Someone who posted on my blog has a sports/faith blog. On it I found this article relating to athletes who like to play the “God card” and compare themselves to Jesus. Terrell Owens, known for saying “I love me some me,” also said that he should expect people to hate him because, “they hated on Jesus.” Click here for an interesting article critiquing a fellow Dallas Cowboys teammate Roy Williams’ comparison to Jesus.

Sometimes I wonder what it would be like to be a professional athlete. Or rather a Christian who is a professional athlete. Christ’s lordship applies to everything we do. There is nothing that exists outside Christ’s Lordship for the Christian’s life. Nothing.

So I often wonder how I would, or at least should, act in specific sporting situations. Especially in the ‘unwritten rules of the game.’ For instance, retaliation in baseball. Retaliating against a neighbor or enemy is one thing. But is retaliation in baseball entirely different?

Recently the Tampa Bay Rays went to Fenway Park for a series. One evening a dirty Red Sox player named Coco Crisp, slid hard, high, and late into the Rays 2nd baseman. The next night, James Shields, drilled him with a fast ball in the hip. Crisp didn’t take kindly to it.

He charged the mound, and Shields swung hard at him and missed. A melee ensued and several folks got thrown out with several more getting big suspensions.

The Rays 2nd baseman, a Japanese player, said that he felt like his team really “had his back.” They don’t do that kind of stuff in Japan (strangely enough the place that brought you Kamikazes) he said. I guess you could say that the retaliation pitch was really showed love to Aki. I mean, that pitch really showed Akinora Iwumura that Shields cared about his safety and well being. He would risk being thrown out of a game to protect his teammate.

As a Christian pitcher, I don’t think I would have a problem throwing a retaliation pitch. Its just part of the game. If someone charged the mound, I guess I wouldn’t have a problem defending myself either. But would a more godly approach be a tackle instead of a punch? How should one react to a brawl? Is it more loving to sit on the bench or to charge the field? What do you do when you’re out there? Pull people off? Tackle folks in order to protect your teammates?

If you want to check out the video of this brawl-and as far as brawls go, this one is solid-click here.

Here’s a cartoon that a friend sent to me. I found it apropos and humorous. Of course the cartoon spelled my name wrong-but I’m used to that. Connar will have to get used to it too (normally spelled Connor, I think).

However, diaper duty really hasn’t been that challenging except when Connar pees on himself and the surrounding areas. I’ve not really been sprayed yet. He normally just sprays himself. Kind of gross to see his face covered with pee. But not to him.

Anyhow, I’ve been so blessed to be part of two neat communities. My church community has been huge, bringing meals every other day. And good ones at that! I can’t imagine not having such a community in my life. I don’t see how people live disconnected to this Family. They have blessed us so greatly and have really made our joy more complete through their desire to care for us and be excited for us.

Another community has been my neighborhood. My next-door-neighbor brought us over MORE gifts. She and her daughter had already given us stuff, but they gave us more yesterday. And they are not the only one’s who brought us over stuff, or offered services. We’re very thankful for this community as well. Just thought I’d share the joys of community.

Are there struggles in community? Of course. We’re people. But I think, experientially, the blessings far outweigh the struggles.

I have a confession to make. Of all the things that make me feel inadequate as a pastor, of all the things that I’m embarrassed to share (like my anxiety struggles, anger, defensiveness), one of the most embarrassing things is that I’ve never read the Narnia series. There it is. It’s off my chest and you can throw cyber stones at me if you like. Or real stones if you can find me. I can take it. Now.

I think I once read The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe some time ago (though I wouldn’t say that to a lie detector test), but that’s the extent. So when this Prince Caspian came out, I thought I should start. Steve Brown, one of my seminary professors, used C.S. Lewis illustrations about as often as he referred to his love of pipe tobacco. Which was a ton.

So I picked up the Box Set, for lack of a better word, and began reading The Horse and His Boy. I loved it. It was really devotional. And it was easy reading. I needed something to get me back into pleasure reading after I finished The Brothers Karamazov. Something simple. Something good. Crime and Punishment (though I do plan to get to it some time) wasn’t going to do it.

Now I finished Prince Caspian, reading while the baby is doing his thing=usually anything but sleeping=though he’s been good today. Praise the Lord. And I can’t get enough. Lewis truly was brilliant in his ability to not only communicate truth through allegory, but to do it at a level kids and adults can enjoy. J.K. Rowling has done well reaching a wide audience (another confession-I’ve never read one of those books). But Lewis reaches such an audience in communicating deep scriptural truths. He gets an extra star for that. I’d love to sit down and talk with that joker some day.

