Just The Two Of Us

Posted on July 21, 2007 by Jason

Yesterday was an awesome day! I told Joshua last week that I’d take him to a ball game to watch the Cardinals play. He’s been so excited ever since…it’s all he could talk about. (I’m not sure if he was more excited that he got to go or that other people weren’t going. I’ll bet I heard a hundred times, “Abby Kate’s not going to the ball game. Jackson’s not going to the ball game.” He likes to rub it in, I guess.)

After we woke up, Joshua and I adorned ourselves with our Cardinal gear. Joshua wore his red Pujols shirt and his Cards hat, shorts and wristbands. After lunch, we loaded into the truck and hit the road. I made a CD of all of Joshua’s favorite songs, so we jammed to his tunes all the way to Atlanta. Among his favorites…

  • Life Is A Highway by Rascal Flatts, a.k.a. “The ‘Cars’ Song”
  • I Saw the Light by David Crowder Band, a.k.a. “The Clappin’ Song”
  • Sing Like the Saved by David Crowder Band, a.k.a. “La La”
  • Centerfield by John Fogerty, a.k.a. “Baseball Song”

We arrived in Atlanta to find sunny skies and very low humidity. I was worried because thunderstorms were forecast for most of the evening, but thankfully the prognosticators were wrong. Joshua’s eyes lit up when we approached Turner Field. We pulled into the parking lot and, after thanking God for a safe trip, we hopped out and made our way to the stadium.

The little man and me

Joshua just absorbed all the sights and sounds. He’s been to several ball games in the past, but this one seemed different. He was more lucid, more aware of his surroundings. The look on his face when we walked in and saw the field was priceless. We arrived in time to catch the Cardinals take batting practice. We found a spot along the left field wall and watched as Albert Pujols put on an absolute clinic. As the Cards wrapped up their BP session, backup catcher Gary Bennett sauntered over and picked up a stray ball near the warning track. After surveying the throng of fans squealing and screaming for the up-for-grabs souvenir — you’d have thought he was giving away advanced copies of the new Harry Potter book, not a $3 baseball — Bennett spotted Joshua with his little glove hoisted in the air. He walked near us and underhanded the ball our way. After catching the ball, I told Joshua to tell Mr. Bennett thank you. But he was too awestruck to speak. I thanked Bennett and we headed to our seats with a sweet leather-and-twine reminder of our day at the park.

The rest of the night was perfect. We shared a hot dog and a slice of pizza just before the national anthem. Adam Wainwright and Chuck James delighted us with an unexpected pitcher’s duel. Albert Pujols hit a solo shot in the 4th, which was cause for much celebration. The game stayed knotted until late; the Cards scored twice in the 8th and once in the 9th, which was barely enough to stave off a late rally attempt by the Braves. With a 4-2 victory nicely in hand, we enjoyed the “Friday Fireworks” display as we made our way back to the truck. We didn’t make it home until very late, but no matter. It was a perfect day, just the two of us.

Highlight of the day: After Gary Bennett tossed us the ball, we made our way back to the concourse to find some sustenance. I put Joshua up on my shoulders so we could make better time. With his glove on his right hand and his newly received gift firmly in his left, Joshua began singing in the softest little voice:

“God is so good,
God is so good,
God is so good,
He’s so good to me”

Indeed He is, son. Indeed He is.

Posted in Baseball, Blessings, Kids, St. Louis Cardinals | 4 Comments

Fun Friday

Posted on July 20, 2007 by Jason

Thanks to Scott, now I’m hooked on this game.

Posted in Games, Random | 2 Comments

An Open Letter to the St. Louis Cardinals

Posted on July 19, 2007 by Jason

Dear Beloved Redbirds,

I’ve been patient. Held my tongue for nearly 4 months. Our improbable run through the playoffs last October has sustained me through 90 some-odd games of lackluster play. Tony and Dave, I’ve given you every benefit of every doubt in the hopes that you’d soon right the ship. I owe you that, I told myself. This is no time for griping or complaining. As my boy Alexandre Dumas Père would say, “All human wisdom is summed up in two words – wait and hope.”

Well, Alexandre, I’m tired of waiting and I’m running out of hope.

Now is the time, boys, to make the kind of push we’ve been waiting for. We currently sit 9 games behind the division leading Milwaukee Brewers who boast the best winning percentage in the league. We’re about 7 games out in the wild card. These aren’t insurmountable odds, but with July swiftly coming to a close, our chances of having the opportunity to defend our title are growing slimmer each day.

