The Guidance

 

The Guidance

I still get lost! This is from April 1, 2018!
Ron Rose has something in common with a number of my Facebook friends- we've never met in person, at least I don't think we have. We do share 143 common friends so sometimes you can almost feel like you know someone in person.  I've become a daily reader of his morning posts about people he meets while drinking coffee. Like all good writers, Ron has the gift to be able to draw the reader into the story and in his case, the character who makes up his daily vignette. On Friday morning, his posting had to do with Jesus' words from John 16:13. Ron quoted from the NLT so I will as well:
When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all truth.

Man, I need that guidance! To believe there is wisdom and truth I can be led to perceive with more clarity by the Holy Spirit is such a comfort to me. When I rely on myself, I flounder. When I lean on the Spirit, my footing is sure. 

Two days ago, I drove to downtown Houston- no school due to Good Friday! I was on the hunt for gifts for my players to be given at our end of the season party. Twice, I took wrong turns. It wasn't my GARMIN'S fault- I just wasn't paying good attention. Five years ago, I would have become very upset at losing my way but not anymore. You see, I know my GPS will always guide me back to the right path, even when I mess up. The GARMIN can take my mistakes and still get me home. It might, and usually does, take longer but the end result is the same.

Several years ago, I wrote a blog about a wonderful girl who often swims when I do at my fitness center. (If interested, here it is: http://stevehawley.blogspot.com/2016/03/swimmers-and-sting-and-scott-and.html)  She is a terrific athlete and her mother coaches her, sometimes from an adjacent lane. I happened to see them today at the pool and mentioned I was writing a sequel to her story; mom and daughter beamed! This is what I had been meaning to write: As the young lady swims her workout, her mother is always talking into a small machine as she walks by her lane on the concrete deck. I thought it was something like a dicta-phone where they can review the comments when they leave the pool. But recently when our paths crossed poolside, she told me what it really is. She holds a microphone and talks to her daughter, who wears an earpiece, while she's swimming. My guess is she is helping her child constantly make adjustments while she sprints through her laps. You know, you can't see yourself swim but someone above and out of the water can and suggest the corrections which make your journey easier and your times improve. My swimming buddy, who is now twelve, has continued to get faster so Mom must be a wonderful coach! I already know she's a great mother!

Here's where I have a confession to make, and it's just coincidental that today is Easter Sunday; I really don't comprehend the influence of the Holy Spirit in my life. I know the Scriptures and all the references but the moving of the Comforter through my existence remains mysterious to me. I can give examples, like the voice on my GPS or the swimming prodigy being led by her mom, but that's about the extent of my childlike grasp. Faith leads me to unwavering belief that he is with me and walking with me but I can't explain that faith to a non-believer. Believers, maybe! And when I look back at the verse Ron shared, I'm reminded that Jesus promised the Spirit would guide us into all truth, not all understanding. That I understand. But some day, I'll know. And we'll know. We just don't know when.


Applicable quote of the day:
The Spirit-filled life is not a special, deluxe edition of Christianity. It is part and parcel of the total plan of God for His people
A.W. Tozer

God bless,
Steve
Luke 18:1

Google Perspective

 

Google Perspective

I love Google. Without a doubt, it has changed the way I think, read, write, and wander on the Internet. The following, from January 11, 2007, is about using Google to explore my childhood in an unexpected way. In the intervening  fifteen + years since it was written, there have been tremendous advances in satellite imagery for the common person. Check out Google Earth Street View where I can take a leisurely stroll around York, Nebraska, even seeing people on sidewalks!

I played around with Google tonight. Using the Maps link, I typed in addresses of the homes I grew up in as a little boy. What an amazing feature! The satellite images when you zoom in look to be only several hundred feet off the ground. It was eerie doing a tour of York, Nebraska from space. I saw the ball fields I played on and followed the paths I walked to school. I pinpointed the exact spot where I had my only car accident and I could see the concrete slabs that were my own personal basketball courts, adjacent to our houses. Everything is neater from the atmosphere, much more of a pattern than is discernible at eye-level. You can't see peeling paint or tell if the grass needs mowing. There was also another qualification for a community missing from the photos: people. The town could have been deserted. I'm kind of glad. It would bother me to see strangers standing in the yards of what still feel like our houses.

