The Good: I want to start this by saying that I am a full supporter of AAU basketball. I thoroughly enjoy watching Kassi play against VERY good competition. She has certainly became a better player because of her experience in AAU. She has played with and against some of the top tallent in the country. Unfortunately, I don't get to see all of her games because I work.
The Bad: I miss my girls! Because I don't get to go to all of her tournaments, Kim goes. That means that I have to be without my wife, my cook, my care-taker, and my best friend for days. Kim is the best wife ever. I think one of the things I like best about her is she laughs at all of my jokes. Any body that knows me knows that I have a hard time being serious AND I have a very dry sense of humor. Kim knows my jokes and even when they may seem untimely, she laughs. Not only does she laugh, she smiles. One of my favorite things in the world is to make my wife smile. She has the most beautiful smile in ever.
The Bad: I find myself not disappointed if Kassi's team gets beat early so they have to come home early. This week's tourney in Nashville was a Sunday-Wednesday tourney so they pulled out at 8:20 am on Sunday. Kassi lost their first game so they will be home tomorrow. I hate that I'm not disappointed but when it comes to my time with my family, I am very stingy.
The Good: Kassi loves basketball like I love ice cream. She can't get enough. Last week, she was shooting every night until after 11:00 pm (she started each night around 8:00). AAU gives Kassi an opportunity to play against great competition almost every weekend (my diet doesn't let me have ice cream as often). She gets so excited before every game. I wish I had been as dedicated to get better at football when I was her age.
The Good: AAU provides Kassi exposure that she wouldn't otherwise get just playing High School basketball. She is already getting letters from D1 schools that saw her at AAU tournaments. I am very proud of her.
Summary: AAU is great but I'm jealous of the time I'm away from my girls. This week is the last tournament and I'm glad. I'm glad I won't have to be without my wife again until next year and I'm glad that Kassi will get a break...whether she wants it or not.
I am first and foremost the spiritual leader in my family. I am their protector and provider and I don't like being in positions where I can't protect them. I miss you Kim and I can't wait until I get to hold you and make you smile tomorrow!
I love you and God does too!
Monday, July 23, 2012
Sunday, July 22, 2012
Seek his face, not his hand
When was the last time you spent 15 minutes in prayer without asking God for anything except forgiveness? When was the last time you spent time in worship without asking God for a blessing? It's really hard when we are such needy people.
David was a man "after God's own heart". David was a man that just wanted more of God "Seek the LORD, and his strength: seek His face evermore. Psalm 105:4". In Hebrew, "face" is used in place of presence. David was saying "seeks his presence evermore". When we can learn to be like David and just want more of God, we will truly be able to worship Him in "spirit and truth" (John 4:24). That is what being a Christian is really about, being in God's presence. That's why he created us. He created humans so he could have a relationship with a being that had a choice. Why do we settle for less than all of God?
I challenge you today to spent time with God without asking for anything. I challenge you to just praise him and acknowledge his forgiveness and his love. Thank Him for what He has done for you but even more, thank Him for who He is. Seek His face evermore!
I love you and God does too!
David was a man "after God's own heart". David was a man that just wanted more of God "Seek the LORD, and his strength: seek His face evermore. Psalm 105:4". In Hebrew, "face" is used in place of presence. David was saying "seeks his presence evermore". When we can learn to be like David and just want more of God, we will truly be able to worship Him in "spirit and truth" (John 4:24). That is what being a Christian is really about, being in God's presence. That's why he created us. He created humans so he could have a relationship with a being that had a choice. Why do we settle for less than all of God?
I challenge you today to spent time with God without asking for anything. I challenge you to just praise him and acknowledge his forgiveness and his love. Thank Him for what He has done for you but even more, thank Him for who He is. Seek His face evermore!
I love you and God does too!
Sunday, May 27, 2012
Missing my girl
Kim is away with Kassi at a basketball tournament and I'm missing her. Last week, I was away from her for one night so I drove to Nashville to be with her. This week, its Cincinnati and three nights instead of two. It just wasn't possible for me to be with her...I'm dying without her.
Why am I'm telling you this? Well, I don't know, other than it seems to make me feel better to write it down. I miss my girl. When she is away, I'm lost. I have sat around all day with Kalli and Kelsi not knowing what to do. The only thing I know to do is play with them outside and with the heat today, that just wasn't possible with a 2-year old. Kim would have known what to do today. Heck, if she were here, I probably would have too. Without her, I'm just lonely. Kalli is good company and she and Kelsi are fun but it just isn't the same without Kim.
