Youth League Sports - What it is all about!

I know that many parents have children who are participating in Youth League sports.  I am very disappointed in Youth League Sports programs and for good reason.

            I have a grandson playing Youth League Football.  Let me re-phrase that – I have a grandson who goes to practice on a Youth League Football team.  I had a son who also was a part of a Youth League Football team years ago and am disappointed to see that it has not changed. 

            We were all happy that he wanted to play football on the Youth League, thinking this would be very good for a child with some issues and a very low self-esteem.  We mistakenly thought that this would help his self-confidence and self-esteem issues.  Isn’t this what Youth League Sports is all about?  Helping children?  Teaching them discipline and team work?  If this is your impression of Youth League Sports, let me tell you now – YOU ARE DEAD WRONG.

            How many of you were under the impression that Youth League Sports was all about the children involved?  I am betting that a high number of you thought that.  Well, again, YOU ARE DEAD WRONG. 

            Now, I will give you this much – Youth League Sports SHOULD be about the children – teaching them teamwork, self discipline, self confidence and self esteem.  This is why Youth League Sports was formed.  Children need activities that teach these things and they need them early in life.  It would be great if these activities, while teaching these things, could also be fun.  If Youth League Sports were properly managed, they could accomplish this.

            Now, I realize that not every child is athletically gifted – some are just downright not very good at sports.  And, that is okay.  Some are gifted and are very good at the sport in which they are involved and that is great.  However, during practice they are all on the fields working.  Good or bad.  However, come game day, only the “good” ones get to actually play in the game.  I have witnessed this first hand.  I witnessed it years ago and am witnessing it now.  On the particular Youth League Football team that I am following, there are a handful – maybe 6 or 7 boys – who simply are not great athletes.  But they show up at practice every afternoon and then stand on the sideline every game.  There are games when they never step foot on the field. 

            Each Saturday that these young men stand on the sideline and do not get to participate, they leave the ballgame with a little less self confidence and a little less self esteem than they had when they got there.  Their having to stand on the sideline says one thing to them … “You are not good enough.”

            Now, I don’t know about you, but in my opinion, this is something that should never happen to any child.  No child should have to walk off the field and say to his family that is waiting, “I didn’t get to play.” 

            Why is this happening?  One simple reason – WINNING.  The Youth League Sports programs are not about the kids – they are not about helping kids – they are all about winning.  The children on the team are not what are important – it is the scoreboard.  So, the self confidence and self esteem of our children are being sacrificed for the sake of WINNING.  It is great for a team to win a game, but not at this expense.  Those players who are not great could be rotated in and out of the game one at a time.  I would never propose putting them all in at one time.  But, they should be given a chance!  Who knows – with a little “game practice”, an infusion of self confidence and self esteem – they might actually get better.  But whether they do or not is not the issue.

            This, my friends, should NEVER happen.  Have any of you witnessed similar experiences?  I would love to hear from you.  Something needs to happen to change this.  Children growing up in this day and age need good values and good values begin with feeling good about yourself.

            Does anyone agree?  Let me hear from you.

The Government HAS NOT Shut Down

The "government shut-down" has been all the rage in the news for the past week or so, with strong talks of checks not being disbursed for the last few days.

However, I would maintain that the U.S. Government HAS NOT shut down.  I have heard this opinion from a couple of other sources in the last few days and I completely concur.  True, Republicans and Democrats are not able to reach an agreement regarding raising the debt ceiling.   An, of course, at the center of the debate is the cost of Obama Care.  However, while they claim the government is shut down, due to a lack of reaching an agreement on this, there are a couple of things to consider.

Let's look at this realistically:

1.  Is anyone in Congress - the House of Representatives or Senate - going without a paycheck?
2. Is the President going without a paycheck?
3.  Is anyone in Congress - the House of Representatives or Senate - going to lose their health insurance            because they no longer have a job to go to?
4.  Have the Secret Service Agents that guard the President and his family been sent home?

