didn't, I was watching it the entire way."
"Well I don't know what Sesame Street special you were watching, but that ball hit the runner."
"No it didn't."
"Yes it did"
"No it didn't"
"You're gone!  Go to your car!"
"No!"
"Yes or the game is over and your team loses!"
"Fine, but it still hit the runner."

5. Being beat by giant margins

My son's team has an overabundance of kids who are not that great.  It seems as if our coach just took the kids that no one else wanted.  I am pretty thankful for our coach.  He does as good of a job as he can do.  But it is a little disappointing to me when our team gets beat by 20 points.  The funny part is, it doesn't seem to be that big of a deal to the kids.  So why do I care so much?


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Saturday, May 22, 2010

HomeBoy Industries


Yesterday I was listening to one of the many podcasts I download on a daily basis.  NPR's Fresh Air featured a ministry located in the Los Angeles area called Homeboy Industries.  It is a ministry started by a Jesuit priest by the name of Father Gregory Boyle.  This ministry is specifically dedicated to providing a way out for gang members, and giving them the ability to learn both work and life skills that will help them find jobs and stay off the streets.  Through the course of many years, Homeboy Industries has made drastic inroads into the gang infested streets of L.A.  They have seen many gang bangers come out of the lifestyle and become productive members of society.

Right now, like a lot of other types of organizations, they are suffering.  Last week they had to lay off a lot of their staff because of lack of funds.  This is a worth While ministry, and one that my wife and I have decided to support.  I would encourage you to check them out and pray about doing the same thing.

Here is their website  HomeBoy Industries

Listen to the Fresh Air podcast.   Fresh Air

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Friday, May 21, 2010

Wow Nice Party! (White House Gots Style)



I found a few pictures of the elaborate party that the White House threw in honor of the Mexican president that visited recently.  I am astonished at how much money the White House (tax payers) spent on this event.  Couldn't this money have been spent more wisely?  We have the whole gulf coast being covered in oil.  Animals are dying and the entire fishing industry is in jeopardy.  Families  are left without jobs and all that seems to be important right now is throwing a great party for our southern neighbors and spending millions of dollars to have a good time.  Can't we get our priorities straight?  This is not a left or right issue.  This is common sense.

My community just denied a school bond that would have built new schools and upgraded others.  The excuse used over and over was that we have to find better ways to spend our money. And, due to the current state of our economy we should not be adding more debt.  If this is true for our schools, it should be true for our government.

photo source: White house photo stream.


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Thursday, May 20, 2010

The Holy Ghost Hokey Pokey!

I have marveled at some of the stuff that Christians do.  This one is by far one of the most original things I have seen.  They actually release the Holy Spirit's anointing by dancing the hokey pokey.  Watch the whole video.  The testimonies are incredible....I am just glad that Jesus loves us anyway.

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Wednesday, May 19, 2010

Tom, Jerry, After School and the 80's

I was your stereo-typical latch key kid growing up in the eighties.  My mom had to work and never made it home until after 5pm.  We didn't have dvd players, video games, or computers to keep us busy. We didn't have Cartoon Network, Nickelodeon, or Disney Channel to watch our cartoons or kid friendly shows.  In fact our cable consisted of 13 channels.  And some of them were just repeats of affiliates coming out Salt Lake.  But there were shows that I watched every day.  Tom and Jerry, The Brady Bunch, and Little House on the Prairie were on every weekday from 3pm until 5pm.

I turned on Cartoon Network this afternoon and happened to catch an hour worth of classic Tom and Jerry cartoons.  All the memories came flooding back to me.  For a moment it was like it was 1982 all over again. It's funny the things that can bring back memories.

What was it like after school when you were a kid?

One of my favorites of all time....

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Monday, May 17, 2010

I'm Tired of Feeling Bad for Being a Christian

I have to admit, I have been one of those people that make fun of other Christians.  I have even been one of those Christians that have apologized for what we (the church) have done to others in the name of Christ. On one hand this needs to be done.  Christians continue to hurt others every day.  But how far does it have to go?  When do we stop apologizing?  When do we just live our lives as we should, as the bible shows us?  I for one, am tired of minimalizing my relationship with Christ.  It defines me, it makes who I am for better or worse.
I know I have screwed up in judging.  I am sorry.  I know that I have been your typical American Christian.  I am sorry.  But, I don't apologize for being a Christian.  I am not ashamed of calling myself a Christian.  I am not ashamed to admit to people that Faith is a narrow road.  I am not ashamed to tell people that there is a savior who died for their sins.  I am not ashamed to tell people there is only one way to the Father.

I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile.

What do you think?  Should we feel bad that we are Christians?  Should we constantly apologize.  Should we rethink the narrow road?  I would love to hear your feedback.
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Sunday, May 16, 2010

Faithbook of Jesus: Connecting with the Twenty-Something Generation


Faithbook of Jesus: Connecting with Jesus Daily
Over the years, I have read many devotionals spanning the spectrum from Oswald Chamber's classic My Utmost for His Highest , to the small quarterly devotionals that can be picked up at almost any church published by Radio Bible Ministries. Most devotionals fit a relatively standard format of daily one page readings. Usually these readings are based on some section of scripture, and more often than not it rests on one verse. Faithbook of Jesus by Renee Johnson is no different.

