The importance of a good assist

I helped coach my daughter's upwards basketball team. Basketball is not my sport. But my daughter expressed interest, they needed coaches, I said I would if I could choose the guy I worked with. He did the heavy lifting, I was just along for the ride.

The season ended last Saturday. Grace did well. She was a defensive specialist. She made steals, blocked shots and covered her player closely. I was proud of her tenacity as she stuck to her player.

Yet as the season wore on, she was the only player on her team not to have made a basket. Not for lack of trying, she had several shots that had just missed but none had gone in. Saturday, Grace got a rebound and put it back up. It bounced once, twice , three times and fell off the rim. At halftime, we had a big lead, and everyone on the team had a goal, help Grace get a basket.

Kelsey, a tall 5th grader on our team, brought the ball down the court. She pulled up at the foul line, waited for Grace to get into position and passed her the ball. Grace shot, just short. Kelsey rebounded and passed it back to Grace. She shot again, again just short. Kelsey rebounded again and passed it back to Grace again. She shot (picture the slow motion effect here) the ball hits the rim and crawls over the rim and into the basket. A huge roar errupts from the parents, coaches and players. And there was a smile on my daughter's face, she was beaming. Randy, the other coach, said "she seems pleased." I couldn't answer. There was a huge lump in my throat. I was picturing Tom Hanks from A league of their own, yelling at me "There's no Crying in Basketball." (Yes, I know he said baseball)

Grace scored but not without help. Kelsey, who is impressive on and off the court, gave her the repeated assist. She wanted Grace to score as much as Grace wanted to. I think there is a lesson here. Contrary to our culture, none of us are self made individuals who have pulled ourselves up by our bootstraps. All of us have had a Kelsey. Someone who kept setting us up to be successful, even after we had been unsuccessful in prior attempts. Most importantly, that is what Christ does for us.

At about the same time, the disciples came to Jesus asking, "Who gets the highest rank in God's kingdom?" For an answer Jesus called over a child, whom he stood in the middle of the room, and said, "I'm telling you, once and for all, that unless you return to square one and start over like children, you're not even going to get a look at the kingdom, let alone get in. Whoever becomes simple and elemental again, like this child, will rank high in God's kingdom.
(Mat 18:1-4)

I write this, dear children, to guide you out of sin. But if anyone does sin, we have a Priest-Friend in the presence of the Father: Jesus Christ, righteous Jesus. When he served as a sacrifice for our sins, he solved the sin problem for good--not only ours, but the whole world's.
(1Jo 2:1-2)

I just used a phrase from my past in a meeting. It just came out. It was out of context. I don't know how the brain cells worked together to get this out but they did.

I was talking about my staff bringing a document with them to a meeting. I said the reason for this would be so that they would have a "ready recollection" of the issue the meeting was about.

I can't believe that phrase came into my mind. You can guess I got a few funny stares about that one. Even funnier when I started chuckling at myself. Then I had to explain where it came from. Then the stares got even harder as I was explaining a Church of Christ phrase at a Methodist child care agency. The didn't use that in their prayers before the sermon.

A coversation a parent never expects

Shannon overheard the following interaction last night. You can file this one under "I never thought I hear that from my children."

Context: Grace had practice last night for the community production of Oliver. The friend who dropped her off swung by and picked up McDonalds for the kids before bringing Grace home.

James: "Hey, you got to go to McDonalds!"
Grace: "Well, you got to eat broccoli cheese soup."
James: "Oh, yeah."

I am glad to know that in my son's eyes, broccoli cheese soup trumps McDonalds. Broccoli cheese soup is his favorite meal.

Cleaning up messes

-A break from post about baseball and my gushing over my family.-

I had a radical thought yesterday. It came to me as I was reading a post on Chris' blog. He was talking about cleaning up a mess created by someone else with out being angry because it made him aware of the messes God cleans up for him on a regular basis. Isn't that true of all of us. This along with teaching our Wednesday night class on Messy Spirituality, gave me this idea.