Unless the answer to these questions is "Yes", then the government HAS NOT shut down.  The only thing that their threatened actions are doing is hurting the citizens of this country.  They are threatening that there will be no Social Security Disability checks.  Is that punishing themselves in any way - does that affect them in any way - NO.  They are threatening that there will be no VA Pension/Disability checks.  Does anyone else find that deplorable?  They are threatening to cut off the income of the very people who laid their lives on the line, and in some cases gave their lives, for this country.  But yet, they all still draw their paychecks?
What is wrong with this picture?

As for the debt ceiling, I propose that every member of the House of Representatives, every member of the Senate, and the President all reduce their salaries to an amount that is comparable with the salary of the average U.S. citizen.  This alone, would go a long way towards reducing the debt.  I also propose that, regardless of what office you held (and YES, I do include the Presidency in this), that when you leave office - you no longer get paid.  I do not know of a company on earth where I can go and work for 4 years, quit and receive my salary for the rest of my life.  More progress toward debt reduction.

As for Obama Care, I propose that every member of the House of Representatives, every member of the Senate and the President himself, be mandated to have Obama Care as their insurance.  If you want to "force" a plan on the citizens - be ready to swallow your own medicine.

I think it is a crying shame that we have a government that is going to punish the citizens because they can't reach an agreement.  This is worse than a couple of two year old children having a temper tantrum, breaking the living room lamp, and blaming the dog.

What do you guys think?

Who Is Following Who?

I read a devotional tonight that was well worth mentioning.  This is courtesy of Devotionals Daily and is written by Mark Batterson.  In his devotional, he states the following:

"Most people in most churches think they are following Jesus, but I'm not so sure.  They may think they are following Jesus, but the reality is this:  they have invited Jesus to follow them.  They call Him Savior, but they've never surrendered to Him as Lord.  And I was one of them.  Trust me, I didn't want to go anywhere without Jesus right there behind me.  But I wanted Jesus to follow me, to serve my purposes, to do my will."

Now, that was food for thought.  Am I following Jesus or trying to get Jesus to follow me?  Did I want to walk beside Jesus or in front of him?  

I was reminded of what Jesus said in John 15:5 (NLT),  "Yes, I am the vine; you are the branches.  Those who remain in me, and I in them, will produce much fruit.  For apart from me you can do nothing." 

Am I following Jesus or expecting Him to follow me?  Am I giving Him complete control and accepting His plan for my life or am I stubbornly expecting Him to arrange my life to turn out like I want it to?  I Samuel 15:23 (NLT), tell us: "Rebellion is as sinful as witchcraft, and stubbornness as bad as worshiping idols."  

How do I know for sure who is following who?  The first step would be to look at how I spend my time.  Do I spend time with Jesus, or just a minute here and there in prayer - asking for what I want?  Do I go ahead and do whatever I want to and then quickly ask Him to forgive me?  Do I pray over decisions that I need to make or do I just make them and expect Him to have them turn out the way I wanted them to?  Do I worry at all about what His plan for me is - what His will for me is - what His plan for my life is?

How do I know for sure if I am following Jesus?  I john 2:3 (NLT) says:  "And we can be sure that we know Him if we obey His commandments."  So, if I am truly following Jesus instead of expecting Him to follow me, I will be following His commandments.  I will have a time set aside to spend with Him.  I will ask for His guidance in my decisions.  And, I will praise Him and thank Him for all that is in my life - good and bad.  And, I will humbly ask Him to lead me down the path He has planned for me. 

Who are you following?  How do you make sure you are following Jesus? 

Priorities

I thought about changing the name of the blog from Today's Reading to Today's Thoughts - but I will leave it as it is.  Just be aware that some posts deal with devotional thoughts rather than actual readings.

