Stand up!
Not being a baseball guru, having two kids playing the sport this summer is somewhat of an irony. I sit with a couple of families on a regular basis right up next to the chainlink backstop sniffing St. Augustine. I have created my own puddle of slobbery sunflower seeds on more than one occasion. I nod my head and commiserate with one of the other dads about strategies, coach mistakes, player goofs and so forth like I know what I’m talking about. I’m pretty sure Gene and everyone else around me knows I’m a baseball idiot.
Questions like “Sooooo… what’s a balk?” are a good clue. It’s been explained to me about 3 times this season so far, and I still don’t get it, nor understand why it’s even a rule.
The other night, after the third strike, the crowd suddenly went wild, screaming, “Run! Run!” I joined in, not knowing what the heck I was screaming for. The boy had struck out. Plain and simple. But if they wanted to yell at him to run off the field, that sounded fun to me. However, the deal was that the catcher had dropped the pitch. Apparently somewhere in the annals of baseball someone said, “Hey, this sport is so slow and nap-oriented that we need to throw in a few crazy rules just to keep people awake, so let’s say that if the catcher drops the pitch on the third strike, the batter can run.” Nevermind that it’s like getting the dry heaves. You normally get all worked up over nothing. You get all excited and start screaming, “Run! Run!,” but the odds of the runner beating the throw to first are heavily against him. Yet, I’ve seen it happen, so I now scream with the best of them.
However, I was “thrown” this past week when the coach yelled, “Stand up! Stand up!” at the boy running from first to second. What in the world? I mean, the boy was in a full, head-long sprint. How could he not be standing up? Of course, I turned to Gene and asked one of my typical baseball-is-beyond-me-questions.Â
I learned that what the coach was trying to communicate to the runner is that he needed to be prepared to round second in preparation for advancing to third, rather than sliding into second and missing that opportunity. Usually, it means that the ball is nowhere near second, and that the runner has a good chance of moving on.
“Ooooooooh,” was my response, if I remember correctly.
The more I’ve thought about it, the more I see a similarity in how Christians live their lives. Too many of us are sliding into second base, simply hoping to be “safe.” We are totally unaware of what’s happening in the larger game. We’re in desperate need to hear from the Coach. Most of us would be surprised to hear Him shouting, “Stand up! Stand up!” This game is not about playing it safe. It’s about advancing toward home. When we stop running, we miss out on the opportunities that God gives for us to move forward in life.
I have overused the story I heard about the little boy who fell out of bed in the middle of the night. After settling him down, his father asked him what happened. “I guess I stay too close to where I got in,” he replied.
That’s an apt description for many Christians. After making the decision to accept Christ, they forget they’re also called to follow Him. They stay too close to where they got in and simply never grow beyond their point of initial calling.Â
What about you? Are you pursuing God daily? Are you seeking His will to be done in your community, your work, your home and your personal life? In this day and age, it’s no time to only seek to be safe. It’s time to put some runs on the board.
Stand up!
“Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand.” (Ephesians 6.13)
Â
Â
Possibly Related Posts:
Saving time for what…
“Ours is a harder task than that which our fathers faced. Their conveniences and appliances were fewer, but they were not caught and often submerged in the rush of affairs as we are. We have many labor-saving and time-saving devices, but somehow we find it difficult to save time enough… for private meditation and prayer… While we make our homes more beautiful externally than our fathers’ with their limited means were ever able to do, can we make them also the abode of virtue, honor and love…?”
The quote haunted me for several minutes after I read it in my Life Principles for Following Christ Bible study. It wasn’t because of its uncanny accuracy and penetrating analysis (we just had our house painted, thanks to George W. Bush, thus making our home more “beautiful externally”). It was because it was written in an article in the Christian Observer… dated March 22, 1905.