Our culture is has made foot washing only symbolic instead of the powerful actual practical service it once was. I think it would still make us vulnerable but it wouldn't have the same umph it did in Jesus's day. But what if Jesus rang your door bell one Saturday morning. In His arms were cleaning supplies. He said I am hear to clean your house. There was no time to do a "pre clean". It might feel good as he starts on your windows and is dusting your nick nacks but then he heads towards your bedroom and he starts going through you dirty laundry literally. He starts putting away your clean clothes. Then he starts on the bathrooms. He lets you know that unless you let him clean your house you can't have any part of him. That means everything. The spiderwebs, the dust bunnies, the moldy leftover in the back of the fridge, and even the garage.

What if it wasn't Jesus but a brother or sister from Church. What if we traded house keys one Sunday morning and we cleaned up each others real messes the way Jesus has cleaned up our spiritual messes? Is that the modern day equivalent of a good foot washing? Maybe it needs to be limited to just the bathrooms or just the kitchens or just washing the windows. Just enough to feel vulnerable but served. What would you be embarressed about. Is it what they would find? Is it the fear that someone might judge you on your level of cleanliness? Are those the very same things that prevent us from being real spiritually? Maybe it is time for a good cleaning, what do you think?

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World Series Picks Well, of all of us, Grace was the only one who had a team make it to the League Championship Series (Angels). But not of us were prophetic in predicting the White Sox and Astros would be in the world series. We wil rest our picking brain cells until the NCAA tourney rolls around in the spring.

T-Ball Season Wrap Up

I know it may not have the national significance of the playoffs but we wrapped up our YMCA T-Ball season last week. It was my first coaching experience since I was a teenager and my little brother gave soccer a shot. We had 11 kids on our team who had various levels of ability, understanding of the game and interest in the game. I think I have a slightly better understanding of why Jesus prayed so much when he was dealing with his 12 disciples who also had varous levels of ability and understanding.

Here is a photo of James running to first after knocking the fire out of the ball.

Each child on the team brought something special to to team. I will try to give you an idea of the fun we had by telling you about each of them. After their name, I will also give you the name they heard from the 3rd base coaching box as they prepared to "Swing it like you mean it".

Hannah (Hannah Banana) - She had the alligator fielding style down pat (putting the top hand over the glove after the ball has been caught). She worked hard and smiled big!

Addie (Subtraction) - One of the fastest players on the team. Also led the league in stylish socks. (Addie and Hannah's dad was a great help as second base coach)

Caleb - (Mr. Moon) Easily the candidate for most laid back. Took everything in stride and enjoyed the experience.

Nathaniel - (Cathaniel) - I always got the boys names confused so I started combining to make sure I didn't get them mixed up. One of the most competative spirits on the team.

Tiley - ( ) - Sometimes there are no nicknames. Sweet young lady who was very proud of her new little brother. We had several discussions in the field about her brother when he came to "watch" her play.

Riley - (Running Riley) - One of the base path burners on the team. Always wore his "fast shoes" to the game. Once asked Shannon at school, "How is coach doing today?"

Benjamin - (Been Jammin) - Benjamin was willing to try anything. He was pretty serious at everything he did. Lead the team in glove laces chewed on. His mom was a master of dugout management.

Zane - (Big Z) - A natural player who did everything well. And he gave the coach a hug after every game and said "Thank you coach". His dad was a big help of being the designated coach when ever we were short.

Brennen - (Double B) - The slugger on the team. He is a coach in the making as he was always willing to let you know who needed to do what. Brennen's dad was a great first base coach.

James - (J. C.) - What can you say about your son? Any kid who can skip back to first base after fielding the ball is fun to have on a team.

Sharnita - (Giggles) - The nickname says it all. She laughed all the time. She never wanted to play catch with me, she would always ask for another person to play catch with her. I must not have been good enough.

As you can tell, this was great fun and a learning experience for all of us.

