Your Creativity is Needed

My wife said to me the other day "you are the creative in this family, you need to do it."  While right now I don't remember exactly what the conversation was pertaining to, I do know that in one way she is right.  My wife is logical, numerical, structured and organized.  Me, I am more the free spirited, think with my mouth (or in this case my fingers) and a creative being.  But here is the challenge for all us, we were created in the image of a creative God.  Case in point - a redwood tree, a duck-billed playtapus, a venus fly trap and a baboon with a red rear end.  That is creativity! 

Creativity has been organized, structured and neatly boxed up into selective categories like writing, art, speaking and designing.  But we have limited the reach of being creative.  We all have the ability to be creative, because we were created by the Creator. 

You may read the words of this blog and think, "hey he ain't that good." Okay, but here is my point, this blog is an outlet of the creativity that God has put in me.  And the rebuttal would be to ask you this "where are you being creative?"  Where is the place that you can release what God has put inside you?  Maybe you creatively unpack logical thoughts.  Maybe you are creative in how you organize.  Maybe you are creative in something completely unrelated to your job or the rest of your life, but your creativity in needed.  You have to find that release of what God has put inside you.  Whether you start a blog or just journal.  Paint mural or draw on napkins.  Re-design a home or just re-organize you closet.  The creative insight that lies dormant needs to stoked and brought to life. 

Your creativity is needed because God has uniquely wired you as you and there are things no else has been designed (uhm, created) to do! Go be creative!  Scratch that itch, your creativity is needed.

Tuesday Tune on Wednesday

Summer is filled with blockbuster movies, lazy days and music.  Over the years, a song or songs have marked the season of late night swims and afternoon breakfast.  In the summer of 1993 a song marked was dubbed the anthem of that summer.  Although the airwaves were filled with newly made popular hip-hop and dance music and we were between boy bands of NKOTB and Backstreet, it was an 80's classic that was crowned the Summer of '93 jam.

Canadian born Bryan Adams made us all cry with love ballads like "Do It For You" from Robin Hood and "Please Forgive Me" (yet another "our song" but for a whole different reason). The summer of '93 found three best friends cruising late night down Sheridan Road and dating three friends and the only fitting song was "Summer of '69".  Of course '93 was shouted loudly of '69.

So here is my flashback summer moment of 1979 Toyota Supra and three friends on a 1993 summer night listening to 1984 rock anthem!  I would love to hear your summer song memories!

Sacrifice

By now in the day grills have been snuffed out, pools are closing for the evening and kids are scratching at mosquito bites.  While we have unofficially kicked off the summer season, today is a day we are encouraged to remember those that have lived and died in order that we can freely grill dogs and spit watermelon seeds.  We honor those that have paid the ultimate sacrifice for our freedom.

Grandfathers that freely joined Uncle Sam's Army to head to Germany or Japan.  Uncles that against their will went to a no win situation in Vietnam.  Dad's that served in the deserts and dry lands.  Friends who fly over foreign lands with pictures of their children mounted in the cockpit of a $150 million aircraft.  Today is about you!

I don't like to make my bed or press a crease in my pants.  I like to run, but not at 5 AM.  I  like where I live and don't feel like being "stationed" some where else.  So to all of you that make your bed so tight a quarter bounces off it .  To the ones that where fatigues or dress blues.  To SEALs and Berets.  To Cadets and Midshipmen (and Midshipwomen), simply Thank You!  Thank you for the courage you show us everyday.  Thank you for steady hands and ever marching feet.  Thank you for giving when there is nothing left in you to give.

To those that will never have the opportunity to read these words because you sacrificed at the highest cost for our country and for the prized idea and belief of freedom - may God bless the families you have have been left behind.

From a guy grateful, who could never do what you fine men and women do,
God Bless

Life, the Teacher

The greatest and maybe my least favorite teacher showed up tonight, my kids.  I have found it funny how life allows us moments to teach our children lessons we need to re-learn ourselves. Our spring has been given to the great American Pastime, while neither of the boys are All-Stars yet they are having fun playing.  I guess that in of itself is a win.

