Another Thing I Like about T-Ball

Coaching t-ball makes you an optimist. While I would like think I lean toward the glass is half-full anyway, when you coach t-ball, everything is a good thing. Let me give some examples:

The pitcher picks up the ball, immediately turns toward first base and fires a rocket (OK, a nerf rocket) over to the first baseman, who sticks up his non-gloved hand and knocks the ball down into his glove. That's a good thing.

The pitcher picks up the ball and, like a young child trying to see how many times he can get a flat rock to skip on a smooth pond, bounces the ball to the first baseman, who easily picks up the ball and touches first base. That's a good thing.

The first baseman feels the ball hit him on the back of the leg while he is standing on the top of the base while facing the parking lot looking at who knows what. He reaches down to pick up whatever strange object has broken his concentration, thereby standing on the base while holding the ball. This counts as an out. This is a good thing.

The pitcher misses the ball but gamely chases it into the outfield. Hustle is a good thing.

The pitcher gets smacked in the head by a line drive. Getting in front of the ball is a good thing.

You see what I mean. It doesn't matter what the play is, you can find something good in it. Hope springs eternal. We'll get them next time. Play hard, play fair...

Actually, I realized the whole optimism thing while I was driving home after practice today and found myself thinking "Do you think my staff at work will think I am out of my mind if I make them all put their hands in the circle and yell '1-2-3 Development' at our year-end goal assessment meeting Thursday?"

What a Great Son!

I mentioned on the family blog that I thought that Luke was one who "gets it" when it comes to T-ball. I was reminded again last week that he gets it in a lot of other way, too.

I taught the "big" class last Wednesday night at church. We are doing a study called "Thank God You're Here," which I think is an unfortunate nod to how we really feel about Wednesday nights, but one that provides all sorts of opportunities for good "God Moment" stories. I chose 1 Kings 18-19, contrasting the theophany Elijah has being a whisper with the bigness of God's appearing on Mt. Carmel. My main point was that we are too connected, turned on, loud, and busy and that we look for the great big moments when perhaps more moments of silence, stillness and Sabbath would do us good.

Luke loves to be in class when I teach. We do a thing called "The Gathering," which is sort of a post-modern big class, that is, we try to do more cool stuff and have people experience the message more than just having a talking head time. We have let Luke come into those times because again, he loves it when I teach and we have an extended time of praise. More importantly, I want him to have opportunities to experience the message of God in those ways. I let him come into class this past Wednesday, even though it was much more of the talking head. In fact, we had just three songs, or more accurately, we had one song sung three times (The Lord is in His Holy Temple).

First, he did great. I was really worried about him sitting there for almost an hour, but he was still and quiet. I am proud of him for that.

I am even more proud of him, however, because Thursday evening we get in the truck to go to the T-ball game and he says his usual opening line: "Dad, will you turn on the CD to number 7 (Life is a Highway - he also likes #12, Watching You)?" Then he said: "No wait. Remember yesterday when you told everyone we needed to turn off our radios and have more silence? We probably ought to just do that today."

There are many days when I do not feel qualified to be speaking for God to anyone, especially not the two children I have been given charge of. I am grateful that God allows me those moments to see His grace. While I pray I am able to teach my children to love Him, I much more suspect He uses Jana and a host of other people to accomplish that task. That's OK with me. I will keep praying the prayer and trying to do what I need to do - and thanking Him for accomplishing what needs to be done.

The Accidental Coach

I didn’t plan to be the coach. In fact, I didn’t want to be the coach at all. I wasn’t even asked to be the coach – more like 4^th assistant. “We have plenty of assistants. They just are all busy and won’t make all of the games and so we need someone to sort of fill in every now and then.” Little did I know that “every now and then” was actually a euphemism for “every game.” Oh, and did I mention that the head coach would be gone for the first two games and would have a terrible migraine for the third and would have pretty much seceded his “head” title by game four.

I was pretty frustrated when the first practice rolled around. Why would we have practices at 1:00 pm on a Saturday and since I didn’t want to be coaching anyway, why should I even have to put forth any energy toward this proposition? If I had known what would transpire over the next couple of weeks, I might have been a little bit more into that first practice.

To tell the truth, I really started to enjoy it during that first practice. I had forgotten how much fun a team of four, five and six-year-olds could actually be. Not that they were any good at T-ball, mind you, but they were good at life. I couldn’t help but be reminded of what it means to take life one moment at a time and to live fully in this moment, even if this moment for you is looking at bugs when 13 other teammates are running around the bases.

And so, several weeks later, I find myself accidentally being the coach. I sort of share being the head coach – who really is the head coach doesn’t matter – but it gives me a great opportunity to learn how much I actually like coaching.

Here’s what I like about coaching.

