Gymnastics Season

My girls had their mock meet on Sunday.  This is going to be a good season.  This year’s mock meet was a far cry from last year where one of my daughters was ready to quit half way through the rotations.  This year, I saw grace and poise in their faces.  They were encouraging and reassuring the first year girls.  Oh yeah, their scores were much higher, also. 

I don’t want to minimize the importance of their scores or winning.  Being successful and doing your best is a major component of youth sports but it is only one component.  Winning at all costs at this level is just insane.  You can always find those parents that are flipping out if their kid is not the fastest, the stongest, or the best.  Those poor kids will be burnt out by age 16 or earlier. 

What I saw this Sunday reminded me of what is good about youth sports.  The lessons that these boys and girls are learning are not easily taught in a classroom.  I have seen a huge increase in my girls’ confidence, discipline, and self-reliance.  Their ability to follow directions has increased and they can now push beyond what they think they are capable of and actually find their limits. 

They will win some medals along the way and have a whole lot of fun.  Not a bad way to learn.

New Gymnastics Season Gears Up This Weekend

This weekend, our gym has their annual mock meet.  It’s just our gymnast and a judge.  The girls (and this year, the boys) go through all the motions of a real meet on their home turf.  My girls are competing for the second year and will again be on the level 4 team. 

My oldest is putting more pressure on herself this year because she is now a “veteran” on the team.  There’s a fine line between striving for excellence and fretting over being good enough and I am trying my best to define that line for her.  She has made it clear that last year it was fun to compete but this year, winning is part of the fun. 

My younger daughter still seems oblivious to the whole competition thing.  She works hard and loves the sport.  She loves getting up on the podium, but doesn’t really dwell on it before the meets.  Her biggest goal is pleasing her coach.  There’s no sign of that changing. 

I certainly don’t know the intricacies of gymnastics scoring but I know that my girls have worked very hard this summer and they look much stronger, confident, and graceful.  Quite frankly, if they finish in last place as good as they look in practice, I’d be pleased.

Things I Hope My Children Learn From Me

Excellence is always the best policy
Life is a journey so enjoy the ride
There is no such thing as too much integrity
Sometimes doing the right thing is hard, but it is still right
Everything decision in life has consequenses, some good, some bad
What you do is not who you are
Be true to yourself
Be true to God
Dream big
Believe in yourself
No matter what, in every circumstance, your father will always love you

Things I Have Learned From My Father

Effort is important
Doing for others is better than doing for yourself
The greatest joy is in giving
You can

accomplish almost anything when you are truly committed to the task
Having favor with someone is important
Work hard at whatever you do
No matter how hard you work, family comes first.   Always
If you prepare enough, the task will be easier.
Dream big
Love your wife like she is your best friend because she is.

Sure, we can swim in that!

Last week I wrote a post about our pool and how hard it was to believe that we would be able to swim in the disgusting water.  Well, today, my children jumped in!  It’s amazing that in less than a week’s time, we went from utterly repulsive to crystal clear, thanks to the good people at the local pool center. 

On the flip side of that post, I talked about how our spiritual lives mirrors my pool.  Last night, I was reflecting on how much spiritual growth I have seen in my life in the last few months.  Now, please, I am not bragging on myself.  On the contrary, this is growth that should have come much earlier and easier than it has, but I am a stuborn man.  God has put me in a position where my faith has been able to grow immensly.  Just like the chemicals, the purification of my life has been a bit harsh.  It has not been the most fun trip, much like cleaning that nasty water, but the reward has been even greater than what my kids felt as they jumped in with both feet this afternoon. 

Next time you see a pool, clean or dirty, think about your spiritual life.  How clean is your water?  And what will it take to make it pure?

We’re going to swim in that?

I have mentioned before that I can turn anything into a life lesson and here I go again…

I pulled to cover off of the pool last night.  Honestly, I have seen stagnate ponds that looked cleaner (Sorry, no pictures, I don’t want to gross you out).  The water is black and murky at best and even smells like a stagnate pond.  As I started to vacuum the bottom of the dismal abyss, I thought to myself “We going to swim in that?” 