For today, I read an interesting and eye-opening devotionals this morning.  You know the kind - one of those that just steps all over your toes!  It deals with Priorities.  Now, we all have priorities - I prioritize each day on an individual basis each morning.  I typically seem to have more to do than I have time to do, so I have to prioritize.  For example, Monday morning, when I began work, the system notification said there were 149 assignments to be graded. Also, in looking at the calendar for the day, I saw that I had to hold a virtual class that night from 7 until 8 PM.  Then I had to assist with a virtual class from 8:30 until 10:30 PM.  My thoughts - how in the world am I going to get all this done today?  So, I start prioritizing!

What's wrong with this picture?  We all know that in order to efficiently manage our time, we have to prioritize.  We all do it every day - with work, family, etc.  

I opened this devotional this morning and the opening verse was, indeed, eye opening:  "Now therefore, thus says the Lord of hosts, “[a]Consider your ways!"  Haggai 1:5  (NASB)

The devotional goes on to talk about "Priority Living."  Yes, I live by priorities -  but what are my priorities?  Are they based on what I consider important or are they based on what God considers important?  Is God my top priority on a daily basis?  The answer was depressing.

Some time back, I began attempting to spend an hour each morning in Bible reading and prayer.  Also, at least one hour each night.  But what happens when I get up and find I have more to do than I can get done that day?  I start trying to find "things" that I can cut from me schedule of course.  And, unfortunately, that is way too often to "borrow" time from my morning and evening Bible reading and prayer time.  

The devotional makes the following statement:  "Without intentionally living out God’s priorities, we default to reactionary living. Whatever comes our way then becomes our default for living."  I find that too many days, this becomes "my life" and "my priorities."  

This verse is included in the devotional, "Seek the Kingdom of God[a] above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need." Matthew 6:33 (NLT)  So, this was the "step on my toes" part for sure.  

I need to make God my first priority and he will provide all that is needed for me to accomplish all the other things that I need to accomplish.  This will be my anchor in defining my priorities from now on.  

What are your priorities?

** The devotional discussed here was from Wisdom Hunters, 9-20-13

Amazing Grace

I wanted to share this video -this little guy is absolutely inspiring!

The Blame Game

How easily we tend to play the blame game.  If things aren't going right in our life - if we are experiencing a particularly troubling time or a time of what seems like unusual hardship - what do we do?  Where does our mind and our thinking go?  Most of us look for someone or something to blame, and most of the time, we are looking in all the wrong places.

Consider this:

It is time to pay the monthly bills and you find you don't have enough money in the bank to pay them all. 

Your thoughts:

My job doesn't pay enough - cheap company;
My house payment is too high - mortgage company's fault;
Utilities are too high - power/phone/water company's fault;
My car payment is too high - auto finance company's fault;
Gas is too high - Government/Oil company's fault;
Credit card bills too high - credit card company's fault - they charge too much interest;
The price of everything is just way too high - these companies are just out to make larger and larger profits - crushing folks like me - "the little guy."


Any of this sound familiar?

The truth:  Look in the mirror!

We know how much money we make - we agreed to accept that pay rate when we took the job;

My house payment is too high - did we buy a house we could afford or did we buy one to impress?

My utilities are too high - do we use our utilities wisely and conservatively or do we have lights on in every room of the house - even is there is nobody in the room?  Do we have three televisions playing - and nobody actually watching any of them?  do we have the heat turned up - but are wearing shorts and a t-shirt?

My car payment is too high - Did we buy a car we could afford or one we liked and just plain wanted?

Gas is too high - did we go to the grocery store yesterday, the post office the day before and Wal-Mart the day before that?

Is it just barely possible that the reason we don't have enough money to pay the bills is our own fault?  Is it possible the one we should blame is our self?

But, I am a child of God - why is he allowing me to go through this stress month after month?  Why won't He help me out of this difficult situation?

Question is - did He help you into this situation?  Did you seek his guidance when buying that house - when buying that car - when charging all that stuff on your credit card?  Did you pray about any of these purchases before making them?  Let's be honest here - the answer is almost certainly - NO.

In Psalm 119:67, David says, "Before I was afflicted, I went astray."

OK - you are not the only one to cause yourself hardship through your own bad choices!

