Thoughts

I have nothing to really focus on today, but I have a few thoughts to share.

A. I’m going back to school. I waffled on what I’ve really wanted to do with my life for about two years now. I believe God has a plan for my life, so I’ve made on-and-off again plans to go to seminary, but the truth became clear to me recently that it’s just not where I feel God is leading me. I’ve long wanted to be a teacher and I keep letting myself give up on that little dream. I just believe that God will use me best in the classroom, so that’s what I’m choosing to work towards. So I’m applying for the Masters of Education focusing on Secondary Education program at the University of Cincinnati. On Monday night, I scheduled myself to take the GRE on July 1st. (If any of my friends who read this blog and know me well would like to write a recommendation for me, I would appreciate it. I need a total of three to turn in to UC.)

B. If you are doing anything that has the potential to physically and/or mentally hurt you, and there are methods of safety available to you, please use those methods. Seriously, like if you are riding a bike then wear a helmet. If you are welding something, wear your helmet and gloves. Stay safe.

C. I was listening to Mike and Mike in the Morning yesterday and they were debating whether or not Pittsburgh Steelers’ Quarterback Ben Roethlisberger should be even more active in charity work than he already was in order to rebuild his image. Why do people always assume it’s charity work that rebuilds a person’s image? They had Michael Vick doing the same thing after his dog fighting ring conviction, but it’s not the charity work that has quieted talk about him. He’s just focusing on life and staying away from the things that got him all the negative attention. Before Roethlisberger got himself in trouble, he had already formed a poor reputation for himself. I’ve come across quite a few fans that have noted his conduct in restaurants and other public places. Yahoo Sports Blogger Matthew Darnell recently noted that Roethlisberger has this type of rep with teammates and fans in Pittsburgh. So if Roethlisberger really wants to rebuild his reputation among fans, teammates, and the general public, he doesn’t need to be involved in more charities or even any charity. He just needs to behave like a respectful human being and stay out of the situations that he’s put himself in. If he were to start getting involved in all these charities now, it would seem forced and inauthentic. He needs to be real and make changes in his life.

D. A recent AP story reported the story of a homeless man who, while defending a woman in an altercation, was stabbed and left for dead in New York City. Numerous people walked past this man without helping him. Some stopped to look at him, while another person actually turned him over and saw him lying in a pool of his own blood. This reminds me of the biblical parable “The Good Samaritan,” that Jesus spoke of (this is also mentioned in the above article). I don’t understand how people could do this. I just don’t. Have we grown so cold in our society as to not help a person in need? It reminds me of how much our country and the world is in of a Savior.

The Ode to Baseball

Well the 2010 Major League Baseball season is underway and I’m excited to get some games in this year. I’ve missed the game a bit in the past couple years with all the various activities going on in my personal life. In fact, the last ballgame I went to was an August 2008 Indians game against my Angels. The truth is I’ve missed the game. I’m a huge fan of all team sports and MMA, but my heart has always belonged to baseball. I used to sit up every night during the summer listening to Indians and Pirates games on the radio while writing out a summary of how the games were played. I probably still have binders somewhere with all these summaries. Once I left for the Navy, it became my goal to see all 30 Major League Ballparks (I have to go back when new ones get built), and I began to keep count and take pictures. Here’s my list:

1991 – Three Rivers Stadium, Pittsburgh, PA- Cincinnati Reds at Pittsburgh Pirates
1996 – U.S. Celluar Field, Chicago, IL, Cleveland Indians at Chicago White Sox
1997 – Progressive Field, Cleveland, OH – Boston Red Sox at Cleveland Indians
1997 - Veteran’s Stadium, Philadelphia, PA – Colorado Rockies at Philadelphia Phillies
1998 – Shea Stadium, Flushing, NY – Chicago Cubs at New York Mets
2000 – Camden Yards, Baltimore, MD – Seattle Mariners at Baltimore Orioles
2000 – Yankee Stadium, Bronx, NY – Boston Red Sox at New York Yankees
2004 - PNC Park, Pittsburgh, PA – Anaheim Angels at Pittsburgh Pirates
2004 – Citizen’s Bank Park, Philadelphia, PA – Chicago Cubs at Philadelphia Phillies
2004 – Angels Stadium, Anaheim, CA – Chicago White Sox at Anaheim Angels
2004 - Dodger Stadium, Los Angeles, CA – St. Louis Cardinals at Los Angeles Dodgers
2005 – RFK Stadium, Washington, DC – New York Mets at Washington Nationals
2005 – Fenway Park, Boston, MA- Anaheim Angels at Boston Red Sox
2005 – Great American Ballpark, Cincinnati, OH- Atlanta Braves at Cincinnati Reds
2005 – Comerica Park, Detroit, MI – Kansas City Royals at Detroit Tigers
2006 – Wrigley Field, Chicago, IL – San Francisco Giants at Chicago Cubs
2006 – Miller Park, Milwaukee, WI- Florida Marlins at Milwaukee Brewers

That’s fifteen MLB ballparks, though with new ballparks built for the Yankees, Mets, and Nationals, I need to go back and see those. If you look at my list here, you will also notice that there have been no new ballparks since 2006. I miss pursuing this little leisure hobby. I miss taking in the surroundings of the ballpark. So with Jenn supporting me we’re going to try and see two a year. This year we’re heading out to St. Louis in May to see the new Busch Stadium while the Cardinals take on my Angels. I’m not sure about any other ballparks this year, but the possibility remains for Denver, Minnesota, and Kansas City. We’ll see. I’m excited and I can’t wait to post some pictures. Below are my Top Ten Rankings for the ballparks so far:

1. PNC Park, Pittsburgh, PA – Beautiful park with a great view of the three rivers. Go at night…it’s one of my favorite views.

2. Camden Yards, Baltimore, MD – Another great looking park. This park is the starter for all the new constructions of the 1990’s and in my opinion still has the old-time baseball feel the architects were aiming for. The warehouse in background is still a cool sight. PNC only has it beat on scenic beauty.

3. Fenway Park, Boston, MA – The newer parks look better in so many ways, but nothing beats the party going on at Fenway on game day. There is so much going at Fenway the moment you get to the park. It does look old, but they keep it painted and the Monster is still an awesome sight.

4. Angels Stadium, Anaheim, CA – This is an old ballpark, but when I visited in 2004, it had been overhauled into a baseball only-facility (the Rams used to play there), and it was gorgeous. It’s especially great at night to watch with the fountains where outfield bleachers used to be. I admit with the Angels being my favorite team, I’m probably biased.

5. Comerica Park, Detroit, MI – This ballpark doesn’t get mentioned enough with other ballparks, but it is absolutely gorgeous. I love the history they put into it with the statues beyond the outfield wall. I really enjoyed visiting this park.

6. Great American Ballpark, Cincinnati, OH – Very nice ballpark that captures the history of the city well with its steam boat representation and the Ohio River in the background. There isn’t a bad seat in the ballpark.

7. Citizen’s Bank Park, Philadelphia – This park is a nice-looking park, but what I thought was cool was the all the stuff they have for kids to do there. In the walkway section of the park there were all kinds of games and stuff to occupy the kids before, during, and after the game. Very cool.

8. Progressive Field, Cleveland, OH – There was a time when I’d rank this ballpark higher, but the last time I went to see a game there, it looked as if it were not being taken care of. It’s still a decent place to catch a game, but I remember how great it looked when I first went in 1997. Last time I went, it looked like the Indians were saving money on maintenance as well as being cheap with their players.

9. Dodger Stadium, Los Angeles, CA – I have to admit that I didn’t care much for this ballpark. It was drab and there wasn’t much there to do but watch the game, which is great for me, but bad for a parents wanting to find things to do with their kids (and their limited attention spans). However, when the sun starts going down, the beauty of the ballpark changes. It’s such a pretty sight to look at the background beyond the outfield fence and it makes up for much of its shortcomings.