Granted, Lady Luck hasn’t been kind to us. Chris Carpenter, the Cardinals ace and arguably the best pitcher in the league, has been on the shelf since the season opener against the Mets. The fact that we haven’t been mathematically eliminated yet despite only getting 6 innings of work out of our horse is cause enough for celebration. Our erstwhile #2 starter, Mark Mulder (whom we gave up Dan Haren for), hasn’t thrown a pitch all season as he recovers from shoulder surgery. Shortstop David Eckstein, center fielder Jim Edmonds, catcher Yadier Molina and right fielder Juan Encarnacion have all missed time with various injuries. Scott Rolen’s shoulder is barking again. Youngsters Adam Wainwright and Anthony Reyes haven’t pitched as projected. The most consistent starters have been Braden Looper and Brad Thompson, lifelong relief pitchers before this year. This team has dealt with more than just injuries and poor performances; it should not be forgotten that this club buried one of their own, Josh Hancock, just a few months back. It is near impossible to quantify how difficult that must’ve been for this team. All in all, the ’07 campaign has been one to forget for Cardinal Nation.

No matter. With Brewers ace Ben Sheets out for the next 6 weeks, now’s the time to make a run. With a patchwork rotation and an anemic offense, it’ll be tough for sure. But I believe. Eck and Encarnacion are already back; Jimmy will be activated soon. If things go right, maybe Carp and Mulder will log a few innings for us in August. The Brewers are young and the Cubbies (much to my chagrin) seem to be for real, but my Redbirds are experienced and that’s gotta count for something.With 7 games against Chicago and Milwaukee next week, we can be right back in this thing with a well timed hot streak. Maybe we can catch lightning in a bottle again and make something magical happen a la last October. And remember that “surplus” of cash we saved by not resigning Soup and Weaver, Walt Jocketty? No doubt, it was the right move to let those guys walk. But we desperately need a couple of impact players to infuse the roster with a little more bite. Now’s the time to get that done, too.

I’ll be there in Hot-Lanta tomorrow night with my son. Maybe I should hand deliver this letter to you all. At the very least, we face a Braves club that’s reeling from being swept by the hapless Cincinnatti Reds. Now’s the time to get off the schnide. Let’s do it, guys.

Signed,
A lifelong fan of the World Champion St. Louis Cardinals

Posted in St. Louis Cardinals | 8 Comments

Mikey and Nike

Posted on July 17, 2007 by Jason

Boy, did Paul Tagliabue pick the right time to retire.

According to published reports, a federal grand jury has indicted Atlanta Falcons quarterback Michael Vick in connection with a recent dogfighting probe. The indictment accuses Vick and several other co-defendants of sponsoring illegal dogfighting, dating as far back as 2001, Vick’s rookie season. Federal authorities searched the Scurry, Virginia property owned by Vick where the alleged dogfights took place. This search recovered 54 pit bulls from Vick’s property as well as pit bull training and mating paraphernalia. According to ESPN, ” Fights would end when one dog died or with the surrender of the losing dog, which sometimes was put to death by drowning, strangulation, hanging, gunshot, electrocution or some other method,”. Some other method? Is there another method? Sounds like they pretty much covered them all…

In addition to the indictment for dogfighting, Vick and his co-defendants are accused of performing “testing” sessions to determine which dogs would be suitable for fighting. Those who were deemed worthy lived to fight another day; the ones that failed the test were “hanged, drowned and/or slammed to the ground and killed.” Ah, slamming them to the ground. I guess that’s the “other method.”

And you thought Pacman Jones was a thug.

This story is far from finished. But if you’re NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell, what do you do? Suspend Vick? Kick him out of the league? What if you’re Falcons owner Arthur Blank? Is this the guy you want representing the face of your franchise? And what about poor Bobby Petrino? Looks like you picked a bad time to deal away the best backup QB in the game. What if you’re Nike? Do you terminate your endorsement deal with Vick? When Kobe was indicted, everyone dropped him faster than you can say Eagle County, Colorado. Granted, the charges were more severe, but still.

I guess it could be worse. At least Mikey’s not as boneheaded as his brother, Marcus. But then again, that’s not saying much.

