GO RED SOX

Well the Red Sox are off to a rough start but things will hopefully turn around for them. The question for the Sox is this: how many players can they keep healthy this year? Last year Ortiz, Ellsbury, Beckett, Wakefield, Drew, Lowell, and Lugo were injured, if the Sox want to make it to the play-offs they need to stay healthy. As for the new team members Jeff Baily seems to have improved, and the pitching needs work, hopefully by April we can have a healthy and competitive team and also hopefully they can start winning games; speaking of that, if you’re ever on my blog you can see the scores of both the present day’s game and the previous day’s game. Another question is this: how will the Yankees and Rays perform? Honestly I think that the Yankees are going to be pretty shaken up for the beginning of the season and especially A-Rod and the Rays have never really defended a play-off championship so it might be a rocky year for them. We’ll see how the teams stack up on April 6th at the home opener at Fenway against the Rays.

Into the Desert

“Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert to be tempted by the devil” Matthew 4:1. With Lent coming up I and along with many have been thinking about what to give up for the next forty days. Jesus was led into the desert to give up food for forty days what will I give up? But then I had this thought, maybe it’s not what will I give up for God, but what will I do for Him. In other words what can I replace in my life with Him and His word. Every year we give up something from sugar to meat, but sometimes we have the tendency to focus more on what we give up than what we gain. I think that for the next forty days we should eliminate not only one specific thing from our lives but also anything that comes between us and God. Maybe it’s a new hobby or group of friends, it could be that new computer whatever it is I say we leave it at the cross and follow God. It’s not what we lose, it’s not always the cost of following Christ but it’s the gain that we must focus, our treasure in Heaven as Jesus calls it. I say this, I say that for the next forty days we ask ourselves what it is in our lives that keeps us from God, and not only do our best to eliminate it but also replace it with the Spirit. Though the cost is great the reward is greater.

I will be more Undignified

“I will become even more undignified than this, and I will be humiliated in my own eyes.” (2 Samuel 6:22). These words were spoken by David to his wife Michal who was angered by his zeal for the Lord. David wasn’t just excited, he was more than that the ark of the Lord was brought to Jerusalem and what did David do? He danced and praised and disrobed himself before the Lord. Michal didn’t get it, she didn’t understand David; sometimes we can be too much like her. How many times have we held back our joy for the Lord? How many times have we held a shout happiness, tears of joy, and a song in our hearts? How many times have we thought “Oh what will people think about me?” I’ll admit that I am guilty of this I have held back my joy; I’ve been like Michal. David was in the place where it was just him and God and no one else. He didn’t care who was there all he was thinking was that the ark of the Lord, God’s presence was in Jerusalem. He didn’t care who was watching him he jumped for joy, he was happy and wanted God to know it, even if all of Israel would. How often are we in his shoes, the place where the opinions and judgments of other people don’t matter to us? I say this, I say that we shed these burdens from our shoulders and run the race the Lord has marked out for us. I say we forget what we are thought of and run full speed out of love for the Lord. David said to Michal that he will be more undignified, that he will do more to show his love for the Lord. Are we going to be more undignified that this?

Good Italian Food

For those of you of love to hear me blog about food (if there is anyone who does) here is a post about a good restaurant in Philly. I thought that the only good Italian food I could get was in home but there are two places in Philly that proved me wrong. The first Porcini’s is a small (and I mean very small) restaurant that serves great authentic Italian food. It is family owned and serves high quality food. They make their pasta fresh every day (meaning they don’t use dried boxed pasta) and serve good sized but not too large portions. The owner is very friendly and let me see the kitchen and even offered me a job (when I am much older). The next for those who prefer a quieter dinner there is Il Portico. The restaurant is much larger than Porcini’s but that doesn’t mean they skimp on quality. The minute I walked in I felt at my grandparent’s home, to put it simply it is a very nice place. Also they serve the only good risotto (a creamy rice dish) I have had outside my kitchen, the flavors are great and I really liked their polenta (a staple in Italy that is made of cornmeal) with mushrooms. So if you are ever in Philly and looking for a great authentic Italian meal I suggest looking one of these places up, they are on the expensive side but after tasting the food I think it was worth it.

How To Hit A Homerun

Coming off the A-Rod story here is a good way to generate bat speed without resorting to illegal substances. Here is my secret to get that power at the plate, the key component in getting that extra pop is bat speed. Not many people fully understand that which results in a lot of players pulling the ball with their arms. The best way to generate bat speed is to utilize your core and legs so really make sure you “squish the bug” and rotate all the way around. It’s not so much the arms as it is your lower half so what I do when I work out is include a lot of core and leg exercises. Also swing wood when in training or the off-season, and keep your hands in; because wood is heavier it makes it easier to swing the aluminum and keeping your hands in creates less drag getting the bat to the ball in a much quicker time. You don’t need to resort to drastic actions to improve in any area of the game; all you need is a good workout program, technique and a lot of repetition. A boy once asked a man how to get to Fenway Park, and he said “practice, practice, practice.”

