Being recruited

A couple of friends from Living Word put a full court press on me to get me to play softball with them. It's been rare that I get recruited with such tenacity. I'm a good ball player, but wouldn't say I'm great. I hustle, try not to make too many errors and try to encourage other guys. But compared with most guys that teams want, I wouldn't say I'm near that caliber.

It would be cool to go back to play with them. Sounds like they just need another solid player to help them get over the top.

From what I hear, they've got a few too many "egos" on the team. Isn't that the problem with all teams these days? Everyone thinks they're better than they really are. I just heard a story of a young guy that quit because he was asked to sit a few innings?

But you hear about it everywhere. I've seen it in the softball and basketball leagues I've played in. I've heard about similar stories in my brothers soccer league.

This is how you win. Let me break it down:

1: Play within yourself. Chances are you are not fast, you are not a HR threat, and you have a weak arm. Don't try to be something you're not.
2: Play like you've played the game before and learn like you never have played before.
3: Be a team player. It doesn't hurt to sit a few and let a lesser player get some time. You are not the greatest. If you were, you wouldn't be playing in that league. If you're good you'll be out there again soon.
4: Be a hustler. Again it's a rec league and ESPN is NOT there. No Web Gems. No "Goin' Deep" props. If you want to win, play harder than the other team.
5: Do the dirty work.
6: Hit singles and double and RUN, Baby, Run. I've only met one man who can hit a HR on demand. And even he doesn't try to every time.
7: Listen to your Captain/coach. He's probably a volunteer. He's not getting paid, and doesn't deserve the crap most people give him. If you don't like something talk to him.

Sports should be fun, and winning is really fun. But it's not the only thing and it's not everything.

But nothing takes the fun out of amateur sports more than whiny, pouty, bragadocious, self-promiting, cocky, average players.

I have a goal

My goal is to try to blog everyday.

See, I really like thinking. I really like writing. And I really like thinking and writing about life. Whether it's my life, or life in general.

There is so much to learn everyday about life. I really enjoy learning through living.

Maybe it's me growing old. Maybe it's me growing up.

But I get frustrated when I see I haven't blogged or written anything lately. Someday I want to publish a book or 2. I want to do a poetry book. I want to do an advice or "life lessons" book, of course from a Christ centered perspective.

So that's my goal.

Superman Returns

Went to see Superman Returns last night. Great movie.

It seemed to focus on the humanity of Superman this time. I won’t give it away, but you see the guy really has weakness. The thing that drives him though is his love of Lois, people and his realization of his purpose. He knows why he is here, and he not only accepts it, but revels in it.

Several times you see him make the choice to save people first, and above his own personal loves. He’s very selfless.


Early in the movie there was a theme of “the world doesn’t need Superman. The world doesn’t need a savior.” That’s the voice of the world we live in today. Nothing could be farther from the truth.

At one point, Superman confronts Lois on the issue. He basically said that they may say they don’t need a savior, but every night he hears the opposite.

Think about it. That’s what God hears every day. We walk around down here saying we’re good. We can handle it. All you need is an education, a 2 income family, a lot of money, a well funded 401k, a couple properties, a couple new cars, and whatever else you hear people say you need.

And you hear people say. We don’t need a savior. We don’t need God. Take him off our money. Take him out of our schools. Take him out of our courts. Take him out of everything.

But everyday, God looks down from heaven and sees how we live. Everyday, God sees and hears people crying out for Him.

Who says you can't go home

I look at the world and see a lot of scared, hurt people
Were they always that way?
No.
Many had a church or good background.
And made bad decisions.
And they ran away.
I look at the world
I see people running
Maybe they went out looking for fun and more
Maybe they walked out the door
Didn’t know what was in store
And now life’s not fun anymore
You don’t know why
Sometimes you want to cry
Until no more tears can leave your eyes
You look to God and say why
But deep down you know why
It may have been one decision
That sent you on a collision course
Of things just getting worse
Now everything hurts
You ask How can things get any worse?
So you start to ponder
The days of yonder
How you served your Heavenly Father
But somewhere down the line
You thought you knew what was best
So you tried doing things on your own
Next thing you know
Things are out of control
You may have flunked a college course
Or maybe you’re heading for divorce
Maybe your record now has too many police reports
Or drugs and alcohol don’t soothe you anymore
Maybe you went your own way
Why do we go our own way?
Didn’t Jesus tell us that he was the way?
The truth and the life.
We wouldn’t have so much strife in our life
If we just turned our life over to Christ.
One decision to go your own way can lead to another.
Next thing you know, you’re saying.
I can’t get a job
I can’t keep a job
I need a drink to relax
I need a pill to relax
I need a smoke
I need another coffee
I can’t live with out food.
Are you kidding me?
How many things do we say we can’t do without?
But it wasn’t always that way, was it?
Jesus made a way
You can come home today
Doesn’t matter how far you ran away
A mile down the road or in a galaxy far, far away.
This is the day that the Lord has made
Put away your foolish pride
Put all the pain and trouble aside
Jesus is on the front porch and his arms are open wide
And he’s smiling, and saying.
My son, My daughter
It’s time to come home.
Who says you can’t go home?

The New Ride

It's been awhile again.

Liza and I got a new car this week. GM announced 0% financing and we went shopping.

We got a black HHR LT, much like the one you see here. We got the 2LT package, chrome package, 17" wheels, sunroof and a couple other bells and whistles.

It's a nice ride.

The big news is we got rid of the Alero. It was a decent car, but was getting to the point where we were putting money into a car that wasn't ours. $400 brake job about a month ago. I had to put tires on it a couple months ago.

Thanks to GM for the lease pullahead and 0% financing. It made things happen for us.