Hoops

Our family loves basketball. After Doug accepted Christ into his life, he decided to fully use the gifts God had given him to share basketball and Jesus with kids. He jumped out in faith and started his basketball academy, Shoot-It.

Every week Doug has the opportunity to teach kids about basketball.
How to dribble.
How to shoot.
How to avoid the defender.
How to be a good teammate.
How to live a life that puts Jesus at the front, and basketball at the second.

He makes his lesson plan just like I used to do when teaching kindergarten and he thinks about how every minute on the court with the kids will be used.

Lay up drills.
Ball handling skills
Chest passes, bounce passes, over the head passes.

Some kids are what we would call "naturals". It comes easy to them. They step in line, dribble around the cones, avoid the defender and make the shot look easy.
Other kids...well...there is a bit more work involved. As they attempt to make it around the orange cone, the ball goes off their foot or the shoelace trips them up and they don't quite make that three point shot.

Basketball is a team sport though. There have to be five players on the court for each team and I have heard Doug comment about some teams having a "deep bench". I have learned that means once the starters come out of the game, the kids on the bench can play just as well.

It has me thinking about my faith...this season of basketball.
My walk with Christ is somewhat like Doug's passion and teaching of the game of basketball...

We need to learn how to dribble: balance the balls of life, up and down, up and down, with a goal of getting the shot off in mind.
We need to learn how to shoot: this is that ability to actually release. To let go and let God. To have the courage to throw it up there, after time spent practicing, take aim, and let it go. Obedience really. Courage. Faith.
We need to learn how to avoid the defender: protect ourself with the word of God, with prayer, have an open, yet defensive stance, ready to move and change directions based on what is being shown to us.
We need to be a good teammate: while Christianity is all about a personal relationship with Christ, it was never meant to remain only personal. God wants us in the game, on the court, ready to share and love and show Him though our actions. He wants us to finish the game strong...never giving up or giving in. Walk alongside, high five and fistbump those in life who need it most.

Recently my son's AAU team was paired against a less skillful team in a tournament. About five minutes into the game it was very apparent this would go down in the books as a blow-out. My son's team was already up by quite a few points. Doug took the starters out of the game and as one of the boys came to the bench he said, "Hey coach, can we try to score 100 points on them?"

Now, there is some debate as to whether this is the right thing to do in this situation...run up the score on a less skillful team. But, that's not what I thought about when I heard this story. What came to my mind was this player's drive. His passion. His desire to hit a goal which often seems unattainable. He saw the 100 points within reach and wanted to get there...he wanted to give his all in this game. 

So the next time you have the opportunity to watch a game of basketball, think about your own walk with Christ. What skills need to be refined in your game? How many hours are you spending in patient, persistent, consistent practice? How often are you in the game rather than on the bench? And are you willing to go for the 100 points with all you have for Christ?

"I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith."

2 Timothy 4:7

Dear Lord,
 Help me spend time with you in the court of Christianity. Help me work on my skills of dribbling, shooting, avoiding the defender and being a good teammate. Give me the passion, drive and courage to simply shoot the ball, knowing you have fully equipped me. Give me the persistence to finish the game strong, no matter who or what the opponent. Bring me into the game for you Lord.

Weenies in the Pot

Waiting can be so difficult!

"Just one Mom!?"
"Pleaaaassseee can we open just one gift?"

The presents sit so inviting under the Christmas tree. Red and green wrapping paper. Beautiful bows. Tissue tucked ever so gently in the gift bags hiding the well-chosen toys below.

I think back to my days in little league. As I carried my bat to the plate, helmet well adjusted, cleats trailing brown dust behind me, I could hear my coach say, "Wait for it. Wait for it." He knew our propensity to swing before the ball arrived. Our nudge to see it coming and want to hit before it ever crossed the plate. So over and over again, as each of his ten year old players took their place at bat, he would yell, "Wait for it. Wait for it."

