Joey Ballgame was flawless tonight

I went to Lions night at Kensington tonight. Joey Harrington and a few of the Lions were there. Joey Ballgame played the piano...very well I might add. Jon McGraw played to violin or fiddle. They talked about the NFL. They talked about the pressures.
Joey opened up about the tough couple seasons he's had. They all talked about leaning on the church and Jesus.
Pastor Dave applauded the guys on the high road they've all taken this year while they have been put down, and talked about on TV and radio.
The pastor talked about the parable of the talents. He made some great points. He said to give God the glory. Give God your best.
I came away pretty inspired. Not so much from they professional athletes being up there, but by the service. Kensington really seemed in tune with people. I saw a packed Wednesday night service with people praising and worshipping God. I haven't seen that in ages. Granted, many of the people came to see the Lions.
But it was cool to be witness to a church busting at the seams. They're planting churches everywhere. They are financially backing other churches. They are getting the Word out, and people are coming out. They're looking beyond their property and saying what does this generation need? Not what do we have to offer, but what do they need?
It really got me thinking. Going back to the talents....we all have them. What are we doing with them? Are we using them? Are we using them for God's glory? Are we doing the best we can with them? Or are we serving ourselves with them?

Little Ones

Bryce Michael
Lillian Collette
Tobin Carter

Little Ones

You’re so innocent.
You’re so precious.
You’re not my own.
But you bless me.
I love your laughter.
I love to see you learn.
I love to see you grow.
I love holding you.
I love talking to you.
I love chasing you.
You live life as it should be lived.
And you don’t even know it.
You’re not afraid to ask questions.
You’re not afraid to laugh.
You’re not too proud to cuddle.
You take your little naps.
You don’t care about looks.
Boys, you’ll go play in the mud.
You take time away from your games
To give us a hug.

I’m sorry for the world you’re gonna grow up in.
It’s tough.
It’s rough.
But always remember your family.
Remember your God.
They will be there though it all.
Love God with all your heart.
Love Him with everything you have.
He’ll never leave you or forsake you.
He’ll lead you and guide you.
He’ll always be by you.
Don’t ever be afraid to call on Him.
He will hear.
Be careful what you wish for.
You just might get it.
And it won’t be how you expected to get it.
Learn from it.
Grow from it.
Honor your mother and father.
It’s the first commandment with promise.
They love you and always will.
I promise.
Tell them you love them.
Hug them.
Play with them.
Nothing else makes their day.
Listen to them.
Respect them.
They know what’s best for you.
When they tell you “No,”
It’s to protect you from harm.
Or keep you from a spank on the behind.
Remember they probably did the same thing.
They either got punished or hurt
And learned their lesson.
No sense both of you go through it.
You’re parents will get weirder.
Live with it.
You’ll be like them in 30 years.
Have fun.
Smile.
Don’t let life bring you down
Don’t stay down.
Pick yourself up.
Go back to it.
God will reward your diligence.
Dream.
Dream until you can’t dream anymore.
Dream big dreams.
Dream unbelievable dreams.
Be a princess.
Be an astronaut.
Be a fireman.
Be a dinosaur.
Dream.
Be a kid as long as you can.
No need to rush growing up.
Don’t outgrow Grandpa’s tractor.
Someday you’ll realize he doesn’t need it for his backyard.
But how else is he gonna cut a path to Meijer?
Be who you are.
Be who God created you to be.
Laugh.
Take naps with Grandpa.
Chase the dog.
Don’t play with your food.
Eat right.
Don’t eat a lot of sugar
Eat your vegetables.
They taste awful but are good for you.
They’re is more to eating the chicken nuggets.
Take that coming from a guy who only ate burger till he was 16.
Bryce, Keep wearing your helmet.
Boys, Buzz your heads.
Tobin, Watch out for Elephants.
But remember they’re one of Gods’ creations.
Lilly. Always be silly.
I hope you keep your eyes.
And thank you for the smiles.