Posted in Football | 8 Comments

Prayers Tonight

Posted on July 16, 2007 by Jason

Several of you have been praying for a young lady named Erin Smith. She was a young lady who was in a tragic boating accident a few weeks back. She was hospitalized here in Huntsville for a few days before being transferred to Erlanger in Chattanooga. Her father-in-law, Ken, has kept us abreast of her health in the days since her transfer. Ken wrote that Erin passed away peacefully tonight at 7PM. My heart hurts tonight for this family, especially Erin’s husband. If you’re a person of prayer, I ask that you offer up a special prayer for blessings upon this hurting family.

Posted in Prayer | 2 Comments

A Fun Week

Posted on July 14, 2007 by Jason

Sunny and I had a great week. We woke up early Tuesday and headed to East Tennessee where we spent the first three years of our marriage. We make it back to Kingsport about once a year, so this was our annual pilgrimage. As always, it was great to visit with old friends. John and Alice graciously let us stay with them. Their son was equally hospitable; he graciously shared his toys with Joshua and Abby Kate. I grabbed lunch with Matt on Wednesday; Matt and I went to high school together and we were roommates at Lipscomb. (And, of course, we also shared an experience that I’m sure neither of us will ever live down as a part of the Amigo Tire Service.) On Wednesday night, I spoke at the Northeast Church of Christ where we worshiped and served for 3 years. Some of the finest saints you’ll ever find are a part of that beautiful congregation. It’s hard to believe it’s been 5 years since we moved from there. I capped off my Kingsport visit with breakfast with John, Eric and Ken. The conversation weaved effortlessly through some of my favorite topics: baseball, church, family — culminating with some prayer time. Thanks for letting me crash the party, guys. (I’m still cracking myself up by impersonating Singing Guy — “laaaa da da da dum.”)

Thursday morning, we loaded up and began the journey homeward. We stopped off in Chattanooga (or Chattanoona, as Abby Kate says!) and visited the Tennessee Aquarium. The kids LOVED it! I think their favorite part was seeing the penguins dive in and out of the water (which caused Joshua to exclaim: “They’re going fast, Daddy!”). Another favorite exhibit was the jellyfish kiosk and the Nemo tank. After two hours of fish watching, we crossed the street to enjoy some Ben & Jerry’s before hitting the highway to Huntsville.

2 nights away from home and 600 miles in the van…and the kids did great! They laughed and sang in the van and acted like such big boys and girls. All in all, it was a great trip.

Posted in Blessings, Kids, Sunny | 4 Comments

Home Run Derby 2007

Posted on July 9, 2007 by Jason

Each year, Sunny and I watch the Home Run Derby and we make our picks, straight-draft style. I always let her go first; she picked Mags. I went homer and nabbed Pujols with my first pick. Then she went oppo, surprising me with Matt Holliday (I guess she read my blog championing him as an NL starter). I also went homer with my second pick, going for Vlad, one of my all-time faves. I should’ve taken Howard, so Sunny stole him in Round 3. I took the Prince with my 3rd choice. Sunny rounded out her roster with Alex Rios, leaving me with Justin Morneau, the reigning AL MVP. Not bad as Mr. Irrelevant.

We’ll see who wins! (Who am I kidding? Sunny’s like the AL of Home Run Derby. She always wins.)

Posted in Baseball, Sunny | 6 Comments

A Lesson on Discipleship

Posted on July 9, 2007 by Jason

If you want to hear a great lesson on discipleship, click here and listen to Gary’s lesson entitled, “What Is God’s Goal For Me?”. You can also download the MP3 if you’re interested. Absolutely great stuff.

Posted in Discipleship, Preaching | Leave a comment

The Dissolution of the Sacred / Secular Divide, Part 2: Holy Ground

Posted on July 8, 2007 by Jason

This is Holy ground
We’re standing on Holy ground
For the Lord is present and where He is is Holy

We are standing on Holy ground
And I know that there are angels all around
Let us praise Jesus now
We are standing in Your presence
On Holy ground

The terms “missional” and “incarnational” have become trendy buzzwords in Christian churches these days. Scores of books devoted to these topics have littered the Christian literature landscape in recent years. Many a church board has revisioned its purpose statement to include “missional” or “incarnation” or “missional incarnation” or “incarnational mission”. And yet, at the risk of being both trendy and buzzword-ish, I submit to you that the Christian life is indeed both missional and incarnational.

