Archive for the ‘Uncategorized’ category

« Words from WW Blog home page
« Older Entries
Newer Entries »

Kidney Stone

February 15, 2024

“Therefore, in order to keep me from becoming conceited, I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me.” (2 Corinthians 12:7)

I’ve been blessed with fairly decent health my whole life. Oh, there was the gallbladder episode, which made it a “past tense” part of my abdomen. And there was a broken jaw as a result of a first baseman not catching the softball as I stepped on the base. Other than those memorable experiences I’ve traveled the first 70 years missing the “potholes of life.”

Until this week, when I was in such excruciating pain that Carol drove me to the Emergency Room at 5:30 in the morning. Even a broken jaw didn’t compare with it. If I could, I would have knocked myself silly and laid on the couch unconscious.

A kidney stone.

There’s always been conjecture about the thorn in Paul’s side. Some think it was a person tormenting him. (We’ve all had people like that!) Others think it was some kind of situation that worried him sick. With my kidney stone affliction, my view of it has been altered. I know, I know, it’s a confusing verse. I mean…how was Paul bordering on being conceited…and what about this Satan messenger?

Sometimes, however, the thorns of life cause us to step back and see how blessed we are. For instance, I flew back from Ohio on Sunday. It had been a wonderful week of visiting my sister, and also meeting up with my brother. Thank the Lord that the misery in my tummy didn’t begin until I had returned. Small blessings are easily not seen until later.

Suffering and pain are a part of life. My assurance, however, is that the Lord is with me all the time and all the way. He goes before me and follows after me. No matter what kind of pain or suffering God is with each one of us.

No matter how much of the pain and complications are the result of our bad decisions (Can you say bad diet?), the Lord is with us. In fact, my uninvited visitor had been invited in a boatload of times as a result of my food and drink choices. Even though it was only 3mm in size, it felt like it was a snowball creating an avalanche of misery.

Just like in life, where the accumulation of our transgressions suddenly become too much and life takes on an emergency status. Even in the muck of our mess, the Lord is with us. His mercy is not dependent upon my perfection.

I still wonder, though, was it a kidney stone that was bugging Paul?

Categories: Uncategorized
Tags: , , , ,

Comments: Be the first to comment

Cringing At The Disinterest in Being Responsible

February 10, 2024

I was at a high school basketball game last night in southern Ohio. My sister’s grandson, a senior point guard, was playing and I had flown back from Colorado to see a couple of his final games. Unfortunately, we got to the school so early that we saw almost all of the JV game first. I say u nfortunate because the two referees officiating the junior varsity game looked disinterested in their responsibility.

Understand that my view of the situation was greatly affected by the fact that I wore the black-and-white stripes for 16 years, blowing the whistle at high school and small college contests. Not that I was a great official. Above average would best describe me, but all those years of doing games, watching games, and being instructed on the art of calling games has given me an eye for what is professional, what are good mechanics, and what good communication entails.

One of the JV officials wore black sweat pants and shot baskets during timeouts. Those are two things that are okay at a YMCA 2nd grade game…sometimes, but not a high school JV game. Everytime he blew his whistle, which wasn’t often, it was like a mystery about to be revealed. His partner looked like he was about to fall asleep. His walk to the scorer’s table after calling a foul made him look about as energetic as Floyd the Barber from Mayberry, North Carolina.

The game wasn’t close, which would also be the adjective to describe where each of them was in terms of positioning to be able to call the game. The varsity officials were on the other end of the spectrum, consistent, in good position, great communication, and…they looked like they wanted to be there.

Call me critical. Tell me I’m overreacting, but being disinterested in being responsible is something that makes me grind my teeth. Covid-19 and the pandemic get blamed for causing it. That’s a cop-out. It’s been around since Adam, morphing into different appearances and arenas. Jesus’ disciples had moments of disinterest in being responsible. Paul criticizes the Corinthian church for it in the midst of his instruction about observing the Lord’s Supper. Some were coming to the gathering early and gorging themselves without thinking of the meaning of the meal, and others couldn’t get there until later.

Disinterest in responsibility has rained down in every area of life. There aren’t many Mother Teresas around these days who genuinely (That means no whining!) see the poor, diseased, and downtrodden as their responsibility. Heartfelt responsibility is at a premium.