God loves us and does not wish hardship for use, not does He cause any hardship for us.  But, He will allow us to go through hardships in order to teach us.  Notice in Psalm 119:71, David goes on to say, "It is good for me that I was afflicted, that I may learn your statutes."

In our example here - financial hardships - we can learn to seek God's guidance in our stewardship of the financial blessings we receive.  This should apply to all areas of our life - we should be continually seeking God's guidance.

Who are your blaming today?

Testimony - Simple Statement

Yesterday, I spoke about the story of the blind man that is found in John 9.  In verses 12 - 25, we hear how, not only the man himself, but even his parents were questioned about how he gained eyesight.  We see two very different stances here:

First, the man simply stated what had happened to him - how he had gained eyesight and was no longer blind.  Even though questioned more than once, his story remained simple and remained the same.  He did not shy away from answering the questions.  He did not shy away from simply stating what had happened to him and who had done this.

On the other hand, we see some very common behavior these days.  The man's own parents would not answer the questions.  They conceded that he was their son;  they conceded that he had been born blind;  and there was no question that he could now see.  But that is as far as they would go - they would not discuss how this had happened.  When questioned they simply stated - "Ask him - he is old enough to speak for himself." 

Their behavior here was a simple matter of fear.  The fear of the Pharisees and the fear of being exiled from the synagogue.  They didn't "deny" what their son was saying, but they would not "confirm" what he was saying either.  They were neutral.   Far too many people are "neutral" because they are afraid of what somebody else will think or say about them.  This is being "lukewarm". 

This is what the Bible tells us about being "lukewarm":  (in various translations)

King James:
¹⁵ I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot.
 ¹⁶ So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth.

New American Standard:
¹⁵ ‘I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot; I wish that you were cold or hot. ¹⁶ So because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will ^[a]spit you out of My mouth.

NIV:
¹⁵ I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! ¹⁶ So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth.

NLT:
¹⁵ “I know all the things you do, that you are neither hot nor cold. I wish that you were one or the other! ¹⁶ But since you are like lukewarm water, neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth!

I have shown this in various translations to illustrate that the message does not waiver - it is the same regardless of the translation.  We are NOT to be lukewarm.

What do you say when someone asks you about Jesus?  Do you ever take the opportunity to testify to your belief in God?  It is not hard to testify about what God means to you. 

Simply fill in the following statement:  "I was ________ and now I am __________, because of Jesus."  How would you fill in the blanks??  We would love to hear your statement.

Testimony??

In John 9, we read of the story of Jesus encountering a man who had been blind from birth.  He spat on the ground, made a mud and covered the blind man's eyes.  He then instructed the man to go wash himself in the pool of Siloam.  The man did as he was instructed and, once washed, he could see.  his eyes were opened.

Wow!  What a testimony this man had to tell.  In verse 11, we see that he did, indeed, start telling people how his sight had been restored.  Not only was his physical sight restored, but his spiritual sight had also been restored through this miracle.

Now, we don't have this kind of testimony to give - obviously.  But, many of us have had "awakening" experiences.  To give your testimony, you don't have to have an elaborate story - just relate to others how your spiritual sight has been restored. 

Perhaps many people do not "testify" for Jesus because they feel they don't have an awesome story to tell.  Maybe they think that the way God opened their spiritual eyes is not spectacular enough that anyone will listen.  Again, it does not have to be a spectacular story. 

Our lives can be the most powerful testimony we could ever give.  If we strive to live within God's will and make him foremost in our lives, others will see the change in us - they will be able to see Jesus in our lives.  This, in itself, is a very powerful testimony.

Be sure that you are walking the path God has planned for you to walk.  Be kind and considerate to others - treat others the way Jesus would have treated them.  If you get a chance, tell others how God has moved in your life.

Remember - you may be the only "Jesus" someone sees. 

