Two True Stories (next post 9/10)

OK, here are two true stories. Honest and truly, absolutely 100% completely genuine accounts of factual information.

The first: earlier today I was checking my Yahoo email and there was a banner ad from a credit card company that read something like "An Easier Way to Get Money to Teens". Are you serious? I'm sure there potentially are situations for this idea, whatever it is, to be a good idea. But in general "an easier way to get money to teens" sounds like a disaster waiting to happen. As if through the years, teens have had difficulty figuring out ways to get money from their parents.

The only other thought I have is where was this financial solution for families 17 years ago, when it would have done me some good?

The second true story: early this week I was talking with a good friend about a little problem. A couple days later, things had actually gotten worse. I was beginning to get pretty bummed out about the whole thing. Then yesterday I got an email from him that read in part, "I feel like God put you on my heart this morning, so I thought I would send you a short message. I am lifting you up to God regularly and I know He will deliver."

Now, I realize there's nothing particularly powerful about those words themselves, but I can tell you that receiving that note absolutely was powerful. It made a huge difference, and I've been thinking about it ever since. After he got the idea to send me the note it probably took this guy about 2 minutes to type that message. If he had never sent it I would never have known the difference, and he most likely would have put it out of his mind after a few minutes. But that's not what happened. I was worth 2 minutes of my friend's time, and both of us were blessed.

I understand that we can't email every single person that pops into our head every day. I also realize that I'm not the first person to receive a bit of encouragement from a friend. But I know I can do a better job of intentionally demonstrating to people they are important. When we give and receive love, there's really no downside.

80's Lyric

I'm not a robot without emotions

I'm not what you see.

I've come to help you with your problems

So we can be free.

I'm not a hero. I'm not a savior.

Forget what you know.

I'm just a man whose circumstances

Went beyond his control.

-Styx (1983)

A Clean Slate (next post 8/27)

New beginnings are awesome. For some it's January 1st. Or maybe the onset of spring. Perhaps a new season in life; a marriage, birth or career change for example.

That's why I love mid-August. It provides a new beginning for so many of us, especially Coaches and athletes. It's the dawn of a new school year, when every student has perfect grades and every team is unbeaten. By this time next month many of us will have tasted defeat in one way or another, but for right now, we all can enjoy spotless records. It's just beautiful.

That's also why I love Jesus. The fact that my mistakes are forgiven and wiped away by a Holy God and loving Savior still staggers me sometimes. It probably doesn't stagger me enough, since my gratitude can be weak and fleeting. But I know I am His forever, and I can live every moment of every day with a clean slate because of what He has done.

80's Lyric

Say my name, sun shines through the rain

A whole life so lonely, and then you come and ease the pain

I don't want to lose this feeling

- The Bangles (1989)

Ground Rule Double (next post 8/13)

I heard a guy telling a story recently about playing in a summer league baseball game with some of his high school teammates. It was a night game and the lighting was apparently a little subpar. He was playing left field and a ball was hit deep to left center. It cleared the wall for a homerun, but the umpire incorrectly decided it had bounced over and awarded the batter a double when he saw the center fielder throw his arms up (which they had been coached to do on plays like this).

The Coach of the team batting came out and argued, saying the ball had gone over the wall on a fly. So the umpire actually walked out to left field and asked this kid if he saw the ball go over the wall or not. Knowing he had to choose between the truth and the wrath of his Coach, he chose the truth. The batter finished circling the bases and the game went on.

After the inning ended, this kid was chewed up and down by his Coach. Apparently Coach actually wanted to see his player lie to the face of an umpire in a summer league baseball game that would never appear in any standings and would be forgotten about 15 minutes after it ended.

It reminded me of my high school team. We used to practice a play where if there were runners on first and second, and we had a two-man umpiring crew, our runner from second would cut about 15 feet off of his turn around third base on a hit to the outfield. Our Coach knew that there was no way either of the umpires would be in a position to notice that our runner skipped 3rd base. At the time, I thought that was pretty cool. Looking back, I'm really glad we never had a chance to use that play in a game. Imagine scoring a meaningful run in a big game by using a dirty play like that.

There are all kinds of rationalizations for coaching plays and tactics like these. I've heard garbage like "if you're not cheating, you're not trying" and other stuff like that. At the end of the day, teaching young people to win by cheating is slimy at best, and potentially damaging to them in the long term.

80's Lyric

It's a tragedy for me to see

The dream is over

And I never will forget

The day we met

Girl, I'm gonna miss you

-Milli Vanilli (1989)

The Power of the Whistle (next post 7/23)

I started as an Assistant Coach at a high school when I was barely 22 years old, and served there for 8 years. I never thought much about whistles back then, other than referring to our school's Head Coach as the "Big Whistle". Over the past 6 years, I haven't been on the field coaching a whole lot. But last week, I was given a powerful reminder of the power that Coaches have over people. I was blessed with a chance to work at a 3-night football camp for boys from 3rd-8th grade.

