Good stuff

And now for something completely different...

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What to do with "Blah" days

People are going to have their good days and their bad days. There will be some days when everything is going right, much has been accomplished, and hope for the future is evident. Then, there are those days where it seems bad is permeating through us and around us. Perhaps we fell into sin or see sin around us, or a disturbing situation took place. Most people can probably talk about the good days and the bad days. But, the majority of life is made in what I like to call the "blah" days. These are the days when neither much good nor much bad happened. These are the dangerous days where we find out who we truly are. These are the days when not much happened in the office, not much is going on this evening, and a little was accomplished but not much. The things you remember most happen on the most horrific of days or the best of days. Everyone knows what they were doing when the 9/11 tragedy took place, just like many older people know what was happening when Pearl Harbor was bombed or John F. Kennedy was shot. Many remember what took place when news came that a loved one had died or when a spouse asks for a divorce. At the same time, many remember when their child was born, or when they first invited Christ into their heart, or when that game winning point took place, or the wedding day, or the day they got the big promotion. You get a few of those years a day. Sometimes you may slip into the "bad" time for a few weeks and sometimes you skip about in the "good" time period. However, its those in between moments that truly develop our character and what we are all about. Those moments when we decide to do the dishes so our spouse doesn't have to do them. Or when we give somebody a ride to the airport. Or when we step out and help somebody out.
God looks very closely at how we are in the happy days and rejoices in us. I think God really loves seeing his children happy. God mourns those days when all is going wrong and we are frustrated and upset. It's a painful process, but he knows that this will help to define us and make us the complete person we need to be. What is God thinking on those days when we are in the midst of the hustle and bustle of life? I think he looks for those moments where we do good, when we talk with him, and when we choose to do what is right even if there appears to be no motivating factor for doing right.
Rejoice in the "blah" days, for these are the days that truly define you as a person and show whether you are progressing or degressing.

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The Joy of Progress

There is nothing more challenging than maintaining passion and fire in the midst of failure. You try, try, try and fail, fail, fail. Usually, this leads to quitting and disillusionment. However, for some, they go crazy and actually continue to pursue success. There are countless stories of athletes, business entrepreneurs, politicians, and ministers who went from the pain of failure to the joy of success. What is amazing is that very few can point to any specific moment when everything changed. Rather, they continued to do what they believed was the right way to do it. It is during this time of failure that we must look closely at the slight level of progress that has been made and take joy in it. We must grab onto those small moments that have the potential for success, otherwise we become very discouraged.
As a pastor, there are too many moments where failure has been the predominant force in my life. Either I messed up, someone else messed up, or a little bit of both. Yet, I'm still here. I am here for one reason and one reason alone. I feel called, equipped, and cannot picture myself doing anything else that this juncture in my life. Yet, by most standards I have failed much more than I have succeeded. However, I believe most standards are wrong when defining failure and success. The degree of failure should be measured by the amount of time it took us to quit something. If you haven't quit, then in my opinion, you really haven't failed. Those who view me as a failure because I allegedly hurt them, or wasn't a strong enough leader, or lacked that "flare" that defines a good leader really aren't around me all that much because they quit. The critics will always be critical and the only way it can effect me is if it leads to my quitting.
Instead, learn from your mistakes, stay true to what God has called you to do, and never forget that the two great commandments should influence every action. Hang onto that, don't quit, understand failure happens, and make sure you are judging success on the right standards.