It’s tempting to think that our generation has it worse than others, but it’s really all relative. Sure, the march of progress seems recently to have been led by greyhounds, but in actuality, it’s not easy for anyone of any era to change.Â
Change is what is required of every person who would follow Jesus. I’ve said it a hundred times after reading it in Henry Blackaby’s study Experiencing God: “You can’t stay where you are and go with God.” Whether 1905 or a century later, true intimacy with God requires each of us to change our lifestyle.Â
If we could think of our day as a Thanksgiving turkey. There are certain parts of it that are tasty and edible, while other parts are basically “throwaway.” We all have to carve out of our lives what is good and useful. Times when we’re asleep are basically “throwaway.” We do nothing during those times other than recoup and be restored for another day. Out of the 12-18 hours that we’re awake, we must realize that all the iPhones, PDAs, email, fax machines, computers, etc. still can’t impact our character.Â
We must do that by diligent attention to our souls. It’s left to us to present ourselves before a loving God for transformation and service each day. What can we do to escape what one writer referred to as the “tyranny of the urgent” and create moments of majestic impact for our souls? The Bible records Jesus’ habit of drawing away to solitary places to pray – it seems daily. In moments of monumental import, He seemed to stay up all night praying (before choosing the 12, in Gethsemane, etc.).
If our Lord and Example modeled such moments of prayer, we should certainly devote and carve out for ourselves times of submission, confession, reading, and prayer each day. Our souls thirst for Him. We don’t need more time-saving gadgets but more transforming godliness.
In order to draw nearer to Him and quench your thirst, I’d recommend:
- A set time each day – make a commitment to yourself now. Write it down. Mark it on your calendar. Set an alarm on your cell phone (one of those “conveniences”) to remind you.
- Create a “solitary place.” It’s a place where your Bible is in easy reach as well as a journal or notepad for thoughts. It’s a place, and rapidly it will become a palace where you meet with the King of kings. Regularity will make this place literally resonate with the presence of the Lord for you.
- Follow a plan. Determine ahead of time what you will read – a scripture reading plan or a guided Bible study – would be best for beginners. You can find reading plans all over the internet. I’d recommend Blackaby’s Experiencing God for a guided study.
- Stick with it. Don’t give up if you miss a day here or there. Stay at it.
- Talk to others about what you’re doing. This will bring encouragement and added accountability. You’ll be surprised that your own example might inspire others who have been procrastinating about their soul health as well.
Possibly Related Posts:
Zune flushed
Way back in ’06, I wrote about my consideration of the Zune as a possible iPod-breaker. However, after doing research then, I decided not to plunk down any cash on the Doomed-Zune. I have a few people who follow this blog who sometimes question my sources and predictions, but to date, I have not had to make any embarrassing retractions.Â
This recent article seems to confirm what I had written back then. I offer it only to help you save some dollars if you were considering a Microsoft Zune. Most of you will wonder what in the world it is, I suspect.
The article states:
US video game retailer GameStop has thus applied yet another slap across the face of Microsoft’s attempt to produce an ‘iPod-killer’. Zune has sold two million units since launch, proving itself an unwanted minnow in the sea ofApple competitors.
Possibly Related Posts:
Spanning ministry generations
I had lunch Wednesday with a former student from my campus ministry days – Davy Nugent from Dewitt. He’s been serving in the Navy for the past five years, having traveled the world while serving my family and our country. I’m grateful. Truly.
For those of you who know Davy, he is the same fun-loving, animated Davy I remembered. While he was only at UAM for a year, he and his Dewitt friends made a lasting contribution to our campus ministry through their enthusiasm and participation. I laughed out loud as Davy described being on ABC News with his arm around Diane Sawyer who was in southeast Asia covering the tsunami relief effort, which the Navy was a part of.
The strange and surreal thing about lunch today is that the current campus minister, Tracy Reed, was there with his wife Candy. Tracy was my assistant the semester before Davy arrived at school. Also there was Jeremy Woodall who was in junior high at the time, I guess but is now Tracy’s assistant at the BCM. Tracy and Candy are some of our best friends, and we are so blessed to have them ministering on the UAM campus now.
