Tuesday, January 23, 2007

Are thorns getting in the way?

Luke 8:14

JV Basketball
Club Soccer
Cross Country
Track
Softball
Fitness
23 Employees (12 Direct Reports)
Debt Service/Capitalization
Home Repairs

Are my responsibilities getting in the way of sharing the Good News? I hear the Gospel, and I take it to heart, but am I just too busy to act on it? And, what can I do about it?

Sunday, January 21, 2007

Teachable Season

Kid3's competitive soccer season started out 0-7-1...he's the goal keeper and 31 goals had been scored in 8 games.

Kid1's JV Bball season started 0-8...she plays a lot and had maybe 20 points through 8 games.

Both coaches are great! Kid3's coach has been coaching soccer for 15 years. Kid1's coach coached a little in college and had never in 15 years of coaching lost more than 3 in a row. It's been a season of firsts.

We have spent the last 2-3 months talking about humility and character and excellence and sportsmanship...all necessary lessons when your family is 0-15-1 in winter sport. Things happen for a reason...I guess the family needed some humility.

The tide appears to be turning...Kid1 has won 4 in a row...Friday night handedly 52-28. Kid3 tied last week and won their first game yesterday, moving them out of last place...they have the first place team at 2:00 today.

Friday, January 19, 2007

Trinidad

Just returned from a week in Trinidad...and the thing that amazes me most is how diverse spiritually they are without being divisive.

1/3 of the country is Christian, 1/3 Muslim, and 1/3 Hindu...and they all get along splendidly. The company I work with down there has a mix of all, some of whom are VERY passionate about their faith, yet all coexist and work well together...in fact challenge each other some times and banter back and forth about faith.

An interesting quote...from the warehouse man who is 110% Muslim (visual: dresses every day in long robe, matching cleric hat, long grey beard, wife joins him for lunch dressed in all black, you can only see her eyes)..."Those Muslims killing everyone over there in the desert, they are not showing the love that our faith teaches."

The whole experience moves me more toward Calvinist...we are called to evangelize, but God needs to call the recipient to the message, without God's calling of the listener, we are just putting up walls. That being said, I'm still flushing out evangelism and living in a spirit of peace with your brother.

Tuesday, January 09, 2007

So what does that make us?

I'm just curious...

...Having just watched Florida dismantle Ohio State, the over-hyped juggernaught from the daunting Big 10...

...If you're the only team to beat the National Champion...and beat LSU (who throttled Notre Dame and made the player of the year look like he was just out of pee wee)...how good is YOUR program?

Tuesday, January 02, 2007

Brilliant

It seems as though Rudy Guliani made a huge blunder recently. He held a strategy session in NYC at a posh hotel and detailed his "war plan" for a pending 2008 Presidential Run. Well, Rudy left the final battle plan in the room and the nice folks at the hotel gave it to the press...

...so...

All of his perceived "weaknesses to overcome" are listed in bullet form...like...

- bad split with ex-wife number 3
- ex-wife number 2 has some baggage on me
- shaddy private business prior to Mayoral gig
- liberal social leanings may be an issue in Republican primary

...and

stuff like how much money he'll need to run ($100 million in 2007 alone).

Well, if you ask me, this is no blunder...it's brilliant! Get all your dirt out early. Let people hash through it, pick it over, discuss it, and then say..."that's ok Rudy, you did a great job cleaning up NYC, you did a great job with 9/11, nobody is perfect...we want you anyway...and, oh, here's our part of the $100 million you need."

This guy is pretty darn smart if you ask me.