Irony at a funeral

Today I attended a funeral for a mother of a co-worker. I value my co-worker and I had met her mother once.

The lady who had died had spent her life in service to others. She was been on several boards of directors for local charities and mission works. She made weekly visits to the local detention center to pray and study with the women who were in jail. Her life made a difference, there is no doubt about that. What I am about to write isn't a comment about her. It is a comment about the barriers churches put up that prevent us from being Jesus to those around us.

I looked around the sanctuary of the church during the funeral and noticed that I was one of only two men who were not wearing a coat and tie. I only had the tie. The ladies were also very nicely dressed up. As I have thought more about that the more it bothers me.

Here is a lady that spent her life giving her time, and passion to those less fortunate and building relationships with those who had made poor choices or who had been in tough situations. Yet at her funeral, I didn't see any of those people around. I have come up with some possible reasons:

1. They were incognito. They dressed up out of respect for this dear lady.
2. They paid their respects at the visitation opportunities the two nights before.
3. They didn't feel like they would fit in or be welcomed at the nice church downtown.

I feel like option 3 is the most likely.

I believe this lady served from her heart and didn't expect any recognition from those she served in return. But I bet it would have pleased her if those whose lives she touched would have felt comfortable coming to her place of worship for her funeral. I am afraid they would have felt out of place. That bothers me. A place that claims to be a place where Jesus can be met is a place that is intimidating to those who need to meet him. Isn't that ironic?

Happy Birthday Grace

Last Friday, Grace turned 9. She celebrated by getting on a bus with her mom and going on a major road trip. They traveled to Chattanooga to spend the night at the children's museum there and then reboarded the bus for Atlanta. There they enjoyed a day touring the exhibition hall at the national Girl Scout convention. They arrived home late Saturday night exhausted but with many great memories and plans for Indy in 3 years. We finally got to celebrate the birthday as a family on Sunday afternoon. Here is Grace blowing out her candles on her Birthday Cheesecake (made by her father thank you very much).


If having your daughter turn 9 wasn't enough, last night, she had a bridging ceremony. She is no longer a brownie. She is a Junior Girl Scout. The brown sash with all the "Try It's" will be retired and now she has a green vest to fill with badges.



I am very proud of my daughter, as you can tell. But she is growing up way too fast. Care to join me for a chorus of "Sunrise, Sunset"?

If you remove the wings from a fly, does it become a walk?

The older I get the less I laugh as I read the paper. Maybe that is an indication that I have outgrown the phase where I would read the sports first and the funnies second. I still read the sports first but I don't always get to the funnies anymore. When I do, I am disappointed by what is there.

Yesterday I had two good laughs. The first came from the comic strip "Brevity"

The second came from Sam Venable who writes a local interest column for the Knoxville News Sentinel. To save you from having to register to read it, I will put highlights here. If you want to be PUNished more, here's the real thing.

NORRIS - During the joint meeting of the Brotherhood of Unruly, Lowdown, Lying Hillbillies Observing Creative Knowledge Every Year (BULLHOCKEY) and the Society of Appalachian Saintly Sisters (SASS) at the Museum of Appalachia's 26th annual Tennessee Fall Homecoming, the following business was transacted:

- Larry Mathis and Mike Snider gave personal testimony about poverty.

"We were so poor," said Mathis, "the only thing Mama could do for supper was read recipes to us. My sister was hard of hearing and liked t'starved to death."

Snider said things weren't much better in his hometown: "The closest thing we had to heavy industry was a 400-pound Avon saleslady."

- ...Floyd Anderson, chairman of the Domestic Relations Committee, reported that his wife's birthday was approaching and she'd been dropping hints for something fancy that'll go from zero to 200 in four seconds.

Said Floyd: "I bought her an expensive bathroom scale."

Several other husbands in the crowd took notes.

- ... Gene Purcell of his recent visit to the dentist.

