The above title can lead to a lot of wondering of how this author can weave a tale about football and relate it to life in general. This will be a little different, so go with me.
In 2013 the Carolina Panthers won the NFC South Division with a 12-4 record. It was a very successful year, but a loss in their first playoff game revealed room for improvement. So, in the offseason, they did something I still have a hard time fathoming:
They said goodbye to every one of their wide receivers. Also, their most experienced and possibly best offensive lineman retired. This included Steve Smith, Sr., the most famous and possibly the best player in Panthers history. Panthers fans very surprised, disappointed, and very vocal. This extremely introverted, potentially Aspergian author, was as vocal as he could be.
New receivers were signed and drafted, the preseason proved lackluster, and the NFL season began. You may have heard some details from it, most of them not football related.
On the Panthers' end, though, nothing but good news- when it comes to the action on the field. The team is 2-0, so far, and this past week shut down the best receiver in the league. The offense has been enough, essentially, to get the job done, and can only improve as Cam Newton gets into the flow.
If you're not a football fan, you're bored by now. But the point is this: I now know the plan the Panthers' management had when they set this offseason plan forth- and I like it.
In other words, I can see the vision.
Proverbs 29:18 starts in the King's English: "Where there is no vision, the people perish." In The Message, it says "If people can’t see what God is doing, they stumble all over themselves." It finishes: "But he that keepeth the law, happy is he," or "But when they attend to what he reveals, they are most blessed."
Here in the middle of our messes, it's hard to see what God is doing a lot of times. We live in a time of terror, doubt, uncertainty, and fear. I personally live in a time of immense stress and seemingly little reward for that stress. Some days are harder than others. and none of the days are easy it seems. I'm currently reading a wonderful book by Anne Graham Lotz called Wounded by God's People. It's fabulous. It takes the Biblical account of Hagar, Abraham's servant and mother of Ishmael, and relates it to the wounds, difficulties, and issues that we have faced from other Christians- and also things we may have done to others. She also references in this book Moses in Exodus 33-34, asking God to show him His glory. God showed up for Hagar at a time of rejection from Sarah. God showed the back of His glory to Moses. I'm also reminded of Elisha in 2 Kings 6:17 praying the Lord would open the eyes of his servant Gehazi to see the army surrounding the enemy at his door. Elisha had the vision- and it thrilled him. Gehazi needed it.
What I'm saying is what Anne said in that portion of her book. What Moses asked in the cleft of the rock. What Hagar needed to see. What I need to see. Ask God to show the vision. Ask for His guidance as you travel through the situation. I grant there are times where it is too great for us, and He simply asks us to trust. Take His hand in those times, and walk with Him. One day you will be able to see it all clearly, and will rejoice.
Tuesday, September 16, 2014
Thursday, September 11, 2014
Revival n' Wrestling
It's time to play a game of true confessions. Since I'm the only one with a voice on this blog, I'll go:
I have been a wrestling fan for 27 years, since I was ten years old.
There. I said it.
It used to be fun in 4th and 5th grade, especially after school when I would wrestle around with others in school, we put each other in figure-four leglocks, etc. I even went to school with my face painted as Sting. I was the only one I knew that was a wrestking fan, though, after 6th grade.This used to be something I had to keep quiet about.
Wrestling became mainstream in the 1980s, thanks to the efforts of Hulk Hogan, Vince McMahon, and the WWF's Rock n' Wrestling time. The NWA was what I gravitated toward, however, thanks to living in North Carolina, and World Championship Wrestling on Saturday nights.
Wrestling revolutionized in the 1990s, with the NWA morphing into WCW, the Monday night wrestling wars, and the "Attitude era." It also got a lot more raunchy in different aspects, and things got a lot more real.
Wrestlers were dying.
I used to collect wrestling magzines like crazy. I read Pro Wrestling Illustrated like it was going out of style, while my friends read comics, Tiger Beat, etc. I remember the deaths of Mike von Erich (David was before my time), then Bruiser Brody's murder, the fatal accident that killed Adrian Adonis. Then it was Chris von Erich, then brother Kerry. Then it was Brian Pillman, later on Owen Hart, then the list grew by leaps and bounds. If you want to get an idea, check out this site. It goes from the 1980s to the 1990s, and then starts breaking down by 5 year increments, if that tells you anything.
There was a common denominator on all of them: drugs, suicide, or heart conditions. Rick Rude, Curt Hennig, the list continued to grow. Chris Benoit's seemingly tragic-then revealed murder-suicide shook up a lot of people.
Something else started happening as well. Something glorious. It started with reading the book Every Man Has His Price by Ted DiBiase. There was Jake Roberts becoming born again. There was my childhood hero, Sting.