I hope she and Kassi are having fun. As for me, I started counting down the minutes until she gets home as soon as she pulled out of the garage yesterday.
I love my baby!
Why am I'm telling you this? Well, I don't know, other than it seems to make me feel better to write it down. I miss my girl. When she is away, I'm lost. I have sat around all day with Kalli and Kelsi not knowing what to do. The only thing I know to do is play with them outside and with the heat today, that just wasn't possible with a 2-year old. Kim would have known what to do today. Heck, if she were here, I probably would have too. Without her, I'm just lonely. Kalli is good company and she and Kelsi are fun but it just isn't the same without Kim.
I hope she and Kassi are having fun. As for me, I started counting down the minutes until she gets home as soon as she pulled out of the garage yesterday.
I love my baby!
Saturday, May 26, 2012
YOU can do something great!
There is something that our pastor (Brad) has been mentioning a lot at church lately and that is many of our biblical heroes were just regular people. This is a tough concept to grasp for me. All of my life, I have looked at men like David, Gideon, Nehemiah, Shadrach, Meshack, and Abednigo as extraordinary men of God. In reality, these men were just as normal as I am before they did something extraordinary.
David killed Goliath but before that he was tending sheep. Then he was just taking his brothers lunch when he heard how Goliath was slandering God and Israel. We know what happened next. Then he became a great king but he fell into an adulterous affair and committed murder. God restored him.
Gideon was a normal guy sitting under a tree when the angel of God called him a warrior. Gideon basically told the angel "you've got the wrong guy, I'm no warrior". He obeyed God and led Israel to great victories...with 300 men.
Nehemiah was the cup bearer to the king. The cup bearer is the guy who tastes the kings wine to see if it is poisoned. If it isn't, great. If it is, well the king will have to find another cup bearer. Nehemiah was expendable. He heard that Jerusalem was in disarray and the walls were tore down and he simply stepped up. He wasn't a leader or a builder but with God's help, he led a great building project.
Shadrach, Meshack, and Abednego were just young men. They had never done anything. All they did was the right thing. They didn't bow to an idle. Most importantly, they trusted God. They told Nebuchadnezzar "Our God will deliver us, but if he doesn't, we still will not bow". We know how that ended.
And then there is us. We're just normal people. We are sitting back waiting on someone else to do something great. I generally try to put things in the context of sports when I'm trying to explain something. Think basketball. Every team has got their leading scorer and then there is the supporting cast. What happens when the leading scorer is hurt or just isn't performing? Someone has to step up. If everyone else just goes through the motions waiting for someone to score, that team will get beat. They need someone to step up as the go-to player. Someone has to come out of their shell and shoot the ball even if they are more comfortable passing.
Are you ready to step up and be God's go-to player? God is ready to use you for something great, you just have to step up. When God's angel calls you a warrior, you can't ignore it even though you've never fought a battle. We must be like Shadrack, Meshack, and Abednigo and just believe God. God gave them an open door but it was up to them to walk through. Will you? God will open a door for you if he hasn't already. Some of you may be looking through that door right now but you're scared to death to walk through. Maybe you want to walk through but you are waiting for someone else to walk through first. Be like Nehemiah. He didn't wait on someone else to build the walls, he did it. Remember, he wasn't a builder or a leader. He stepped WAY out of his comfort zone. Are you ready?
Tell God you are ready to be his go-to player and see what happens.
God loves you and I do too!
David killed Goliath but before that he was tending sheep. Then he was just taking his brothers lunch when he heard how Goliath was slandering God and Israel. We know what happened next. Then he became a great king but he fell into an adulterous affair and committed murder. God restored him.
Gideon was a normal guy sitting under a tree when the angel of God called him a warrior. Gideon basically told the angel "you've got the wrong guy, I'm no warrior". He obeyed God and led Israel to great victories...with 300 men.
Nehemiah was the cup bearer to the king. The cup bearer is the guy who tastes the kings wine to see if it is poisoned. If it isn't, great. If it is, well the king will have to find another cup bearer. Nehemiah was expendable. He heard that Jerusalem was in disarray and the walls were tore down and he simply stepped up. He wasn't a leader or a builder but with God's help, he led a great building project.