My children often tease that the most heard phrase in our home is, "Just a minute!" I would like to think I am teaching them the power of waiting, but I may be fibbing a bit with that!

It is common to have students in our home. We love to entertain, feed them and fill them with a little dose of Jesus. My children have become accustomed to seeing 2, 3, maybe 4 or 10 extra college kids in our home for any given meal. They have become brothers and sisters to them. So when the food is prepped and the prayers have been uttered, it is difficult for my children to wait to make their plates. They want to jump in and be first in line. The cheesey potatoes call out their name. The little weenies beckon to their paper plate (no china here ladies!). And they rush in, taking first spot.

"Kobe, wait your turn. Let the others go first."

It is difficult, especially when you see a limited number of weenies in the pot and a line to what seems to go to Timbuktu in your kitchen.

WAITING.

My dear sisters, the Lord calls us into periods of waiting. Often we don't know why. We want immediate results. We can google and have an answer in 1.5 seconds....so waiting, well waiting...that is difficult!  God sees all. He knows the resources at His disposal. He knows He has not only cooked enough weenies, but He has a storehouse full of weenies (and other hors d'oeuvres).

"Because of the Lord's great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. I say to myself, "The Lord is my portion; therefore I will wait for him."
Lamentations 3:22-24

God loves us. His compassion is new every morning for us and His love will never fail us. If me, a sinner, would make an entire new meal for my son if the weenies ran out, imagine what our God will do for us! He makes us wait, knowing HE IS OUR PORTION! He is worth waiting for my friends!

Dear Lord, help me remember that you are my portion! You provide for me and in that I can trust. In that I can be assured of provision. In that I can wait! Dear Lord, help me wait...not with tears, not with complaining, not with uncertainty, but with the faith that you will provide for whatever it is my need may be. Thank you for your unfailing, unending, compassion and love for me!

Gina

The pizza pan is sitting on the counter. The old tile floor, yellow and brown, is marred with spilled Kool-Aid and remnants of the night of laughter and fun at the kitchen table. The deck of cards are strewn across the table and floor showing the last moments of the game of "50 card pick up". 

We are sitting on the old green couch, cuddled close under a blanket watching a scarey movie. Her arm rests around my shoulder as my sister's legs entangle with hers. My hair is matted with hair gel and tiny bows, and she has mastered perfect french braids in my sister's blonde locks.

She is Gina. She is our babysitter. The one we cried out for when Mom would say, "Who do you want to babysit tonight?" She has spent as much time in our home as I have in my first 9 years of life. She has toted me to baseball practice, swimming lessons, haircuts, and the park. She has helped bathe me, braided my hair, read stories at night, and made my lunch, dinner and breakfast. 

She has shown me what high school love looks like, opened my eyes to girls playing basketball, and let me witness her love of music and fun. She smiles the biggest smile I have ever seen and makes me want to be with her more than my parents can afford in their babysitting budget!

She is Gina. 

Today, I sit in a church in West Des Moines, just an hour from my home. I am scanning the room, filled with people. Elderly people, those around my age, and young, just about to start living people. Some are holding the offered coffee and cookie, others simply grasp a kleenex. The room is not one of mourning, but one of joy. One of celebration, and love, and this feeling of, "I really knew her and I really loved her" fills the air."
 
The worship team takes their place and as the guitars begin to fill the air with songs of praise to our Savior my eyes can't help but scan the room. Yes there are pictures telling the story of her life flashing across the big screen: pictures of her babies being born, of nieces and nephews, of football games and cookie making, of mother and daughter, brother and sister, husband and wife. But my eyes are torn from the screen.

Everyone sits relatively quietly. Some are singing along to the lyrics of the song, but for the most part there appears to be a simple daze at the events of the week.Words are few over this gathering in a church this Saturday afternoon when the family was supposed to be unwrapping Christmas gifts and eating peanut clusters.

