Happy Opening Day!

 

Today is the Opening Day of the Major League Baseball season. Those who know me well know that I believe this should be a national holiday – that everyone should stay home from school or work and watch baseball today! But, alas, that will not be. However, I will make my annual trek to Kansas City for the Royals’ home opener. I’ll tailgate with three of my best friends from high school and we’ll cheer on the Royals with hearts confident that this will be the year! (You are know we are true fans, because who but true fans would continue to cheer for the Royals after all these years of disappointment.)

 

In honor of Opening Day and the start of a new season, here is my lists of the best baseball movies and the baseball songs. They aren’t in any particular order. Let me know what you think or what I may have missed …

 

Best Baseball Movies

 

The Natural (A little slow in spots, but the final home run is classic.)

A League of Their Own (Even if it is about girls, they can play the game.)

The Rookie (I love stories of people who got to fulfill their dreams.)

Bull Durham (Some of my more conservative friends will probably disagree, but it’s a great and funny baseball movie.)

The Sandlot (A little cheesy but brings back a lot of memories for those of us who spent our summers at ballparks or on schoolyards.)

Eight Men Out (Not every baseball movie is about just the good things and happy endings. Most Royals’ games don’t have either.)

Field of Dreams (Not sure of the metaphysics of it all, but James Earl Jones’ soliloquy on baseball is classic.)

 

Best Baseball Songs

 

Who’s on First – Abbott and Costello (A classic who can listen to and laugh at again and again)

A Song About Baseball – Bob Bennett (Wish I could have found this online. A great song on unconditional love set to a baseball theme. Worth the time to track down.)

Willie, Mickey, and the Duke (Talkin’ Baseball) – Terry Cashman (This song just got Cashman into Cooperstown. I couldn’t find a link to the original, so here is a link to the Tigers’ version.)

The Cheap Seats – Alabama (We love minor league baseball. Go Naturals – the team that gives us Royals fans hope!)

Centerfield – John Fogerty (Brings back memories of when I coached the Kiwanis Babe Ruth team. Don’t ask.)

Take Me Out to the Ballgame – Edward Meeker (A 1908 version of the baseball classic with verses I had never heard.)

 

What do you think? What have I missed?

My Birthday Project: Completed!

About a month ago, I shared these facts with you:

Unsafe water and lack of basic sanitation cause 80% of diseases and kill more people every year than all forms of violence, including war. Children are especially vulnerable, as their bodies aren't strong enough to fight diarrhea, dysentery and other illnesses.

90% of the 42,000 deaths that occur every week from unsafe water and unhygienic living conditions are to children under five years old. Many of these diseases are preventable. The UN predicts that one tenth of the global disease burden can be prevented simply by improving water supply and sanitation.

So I decided to use the occasion of my 52nd birthday to raise money for a freshwater well in a developing country through the organization Charity:water. And I asked you to give toward that project. And did you! In that month, you gave $5,000 – the average cost of building a well that will provide clean water at least 250 people.

Though part of my job is raising money for our ministry, the giving to this project was different. It was for my birthday. And I asked folks from all aspects of my life – family, students, former students, friends, track friends. I wasn’t sure how people would respond to such a blatant request for money for my birthday.

What I discovered is that people from all walks of life, and all over the country, resonated with the need for clean water and were excited about a chance to help with such a project. And I was moved and humbled by the responses – that 63 people from 17 states (including DC) cared enough to give. Thanks to all of you. It will probably be at least a year before the well is completed, but I will keep you updated on the progress.

This project has also been a reminder that we can accomplish great things and make our world a better place for others when we work together. We just to do it more often.

“Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.” Matthew 25:40

Sharing My Birthday - Clean Water for Others

One of the great things about the Catalyst Conference is that they make a point to share about world needs with the leaders who are there. Last year, the issues that were highlighted were adoption and micro-finance. I, personally, love the concept of micro-finance - providing small loans to entrepreneurs in developing countries to help them start businesses to provide for their families. I would encourage you to check out organizations like Kiva and Hope International. My wife and I have loaned through Kiva over the past couple of years and have seen our small investment help three or four families in different parts of the world.

This year's highlighted issues at Catalyst were human trafficking and clean water. Did you know that:

Unsafe water and lack of basic sanitation cause 80% of diseases and kill more people every year than all forms of violence, including war. Children are especially vulnerable, as their bodies aren't strong enough to fight diarrhea, dysentery and other illnesses.

90% of the 42,000 deaths that occur every week from unsafe water and unhygienic living conditions are to children under five years old. Many of these diseases are preventable. The UN predicts that one tenth of the global disease burden can be prevented simply by improving water supply and sanitation.

In light of this, we were challenged to use our birthdays to provide clean water. So I'm taking that challenge. My 52nd birthday is coming up next month and I am asking friends, family, former students, and anyone who reads this blog to help with this project. I don't need another birthday present, but there are a lot of children who need clean water. My goal is to raise $5000 - the average cost to build a well that will serve 250 people.