My Prayers Are Not Answered

Do you ever feel that your prayers are not answered?  Most of us do at one time or another in our lives.  We have a decision to make – we have a need – we have a want – we are concerned for a loved one – all these things are common occurrences.  With our economy in the state it is today, many prayers are simply for basic needs.

But, sometimes we feel that our prayers are not answered.  We wonder why – we are told in Matthew 7: 7-11 that our prayers will be answered.  So – where is our answer?

Matthew 7: 7-11 tell us: (KJV)

⁷ Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you:

⁸ For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.

⁹ Or what man is there of you, whom if his son ask bread, will he give him a stone?

¹⁰ Or if he ask a fish, will he give him a serpent?

¹¹ If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask him?

Matthew 7: 7-11 (NASB)

⁷ “^[a]Ask, and it will be given to you; ^[b]seek, and you will find; ^[c]knock, and it will be opened to you. ⁸ For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened. ⁹ Or what man is there among you ^[d]who, when his son asks for a loaf, ^[e]will give him a stone? ¹⁰ Or ^[f]if he asks for a fish, he will not give him a snake, will he? ¹¹ If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give what is good to those who ask Him!

We read this and wonder why our prayers are not being answered. I cannot tell you how many times I have faced this same frustration.  This led me to look further than Matthew for answers.  In Micah 3:4 we are told that our prayers will not be answered if we are still purposely sinning.

“Then they will cry to the Lord, But He will not hear them;  He will even hide His face from them at that time, Because they have been evil in their deeds.” (NKJV)

In Luke 18:9-14, Jesus tells us to pray with humility in His parable of the Pharisee and the tax collector praying in the Temple.

And, perhaps my favorite, in James 1:6 we are told to ask in faith.

So, yes we are told to ask and we shall receive.  But, as you can see, there are some conditions attached to this.  Are your prayers not answered because you are continuing to live a sinful life, only praying to God when you have a need?  Are you praying with humility?  Or do you have an attitude of self-importance?  Are you asking in faith?  Or, are you saying to yourself, “this isn’t going to happen, but” and then praying?

Also, the Bible does not tell us that our prayers will not necessarily be answered in the way we want them answered.  We see the world and our lives through a “daily” view, but God sees the “big picture” and wants the best for us.  Therefore, we may need something a bit different than what we prayed for.   It may be that our prayer is actually answered, just in a different way than what we expected.

This is a face paced world.  We cook with convection ovens and microwaves.  We upgrade our computers constantly so that they will be faster.  We buy new cell phones to get the latest speeds.  We are an impatient people.  So, when we pray for something, we want an answer right away.  When we don’t get it, we are frustrated.  It may not be that our prayer will not be answered.  We have to remember that God does thing in His own time and His time is NOT our time.

So, next time you pray, be sure to include praise for God, be sure you are not purposely continuing to engage in sinful activities, be sure you have a humble attitude and be sure you actually believe God can grant your request.  Watch for your answer – don’t try to put a time limit on it – saying I want an answer in two days.  Sit back and rest in the knowledge that God will meet our needs and that he hears our prayers and wait patiently for your answer.  If you don’t receive the answer you expected, rest assured that you received the answer that was in your best interests.

Me or God?

I talked with a friend last night concerning this very subject.  When I am praying for guidance in making a decision or in making future plans, how do I know that what I come up with is from God – or is it just me?

            I know that I am very strong-willed – sounds better than saying I tend to be stubborn.  I also tend to think very logically – look at things logically.  And, I have a lot of influence over myself – that pesky strong-willed thing.  I tend to look for very logical answers to a decision or when making future plans.  Knowing this about myself, I tend to doubt whether my decisions are God’s will or my own will.  So, let’s go to the authority – the Bible – and see what we are told about this.  Particularly since, strangely enough after having just discussed this last night, the devotional I received this morning, compliments of Dr. Charles Stanley and the InTouch Organization, deals with this very subject.  Does God work in mysterious ways or what??

