Field of Dreams

Last night, James' pee wee baseball team was one of the "field of dreams" teams. The players get to go on the field and get autographs prior to the game. Then these little leaguers are lined up and get introduced to to crowd one by one.



James and I practiced his hat tip prior to the game. Notice that his two teammates have mastered one of the required moves of baseball - the scratch.

After their introductions, they run onto the field with the Astro who plays their position. James told me he was going to beat the first baseman, Cole Graham, to the field and he did.



He then took his cap off and with a little help from Cole, found the flag pole in left center field. He stood relatively still for the redition of the national anthem by a local singer. He then ran off the field and enjoyed the rest of the game as a spectator.

Modern Day Slave Camps

I have been meaning to post this story for some time. It amazes me the way people treat people. This story is from NPR's Morning Edition.

Modern Day Slave Camps: Florida lawmakers are looking into allegations that several of the state's farm labor camps are running what one U.S. attorney calls modern-day slave operations.

For the most part, the workers are U.S. citizens, and many are homeless African-American men recruited from shelters and soup kitchens. Lured by promises of work, they hop into vans, only to find themselves in fenced farm camps, forced into debt by their bosses and sometimes paid with drugs instead of money.
Click here for the full audio story.

Just As I Am

A friend at work lost his mother this weekend. She was from a Church of Christ background but had not been able to attend for over 10 years because of her health. Somehow, she slipped through the cracks of the chruch she had attended. So when she died, I was called because people at work know my back ground. We were able to arrange a nice chruch of Christ program for them. I was in charge of arranging the singing. I asked my friend what his mother's favorite songs were and he gave me two. Rock of Ages and Just As I Am.

So we sang Just As I Am at a funeral. (I did make it the first selection so it wouldn't feel like an invitation song.) The words struck me in a new way at singing it in a new context. It almost had a quality of announcing her arrive to Heaven.

Dinner Table Guys Update We will be having our first lunch with the 2005 Dinnertable Guys. Josh Flores and Jake Hurry will be joining us for lunch on Friday. Josh is a outfielder and Jake is a pitcher. James is very excited. Last years guys continue to do well. Beau Tolbert tied a Lexington Legend record by hitting in his 16th straight game tonight. It is great to see him have that success.

Matthew and the Matchbox Car

Sunday, I chose Matt 9:9-13 for my text. In my prep work, I found this fable at Textweek.com. I modified it to fit my style and our groups needs but I wanted to post the original here to get your thoughts. I like this story and the lesson it teaches in how we can view our wrecks through God's eyes.

Matthew & The Matchbox Car
Barbara K. Lungblad

I know it is the ninth of June, but I want to tell you a Christmas story. It's a story remembered by a man named Brian Abel Ragen, a story told over and over by his father when he was growing up -- one of the few stories his father ever told. It is the kind of story that makes you wonder if you've heard it before somewhere. Perhaps your mother or father told it to you.

"Once upon a time there was a little boy who was very poor. He and his brothers and sisters lived with their widowed mother, who was barely able to feed them all. The little boy worked in a store every day after school and on weekends. All his clothes were handed down from someone and he couldn't remember ever getting anything new. He had only one toy -- a little car (I have always pictured it as a Matchbox car, Brian Ragen says, interrupting the story). The car was worn and weary as his clothes. Only one window was left and the roof was smashed in on one side, two of the wheels were missing. But he loved that car -- it could become anything he wanted when he played a race car revving it up and squealing around corners, a tank when he went to war, an ambulance when he was a doctor. Almost every happy moment he remembered had to do with that car.

It was almost Christmas and he knew there would be no presents. But the little boy was excited anyway. It was the first year he would be allowed to go to midnight mass on Christmas eve. Everyone had told him how splendid it was; the incense, the music, the fine vestments. And the creche. Above all, he longed to see the creche. He had been told that it was very large with plaster figures of Mary and Joseph, the shepherds and magi, even sheep and sheep dogs. And the baby had a halo more glorious than Mary or Joseph and lay in a manger filled with real straw. Before mass began, people brought gifts to the child. He had been told the gifts were magnificent jeweled chalices for the altar, new clothes for poor children (like himself), envelopes full of money. By the time the service began it looked like many caravans of wise men had been there. At least, that's what his friend had said.

The little boy wanted very much to give the Christchild a present. But what could he give? The money from his after school job went to his mother and there was nothing left over. He decided to get another job just until Christmas, working every morning before school. On the afternoon of Christmas eve, he sat at the kitchen table counting out what he had earned. He had enough money to get a fine present, he thought. But before he could put the money back in his pocket and go out, his mother returned home. "Oh, son," she said, "what a good boy you are! Now we can have a real Christmas dinner!" And she swooped up the money and hurried off to get to the market before it closed.

