Floppers!

Ugh! I hate soccer players who flop (Okay, so "hate" is a bit strong, but it is very annoying). I'm doing a U-12 game on Monday and I have a boy from one team who continually flops and begs for the call. Rather than own up to the fact that he messed up his attack, he's on his knees with arms outstretched. Gee, I wonder where he learned that trick?

It's the same in all sports. The kids pick up the habits of the adult players ... usually the bad and obnoxious ones. Later in the same match, the boy scores and then does a "fly-by" as he heads back for the re-start. "It's just youthful enthusiasm," some say. I would respond that it is choreographed. The young man did not think of these moves by himself ... he's imitating. Fortunately, this team has a coach who jumps all over that type of behavior. I suspect the young man will have toned it down the next time I see them.

I know that in other parts of our society, young people are imitating some of the better aspects of life. I just wish that it would be more true of those in the athletic arenas. Sadly, what we continue to see (and have reported) is the taunting, thuggish type of posturing.

Read about the last days of King Saul and his sons in 1 Samuel. I felt kind of a sadness as I realized that Jonathan (the friend of David) went down with his father. It gives me pause to wonder how many good people have "gone down" because they insisted on trying to rehabilitate those who refused to grow.

1 Samuel 30-31

Words from the Weekend

It was U-14 and U-12's again this weekend ... but I was assigned one U-8 Girls game! I usually get assigned one of these U-Little games when they want me to train another ref. This time I was hooked up with Blake. Blake played for me way back in the day and now has grown (physically and emotionally) and become a pretty good referee.

We started out just cracking up as we were checking in the teams. There is always one little girls on a U-8 team who is a chatterbox and thinks any conversation is directed toward her. I started by saying, "Hello, Ladies, my name is Mr. Allen and this is Mr. Magda. We will be your referees today." No sooner were these words out of my mouth than one of the girls supposed it was an invitation to talk. She starts jabbering away about having seen us referee her older sister's game and that we did a good job. She was just getting to the good part when the coach quietly said, "Janice, let the referee's finish their job." She brightly said, "Okay" and gave us the royal nod of her head to proceed. Only in U-8's!!!!!

Also ran into a contrite coach this weekend. He only fielded nine players at the start of the match (the others didn't arrive until well into the game) and you could tell that with a full complement of players this team would have been competitive. He was trying to urge his team on for most of the game. When their opponents passed for the fourth breakaway in a row, he yelled out at the AR "[Expletive deleted] Get in position and call the offside!"

When then play went out of touch, I jogged over and met the coach at mid-field. He was already hanging his head and apologizing. He noted he was way out of line, but I still booked him. The problem was that I think he was exactly right! The AR on that side has a history of not concentrating and getting behind the play. I noted that for the rest of this match and the next one, he had superior concentration. When we debriefed after the game, he tried to put the blame on the coach. I didn't let that get excuse even see the light of day. I'm hoping he's taking these corrections to heart.

Running the Pitch

This weekend was one for running - really sprinting - up and down the field. I was assigned U-14 and U-12 games ... but for some reason the kids kept making long passes. I'd have to churn down the field to get in position, only to have them pass it long the opposite way. After a few minutes, I found myself longing for a ball kicked way out of touch or a shot on goal that would miss and roll for miles.

I had to really dig down deep the last half of the last game. I had made the rookie mistake of not having enough to eat during the day so my energy was very low. I start growling to myself in order to hustle up the field and get in the right position. Fortunately, the end of the match came and we didn't have too much added time. It felt good to hear from one of the coaches that they appreciated my hustle even in the waning moments of the match.

But, I got to thinking today about a friend who is in the hospital. He had a stroke back in August and it has pretty well laid him up. His speech centers are functioning, but the left side of his body is not coming back well (on top of all this ... he's left-handed). I'm watching him and his wife have to "dig deep" to stay in the game. It's easy for me, on the outside, to wonder why he doesn't do all his physical or occupational therapy. It's easy for me to second-guess decisions that they are making as a couple. I want to try to hold back from making these judgments because this is one field that I've not yet had to run. It's easy to ask "what if" or "why don't you" when you're on the outside. It's a whole different matter when you are the one on the inside.