Andrew my oldest is a little more determined to become better.  If he could he might live at the batting cages taking swing after swing.  On the other hand we have Isaac.  Isaac loves playing, but playing is all he loves.  Tonight while trying to coach'em up and get that swing fined tune, Ike, as we call him, sort of just quit on me, went through the motions, checked out.  While the "coach" in me wanted to "light a fire under him" and "push'em to the limit" and every other classy coaching cliche I could come up with.  The man in me reflected on me.  I embarrassingly admit there have been days in life that I have just "showed up" or "phoned it in" or "went through the motions" with some responsibility.

While Isaac's swing is not life or death, my responsibilities at least are life. They are my life. Much like Isaac's cuts in the cage, on some days I have lacked effort, lacked energy and drive. I have given less than my best to responsibility I had.

And what would a life lessons be without God smacking you right between the eyes?  As I reflected, the verse (and probably not by coincidence) came to mind that reads "do everything as unto the Lord."  Oftentimes without even realizing it, we just show up in life.  God's expectations is that we would put forth a God-sized effort into everything we do.  Whether that things is a game of baseball or a job, schoolwork or "kingdom work", God asked for our best efforts. God asks us to treat every responsibility as we are doing it for him.  Lesson re-learned!

Thoughts

Fleeting as they seem and random as they are I have them, as do you.  I think about my kids, my wife, my work, my money and lack there of.  I think about baseball and teaching my boys the perfect swing.  I think about music as it plays over the top of my random thinkings.  I think about God and life and the collision of those two.  Sometimes I over think, like when I was a kid it would take me 20 minutes to chose between a pack of Fleer or Topps baseball cards.  I would then not pick either and buy Donruss.

The bible teaches us to take every thought captive.  All my growing up this was taught or at least learned as a negative.  It was as if our mind was the pampers of the body catching all the feces and urine that flowed freely in and out.  Maybe it was the word captive that brought this type of thinking.  To be a captive means that you have been taken or possibly surrendered to what is capturing you.  So the teaching went something like this "take captive all those bad thoughts and then just hit the delete button, get rid of them."  While I agree hold heartedly that our mind needs to purged of the cranial poverty that destroys it, what then shall we fill it with?

That leads me to this thought, while we are supposed to go all commando on our thoughts like a Navy Seal on Osama there is another side to that coin.  God all tells us to set our minds on things above.  This is the positive to the negative, the AC to the DC, the heads to the tails.  While I feel like I am at least trying  to be in constant purge mode of the filth, I am at the same time trying to capture the "things above" thoughts -- thoughts on love, faith, hope.  Thoughts of creativity and community.  Thoughts that bring life, thoughts that bring joy, thoughts that fill not just your mind, but your heart.

Our thoughts can set us up for successes or set us up for failures. It is our thoughts that often lead us to our destinations.  It is our thinking that often sets the course that we sail.   So where are your thoughts taking you?

Tuesday Tune May 24th

Owl City is the one man band of Adam Young.  Owl City hit it big with the widely covered YouTube sensation Fireflies. The man, the keys and the Mac are at in once again with a new album that drops June 14th titled "All Things Bright and Beautiful".

If you have never heard Owl City you are in for a treat.  This does not fit your traditional of any music category.  Adam Young blends poetic lyrics over elctronic mixes with a dance beat feel.  Beyond the quirky lyrics is deeper meaning that exposes the faith of Owl City.  Tuesday Tune is the first release off the new album entitled "Galaxies".

Inspiration

What is funny is that you never know where it will be found - inspiration that is.  It is mysterious, it is even sneaky at times.  It comes at the end of rain storms.  It comes in the middle of sunny days.  It shows up in the midst of tears or hidden in sounds of child's laugh.  A single second of life can bring about a fury of ideas and creativity.  A blink of an eye can open up an entire B&O Railroad of thoughts.  And then at times...nothing, nada, zip, zilch.