I’ll be preaching a decent bit this summer and one can be sure that there could be some Narnia sightings, or ‘hearings’ rather. No power point. You’ve probably read these Narnia books a billion times. But if you haven’t, I would recommend discovering this great resource filled with well written, encouraging, and challenging illustrations.

On Monday, one of Amy’s fellow teacher’s delivered the news of Connar’s birth to Amy’s class. Remember, until this time, Little T was his name-o. I guess that wasn’t as weird sounding as “Connar.” Apparently one of the kids said, “Why didn’t he get a real name?” We laughed, because we think they have some unusual names. Weirdness, like beauty, is in the eyes of the beholder. Anyhow, here’s some more baby pics.

If you’re trying to post a comment, and it takes a little while for it to show up, there’s a reason. In order to cut down on SPAM comments (which I’m really not sure how they get posted), I have to moderate the comments (an approval email is sent to me and I simply approve it, provided its not spam-if you’re not a spammer, you have nothing to worry about). I’m not a communist government. I will publish what you post if its not SPAM. Seriously. I just am getting tired of SPAM, and thought this would be easier than making you type those funky letters that no one can read! If you would rather type those funky letters, let me know.

Anyhow, here’s a picture of an oft undiscussed side effect of labor: big feet. Check these bad boys out. Can you guess which foot is Amy’s? Don’t be hating on me, we’re all laughing about it. You should too.

“They” say that you learn a lot about God’s love for His children when you have a kid of your own. Not that if you don’t have kids, you will somehow have an inferior picture or experience of God’s love for you (Paul didn’t have kids and he knew a decent bit about God’s love, eh?), but I would definitely say I’ve learned a lot about God’s love for me.

When Connar came out, I actually cried. For a few seconds. Twice. I usually only cry in sad movies, when I’m depressed. But the overwhelming emotional response was part in due to the fact that this day had FINALLY come, coupled with the fact that this was my son. I was already a parent in some sense of the word, but I hadn’t laid eyes upon my little one. It’s one of those indescribeable things. All parents probably feel this way. I’ve seen it with parents who adopt as well.

I know someone who adopted a little girl from China, and then they tried to take her away, because her health wasn’t up to par. But the Mom wouldn’t let that happen. She had already placed her love on the child and did not want another. In the words of a great Hymn it was a picture of “O Love that will not let me go…”

When I got home from the hospital I just couldn’t believe how much I loved this kid. Changing diapers really hasn’t been that bad (I know the real smell comes later, but still, I had never change a single one before!). My love has been placed upon him. And while its not perfect, it is definitely a gracious love (until he can smile back) that brings delight to my heart.

So now I’m a step closer in plumbing the infinite depths of the love and delight God places on His children via Connar’s arrival.

I’ve got some more pics I’ll be putting up soon. It still amazes me that people (outside my family) are so interested in seeing pictures of our little one. I guess it gives me a snippet of the love God’s people have for covenant kids. But that’s another topic all together.

We’re home now. We got here at 3 pm and are now trying to figure things out. Fortunately we have Amy’s mom here now, and then my replacements will be shipped in from Tampa on Saturday (my mom). Amy is doing much better. Still on drugs, and will be for a few days, but she’s feeling better. Thanks for all of your prayers. Here’s some more pics from a proud mom and pops. If that’s not enough, and I understand that it probably is, click here for few more.

Well thanks for all the prayers. Amy is feeling better now, still taking perkaset (not sure of the spelling) for the pain. She just took a shower by herself and was able to walk to the bathroom unassisted (something she couldn’t even do with assistance yesterday evening). But since she lost a good deal of blood, they have decided to keep her here overnight. We should hopefully be gone some time tomorrow. Praise the Lord we have the GTF, Grandmother Task Force, which will continue assisting us. They’ve been absolutely fantastic. Right now they’re helping Amy breast feed, which is much harder than it looks. Why Connar can sleep at the breast and be wide awake at night I don’t know.

Just a side note, the Diaper tally is Geoff-2 and Amy-0. But for some reason, I think she’ll catch up! But she’s had a little trauma to her body and is breast feeding an infant, so we’ll let her slide for a bit. Moms please don’t shoot me, just a joke; I’ll probably never lead in diaper changes, so I have to gloat while I’m ahead. Thanks again for the prayers and interest.

Well, if you’re interested, click here for some more pics. I will warn you if you choose to watch the video clip, it does have some gross stuff; so be forewarned. I will try to get some more with Amy and the baby; she was breastfeeding in some, so I couldn’t post the ones I have.