Bryce.
You’re the oldest of the next generation of this family.
You have a responsibility.
It’s an honor. Be proud of it.
They may outgrow you someday.
But you’ll always be big brother.
You’ll always be the oldest cousin.
They’ll always look up to you.
You’ll set the trend.
Good or bad, they’ll always be compared to you.
It’s part of being first.
Keep smiling.
Keep laughing.
Keep loving.
Don’t’ out grow being momma’s pal.
Always be Daddy’s buddy.
Take care of Lilli when the time arises.
You may not always like her.
But love her. She looks up to you.

Tobin,
Never lose that energy.
Bounce.
Jump.
Keep moving.
Don’t let life slow you down.
When you become a big brother,
Make sure you teach them the ropes.
You’re a walking miracle.
You’re healthy.
You’re healed.
You’re a PK.
Trust me, it’ll be tough.
But you have a responsibility too.
More will be expected of you.
You’ll always be an example.
Cherish it.
You can change and effect a lot of lives in that position.
Prepare yourself to succeed your Dad.
It might not happen.
But there’s a good chance it will.
Jump into Mommas arms as long as you can
It makes her so happy.
Be a Mommas boy
And never forget.
Don’t ever forget.
To pray to Jesus before you go to bed.

Lilli.
Always be silly.
Sorry I couldn’t pass up that rhyme again.
You’re the first princess.
And if another girl doesn’t come along,
You ARE the princess.
Use it to your advantage when you must
But don’t use it so much that others get upset with you.
Don’t let the boys tell you that you can’t do something.
Play sports.
Beat them.
Don’t be afraid to play with dolls.
Don’t be afraid to be lady.
But be who you are.
Be strong.
Be daddy’s girl.
Let him protect you.
Let Bryce stand up for you.
Your mom will be your best friend.
Go shopping with her.
Trust her.
Love her.

This is much longer than I intended.
But so much was on my heart.
Me and Aunt Eliza love you.
We look forward to seeing you.
Don’t worry.
Someday we’ll have a cousin or 2 for you.
I’ll tell them the same things I’m telling you.
Stay precious.
Stay innocent.
Be little ones.

Random Thoughts

It's been a few days since I posted, but here are some things I've been thinking....

I still wish I could be Superman.

Money is great, but if we don't have friends and family, what do we really have? I'll take my condo, wife, dog, families and friends anyday of the week.

Games and competition are great. I think they reveal who we really are.

Life is awesome. I took a little sledding trip with Ben (my bro), Craig (bro in law) and their boys Bryce and Tobin. What a blast! Little 3 and 2 year olds running around, but not wanting to get snow in their face. The imaginations these guys have too! Kinda wish I was that old again.

Found a cool website. HappyNews.com. They only post good news!

Pride really does come before a fall. I started talking trash in one of my fantasy football leages after I set the highest point total record. I think I'm 1-3 since then. Further proof, my boy Randy started talking trash after the draft and it looks like he's going to miss the playoffs in both leagues! When are we going to learn?

We tell everyone they are entitled to their own opinion, and they are. But how can everyone be right? They can't be. Some of the best conversations to watch are ones when both parties know beyond the shadow of a doubt they are right, but they have opposing opinions. Good stuff.

MERRY CHRISTMAS! MERRY CHRISTMAS! MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Liza and I had a Target worker wish us a Merry Christmas a couple weeks ago. God bless her because I don't think they are supposed to say Merry Christmas.

We set up our CHRISTMAS tree on Friday. We watched a good CHRISTMAS movie...Elf on Friday. We bought a new CHRISTMAS ornament with our friends last night.

AJ/Julie. Trev/Sheryl. Justin/Renee. We had a great time last night! Looking forward to next year already.

Everyday we have a choice. Technically we have many choices, but the first choice of the day is to have a good day or a bad day. All the other ones fall in line after that. Choose to have a good day and see what happens.