Often I sit and look at this blank white square that serves as place words seem to spill out of my brain into the wide open spaces of the world wide web and eventually onto your eyes, lacking inspiration.  And there are other moments my fingers cannot franticly keep up with the pace of the language longing to hit the pages of my journal or my blog.

I have spent most of my adult life in the capacity of a minster in some form or another.  From that context comes the my understanding of the greek word theopneustos used in the bible for inspiration.  Which is literally translated "God-breathed".  It is used in this context to describe the writing of the Holy Scriptures through the penmanship of man.  By no means do I claim this blog to sit anywhere near the level of God's good book.  But I do believe that at times, the words that find their way out are inspired in the "God-breathed" sense.

There are moments when days pass and I come back to a post and re-read it.  And not that the blog is perfect, grammar is still not a strong suit of mine. But as I re-read I think to myself, "wow, there is no way you are that smart."  I start to see somewhere tucked tightly in the randomness of my thougths is something inspirational, something even "God-breathed."  I realize that the source of my moments of profound insight or quirky banter or even poorly shaped thesis statements is something God gave.

So next time you find yourself inspired in whatever it is you do, just possibly you'll think that Heaven in all it's splendor has breathed that inspiration into your life!

Knowledge is confidence

The old expression is "knowledge is power" but in the reflections of my children "knowledge is confidence".  Yesterday I took out for a run.  I am an on again, off again runner.  Lately, more off than on.  Andrew decided to ride his bike alongside me while I ran, a new experience for us.

Maybe some of you are better runners than I, so carrying on a conversation with a 10 year old full of fourth grade knowledge was not my plan.  But as I was informed, I should not have worn a black shirt because black causes you to be hotter.  Biking is a great form of exercise because your legs move up and down.  A groundhog and a beaver are kind of the same animal.  And amazingly 20 minutes of other random thoughts (yes, I realize the paradox of that statement) and other questions of intrigue.

Not only was I exhausted from my near 3 mile run, but was extra winded from trying to engage in all things that Andrew wanted to share or wanted answers to.  But this made me realize this that knowledge creates confidence in us.  Some people fake this.  You and I know those people who have an answer or a correction or comment or some other insight into every conversation they are a part of.  But this was not that kind of confidence which is insecurity masked with knowledge.  No, Andrew expressed an honest willingness to share what he knew.

All of us have knowledge or a level of expertise within us.  What if we took this 10 year old approach to life? What if we just freely, willingly, sincerely wanted to share what was inside us?  The six words that changed my life were spoken by Jesus "freely you have received, freely give".  Maybe that is why I blog.  Not because I am an expert, but simply the confidence to share what I know in hopes that makes someone else's life a little better.  Go do it!  Have the confidence to share some thought, knowledge, wisdom, insight, talent, gift or ability that has been put inside you.  Go ahead give it away!

What Would You Say

I consider myself a bit of a wordsmith.  Much like a blacksmith could take a raw piece of metal to form and fashion something of great beauty or of great use, I love to take language shape and mold descriptions and stories.  I like to take the obvious and make it astoot and remarkable.

But in life there are moments that steal the vocabulary even from the wordsmith in all of us.  So this left me with the question of what do you say in the moments that leave you speechless?  If you have never experienced one of these moments let me describe it for you.  In the briefest of instants it is as if someone has cut the red wire on the bomb in your brain that connects intelligble thoughts to explosive device known as your tongue, so that all the seems to come out is a collection of stammering um's and uh's. 

It is the moment you see your first born son and your dad quietly puts his arm around you and the only emotion that can be expressed is the single tear that rolls down your cheek.  It is the moment your wife steps out in that dress and after 12 years of marriage you see her more beautiful in that light than any time before. 

It is also the moments you unexpected pull out your best suit in order to bury a friend far too early and far too young.  It is the moment you hold a grandparents hand at their bed side one last time. 