This might sound a little weird, and if you've been coaching for a while you have probably gotten used to having your athletes follow your directions at practice. But here I was, going through drills with groups of boys who had never met me before, and all I had to do was blow a whistle to get them to do all kinds of wacky things they probably wouldn't be inclined to do on their own. Chopping their feet in place, shuffling around, rolling on the ground, running at maximum speed even when they were tired, and more. It was kind of incredible when I thought about it. For many of these boys, they probably wouldn't do this stuff at home if a parent told them to. But having me introduced to them as 'Coach' and hearing that whistle was all it took.

There's power there, man. Being a Coach enables us to have the ability to get our players, and sometimes even strangers, to do whatever we say. It's a big deal, to have that power. What are we going to do with it?

80's Lyric

The boat's steaming in

I watch the sidewheel spin and I

Think about her when I hear that whistle blow

I can't change my mind

I knew all the time that she'd go

But that's a choice I made long ago

-Bruce Hornsby (1986)

A tale of two losers (next post 7/9)

Even if you missed the match and didn't see any of the highlights, chances are you at least heard about the 11 hour first round tennis match that was played over three days at Wimbledon this week. American John Isner and Nicolas Mahut of France began the fifth and deciding set of their match on Wednesday after play was suspended by darkness on Tuesday evening. Certainly neither of them expected to play long enough for play to be suspended by darkness again on Wednesday, but that's precisely what happened as the 'first player to win 6 games, but you have to win by two' set was tied at 59 games apiece. I first caught wind of it when they were tied on Wednesday at about 31-31. I remember last year's men's final when Roger Federer beat Andy Roddick something like 16-14 in the fifth. That was incredible enough, but 59-59? I was glad to be able to be near a TV on Thursday when the match finally ended in an Isner victory at 70-68. Yes, 70-68! Absolutely unprecedented and likely never to be rivaled in our lifetime, this match was compelling for the many records that were broken, the stamina displayed by the athletes (there's nowhere to hide playing singles tennis), and the attention that two previously unheralded players were receiving.

After the match I was curious to see what would happen next. The All-England Club decided to make a show of it, recognizing the athletes for the show they had put on. There were gifts all around, photos taken, on-court interviews, and more. It was quite a scene. The whole time, I couldn't help but wonder what it was like for Mr. Mahut to battle through a match like this, wind up losing, and then be put through the post-match dog and pony show. He conducted himself like a champion. Clearly disappointed, he buried his head in a towel immediately after playing. He spent a couple minutes in his chair, then gathered himself and handled it all very impressively. Some might use the word 'classy' to describe his attitude. I hoped that in a similar situation (although I'm not sure what could be similar to that!), I would do as well as he did. I hope that my children would do as well as he did. I hope that athletes I've coached would do as well as he did. There was a time, on a much smaller stage, that I failed to do as well as Nicolas Mahut. I used to buy into the lie of "you show me a good loser, and I'll show you a loser". What a load of bull that is. Let me show you.

In 1993, I was playing what wound up being my last high school game in any sport. About a month before graduation, our baseball team was in the district finals, and a win would put us in the state tournament. I had never played in the baseball state tournament, and wanted it badly. And by badly I mean really, really badly. Long story short, we lost our lead late in the game and came to bat in the last inning down by a run. I flied out to left field for the last out of the game, and it was over. I went into my, 'let me stomp around and pout to show everybody how upset I am' routine. In hindsight...not pretty. Season was over, baseball playing days were over, and I was really hurting. I didn't realize at the time how much my self-worth was wrapped up in athletic achievement. So the time came to award our team the 2nd place in the district trophy. One other guy from the team and I were sent out there by the Coach to take the trophy from the tournament director. They handed it to the other guy, who handed it to me, and I proceeded to lay it down on the field and walk off. Can you imagine how absolutely brutal that looked? I thought I was showing everybody that I wasn't a 'good loser' which meant I wasn't a loser. Man, what a loser I was. Undoubtedly the biggest loser in that whole stadium that night.

I bet there was a small voice inside Nicolas Mahut yesterday that was trying to get him to skip out of all the post-match hoopla, get into the locker room and get the heck out of there. I am convinced he made the right choice, and I am glad he did.

Here's the point I'm trying to carry into any coaching that I do: it is absolutely important for our athletes to work hard and compete like crazy to win. It is also absolutely important for our athletes to understand that winning or losing a game does not define them as human beings. Putting in the effort to win or lose is what we can control. Complete despair over things we cannot control is a recipe for a painful existence. We can show these young athletes a more excellent way.