"The doc took one look in my mouth and said, 'Lord have mercy! That's the biggest cavity I ever saw! Lord have mercy! That's the biggest cavity I ever saw!'

"I told him, 'Doc, you don't have to repeat yourself.' He answered, 'I didn't. That was an echo.' "

- ...Royce Beatty, chairman of the Veterinary Research Committee, to announce that if you remove the wings from a fly, it becomes a walk.

What a game!

I was in a tizzy yesterday afternoon. The Braves and the Astros went to extra innings. Not just one or two. They played an extra 9!. A complete extra game. I wish the Braves would have won but am not upset the Astros did. I was in a no lose situation in that series.

One of the many heroes of the game was Roger Clemens. If he wasn't already amazing enough, he has added to his lore by making his first relief appearance in 21 years. He pitched 3 innings, gave up one hit and added 4 more strike outs to his career total of over 4500. What a great pitcher!

This summer, I became a fan of the man Roger Clemens. I watched him with his son Koby who was here to play rookie ball for the Astros. He and the Astros had an agreement that he wasn't required to travel with the team except when he was set to pitch. He spent a fair amount of time in Greeneville this year. I watched him as he played catch in the outfield with his son. I heard stories from the players about taking batting practice from one of the all time greats. I heard tales of how he posed for pitchers will all his son's teammates. I saw him sit with his wife in the stands and be normal parents. Anxious for their son to succeed, in agony when things didn't go well, and thrilled when he was successful.

Yet, probably the thing that impressed me the most was seeing his son Koby handle the pressure of being Roger Clemens' son, wearing the same number as his father and being in the constant spotlight.

Roger Clemens can be proud not only of his baseball success but he and his wife can be proud of their son. They often talk about the importance of a player's balance in sports. It looks like Roger Clemens may have a handle on the balance of job and family.

Side Note - coming soon - pictures of my daughter who turned 9 over the weekend. Time is flying!

Nature in action

I arrived home from work on Friday and Shannon said she had to show me something. In the field next to our house was a Hawk enjoying fresh squirrel. He was very protective of his prize. He fanned his tail feathers over it and watched us very closely.

Family Picks End of Regular Season

Well the girls have done it to the guys:

Shannon got 6 teams correct and in the correct spot. Her only wrong picks were the Twins and the Marlins.
Grace got 7 teams correct, with 6 in the correct spot. Her only miss was she picked the Marlins.
James got 5 teams correct, with 4 in the correct spot.
I got 5 teams correct, with 4 in the correct spot.

All of us have our World Series picks still alive! Click here if you are intestested

Shannon and Grace are heading out of town this weekend. James and I will be camping in the living room watching baseball Friday night!

My brother, Chuck, called last night and tempted me. He said, Smoltz v. Clemens, tickets available, $29 by the left foul pole in the Lexis Level. Oh, how I wish I could. I have my own game to manage tomorrow night. The Greeneville YMCA T-Ball Astros will play their next to last game at 5:15. It will be an exciting game. But Smoltz v. Clemens (is it wrong to hope that both get shelled so that I won't feel I missed something?)

Love Note

My son got his first love note at kindergarten last week. It said James (with a backwards J), followed by a long squiggly line, signed Love, Brie.

I got a very different reaction to this than when my daughter got her 1st special valentine in 1st grade from a boy named Storm. I wanted to go have a chat with him. I was hot. It is my wife who is having the harder time with this "tart" writing love notes to her son. She did atleast acknowledge that the "tart" could spell.

Isn't it funny how the same situation can strike parents differently?

Playoffs

I have pulled for the Braves since a child. My affection for the Astros is new since they located a minor league team in the town I live in. Therefore, I am pulling for both to do well on a regular basis. Now they play each other in the first round of the playoffs. I expect the Astros will win due to their pitching (Petitte, Clemens, Oswalt vs. Hudson, Smoltz & Sosa). But I am can root for one of my favorites to make it past the first round.

In the AL, I want one of the Sox to win, I will not discriminate based on color.