At times, we need some distance to get an accurate view of life. In the middle of a crisis, it's hard to see the overall picture. More details don't always provide more clarity. Sometimes too much information clouds the image. From the satellite camera, I can see the entirety of York, Nebraska at once. I think that is how God sees His children when we are in our daily-weekly-monthly binds. The Almighty, from His vantage point, understands the fluidity of our lives when we get bogged down in the minutia and the latest crisis. I admit, I live day-to-day without putting much thought into the future, either near or distant. Maybe there is some merit- I live in the present- but maybe I get caught up worrying about the little stuff instead of seeing myself in an overall scheme. Google is pretty good about zooming in and zooming out. The Lord, as always, has it perfected. And I bet He doesn't even have to get on the Internet to find me!

Applicable quote of the day:
"Never write about a place until you're away from it because that gives you perspective."
Ernest Hemingway


God bless,
Steve
Luke 18:1

Sequel to the Prodigal Son

 

Sequel to the Prodigal Son 

Tomorrow, we do the same assignment in my Gospel classes! This is from March 29, 2018!
Yesterday, we covered the stories of Luke 15, one of which is the Parable of the Prodigal Son, in my eleventh grade Gospels class, Test # 6. The discussion question was this:
Write a sequel to the Prodigal Son. Tell what the family will be like in ten years. 
Like most assignments, the students' level of effort varied. This is what Rachael wrote! It took a great deal of thought!

The father becomes ill and it’s almost time to work out the inheritance.

The older son is still set in his ways and becomes furious at the thought of how his younger brother was put back in the inheritance. The father has tried to reason with the older son multiple times but he remains greedy, oblivious, and full of hate for his brother. The younger son is now married and has three children. The older son is married but childless. The estate was going to be split evenly, but after the last meeting with the older brother, the father secretly switched it and gave the younger brother ⅔ and the older ⅓ and a note. When the father died and the will was revealed, the older son became furious and his fury continued to grow as he read the note from his late father. The note read:

Dear Son, I know that with time you will learn just as your brother did. I understand that you must be upset with my changes to the estate, but give it time and you will grow with wisdom; when that time comes, all my words to you will have meaning and clarity.

The older son ripped the note, took his share, and went off to a nearby city. A few months went by and the older son remained hateful. He created a plan to get back at his brother. He snuck in at night and took two of the kids and leaving a note for his younger brother. The note read:

You don’t deserve the children you have, you don’t deserve a good wife, and they all will come to realize how wicked and irresponsible you are. The child you have left will miss his brothers and begin to hate you, as he should. You will never be the man they believe you to be. You may have received more of the estate, but just wait; it’ll be gone before you know it. Your wife will leave you and take the child. At that time I will write to her and she will receive her other children. Nobody will be there when you hit rock bottom! You will be stuck and I will be prosperous. After reading the note and explaining the situation to his wife, the younger brother searched for his children everyday, but he kept working hard, never neglecting his role as a father or husband.  He continued to grow in wealth, thinking of his father. He wanted his children to have wonderful lives filled with the same love and acceptance that his father showed him when he came home. Three years went by. The older brother got divorced, was hated by his nephews, and lost all his money. Finally, the older brother let his nephews go free, and they found their way home. Their father rejoiced and threw a huge party. After the party, the younger brother explained to his sons the reasoning of their uncle. The boys hatred for their uncle grew and the amount of their hatred was evident. Their father sat them down and told them to love their uncle- he was lost but he was still family. The younger brother explained that when we are lost, we are not capable of thinking or acting correctly. That did not excuse what their uncle had done, but if their uncle ever came home and repented, they would love and accept him. Three more years went by and the older brother, who had been sleeping on the streets with nothing to eat, had an epiphany. He made up a speech, explaining that he had sinned and wasn’t worthy of being called his brother. But, he would ask for mercy and ask if he could be kept as his brother’s prisoner; at least then he would have lodging and food. He started to make his way to his brother’s house, but his brother saw him a long way off. He ran to him and hugged him! The older brother began his speech, but was interrupted by his brother ordering his servants to immediately put a robe, a ring, and sandals on his older brother. His three nephews came to him and all kissed him on the cheek. They had a feast that included the best food they had. The younger brother invited everyone in town, including his older brother’s ex-wife. Having known what the feast was for, she wore her best clothes and ran up to the house. She said to the older brother, "I’ve waited for you to become the man you were meant to be, and now that time has come!” The older brother embraced her and started crying. He was home and he was whole!