After an hour of vacuuming, there was a slight change.  You could at least see a light surface emerging at the bottom.  After a massive amount of chemicals and a massive amount of filtering, I know that the water will be crystal clear and irresistible. 

It makes me think about our own lives.  It does not matter how dark or murky we are on the inside, God can pour spiritual chlorine through us and filter out all the impurities.  Just like a pool, it usually doesn’t happen overnight, despite my children’s desires.  It takes time and a balance of the right things to make yourself pure.  I could run my filter 24/7 but without chlorine, my water would still be green.  I could pour $500 worth of chemicals into my water but without stirring them up and running the filter, they would settle to the bottom, useless.  Given the opportunity, God will clean and filter your life until you begin to shine. 

Another interesting analogy is that a pool takes constant maintenance.  I do not like to swim in mostly clean water.  I want it fully clean.   I may have to adjust the pH here and the alkaline there throughout the summer and I always check the chlorine and run the filter.  I pull out the vacuum a few times per week to get the junk that starts to accumulate in the deep end because I want the water clean.  Our lives are just like that.  If we do not constantly maintain our spiritual person, we can become dark and murky and need major shock to get us clean again.  In September, my water was sparkling.  In June, it is repulsive.  With a little work, a lot of chemicals, it will be sparkling again very soon.  This weekend, I will be checking the levels of the pool chemicals.  I think I better take a reading on my spirit while I’m at it.

Gymnastics and Geekiness

I have hit the pinnacle of my geekdom! I am sitting in a coffee shop downloading something on my girls’ gymnastics coach’s computer and posting on my blog from my blackberry. I have to admit. I love being a geek. My wife even got into the act by homeschooling our son during breaks in the meet
Enough about me, my girls had a meet today in Millersville, MD. It was a smaller meet and the girls compete at next year’s level. Mine are staying level 4. Although the scores were not as high as states, they both collected more hardware than in any other meet this season! I think the judges kept the scores lower to allow the girls room for improvement. I could be totally wrong as it is nearly impossible for me to tell the difference between good and great in this sport. Bad is detectable in any sport.
Back to my girls, My youngest daughter scored a first, third, fourth, and third all around. My oldest scored a second, third, fourth and third all around. The big victory is that my oldest made the podium more today than any other meet, possibly more than she did all season. she couldn’t stop smiling! There are so many things I love about this sport but one of the biggest is that everyone gets their playing time. No matter if your are pulling 9.9s or 5.0s, you get the same amount of time. Don’t get me wrong, you have to have skills to even make it to the team, but once you’re there, you don’t have to ride the bench. All season, my girls have been in the middle or back of the pack and have progressed nicely as the year moved along. This have them a taste of what they might experience next year. They are building crazy strength, strong charictar, and good work habits. It’s nice to collect some hardware every once in a while, too.

Healthcare Revolution

Back in 1773, the citizens of Boston threw their tea into the harbor to protest the ridiculous taxes on it.  After watching my father suffer from severe head pain that has reduced a full time pastor with something important every single day to not trusting himself behind the wheel of a vehicle, I believe we need a healthcare provider party.  I’ve got a few things I’d like to throw into a harbor right now. 

Now, to be fair, my father’s medical file rivals by War and Peace in length and drama.  There are certain precautions that must be taken.  However, he has been in constant pain for over two weeks and a couple doctors think they know what is going on, but they do not have the correct speciality to make the pain go away.  In order to get to that specialist, he needs to back to his general physician for another trip so he can get the proper referral.  He’s been there so many times in the last two weeks, he is leading in the polls for May employee of the month. 

I can get a pizza delivered to my house at 11pm.  I can buy a lawnmower at 3 in the morning.  I can get breakfast 24/7.  But to get to the right doctor that can read an MRI, it takes 20 phone calls, two other doctors’ permission, a recommendation letter from my local congressman, and a friend on the inside to work the system. 