Wrestlers were being saved by the grace and power of God.
Shawn Michaels, Nikita Koloff, and the Road Warriors, Hawk and Animal. Hawk (Mike Hegstrand) is unfortunately one of the wrestlers that is also among the statistics of wrestlers that died early, but told quite a story of deliverance from drugs and a dangerous lifestyle before God called him home.
In the last two weeks, two things brought this back to me. I finally got to read Lex Luger's book, Wrestling With the Devil. God saved him from, basically himself. I lifestyle of self, drugs, alcohol, infidelity, and deceit, that found him dealing with the death of Elizabeth Hullete and in jail. His story of redemption is well worth a read.
This past Sunday was the other- getting to meet Marc Mero at Bald Mountain Baptist Church here in West Jefferson, NC. Here's a link of pic's his team took of this event- I'm on the far left of the congregation shot (just saying). He has a powerful message that he is taking to schools and churches, and I wish his group the best. They are changing lives and reaching people.
I am so happy to see what God is doing in the wrestling world. The battle is still going on- I noticed former wrestler Shawn O'Haire committed suicide this week at age 43. The saddest thing I saw while reading his biography was that he was a practicing Buddhist. That breaks my heart, knowing what that means for his eternal soul.
The really good news for us Christians is that our battle, like the wrestling world, is pre-determined. We don't know what our battle will look like, how long the match will be, but we know who will win the match.
Now that should get a pop!
I have been a wrestling fan for 27 years, since I was ten years old.
There. I said it.
It used to be fun in 4th and 5th grade, especially after school when I would wrestle around with others in school, we put each other in figure-four leglocks, etc. I even went to school with my face painted as Sting. I was the only one I knew that was a wrestking fan, though, after 6th grade.This used to be something I had to keep quiet about.
Wrestling became mainstream in the 1980s, thanks to the efforts of Hulk Hogan, Vince McMahon, and the WWF's Rock n' Wrestling time. The NWA was what I gravitated toward, however, thanks to living in North Carolina, and World Championship Wrestling on Saturday nights.
Wrestling revolutionized in the 1990s, with the NWA morphing into WCW, the Monday night wrestling wars, and the "Attitude era." It also got a lot more raunchy in different aspects, and things got a lot more real.
Wrestlers were dying.
I used to collect wrestling magzines like crazy. I read Pro Wrestling Illustrated like it was going out of style, while my friends read comics, Tiger Beat, etc. I remember the deaths of Mike von Erich (David was before my time), then Bruiser Brody's murder, the fatal accident that killed Adrian Adonis. Then it was Chris von Erich, then brother Kerry. Then it was Brian Pillman, later on Owen Hart, then the list grew by leaps and bounds. If you want to get an idea, check out this site. It goes from the 1980s to the 1990s, and then starts breaking down by 5 year increments, if that tells you anything.
There was a common denominator on all of them: drugs, suicide, or heart conditions. Rick Rude, Curt Hennig, the list continued to grow. Chris Benoit's seemingly tragic-then revealed murder-suicide shook up a lot of people.
Something else started happening as well. Something glorious. It started with reading the book Every Man Has His Price by Ted DiBiase. There was Jake Roberts becoming born again. There was my childhood hero, Sting.
Wrestlers were being saved by the grace and power of God.
Shawn Michaels, Nikita Koloff, and the Road Warriors, Hawk and Animal. Hawk (Mike Hegstrand) is unfortunately one of the wrestlers that is also among the statistics of wrestlers that died early, but told quite a story of deliverance from drugs and a dangerous lifestyle before God called him home.
In the last two weeks, two things brought this back to me. I finally got to read Lex Luger's book, Wrestling With the Devil. God saved him from, basically himself. I lifestyle of self, drugs, alcohol, infidelity, and deceit, that found him dealing with the death of Elizabeth Hullete and in jail. His story of redemption is well worth a read.
This past Sunday was the other- getting to meet Marc Mero at Bald Mountain Baptist Church here in West Jefferson, NC. Here's a link of pic's his team took of this event- I'm on the far left of the congregation shot (just saying). He has a powerful message that he is taking to schools and churches, and I wish his group the best. They are changing lives and reaching people.
I am so happy to see what God is doing in the wrestling world. The battle is still going on- I noticed former wrestler Shawn O'Haire committed suicide this week at age 43. The saddest thing I saw while reading his biography was that he was a practicing Buddhist. That breaks my heart, knowing what that means for his eternal soul.
The really good news for us Christians is that our battle, like the wrestling world, is pre-determined. We don't know what our battle will look like, how long the match will be, but we know who will win the match.
Now that should get a pop!
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