The Language of Baseball

Baseball has a language of its own and I must admit that I have no clue what people are talking about when I hear certain phrases. I have sat and watched my son play many games and I am still learning the lingo. My son loves to play baseball. He definitely has "wheels" (a ball player's legs) he is fast and has often been called in to run for others.

When I think of a "can of corn" I don't think of an easy fly ball caught by a fielder. A "Dish" doesn't remind me of home plate. And when I want a "cup of coffee" I don't mean a minor league player coming up to the major league club for a short period and then being sent back down to the minors, I mean a real cup of coffee.

My son has also had a lot of "Ribeyes"  - not steaks - though he would love that as well - but "ribbies" or RBIs (runs batted in). And he is all about the "leather." (Refers to how good a player plays defensively or handles the glove.) A year ago he won the "Golden Glove Award" for being the best defensive player on the team.

And on occasion he makes a "circus catch" (an outstanding catch by a fielder) and people shout, "That's an ESPN catch right there!" Yes - he is quite the player.

This year the Lord has transitioned his journey of baseball. It pained us to see him trudging through those difficult moments regarding baseball. As parents we want to fix the hurts or wounds our children face. We want to rise up, defend, and declare the injustice of what is happening.

But God is teaching. As we raise our hands and shout, "God this is awful! This is bad!" He sweetly smiles and sends us his, "No - this is good. This is really good."

So just like baseball God has a language of his own. The game is played the way he wants it to be played and though we don't always understand we can rest in knowing that he has our best interest at heart:

"Your ways, God, are holy. What god is as great as our God?"

Psalm 77:13

The other day as I was flipping through my Bible I came across a note card that I had placed there a year ago. I listed many desires on the card - sort of like my prayer requests. As the Lord answers them I check them off. As I was reading I noticed one I had not checked off as of yet. It read "Grow my son spiritually." As I read I felt the Lord press his hand firmly upon my heart followed with, "I am."
Suddenly I seemed to "get" it.

Some say that life is all about baseball  - - - but leave it up to God to take baseball and make it all about life. 

Be Angry! But Don't Sin?

Did Martin Luther King Jr. seem to have life figured out when he said:


"Our lives begin to end the day we become silent
about things that matter."

- Martin Luther King Jr.

As Christians we tend to hold our tongues and stop short of elaborating on anything that might disrupt or stir another soul. After all love is patient . . .  love is kind . . . love does not offend. Is there ever a time when we as Christians should rise up in anger? Of course there is. Jesus himself did. When he turned the table over in the temple and raised his voice he was angry. He was angry over the injustice of what was being done in the temple. The activities the Pharisees were allowing to happen in the temple were wrong and Jesus let them know it.

Ephesians 4:26 says:

“Be angry, and do not sin”: do not let the sun go down on your wrath,"

Wow - okay - "Be angry!" What does that mean? How can we "be angry" and yet "not sin"? You see that is the key. If we are to become a mirror image of Christ, to have the mind of Christ, and to live as Christ then we must take upon those characteristics, features, and attributes of Christ. God is a righteous God in every way. Everything about him is righteous - even his anger - even the moments he chose to express his anger.

 I read from Bible.org: "There is the “anger of man” which “does not achieve the righteousness of God” (James 1:20), and the anger which is an expression of God’s righteousness. We are commanded in our text to be angry in a way that is righteous, that is a reflection of God."

We often become confused between the two. I have seen others rise up with a fleshly anger and declare that it was righteous anger - I've done it myself. I have also seen Christians sit idle and do nothing when it was the perfect time to rise up with a righteous anger.

There were times and moments when God rose up in anger and there will be times when we should do so as well. But we have become a world where if or when a Christian rises up in "righteous anger" our hands are slapped and we are left to feel guilt and shame over our actions. So we sit idle and watch - doing and saying nothing. Just as Martin Luther King Jr. said - truly that is the day our lives begin to end.

My prayer is that we do not remain silent about things that matter - not only to us - but especially to God. May we become everything Christ created us to be - using every passion and emotion he equipped us with - to serve him and to achieve his purposes.

Yes - be angry - but do not sin. Rise up with a righteous anger. Let us begin to take back our land - and journey with fire and a passion for God.

5 Ways to Have A Successful Journey

#1 - Pray   . . . that your journey may be successful.

                     Abraham sent his servant out to find his son a wife. Abraham's servant had a particular task and need in mind before setting out on his journey. At just the right moment he stopped and prayed - asking God to grant him success . . . and God did.


#2 - Persevere   . . . journey with perseverance.

                     The Israelites journeyed through the desert for 40 years before finally being allowed to reach and enter the promised land. Their wondering was not in vein - God was teaching the whole way through. Though they wanted to give up many times over - they pressed onward even through the toughest moments.

#3 - Search  . . . Make an Effort to search and find God in the details of your day.

                    There may be days when we may not hear his voice but we can see him in his creation. Gasp at his beauty from the sunsets to the sunrises - he is ever present - we just need to look for him. There may be days when all we see is the ugliness and sin of the world - but we can find God in spoken words - from other people, postings, and especially his scripture - he is always speaking.


#4 - Begin Again . . . Its a new day. . . begin again.

                   Come to an understanding that each day is a new day. Yesterday is gone. God has given us a new day to start over - try again - breathe again - live again - begin again. Don't camp out in an unhealthy place - begin again.

#5 - Laugh. . . Laugh through your journey.

                   I don't laugh as much as I should. I tend to take things too serious which makes my journey stressful. But God is teaching me to laugh my way through the journey. It can be difficult at times. Yesterday was a difficult day for me but somehow God helped me to laugh my way through it. Just to summerize:

1. Left for work - couldn't get the garage door closed.
2. Spent fifteen minutes trying to get the (large) puppy into his kennel
3. Finally left (with garage door open) noticed that my light for gas was on (no time to get gas)
4. Traveled my usual route to work but forgot that the road was flooded and a detour was posted which meant I had to travel way around and come in the back side to get to my work place. (still needed gas but no time to stop)
5. Approached intercesction  - saw flashing lights - cars waiting - and then heard a loud noise to the left. A train decided to cross at that moment. All I could do was burst out in laughter, throw my hands up, and shout "Okay  - if this is how you want it God!"
6. Got to work at the time my session was to start.
7. Elevators were out and had to run up a flight of stairs.
8. Heart racing I burst into the room expecting everyone to be waiting for me - only to find that they were all running late themselves! Now that's something to laugh about.