If you could give $52 for my 52nd birthday - or $26 or $10 or $520 - please go to my Charity:water page. It would be a huge blessing to me and an even greater blessing to those it will serve.

Anniversary Thoughts

Today is a day that reminds me of just how good God is to me.

Today is our anniversary. In some ways it is hard to believe that Gina has been a part of my life for over 35 years and my wife for 31. But then, I can't imagine life without her. God certainly let me "out-marry" myself and gave me a wife who has been a source of encouragement, wisdom, and blessing. She is patient with my shortcomings and travel and understanding of the schedule and pace of campus ministry.

"A wife of noble character is her husband's crown." Proverbs 12:4

"Houses and wealth are inherited from parents, but a prudent wife is from the LORD." Proverbs 19:14

"A wife of noble character who can find? She is worth far more than rubies." Proverbs 31:10

I don't know that she ever reads this, but just in case she does: Thank you, Gina for all that you are and all that you give. I love you more than ever.

Grandma Armstrong

On Tuesday, I spoke at the funeral service of my grandmother - Juanita Armstrong. She was my father's mother and was 91 when she died - sixteen years to the day after my dad. She spent her life in southeast Kansas and was a farmer's wife, at least until 1969 when she and Grandpa moved into town. I have so many memories of singing with the family around the organ in their living room (with Grandpa playing along on his harmonica), of playing on their farm or in the lot north of their house in Girard, and of holidays in their home. Grandma was an avid reader and her Christmas list (even through this last one) was always full of books. I probably caught that bug from her. I remember being at her house over the summers and reading the books she had there. Over the years, she passed many of those on to me, including a set of books written by Harold Bell Wright, a Kansas writer and minister from the first part of the 1900's. Some of those books - first editions - are now over 100 years old, including one of my favorite novels: The Shepherd of the Hills. But probably the greatest trait of her life was her love for and generosity to her family. She loved her family - her sons and daughters-in-law, grand kids, great-grand kids, and great-great-granddaughter. I am so thankful that she got to see and visit with all of them during Christmas this year.


With Grandma's death, all of my grandparents are now gone and the dynamics of the family will change just as they did for the Huber side. The ones who held the aunts and uncles and cousins together are no longer there. My hope is that we will find ways to stay connected, but I know that is difficult and will take effort. Our lives and our society make those extended family connections difficult. We tend to get too scattered and too busy. But without them, we lose some of who we are and miss out on the stability and sense of belonging that we all need and for which so many are looking.

Stacy's Wedding

The summer of Armstrong weddings is over. As most who read this know, both of our daughters got married this summer - making for an exciting, and sometimes exhausting, time. Stacy and Ryan were married on July 31, but I've waited a few days to post this because I wanted to include some pictures with it.

Stacy is 22 and our baby. She is the more introverted of our daughters, but is bright and beautiful and caring. She is like her dad in that she is "always right" - and maybe right more often than I am. (I quit playing Boggle with her when she was in about the seventh grade because I could no long beat her.) She finished her degrees in marketing and organizational management at the University of Arkansas in May and wants to work in the non-profit sector in some way. Just as Stacy is different than Erin, so was her wedding. It was indoors and elegant, but both were great parties!

Ryan also graduated from the UofA in May, but he started his education in the kindergarten classroom of Mrs. Armstrong. (He claims she almost flunked him because he couldn't skip!) He is a good man whom I have enjoyed watching grow personally and spiritually over the past 3+ years. He and Stacy have worshiped and served together at Christ on Campus. The only bad thing I have to say is that his job as a software engineer has moved them to Colorado Springs.

Gina and I are happy for them and proud of them both. And the girls getting married isn't as hard as their men moving them to other states. We'll have to be praying about a solution to that.

Erin's Wedding

Our summer of weddings is half way over. Last Saturday, Erin became Mrs. Rick Merrill in a beautiful outdoor ceremony on the hottest day of the summer. Though we sweat through the ceremony and the reception, it was a beautiful and joyous time with lots of family and friends from around the country.

Erin is the oldest of our two daughters - 26 and an RN at the Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha. She is personable and caring, always willing to laugh and help. She has the perfect demeanor for a nurse and is great at her job (as the hospital where she works has realized). Rick loves her greatly (how could he not) and is attentive to her. He is working construction while taking college classes at night to finish his degree. I respect the way he is working hard to improve himself and their future. I also appreciate his efforts in his spiritual life over the past year and a half. Though he didn't grow up active in church, he has been attending church and a small group with Erin. When his class schedule interfered with his ability to be in the small group, he took the initiative to get the group time changed so that he could be a part of it.