Just as the three varsity officials showed professionalism and interest, let me go in the other direction. I know of numerous teachers who are passionate about teaching their students. Long hours of preparation do not phase them, even when the physical and mental weariness is evident. I know pastors who aren’t disgruntled by late-night calls, some of which are from families in crisis and others from people who just have an axe to grind. I know of numerous people in the workplace (restaurants, office buildings, bus drivers, custodial staff, security officers) who keep their places up and running. When one of them calls in sick, the others look confused and disoriented. I know of neighbors who look out for one another even though no one has designated that responsibility to them. I know of faithful people of prayers who cry out to the Lord for those who are suffering, and they have told them they would pray for them.

Here’s the thing. Disinterest in responsibility is as easy to detect as mayonnaise on peanut butter. On the other hand, total investment in responsibility stands out like Pike’s Peak on the Front Range of Colorado.

Categories: Uncategorized
Tags: , , , , , ,

Comments: Be the first to comment

Losing Those You Haven’t Seen

February 9, 2024

“A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for a time of adversity.” (Proverbs 17:17)

Another high school friend of mine, Jeff Grubb, died this week. We went to the same church, were in the same youth group, went to Giiovanni’s Pizza after Sunday night church, and razzed one another in ways that made us roar with laughter. Good guy! Funny, smart, and a friend.

The last time I saw him was probably in the late 70s.

I throw that in there because it’s part of the struggle and, unfortunately, the reality. As our lives get launched, we lose touch with most of the people that we grew up with, people that chiseled briefly into the sculpture of our life. Growing up in Ohio, but then going to college and seminary in Illinois, and then taking my first three ministry positions in Michigan before finishing in Colorado…the distance from my growing up roots always seemed to get greater instead of less.

Jeff is the third person who was a part of our youth group who has been called Home to Glory in the past year. It’s that stretch of our journey where the road becomes less and less populated with our traveling companions.

My dad had that experience. Living to be just shy of ninety, all of his close friends had preceded him in death. His last couple of years were a lonely stretch of road.

In less than three months, there will be a seven in front of my age. The number ‘7’ seems to be looking behind itself at all of the country it has already traveled. Most of the road is behind it, and there aren’t too many miles in front of it before reaching the exit ramp.

At 70, a person realizes, if he’s clueless enough not to grasp it already, that the important things in life have nothing to do with Las Vegas, soap operas, who the Bengals are going to draft first, or how upper-class the make and model of his car is. Those are irrelevant, the fluff of an ungrounded life.

The important things in life are rooted in relationships. Spiritual, emotional, intellectual, loving, and entwined relationships. Even the relationships with people you haven’t seen in 45 years are priceless.

Quite frankly, that category of long, lost friends is over-crowded. Facebook and other forms of social media have brought many of them back to us in a weird, sorta authentic, but superficial way. We’re able to see what’s going on in many of their lives, pictures of proms, parades, and promotions, but it’s different. Kinda like getting a postcard from the Grand Canyon. It’s different than actually seeing the place with your own eyes. Seeing a post from an old friend on Facebook is not the same as sitting in Giovanni’s and razzing one another on a Sunday night.

It causes an ache in my soul to know of the loss of someone who used to be on our church bus and it also makes me treasure what has been.

That being said, my journey this week to Ohio to see my sister, brother, nieces, nephews, and their extended families will end with a reunion at Skyline Chili in Cincinnati with two men who were a part of my college days period. I saw one of them about three years ago, but I have not seen the other one since 1974. Before I get on a plane heading back to Colorado, I’ll spend a couple of precious hours with them, reminiscing about the times we spent together and feeding the aching hunger in my soul for the old days and old friends.

Categories: Uncategorized
Tags: , , , ,

Comments: Be the first to comment

Political Preaching

February 5, 2024

 “Then the Pharisees went out and laid plans to trap him in his words. They sent their disciples to him along with the Herodians. ‘Teacher,’ they said, ‘we know that you are a man of integrity and that you teach the way of God in accordance with the truth. You aren’t swayed by others, because you pay no attention to who they are. Tell us then, what is your opinion? Is it right to pay the poll-tax to Caesar or not?’ But Jesus, knowing their evil intent, said, ‘You hypocrites, why are you trying to trap me? Show me the coin used for paying the tax.’ They brought him a denarius, and he asked them, ‘Whose image is this? And whose inscription?’ ‘Caesar’s,’ they replied.” (Matthew 22-15-22)

Then he said to them, ‘So give back to Caesar what is Caesar’s, and to God what is God’s.’When they heard this, they were amazed. So they left him and went away.

