Warming Up

 

Spring is in the air.

When it gets cold, like it did this morning, the only other thing that truly warms me up are thoughts of spring.  For me, thoughts of spring begin when pitchers and catchers report to spring training to warm up for the upcoming season.  Spring training means that winter is just about over and grown men have a valid excuse to play catch again.

Several springs ago it dawned on me the value of warm-ups in my own life.  It was during that fateful spring that I was coach of my church softball team.  On one very dubious evening I inadvertently made a scheduling error that caused my team to show up late and subsequently forfeit the game.  Worst yet the whole team showed up and then got back into their cars disgustedly to drive the  forty minutes home.

Feeling humiliated and full of adrenaline I asked my catcher if he would stay to throw a few warm-up pitches with me.  About 30 pitches later I was feeling much better and then something strange happened.   A neighborhood boy about ten, along with his mom, approached me to ask me something.  Inquisitively I said yes.  He then asked what was my favorite thing about the game?  “Warm-ups”, I said after a brief moment of thought. 

In essence, warm-ups are that brief moment of the day no one can get to you.  As a pitcher you can’t walk anyone, the pop in the glove sounds louder and you feel like you could throw the ball through a brick wall.  Then when done we exchange manly handshakes and go about life. 

I have always known this act to have a special quality about it.  Probably, since I was a young boy in the back yard playing catch with my dad or as dad myself playing catch with my son as he grew up, but until that night I never verbalized it.  Warming up or playing catch almost always leaves me feeling better. 

 

Just something about pitchers and catchers reporting early to warm-up that  lets me know that all is well with my world.

 

Swavel

 

Truly Devoted

Unlike saccharin for sugar, there is no substitute in a child’s life for a father’s love and acceptance.

Hours before the Seattle Seahawks won their first Super Bowl on Feb. 2^nd, 2014 I told my friend, Steve that for his sake I wished his team would win.  Hands down, Steve is the most truly devoted Seahawks fan I know, yet underneath it all he is actually more truly devoted to his dad. Let me explain.

Steve’s dad was Greek and knew nothing about American football.  However, Steve who had been in this country since age two was a big fan of the then four time Super bowl champions, Pittsburgh Steelers.  His hope for Christmas the in 1980 was a Steelers’ replica football helmet, similar to the game worn type.  So, he dropped the necessary hints and waited in anticipation that his dad would deliver the goods.

When Christmas day came Steve was psyched to find a helmet shaped box with his name on it under the tree. Nevertheless, when he opened the box he did not find a black helmet with a Steeler logo, but rather a silver one with a funny looking bird on it. 

Steve was faced with a real conundrum.  Either he could choose to remain a Steelers’ fan and display his disappointment hurting his dad or switch allegiance and cheer for a team he knew nothing about.

In his own words this is why he chose Seattle: As my 10-year-old self looked over at my dad in bewilderment, I will never forget the smile on his face. He was so proud of himself. He had gotten his boy the HELMET he wanted, not realizing that the COLORS on the helmet were significant.  That Seahawks helmet hangs in my garage today as a reminder that my dad's ignorance of the game was overshadowed by his love for his son.

Truly devoted goes both ways; it begins with the father showing the son and the son reciprocating it.

Swavel

 

Down TIme

“Down time as defined by Webster’s is time when you are not working or busy.” 

 

This blog initially was intended to be a tribute to a friend and his father; unfortunately a sinus affliction had other plans.  So, I thought I would write briefly about the benefits of down time, instead of focusing rather on the negative side of sickness.

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Here are three thoughts that come to mind:

 

PRAY- During the past five days, when my head was throbbing, I tried to think of others and their concerns rather than just my own.  Someone always has it worse and God always has time to listen.  Often when I am sick I find that I pray with more passion and belief that my prayers truly matter.  As if the outcome of others can be affected by my simple heart felt pleas to the Almighty.

 

BELIEVE- The Bible says in Romans that when I am weak, then I am strong.  This is a strange concept that most of us I believe fail to grasp.  Yet, I find that often when I try to figure  things out on my own I fail miserably.  However, when I give it to God, it works it.  Another verse In John says that without God I can do nothing. How very true.

 

RELY- Another thing I found comforting was  my wife was such a wonderful example of someone I can rely on.  Often I like to plow ahead instead of rest.  I saw my wife, as she always does, picking up extra groceries for me, shoveling the snow, and picking up the kids while I rested, plus everything else she does in a day .  Not a surprise because my wife does all things anyway, yet it just was the way she did it and the knowing she was there for me when I couldn't do my part.

 

So, in conclusion I found this: down time well spent not only helps heal the body, but the soul as well 

 

 Swavel

Notwithstanding

 “Ever tried. Ever failed. No matter. Try again.  Fail again. Fail Better.”  Samuel Beckett

Notwithstanding means in spite of and no one man embodies this sentiment better than Terry Bradshaw.

Growing up in the nineteen seventies there was no better team in professional football than the Pittsburgh Steelers. Consequently, in a span of six years the Steelers won four Super Bowls and were deemed a dynasty.  Terry Bradshaw was their quarterback.  So, you might think like I did, that being the quarterback of such a prolific team would be a very enviable position.  However, it wasn’t.  Despite all the challenges Bradshaw succeeded anyway.