As we talked about memories and current happenings, I kept getting confused about what students Davy would know and which ones he wouldn’t. He asked about Jill Parrack, and he remembered Jody Smotherman, as well as Ryan Morgan, but he didn’t remember others that I mentioned – mainly because they came after he had left.
After more than 20 years in ministry, eight of them at UAM, I get my ministry generations mixed up. That’s an especially significant factor for guys who do youth and college ministry, as students come and go so much. It’s sometimes hard to remember who “fits” where in the generations of students that we’ve had the privilege and blessing of ministering alongside.
As students graduate, transfer and move on, you don’t realize the significance of their dispersion until much later. However, today as I listened to Davey’s stories and realized the impact he’s been making on the world and his continued love for Christ, I was humbled to have been allowed to serve him during his freshman year at college.
These days, more often than not, the college students I worked with are married and most even have children. They’re serving all over the world, in churches, in the armed forces, in business and government. If you haven’t stopped to pray for youth and collegiate ministry today, I encourage you to do so. They are strategic opportunities to encourage, inspire, and set young people on a life direction that is beneficial and glorifying to God.
Suggested link: Arkansas College Ministries
Possibly Related Posts:
Review: Prince Caspian (rated 5 stars)
Tracy Reed and I – with our chilluns – all went to eat at Mickey D’s last night and then to Prince Caspian. Our gals had a girls’ night out with other gals from the church.
We stumbled on Michael with his two young’uns and felt a little badly that our kids were all old enough to go see this movie with us – that girls’ night out also meant boys’ night out for us. But not for him. You’re not supposed to call it babysitting when you’re with your own kids, but he had a distinct glaze in his eyes when we left for the movie.
All I can say about the movie is a simple… wow. Magical. Wonderful. Moving.
Some of Susan’s dialogue with Aslan in this movie was so deeply profound. I was impressed with the production and selection from the book. Although it diverged a tad from the storyline of the book, it all came together for a dynamically powerful epic tale.
At the end, I glanced over at Adelyn during a particularly poignant moment and saw her wiping away tears. My throat caught just a little, and upon reflection, I am delighted that my daughter is moved by moments of deep love, truth, and beauty.
Go see Prince Caspian. You won’t regret it. Better yet, read ALL the Chronicles of Narnia by Christian philosopher/writer/spreader of divine joy C.S. Lewis.
Possibly Related Posts:
Macintosh myths
David Alison has a great post detailing some commonly-heard excuses for not buying Macs or not thinking that a Mac would be the solution for you and your family. Let me know which one you’ve heard the most or your own “myth.”
I think I hear the “Macs are more expensive myth” most often. Remember, you get what you pay for.
Possibly Related Posts:
The chapter that wasn’t
I just submitted by chapter for the upcoming Age of Conversation – Why Don’t They Get It? book to be released in August. It was due today, and as I have been sorting out what I wanted to say in my little corner of the book, I quickly over-said my limit. It was 400 words or less.Â
So I scrapped what I was writing and started over. However, I thought I’d post my first attempt and let you chew through it. Hope you’re ready to listen…
Possibly Related Posts:
iPhone ringtones won’t ring
I had a little problem over the weekend. Somewhere between Monticello and Stephenville, my iPhone stopped ringing. It wouldn’t vibrate or make a noise when someone was calling. Unless I happened to be looking at the screen (which is pretty hard to do when it’s in your pocket), I had no idea people were calling.
To confuse the matter further, I noticed that the phrase “AT&T -Ringtones Enabled!” showed up and scrolled across the small portion of the screen (top left) where the “AT&T” phrase used to be.
I was pretty frustrated when the problem continued today. I endured some needless heckling and abuse from some Apple-haters at the coffee shop, including Dean, Jeff, Jimmy, and a little friendly sarcasm from Justin.
I entered the problem on the Apple support page as this:
I cannot get the phone to ring at all now. It shows that someone is calling, but no ringtone, no sound, until it chimes notifying me of a new voicemail. I’ve missed numerous calls.Â
It will also chime on text messages.