He was heartbroken. He went to his room, trying not to be angry at his mother. When things like this happened, he was told to "Offer it up to Jesus." That was never easy, but it was worse this time. On the dresser he saw his broken toy car. He hadn't played with it at all in December, but it had been waiting for him. He knew it was the only thing he had to give the Child, so when he had combed his hair and dressed in his best clothes, he put the car in his pocket and set off for mass. He went alone because his mother had to stay with the younger children. When he arrived the church was filling up and he felt lost among tall adults in bulky coats. He walked up the aisle genuflected as he had been taught, and turned to the creche which was set up before one of the side altars. Gifts were already piled up before the child. Some were wrapped, others were left unwrapped (perhaps so you could see how expensive they were). The little boy stood shyly before the manger, then laid his toy car amid all the treasures.

He squeezed into a pew close to the creche just as the organ began playing the prelude. An usher took a last look at the creche to see if everything was in place for the blessing. What the usher saw made him very angry. "Who would leave a piece of trash like this at Our Lord's crib?" he said, loudly enough for the boy to hear. The usher picked up the toy car and threw it across the church, just under the tall pulpit. The little boy could see it, lying on its roof with its two wheels spinning, looking like a wreck indeed. But he had no time to retrieve it for the procession had begun and everyone stood to sing. The little boy was crying, but he stood with everyone else. He could barely see the priests and choir, only the cross held high above the procession. Suddenly, the cross came to a dead stop. At first the boy couldn't tell what was happening, but he managed to find an open space to peer between the grown ups. The baby in the manger had come to life and was crawling across the stone floor. He crawled until he reached the broken car, tucked it under his arm and crawled back to his manger bed. By this time all the people had fallen to their knees. At last the priest rose and approached the manger; there, just as before, a plaster child with a bright halo was lying in the straw, but now he smiled like a happy child and his arms were folded tight around a broken toy car.

Brian Abel Ragen says that he cannot remember how he reacted to the story as a child. He suspected that his father told it as propaganda. Why can't you be a good little boy like the boy in the story? Or like his father who had to work hard delivering papers as a boy and walked five miles to school with a hot potato between his mittens to keep warm -- but walked home colder because he had to eat the potato for lunch. Whoever his father had been, he was now far from perfect. When he wasn't passed out drunk, he was a foul-mouthed terror. He took his son to mass every Sunday and to confession the afternoon before. But Ragen had no respect for him "I was afraid of him," he says, "and I despised him. I hated the idea that the ogre who darkened my life would be forgiven week after week."

But years later something changed. It wasn't that his father was transformed and everyone was reconciled in a tearful family reunion. Real life stories often end unresolved. "As I think of my father's Christmas story now," says the grown-up boy, "I realize that I cast him in the wrong role. My father was not the good little boy who gave his last plaything to the Lord. My father was the smashed Matchbox car with a couple of wheels missing. He had failed in his public life, and he knew that his family considered him an enemy. Whatever had happened in his life, it was enough to break him. He was a wreck. But despite -- or because of -- all this, he clearly longed to be cradled in his Savior's arms, to have Christ still seek him after he had been rejected by everyone else."

We don't know why Matthew, the tax collector, got up so abruptly to follow Jesus that day long ago. And we're not sure if the dinner which followed was at Matthew's house, but it seems likely -- for those who gathered around Jesus would have been Matthew's kind of people. "Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?" The religious leaders asked the disciples (Who would leave a piece of trash like this at our Lord's crib? asked the usher, eager for everything to be in good order).

Jesus was always in the wrong house, eating with the wrong people. It seems that He spent His public ministry crawling across the floor of history to tuck one wrecked life after another under His arm. "As Jesus was walking along He saw a man called Matthew sitting at the tax booth; and Jesus said to him, 'Follow me.' And he got up and followed Him." Who can explain it? Matthew's decision was too sudden, clearly not thought out. Perhaps pastor/novelist Frederick Buechner was right when he said. "Faith is a word that describes the direction our feet start moving when we find that we are loved."

Matthew got up and followed. I suppose he could have waited until he knew more about Jesus. Maybe he should have waited until he felt better about himself. But, then I suppose, he'd still be there. "Faith," says Buechner, "is stepping out into the unknown with nothing to guide us but a hand just beyond our grasp." A hand that longs to touch all that is broken and failed, to gather up lives -- even successful lives -- which on some days seem like worthless trash.

Matthew could have waited until he was more certain, or more together. So could we -- but why miss a good dinner? I'm told that Jesus is eating with tax collectors and sinners today, with a friend, broken father and his grown up son. You're more than welcome to come.

Baseball on the brain

Sorry for you non baseball types. I have baseball on the brain. This weekend, I plan to be attending two Greeneville Astros games. These games have gotten a greater level of interest since the big news hit that Roger Clemens' son Kody signed with the Astros and has been assigned to Greeneville to begin his professional baseball career. I am excited about getting a look at him.

Imagine what it is like to go around and be known as Roger Clemens' son. The pressure of being a baseball player when your dad is one of the best ever. Now the pressure of being drafted by his team. All eyes will be on him. I hope people (me included) will remember he is an 18 year old kid who just a few months ago was in high school.

All Star Break Update

Well, it is time to check in with our families pre season predictions about who would win the division.