Form the moment the lowly 1-13 Steelers drafted Bradshaw with the first pick of the draft in 1971 the Louisiana native was faced with multiple challenges.  For beginners, Pittsburgh had a history of losing and number twelve was expected to be their savior.  Amidst such lofty expectations Terry struggled early on and one point found himself being benched in favor of the backup. 

Notwithstanding, a  few years  later he got  his starting gig back and made the most of it winning two Super Bowls in a row from 1974 to 1975.  Then in 1976, Cleveland Browns defensive end, Turkey Jones unceremoniously dumped Bradshaw on his head, as the above picture depicts. Terry suffered a concussion and damaged vertebrae in his neck and was lost for the season.

Throughout his career as well he was dogged by critics saying he lacked intelligence, mistaking his good ol’ boy demeanor for stupidity.  Not to mention, having marital troubles leading to divorce.  Yet through it all Bradshaw and the Steelers got back to the Super Bowl again in the 1978 and 1979 seasons and won again being named MVP in both Super Bowls. 

It seemed that when the pressure was greatest Terry rose to the occasion.  Bradshaw’s career seems to validate the motto; you can’t keep a good man down, because he used his failures to help him better succeed.

Notwithstanding, when life knocks you down, get back up determined to do the same to what knocked you down.

Swavel

 

Well Done

“Somewhere along the way, we must learn that there is nothing greater than to do something for others.”  Martin Luther King Jr.

The other morning I was drinking coffee when I noticed the word well emblazoned on the side of my mug.  It gave me great pause and I filed it away.  Then the other day on my car radio I heard this speech from Martin Luther King, Jr:

“… if it falls your lot to be a street sweeper, go on out and sweep streets like Michelangelo painted pictures; sweep streets like Handel and Beethoven composed music; sweep streets like Shakespeare wrote poetry; sweep streets so well that all the host of heaven and earth will have to pause and say, "Here lived a great street sweeper who swept his job well."

Funny how so many of us think that what we do and who we are matters so little.  Yet, how often are we influenced by the most unlikely of sources.

For example, throughout history many have labored in jobs that were well done.  A secretary named Rosa Parks  refused to give up her seat after a long hard day and inspired a whole country.  Todd Beamer,  an ordinary business man on a plane trip,  gave up his life for his country on 9/11 . Mother Teresa humbled herself to live in poverty with the poor.  Even Anne Frank, who was just a teen, wrote memoirs in her diary that inspired millions during the holocaust.

Then there is the example of Jesus, who was a carpenter by trade. Just imagine how priceless a chair or table would be today handcrafted by the Son of God?  However, not only was he a fine craftsman, but he was obedient to the task God the Father had given Him as He gave up his life for ours.   Just like Jesus lived His life to please the Father may it be said of us at the end, "well done thou good and faithful servant."

God bless the street sweeper and anyone else who has toiled in a job where only God and his angels have said well done. 

May well done not only apply to how you liked your steaks cooked , but to how you lived your life as well..

Swavel

 

Della's View

 

“The view from the point where we buried my sister is sublime.  I never saw a prettier place anywhere.” Brother of Della Mayers.

It was just a few years ago when I heard this phrase mentioned in reference to the Rhoads Opera House Fire that occurred on January 13^th, 1908. Sadly, Della Mayers, the ill-fated play’s lecturer, and 170 others lost their lives in the tragic blaze.  Strangely I felt the need to find her.   So, whenever time permitted I set out on a mild pursuit of her gravesite, so I could witness this incredible view that gave her brother such great solace. 

Her body is laid to rest in Fairview cemetery in Boyertown, Pennsylvania where my grandfather is buried and only minutes from where I grew up and now live. However, no matter how often my wife and I tried to find her marker, the exact location eluded us. Often I would leave the cemetery wondering why I bothered, but now I think I know why: I was trying to find the sublime.

At the time of the tragedy Della was fifty one years old and resided in Colorado along with her husband, J.J. Mayers.  Her sister, the play’s author Mrs. Harriet Monroe, was having voice trouble and had persuaded Della to come east in her stead. As the story goes, since Mrs. Mayers was the lecturer she was positioned right near the projector where the fire accidently broke out.   It was said of her that she died valiantly trying to save others.   

Her husband so distraught over her loss could not bring himself to make the trip east to bury her. Consequently, her body now resides on a quaint, quiet hillside overlooking a town she only briefly knew.  Two of her brothers however made the trip and one made an eloquent observation that drew me in some hundred years later.

Thankfully, about four months ago, my wife and I found Della and the blissful view we had been promised.  Her brother was right the view is sublime, which by definition means awe inspiring and impressive.  And believe you me; nothing represents that better than Della’s life, death and her view.

Some things in life are worth finding if only for the view.

Swavel

 

Could Be Worse

Just look around a little, someone else has it worse than you do.