Help!Â
However, I received a friendly question there about whether my phone was jailbroken. I responded, “It’s a possibility,” thinking to myself, “Who in their right mind wouldn’t jailbreak their phone to take advantage of the world of amazing enhancements, productivity tools, games, features, and customizations that have been available for almost a year now (no thanks to Apple).” Then I remembered I know of at least one person who insists on nothing but factory purity in everything he works with. ;)
However, when I got home, I’d received a formal email from Apple stating that my post on the support page had violated their policies. In reviewing them, I guess they were referring to this one:
Do not submit software or descriptions of processes that break or otherwise ‘work around’ digital rights management software or hardware. This includes conversations about ‘ripping’ DVDs or working around FairPlay software used on the iTunes Store.
However, I also solved my problem this afternoon while waiting for Caro at the post office. I remembered that Installer had notified me over the weekend of an update to “Ringtones” – a nifty application that can convert any song in your library to a ringtone or text alert. I had updated it but had not thought anything else about it.
After a prompt uninstall, my ringtones (including all those installed with iToner) began working again immediately.
Maybe my discovery will help someone else out. The Ringtones application version was 2.85, but I can no longer find the app in Installer. Weird. Anyone know of the link for others’ benefit? Found it.. Here’s the link.
Possibly Related Posts:
Graduation in Stephenville
Jeff, my brother-in-law, is graduating from Tarleton State University this weekend. Congrats, Jeff! It’s been 9 long years… (Ok, so maybe only 6, but I’m sure it’s felt like forever for him). I couldn’t ask for a better brother-in-law, and we’re enjoying the gorgeous spring-like weather in Stephenville this weekend.
On the way here, the kids and I came up with an idea for a new video cast called the Adelyn and Sam Show. We’re going to have to work on what to abbreviate it, but it will be done in the genre of iCarly. Sam is going to video and produce it weekly. Stay tuned!
Possibly Related Posts:
Curve balls
It’s swinging time – bat-swinging time, that is. Sam is in the middle of his season, and Adelyn has just started practicing for her first season of softball. If they’re not at practice or a game, we’re often in the backyard hitting ping pong balls and playing catch. Not being a baseball guy myself, I learned from some of my friends who are that hitting a smaller ball can increase your concentration and eye-bat coordination.
In a recent game, the pitcher for Sam’s team became noticeably tired late in the game. You couldn’t see it on his face initially, but you could tell by his throws. They became inconsistent. I was sitting next to one of the boy’s grandfathers, and I heard him remark that you could tell he was tired because his curve balls weren’t making it all the way to the plate. They were falling short. It wasn’t long before a fresh pitcher was subbed in after that.
It was curious to me that you could tell more about the player’s fitness from his curve balls than his fastball. Today as I was reflecting on that, I also realized that how we respond to “curve balls” in life also determines a lot about us. In my definition, a curve ball is something relatively unexpected. A curve ball in life is typically something that catches us off guard and upsets our normal routine.
We can learn a lot about ourselves, others, and about God in how we choose to respond to life’s curve balls. In baseball, good hitters come to anticipate different pitches and are able to recognize a curve ball when it’s thrown. They understand that curve balls are part of the game.Â
Even so, we do better when we understand that setbacks, upsets, disappointments and discouragement are part of life. It’s unrealistic and even unbiblical to expect life to be smooth sailing. After all, it wasn’t for Jesus.Â
The writer of Hebrews urges us to remember Christ’s life and example:
Consider Him who endured from sinners such hostility against Himself, so that you may not grow weary or fainthearted.” (12.3)
The implication is that Christ was thrown some curve balls as well. He expected them. We are told to think about Him and the way He handled misfortune, injustice, upset, unfairness, persecution and the like.
Paul instructed a his protege preacher in 2 Timothy 4.5 to “keep your head in all situations, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, discharge all the duties of your ministry.” (NIV) The English Standard Version translates “keep your head” as “always be sober-minded.” Those are good words for all of us.