Speechless moments are no respector of person or time or place.  The come in moments of sadness, moments of laughter and sometimes just moments.  What I have come to understand after much years of being a talker, is that there are some moments when nothing needs to be said at all.  There are moments where silence says enough.  Other moments when the noise of an embrace is the most comforting sounds.  And times when the ums and uhs lead us to laughter and that laughter leads to tears.  Maybe after the clicks of the keyboard have silenced I will realize there really is nothing left to say.

Tuesday Tune

Sara Bareilles hit the charts as a singer song-writer with the melodic piano melodies of the non-love song "Love Song".  Legend has it that her record label was pushing her to add another ballad to her debut album "Little Voice".  Out of that prompting came the hit anthem about not writing a love song.  Sara blends pop/rock with soulful melodies and heart hitting lyrics.

Recently I watched Sara live (unfortunately not in person, but on TV) with her show at the Filmore.  Tuesday's Tune comes off her sophomore effort entitled "Kaleidescope Heart".  So turn down the lights and maybe grab you sweetie and dance the night away with the acoustic version of Many the Miles.

Wells

On my great-grandmother's property was an old school water well, with the bucket on a rope and everything.  I remember two things about that well.  One we would threaten to push one another down it and two it smelled and tasted like blend of dirty sweat sock with hint of rotten eggs. Umm, deliteful!

But that well had a purpose.  It was many years after they lived on that property that running water was put into the house.  So that  well supplied water for drinking (if you could stomach it), for washing clothes, dishes and faces of 6 children. 

To me what is so interesting about a well is that it requires rain.  Rain is what feeds the supply of water that sits at the bottom of that long hole in the earth.  Those dark, ominous clouds hold the source of supply for that well.

Just this last weekend my three year old daughter sat on a blanket on a bleachers under an umbrella watching her two older brothers play baseball.  Eventually both games would be postponed due to, you guessed it, rain.  Rain was the spoiler of our great day at the ball park.  So often we curse the rain.  The rain wreaks havoc on our plans of fun in the sun. 

Rain is often the describing word we use for when life is not going the way we want.  "When it rains, it pours" to be precise is the words that often leave our mouths.  But when it rains it supplies, it fills the well.  So I have decided to dig a well in my life.  Knowing that three things in life are for certain: death, taxes and eventually it will rain.  I plan on taking life's rainy challenges, all it's falling precipitation and turning it into something useful. 

According to the country song, "rain is a good thing."  While Luke Bryan and I may agree our reasons vary greatly.  Rain in our life is our opportunity to grow, to learn, to become something  better and greater.  Jesus said this "the rain falls on the righteous and the unrighteous."  My plan is to dig a well and make something useful out of life's rain.

Follow Up To "Things I Wish I Knew Yesterday"

I am finding more and more of these type moments.  My wife, Meredith, just wanted to go shopping for Mother's Day.  No fancy lunch, no flowers, nada, nothing.  She just wanted some grown up time to replenish the wardrobe.  So she ventured out to her favorite clothing store Maurices.

Now my wife can shop.  She doesn't leave the store with it without it being a deal.  She is evolving into an extreme couponer.  So much to her disgust today in the mail, wouldn't you know it, a 20% off total purchase coupon!

Things I wish I knew yesterday (or at least last Sunday)!  Guess we will never stop learning the lessons that our yesterday's teach us.

My Best In Babylon

I think that everyone is familiar with the story of the Daniel in the lion's den.  If not, here is the non-flannelgraph short version.  Daniel is thrown in with some big felines because he broke the law praying to God when a decree had been issued to pray to no one other than the king.  God shuts the mouths of the lions, Dan is A-okay!  Yeah, God!