Before I give you the standings, let me give you a "dinner table guys" update. One of the young men that we got to know last year when he was a Greeneville Astro was Troy Patton. Troy has had an exciting few weeks. He was the starting pitcher for the South Atlantic League all star game in late June and then pitched 2/3 of an inning yesterday in the Futures All Star Game which is a part of the MLB All Star festivities. Now he awaits his first start at Class A (Advanced) Salem. If we get up to DC to see Shannon's brother this year, we may try to piggy back a trip through Salem to see Troy again.

The other two guys are also doing well. Jordon Parraz is tearing it up in the NY/Penn League. Beau Tolbert is healthy it appears and has a 7 or 8 game hitting streak going in Lexington. His average has jumped 130 points during the hitting streak.

Now for the mid season prediction update

AL East: All of us had picked the Yankees to win the division. They are currenlty 2.5 games behind Boston for first.

AL Central: Way to go Grace. She picked the White Sox who are 9 games ahead of the popular pick of the rest of the family, the Twins.

AL West: Everyone picked the Angels who are 5 games in front of Texas

AL Wildcard: If the season ended today, the wild card would be the Twins. All of our family picked the Red Sox as our wild card team.

NL East: No one had picked the Expos, uh I mean Nationals who are in first place at this time. Everyone buy me picked the Braves who are 2.5 games back of the Nationals. I had picked the Marlins who are 7 games back.

NL Central: Shannon is looking good in this division. She picked the Cards who are running away with the division. Grace and James picked the Astros who are 11 games back and I picked the Cubs who will disappoint you every time.

NL West: Shannon, Grace and I picked the division leading Padres. James may win the award for the picked team who finishes the worst. His pick - the Rockies.

NL Wildcard: Right now, I have this one nailed. The Braves were my pick and if the season ended today I would be right. The rest of the family picked the Marlins who are 4.5 back of the Braves for the wild card right now.

So for standings:

Grace: 3 correct and one team slotted to make the playoff in a different category
Shannon: 3 correct and one team slotted to make the playoff in a different category
James: 1 correct and one team slotted to make the playoff in a different category
Steve: 3 correct and one team slotted to make the playoff in a different category

Another way of telling the winner is adding up the current position in the standings and low # wins:

Shannon 29
Grace 32
Steve 37
James 47

I need to Cub's pitching to get healthy!

Need an alias?

Do you ever have the need to be incogito? No, me either. But if the need ever arises and you are limited on your creative juices, I have a web site for you. RonMexico.com will create an alias for you. One of the unique features of your alias is your last name will be a state, country or some other location a map. Give it try and see what your alias is. I am no longer Steve Duer. If you are looking for me, look for Adonis Arizona.

How I Spent The Fourth

One of the very nice things about living in NE Tennessee is the Cherokee National Forest. On July 4th, James and I our visiting family members to Sill Branch Falls. Shannon and Grace stayed behind after Grace had lost a tug of war match with Uncle Ron's new dog, Rusty, and had scraped her heels on the sidewalk (OUCH).

The first part of the hike is on a closed forest service road. After about a mile to a mile and a half of that you actually get to the trail. Rusty, my uncle's new dog loved the trail. He was allowed to go with out a leash on that part of the hike. He did great. On the road he kept trying to eat horse dung and none of us wanted to ride back to town in the car with a dog who had been eating dung. So we kept him on the leash on that part of the trail. Those on the journey include my uncle Ron Duer, my brother Chuck Duer, his wife, Jane and their son, Brent.



As we hiked we had the pleasure of seeing many of the wild rhododendrons in bloom. They are prolific in this area.


The whole trail follows Clark's Creek. I love creeks, you get the visual beauty of the creek and the wonderful peaceful sound of the rushing water.



After about 2 miles total, this is the reward. Sill Branch Falls. The top of the falls is about 30 to 40 feet high. The pool at the bottom was full of crawdads. Rusty attepmted to catch a few but was unsucessful.


Thanks to Ron for his photographs of the event! Ron also had his new GPS toy with him. According to the GSP data we went from about 1450 ft to 2500 ft in a two mile span. So the hike up was slow and tiring and the hike back is quick with gravity helping out some. I had fun and I think they enjoyed it as well. I know Rusty did, he was a tired puppy when we got home. James walked the whole hike all by himself and barely broke a sweat. What a big boy he is getting to be.

On the way back to the house, we stopped at Mountain View Bulk foods which is a must visit for any one. It is a unique store run by local Menonites. They have foods you don't find anywhere else, fresh spices, unique deli meats and cheeses and fresh baked breads.

The rest of the day included a quick swim in our neighbors pool, a cook out with some friends for church joining us and a drive over to the Greeneville Astros' stadium to view the fireworks from a nearby parking lot.

A fun day full of memories. We can arrange a simular experience for any other friend or family who is willing to come visit.

Prayer Request

I can't go into what is behind this but I received a very detailed email today. The person closed it with these words:


While on the outside, I may look physically ok, I am not doing well emotionally or mentally. I am better than a week ago, but please do not let my façade deceive you. I don’t like having this façade but I am tried of being scared and nervous about this so I force myself to get up and face the day and put a smile on my face.

I ask that you pray for this fellow christian who is dealing with a very complex issue. If you can commit to pray, I ask that you leave comments so that I can share them with this person.