Rather than frantically swinging at the air, missing the pitches of life, these instructions encourage us to settle down, keep our eyes fixed on the ball, and swing with confidence.Â
How we respond to curve balls reveals a lot about our character. Are we cool-headed only when things are going our way, or are we able to respond with grace and faith when things fall apart around us? Can we hold our tongues when attacked? Do we seek to belittle those who have belittled us? Do we allow our emotions and passions to rule us in moments of surprise, or do we remain focused on the pitch before us?
I’d like to improve my batting average. How about you?
“Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice, insofar as you share Christ’s sufferings, that you may also be glad when His glory is revealed.” (1 Peter 4.13)
Â
Possibly Related Posts:
Gas pump relief
These days of ever-soaring gas prices bring quite a relief when I motor up to the pump on Ghost. Not only is my checking account breathing easier, but I feel like I’m doing the world a favor by not unquestionably consuming gallons and gallons of gas when there are other options. Except for some mild inconveniences, I highly recommend the $600-$800 investment into a moped. If you’re like most SUV-addicted U.S. families, you’ll pay for the moped in saved gas in 2-3 months.
Here are some of the inconveniences over the past year in driving a moped:
Â
- Bad weather means you stay at home or hitch a ride
- Hitching rides too often makes you feel badÂ
- Bugs hurt like Hades at 35 mph
- Tobacco-stained teeth sneers from pickup truck windows (of course, most times, there’s only 3-4 teeth in the mouth anyway)
- Not much luggage room
- Gravel on streets becomes a hazard when turning (you don’t think about those things in a car)
- Bird poo has no roof to hit first
- Takes a little longer to get places (but a whole new world of back-street and parking-lot shortcuts opens to you)
- Soccer mom snickers (it seems that driving a mini-van is more cool than a moped, so now I’m apparently low-man on the cool totem pole)
- The smell of roadkill is intense (but you’re less likely to do second-hand smush)
Possibly Related Posts:
Shades releases new iPhone cases…
If any of you iPhone lovers are still looking for the perfect case, Shades might have released one today. To me, the perfect case does not add bulk to your iPhone and protects it from scratches. I’m not that interested in “shock” protection and am tired of battling my pocket when trying to pull out a case made of silicone.Â
I’ve been using a new case – very nice – made by “Cozip.” However, these Shades cases look very nice. Even better, if you buy more than one, you get 50% off the second one. Since they’re only $16.95 to begin with, that’s a great deal. So here’s an idea… If you have an iPhone and want to try a Shades case, then let’s pool our purchase. Their website promises free 2-3 day shipping for orders over $60, so if we can find 5-6 folks to purchase a case, we can get them for $10-12 a piece, on average.
Speak and let me know, and we can make the purchase and distribute the cases! They also have a very wise assortment of colors to choose from.
Update (7-1-08): After a few months of using the Cozip case, I am sad to say that it scratches the aluminum around the screen pretty badly. Avoid it.
Possibly Related Posts:
About
Notes from the Trail
The Personal Blog of Jeff Noble
Info: From the misty hills of Virginia, "Notes from the Trail" seeks to encourage you on your journey. Written by a graphic designer-pastor, this blog is a blend of humor, insight, and faith discovery.
Recent Posts
Life Shots
Feeling sweet?
Copy this number: 6058013378446529, and then reload my Starbucks card here!Lifestream
-
RT @churchplant123: If you want to be a successful new church planter, shave your head. It's the Samson principle. [journeyguy]
-
For a brief second, I had just over 500 followers. After blocking spammers and businesses, I'm back under. Do you filter your followers? [journeyguy]
-
New blog post: Review: Sticky Teams: Larry Osborne is pastor of North Coast Church, a megachurch, by anyone’s de... http://t.co/KKL4zZFs [journeyguy]
-
A blog from the past: "The need for church planting" http://t.co/iwlT5jOh [journeyguy]
-
RT @funnyoneliners: I keep a well-stocked pantry in case friends drop by. I could hide in there for days. [journeyguy]
Most Commented in Past Year
Social Media