On February 3, 1864, The Christian Union was formed in Columbus, Ohio. The union was made up of Protestant congregations opposed to political preaching. The Civil War had brought to the forefront the issues of abolition of slavery, racial injustice, and the need for national unity. However, a United Methodist minister, James Given, refused to preach on political issues and was dismissed from preaching. Instead of getting rid of the troublemaker, the United Methodists lit the fuse for the establishment of the formation of the Christian Union, which spread like wildfire.

Over the next century, the organization had its highs and lows, problems and victories, and conflicts that resulted in splits and reorganizing. With the Civil War fading off into the historical past, the glue that held the churches and their pastors together began to disintegrate.

The memory of The Christian Union and its purpose has risen back to the surface. However, instead of the Civil War, this time, church pulpits have become the spouting place for the war of opposite beliefs. Staying rooted to scripture and sacraments is becoming ore challenging for pastors. There is a growing preference for pastors to spout the views of a specific political persuasion and search for a scripture to support what they have already decided to say.

On the other side, there are numerous people in the pews who are more than willing to go down the road to a different church that is compatible with their political views. In many locations, the theology of a new pastor has become scaringly secondary in importance to their commitment to a certain political party. James Given is fidgeting in his grave.

Don’t misunderstand me. I have certain political views, but when I see Jesus through the lens of my political views, instead of the other way around things quickly become bizarre and suspect. Too often someone whose love for Jesus is deeper than his love for his country is lambasted as being unchristian.

Tim Alberta brings some of these distortions to light in his recent book The Kingdom, The Power, and The Glory. Although most of his book is written in reaction to the extremism of some of the American evangelical, the argument is just as justified for the extremism of the progressive left.

On either side, the words of Jesus can quickly be rephrased with the lead-in “What Jesus meant to say was…” A bad habit is prevalent these days to translate Jesus’ teachings into what is felt to be relevant to our beliefs today. In the church, the result, instead of community, is disunity and distrust. Grace and forgiveness get shoved into the trunk, so there’s more room up front for judgment and criticism.

Sorry, James! We’ve lost sight of your calling.

Categories: Uncategorized
Tags: , , , ,

Comments: Be the first to comment

Athletic Fever and Spiritual Freezes

February 4, 2024

Sports has lost its way, which is a deep source of grief for me since I love the sports arena. I grew up listening to Cawood Ledford giving the radio play-by-play of Kentucky Wildcat basketball games. I pretended I was Louie Dampier as I shot baskets on the school playground hoop. I played whiffle ball in the backyard and pretended I was Johnny Bench and Tony Perez. I love sports.

But it has lost its way. When ESPN gives the point spreads for wagers on college football and basketball games at the bottom of the TV screen, it’s a sign. When the University of Florida offers an NIL contract to an incoming freshman quarterback for 13 million dollars, it’s a sign. When two basketball officials get into a fight with each other at a fourth-grade basketball game, it’s a sign. On the other side, when there aren’t enough sports officials to referee the games mainly because of the abuse they are subjected to, it’s a sign. When the college transfer portal is more populated than an O’Hare terminal at Christmas time, it’s a sign.

There’s more concern over a point guard’s assist-to-turnover ratio than his GPA, more scrutiny in making the weekly Fantasy Football lineup than making sure the kids are properly dressed and have their lunches for school.

When parents are more than willing to pay thousands and thousands of dollars for their children to be involved in a club sports team while giving a pittance to charitable causes, it’s a sign. When Jenny sports a new $200 pair of tennis shoes to accompany her $200 tennis racket, but doesn’t have enough money to buy lunch at school, it’s a sign.

Sports has become the new religion and has lost its way. Meanwhile, the spiritual element of more and more people’s lives has been put in a deep freeze. The Living Word can’t survive in the deadness of inner lives. As church attendance continues to drop, ticket prices at athletic events continue to climb. People identify Lebron James as the king more than Jesus as the King of Kings. Scripture memorization has taken a backseat to knowing a shortstop’s batting averager for the past five seasons.

Sports has lost its way, while the spiritual lives of countless people have lost their purpose. It’s sad, both in how the meaningfulness of lives is wasted, and also in an eternal sense of the word.

