Dark Shadows

 Dark Shadows

Some movie scenes you can't forget! This is from August 29, 2012. 
Several months ago, one of my former players/students, Juliette, suggested I should do an entry on her favorite celebrity, Audrey Hepburn. On several occasions, I have used Hepburn sayings in my applicable quote of the day section but I really know little about the legendary actress. I could tell you she starred in Breakfast At Tiffany's but not much more. Google filled in some blanks for me. I found out she is ranked the third greatest actress by the American Film Institute. I discovered she was born in Belgium, died at age sixty-three, and is buried in Switzerland. She won awards for her humanitarian work and was actively involved in UNICEF. And did you know Truman Capote wanted her role in Breakfast At Tiffany's to be filled by none other than Marilyn Monroe? (A confession here; my favorite Breakfast At  Tiffany's moment was really on Seinfeld when George crashed a family viewing of the rental movie because he was in a book club and too lazy to actually read the assignment.) 

I do have a favorite Audrey Hepburn moment, though. It remains the scariest second I've ever seen on the movie screen although my students probably wouldn't see it that way. It comes right at the end of the thriller, Wait Until Dark. Hepburn plays a blind housewife whose husband is out of town and who accidentally comes into possession of a doll stuffed with heroin. The bad guys try to reclaim it from her and it becomes a battle of wits. In the climactic scene....... well, you'll just have to watch the clip yourself! We talked in class last week about light and dark and why animals aren't afraid of the nighttime. I told them I think it's because they don't know the difference between good and evil. From the beginning, the dividing line between God and Satan has been light. John 1:5 tells us that,"the light shines in the darkness but the darkness has not understood it." Believers are at a disadvantage if we don't realize there are two sides in the conflict. It doesn't take much illumination to make an impact. After all, little children don't sing, 'This HUGE light of mine, I'm gonna let it shine.' Audrey Hepburn got the shock of her cinematic life when she believed the evil had been extinguished. We don't have to wait until it's dark- it threatens to engulf us. Jesus said, "I am the light of the world." He also said, "You are the light of the world." I don't think that was a misprint or in movie lingo, a blooper. He was shedding light on what we CAN be. What we cannot afford to be is naive. The darkness never rests.


To watch the scene from Wait Until Dark, click or copy/paste the link below:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n0s_qq2clHA


Applicable quote of the day:

"I don't want to be alone, I want to be left alone."
Audrey Hepburn

God bless,

Steve
Luke 18:1

The Checkout Line

 

The Checkout Line

 

Most of us can be pretty good at feeling sorry for ourselves. We need reminders of how good things are for us most of the time. A number of years, ago, I learned from the lady spoken of below in a post dated October 23, 2006.

I am not a good grocery shopper but I have my preferences. The majority of my food budget is spent at Wal-Mart but I buy my fruits and vegetables from the Fiesta supermarket near my apartment. Last evening as I approached the checkout line, I arrived at the same time as a lady who I would guess is in her mid-thirties. She told me to go ahead as she had something else to buy. She did ask for a favor: she wondered if I might put her items on the conveyor belt. You see, the woman was in a wheelchair and it was a struggle for her to reach the level of the cashier. After her purchases were deposited on the belt, she backed out to retrieve her final product. I asked if I could help and she accepted my offer. When we turned down an adjoining aisle, she pointed out a gallon of bottled water she needed. The water was stocked one shelf from the top, far surpassing her ability to grasp. It was easy for me but I wondered how she had planned to reach the water without assistance. Back in line, she told me her name was Jennifer and she was excited about a job interview today with one of the electric companies. I let her know I would be praying for her hiring and I have. I walked back to my car feeling guilty that I take the ability to walk for granted. Jennifer had no one to shop with her- no husband or boyfriend and no kids- and yet she seemed content. She was limited to how much food she could carry on her lap but she didn't complain. She had no job but she was upbeat about her prospects. She wasn't in a wheelchair for the short term- it was an electric model used by those permanently infirmed- but she was moving in the right direction. Without feeling sorry for herself, she put most of us to shame.

