Did you ever dream of being famous?  Perhaps as a child, you thought how great it would be to be the President of the United States.  Or could it have been the famous athlete hearing the cheers from adoring fans in the stands after making a sensational play?  For some of us, though, in reality we were just hoping not to be the last one picked to play in the game.  We may have had lofty dreams, but seemingly little ability to make the dreams come true.

Long before I was ever born, God knew me.  In fact, long before my PARENTS were ever born, God knew me.  He knew me all the way in eternity past.  And He still chose to love me and shower me with His blessings.  I certainly do not deserve His blessings and there’s absolutely no way I could ever live up to deserving His attention or even a second thought, much less the abundant blessings He gives. 

The Apostle Paul writes to the church in Ephesus (1:4,5), that God has chosen bless us through adopting us into His family.  By our very nature, we chose to separate ourselves from God.  Yet, He willingly and lovingly draws us back to Himself, encouraging us through His Holy Spirit the entire way. 

I may not be famous, and certainly no one has asked for my autograph lately.  Well, except for the debit card receipts.  But God has chosen us to be His followers and what an honor to be on His team!  By the way, after reading the back of the Book . . . this team wins!

In reading the first three verses of Paul’s letter to the Ephesians, I’m reminded of God’s goodness even in the face of trials.  When Paul penned this letter to the church at Ephesus, he was in prison.  Even still, he found a way to enjoy God’s blessings.  What was it about Paul that brought about the joy and peace that is able to find blessings even while locked up?

He understood the Source of these blessings.  He recognized that God was the ultimate Provider of every good and perfect gift.  He was able to differentiate between the physical blessings and the more important spiritual blessings.  While God is the giver of both kinds of blessings, Paul was able to distinguish between the two. 

I’ve never been an inmate in a jail or prison.  I hope to never discover what that’s like.  There are other problems and situations I find myself in, though.  And the lesson I need to learn from God’s Word this week is to remember that God’s blessings are not all in the physical realm.  If I’m faithful to Him and His cause, I should be able to find blessings even in the difficult circumstances of life.

I had the opportunity to attend a Braves baseball game today.  It was an early birthday gift from a couple of pretty special people.  Thanks, Randy and Diana! 

While at the game, I saw some pretty neat things.  It was in Miami at Dolphins Stadium; the first complete game I’ve had the privilege of watching there.  I word it that way, because the only other time I’d been to that stadium to watch a game, the skies opened up, and we thought for sure the game would be called off.  The bad part was, we listened to the last eight innings on radio while driving home; in a torrential downpour!

Nonetheless, I digress…I learned the Braves can play well, even though they lost a record number of one-run games in away ballparks.  Due to television changes (which is another rant, in itself), I haven’t really had a chance to SEE many Braves games this season.  This was the first time I’d had a chance to see them live since the opening game of Spring Training.  There have been LOTS of changes to the team since then.  Injuries have taken their toll on Bobby Cox’s team this season.  The biggest similarity between the team I saw in Spring Training in February and the one I saw today wrapping up the regular season in September is the players that were trying to impress Bobby Cox and MAKE the team in February are, by necessity now, ON the team in September.

I hope I saw the future of the Braves in center field today in Josh Anderson.  The young man has done nothing but impress when given the opportunity on a Major League level.  I saw a once phenom in Jeff Francoeur visibily frustrated after striking out for the second time…in his second at-bat of the day.  I also saw the same J. F. make a couple of catches in right field that fans thought were certainly in for base hits.  I also saw the aforementioned Francoeur get a base hit thanks to the sun.  In baseball, we learn to take what we can get.

I saw umpires who could have certainly used the benefit of instant replay.  Whether in the Braves or Marlins favor, it certainly appeared to be discrepancies in some calls today.  One call does not a game-winner determine, but a series of calls made that leave a player guessing the consistency of an upcoming call can assuredly make a lot of difference in the way the game is played.  Therefore, possibly affecting the outcome of the game.  There were players and fans on both sides of the game today wondering aloud about some umpires calls.

Ultimately what I saw today was a relaxing day at a ballpark with family.  The opportunity to enjoy a baseball game is one of those subtle blessings of life.  I’m grateful for that blessing this Labor Day.

Tropical Storm Fay from our back window

If you’re watching the news this week, you’ve probably been pummeled with political pundits seeking to persuade you to elect their candidate.  You may have seen enough Olympic sports to steal your much needed sleep.  Or you might have even watched a little bit of a storm – one of the named variety — as it overstayed its welcome to the Treasure Coast of Florida.

The picture you see at the top is one taken from my back window at home.  I’m very fortunate.  You’re able to see green between the window and the water.  Many people were not nearly as lucky as we were.  For that, I’m grateful.  Our lawn slopes downward, and the water had no place to go but our neighbor’s yard.  There are other pictures taken within a three block radius of our house, but they are copyrighted by our local newspaper.  I don’t think they’d appreciate it if I put them on my blog, but you might want to check out www.tcpalm.com and get a load of some pictures that television media might not have shown. 

Reflecting on the rain that we’ve gotten this week, it amazes me to think of God’s goodness.  While I’m so looking forward to some sunshine, I must remember that God’s promises to us are never thoughtless.  I’m not one who looks forward to a rainy day; much less four of them in a row; seemingly non-stop.  I’d really like to have the comforts of operational electricity in my home.  Being able to drive around the neighborhood without navigating around rain induced lakes will be a welcomed pleasure. 

But, I’m safe.  I’m not hungry.  I still have shelter and clothes.  My car still runs.  My home was not flooded.  My wife and I didn’t miss any time from work.  In fact, through most of the rain, I personally stayed dry.  I didn’t get very wet (see, my mom taught me to come in out the rain).  God’s protection of our family and possessions has been nothing short of providential. 