And then I notice it. Up front, in the very front row. In the seat reserved for the man who loved her most, her husband raises his hands to his Savior. The music chimes on. "Jesus Lives!" "Jesus Lives" No doubt his grief is great. His life has been changed forever...one minute laughing and listening to his wife talk about her garden, or Christmas, or family...and the next sitting in a church, surrounded by those who loved her, grieving for what was, what was planned and what might have been.

But his hands are raised! 

He is praising his Jesus for the life he had with her. Praising his Jesus for the life he knows she now has in heaven with him. Praising his Jesus for whatever it is on his heart this day. 

He does not care who fills the 25 pews behind and beside him. He does not care if others are following suit or simply watching him. He does not notice not the standing room only auditorium wanting to embrace him and his family during this time of grief or the baby crying in the back. He has an audience of ONE and he is saying, "I still believe!"

And in that moment, the tears begin to well up in my eyes. Tears over this man's faith. Tears over his heart for Jesus in the hard times. Tears over his witness to the hundreds of people filling the room. Tears over a life lived, by a woman I loved, for a Savior I cherish.

Oh Lord...bless the family. Bring them comfort and peace in knowing that their Gina touched my life and so many others. Bring them encouragement in knowing their witness during this time of grief and sorrow has brought me encouragement, has convicted me to live for Him, has spurred me to take the words of their dear Gina to heart and simply live with a Spirit of Christ each and every day! Dear Lord help us all to take what we witnessed that day, in that moment, and put it into practice. A spirit of joy, a spirit of happiness, a spirit of forgiveness and love and peace. Dear Lord thank you for Gina...for all of her...for all that she gave to others and to you!

The Boss

WANTED

Someone to join an adventure.

The route is unknown. 

The road might be bumpy, or curvy, or sometimes straight.

There will most likely be hills to climb, maybe even mountains.

You will experience times of frustration, anxiety, even agony potentially.

There typically is no salary, and you may even be asked to contribute amounts of money you do not have in your bank account. 

Friends and family may call you crazy. Coworkers may also think you are not of this world. 

You actually may be disowned or unfriended by some.

You will not have what is needed for this trip, so no qualifications or resources needed. This will most definitely frustrate you during your time on this adventure.

No need to send resume. 

Future benefits are most definite although not specified at this time. 

All welcome to apply.

I wonder how many would apply?

I wonder if we actually ran this ad in the newspaper or online, and included an email address...how many responses would flood the inbox?

Hmmm....maybe I should try it?!

You see...this is how the advertisement for becoming a Christ-follower might read.   

Not a "say a little prayer and now I am a believer".... but a TRUE, say YES, go where you lead me....CHRIST FOLLOWER! 

I think God uses his HR department quite often to nudge us into this job.

The Holy Spirit taps on our heart.

We feel a tug.

We want to get up during church and give or get on our knees.

We feel pulled to leave the comfortable.

Pulled to give until it hurts.

Pulled to explore the unknown.

We want to say Yes to the pull because we can feel it so strongly.

BUT...the advertisement only stays for a minute (or even seconds) in our heart. 

Then the world comes in. 

We felt it. 

We wanted to do it. 

But we didn't respond with a YES.

Oh Lord, how many times I have failed to sign up! 

And yet, take a minute, reflect, and join me in thinking back to the times you DID say YES.

The times you DID RESPOND TO THE AD.

Oh how great the benefits!

Talk about a total compensation package!

You give a dollar, and get the feeling of a thousand!

You pray a prayer with someone and feel like the apostle Paul!

You step out of the comfortable and explode with experiences you didn't know existed!

You open your door in ways you never have, go around that curve of the unknown...and BAM...there sits a blessing!

This weekend our church highlighted God's work through Lucy's journey. 

At the end, Doug quoted my dad's reminder to us to "Just get off the couch and say YES!"

The link to the video we shared is here:

 Lucy's Journey

             

Say YES my dear sisters....God is a pretty good boss!!!

"We know not what to do, but our eyes are upon you!"

2 Chronicles 20:12 

Jen