My sophomores quizzed over the first eighteen verses of John 5 today, the healing of the man at the pool of Bethesda. Jesus asked the paralyzed man a question with an obvious answer: "Do you want to get well?" Incredibly, the unknown invalid never answered. When the Savior blessed him with an amazing healing, he did not know who had performed the miracle. Later that day, he bumps into Jesus who cryptically tells him, "Stop sinning or something worse will happen to you." What was his sin? Could it have been self-pity? Was he so absorbed in himself that he did not attempt to comprehend the world around him? That would be understandable to us, even if we are not physically challenged. I asked my tenth graders how many would wish to die if they were to become paralyzed. Most indicated they would choose death, albeit without the knowledge of being in that situation or having those closest to you desperately wanting you to live. No one can adequately relate to life after loss of mobility. The thought of losing the ability to walk staggers me but many survive and most thrive. Most of us could use a healthy dose of whatever Jennifer has to motivate her. In spite of what I perceive as limitations, she attacks obstacles with a smile and dignity. I thought I was a good teacher but the lesson Jennifer taught me in a few minutes can't be duplicated by someone who simply stands in front of a classroom.

Applicable quote of the day:
"Do not pray for an easy life, pray for the strength to endure a difficult one."
Bruce Lee

God bless,
Steve
Luke 18:1

Sweeping It Under The Rug

 Sweeping It Under The Rug

My post from May 8, 2017, is dealing with cleaning AND remodeling!
Lord willing, in less than three weeks, I'll be sitting in my newly renovated apartment with new appliances and new floors in the kitchen and bathroom as well as new carpet everywhere else. I've been getting ready for a month or so, doing some much needed reduction of junk and paper. Without bragging too much, I've made progress as well as putting a game plan together for the day of remodeling. I've cleaned out my closet, pulled all my books off my coffee table and book shelf, packed away all my pictures and mementos which are not on the wall, and met with my advisors on the event, Rosemary and Lee Martin. Although I have always been low key about my living arrangements, I have to admit I am looking forward to having a nicer place. 

I can date the last time any real major work was done in here. It was ten years ago this coming July. I would not recall, probably, except they finished shortly before our father had the stroke which ultimately took his life. Funny how we date things, isn't it? But as the day of my new carpet, which they have told me will be grey, approaches, I find myself less concerned with the condition of my current carpet. I'm vacuuming as I get ready for the change but spills and stains don't bother me anymore. Several years ago, I left a bag of grapefruit on the floor next to my kitchen- you know they don't refrigerate them in the grocery store- and of course, they leaked. Grapefruit juice leaves permanent discoloration on fabric so in the meantime, the spot has been covered by a strategically placed waste basket. But now? It's like the old Alfred E. Neuman from MAD Magazine- What, Me Worry? A couple of guys from Sherwin Williams are going to roll it up, carry it away, and toss it before my next rent check is due so what does it matter? It's on life support...and no one in my apartment is weeping.

As we get older, we come to grips with the decline of our physical bodies. We see it happen in our aging relatives but it's different when we see ourselves in the mirror. Things we did easily become harder and aches and pains last longer. There is a difference, I think, between health concerns and appearance worries, but we try to stay as young as we can for as long as we can. But maybe with the onset of a bit more spiritual maturity, the inevitable won't be quite so devastating. In 2nd Corinthians 4, the jars of clay chapter, Paul reminds us in verse 16 that the bodies we inhabit are so temporary: we are outwardly wasting away as he puts it. This earthly existence is such a blip compared to our eternal inhabitation in the heavenly realms. So what if our hair loses its youthful tint or our muscle mass declines each year? There is a new and far greater form awaiting us when we enter the presence of the Almighty! And while we might wish we look more like we did in our high school pictures, except for the hair styles, we know in the not too distant future we'll be thrilled beyond imagination in the reward planned for the followers of Jesus Christ. I can live with current me because I know there will be a brand new me, just like I can handle the coffee residue and the wear and tear that goes with ten years of footprints. It's going to be made new shortly. And then I also will be made new.

