Say it with me… unassisted triple play.

Talk about individual achievement. The chances of a second baseman catching the ball, hitting the bag, and tagging the runner, in that order, so that he gets three outs all by himself (it’s only happened 14 times in Major League history, fewer times than a pitcher has pitched a perfect game), are so infinitessimal it’s extraordinary, only 14 times in 100 years. Seems like a spectacular example of individual achievement, doesn’t it. BUT… consider this. Asdrubal Cabrera had to be so proud of himself when it happened just this past Monday May 12, but consider how proud his Dad who probably played catch with him was, how proud his manager and coaches who helped him get better at what he does so he’d be ready for this extraordinary opportunity, and the guy who coached him in little league so many years ago was. Even our most outstanding individual achievements rest on the shoulders of those who brought us to be the people we are today. So find somebody who helped you be who you are today… and thank them!

Favorite films.

I got “tagged” by Doug to list my ten favorite films. Okay I’ll bite! Since he included at least one “trilogy”, I will, too. Thanks Doug! I had another post for today, so perhaps today will be my first “two-post” day.

1. Citizen Kane by Orson Welles. Probably the best film ever made. Period. If I had to list only one, it’d be easy. This one. If you get to watch it the first time without knowing how it ends (hard these days, you’ve probably heard), as I did, it’s incredibly powerful.

2. Lord of the Rings trilogy by Peter Jackson. All one really long film, imho. Every moment is brilliant, even the stuff that they “added” to the story.

3. Blue by Krzysztof Kieslowski. Yes this is one you have to read (some of the others are, too), but it’s a brilliant story with wonderful music that will haunt you for a long time.

4. Anything with “Star Wars” in the title. Even the bad ones, but especially episodes 3, 4, and 5.

5. The Seven Samurai by Akira Kurosawa. Another one you have to read, and it’s interminably long, but everything you ever need to make a western is right in there.

6. Godfather and Godfather Part II by Francis Ford Coppola. One of the best descriptions of the capability of the human heart to descend into the madness of evil.

7. Babe by Chris Noonan. It should have won Best Picture in 1995 over Braveheart. Yes, the kids’ movie with the talking pig.

8. Pan’s Labyrinth by Guillermo del Toro. I was NOT expecting the story to end so satisfyingly. I won’t tell you in case you want to check it out. You have to read this one, too. AND… this guy is apparently going to direct the two Hobbit movies… that’s going to make them great.

9. Empire of the Sun. Spielberg’s big “flop” and my absolute favorite of his movies. Some of John Williams’ best music, too.

10. Zulu by Cy Enfield. A 1964 classic that was Michael Caine’s first starring role. The best war picture ever. Peter Jackson bragged that he made the battle of Helm’s deep last for nearly an hour in “The Two Towers”. Well in Zulu, the battle lasts for nearly the whole movie, and the tension just keeps building.

I guess I’m s’posed to tag somebody. Okay, I tag Ange Hamm. And I tag Camey. I know you’re supposed to tag five people… sorry I can only think if two (other than Doug who tagged me) right now.

I’m supposed to give a HT to Dan. Thanks Dan!

Be more quiet now…

Lately I’ve been privvy to a lot more people arguing and debating (usually just arguing) than normal. Could it be that we don’t remember how to be slow to speak and quick to listen? I know I forget that… all the time… Guess I should shut up now…

Stay hungry, stay humble.

This weekend at my church I brought in a guest worship leader. His name is Aaron Greer, check out his band (Aaron, Clarence, and Scott-o) here. Here’s the thing. Aaron plays guitar WAY better than I will ever hope to. So when I’m in a situation like that, I have two choices. I can be intimidated and let that change the way I behave, maybe that will even make me act like a jerk… OR… I can just bask in somebody else’s talent, celebrate it and maybe even learn a thing or two on the way. Whatever the case, I grow more by being around people that are better, faster, smarter, whatever… than me, than by being intimidated by them. I hang around people who are smarter than me at work all the time. (Sometimes it makes me wonder why they let me stay here.) Makes me want to learn more and get better at what God has called me to do. Even if I’ll never play guitar as well as Aaron.