Despite their overexposure in some Christian circles, these terms carry much theological freight. “Missional” is an emerging term that describes the life of discipleship. Missional living is simply participating in the ongoing mission and activity of God in practical ways. It’s a life of lived-out-faith. It’s a connectivity between theology and practice, faith and ethics. Missionals perceive the church as an alternative community; rather than mimicking the surrounding culture, missionals live in radical counter-cultural obedience to Christ. “Incarnational” is similarly defined. Simply put, Christians are to live as incarnations of their Lord. Isn’t that what discipleship is all about anyway? As one mentor of mine prays every morning, “Lord, help me to live this day as if Jesus were living it in my place.” That’s at the heart of incarnational living.

We have to get away from this notion that our church buildings are “holy places”. For too long, we’ve held to this understanding of church as a place, a location, where “holy” things take place. While there may be some truth to that understanding, by default we’ve labeled all other places as “secular” and thus, separate from our “sacred” lives. Even our hymnology reflects this attitude to a certain degree (see above). Sure, we give a nod toward God-presence as the source of true holiness, but we naively believe that God-presence is only found at our places of worship during our worship services. With this line of thinking, we further entrench the sacred / secular divide.

Missional, incarnational Christianity embraces the understanding that all human life is lived in the presence of God. Rather than limiting God-experience to Sunday mornings and Wednesday evenings, missional living is characterized by an awareness of God-presence at all times. The sacred ground of God-presence extends to every corner of my life, not just my time of participation in corporate worship on Sunday. I think God is at least equally concerned with how I live away from the “holy ground” of the church building. It seems to me the “holy ground” God most wants to inhabit is my heart.

Missional, incarnational Christianity knows nothing of a sacred / secular divide. To live missionally and incarnationally means to live as if it all belongs to Jesus.

Posted in Church, Devotional, Discipleship, Sacred / Secular Divide, Theology | 2 Comments

Three Years In

Posted on July 6, 2007 by Jason

Three years ago, my life changed forever. Sunny was 33 weeks pregnant with our twins, and we had a pretty good idea that we’d be meeting our son and daughter soon. But when Dr. Bailey walked in and said in his slow Jamaican accent, “I think it’s time to take these babies,” I knew my life would never be the same.

That first year was pretty much a blur. Abby Kate spent the first 9 days of her life in the NICU; Joshua was there for 31 days. Leaving the hospital without either of my babies was absolutely the worst moment of my life. But we were all together again soon enough and the frenetic reality of life with twins descended upon us quickly. There were a lot of sleepless nights (especially during that two week period when they were both colicy) but in spite of all the hard work, there was a lot of joy, too. Honestly, our friends who’d already had kids had painted such a bleak picture for us that we were pleasantly surprised at how much fun we had that first year.

I’m happy to say that our joy has only grown greater with each passing year. We’ve passed the stage of “firsts” — first words, first steps, first trip to the ER — and we’ve now settled in as parents of these two little people who have personalities and senses of humor and fears and wild streaks and likes and dislikes…and it’s awesome. In many ways, our children are like little clones of the two of us. It makes me laugh how Abby Kate shares so many of her mother’s mannerisms and idiosyncrasies; every day it’s like I’m looking at Sunny only 25 years younger. And Joshua…Lord, help him. The boy’s just like me. But there’s also great joy in discovering how our children aren’t like us at all. Those differences serve to remind us that our children have their own unique identities no matter how much they’re like their parents.

Sunny has posted a pictorial look back over the last year over on her blog. It amazes me how quickly time has passed these past twelve months. It seems like when I was young, time couldn’t pass quickly enough. Now that I have children of my own, I want time to slow down so I can really soak up every moment. But I know that’s not realistic, and I also know that’s not what I really want. If I’m being really honest with myself, I want my children to grow up. I want them to leave us someday and go off and live their own lives. I really want that for them. But thankfully, I should have about 15 more years before that time comes. That sounds reasonable to me.

Abby Kate, “father’s pure joy”, if you ever happen to read this, I want you to know you fill my heart with so much joy. You bring tears of joy to my life at least once a week. Your tenderness and your playfulness unlock chambers of my heart that I never knew were there. I love you so dearly, little girl.

Joshua, my son, should you ever read this, you need to know how proud I am of you. Proud that you’re my son, proud of who you are, proud of who you’re becoming. The bar has been set high for you. Your forebears were great men. But may you ever be growing into the name you have been given. I love you so much, little boy.

Thank you, Lord, for such a grace as this.

Posted in Blessings, Kids | 2 Comments