Applicable quote of the day: Every parent is at some time the father of the unreturned prodigal, with nothing to do but keep his house open to hope.
John Ciardi

God bless,
Steve
Luke 18:1

Max And Mel

 

Max And Mel

Two great voices! This is from March 27, 2018!
I read the Bible through each year. In days gone by, I would use the book form of The One Year Bible, which is still what I give to my players for their Christmas present. In recent years, I've begun reading it by way of the Internet on a website called oneyearbibleonline.com. It has the advantage of letting me choose my translations and switch each year if I choose and I do choose to do so. It also has the same feature of dividing each day into an Old Testament passage, a New Testament passage, a Psalm, and a Proverb. This year, I'm reading The Voice. It's different but I'm learning like I hope I always do. Here is what today looks like:

March 28
Deuteronomy 9:1-10:22
Luke 8:4-21
Psalm 69:19-36
Proverbs 12:2-3  

We recently were on Spring Break so with more time on my hands, I took a slight detour in my reading schedule. Instead of reading my laptop each morning, I decided to listen. There is a feature that allows you to hear your daily reading.  As there is no audio feature with The Voice , I had to go to an alternate translation. I went to the NIV because I wanted to listen to Max, as in Max McLean. The aforementioned Max is a well-known narrator of the Scriptures along with a myriad of other talents and endeavors. I could listen to him all day! Sometimes, I just need to use my ears instead of my eyes. Max can make genealogies fascinating. He can make the intricacies of the regulations of the Law of Moses intriguing. He can make borders and names of cities come to life! And that's just the Old Testament! The New Testament is even better! It takes more than twice as long to go through a day's worth of the Bible orally but it's worth it. If I had the time, I would do it every day of the year. I probably should just make the time.

I love to read and I love to read the Bible. When you have read something many times, I think your mind and eyes start skipping over the familiar. That's what I think has happened to me somewhat. You can't skip words when you are listening. I don't like reading genealogies but I know the ones in the Bible are there for a reason. When I hear them, it reminds me those names were real people who lived real lives and changed the world they lived in. I also love the correct pronunciation of names and find, assuming Max is correct, I've been saying most of them wrong my whole life!

Last night as I was eating supper, I watched a fascinating short documentary on Mel Blanc. Even if his name is not familiar, his voice is. Or, I should say his voices. You see, Mel Blanc is considered by some the greatest voice actor of all-time. He was the voice of Bugs Bunny, Elmer Fudd, Daffy Duck, Porky Pig, Sylvester and Tweety Bird, Yosemite Sam, and the list goes on. How many characters did he give voices to? A bunch, many I'd never heard of! (I thought it was fascinating that his son related how he didn't really like cartoons and often never watched the ones he made!) But here's something I think is amazing. Max McLean is the voice of every character who speaks in the Bible, every one! That includes God the Father, Jesus, and even Satan. He is the voice of Peter and Judas, David and Nabal, Jacob and Esau, Moses and Pharaoh. What a legacy! What a responsibility! Some of us hear better than we read. Paul wrote in Romans 10:17 that, faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God. On some days, it comes to me by hearing Max. 

To listen to Max McLean narrate Deuteronomy 3, click or copy and paste the link below:
https://www.biblegateway.com/audio/mclean/niv/Deut.3


Applicable quote of the day:
The human voice: It's the instrument we all play. It's the most powerful sound in the world, probably. It's the only one that can start a war or say 'I love you.' And yet many people have the experience that when they speak, people don't listen to them.
Julian Treasure


God bless,
Steve
Luke 18:1

Scent Of A Clumsy Man

 

Scent Of A Clumsy Man

What we do to smell good! This is from April 6, 2014.
My wonderful sister-in-law, Karen, wife of my brother, Scott, has given me cologne for Christmas a number of times in recent years. Karen is a thoughtful and inspired shopper and I am certain she gets terrific deals on making me smell good. Over the past several years, Karen has graciously presented me with various brands under the Christmas tree: Lucky You, Curve (For Men), Guess. This past December, her latest entry was Usher, posted above. From a website, I discovered Usher is a blend of sea water, nutmeg, bay leaf, basil, artemisia and more and claims Usher is perfect for almost any occasion. I've scratched my head wondering what occasion it might not be good for but to no avail. Nevertheless,  my players tell me I smell good in the morning when we stack it up to pray after practice so we can scratch that off the list.

Well, tomorrow morning they are going to have to get used to me and my Lucky You fragrance. Before worship this morning, I went swimming at Chancellor's, my fitness club. After I got out of the shower and toweled off, I grabbed an apple out of my Nike bag as a post workout snack. Oddly, it was wet and I did not remember washing it before I left my apartment. Even more odd, it smelled suspiciously like my Usher cologne, which happened to be in the same compartment in the gym bag! I opened the bag and my 90% full Usher bottle had lost its spray nozzle and was empty. I was heartbroken. (Truthfully, I haven't had the best of luck with Karen's gifts. Several years ago, I dropped a bottle of Lucky You in that same locker room and it broke. Several years before that, all my luggage was stolen in Honduras on a mission trip and still another bottle of Lucky You was lost!) Oh well, I got enough by shaking the bottle so I smelled awesome at service and I still have a backup with the Lucky You bottle so all is not lost!