Minus two degrees is what the temperature read just the other day.  With such frigid temps just leaving the building to run a few errands was far from pleasant   Then later in the day my wife informed me that our oil heater had quit working.  Stink.   However, I had nothing to complain about in comparison with the guys I had witnessed earlier in the morning braving those same cruel elements while working on a burst water main.

This got me to thinking about something very profound that Kyle Idleman, pastor of a Church in Kentucky and author of Not a Fan, once said in one of his talks.  He was relaying a story from a man who was on a mission trip and what he had witnessed while there. 

The man was visiting a leper colony when during a worship service the song leader asked for requests.  A female leper raised her fingerless hand.  As the man turned to get a better look he could she had no nose and her lips were gone as well.  In a muffled voice the woman said she would like to sing, Count you Many Blessings. 

Now, that’s a reality check we all can gain a fresh  perspective on regarding what truly matters in life.  I know I am truly blessed.

Remember, it always could be worse, should be first blessing we count when faced with life’s difficult moments.

Swavel

Real Briefly

 

 

 

 

 

 

To a certain extent, we all tend to remember what we want.

Real briefly, in an attempt to test your memory, give the capital cities for the following ten states:

1-Oregon  2-Maine  3-Mississippi  4-Ohio  5-North Dakota   6-Texas  7-Vermont   8-Kansas

9-Missouri  10-Louisiana.    (The answer key is below my name). 

Now, if you are an adult, don’t feel embarrassed if you struggled to recall something we all knew in our youth. Look on the bright side, when I did a self-test on all fifty states I only got twenty four correct.  Despite the fact we all grow up learning the capitals of all fifty states our memories tend to fail us at times.

Memories are a funny thing, they tend to come and go, especially when it comes to things we don’t discuss on a daily basis.  However, if you are like me, we tend to remember the bad stuff, like the wrongs others have done to us.  Then if we dwell on these bad memories long enough in time they can turn into hard feelings.

Since this is the beginning of the New Year, I thought it best to encourage you to leave the past behind you.  Well, at least as best you can.   Remember, each day is brand new and life is too short to dump yesterday’s garbage all over it.

In life, when it comes memory, focus real briefly on the bad and long and hard on the good.

Swavel

Answer key: 1-Salem  2-Augusta  3-Jackson  4-Columbus  5-Bismarck 6-Austin  7-Montpelier  8-Topeka  9-Jefferson City  10-Baton Rogue

 

 

LEST WE FORGET

 

“May what Christmas means to us be based on truth, not just merely our take on it.”

 To help put you in the right frame of mind, here is a little Christmas trivia.  In A Charlie Brown Christmas, what was Linus alluding to when he told Charlie Brown that he knew what Christmas was all about?

 

a-      The best way to celebrate Christmas is with a real tree, not an artificial one.

b-      At Christmas time it’s all about how many gifts you buy for those we love.

c-      Christmas is the celebration of Christ’s birth.

d-     During the holidays we should act happy even if we feel depressed

 

The answer is C.   The true meaning of Christmas is the celebration of Christ’s birth.

 In 1965, while writing the script for A Charlie Brown Christmas special, Charles Schulz had decided to have Linus quote from the Bible.   So, as the spotlight shines on the stage, Linus quotes a passage from the second chapter of Luke, in which he eloquently describes a group shepherds being summoned by angels to witness the birth of Christ.

This unfortunately was with met great opposition by the network executives who felt the viewers would be bored by such a lengthy speech. However, Schulz refused to budge and change the message, despite the fact that many thought the special would fail miserably.  He said later in a candid interview, “If we don’t tell the true meaning of Christmas who will.”

When I was a kid I remember growing up knowing Christmas was Jesus’ birthday.  However, I didn’t know all the preparation and effort that went into one glorious event.  Often, I think a lot of us feel this way about Christmas.

Using a little creative imagination, this is what I believe a few of the headlines would have read like in the Bethlehem Gazette on the first Christmas day:

 

-Unwed mother gives birth to Savior of the World?

 

-New king sets precedent: everyone welcome in kingdom, even shepherds.

-God gives world best gift ever.

 

“Lest we forget at Christmas time, without Jesus’ earthly birthday, none of us would have a chance at a heavenly one.”

 

Swavel

Fa La La

Making merry, in a responsible manner, is never a waste of time.

It was just the other day that I heard Deck the Halls and got to wondering what the phrase Fa La La means.   The only answer that makes sense to me is that it’s a made up word or possibly it was a phrase used back in its day in its day to express merriment.

Fa La La reminds me of a word like peanut butter or watermelon I used to use back in my choir days when I forgot the appropriate words.   Try it sometime it works, but it is best to mouth it, so no one is any the wiser.  Subsequently, uttering the word Fa La La sounds like a filler word to me. 

So, basically we may never know for sure why they used the word Fa La La in this classic Welsh song made popular in the 1770’s.  However, in my opinion, they were just making it up as they went along and it stuck. 

For whatever reason, Deck the Halls is a great song for carolers in top hats to sing that doesn’t have to make complete sense to convey the true spirit of Christmas cheer.

The words fa la la la la la la la la are the perfect remedy for any foul mood.”

Swavel