Now back on track.  I was reading this story again when I was captured by something new I have not really ever taken notice of.  Now Daniel is an Israelite that had been taken hostage to Babylon.  Not by choice is Daniel where his, but more by the circumstances of life, especially life ala 5th Century B.C.  Now here is what is so interesting is the first few verses of the story:

² The king also chose Daniel and two others as administrators to supervise the high officers and protect the king’s interests. ³ Daniel soon proved himself more capable than all the other administrators and high officers. Because of Daniel’s great ability, the king made plans to place him over the entire empire.

Daniel is working in what has to be less than his dream job, don't get me wrong it is a good gig. Eating off the king's table was high dining. But working in Babylon is not what he had dreamed of as boy back in Jerusalem.  Here is what impresses me about Daniel, his character. 

He could have releagated himself to mourn or pout or just be mad about his life circumstances.  But Daniel continued to be Daniel.  Daniel did his job, as a matter fact did his job so well the king was about to put him over the entire empire! 

So the economy is bad, so you are working an unglamorous job somewhere in the Babylon of your life.  This "recession" has left you laid off and you have gone from God's promised Jerusalem to the captivity of a new career.  But are you giving your best while you are there?  Don't miss out on what Daniel did.  He gave the king, his boss, his best even in the position he did not choose to be in.  And guess what, God blessed Daniel even in Babylon.  Give your best and God can bless your Babylon.   

Things I Wish I Knew Yesterday

In the classic 1990's movie about the 1980's, The Wedding Singer, Robbie (played by Adam Sandler) offers one of the most quotable lines in the film.  In the aftermath of being stood up at his own wedding, he is told by his fiance that she is not in love with this Robbie, but she still burns for the rock 'n roll Robbie.  And then it happens, the quote, as Adam Sandler shouts out "things I could have known yesterday" at his estranged bride to be.

I think we all have had these moments, moments when we wish we knew yesterday what we know today.  So here are the things I would go back and tell myself:

- Your freshman year homecoming date is going to ask you to order for her.  Find out ahead of time what her favorite food is.
 - In college you will have on field pre-game press passes to the Chicago Cubs, don't ride with Chris, he does not know where he is going.
 - Spend less time worrying about fitting in, more time enjoying the moment.
 - You will not play major league baseball, just sayin'.
 - While incredibly unforgettable and forgettable at the same time, using college loan money to fund spring break is not a good idea. 
 - People come and go, but true friends will add the most value to your life.
 - Home is less about where you hang your coat and more about where you hang your heart.
 - Don't spill you coke on your prom date, really bad idea!
 - When you are standing in line on the first day of college, don't be ashamed to hug mama good-bye.  While immensely proud, her heart is breaking.

While if I gave it another hour or two, I could probably come up with twenty more.  Retrospect always allows for clearer vision. So what are things you might go back and tell yourself?  What lesson do you wish you knew then?  Maybe I would change them, maybe not.  Maybe those moments have shaped the who I am now.  But at the least, would definetly have not spilled the Coke (sorry Katie). 

Tuesday's Tune May 10th

In college, the commander of cool musically was a guy I worked with named Christian Mann (yes it was his real name and I do recognize the irony).  Christian always seemed to have music before anyone else was hearing it, not sure how it happened since we lived in Southeast Tennessee nestled between the mountains and at night the faint echo of banjos could be heard.  Never the less, Christian was my introduction to bands like LifeHouse, Vertical Horizon, BareNakedLadies and this week's featured band Hillsong United. 

Pre the illegalization of Napster and when you put cd's in the cd rom drive to listen to music I was introduced to a youth worship band from Austrailia with hits like "Jesus is my best friend" and "I live for you." Joel Houston and the gang have once again launched out with a new album titled "Aftermath".  I am amazed at the constant evolution of Hillsong United musically yet the ability to stay true to their roots of worship.  If you get a chance to see Hillsong United live, do it this summer as they tour the US.

So here is the title track from the 12th Hillsong United album "Aftermath".