• I like watching kids enjoy playing T-ball. Like the guys who slide into home, never mind the ball is somewhere between the second baseman and the right fielder and neither one of them have a clue where it is. As my son said when I admonished the team for not running through home plate: “But dad, you have to get your pants dirty!”
• Along those same lines, I like watching kids come up to bat and bang the ground with their bat several dozen times. I cannot actually recall big-leaguers doing this (I need to get some verification on this, I guess), but it is deeply ingrained in my mind – and the mind of my team – that is what you are supposed to do. OK, in the mind of some of them. Some are still trying to figure out which hand goes on top.
• I like watching the kids make the play they are supposed to make and seeing the light come on in their eyes that says “I got an out! I got an out!” Winning the World Series does not compare.
• I like giving high-fives and banging knuckles with the kids when they come off the field at the end of an inning. I don’t know if it makes a difference in how they play the game, but it fells like the right thing to do.
• I like watching small, short, non-athletic kids hit the ball and try to run to first – or any of the bases they head out to, for that matter. They are just too funny not to laugh at!
• Speaking of small, short athletic kids, I like the fact that for the most part, most of the other players do not care or even seem to notice that some of the players are good players and some are players who try hard and some are just out there because dad is repressed and no longer gets to be the super hero baseball stud and so he wants his kid to get a leg up on what he never accomplished. Fortunately, it is still early enough that none of that matters. It won’t be that way forever – I want to relish these moments while I have the chance.
• I like having answer the question “Did we win?” at the end of the game. While that may indicate we are a much to competitive society and are warping our kids into thinking win/lose, it may also mean that they are so busy playing, they are forgetting to keep score. Maybe I need to play that hard every now and then!
• I like seeing a player “get it.” When he scoops up a ball and then can assess which base is the easiest out – and then follows through and gets the out.
• I like being a voice that yells encouragement to my players and tries to tell them what play to make kindly, simply, and before the play starts, not after the ball has been hit. It’s hard to compete with 28 adults yelling, “Run to first, run to first.” It’s also hard for the pitcher to be able to hear any one voice while trying to pick up a slow roller back to the mound with his glove since I somehow forgot to mention you can also pick up the ball with your non-gloved hand. Quite frankly, since 98% of the time the runner is a step away from first when the pitcher actually picks up the ball, going back to the pitcher’s mound to kill the play was the best option from the start. (So there, Mr. "You've Got To Chase the Runner" Dad!)
  
• I like knowing that my player’s coach will not be a rump (my mother-in-law might read this blog) like my third-grade coach was.
• I like the fact that we play principled ball. That is, we hit the ball and run one base, even if nine of the other team’s players are in a scrum trying to see who gets to run the ball back to the umpire. And yes, even if the other team is running on us. (Although I did have a brief evaluation as to how high principles actually ranked in my mind during that game!)
• I like the fact that my son thinks it is very cool that his dad is the coach.
• I like knowing there is a possibility that these players may learn something about life from me, even as I learn something about life from them.
• Finally, I like knowing that I may actually get to be the light of Jesus to both my players and their parents. I know we play in a Christian league, but my hunch is that some of my player’s folks could use some more light of Jesus in their life. I say that only because I know I need some more of it in mine.

FW students protest TAKS decision | Latest News | WFAA.com

FW students protest TAKS decision | Latest News | WFAA.com

Read the article first, then go back and read the sign in the picture. Hmmm.....

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Technology Departments

The Chronicle of Higher Education reports on a talk given by Walter S. Mossberg, personal-technology columnist for The Wall Street Journal. At the Chronicle Presidents Forum, he begins his speech by "calling the information-technology departments of large organizations, including colleges, 'the most regressive and poisonous force in technology today.'"

His basic push is that by centralizing, IT departments prevent people from using the software tools that best accomplish the task they are trying to accomplish.

He also talks about the things that most people have in their pockets and purses as "the device formerly known as the cellphone." How true.

The link is here, but I think you have to have a subscription to view.

The Importance of Small Groups for Community

I don't know why I am surprised, but I was reminded again how important small groups are for a sense of community.

We had some friends over who were a part of our original small group at South Plains. As far as having people over to the house or going to eat with a couple, they are on a very short list (OK, they ARE the short list) of people we do that with any sense of regularity. We wouldn't have known them without the time together in the group.

Our groups in Tyler are the same way. Even though we do not see them often, the people in our Encounter group in Tyler remain some of the people I would consider spiritual companions. I cannot see a labyrinth or read St. Benedict's rule without thinking of those people. Our Wednesday night prayer and cookies & milk group are people we miss dearly.

We have not done a good job keeping up with those people, which may show the importance of small groups all the more. Without excusing our lack of contact, the people you are able to spend immediate time with become the people with whom you share your lives. To not have that kind of group setting eliminates those opportunities, which are very, very difficult to replace in any other context.

Again, this is no news flash, but it was a great and timely reminder for me.

The Homeless Guy: Mobile Loaves And Fishes Has Arrived

The Homeless Guy: Mobile Loaves And Fishes Has Arrived

I think you guys know about The Homeless Guy blog. He writes about a group that started in Austin and goes out on the streets to the homeless using catering trucks. They have begun branching out in other locations, including San Antonio, New Orleans and now, Nashville.

Be sure to check out the MLF's website and the story about how they got started in Nashville.

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Wait for the Lord

I am still confident of this:
I will see the goodness of the Lord
in the land of the living.
Wait for the Lord;
be strong and take heart
and wait for the Lord. (Psalm 27.13-14)

I am reading through the entire Psalms during the month of June. My prayer is that doing so will focus me on God and fill me with Him and His goodness. These words have become the battle cry for my reading while at the same time serving as a precursor to the answer for which I have been praying.

Lubbock has been a place of pain for us in many ways. To think of it as a place where God will show Himself strong has (and is) at times been beyond the realm of comprehension for me. I cannot help but believe, however, that Lubbock is the land of the living and I wait for the goodness of the Lord to be shown here.

Tempers flare, fist flies on floor of Alabama Senate - CNN.com

Tempers flare, fist flies on floor of Alabama Senate - CNN.com

Maybe Craddock's opponents ought to take up this approach!?

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Starting Over

I got tired of the old look ... and the old posts ... and the old comments ... so, I am starting over. The family blog will still have all of the family stuff - this one will be more my stuff.