Categories: Uncategorized
Tags: , , , ,

Comments: Be the first to comment

Gospel Pollution

January 31, 2024

“Therefore, go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” (Matthew 28:19-20)

Jesus’ last command and commission to His disciples concerned taking the good news of God’s grace, forgiveness, and salvation to the world. It’s the basis for a number of mission organizations. As is our human nature; however, once in a while, a great message is crammed into a dumb idea. For example…

In the Northern Ireland area of County Londonderry, environmentalists have been recovering thousands of plastic bottles the past few years that have been dumped into the River Bann. Each of the bottles contains a Bible verse inside the bottle. The spreading of the Word has, in essence, been bad for the environment. The Good News is leaving a bad taste in the mouths of those concerned with the habitat.

Does a passion for spreading the Gospel trump the need to protect God’s creation? That’s a good question for a small group to discuss. One of those hot topics that has the potential to rise to the surface the opinions and beliefs of people.

The element that is often forgotten in the conversation is integrity. Living out the Great Commission of Jesus with integrity is more Christ-like than an anonymous message of scripture in a plastic bottle that proclaims the name of Jesus. If you want to go deeper with this, the message is often tainted by the messenger. We convey the message of a “plastic Jesus” instead of a heartfelt desire to share what He means to us.

Bottom line: What drew me, and continues to draw me, to Jesus are the messages of various Christians’ lives that display integrity, grace, humbleness, mercy, servanthood, and love. Consistency in a person’s walk brings validity to the message.

So what would Jesus do? I envision Jesus conversing with people…as he went about wading through the water and mud of the River Bann, picking up plastic bottles and other trash.

Categories: Uncategorized
Tags: , , , , ,

Comments: 1 Comment

My Sunday Best

January 27, 2024

“But the father said to his servants, “Quick! Bring the best robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet.” (Luke 15:22)

I’d put my bowtie on each Sunday morning, drape it with a brown tweed sport coat, attach it to a white button-down dress shirt, and finish the look with the only pair of dress pants I owned (Or my parents owned that were hanging in my closet!), and shiny black Florsheim shoes that made your feet feel like they were being smothered. It was church time, and our family always wore our Sunday best.

It was the only time during the entire week that my mom wore a hat and the only time my brother and I were expected to suffer for three hours in the torture of looking our best for the Lord. Our family of five crammed into the Ford and made the five-minute drive to church, the three kids captured in the backseat, Dad driving, and Mom supervising the backseat inmates.

Wearing our Sunday best was the non-negotiable. We were so accustomed to it that we never even thought of questioning it, even considered the strategy of whining and pouting. By the time I was in the fifth grade, I had retired the bowtie to the back of the bottom dresser drawer and upgraded to a necktie. After all, in our church (First Baptist Church of Williamstown, West Virginia) fifth-grade boys could be junior ushers for the Sunday morning worship service, handing out bulletins and taking up the offering. A suit and necktie were the required attire for such a position.

I’m not sure if the theology of wearing our Sunday best was understandable at that point. To come to church looking sloppy was vaguely connected to being more like the prodigal son of the Bible, wayward and lost from the loving arms of God. For the men, even wearing a suit but no tie was a dip toward depravity.

Since those growing-up years, things have changed on Sunday mornings. Wearing a suit is now more an identifier of the wearer’s generation than a desire to please the Lord. Jeans and a button-down shirt not tucked into the pants is now the norm. Or wearing a jersey of one’s favorite professional sports team, a tee shirt bought at the last rock concert, or Hello Kitty attire.

We now reside in an in-between time where some of the worshippers come dressed to the max while others look as if they just rolled out of bed. I’m an in-betweener. If I’m speaking, I wear Land’s End slacks and a dress shirt, but if I’m pew-sitting, I’m “jeaning.”

The thing many of us from the Sunday-best generation are still nervous about is the scriptural truth that tells us that God gives His best to us, regardless of what we’re willing to give Him. The story of the prodigal son blows us away. The kid who disrespected his father, walked away, and rebelled against the one who had blessed him and raised him is given “the best” when he comes to his senses and returns.

In essence, God gives His Sunday best to us no matter who we are or aren’t. Bowties, neckties, no ties, tie-dyed…He gives His best, not because of who we are but because He wants, even hungers, for our best.

No divine hand-me-downs. No sloppy seconds. Only the best.

Not what we deserve, but rather what He desires for us.

