New Season

OK folks, moving into Romans 1-3 today; 4-6 Friday; 7-9 Saturday.  Take Sunday on your own and we will pick up on Monday.

On another note.  I have the exciting task of coaching my first "school" team.  Christian Academy Middle School girls.  My daughter has been with me as a 4th grader.  Here are some of my first three week recollections and lessons from coaching.

Alexis started asking me to coach for her team.  She thought she could play if I would coach.  Problem is, it is a middle school team and she is in 4th grade.  I tried to sneak her on, because she can already play with more passion than probably most the girls (alex is a bit aggressive).  Upon me committing to coach she was asked to step off the team.  We were able to get her a uniform and she could still practice with the team.  Later 3 varsity 8th graders came down and she was asked to surrender her uniform.  She looked at me with great frustration and tears in her eyes, "No Dad!  I am not giving up my uniform".  She just wanted to be "on the team!"  So now I bought her a school "hoody" sweatshirt.  Last night she lined up in warm ups with an old parks and rec uniform that wasn't close to matching.  During half time she brought me the water bottles she filled and interrupted my halftime speech, "Dad, there are only 3 minutes left on the clock."  She came to me in a heated full court up and down exchange somewhere in the third quarter and asked me, "dad, can i have some money for the concession stand."  I looked at her with frustration and she went to the end of the bench and in her eyes I could see her say, "Im gonna do my job daddy."  The stripping of Alexis' ideas has been humbling.  A life lesson that we don't always get what we want, but we have to wait patiently and often do things we HATE to do....especially if it is the RIGHT thing to do.  My heart breaks for her now, but also I am so glad to see the lesson that God is teaching her through disappointment.

 Wow!  The girls on my team, many never played basketball.  My job is to position them to the best of my ability to be able to succeed.  Well that is hard when you go up against powerhouse programs like Myrtle Beach MS.  My girls were so scared in our second game.  At times I wanted to just stop the game and reposition and realign the girls.  Make the game slow down and bring a loving touch to assure each one of them.  The Lord had me thinking about this after the game.  How cruel the game can be.  Full court press, steal score, over and over and over.  My girls were not getting discouraged but simply are not ready for that level of competition yet.  The Lord showed me, "this is life."  You can't pay your mortgage....the bank doesn't care.  The electric company?  Nope.  When your career starts to spiral downward, no one throws you a sympathy card.  Life doesn't seem to slow down but speed up.  It can be merciless.  That is what I love about these girls.  I get to go back and mentally and spiritually PREPARE them for the intensity needed for competition.  The importance of knowing your assignment, trusting your teammate, becoming one as a unit, fierceness, fearlessness.  Working on skill set, working, working working.  The test is the game, the practice is the preparation.  Seeing these girls connect over something like a sport seems trivial, but they are learning to find something inside of themselves that they have never had.  I can't remember when I felt so satisfied doing anything in the last 10 years of my life.  On a funny note, I actually had butterflies in my stomach last night on the way to the game.  Can't remember when that happened either...in a long time.  I love this!  Peace-  Stuart