OK friends, here's the deal.
I really love baseball.
And I really love blogging.
So why not combine the two during one of the most exciting times of the year--Major League Baseball playoffs!
Leave a comment on this post with your predictions on WHAT TEAM will win the World Series AND in HOW MANY GAMES they will do so. There is a prize for the winner valued at $10 in the form of a gift card. So don't forget to make it clear WHO YOU ARE if you leave a comment (and just so you know, even if you don't have a Google account, you still are able to comment anonymously and sign your name).
There may need to be a tie-breaker, but we'll deal with that when the time comes:) All are welcome to participate, even if you don't live in Louisville where I currently reside. Although, if you are an international reader, I can't make any promises. Only requirement is that I have to actually know you in-person...complete strangers will not win anything!
Just in case you need some help, here are the teams in the playoffs: Los Angeles Dodgers, Chicago Cubs, Philadelphia Phillies, Milwaukee Brewers, Chicago White Sox, Los Angeles Angels, Boston Red Sox, or Tampa Bay Devil Rays.
YOU NEED TO RESPOND BY 5:00PM EST ON OCTOBER 2, 2008.
And in case you care, I really really really would like the White Sox to win...and preferably, over the Cubs in however many games it takes. But that's not my actual predictions, it's just wishful thinking:)
9.29.2008
Steve the Spider
Last week, I discovered that I had a spider living behind the mirror on the driver's side of my car. I didn't have time to kill it, but I planned on attacking it in the near future. Like most people, I generally don't like bugs or spiders or any creepy-crawly organism of that nature.
The Wendy's drive-thru lady noticed the web it had spun between the mirror and the car door later that afternoon. She simply reached out and destroyed the sticky threads with her bare "touches the food you eat" hands (but that's a completely different issue). I assumed it was the last I would see of the spider.
But the next morning, the spider was sitting on a newly spun web. And I left it. I don't know why, but I admired its determination. As I got in my car and drove to work, I noticed that Steve (yes, I named the spider) could hold on to his web while I was going 15 mph, then 25, then 35...I was amazed at his feats of strength!
Every now and then, his web gets destroyed. I try to prevent it from happening--for example, my car REALLY needs washed, but I just couldn't do that to Steve. Today, I was driving on the interstate. As I began to accelerate to 65 mph, I may have shouted (with people in the car...), "Steve, don't fall Steve, crawl behind the mirror!!!" He listened. Steve is really smart. And just in case you were wondering, his web is still intact despite the high rates of speed.
I suppose you could say I have a new appreciation for spiders. I'm not too sure how long Steve is going to stay, but it's kind of nice to be fascinated outside of the "let's see what this looks like when I smash it on the pavement" way by a piece of creation.
The Wendy's drive-thru lady noticed the web it had spun between the mirror and the car door later that afternoon. She simply reached out and destroyed the sticky threads with her bare "touches the food you eat" hands (but that's a completely different issue). I assumed it was the last I would see of the spider.
But the next morning, the spider was sitting on a newly spun web. And I left it. I don't know why, but I admired its determination. As I got in my car and drove to work, I noticed that Steve (yes, I named the spider) could hold on to his web while I was going 15 mph, then 25, then 35...I was amazed at his feats of strength!
Every now and then, his web gets destroyed. I try to prevent it from happening--for example, my car REALLY needs washed, but I just couldn't do that to Steve. Today, I was driving on the interstate. As I began to accelerate to 65 mph, I may have shouted (with people in the car...), "Steve, don't fall Steve, crawl behind the mirror!!!" He listened. Steve is really smart. And just in case you were wondering, his web is still intact despite the high rates of speed.
I suppose you could say I have a new appreciation for spiders. I'm not too sure how long Steve is going to stay, but it's kind of nice to be fascinated outside of the "let's see what this looks like when I smash it on the pavement" way by a piece of creation.
9.23.2008
no, i'm not on writing sabbatical
As I write, I sit in an apartment where the carpet desperately needs to be vacuumed. And tomorrow morning, I'll wake up, take a shower, and use a towel that's been used a few too many days in a row because I haven't done laundry in a few weeks. I suppose instead of writing I could return a few phone calls, but writing can sometimes be my sanity in the midst of a "need to do" list. Tomorrow is a day for productivity...