Applicable quote of the day # 1:
Watching a child first learn to crawl on a carpet somehow has more significance to you as you get a little older. Perhaps it is that you have suffered more. 
Tobin Bell

Applicable quote of the day # 2:
Let's not push it under the rug, or push it to the side because, no matter what, it's going to keep coming up. You know, if you never deal with that dirt up under the carpet, it's going to get larger and larger, and it's going to keep coming up.
Herschel Walker

God bless,
Steve
Luke 18:1

Seating Arrangements

 Seating Arrangements

One of the amazing things about the parables of Jesus is that they still hit the nail on the head! This is from February 21, 2012.
This week, my eighth graders have been discussing Jesus' Parable of the Chief Seats from Luke 14. In it, Jesus sees some guys scrambling for the prominent seats at a dinner. The Savior admonishes them to take the least desirable place to sit. He makes the practical application that if they take the prime spot, there's a chance they will be forced to move to a lesser location. Conversely, He told them if they take the least honorable chair, they might be told to move to a better seat. Jesus ends this part of the lesson with the words, 
For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.

I try to make the Scriptures applicable to their lives so I asked if there was tension regarding who sits where when they go to the movies as a group. Predictably, they agreed and that it usually has to do with opposing genders. They also admitted there is drama concerning who sits where at the lunch table in the cafeteria. Middle school- what a soap opera! As we talked, I interjected social settings such as weddings and funerals. We decided that if you go to a wedding and stroll down and plop yourself on the front couple of rows, you will be quickly asked to relocate if you are not a member of the immediate family. One of the kids brought up the report that Bobby Brown was asked to move several times at the funeral of his ex-wife, Whitney Houston, and that became a story in itself. 

What amazes me about these parable taught two thousand years ago is their timelessness. We still struggle with humility and arrogance. We still want to be noticed as the one with the best seats. (Apparently, this teaching doesn't apply to seats on the bench as I just read an article about two NBA players complaining about they are sitting too much during games.) I've noticed this truism when it comes to the human race; humble folks are always liked, arrogant folks usually are not...and most of us struggle with at least temporary arrogance. Sometimes I hear, often in the news, that people are demanding their seat at the table. Maybe we should be careful what we ask for. Jesus said it reveals quite a bit about who we are.

Applicable quote of the day:

''Do you wish to rise? Begin by descending. You plan a tower that will pierce the clouds? Lay first the foundation of humility.''
Saint Augustine

God bless,
Steve
Luke 18:1

Letting Go

 Letting Go

The following was printed on May 18, 2006 and it involved one of my favorite all-time players, Tinu Agboola, as she was about to leave eighth grade. The picture above is my 8th grade players from our 2010-2011 team praying together for one one last time before they give up their practice tops which are laying at their feet in a pile. Predictably, there were tears shed. That's why I coach girls.

This was it for basketball. We have a practice period built into our schedule so I have our middle school girls' team at Westbury Christian from the first day in August through the end of the year in May. We went through pre-season work and scrimmages. We survived our eighteen game season, including two tournaments. We laughed our way through our athletic banquet and this Monday is my annual take the eighth graders to Chili's for lunch celebration following the first morning of finals. We aren't going to dress out tomorrow. I told the kids they could shoot around if they wanted. Every day since August, the young ladies have worn the same thing to practice: WCS P.E. shorts and a Lady Wildcat basketball reversible. (I make a couple of rules on the first day; no jewelry, white or grey T shirt under the practice jersey, and white socks only!) In the past, the players washed their reversibles, so called because they have two different colored printed sides, before I put them away for another year. That was a hassle so now, I take them up unannounced at the end of practice the last week. That was today. We met to pray as we concluded and I had the kids throw the tops in a pile to be washed. It was my day to provide drinks- Capri Suns!- so the girls left to grab their refreshments and change into school uniforms. All except one. The others had scattered when I saw Tinu. She was by herself in the middle of the court, next to the stack of tops. Tinu, whose given name is Grace, was holding her reversible next to her face the way a mother cradles her precious baby. To put it on the laundry heap with the rest meant it was officially over. No more practices, no more games, no more Got'cha contests, and no more free throw ladders. It was a private moment- I never saw her lay it down- but I know it didn't drop from her hands easily. In all my years of coaching, it was a first for me.