Louis Jacobs

On this brisk summer morning while dropping my oldest son Andrew off at his baseball game, I had one of my random thoughts.  Thoughts for me are like unexpected visitors who drop in and stay awhile.  Some of them welcome, some of them are the kind you continuously hint that they need to go.  Today's passing visitor lead me down the road of memory lane to being an insecure eight grade, slightly arrogant, student. 

In the midst of all that pubescent ignorance is some lessons that I never saw coming, taught by someone I least expected it from.  His name was Mr. Louis Jacobs or simply Mr. Jacobs.  Mr. Jacobs was the eighth grade English teacher and usually the butt of our jokes.  He was an older gentlemen that had suffered some sort of major medical issue in his life that had left his entire right side nearly unusable.  As he walked, he sort of limped and jumped dragging the nearly dead leg with him.  In all of our eight grade genius we dubbed him "Leaping Louey". 

I was above the jr. high games, so I just called him that in private.  "Louey" always just seemed old and cantankerous, ready to threw you out of class and send you to the principal.  Then I remember the moment it happened.  The moment me and Louey gained more common ground than I had ever realized.  Mr. Jacobs had worked for years part time on the local AM radio station covering high school sports, but his primary responsibility was the station's correspondent for the Chicago White Sox.  Now understand, I am a Cubs fan, I have been, always will be.  I have waited for next year for too long to switch allegiance. 

Then the moment happened when I realized the connection between Mr. Jacobs and I.  The White Sox where tearing down the Old Comisky for New Comisky (now called we paid too much for name on the building "The Cell").  This single event brought ceremony to Louis Jacobs.  Every media correspondent that followed the White Sox was honored with a clear plaque in the center was 2 inch square of brown.  Mr. Jacobs in his perfect grammer as only an English teacher would use explained that that small piece of brown was very dirt Frank Thomas, Black Jack McDowell and Ozzie Guillen played on. It was a living piece of history, it was the dirt of Comisky Park.

Suddenly, me and Mr. Jacobs were not so far apart, we were both baseball men.  I came to find out while I was boy playing the game I loved, that game had been robbed from Mr. Jacobs.  He dreamed of playing, just like it was my dream of playing.  A few months later at my 8th grade graduation I would be honored with a citizenship award, one of the biggest surprise of my life.  Come to find out Mr. Jacobs was the one putting my name in the running.  Maybe it was the baseball passion we shared.  Maybe it was because he could see past my imperfections, when as I as boy  struggled to see past his...maybe, just maybe little things like baseball can bring two different people one step closer together.

A Mother's Day Gift

While Sunday is fast approaching and all the buzz here in Lexington, KY exists around two major events -- 1) the Kentucky Derby (I just watch for the hats) and 2) UK graduation on Sunday.  These two bustling experiences are slightly overshadowing one of the greatest moments we have, the ability to honor those that gave birth to us.  So what to give the woman who wiped your butt and face clean the first two years of your existence?

I have thought long and hard about this.  While flowers are pretty and say a lot, there not quite the right choice.  While mom may enjoy the newest Fabio covered romance novel, probably not your best choice.  So mom here is your gift THANK YOU!!!  There I said it.  Thanks.  The greatest gift I could give is one that comes years too late and in too short of  a quanity.  It is a gift that as children we never thougth to give.  While mom must have loved the macaroni necklace or the Crayola colored self-portrait, the words moms longs to hear is simply THANK YOU!

Thanks for taking the only two things in the house (macaroni and hot dogs) and making a gourmet meal.  Thanks for sitting tirelessly on hard metal bleachers where you frooze on cold spring days and burned your biscuits on hot summer nights while I strived to become the next Ryne Sandberg.  Thanks for the moments I have no idea about - days you fought for me, nights you prayed for me and afternoons that without me realizing you putting wisdom inside of me.  Thanks for trusting me with keys to the car and giving me the keys to life.

So mom sorry there is no bouquet of edible fruit or perfume that will make your skin break out.  My best gift this year is the simplest I could give, but I hope makes the biggest impact.  It is all my gratitude and thanks for being the one thing I could have never lived without a MOM.