Shadrach, Meshack, and Abednego were just young men. They had never done anything. All they did was the right thing. They didn't bow to an idle. Most importantly, they trusted God. They told Nebuchadnezzar "Our God will deliver us, but if he doesn't, we still will not bow". We know how that ended.
And then there is us. We're just normal people. We are sitting back waiting on someone else to do something great. I generally try to put things in the context of sports when I'm trying to explain something. Think basketball. Every team has got their leading scorer and then there is the supporting cast. What happens when the leading scorer is hurt or just isn't performing? Someone has to step up. If everyone else just goes through the motions waiting for someone to score, that team will get beat. They need someone to step up as the go-to player. Someone has to come out of their shell and shoot the ball even if they are more comfortable passing.
Are you ready to step up and be God's go-to player? God is ready to use you for something great, you just have to step up. When God's angel calls you a warrior, you can't ignore it even though you've never fought a battle. We must be like Shadrack, Meshack, and Abednigo and just believe God. God gave them an open door but it was up to them to walk through. Will you? God will open a door for you if he hasn't already. Some of you may be looking through that door right now but you're scared to death to walk through. Maybe you want to walk through but you are waiting for someone else to walk through first. Be like Nehemiah. He didn't wait on someone else to build the walls, he did it. Remember, he wasn't a builder or a leader. He stepped WAY out of his comfort zone. Are you ready?
Tell God you are ready to be his go-to player and see what happens.
God loves you and I do too!
Tuesday, May 22, 2012
Today is a new day
I've taken quite a break from my blog and I certainly owe some of you an apology. I use my blog as a way to keep myself accountable but if I'm not careful I can use it as a sounding board. Kim and I discussed it and we believe that it was best to take a couple of weeks off. But now I can say that today is a new day.
Have you ever needed one of those, a new day? I know for us, it was feeling like we were living the same day over again. Took us back to Bill Murray and Ground Hog Day, we tried different things but each day seemed like the same old stuff. For the record, everything is fine with Kim and me. We are just as happy together as we ever were. The "stuff" I'm talking about are things outside of our family that have a direct impact on us but are completely out of our control. But our situation did remind me that there are people out there that need a new day.
There are hurting people in this world, maybe even reading this blog, that need to know they can have a new day. I met some men at a prison in KY on Friday that found this out. They knew they needed a new day, they didn't think it was possible. They wake up every day with the same outlook, the same situation, the same people giving them trouble, and the same people telling them what to do. Every day is planned out and the longer they are in their situation, the more bleak it seems and the less help they get from the outside world.
Sound familiar? Had I left out the fact that they were in prison, some of you may have thought that I was talking about you. Some of these men got a new day on Saturday because they accepted Jesus as their Lord and Savior. They know that things aren't going to be perfect. But they also know that now they have hope. In the end, isn't that what we all need to start a new day, HOPE? Where there is no hope, there is no way out. Where there is no hope, there is defeat. Jesus Christ gives us hope, hope for a new day.
God loves you and I do too!
Have you ever needed one of those, a new day? I know for us, it was feeling like we were living the same day over again. Took us back to Bill Murray and Ground Hog Day, we tried different things but each day seemed like the same old stuff. For the record, everything is fine with Kim and me. We are just as happy together as we ever were. The "stuff" I'm talking about are things outside of our family that have a direct impact on us but are completely out of our control. But our situation did remind me that there are people out there that need a new day.
There are hurting people in this world, maybe even reading this blog, that need to know they can have a new day. I met some men at a prison in KY on Friday that found this out. They knew they needed a new day, they didn't think it was possible. They wake up every day with the same outlook, the same situation, the same people giving them trouble, and the same people telling them what to do. Every day is planned out and the longer they are in their situation, the more bleak it seems and the less help they get from the outside world.
Sound familiar? Had I left out the fact that they were in prison, some of you may have thought that I was talking about you. Some of these men got a new day on Saturday because they accepted Jesus as their Lord and Savior. They know that things aren't going to be perfect. But they also know that now they have hope. In the end, isn't that what we all need to start a new day, HOPE? Where there is no hope, there is no way out. Where there is no hope, there is defeat. Jesus Christ gives us hope, hope for a new day.
God loves you and I do too!
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