Categories: Uncategorized
Tags: , , , ,

Comments: Be the first to comment

My Book Life

January 24, 2024

Ginny Heslinga wrote an encouraging text to me about the 3 books of my RED HOT: NEW LIFE IN FLEMING novel series. At the end of her message, she asked me if I would consider doing a book about a girls’ basketball team. Book 4 in the RED HOT series has been written (FLEMING HOPE) and is in the midst of being revised and edited, but Ginny’s question got me thinking.

So, what if I wrote a book about a pastor retiring from ministry and looking for something to do with all of his freed-up time…so he decides to start substitute teaching at a middle school…and in the midst of that new world he’s experiencing, the school needs someone to coach the girls’ basketball team?

Throw in a few plot twists and interesting characters, come up with an unexpected climax, and there you go.

Oh, wait a minute! That sounds a lot like my life story. Thirty-six and a half years as a pastor, and then substitute teaching for the last few years, and coaching basketball (although I have been coaching for 30 years).

The hard question! Would the framework of my life story be strong enough to be the basis for a fictional novel? Would it be compelling enough for people to want to read? Or would it be just one of a number of novels that can be a cure for insomnia and end up in the neighborhood’s Little Library?

Does my life have enough purpose and impact that it can be a novel? Those are difficult questions to ask for each one of us. Many of us live lives that resemble a slow dance to a ho-hum monotone melody. There is a lack of energy, direction, and passion. We go aimlessly from one day to another, looking for something that we’re not sure is going to be there because we’re not sure what that “something” is.

What a challenge to write a fictional story that has more than a hint of an auto-biographical feel to it.

And because I just finished coaching our middle school’s seventh-grade girls basketball team in their last game yesterday, I have a ton of writing material. For example, when one of my players tried to help out our opponents by shooting on their basket…in the fourth quarter of a tie game! Thankfully, she missed the layup! Or when a player considered the line on the side of the court to simply be a suggestion and decided to dribble around the defender and then back onto the court. I think she thought she was allowed to go out of bounds, but the defense had to play inside the lines.

Yes, it brings back that old saying, “Truth is stranger than fiction!”

Categories: Uncategorized
Tags: , , , ,

Comments: Be the first to comment

Fencing The Gospel

January 22, 2024

Friends of mine told me about one of their seminary professors who, when invited to speak at a church that only allowed the King James Version to be used (The Bible that Jesus used!), would bring a bible written in either Hebrew or Greek with him and read the original language. After all, he would say sarcastically, real Christians read the original language. For some reason, he never got invited to come and speak again.

Many churches have paranoia about anything outside of their comfort zone. Like a fortress constructed of high stone walls and surrounded by a moat, they guard against suspicious beliefs and suspect behavior. The problem is that “the enemies” of each fortress church are different. What is seen as normal customs and living for one church is taboo in another. It leads to a confused public, wondering why the gospel of Jesus is qualified in different ways by different folk.

For example, in my growing-up days at a Southern Baptist Church in Kentucky, the men went out for a smoke between Sunday School and the worship service. Most men had a pack of Winstons or Lucky Strikes in their coat pocket and puffed away before praising Jesus. However, if any of those men had a bottle of Jim Beam at home, it would have been hidden in the back of the cupboard. No good and respected man of God would have had a liquor cabinet at home. Our church was fine with the tobacco, but Kentucky bourbon was not tolerated.

As a kid, I could never quite understand why the Methodists were allowed to do certain things, but we Baptists were on the road to Hell for even considering them. To even ask questions such as “How do I know Jesus died for me and wants a personal relationship with me?” or “Why don’t we ever talk about the Holy Spirit in our church?” or “Why is it always a man who speaks on Sunday morning at church, but my mom does most of the talking at home?” was taken like opening wide the gate and letting the evils of the Enemy storm the fortress.

The gospel was fenced with certain codes of conduct and foundational beliefs that were never questioned. They became the identifiers, the qualifiers of one’s commitment level. In some fortresses, the Holy Spirit was on a short leash; in others, grace was guarded. In one tabernacle, an exorbitant number of “buts” were evident. “Jesus died for everyone, but…” “The love of God is available for all, but…” “Missing church isn’t a sin, but…”

It’s as if the gospel alone isn’t strong enough to stand on its own like it needs to be wrapped in bubble wrap and protected by solid barriers. Thus, someone searching for understanding and trying to find out why Jesus loves him is frequently frustrated by the quicksand of the questioning. It has more potential to be a journey focused on appropriate moral conduct instead of a spiritual endeavor. Oddly enough, it can be more about clarifying what can destroy your walk with God rather than how to walk with God or why God longs to walk closely with you.