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Perspective

There is an obsession with being the "best" at something. People will look all over the place to find that one area where they can be the best. Athletes will look for it in a sport. Am I big, little, fast, slow? Whatever I am, what will I fit into best? For those that realized they weren't all that good at sports, something else might tickle their fancy. Maybe they enjoy being involved in the dramatic arts, or perhaps the work well with their hands in an artistic fashion. Still others may play an instrument well or sing well. Others make like the idea of politics, so a debate club is just right for them. It seems like elementary through high school is set on finding what a child's niche is so that they can say that they are at least good at one thing. Maybe you can cook, or build, or teach? So many possibilities. Those who find something that they are really good at usually find a deep satisfaction, a positive contribution to society, and joy.
And then there is the rest of us... You know what I'm talking about. I have played many different sports. I played basketball, but quickly found that I wasn't all that great so I moved on. I tried wrestling and found I didn't enjoy it as much as I thought. I threw discus and quickly learned that my body was not designed to throw such a thing. I played football and discovered I was ok, but very much undersized. I have run a marathon and several half-marathons and I found out that I'm slow. I have played softball and discovered I'm not very good. I tried swimming and was sorely disappointed. I play disc golf and am no where near what others are able to do. Ok... so sports is just not my thing. I enjoy playing and it is much fun, but I'm just not good at it.
Ok, so sports is out, how about working with my hands! Well, I have hung dry wall, put on rooftops, worked with electric, plumbing, and concrete. My work is amateur and not very good. I can put up tents, however to be honest a trained monkey could put up a tent.
Ok, so no sports, and no working with my hands. Don't get me wrong, I love to do both, but I'm just not good at it.
Perhaps, I could be artistic... My pictures aren't very good. My pottery isn't good. My culinary skills are lacking. I am a sub par musician. Ohhhh, I could do poetry... nope that didn't work out so well.
Maybe I am more gifted when I use my mouth. I could teach... except all those blank stares are looking back at me. I could preach... except, well I can do it, but I'm definitely not the best. I could write, but unfortunately only about three people read this blog, so that is probably not a good sign. Maybe I could counsel people, unfortunately I'm success rate isn't very good.
You may be thinking to yourself, that sounds a whole lot like me. You may not be the best at sports, working with the hands, artistic, using your mouth, and probably a whole lot of other things. That is a good thing, because only a select few can be the best at something. What we need are people who are willing to serve in whatever area. I'm not the best cook, but perhaps I can make something for someone who is feeling a little down. I'm not the best athlete, but maybe I can bond with some of my acquaintances by playing. I'm not a great musician, but maybe the song I sing will speak to someone's heart. I'm not the best preacher, but maybe God can use my mouth to speak what he desires.
I always struggle with not being very good at much of anything, but what I do have down is finding ways to serve others in my limited capacity. That is what God desires from each of us. You may feel discouraged because you just aren't all that good at things. Don't get down, because then you miss stepping into a position with all your flaws and serving another human being. Keep up the good work at imperfection, because Christ can be made perfect through it!

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A Blessing

I read this article and it touched me, so here you go...

This column appears in the Aug. 24 issue of ESPN The Magazine.


By Rick Reilly
Courtesy New York Yankees
Burnett stayed into the early-morning hours to pitch Wiffle balls to campers.

The team facing Yankees ace A.J. Burnett a few weeks back at Yankee Stadium has to go down as the oddest in baseball history.



For one thing, it plays only at night. The players have no choice. Even one minute of sunshine can kill them.



They're from Camp Sundown, in Craryville, N.Y., and they live life on the other side of the sun. All of them have the rare disease known as XP -- xeroderma pigmentosum. If kids with XP catch the slightest UV ray, they can and do develop cancerous tumors. Even fluorescent lights fry their skin like boiling oil. Most of them don't live to be 20.



So how could they take the field at Yankee Stadium? Because this was 3 a.m. Superstar right-handers should be tucked into bed by then, yet there was Burnett, throwing Wiffle-ball splitters and chasing down line drives.



There is no cure for XP. If you're born with it, you're one in a million. There are only 250 known cases in the U.S. Until Camp Sundown was founded 14 years ago by Caren and Dan Mahar, whose daughter Katie has the disease, few of these kids had met anyone else with XP. For most of them, Yankee Stadium was the first MLB ballpark they'd ever seen -- and probably it will be the last.



Getting here wasn't easy.



To make the seven-foot trip from the front door of Camp Sundown to the curtained bus with double-tinted windows that took them to Yankee Stadium, all the XPers had to wear hats, tinted eye shields, vats of sunblock, turtlenecks, long-sleeve shirts, long pants and gloves. Even with all that, they ran.



Because they couldn't leave until the sun was almost down, and because it was a three-hour drive, they knew they'd be able to see only the last couple of innings of the game. But then it rained, causing a more-than-two-hour rain delay. While the rest of the crowd cursed, the campers rejoiced. How lucky can you get? The bus arrived just before the first pitch. "It was almost like the game was waiting for them to show up," Yankees GM Brian Cashman said. "That kind of gave us goosebumps."



To get the kids out of the bus and into their VIP suite for the game, Yankees media-relations director Jason Zillo -- the man who dreamed up the whole night -- had to take them on a rat's route of back staircases and tunnels to avoid any fluorescent lights. After the Yankees beat the A's 6-3, the stadium lights had to be dimmed to 30 percent. Once they were, all the kids came running onto the field with smiles that could've lit up the Bronx.



"It's cool to be part of this," said Burnett, whom Zillo forced to leave at 3:15. "And it's kind of mind-boggling. I can't imagine if I couldn't take my children outside."