I'm also still struggling with the issue of why doesn't God just heal my friend and get on with it. I listen to other people talk about their "miracles." I read the New Testament and see Jesus and the apostles healing people. Why not my friend and why not now?

And ... I realize that this is a slippery slope. This is Job barking at God while not realizing his own limitations. I guess a better response is "Yes, I believe. Please, Lord, help my unbelief."

1 Samuel 27-29

The Sound of Silence

I worry, at times, that all my interaction with God and His word washes over me without leaving something, a residue, behind. I rush to get a sermon finished. There are Bible studies to prepare and materials for discipleship to formulate. But, in all this, it can easily slide off of me.

I know that this is one reason the saints of old were so persistent in their demand that those who follow Jesus spend time with Him. It's in the combining of tasks with Jesus where something is lost. Oh, it's still valuable. It's still important, but I wonder if it is diluted.

One of our young men commented last night at our Men's Huddle (men's group) that he was concerned about this new regimen of prayer he has started. When questioned, he noted that in the silence and waiting on God a lot of ugly stuff about himself rears up - stuff that he'd rather not encounter or even consider.

I noted - for him and myself - that this is exactly what silence before God is supposed to do. It brings out the infection of our souls so that the Great Physician can treat it. It is not easy and it is not without its hurt and pain. But, it is necessary for spiritual health.

1 Samuel 25-26

A Day with Jesus

I worked on bringing Jesus into the mundane aspects of my life today. At first, this goes against the grain of my spiritual up-bringing. It sounds like an excuse for not "setting aside daily time with the Lord." Even as I typed that last sentence, I felt the guilt start to well up inside my soul.

It would be one thing to "give the day to the Lord" as an after-thought. But, this was something I planned to do. I knew I was going to be all over the place with chores and activities. I knew that it would be a long time before I could sit still. But, now that I am stilled, I can acknowledge that it felt good.

As I was getting my car washed today, a toddler (whose mom was waiting for her own car) walked over to me and raised his hands. I was caught off guard and immediately eye-balled the mother. She said to go ahead, so I picked up the lad and we spent a glorious 10 minutes looking around and naming all the things we could see. No agenda. No hurry. Just noticing cars, trees, balloons, people and the assorted other stuff that went by. I walked away with a wave of my hand and a smile on my face.

You never know who may come along when one takes time to invite the Lord to come along.

1 Samuel 22-24

Amongst the Clutter

I spent part of the morning wrestling with technology as I installed a new flat-screen monitor for my computer. While I was back among the wires and cables (having forgotten a flashlight, of course), I was thinking about how cluttered my life had become. It's not cluttered in the sense of junk all around the house or the garage loaded to the rafters. I don't have to call the folks from Clean House to come and do an intervention.

The clutter begins in my soul. I look around the landscape of my life and look at the large number of projects and promises, resolutions and reminders that have gone undone. I always have good intentions, but the in-box never seems to empty. As one wag put it, it's like I'm rearranging deck chairs on the Titanic.

Now, this could be cause for despair. I could ignore my inner thoughts with peanut butter cookies and ice cream. I could bury myself in a favorite book. Or, I could slowly expose this condition to One who loves and delights in me.

Although it seems silly, one of the games most people play with God is that of hide-and-go-seek. The game is as old as Adam and Eve, yet we persist in thinking that if we don't verbalize or think about issues; then, God doesn't know.

He knows. He knows and He's waiting for us to come and talk to Him about it. It is in this conversation that the tangled lines of our life relax and unknot. The desperation begins to ebb and we begin to see a clear path.

Now the difficult part is the next step ... for we must now begin to do what we've been talking about. It starts with a successful first step. The step does not have to be hurried because it needs to be successful. Then it needs to be followed with a second and a third step. Soon, one finds themselves walking toward the goal they always desired.