I Saw God Today...

Yesterday on my way home there was nothing on the radio. So, I began to do what has become a very annoying habit, even to me, I hit the SCAN button to see what I could find. On two different stations I heard this line "I saw God today..." nothing else just those words. After the second time I turned off the radio and started to think how many times do I see God in a day and don't even acknowledge Him, say thank you, or even smile at His work.

If I spent everyday with a friend and never made a reference to their presence why would they want to spend their time with me? Is God any different?

Lately I have been working on being a participant in my life, not a just spectator (prompting the "Lessons Learned" post).

So, I'm going to pay attention and take note of when I see God in my life. Like before, it may not always be serious but it will be honest.

"I saw God today...

...when Kyler woke up smiling. (5-29)

...this morning someone stopped to let me turn left in front of them. (5-30)

...when Kevin held my hand. (5-31)

...in the thunder and lightening. (6-01)

...when I saw the clouds moving. (6-02)

...when Kyler crawled onto my lap last night and went to sleep. (6-03)

...when I was cooking dinner and no one interrupted me. (6-04)

Super NIT

Here are a few pictures of Kyler from this weekend at the Super NIT. There were 12 teams in our age division from Nebraska, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, and Arkansas. We went 3-0 in Pool Play and were the #2 Seed going into the Semi-finals. Lost to the team that won it all. We ended up placing 3rd; we could have done better, but 3rd isn't to bad for a first year team.

__________________________________________

a perfect fit

on deck

a stand-up double on Saturday

ready for the throwdown to 2nd

that makes strike 1

A Friend I Don't Even Know

We all have friends, some have more than others, but we all have them. The people in our life that we can count on to be there when we need someone to cry with, yell at, or to shake us back to reality. I have many people in my life that I'm lucky enough to call my friends. However, I have those two or three people that I have to talk to everyday or I feel like my day wasn't complete.
More recently, I have discovered that I have friends that I haven't even met yet. People that inspire me, people that give me strength, people that encourage me by the words that they write and yet they don't even know me. We were out of town this weekend and I found myself anxious to get back home to be able to catch up on my reading. I couldn't wait to see what interesting and insightful words they were going to have for me. I just knew it would be great words of wisdom!
As I read I felt like someone was smacking (that's an Oklahoma word) me on the head saying, "buck up (another Oklahoma phrase), what have you been thinking?" As I read the words on the screen, I started to feel my eyes fill up and the screen became blurry. Those were the words that I needed to hear telling me "my need IS worthy to Him" and "I just have to REACH OUT with one finger" and my favorite "hold on to the boat". How can a person I have never met, never seen in person, never talked to on the phone, or never even exchanged an email with know what I need to hear? I don't know exactly, my only answer is that it was God using her to shake me back to reality.

Lessons Learned

What did you learn today? That is the question I ask Kyler every night before we pray. It doesn't have to be anything serious, usually it isn't, it just has to be something he learned that day. Recently, he has been asking me the same question. So, I have decided to keep a list of all the things I learn in a week...so here you go:

Sunday ~ I learned that you shouldn't wear flip-flops to the ballpark. It makes for very nasty feet.

Monday ~ I learned that my red peep toe heels give me the worst blisters!

Tuesday ~ I learned that trying something new can turn out to be alright!

Wednesday ~ I learned that I give way to much advice and I should try to listen more!

Thursday ~ I learned that hair is just hair and will it grow back!

Friday ~ I learned that four hours in a car without stopping is my limit!

Saturday ~ I learned that when you ride with someone else you are no longer in control of your schedule!

Sunday ~ I learned that I should be more thankful for the blessings that I have in my life!

So there you go, a week of what I learned. Looking back it doesn't appear that I learned anything that is going to win me the Noble Prize, but at night when I go to bed I can honestly say that I was paying enough attention to my day to walk away learning something about myself.

Family

The British writer, Jane Howard, said, "Call it a clan, call it a network, call it a tribe, call it a family: Whatever you call it, whoever you are, you need one."

It's been said that you can't choose your family. You're just stuck with them. Good or bad they're yours. Some may think that to be true, I don't think that is your only option.

People who know us know that we moved here from Oklahoma and all of our family still lives there. That family is our roots. They are the ones that will love us no matter what, through thick & thin, through good & bad, through rich & poor, they stick by us.

This weekend we were at the ballpark again and we had very long breaks between games and I was thinking about our "Summer Family." During the Spring & Summer we see them more than we see our real family; almost every weekend and at least one night a week. We eat together, celebrate birthday's together, pray for one another, look out for each other, watch over each other's children, when we travel we stay together, we do all the things you do with a family. However, we have no blood bond, none of us knew each other before last September. Yet we treat each other like family, sometimes better than family. We took our boys to a baseball tryout and for ten of us it was congratulations, meet your new brothers & sisters.

In Webster's Dictionary one of the definitions of family is: an association of people who share a common belief or activity. For us our common belief or activity is baseball. Through this simple game we have met some of the most interesting people. We have one family that moved here from Los Angeles to make a better life for their boys. One father has been back less than a year from doing an 18 month tour of duty in Iraq with the National Guard. Another family has a four year old daughter, lives and hour away from where we practice and is never late. Another family alternates each weekend; one goes with their daughter to her softball games and one brings their son to our baseball games. We have a single dad who is raising two boys (13 & 9) who each play competitive baseball. One of our coaches has a new baby with a rare condition and requires the use of a feeding tube sometimes to finish a bottle, yet both, mom & baby rarely miss a game. March through July, this is our family. Sure we have arguments, misunderstandings, differences of opinions, but we always get over it, because that is what families do. We have chosen to share our time, our children, and our love with this group of people. Good or bad they are ours, I'm thankful God blessed us with a great one.