Let Them Play

After years of watching as the fees for youth sports increase to a point where it has become difficult for many families to afford, I have a message for the recreation departments and youth sport organizations of the world. Not any one in particular. Just in general.  My message is simple. Let them play.

If children don't develop an interest in sports at an early age, they are far less likely to ever become interested at all. And, even if they do decide to go out for a team in jr. high or high school, they are at a significant disadvantage to those with prior experience and knowledge of a sport, and most often find themselves cut after tryouts.


But...why should we care?

As any high school teacher can tell you, the students who get involved in something outside of the classroom are the ones who have the better experiences in school. School is more fun for them. They are more invested. They have greater accountability. They have more eyes on them and more adults taking an interest in how they are doing off the field. They have coaches who check up on them. Pre-game meals to feed them. Teammates who become friends to them. They have to be at school for practice and games, so their attendance is better, which is reflected in their academic performance. Kids who have extracurricular interests are more likely to stay in school and graduate. How often do you hear about your local school's athletes dropping out?

Not everyone is born with a love of learning. Sometimes, though, a love of sports can make up for that. And, even if their focus is on athletics, they are going to learn along the way. That's just how it works. When you give a child a spot on a team, you are giving him or her another shot at success.

Stop charging so much for a tee shirt and a pair of baseball pants. Surely, we can outfit teams for less than $75 per child! Ask local businesses to sponsor teams to cover the cost of uniforms. Let them advertise on the outfield fence.  Get parents to umpire instead of hiring league officials. It's just a game, after all. Make the community aware of the awesome power and influence of athletics and ask them to make an investment in the future by donating time and money. Successful children become successful adults. Children who feel connected to their communities are more likely to make their homes there, start their businesses there, and give back to the place that influenced them.  So, hold an extra fund raiser or two. Do whatever you have to so that you can give everyone a chance to play. Make it happen.

Sports should not be a luxury limited to only those who can afford it. Often, those who can't pay are the ones who need it more. No matter the background, all children can benefit from being able to participate. We just have to give them the opportunity.

Let them play. Let them gain confidence. Let them find friendships. Let them put down the electronics and pick up a ball. Let them learn what it means to be part of a team and work together with people from all walks of life. It just might change the world. It will definitely change theirs.

Let them play. Let all of them play.

Starting 2017 Off Write!

Well....It's New Year's Day! Made those resolutions yet? Started your new diet? Forgotten those old acquaintances? Out with the old; in with the new!

Wait a minute. Not so fast... While I'm all about moving forward, setting goals, etc. in the new year before us, I started thinking about some of the things I used to do that maybe I should revisit. So, here I am. And what better day for a new beginning. Or a second beginning. Rebeginning? Is there a word for it...? Ah, the rebirth of the blog.

I know choosing this day to resume the blog is a bit cliche, but you can put cliches right there with puns, analogies, idioms, and obscure movie/television show quotes. Right there. In the box labeled "I Love 'Em!" Even if it is cliche, I say bring on the resolutions! I'm all about this new beginnings stuff.

I have several goals and plans for 2017. Admittedly though, I felt a little silly every time I've thought or said, "Okay, next year I'm gonna..." or "I'm starting (filling in the blank) as soon as the holidays are over." I've even seen some social media posts taking jabs at others for their "new chapters" or what have you. But seriously, just like Thanksgiving is a day set aside to formally express gratitude and Valentine's Day is a chance to join the masses is celebrating the people we love, New Year's Day gives us a chance to reflect on the past year, take stock of what's working and what could use some improvement, and start fresh. Cliche, maybe. Awesome? I think so.

Here's why: I've come to realize something over the past year or so. Something most of you probably knew this already. I do not claim to have some profound and rare form of wisdom. I've just been thinking...if things aren't how you want them to be, fix them. That may seem like an oversimplification, but I think it's applicable to so many of the "problems" we all face. Of course, I don't have complete control over every single thing that happens to me. But, I'm not a helpless victim of my own life. I make choices every day. Some bigger and more significant than others. But they are my choices. I have more control over how things are going in my life than I've been taking responsibility for. It's time to do something about that. And what better time to start? There's something rather ceremonial about starting something first day of the new year. Feels more official that way.

I have big plans for the upcoming year, and I'm inviting you along for the ride. Not because I think my story is going to be the most incredible thing ever (although...), but just in case I learn something along the way that might be of interest or helpful somehow. There's another reason too. I know some of my goals for the year will be difficult to achieve. Some of my plans require me doing things that take me out of my comfort zone, even scare me a little. So I need you in my corner cheering me on and praying for me. Share your goals and resolutions with me, and I'll do the same for you.

Happy New Year! I hope 2017 is everything you want it to be!

The Trouble With Being Perfect

Let me preface this post by saying: I am not perfect. I have never claimed to be, nor will I ever be perfect. It has taken me a long time to realize that. Of course I knew I wasn't perfect. What I didn't know is that I didn't HAVE to be.

I've always been a perfectionist. I felt an enormous self-imposed pressure to be perfect. My mother always told me, "You don't have to be THE best, but you do have to be YOUR best." Solid advice that I've repeated numerous times. But in my mind, I still felt like there was no room for failure, flaws, or faults. That kind of motivation can lead to great successes, but it doesn't come without a cost.