            We first look at the main scripture for this devotional, I Corinthians 1: 18-29.  This passage of scripture plainly tells us that relying on our own wisdom is foolishness.  In verse 18, regardless of the translation you are currently reading, we are plainly told that God will destroy the wisdom of the wise.  What does that mean to you?

            If my wisdom is destroyed, it no longer matters whether I had a low level of intelligence, an average level of intelligence or a genius level of intelligence.  It no longer matters what all I had stored in my trunk of experiences.  If my wisdom is destroyed, my manner of thinking, whether logical or otherwise, is irrelevant.  I will be like a newborn baby – totally dependent on my Father. 

            This is where Faith comes into play.  Hebrews 11:1 defines Faith as:  “Faith is the confidence that what we hope for will actually happen; it gives us assurance about things we cannot see.” (NLT)  So, if I am left with no wisdom, no more logical thinking and am as a newborn baby, then I had better have faith – otherwise I have absolutely NOTHING.

            Sounds ominous doesn’t it?  It is exactly at this point though, that God can start to work in our lives, leading us to sound decisions and plans – and blessing us along the way. 

            Given this revelation, perhaps my prayers should be simply for the faith to await His guidance in decisions and plans instead of praying for an answer.

Choices

Most of us have taken vacation trips which took us several miles away from home.  By several, I am referring to over 200 miles.  We don’t give it much thought, but this country is crossed with interstate highways that can take us pretty much to whatever destination we choose, or at least close to the destination.  And, if you are like me, I am sure when you head out on your trip you have it mapped out and know exactly what route you will take.  Most of us will route our trip to take whatever interstate highways are available to get us to our destination.  Why?

The interstate highways afford the highest speed limits without the aggravation of traffic lights and “small town” speed limits to deal with.  This means that we can reach our destination much quicker, therefore allowing us to begin our relaxing vacation much sooner.  At least that is the train of thought most of us follow when planning the trip.  In other words, in our minds, our vacation is the destination – not the trip.

What if you changed your planned route?  What if you took “side roads” instead of the interstate highways?  Your answer, like most people, would be that it would take longer, be more aggravating, and delay you reaching your destination, thereby delaying the start of your vacation.  You would have to deal with lower speed limits.  You would have to deal with even lower speed limits through all those little towns along the way.  You would have to deal with traffic lights and stop signs.  In short, it would delay your vacation.

In reality, we might want to try this sometime.  What might you be able to see in those small towns that you are missing?  What wonderful sights might be along those side roads that you will miss?  Might you be able to stop and lunch at a small town café, among very friendly residents, instead of running through the drive through of a fast food place at an interstate exit?  Could it be that the trip itself might be an enjoyable part of the vacation?

In Matthew 7: 13-14 (NKJV), we are told, ¹³ “Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. ¹⁴ Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it.”

In the NLT version this is stated as:  ¹³ “You can enter God’s Kingdom only through the narrow gate. The highway to hell is broad, and its gate is wide for the many who choose that way. ¹⁴ But the gateway to life is very narrow and the road is difficult, and only a few ever find it.”

Think of this in the context of taking a trip that we talked about above.  Yes, we have the freedom to choose the route we take.  Yes, our human nature is to take the interstate route because it is easier and faster.  Yes, it is our right to choose between the two.

Matthew 7 13-14 is telling us that the route to eternal destruction is the equivalent to the interstate route.  It is the easy way, the popular way and the route the majority of people may choose.  But the route to heaven is like the side road.  It is not as convenient, it is a slower route, there are more obstacles to deal with, it is more difficult, and it the less chosen route. 

But our eternal vacation is our final destination.  While the side road, the narrow way, may have more obstacles, it is more fulfilling and ultimately gets us to our desired destination.  Just as we may miss wonderful sights and other delights by not taking the side roads on our vacation trip, we may miss wonderful opportunities, blessings and delights in our life by not taking God’s narrow path. 

Jesus makes it clear in these verses in Matthew that the interstate route may be convenient, but it will not take us to eternal rest with God in Heaven.  So, as for me, I will take the side roads!