My Inner Author

This article ( http://www.dallasnews.com/ sharedcontent/dws/dn/lates tnews/stories/012209dnspos hutout.40d72ee.html?ocp=2 ) tells the much discussed story of a high school girls basketball game in Texas which ended in a 100-0 score. Much has been written about the negatives and positives already, but people who know me, realize, I can't be quiet sometimes. As a coach for youth sports, mainly kids between the ages of 6-14, I have been able to work on the foundation of each child's future outlook on sports, teamwork, and I hope, life itself. Too often in America today people shove their kids into competition with a vengeance. I have seen parents, coaches and spectators yelling at officials and umpires over a call or missed call, and behave in ways which are reprehensible. I know of many families which "travel" on weekends so their children can compete against the "best of the best" and push themselves more. Does a 10-year-old kid need to really raise his/her l...

This was originally posted on 6/6/2008 Well, I have not blogged much lately. There have been many things occupying my time, energy and thoughts these past couple of months, and while I have had many ideas about writing some of my thoughts down, I have been unable to get a few clear topics to discuss. Several of these topic ideas may get time in the coming weeks (Friendship, Dealing With Adversity, even football). But first, I have decided to share some thoughts on another book I have read, which ties into some of my earlier blogs. A few months ago, I wrote about a book called "I'm fine with God...It's Christians I Can't Stand" by Bruce Bickel and Stan Jantz. It helped give voice and attention to some of my concerns with the direction of my faith. It truly struck a chord with me. You can tell by reading the older blogs. Over the past few weeks, I found another book which has made me take a look at myself and my faith. The book is called "unChristian...

This was originally posted on 5/22/2008 The few who actually read my blog will note, it has been some time since I have posted. I have actually written several in the interim, but I have chosen to keep them to myself, as the content was personal. But in the course of doing so, I did finally stumble on to a topic to write about which means a lot to me. FRIENDS. Specifically, a brief thank you note to all of my friends. Those who know me will understand how important, how near and dear to my heart, and how deeply I value the friendships I have made over the 40 years of my life. I do not refer to the traditional definition of friends, but rather my deeper definition of the word. The one described in my favorite Bible verse, John 15:13. "A greater love has no man than this, that he lay down his life for his friends." That kind of friendship transcends time, distance, and mere definition. When I had to deal with the divorce of my parents, and all the turmoil o...

This was originally posted 4/5/2008 I must admit, I have been blessed in this life far greater than I deserve. I have great parents (extras even), great kids, great friends, and a great appreciation of them all. I even like my job. I give a fair amount of the credit to my father, since I have tried to be like him since I can remember. He has always treated people right, and felt like you get back from the world what you put into it. He loves to examine the deeper meaning behind things, but yet he keeps life simple. Recently he shared one of his favorite books with our family, giving the kids each a copy, and sharing it with Donna and I too. It is from the Life Is Good folks, two brothers (Jacobs’ too, but not related that we know of). It features simple feel good sayings which still manage to convey an optimistic message. I wrote down my favorite five from my first reading: We will never know all the good a simple smile can do. Sometimes the best conversation is a...

This was originally posted 3/25/2008 Okay, I promised a light hearted blog this week, and I will live up to my promise. Today is the official start of baseball season, not my favorite sport (it's second to football of course), but it is a great way to start the spring. So, today as the RedSox beat the Oakland A's in Japan to start the 2008 season, I find myself ready to do my annual baseball film marathon. So,the list of my favorite baseball movies is in order. 1) Bull Durham The classic of baseball movies. A bit adult in content, it has humor, sports, and sex for the guys, and a love story for the ladies. There are so many classic moments in this film: the conference on the mound to discuss wedding gift ideas, the whole garter belt thing, and Kevin Costner's "I believe in..." speech. But this is the most authentic baseball movie of its time, and 1 in my rotation every March. 2) Field of Dreams The ultimate father-son movie. Costner obviously knows baseball...

This was originally posted 3/21/2008 In honor of Easter, I want to share a sermon, one many attribute to Tony Campolo. It was in fact given by the senior pastor at Mount Carmel Baptist Church in Philadelphia, PA. It’s message is simple, it’s meaning profound. I hope you enjoy reading it on this Easter weekend. ******************************** It’s Friday, But Sunday’s a Coming! "It’s Friday. Jesus is arrested in the garden where He was praying. But Sunday’s coming. It’s Friday. The disciples are hiding and Peter’s denying that he knows the Lord. But Sunday’s coming. It’s Friday. Jesus is standing before the high priest of Israel, silent as a lamb before the slaughter. But Sunday’s coming. It’s Friday. Jesus is beaten, mocked, and spit upon. But Sunday’s coming. It’s Friday. Those Roman soldiers are flogging our Lord with a leather scourge that has bits of bones and glass and metal, tearing at his flesh. But Sunday’s coming. It’s Friday. The Son of man stands firm as they press ...

This was originally posted 2/11/2008 Okay, even though I have several ideas for my latest blog, I did promise to finish my Vegas "Recharge The Batteries" trip thoughts in this next post. So, I will be quite busy writing this week, but I did want to keep my promise first. Since I traveled alone this time, I had ample opportunity to enjoy listening to music or the quiet sound of nothing. When hiking, I chose silence. Most of the other times, I chose tunes. Now, I have to provide one other detail in this setup. During my childhood, one of my most vivid memories is my parents having their friends over on weekend nights and they would sit and listen to music together, and talk about news, politics, life, and the songs themselves. It's probably a vivid memory because it happened all the time. Anyhow, it helped me to understand how some songs transcend from simple tune, to something more. This is not a revelation to anyone, but I did find myself listening to more of th...

This was originally posted 1/30/2008 Okay, in looking over my blogs, they are all so serious. So, I felt like a needed a more light-hearted fare as a change of pace. A nice blog on something which didn't explore the human condition, just some fun. So, in honor of the upcoming SuperBowl weekend, I thought I would try posting some of my favorite commercials over the years. There are far too many to do them justice, but these are the ones I can recall, and where possible, link to them. Terry Tate Office Linebacker (a series done by Reebok) Terry Tate Office Linebacker Skittles Touch Skittles Touch Cheese Nips Explosion Cheese Nips Cat Herders Cat Herders Tabasco Mosquito Tabasco Mosquito Clydesdale Play Football Clydesdales Play Football Clydesdales Play Football (Streaker) Streaker Sheep Clydesdales Michelob Touch Football Touch Football Extreme VW Terrorist VW Terrorist There have been so many "This is Sportscenter" commercials done by ESPN which are fantastic, that I cann...

This originally was posted in December 2007 Well, tonight I decided to re-post some material I have blogged on MySpace in the past year. I am starting with some of the earlier material, and in the future, I will post to both together to try and reach a wider audience. "A greater love hath no man than this, that he lay down his life for his friends." -John 15:13 "There are two kinds of people: those who say to God, ''Thy will be done,'' and those to whom God says, ''All right, then, have it your way.'' - C.S. Lewis "I love you, not for what you are, but for what I am when I am with you." - Roy Croft "Love doesn't make the world go round. Love is what makes the ride worthwhile." "Experience is that marvelous thing that enables you to recognize a mistake when you make it again." "It's a strange world of language in which skating on thin ice can get you into hot water." - Franklin P. Jones "...