I wish you could know Tinu. Gifted and gregarious, she possesses an intelligent sense of humor adults would envy. She is the first girl in WCS history to be on the junior high team for three years. Tinu came out as a sixth grader- the only sixth grader- and I doubted she would make it. She was so intimidated by the older girls, who were good kids, that she changed by herself in the hallway bathroom. Tinu did not dress out for games that year but she survived. Early in her seventh grade year, I told her I doubted she would receive a uniform that year either- she cried. I was wrong and she did suit up for the games. She rarely played but she was on the roster. One afternoon, we were playing at St. Mark's Episcopal. Tinu was holding my dry erase coaching board when she got too into the game...and shattered the board. This year has been a remarkable one for Tinu. Through sheer determination, she not only earned playing time but became the smartest defensive post player I've coached at that level. We were not competitive when she was not on the floor. And it ended today when she finally let go of her reversible and, I would guess, placed it tenderly on the pile with the others.

I stopped her as she entered my classroom for Bible class sixth and asked about what I witnessed. She told me that reversible had been hers all three years, a fact I was unaware of. By rough calculation, Tinu wore that blue-and-white top to five hundred practices. She spoke of her attachment to her practice jersey and how it seemed to shrink over the years. I laughed and reminded her that she is much taller than as a sixth grader but the reversible didn't grow along with her. I love all my players. Today, I remembered why. My respect for Tinu took a quantum leap this morning. I will coach on that floor again, Lord willing, but it's over for her, at least as a middle schooler. Things that don't faze young men are traumatic for young ladies. I wish I could give her the top but I can't. I would have to give all the kids their reversibles and we can't afford that. I guess Tinu will be like other girls that played for me. They come by the following autumn and see who is wearing their reversible. I know one Lady Wildcat will be especially blessed next fall- the one who gets the top that Tinu could not bear to relinquish. And, as always, the beat will go on.

Applicable quote of the day:
"Some of us think holding on makes us strong, but sometimes it is letting go."
Hermann Hesse

God bless,
Steve
Luke 18:1

The Basis

 

The Basis

This is about one of my favorite movies. It's from August 1, 2013.
I'm not real big on watching movies, especially since the demise of the video stores like Blockbuster. There are two times, however, when I do avail myself of cinema. One is when I'm at my brother Scott's house at Christmas and Thanksgiving. Scott and his wife Karen are big movie watchers and we usually catch some flicks over the holidays. Last winter, it was Hunger Games. The other time I find myself in front of a screen watching a movie is when I'm flying to and fro on my mission trips to China and Vietnam. For instance, on my recent mission in Can Tho, I had six flights totaling approximately 45 hours. That's a great deal of time to spend in front of a entertainment console!

I saw several movies this trip but one was clearly my favorite. On the way over, I watched The Sapphires, a 2012 film from Australia, and re-watched large portions of it on the way home. The Sapphires  is the story of four Aboriginal girls who sing together from the time they are little. The girls, three sisters and their cousin, grow into lovely young women who end up on a leap of faith touring Vietnam and singing for the troops. It's a tale of family and danger and overcoming prejudice and includes the culture and music of the times. I knew from the opening scene that this was a film based in fact. When I got to Vietnam, I even watched several of the scenes on youtube, including my favorite one posted here, set at a talent contest where the girls sing, of all things, Merle Haggard's Today, I Started Loving You Again.  I even looked the movie up on Google, wanting to know more about the actual family and see what they looked like, which is a trait of a good movie. That's when I found out the truth.