10. Yankee Stadium, Bronx, NY – The great thing about old Yankee Stadium was the tradition and history there. Monument Park was a cool sight, though in an awkward place. However, Yankee Stadium, in its last days was a dump. It was dirty and dark in some spots even during the day. It was still a special place, it had just seen better days.

Honorable Mention – Miller Park in Milwaukee is very modern and had some great food, but it’s just so big and open. It really made for a less intimate experience. Wrigley Field in Chicago is great on tradition. It was a fun place to watch a game, and I’ll never forget seeing the ivy-covered outfield walls, but it’s old and it really needs a facelift. I’ll never forget seeing netting along the ceilings of the walkways to protect people from falling debris.

Anyways, I’m pretty thankful for the new season. One question I pondered today was will there be baseball in heaven?  I’ll post pictures of Busch Stadium when we get back from the game in May.

Acts 9

So far in my quest to read the Bible in a year, I’ve read all of Genesis and half of Exodus. It’s not too shabby for three weeks or so, I have to say, but today I needed a break from Old Testament lore and opened up the book of Acts. I landed in Acts 9, the story of Saul’s conversion. The chapter ended with Peter, through the power of God, raising Dorcas (Tabitha) from the dead. Saul’s conversion to Christ was a miracle climaxed with him meeting Christ on the road to Damascus followed by blindness for three days. Jesus then told Ananias to go to Saul (now renamed Paul) and heal his blindness. When I read through these today, I felt such a rush in seeing the power of God in action, but then I thought about today. Why don’t we see miracles like that today?

Sometimes it’s hard for me to understand the Bible telling us that with the faith of a mustard seed we can move mountains. I mean, where are all the miracles with so many marriages ending in divorce? Where were the miracles when I saw my grandmother whither away from Alzheimer’s disease? I’ve seen God move as I’ve noted in past posts, but I’ve never seen anything like what the apostles did in Acts. Why?

I sat down and thought about it. God hasn’t changed since the Old Testament. The Holy Spirit hasn’t gone anywhere. What is the common denominator here? Well, to be honest, we are. Humanity is the only thing that has changed. We don’t live like God can do these things anymore. We don’t live with the faith of a mustard seed much. Often times when the going gets tough in our lives where faith is required, we get going. We run. I run. It’s about faith.

Today, when we see a faith-healer on television or if one comes to town, we’re instantly skeptical. We don’t really pray for miracles anymore. If someone talks about them happening, we tend to not believe them or think they are eccentric. However, the Bible is truth, God’s word, and if it happened then it can happen now. Maybe if we lived by faith more, we’d see more of what the power of God can do in our lives. That is my prayer: for more faith. I want the faith to lead my household into the arms of God. I want the faith to change the lives of people around me. I want God to use me to be someone’s miracle.

The Cross

A couple weeks ago I was asked by ANC’s Youth Pastor, Eric Chang, to give a short testimony about what Christ’s death on the cross (and resurrection) meant to me. I was supposed to give this brief testimony during the youth Good Friday service at Mason. I thought about it and nothing clear popped into my head. I know what the Cross means to me, but how do I explain it? How do I do it without sounding like I’m preaching (I mean really, the youth already have Eric and the other pastors to preach and teach!), but while also sounding real?

So I walked up to the altar to give the testimony, and promptly cracked a joke about being a man carrying a purple bible (I had my wife’s. I forgot mine). Crash and burn!!! I sat down and just started to talk and somehow some way, the Lord gave me the words to speak. The cross is hope. It’s hope for everyone…Its hope for me. Its hope to a man who both fears and believes in the man he could become, depending on choices. It doesn’t matter what I’ve been through, where I’ve been, or the man I used to be. It means I can hope for the future without having to watch my back. It means I’m forgiven. I’m totally free. How can you not hope when you are free?