The Toughtest Road

This entire blog is prefaced with the fact that I love Dave Ramsey. About three years ago I had a moment.  I am cautious to call it a "God" moment, though I think it is what God wants for our family.  Nonetheless in while driving my 2000 silver Dodge Dakota it was as if a switch went off with this thought: "we have to get out of debt." 

Now we had sort of taken Financial Peace, I say sort of because we had the materials, but never attended the class.  But it was if I finally was rocked by the proverb that says "A borrower is slave to the lender."  All of you know what I mean, your credit card company out of the goodness of their heart takes individual concern for your credit rating and gives you a "courtesy" phone call to remind you that you owe them money.  And it is at that moment you suddenly realize you have lost your freedom.  Lost freedom to spend your money as you want, but are indebted to Citi Card or Chase or Bank of America or whoever has your freedom tied to line of credit. 

So for three years we have been navigating this road of debt reduction.  We have reduced our debt by about 50% (our starting debt was over $90,000).  As Dave says with Gazelle Intensity, which at times has been little more than a turtle's pace as in the midst of becoming free of debt we have made some other transitions.  This road has not been easy.  Case in point, I type this blog on a Dell computer (yuck!) instead of the sleek and super cool Mac that I desire.  On the other side that silver 2000 Dodge Dakota parked in front of my house, all mine, no more payments.  But we are doing our best "to live like no one else, in order to LIVE like no one else!" 

FREEDOM!!!! -- Willam Wallace

Tuesday's Tune May 3rd

It is time for this week's Tuesday Tune.  I think we all agree that the last week was a devasting week for the Southeast.  As many of our friends literally pick up the pieces of their lives I wanted to send them a song that might lifted their spirits.

I have not hidden my affection for the band NEEDTOBREATHE.  While relatively unknown by most, they at the same time might be one of the most widely recognizable bands.  They have had their music featured on tv on NBC's The Biggest Loser and had their hit song "Something Beautiful" feature on an Overstock.com commercial.  By stock in NEEDTOBREATHE now as they might be the hottest band of the summer.  They got the distinct honor of being tapped the opening band for Country/Pop superstar Taylor Swift on her North American leg of the Speak Now Tour. 

Tuesday Tune is none other than "These Hard Times" by NEEDTOBREATHE.

Fatherhood and/vs. Coaching

I have the great honor of being an assistant coach for my son Isaac's baseball team the Mets.  While Ike is still just learning the game of baseball, in his first year in an organized league, I on the other hand am returning to the game I loved as a kid.  So faithful readers, I wanted to share some of the lessons I am learning, while trying to a teacher of America's Pasttime.

The word "Coach" at times have more weight than the word "Dad".  Let me explain: part of our practices consists of hitting baseball in a batting cage.  Lined up along that cage is the dad of whatever kid is hitting.  And like everything else, Dad knows best.  So in typically father-like fashion a dad will shout instructions to his son in the cage such as "don't step out", "swing level" or "keep your head in".  All great pieces of hitting advice, usually met with a glare from the player that without saying a word says more than enough.  Oddly enough, as "coach", I can say those same things and low and behold Coach Jeff is a genius and ball comes flying off the bat.

But "Coach" does not trump "Dad" when dad is the coach.  In this same routine of batting practice, I will try to help my son Isaac only to be met with the same beaming glare that every other dad has recieved.  But here is the kicker, if one of the other coaches says it, low and behold, the swing is fixed. 

What I have learned is that between the chalk lines of third and first base, coaches have the opportunity to get through to players/sons where dads do not have permission to.  But in life it is still the responsibilities of a father to keep their sons and daughters between the foul poles and in play.  I am thankful for those helping Isaac become a better baseball player.  I am thankful to help other dad's sons become better baseball players, but I am most grateful to be the coach of the game called life for all three of my children. 

Go Mets!