For all of those eagerly anticipating the end of my dating series...it will come soon. I'm feeling rather uninspired to write any longer about that topic, so instead of trying to force it, I'll just wait and ask you to be patient.
There's something that's been weighing on my mind as of late. Maybe this comes with working at a church, but suddenly I find myself with a great sense of urgency to make God known to those who do not have the hope and joy in Christ. Now, before one declares my desires as righteous or holy, I must confess to you...I'm doing very little about it. And therein lies the problem. The reason I feel anxiety. The reason why my mind has very little peace at night.
And it's crazy, because I spend 40+ hours a week in a cubicle with the primary goal of connecting 20-somethings to Jesus and His Church. So when I say "I'm doing very little about it", I don't mean as though I am lazy or apathetic, although I've fought those battles before. What I mean is that I desperately need to reevaluate my motivation.
Last night, in the silence of a moment with God, He spoke to me about my heart. And it was made clear to me that most of my energy has been put into answering the question, "How am I sharing the Gospel?" The problem is that this approach still is "me"-centered--it focuses on the whens and the wheres and the hows. It's beneficial to evaluate effective methods for teaching others about the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ; but I've developed a habit of asking myself that question and being satisfied in my own abilities to communicate rather than being focused on what really matters.
What really matters is people receiving the Gospel. God has already made known, through His Word, that the knowledge of His glory will fill the earth by HIS doing, not mine. Sometimes I wonder if, internally, I celebrate more in the act of sharing the Gospel than I do when a brother or sister comes to believe the Gospel. If so, I'm putting more faith in my words than God's. I spend time obsessing over things that are out of my control, and very little time praying that seeds would be planted and grow in the hearts of those that have been opened by God. I'm limiting myself for the sake of my own glory instead of living in freedom that the Spirit has given me undeservingly.
For those that find themselves in my situation--that are more concerned with how they are sharing rather than people receiving--I challenge you with this final thought. If we truly lived as Christ has commanded to, we wouldn't categorize some experiences into "opportunities where we were able to share the Gospel." Because the truth is that we are to be sharing the Gospel at ALL times. For me, this means that I need to listen with the intent of celebrating--the arrival of joy, the forgiveness of sin, the victory over a trial.
For all of those eagerly anticipating the end of my dating series...it will come soon. I'm feeling rather uninspired to write any longer about that topic, so instead of trying to force it, I'll just wait and ask you to be patient.
There's something that's been weighing on my mind as of late. Maybe this comes with working at a church, but suddenly I find myself with a great sense of urgency to make God known to those who do not have the hope and joy in Christ. Now, before one declares my desires as righteous or holy, I must confess to you...I'm doing very little about it. And therein lies the problem. The reason I feel anxiety. The reason why my mind has very little peace at night.
And it's crazy, because I spend 40+ hours a week in a cubicle with the primary goal of connecting 20-somethings to Jesus and His Church. So when I say "I'm doing very little about it", I don't mean as though I am lazy or apathetic, although I've fought those battles before. What I mean is that I desperately need to reevaluate my motivation.
Last night, in the silence of a moment with God, He spoke to me about my heart. And it was made clear to me that most of my energy has been put into answering the question, "How am I sharing the Gospel?" The problem is that this approach still is "me"-centered--it focuses on the whens and the wheres and the hows. It's beneficial to evaluate effective methods for teaching others about the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ; but I've developed a habit of asking myself that question and being satisfied in my own abilities to communicate rather than being focused on what really matters.
What really matters is people receiving the Gospel. God has already made known, through His Word, that the knowledge of His glory will fill the earth by HIS doing, not mine. Sometimes I wonder if, internally, I celebrate more in the act of sharing the Gospel than I do when a brother or sister comes to believe the Gospel. If so, I'm putting more faith in my words than God's. I spend time obsessing over things that are out of my control, and very little time praying that seeds would be planted and grow in the hearts of those that have been opened by God. I'm limiting myself for the sake of my own glory instead of living in freedom that the Spirit has given me undeservingly.
For those that find themselves in my situation--that are more concerned with how they are sharing rather than people receiving--I challenge you with this final thought. If we truly lived as Christ has commanded to, we wouldn't categorize some experiences into "opportunities where we were able to share the Gospel." Because the truth is that we are to be sharing the Gospel at ALL times. For me, this means that I need to listen with the intent of celebrating--the arrival of joy, the forgiveness of sin, the victory over a trial.
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