I think the blame lies at the hands of the insurance companies.  I could be wrong.  No insurance system is perfect, but at least my car insurance company has to cater to me and not somebody over in the HR department.  Just a thought, but what if we quit tying health insurance to our employers, give us the twelve thousand dollars a year that they spend on my insurance and let me go shopping for my own.  Maybe then, the insurance company can actually let the doctors treat me instead of making them jump through all those hoops. 

Sorry for the rant, just keeping it real…

Crazy Week!

I apologize for not posting very regularly this week.  My plate has been full.  It has been great, but busy.  Our church worship team had the honor of providing worship music for the Laurel High School’s Baccalaureate service.  Things went very well.  It was a bit unnerving as I actually work for the school district.  Most employees know nothing of my guitar hero alter ego.  They simply know the mild mannered computer geek.  Well, maybe it would be more accurate to say that they did not know that their cranky computer geek plays guitar.  Anyway, I cannot shake the computer geek persona, even while wielding a Gibson axe.  Oh well, I was only asked two computer questions that night…

Wednesday night, our church’s drama team, Illuminate,  performed in Westover, MD.  I was asked to play two songs for the event and participate in a drama, which involved me playing the part of the Devil and getting beat up by a teenager.  My two daughters participate in the drama team.  They performed excellent!  Would you expect a different review from a proud dad? 

One of the dangers of having great talent in your church is that you start to get used to it.  We see dramas by Illuminate on an almost weekly basis.  I have watched them grow from a handful of people with an idea to a full team of adults, teens, complete with an entourage of around thirty people.  I have seen them move from trying really hard and doing good to working really hard and invoking real emotion and deep thought by those watching.  I have started to get used to it and even expect it.  The church in Westover was not used to it.  They were moved to shouts, praises, laughter, and even a few tears.  Our drama leaders should be extremely proud.  The team performed the best they ever have.  When you come to expect excellence, it is good to be reminded that it stands out. 

Memorial Day Weekend

This ficweekend we have already celebrated Memorial Day with two picnics.  There was lots of fun.  Games were played, burgers were grilled, and way too much dessert was consumed.  I am happy to have the day off from work tomorrow.  We have already layed our our plans for tomorrow.  Isn’t that what Memorial Day is all about?  Fun, picnics, and the unofficial start of summer?  Wait a minute, aren’t we supposed to remember someone? 

Unfortunatly, our society has trouble remembering why we celebrate holidays.  It happens at Christmas.  It happens at Easter.  It’s happening this weekend.  Many times, I have thought that the commercialization of holidays was due to the lack of spirituality in our country, but this weekend, I see that it is more than that.  There is something in our culture that drives us to turn every holiday into a selfish event.  We live in a society that take a holiday that is meant to give thanks into a full day of glutony. 

I will be very honest with you.  I have never served in the military.  I was too chicken.  When I was eighteen, I was not man enough to serve my country.  I’ve grown up quite a bit in the last sixteen years.  However, I cannot change the past.  Through those sixteen years, I have grown to hold our military personnel in very high esteem.  Today, I am proud to say that I am an American citizen and that I live in the most free and greatest country in the world!

In the last year, I have developed a love for American history.  I have been reading biographies of presidents and historical accounts of the American Revolution.  I have read of the sacrifices that our forefathers made to form this great country.  I have read of the incredible forethought and insight that the fathers of this land had.  I have read and I have been amazed.

I am amazed at the sacrifice that our soldiers who are serving abroad make on a daily basis.  I don’t even want to miss any event that my children are involved in, no matter how trivial.  I cannot imagine leaving them for months at a time and not know if I will ever see them again.  I cannot imagine being in a situation where I must act because it’s either them or me.  I am amazed at the skill, training, and discipline that our military and veterans exhibit. 

I enjoy the freedom that we enjoy in this country.  I enjoy the safety that we have on our shores.  I stand and salute each and every veteran that has served or is currently serving.  I am grateful for every family that watches their sons and fathers go off to war and pray every night that they watch them return.  I mourn for every veteran that gave the ultimate sacrifice so that I can be free to be home with my family. 

To all veterans, thank you seems so inadequate.  God bless you!