Faithbook.. is a fifty-two week, daily devotional that is specifically geared towards a "twenty-something" audience. As such, most of Miss Johnson's devotions are based around things that most young adults would be dealing with in this new millennium. Originally written for her blog, these devotionals have been edited and put in book form. She deals with issues that run the gamut from pre-marital sex to how we deal with the culture around us.

As I stated before, the format of the devotionals is nothing new. There is a pithy title at the top of the page, a verse to draw inspiration from, the devotional (consisting of 3-4 paragraphs), and then an insight at the bottom of the page. The insight is meant to either get people to dig deeper or call people into action.

What is unique about the format are a few new features at the bottom of the page. Not only does Renee offer insight, but she also has taken quotes from people that have posted to her website and used them to enhance the devotional. She also has added little prayers where she addresses Jesus with different names such as "Design-Label Jesus", or "Thirst-Quenching Jesus". Granted some of these names are little distracting and kind of hokey, but all in all they help the reader see that Jesus is more than one dimensional.

My favorite feature is the call to interact and be part of the "community".  At the end of each devotional, Renee asks a question and then invites the reader to respond on her website. In this post-modern culture, this is what people are looking for. We just don't want to read someone's idea of something, we want to interact with them and share our ideas as well.

The devotions themselves are at times really good and at times rather quaint and full of bubble gum. The moments that are the most brilliant and bright are the ones in which Renee gets very personal with her struggles to stay pure and to stay satisfied in her singleness. It is these sections that draw the reader in the most, connecting with them on a level other devotionals don't.

Faithbook of Jesus is not for everyone. But the target audience will most likely receive it with open arms. The twenty-something age group is a market that has not been targeted effectively by this type of genre. Although there is room for improvement, Faithbook does connect on many levels and is worth checking out. Renee Johnson is a bright light in the next generation of Christian authors.


Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from NavPress Publishers as part of their Blogger Review Program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commision's 16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."

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Tuesday, May 11, 2010

Of Floods, Hurricanes, and Mercy

I am always surprised at what dominates the headlines. It seems to me that there are things the national media picks up on and dwells on until it so saturates us with the images, that we throw our hands in the air and give up. I don't know if it is intentional or not, but it is just how it happens.

We were shown picture after stunning picture of the human condition after hurricane Katrina. We were shown the same thing after the earthquake that devastated Haiti. But it doesn't seem to be the same way with the floods in Nashville. All of these are tragedies that are incomprehensible. The thousands of people that were stranded in New Orleans and the amount of human death and tragedy that Haiti experienced is unfathomable. But too, Nashville is dealing with devastation, perhaps not on the level of these two other disasters but bad enough. And you can be sure that the God of the universe doesn't care if the national media doesn't deem it important enought to cover every night. You can be sure he doesn't care whether or not they are poor or rich, black or white. He cares about the problems and chaos that have landed in of the lives affected by these kinds of tragedies. Through all of this mercy will prevail...

The Choir has just released this video with some amazing photos of the floods in Nashville. Please watch, and if you can help those in need.

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Monday, May 10, 2010

Rethinking Facebook



When I first joined facebook, I was really excited at this new opportunity to connect with friends who lived great distances away. I liked the simplistic approach that facebook took. It was much more appealing to me than MySpace, which seemed to be all about how your page appeared and all of neat features that you can add to your page. Facebook seemed to be more about the relationships and staying in touch with those whom you don't have close contact with.

But, two years and 211 friends later, I am beginning to think that facebook isn't all it's cracked up to be.

Now, as I said before, the positive aspects of facebook are the relationships that are rekindled and maintained that normally would have fallen by the wayside. Friends that I haven't seen in years have contacted me and have been put on my friends lists.

I also like the feature of creating events that people can be invited to. You can create a barbecue party and invite people from your list. If you have a concert or something that you want to promote, the same feature can be used.

I also like the idea of supporting specific causes that spark your interest. If this is used correctly it can gain awareness for certain things that you believe in and help support worth while things that can make a difference in the world.

But Facebook can be polarizing. It can be place where people let others know about their opinions without much concern about anybodys feelings. You can join groups that want President Obama dead. You can also join groups that think that Bush was a child killer. Not only that people like to put comments on their profile that are not so vague attempts at slamming something one of their other friends said. On top of that, when you respond to a post somebody but on their profile, all it does is agitate the situation. There is no legitimate debate that happens on facebook, it's just little quips that each person feels the need to post to uphold their position. Nobody wins, and everybody loses.



When your miles away from the person that your are responding to, you can say anything you want with no consequence. You don't have to look them in the eye. And as long as you have the last comment on the page, you have "won" the argument. I had one friend tell me recently that because of a comment I had left on his post, that I am a prime example of why he doesn't consider himself a Christian anymore. This hurt me more deeply than the post I left on his page probably did. But, even after an apology sent to his email, he has seen fit not to respond.



This is why I am changing my use of facebook. I refuse from this point on to be sucked into these petty arguments. I refuse to join or like stupid groups that separate me from my other friends. I refuse to post stupid comments that tell other people (no matter how vaguely) I don't appreciate what they said, did, or supported. From this point on, I will post only neutral comments and keep my opinions, and ideology to myself. I have decided that facebook is not the place to share my political or religious views and should be just a place to get together and say hi to friends that I haven't seen in a while. If you feel the need to argue with me, than find someone else. I will not humor you.

If I have opinions, I will share them on my blog. ;0)

What do you think?
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