Pushing through the dirt…

So, I have this work being done at the house. There are piles and piles of dirt in my yard. It looks like a war zone. And then at the top of one of the piles, some Daffodil bulb that has been dug up and transplanted a couple dozen feet away decides, “Hey, I don’t care if I’ve been traumatized, moved, dug up, shaken up, stirred up… I’m STILL going to bloom.” Do you know any people like that? I do.

RIGHT NOW!

I was reminded in a really nice song this morning to “Breathe it in and breathe it out, Listen to your heartbeat, there’s a wonder in the here and now, It’s right there in front of you, And I don’t want you to miss, The miracle of the moment.” Do something special, just something little, with someone you love today!

Going Places…

I got a chance to fly a LOT this month… four planes in two days… Yuk. It was really interesting watching all the people hurrying by and wondering where they were all going… Some on vacation, some on business, some for some event either happy or sad. We’re all going some place a lot of the time, and when we arrive we are too often thinking about where we are going to be trying to get to next. I wonder how different it would be if we just took one day and didn’t wear a watch or look at a clock or go anywhere or accomplish anything… I bet the world would keep turning… Seems like God had that idea when he gave us the Sabbath. We SO need to slow down in this world, and we say that, but we keep going at this amazing pace, don’t we…

All things new…

I watched the official opening day game last night for the first time in a while. Jon Miller and Joe Morgan (I love those two guys working together) were calling the first game of the season, which was also the first game in the brand new National’s ballpark in DC. Everything was the first this and the first that. The first hit. The first strikeout. The first home run. At first it was funny, but then I realized how wonderful the whole “new thing” was. Kinda like when you get a new car, or a new job (hopefully not that often) or a new “________”. (You fill in the blank, it’s guitars for me.) I think I’m going to make this a yearly ritual, getting immersed in the newness, over and over again.    The other thing that is so wonderful about baseball particularly though is that, ignoring for a moment our our recent steroid problems, anybody can play. Short guys, tall guys, big guys, little guys, even slow guys sometimes. Larry Bowa was short and he was a great shortstop. Cal Ripken was tall and he was a great shortstop. Some of these pitchers are in great shape, others look like they need to lay off the gravy. It’s not like football where you have to be over 300 pounds to be a lineman, or in basketball where you have to be 6′6″. If you work hard and love the game, you can play (although not necessarily at the pro level). And paradoxically, hitting a baseball is so hard that if you can do it successfully one-third of the time you come to the plate, you’re actually really good!     I wonder if baseball is a little like heaven. (Can you tell I’m a fan?) I kinda hope so…

My problem with Joshua…

I have a great book in my library called “Hard Sayings of the Bible“. It helps me understand some of the things that are “tough” in the Bible, but it is really silent on my biggest “problem” with scripture. The book of Joshua, which I’ve been reading as part of my “Life Journal” (For those of you who go to TCC, you can get one at our Resource Center). Here’s the same God in the Bible that loves us enough to send His Son to die for our sins, and he’s instructing the Israelites to go on these wanton killing sprees. I have heard the explanations, but it’s still hard to take. It makes God seem really distant to me. And maybe that’s the point. God is very distant from me. He is holy, and I’m not. He is omniscient, and I’m not. I guess what it means for me is that these stories that make me feel God is so far away balance with the story of Jesus, who isn’t content just to be near us, or even around us, but loves us so much that He wants to be in us. And sometimes, that’s almost more than I can believe, too. But in a good way. I guess what I’m saying is I’d rather have Jesus living inside and through me than answers to the tough questions… Jesus, be in my head and heart today, and let me be some of Your mercy and grace in a fallen and broken world.

Here comes Easter

Seriously, for those of us who work in the church, especially if our responsibility is the weekend service, this is an exhausting week. I’m already tired, and it’s only Thursday morning! But fortunately for me, I’m not worrying. My worship team for the weekend had an UNBELIEVABLE night of rehearsal last night, the sermon is going to be great, the media is all set, and it’s great, too. In short, God has worked with us humble sinners to craft what I think will be a life-changing service for some, and a rousing time of worship celebration of our Lord’s resurrection for all. I hope a lot of churches have the kind of joyful awesome worship celebration for Easter that we’re going to have at Tri-County.