Eleven ghostly-pale XP campers took the field, including Yuxnier Beguebara, who is coming up on 71 operations, and Kevin Swinney, who has had over 200, and the rest of them, grinning through faces operated on so many times they seem to be covered in plastic. Feel sorry for them if you want, but they have one thing most kids will never have: For one night, the Yankees' field was theirs.



Courtesy New York Yankees
Cashman and Aceves play a little Police for the campers.

They high-fived Derek Jeter, ran madly around the bases and wallowed in the instant carnival the Yankees had set up -- from the magician to the bouncy castle to reliever Alfredo Aceves strolling the yard, strumming his guitar while Cashman sang the Police's "Message in a Bottle." For one night, at least, these kids found out they are not alone in being alone.



Not that they don't play baseball at Camp Sundown. They do -- at midnight, to the accompaniment of owls and bullfrogs -- against the local fire department. "We're pathetic," says Caren Mahar. "But we always play."



By 3:30, it was time to go, and there was no time to waste. They had to make it back to Camp Sundown before sunup. Welcome to life lived like a vampire.



On board the bus, Katie Mahar, 17, was whipped. Her hearing is down to 50 percent, and her vision is going fast, and her words are starting to lack vowels. But anybody could understand her as she kept saying, "That was a blast! What a blast!"



And I keep thinking of my friend Jason Zillo and the 14 years it took him to make this night happen.



"I saw one little girl," he said afterward, exhausted. "When the centerfield wall opened and the whole carnival started coming out -- she just started jumping up and down, over and over. She wouldn't stop, she was so excited. People wanted to thank me. But that's all I needed."



And you thought the warmest light came only from above.




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Victim

Did you know the word "victim" is not in the Bible anywhere? No Hebrew, Aramaic, or Greek word that fits the same qualification as the English word for "victim". The ancient Hebrews were keenly aware and preached that God is sovereign and has complete control over all that takes place. Thus, when bad things happen, ultimately God was at work in it some way. Oh sure, there are definitely evil forces that come against us and free will makes things messy, but amazingly God is still in supreme control over all this.
The Old Testament very much emphasized God's sovereignty, while the New Testament very much emphasized His goodness. Most would look at God's goodness and his complete control and point to a problem. How can a good God allow bad things to happen? The tension that this creates bothers many and should, until we simply accept that God is completely good and completely in control and His ways are simply greater than my ways.
Having said all of this, we go back to the word "victim". Many people use it and characterize their entire lives around being the victim. Nobody is denying that evil things happen, but when one chooses to live a life of the victim, then one misses out on quite a bit. The Hebrews never used the term victim, because ultimately one can always trace back the victimization to God. A man beats up his son on a regular basis. However, the man was beaten up by his father and knows no better and the same can be said of the father before that. Thus, when you get right back to it, God is the one victimizing because he created us all. On several occasions, the Hebrews cried out to God for what took place. And on each of those occasions God revealed himself enough to help the person step out of the place of victimization and into one who walks with God.
We blame everything on everyone else and truly fail to take responsibility for our actions. I was born with the propensity to be angry and lust. Does that give me licence to hurt another human being or commit adultery, absolutely not? Rather, the buck stops here, because God's spirit is in control of my life. Until people begin to pick up the pieces of brokenness regardless of whether that brokenness was forced upon them or chosen, they cannot completely fulfill God's calling on their lives.

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Flooded

And so my day has consisted of catching a significant leak in the basement of the church building. About 7 inches from the floor the wall was urinating onto the floor. Bucket after bucket after bucket was used to catch the water. The shop vac on continually. At its worse, the bucket had to be emptied every 3 minutes or it would overflow. The bucket was emptied into a large trashcan and then emptied into a drain just outside the door. Back and forth, back and forth. Through it all I attempted to find meaning in what I was doing. It wasn't backbreaking and it was necessary, but mostly it was just annoying.
Just three days ago, we had hundreds line up outside the church to collect school supplies. In total we served 373 children. It was alot of work getting to it and we could tell the need was great. I truly felt so blessed and privileged and happy to be a part of it. I wanted to shout from the rooftops because for one day the needs of the people were met and we had connected people with Christ. It was awesome and I am already excited for next year. And yet, here I am staring at a wall with water running through it, threatening to ruin the carpet and classroom supplies.
And here's why all of this is significant...God deserves our love and respect regardless of the circumstance. Whether we are underwater or on top of it, we must do this. And why must we do this? Because if we fail to do this, then we fail to come anywhere close to emulating Christ. Next time you want to toss in the towel on things or only live for great moments, understand that God desperately wants a relationship with you regardless of what is going on.

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