A-Roid?

I’ve been formulating my thoughts on this and how to say it but no I think I know. As many people have I’ve noticed the A-Rod steroid controversy and here’s what I have to say about it. As an athlete and a Christian I firmly believe steroids are wrong and are an inadequate substitute for a good strength training program. I watched A-Rod speak and this is what I think, I think he seemed sincere but that may only be because he was caught. He did seem more apologetic than Bonds and Clemens and I think he is telling the truth that he stopped and won’t take them anymore. Out of all the sports baseball definitely ranks as one of the toughest, I understand that when playing for the Rangers one of the best hitting teams someone could feel pressure to be at a competitive level, but that doesn’t mean A-Rod is justified. Josh Hamilton (I know I write about him too much) is a good example of what hard work can do. Steroids may help for a short time, but in the long run they have terrible consequences and have lasting effects that ruin athletes instead of helping them. Bottom line there is no substitute for hard work and in athletics there are no real short-cuts, so to those athletes out there work hard because your effort will pay off in the long run.

Not Could Have Been, It's Will Be

I was watching MLB Network the other day and the “Prime Nine” was on and the topic was the top nine “could have been” players. You know the story, a kid comes up from the minors at a young age and dominates either he hits homeruns like he’s taking BP or he is one of the greatest pitchers to step on the mound. But then something happens, he gets sick, or gets injured something happens that makes the fans wonder what could have been. Doesn’t that not sound like us? Sometimes when we get stuck in a rut, we sin or God feels far away we feel that we can’t be used by God. I’ve seen it in my own life, when I’ve sinned I’ve said that there is no way that God can/will use me. But there is good news (with God there always is), God has no “could have been Christians,” there are no cases in which He gives up on us; there are no stories about how He stops using us. God loves me the same amount that He did four years ago and will love me this throughout my life. We all sin in life, everyone does, some people repent others don’t but that doesn’t mean that God has less of a plan for anyone. Something I’ve said is that it’s not God who turns away from us, but we who turn away from Him. God has no “could have been Christians” because He didn’t make us that way, when we are born God knows exactly how He desires to use us, and whether we follow Him strictly throughout our lives or find Him in old age He still has a spot on His roster for us. If God had a baseball team it would be the Paw Sox because He always working with us to get us to the majors. Jesus said to His disciples in Matthew 28:20 that “I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

We've Got To Keep Walking

Whenever I talk to people who don’t believe in God this question always comes up, “how can a loving God allow pain and suffering in the world?” I can’t deny that there is suffering in the world; I can’t deny that people feel pain in their lives. In Genesis 2: 14-29 we are told the consequences of sin entering the world, life is no longer easy thing start to become hard and we are separated from God. But the good news is that God re-entered He came down to earth as Jesus to die on the cross. That unfortunately doesn’t mean that life is painless. I felt pain before I became a Christian and I still feel pain now, but we do have a hope; our hope is that God is with us always. I’ve felt pain in my life, and when I cast it out to Jesus that didn’t mean it went away, but it meant that I dealt with it and I had help from God to get through it. A while ago I used to think that when I became a Christian there was a huge transformation in my life, that everything changed and all my problems were solved. I now realize that our walk with God is a journey, there are rocks in the road that may trips us and we still will have the same struggles but we also have God there with us to lift us up when we fall. God is never done walking; He never gets tired of picking us up and desires to help us. In Philippians Paul writes that he must “press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called (him) heavenward in Jesus Christ” Phil; 3:14. There is a race to be won, a journey to be finish and there may be pain and hurt in our lives and we may stumble but God is always there with us so that He may pick us up when we fall and carry our burdens to help us through.

God's Voice

I’ve started reading 1 Samuel and chapter 3 stuck out to me. In chapter 3 Samuel is alone in the temple one night when he heard God’s voice. At first he didn’t recognize it and ran to Eli, Eli told him it was God’s voice and that he should listen to what is said. God then told Samuel a prophecy about Eli (if you want to know more you can read the whole book it’s right after Ruth and before 2 Samuel). This passage got me thinking about God’s voice and asking how often do we hear it? Think how often during your day do you hear God calling you? All I know is not as often as I should. But I guess the better question is how often do we listen? Israel was in a rough time, in the book of judges we are told repeatedly that “there was no king and everyone did as he saw fit.” In 1 Samuel chapter 3 we are told “In those days the word of the Lord was rare.” It’s not that God wasn’t speaking; it’s that no one was listening. Samuel was alone, he wasn’t working, he wasn’t busy; there were no deadlines to be met no phone calls to be made he was going to sleep. And in the silence in the calmness of life God spoke. Samuel heard God’s voice because there was no interference, like a phone disconnection the tasks of life can get in the way and cause static. God is always talking to us, but how often do we listen? How often do we get caught up in it all and find ourselves unable to hear His call? I ask you this, what is it in your life that hinders your “reception” what is it that keeps you from being all that God wants you to be? God has a plan for us, a life to live we just need to be like Samuel who listened and obeyed.