80's Lyric

Move yourself

You always live your life

Never thinking of the future

Prove yourself

You are the move you make

Take your chances win or loser

-Yes (1983)

Plateau (next post 6/25)

High quality athletic training, whether for strength, speed, or endurance is hard work. Of course it is. We all recognize that. It just makes sense. And there comes a point in most workout cycles when we 'plateau'. We stop making gains for a while, and it takes continued hard work to just maintain the progress we have made.

I've experienced this in my own life. As a middle of the pack distance runner, I have seen only gradual improvement in my ability over the past couple years, despite logging hundreds of hours and a couple thousand miles on the road. As a follower of Jesus, I've experienced this lately as well. My appetite for His Word is inconsistent. I sometimes find myself 'too busy' to quietly spend time with God. I find myself feeling anxious about upcoming events...a sure sign that I'm not walking as closely with Him as I can.

In a recent Bible study meeting with a Coach, we came across the discussion question, "Why are so many Christian Coaches stuck and not growing spiritually?" It got me thinking back to training athletes. When an athlete plateaus, what do we do? The answers vary depending on the individual, but maybe we change up the workout routine. Or maybe we simply persevere and work to maintain a great attitude. Just as athletic training is hard work, spiritual training requires great effort as well. Effort that is fueled by God's grace, but effort nonetheless.

It's funny. Many years ago, I was under the impression that making a decision to trust Jesus was the desired end. We pray a special prayer, or raise our hand, or walk down the aisle, or get confirmed by our denomination, and that's it. Done deal. I realize now that this decision is important, but it's the beginning of the journey. Certainly not the end. Just this morning I read this:

The fear of the Lord is the BEGINNING of wisdom. (Psalm 111:10)

Entering into a relationship with God is the beginning of the process, not the end. I thought that was noteworthy. So where does that leave me in my current situation? Do I change up my spiritual workouts? Do I keep doing what I'm doing, and ask God to continue to develop my character and my faith? Right now I don't know, but I do know this. God is not in the business of hiding from us. He promises that He will listen to us when we call upon Him, and that we will seek Him and find Him when we seek Him with all our heart.

80's Lyric

And I've seen it before

It happens time and again

All cut up inside

Yet you're caught in a spin

Out on Sentimental Street in the Avenues

Take a good, hard look

There ain't nothing ever new

- Night Ranger (1985)

Idols (next post 6/11)

I am not a huge fan of TV. Oh, I used to be. Over the past 30 years I have spent countless of hours watching Sesame Street, Leave it to Beaver, Family Ties, Saved by the Bell (seriously), Seinfeld and many, many more programs. Not really the case any more. I'm not sure if it's maturity or having 4 kids, or some combination of the two, but TV is not really a priority in my life. At least not like it has been in the past.

That said, I would not have missed the 2010 finale of American Idol that aired this week. Despite cutting back on TV over the past 7-8 years, I am a sucker for things that feel historic, even if only trivially. So naming the 2010 winner of the competition, coupled with saying goodbye to Simon Cowell was too good to pass up.

And as outstanding as it was to watch General Larry Platt and William Hung performing "Pants on the Ground" together, I was most struck watching winner Lee DeWyze named the "Idol" for this year. If you care enough to read this far you might know Lee's story. Last year he was working in a paint store near Chicago, and today he is one of the most recognizable people on the planet. Regardless of how his career progresses, it is probably safe to assume that his life has changed permanently. You can watch Lee's moment here.

This whole scene brought to mind a passage that applies to all of us who desire to leave a godly legacy. Exodus 20:4-5 is outlining one of the 10 Commandments as it reads,

You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form

of anything in heaven above or on the earth below or in the

waters below. You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I,

the Lord your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin

of the fathers to the third and fourth generations of those who hate me, but

showing love to a thousand generations of those who love me and

keep my commandments.

Two things come to mind right away from those verses: first, God alone is worthy of worship. I don't think anyone at American Idol really intends for us to worship Lee DeWyze, but I know there are all kinds of distractions in my life that can take my eyes off of Christ. He alone is deserving of my undying affection.

The second point is about leaving a legacy. I am happy for Lee DeWyze. He's a talented dude who has a lot to celebrate. For the rest of his life, at least some people will remember what happened to him this week. It might even end up making a difference in the lives of his children and grandchildren, if he ever has any. That's not a bad deal at all. But we have an even better deal. Loving God and keeping his commandments results in God showing love to 1000 generations of our descendants. That's a pretty good deal.

Of course, keeping God's commandments is a result of a growing, healthy relationship with Him. It won't happen by our trying really hard. We've covered this point often. But I think the idea of that kind of legacy is a pretty sweet motivator when it comes to being intentional to spend time growing closer to Jesus.

80's Lyric

I'm never gonna dance again

Guilty feet have got no rhythm

Though it's easy to pretend

I know you're not a fool

- Wham! (1984)