We are happy for them. Please say a pray on their behalf as they start their lives together. And pray for Gina and I, too, as both of our daughters get married this summer and will soon be located several hours away from us. As Bob Dylan would say, "The times they are a changin."

Old Friends ... Priceless

Through our high school years, you could usually find the four of us together. Michael, Craig, Allen, and Mike. If we weren't playing on one of the Tiger athletic teams, we were playing penny-ante poker or cruising up and down National Avenue and playing the game "What would you do if ...?" There wasn't much else for high school guys to do in Fort Scott, KS back in the day.

It doesn't feel like it has been almost 32 years since the class of 1977 graduated. But it has. Two of us are over 50 and the other two will be soon. Over those years, life has taken the four of us in several different directions and over some rocky roads. There have been a lot of good choices, and some bad ones. We have buried parents. Some have buried children.

But after all of these years, we are still good friends. Last Friday, we got together for the Royals home opener in Kansas City and had a great time. We all have other friends, newer friends, and maybe even closer friends at this point in our lives. But we don't have friends who have the history that this group does - who know us and our histories, where we come from and where we have been. The relationships picked up where they were over 30 years ago. Some of the old stories came out, but it's more than that. We know that, after all of these years, if we need someone we are all just a phone call away and would do almost anything for each other.

Treasure your old friends. And if you haven't talked to them in a while, give them a call. They are a gift from God. I know that mine are.

Ice Storm 2009

We're beginning to thaw out here in NW Arkansas. If you're not from here, you might not be up on the ice storm we've faced this week. The weather started to turn bad on Monday night and by Tuesday morning, things were pretty much frozen solid. It was kind of eerie, sitting in the house and hearing trees cracking and collapsing all through the neighborhood. Some sounded like gunshots. Others sounded like thunder. We would hear the noise and try to figure out where it was falling - and praying that it wasn't falling on someone's house. By the time the sleet and ice stopped falling on Wednesday, roads were pretty much impassable, tens of thousands of people were without electricity, thousands of trees were devastated, and homes and automobiles were damaged. Even today, the grocery stores in our area were still closed and thousands will be out of power for at least a couple more days. Temperatures should get above freezing tomorrow, so the thaw should start.

We have been fortunate at our house. Our power was out for an hour or so on Tuesday night and a couple of hours today. The cable (and internet) was out for a couple of days, but overall we didn't suffer much. We got to spend a couple of days together, watching shows we had DVR'd and playing cards and dominoes. The trees in our yard (and we have several) did suffer quite a bit of damage. At least one is totally destroyed and others may be irreparable harmed. But we are safe and warm and blessed.

One of the greatest blessings came on Wednesday afternoon. There was a knock on the door and a group of our neighbors were there to help with cleaning up our yard. (Ours was probably hit the worst on our block.) So 9-12 of us, with a couple of chain saws, spent a couple of hours cutting up branches and stacking them up to be hauled away. We chat with our neighbors occasionally, but we don't know most of them very well. So for them to take the initiative to help us out as they did really warmed our hearts. We are planning another work day on the street on Saturday. The temperature should be in the 50's so we should get a lot of work done.

Another Engagement

Gina and I entered Thanksgiving Day tired. We were up late on Wednesday night, waiting on a phone call or a text message. It came at about 12:20 am on Thursday morning. Stacy was engaged to be married to Ryan Meier.

We knew that Ryan was going to propose that night. We just thought it would be closer to their 7:00 pm reservation at Bordino's than to midnight. But Ryan was (understandably) nervous and it took him a while to get the question out. But he did and she said yes. The date and details are yet to be set.

We are proud of both Stacy and Ryan. Stacy, our youngest, is 22. She's bright and sharp. A beautiful young woman who is committed to doing her best in whatever task she undertakes - her job, her schoolwork, Christ on Campus responsibilities, and more. Her commitment to the Lord is also evident in the values she lives by and her involvement in ministry and service. And we are happy about her engagement to Ryan. Gina has known Ryan's family for many years (she was his kindergarten teacher) and he has been involved with ConC during most of his college career. His love for Stacy is evident and he is tender and so attentive to her. His commitment to Christ is also clear. He got involved with our ministry even before he and Stacy started dating (though I have a suspicion that she was a factor in that) and has continued to grow and serve through his college career. Ryan will be accepting a job in Colorado Springs, where he and Stacy will be moving after their graduation next spring.

Both girls are now engaged and, most likely, will be married by the end of next summer. Our family will be heading for some major changes. And the changes are good. It is God's design that our daughters leave our home and cleave to their husbands, start their own homes, raise their own families. But the changes aren't always easy.

Today, Stacy and I went Christmas tree shopping. That is something that she and I have done together since she was a little girl. It has been part of our family Christmas tradition for many years. But today it was a little sad - at least for me - because it was probably the last time we will do it. By next Christmas (if the Lord wills) she will be a college graduate, a married woman, and living in Colorado. And I will be proud of her and happy for her. But I will miss shopping for Christmas trees with my little girl.