Interestingly, I used cologne as a reference in class this past week. We spoke of how in the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus taught we should be discreet or subtle in how we give/fast/pray. As an opposite example, I asked the girls how many middle school boys use too much cologne after PE. The answer- all of them. I would not be shocked to to find out that some pre and barely teen young men use 1/2 bottle of AXE after basketball or football practice or PE. It is just overpowering at times when just a little bit would more than suffice. Paul speaks of the concept of fragrance and believers in 2 Corinthians 2, verses 14-16:
¹⁴ But thanks be to God, who always leads us as captives in Christ’s triumphal procession and uses us to spread the aroma of the knowledge of him everywhere. ¹⁵ For we are to God the pleasing aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing. ¹⁶ To the one we are an aroma that brings death; to the other, an aroma that brings life.
What do we smell like in the world? I would guess that Karen picks scents for me that she likes- it just happens we share the same taste! How does the world smell me, though, as a follower of Christ? Does my walk bring the fragrance of life or does my hypocrisy reek of death? Only I can control that. Tonight at our evening service, Dave Yasko had this gem in his sermon:
"I can't think of anything better than smelling good to God."
I really like that point! As you might guess, I was cologne-free as I sat in the pews and listened to Dave and I even led the opening prayer and no one complained. But, I do know this- my Honda Fit still smells like Usher almost ten hours after I removed the duffel bag from my car. Maybe my next passenger will be impressed!

Applicable quote of the day:
I think it's interesting that 'cologne' rhymes with 'alone.'

Demetri Martin

God bless,
Steve
Luke 18:1

In The Bag

 

In The Bag

Not only has basketball changed, the way to teach it has changed! This is from March 26, 2018
It's NCAA Tournament time and the men's Final Four is set. To no one's surprise, Villanova and Kansas have cashed their tickets while Michigan who has played well of late is booking rooms in San Antonio, the site of this year's coronation. The shocker is Loyola of Chicago who last made it this far in 1963 when they defeated Cincinnati for the title. I don't follow much during the regular season but I like this time of year! Even though I coach girls, I only watch the men's tournament. It isn't as pure a game as the one the women play but it's faster, more athletic, and higher scoring which keeps my interest. Some of you know Ralph Turner. Ralph is a legend in some coaching circles, including mine. I was blessed to teach and coach with him in Georgia and then to work with him for more than a decade at Lipscomb University camps. Several days ago, Ralph posted in Facebook how during this time of year, some former and current coaches are quick to criticize other coaches whose teams are still playing on the various social media. Although I don't see it to the extent Ralph does as his basketball galaxy is on the collegiate level, I know he's right. Nobody knows what is going on with a team at any moment except the team you stack it up with as Don Meyer used to tell us. A coach knows his/her team like a parent knows his/her child. Ralph wears his mind on his sleeve and the sleeve fits. He's not saying don't be observant, just be kind.... I think. And if you know him, you know that Ralph is the best interpreter of Ralph!

That brings me to the pictures at the top of this page. One thing I've dealt with in my coaching career is boredom. Not boredom in working with the kids or in the teaching of fundamentals and concepts. The boredom comes from the repetitive nature of drills. I call it the Leticia Cuellar Factor. Leticia played for me in middle school and then for Reed Sutton for four years on our WCS high school squad. Then, Leticia played for Reed for four more years at Faulkner University. Eight years with the same coach! I know she knew Reed's drills by heart. I know Reed and he had to constantly change things up to keep practice from being too predictable. I've really tried to address this the past several years. I've been at WCS for two decades, coaching the middle school girls with a one year filling in for our varsity. With our junior high, we run the same zone offense and man offense, the same three inbounds plays, and the same press break we did in 1998-1999. Identical. But the way we teach it is completely different. The fundamentals are the same but the way we break them down into small parts evolves almost by the week. I've become more creative, constantly reading coaching articles and tinkering with our practice approach. And guess what? There is terrific stuff on you-tube as relates to basketball. Coaches are born borrowers. You can't use everything but one good idea can lead to another. Not long ago, I saw a clip discussing how Kyrie Irving used grocery bags to improve his ball handling, a trick he learned from NBA legend Baron Davis. Talk about cheap equipment! It's not a substitute but a supplement for the skills we teach. We pass, dribble, and shoot layups with ball in bag. The basketballs are hard to grip and the knot makes for crazy bounces but I can already tell a positive difference with my youngsters. Like other team trends, it will probably grow old so we won't overuse it. But I guarantee one thing; we will never run out of bags!