A few decades ago, I was a part of a congregation that had gone through a split as a result of a charismatic part of the church. The spirit-filled group left with the senior pastor and formed another congregation, while the Mother Church found a new pastor who would be “more normal.” For a number of years after the split, it was as if the Holy Spirit was not welcome in that congregation. The walls had been built up to protect the inhabitants from any contact that even smelled of being spirit-filled. Where the Holy Spirit is not welcome, legalism becomes the law, and where legalism takes root, suspicion tags closely behind. One Wednesday night, Carol and I were leading a youth bible study, and there were moments of laughter as we talked about the scripture and the topic. A few days later, I was confronted by one of the pastors about the fact that the youth had been laughing in the midst of the bible study.

Just as there was no joy in Mudville when mighty Casey struck out, there was to be no laughter in that congregation. It was a defeating moment for me as I tried to figure out what it meant to be a leader in a fortress church. All the things I learned in three years of seminary didn’t fit well in that situation. Fifteen months after beginning, and seriously looking at leaving the ministry, I was rescued by another congregation where it was deemed okay to ask questions about the faith, search deeper, and…laugh!

Categories: Uncategorized
Tags: , , , ,

Comments: Be the first to comment

“You Can’t Score If You Don’t Shoot”

January 21, 2024

It’s been an entertaining 7th-grade girl’s basketball season. In the midst of getting significantly beaten in several games, there have been numerous memorable moments that have had the effect of raising the experience from just another ho-hum season. For example, when all five of my players ran to the other end of the court to play defense. Unfortunately, our opponents were inbounding the basketball underneath their own basket on the end of the court that they had just sprinted away from. Notice I said all five players ran away…and it was the fourth quarter…which meant they had been defending that end of the court for one quarter+ already.

It’s a sign of the level of inexperience I’m coaching. Only two of the ten girls have ever played basketball before. Most of the middle school teams we are playing are comprised of girls who have been playing on club teams for several years. I have 5 volleyball players, 1 dancer, 1 distance runner, 1 girl who has never played any sport, and the 2 who have played basketball before this year.

But they have improved greatly, even in the midst of lop-sided scores. This past week I told them that they have really improved in their warmups before a game. I was being serious. We no longer have to check for cracks in the backboard. They are actually making most of their layups during warmups. No joke!

They are discovering my “wise sayings”, such as “She doesn’t get smaller the closer you dribble the ball toward her”, and “You can’t score, if you don’t shoot.”

That one came at halftime of a game where we didn’t attempt our first shot until there were 9 seconds left in the second quarter. Since then, a couple of my players have taken the advice to the max, more than willing to fire as soon as they cross half-court.

Small steps.

We have won a game…in overtime on a banked three-point shot!

The thing is…I’m loving it! They’re learning and staying positive. In the midst of a 38-2 defense to a team that may one day be playing in the WNBA, I said to one of my players who was sitting beside me on the bench, “Hey! These girls have been playing together for the past 4 years. How long have you been playing?” She looked at me and said, “One game.”

“Exactly! This is all about learning, and you’re on the fast track of learning how to play basketball.”

No one has hung their head in discouragement. No one has pouted. No one has entered the transfer portal or asked about their NIL. They are experiencing being a part of a positive athletic team in defeating situations. Anytime we score a basket, I chuckle. When we scored the one basket in the 38-2 blistering, the crowd erupted. When one of my volleyball players actually does a reverse pivot, I cry, “Holy cow! Did you see that?” When my tallest player sprints down the court and intercepts a pass that was headed to a player for an easy layup, I get all jittery! When another one of my volleyball players dribbles back and forth but remembers to use her left hand, I want to cry. I’m so happy.

We took them to the Air Force vs. Wyoming Women’s basketball game, and they watched the game as opposed to having their faces buried in their cell phones. We debriefed afterward about what they had learned. After each of our games, we talk about what we learned, in what ways improvement was evident, and what we need to work on.

We’re going as a team to our high school’s game this coming week. In essence, these ten young ladies are taking an accelerated course in basketball.

It will all be over in a week, and I’ll miss them greatly. About a week after the season is over, I’ll recognize what a blessed coach I have been to teach them, lead them, and figure out in new ways how to instruct players new to the game.

Categories: Uncategorized
Tags: , , , ,

Comments: Be the first to comment

« Older Entries
Newer Entries »