Birthday Weekend

This was the weekend of my fiftieth birthday.

50 years old. That has an "old" ring to it.

It's interesting how we picture ourselves. I tend to "see" myself still in my late 20's - though my body lets me know quite often that's not the case. Fifty is for old men and I don't see myself in that category. Maybe it's from working with college students for over 26 years. Maybe that has kept me "younger" and more immature than other men my age. And I don't think that is necessarily a bad thing!

50 sures puts me past middle-age - unless I plan on living to be over 100!

But it is also a natural point for reflection and evaluation. Most likely, over half of my life is past now. And over half of my time in ministry. Am I content with what it has been? How do I want to adjust its trajectory from this point forward? Though my physical strength is on the decline, I don't believe that has to be the case spiritually and personally and in ministry. I do believe that the my greatest years of service and ministry are ahead of me. And I am excited about them.

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There have been a few celebrations over the past week. On Tuesday night, our students all wore black to our Encounter service. Since it was three days before my birthday, I didn't catch on until they started to sing "Happy Birthday" - I guess the mind starts to slip a little at my age. They also brought a coffin-shaped cake and some pictures of my face on the body of a hamster (that's another story).

On Friday, the Carter clan came over for dinner. We always have a great time playing with our god-children.

We spent Saturday and Sunday with our girls and their men in Kansas City. We ate and played at Dave & Buster's, played cards, watched the new James Bond flick, did a little shopping, and just hung out together.

And, of course, a birthday wouldn't be complete without presents:


* A new leather recliner
* A beautiful painting that Gina had commissioned featuring one of my favorite verses of Scripture - Ephesians 2:10 - and done by one of our alums, Lisa Miller. If a students has been around ConC very long, they have heard me talk about it at least once.


* The traditional box of Cap'n Crunch cereal

She just keeps getting better ...

Today is Gina's birthday - my amazing wife of almost 30 years. She is such a blessing to my life - a great helpmeet in every way and so patient and encouraging. She gets more beautiful as the years go by, and she's a cheap date! Tonight we going for her birthday dinner to Logan's for their "2 meals for $13.99" special. You can't beat that. I wish I had a picture of her in the duck costume that she wore for her kindergarten class last week, but this one will have to do.

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Christmas items are out in the stores - days before Halloween. Check out the Advent Conspiracy and watch the video. This is something we should all be a part of. Thanks to my friend, Tammy Melchien, for pointing us in this direction.

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Check out this ranking of the "Greatest Multi-Sport Pro Athletes of All Time." Do you agree with them? Who would you add? What would you change? I know that some such lists include Jesse Owens, but I guess he doesn't meet the criteria of "pro athlete" for this one. Believe it or not, but Jim Thorpe was before my time. But several of these weren't. And Bo Jackson was amazing!

Baby News

Some good news regarding new babies ....

Many of you have been praying for Malachi Brown (and his parents - Austin & Amy) as Malachi has been in Kansas City at Children's Mercy Hospital. I'm glad to report that they are back home now and Malachi is doing well.

My niece, Anna Konefuls, had her first child on Sunday. Zofia Belle made my little brother a grandfather. That sounds old!

And in honor of these new babies and their parents, here are three great PSA's from the National Fatherhood Initiative:

Cheerleading
Dance
Light Sabres

A week or so ago, Gina and I made a quick trip to Omaha to check out Erin's new home. Since she chose about the worst possible time to move to Omaha - a day before I left for Italy and during Gina's first few days of school - we hadn't had a chance to see where she was living and working. So we drove up after Gina got out of school on a Thursday (a six and a half hour drive), spent Friday with her, and came back early Saturday morning.

Now, you may be asking why my daughter would leave the wonderful world of NW Arkansas to move to Nebraska. That's a good question! One reason is that after living in NW Arkansas for 24 years, she wanted to try someplace else. The reason that place was Omaha can be summed up in two words: a boy.

Erin's got a nice apartment (meaning in good condition, roomy, and secure). Both she and Daisy (her dog) seemed glad to see us. I think that Daisy misses Arkansas more than Erin does. She spent the day showing us the hospital where she is working (she is an RN at the Nebraska Med Center), taking us shopping, and showing us the places she frequents - her church, the vet and groomer, the hair salon, the massage place, about a dozen coffee shops, etc. It was a good day and it was easy to see that she was excited about what she is doing. That night, Rick took us out for good Omaha steaks and then his parents and aunt came to the apartment for dessert.

It was a good visit. I'm proud of Erin and what she is doing and the woman she is. I just wish she was about six hours closer.

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This link will take you to a video on Youtube that I used with a sermon a few weeks ago. I think it is great. But can you figure out what it has to do with following Christ and why I would use it in a sermon?