This isn't any deep theological treatise tonight, just a peek into the world of coaching at almost the beginning level. But let me assure you, if I get complacent and bored, so will the kids I'm trying to coach. Adding a cone or switching baskets or keeping score and making a drill a contest can change my interest quotient and that of the girls. If the time comes when I'm sleepwalking through practice, pull me off the court for my own good. There is a carryover. Jesus talked about new and old wine and new and old wine skins. Pray and meditate at different times. Read the Word from a new translation. Write a devotional- I'll print it! Keep your mind active spiritually as well as in the rest of your daily life. The alternative is, as I can attest, boredom. The Godfather Of Soul, James Brown, put it like this- Papa's Got A Brand New Bag! Well, so do I .... and I mean literally!

Applicable quote of the day:
I have coaching friends, and when we get together, we often talk more about what we're doing to get players' attention than we do about the fascinating X's and O's of our sport. 
Tony La Russa


God bless,
Steve
Luke 18:1

Stamped On My Heart

 

Stamped On My Heart

This story is about Mom and Jesus and....spit. It is from May 9, 2010.

On Friday morning, our faculty and staff at Westbury Christian School received the following e-mail:
Good morning!! I am short one little stamp to mail a Mother’s Day card and was hoping someone had one. Let me know if you can help. Thanks and have a great Friday!!
Katy Shirley
Katy is new to WCS this year and teaches one of our second grades. Truthfully, before her plea for a stamp, of which I had none, I didn't even realize that Mother's Day was only forty-eight hours in the future. Today is the second Mother's Day since Mom passed away but to be honest, she probably had no idea of the holiday for five or six years prior to her death. This morning in our Chinese congregation, I was, as I usually am, in charge of the communion service. I told a story about hurting Mom's feelings deeply when we (Dad, Dave, Scott, me) forgot to buy her a corsage one Mother's Day. There were extenuating circumstances that year but no excuses: it's the one day everyone knows you make a really big deal about the woman who gave you birth. (If you are curious, go to The Subject Was Roses by clicking http://stevehawley.blogspot.com/2006/05/subject-was-roses.html.)

After the Lord's Supper, my mind replayed several other occasions when I hurt my mother, sometimes to the point of tears. I never meant to make my mother cry; in fact, I hate dealing with tears and the worst thing is knowing you are responsible. Being a guy, I don't really understand why my mother reacted as she did in those situations (which I may discuss in the next few days) but she did and that's all that matters. My mom was a saint in more ways than we have space for and each day, as I see kids struggle with their home lives, I am more grateful. My mom was, in no particular order, a decorated elementary school teacher, a preacher's wife, a Cub Scout Den Mother, a noted speaker, a child of the farm, her family's biggest supporter, a loving disciplinarian, a mentor to young women, the least knowledgeable sports fan of all time, and the sweetest and kindest person ever placed on this earth to do the will of the Father. We were so blessed.

Three times in the Scriptures (Mark 7, Mark 8, John 9), we are told how Jesus used spit in the healing of people who were blind and deaf. I tell the students the belief at the time that the saliva of a righteous and holy man was considered to have healing qualities. I ask my classes if they think that is silly; they do. But then, I ask them what they did when they were small and they bumped their head or bruised their knee. Which parent, I ask, did you go to for comfort? Invariably, the answer is, ''Mom." And what did Mom do? "She kissed the bump/bruise/boo-boo." And what was the result? ''It felt better.'' When? "Immediately!" All of a sudden, that ancient belief about healing from the lips of another doesn't seem so incredulous, does it? My Mom had the healing touch and I bet yours did as well. I can't tell my mother anymore but like Katy, many of you still can; you might just need a stamp. Do me a favor and scroll back to the top. Do you see what is printed on the right side of the stamp? FOREVER. I didn't know our government issued a commemorative stamp to honor our collective mothers but apparently it did. That single seven letter word says it all. I love you, Mom- FOREVER.

Applicable quote of the day:

''My mom is a never-ending song in my heart of comfort, happiness, and being. I may sometimes forget the words but I always remember the tune.''
Graycie Harmon

God bless,
Steve (son of Sarah Nelda Chesshir Hawley)
Luke 18:1