 
You see, at the beginning of the family, there was this statement:
Based on a true story!
Sometimes, films change the wording just a bit:
Inspired by a true story!
Honestly, The Sapphires was such an enjoyable movie to me that I thought it had to have remained true to the history. And it did.....sort of. The movie was taken from a play written by Tony Briggs whose mother was one of the group. But the four girls were two sisters and two cousins, not three sisters and a cousin. Perhaps the main character in the movie, the girls' manager, Dave Lovelace, was fictional and how the young ladies turned to soul music from country and western is also made up. And only two of the four girls actually went to Vietnam a the other two were against the war. After I had read the Wikipedia article, I was disappointed because the portrayal I accepted as accurate wasn't really. And I liked it so much I wanted it to be. It doesn't take away from the movie and the fact that it was written by a family member kind of makes it more palatable. Still, I'm left with a bit of sadness and maybe that's just silly.

Based on a true story! 
You know, sometimes I wonder if that isn't how we as believers live our lives. We call ourselves by the title of the Messiah who freed us from sin and gives us eternal life. But, often, we are not the accurate portrayal of His life and teachings that we should be. Like The Sapphires, we remain true to the Jesus' story.....sort of. Oh, we might still be recognizable as followers but we fall far short of the emulation to which we are called. The good news is that He loves us anyway, in spite of our character flaws. Well, if my life is going to mirror the movie, I probably will be requesting that Brad Pitt reprise the role of Steve. After all, we're dealing with accuracy issues.

To watch The Sapphires sing Today, I Started Loving You Again, click or copy/paste the link below:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Zl1FcN_q0E

Applicable quote of the day:

"Truth is stranger than fiction, but it is because Fiction is obliged to stick to possibilities; Truth isn't."

Mark Twain

God bless,
Steve
Luke 18:1

Work In Progress

 Work In Progress

One of the benefits of my job is that I can always improve! This is from June 12, 2013.
I like to read stuff that challenges me in the arena of righteousness. Currently, I get a devotional delivered to my e-mail each morning from A.W. Tozer, one of my dad's favorite Christian writers, and some of the better ones make me uncomfortable. Like many of you, I'm partial to authors like Oswald Chambers and C.S. Lewis, even though I have to re-read many of the passages to try to comprehend their intent. (Just a thought- would I sell more books if I went by my initials? Would S.W. Hawley be more prolific in the sales department than plain old Steve?) I need to be pushed spiritually and these guys have that gift. Maybe I should say had as all of them have passed from this earth.

But sometimes, we get caught up with believing that deep and complicated are always synonyms. They aren't. That's one thing I love about teaching our little kids in basketball camp. We break it down into the simplest terms imaginable and it's amazing how effective teaching is when you reduce it to the most elemental skills and movements. For a long time, I've loved the childrens' hymn, He's Still Working On Me, which goes as follows:


CHORUS:

He's still working on me to make me what I ought to be.
It took Him just a week to make the moon and stars,
The sun and the earth and Jupiter and Mars.
How loving and patient He must be, He's still working on me.

1. There really ought to be a sign upon the heart,
Don't judge her yet, there's an unfinished part.
But I'll be perfect just according to His plan
Fashioned by the Master's loving hands.

CHORUS:

2. In the mirror of His Word reflections that I see
Make me wonder why He never gave up on me.
He loves me as I am and helps me when I pray
Remember He's the Potter, I'm the clay.

CHORUS:

I love how the author, Joel Hemphill, ties in Creation with the unfinished product that is me. In my heart, that is profound. I heard or read somewhere this week that the only part of God's Creation that does not work as intended at the Beginning is mankind- you and me. And yet, Our Heavenly Father refuses to chalk us up as lost causes or eternal mistakes. I must have listened to this song seven or eight times this week and it gives me comfort where sometimes Tozer or Lewis or Chambers do not. That's a blessing of being called Child of God.; we can have the faith of those who have yet to become jaded. And we have in our corners the only One who really matters.

To see and hear my favorite version of He's Still Working On Me, please copy and paste this link below!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TYV2ZvZFMo0

Applicable quote of the day:
“We do not turn from our false gods to become God's children. We turn from them because we are.”
Kelly Minter

God bless,
Steve (or S.W.)
Luke 18:1