Trying to be perfect when you never will takes an emotional toll of you. You never stop feeling that pressure. Nothing is ever good enough. Even successes are overanalyzed or attributed to something else. It wears on you. It's like running a race that has no finish line.

The trouble with being perfect is that you aren't. You can't be. And by "You" I mean me. I'm not. I'm far from it. I thought I had to be or I'd disappoint people. So I spent so long trying to be perfect that I've missed opportunities to be imperfect. Yes, I said opportunities. Flaws make us unique. Faults provide areas for growth and improvement. Failure is one of the best teachers there is. By accepting, dealing with, and learning from imperfections, mistakes, failures, we get to be better people that we were before. And how awesome us that?

There's nothing wrong with striving for perfection. But I'm learning that I shouldn't let it become a burden for me. What a relief it is to know that it's OKAY if I make a mistake. It's like I tell my children: a mistake is okay, but you have to learn from it. I want them to understand that, so why wouldn't I accept the that truth for myself?

This is about more than a poor self image. I find myself with imperfect judgement. Imperfect faith. I want to make the right choices. The best decision. I want my life to be all sunshine and smooth sailing and smiles. We all do. But it doesn't work that way. Bad things happen. Mistakes are made. Life gets hard. For everyone. It doesn't mean anything is wrong with YOU. It's just the reality of life.

I don't always get it right, make the best choice, know exactly how to handle a situation. I'm human. I'm normal. I'm a mess. But whenever things go wrong, for whatever reason, there is some lesson in it for me. The trick to to find that lesson without letting the mistakes, failures, or trials defeat me first. Easier said than done, at times. So, when I feel like the world is landing more punches than I can fend off, I'm reminded of James 1:2-4

   Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.

So, while I may never be perfect, I can be made more perfect by allowing myself to learn from my imperfections. And that, my friends, is pretty perfect to me. 

The Shoe Rack

I've managed to accumulate quiet a few pairs of shoes over the years. Running shoes, boots, heels, flats, you name it. They had progressively spilled out of my closet and into my bedroom floor, finding a semi-permanent home behind the bedroom door. Needless to say, my bedroom was a mess. I needed to do something.

I was tired of all that mess. Every single time I walked into my room, there was that mess, just lying there. I couldn't take it anymore, so I went to the store and bought a shoe rack. I brought it home, tore open the box, and excitedly began assembling the pieces. I've never put anything together by myself before, but this seemed easy. There weren't too many pieces. In fact, I didn't even need tools. So, I briefly glanced over the minimal directions and hurriedly began piecing together by brand-new organizational solution. This was going to be great! My shoes would be neat and tidy. My whole bedroom would look better. I was pumped! This was awesome…

For about 5 minutes. Then I realized that I didn't know which side was up. And how does this piece fit into that one so that the sides matched up properly. Uh oh… My fantastic new shoe rack was a jumble or parts. Nothing looked right. There was no way that it would ever hold shoes. What could I do?

Calm down. no big deal. All I had to do was go back to the directions. So I did. I read them from beginning to end. The whole process condensed into about 5 easy steps. I could do that. But before I could properly construct my life-changing shoe rack, I had to break it back down. And as I pulled the pieces apart, I started thinking about all of the other times I've tried to build things without consulting the instructions. And I realized a couple of things.

Sometimes, I get so busy planning this crazy life of mine, trying to figure everything out, that I forget a very important step. I need to consult the instructions. Too often, I think I need to take care of things on my own. I think, I've got this. I'm good. Things are fine. Then I look around and realize what a huge mess I've made. God has it all laid out for me. I don't have to guess or wonder or try to figure it out. It's right there in His Word. Romans 15:4 tells me, For whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, that through endurance and through the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope. 

Okay….read the instructions from now own. Got it. But what about the times I failed to do so in the past? I've got plenty of poorly constructed shoe racks in my life. Ah, the shoe rack! The good news is, even though I'd made a mess of it, hope was not lost. It could be fixed! But not before I took it completely apart. 

So many times, we go through this life making bad decision after bad decision…mistakes on top of mistakes. We haven't read the instructions and things are a total mess. There is hope. You can fix it…well, God can fix it. But sometimes, in order to get it right, things have to be completely broken down. You have to reach the bottom and start over. Clean slate. From scratch. Remember that when everything is falling apart. 

Author Marianne Williamson wrote, "Something very beautiful happens to people when their world has fallen apart: a humility, a nobility, a higher intelligence emerges at just the point when our knees hit the floor. Perhaps, in a way, that's where humanity is now: about to discover we're not as smart as we thought we were, will be forced by life to surrender our attacks and defenses which avail us of nothing, and finally break through into the collective beauty of who we really are." 

Life will break us down. When it does, rejoice! Here is your chance to get it right. If I hadn't needed that shoe rack, I might've given up on it when I realized it was a mess. I didn't give up. I started over and guess what, my shoe rack works perfectly. When I look at it, I don't see the piece-of-crap-first-attempt. I see the shoe rack as it was meant to be, doing the job it was meant to do. 

Sometimes, we get into a mess. But we can find our way out of it if we will refer back to the instructions. Don't give up. God won't give up on us. He might break us down, but only because He cares enough to put us back together the right way.