An inconvenience?  Yes.  An aggravation?  Absolutely!  A learning experience to illustrate God’s grace?  One that I’m so grateful for!  Oh, and if you have extra gopher wood laying around, let me know, will you?     

  I just heard the news.  In fact, I haven’t even had a chance to read anything about the unfortunate tragedy.  Those of us who are Braves fans are saddened today to learn of the passing of a Braves icon of more than 25 years.  Skip Caray passed away this evening.  Although he has been in relatively poor health for a while, I must say this took me quite by surprise. 

Because of the Braves television deals, Caray came into literally millions of homes every night on cable giant TBS, giving Braves fans everywhere an insight into our favorite team.  Caray spanned the terrible years of the 80s, the incredible years of the 90s, and was still going as the Braves tried to re-build in the 21st Century.  His father, Harry Caray, was a legendary broadcaster in St. Louis and Chicago.  Yep, he was a broadcaster for the Cardinals before going to the arch-rival Cubbies and gaining fame on WGN.  Caray’s son, Chip, is a Braves broadcaster and very good in his own right.  Truly, he is a Chip off the old block.

There are some interesting tidbits to think about when you think of Skip Caray and his relationship with the Braves.  Even though he never donned a Braves uniform to play ball for the team, he has been around for more years than the likes of Hank Aaron, Dale Murphy, and Phil Niekro.  In the broadcast booth, he has seen many quality announcers come and go, but he stayed around, doing his job with a professional quality surpassed by none.

Because of the Braves television deals, sadly, the Braves are not on television nearly as much where I can watch them due to geographic location.  His humor, yet no-holds-barred truthfulness of broadcasting the events of the game and / or season will serve as an example to any ambitious broadcaster.  The voice of Skip Caray will be missed, but his legacy lives on in the broadcast booth of the Atlanta Braves for years to come.

  The news rang throughout Bulldog Nation this past weekend that college football coaches around the country believe that the University of Georgia Bulldog football team is the team to beat this season.  While that is great news for Dawg fans everywhere, it does come with a bit of cautious reservations.  I’m tickled red that UGA is ranked that way in the pre-season.  But at the same time, that also means that every football team in the country will be hoping that a few of twelve select teams will knock the Dawgs from their porch. 

There are more than a couple of good football teams the Georgia Bulldogs will play this season that could de-rail what we hope will be that magical season.  It’s no real joy to play the schedule that the Dawgs will play in 2008-09.  But, I take great pride in thinking that should the Dawgs do as well as expected, there isn’t a person in the country who should be able to say in January ‘09 that the Dawgs benefited from a light schedule.

I’ve been a proponent of any school in the SEC having a tough strength of schedule.  Week in and week out the schools that compete in SEC football have a tough game.  Do I enjoy the weaker non-conference schedule?  Hardly!  But, when you consider year in and year out the SEC teams that play against Volunteers, Gators, Tigers times two, a bunch of Crimson Elephants, along with angry roosters, hogs, and a surprising Wildcat now and again . . . it’s no wonder Dawgs need a break occasionally to heal up and get ready for the next big test.  Incidentally, the list above failed to mention the Commodores, Rebels, and Mississippi version of the Bulldogs; they may not be the elite of the SEC, but many times they give their opponents more than they bargained for, and if a team is not prepared, they’ll walk away on the losing end of the game.  The SEC is just strong in football from top to almost the bottom.

All these teams, plus a couple of in-state Georgia rivals and a game out west will have UGA facing a tough bid to stay on top.  There’s no doubt that UGA will have their hands full and they have an addition to their uniform jerseys.  This is kinda what it will look like   Let’s hope it stays clean and healthy all season long.  GO DAWGS!!!!!!!!

A fresh new book on leadership?  You’re kidding, right?  Toybox Leadership is a book birthed from growing pains of a company CEO (Ron E. Hunter) and his Chairman of the Board (Michael Waddell) taking a look at leadership traits from the toys of childhood.  While giving a less than desireable report to the company’s consituents, the author (Hunter) needed to share a stalemate in profits but a shift that would cause an attractive upstart.  Waddell gave Hunter the analogy of a slinky dog.  The head of a slinky dog moves forward and has to wait for the tail to catch up.  That’s exactly where the company was.  As Hunter gave his report to the constituents illustrated by the slinky dog, the book, Toybox Leadership was born.  Hunter and Waddell had just squeezed fresh lemonAID using the lemons of a less than positive progress report.

With the slinky dog serving as a springboard, Hunter and Waddell found nine other toys from their childhood toyboxes and began to weave other leadership characteristics that will challenge the businessman and student alike.  Using personal anecdotes from past experiences, Hunter and Waddell share business and family stories that have taught them valuable lessons in leadership techniques.  This would be an excellent addition to any leader’s bookshelf.

Where else would you learn how Play Dough and Weebils, Mr. Potato Head and Lite Brite could help you with your business decisions?  What other book could use a Rocking Horse or a Rubik’s Cube to share with you solid business principles?  John Maxwell and Dick Vitale are but two of many powerful leaders and businesspersons who have read Toybox Leadership and given high reviews.

And incidentally, in doing some research, the company is doing quite well, the constituents are generally well-pleased, and it is largely due to the principles taught in Toybox Leadership.  If the principles work and results are shown, be a leader and invest $20 in your copy of this 180 page book from major booksellers.  Find it online at CBD, Randall House Publications, or Amazon, as well as on shelves at Barnes and Noble, Books A Million, or at the publisher of the book, Thomas Nelson.