Judges

If the book of Judges was a movie, it'd easily get an "R" rating, or perhaps something worse. Seriously, when people say that the Bible is boring and outdated, just direct them to Judges. They'll have to come up with a new complaint. The book's theme is fairly straightforward- in those days, the people did what was right in their own eyes. One of the funnier- not lol funny, but more sad kind of funny- passages is at the end of the book. The people are wondering why God seems to no longer be with them. As the reader, it's obvious, because I am sure it has something to do with their prostitution, genocide, idolatry, rape, sex trafficking and outright disregard for anything that resembles civilized behavior, much less behavior worthy of people who are called out to follow Yahweh.

And yet, I wonder how often I engage a similar question from time to time in my own life. Where is God? Why does it feel like he left? Asking similar questions without first examining my own life is going to be a pretty fruitless exercise. Not that I'm guilty of murdering a whole city or cutting up a body and sending it to the 12 tribes (oh read it, it's in there), but maybe, just maybe the times I encounter a spiritual distance be the result of something in my life?

The Facebook Birthday

I had a birthday recently and it was great. Birthdays when you are an adult can be somewhat anti-climatic as getting older is no longer something you look forward to and there are still bills to pay and work to do. But alas, Facebook now allows adults to receive birthday greetings from their network of 'friends'- if you can count people you rarely hear from as friends- but that's a different matter. And hearing from people is great, especially on your birthday.

A couple years ago, when I first started getting greetings from facebook people, I would remember who sent me a birthday greeting and then make sure I sent one to that person. If someone didn't send me a greeting, I probably didn't send them one. Pretty simple . . . and also pretty selfish. I mean, it costs nothing for me, other than some time and keystrokes, to send a birthday greeting. And I think often times I live my life thinking that if I give, I ought to receive something. This too is a pretty selfish way to live life. If I keep living life this way, I might as well expect continual disappointment. But if I give with the expectation of not receiving something in return, but instead focus on the act of giving and being thankful that I can give something (even if it's as simple as a greeting), then there's much less disappointment and I still benefit from it. Which I guess is still somewhat selfish, but perhaps a better kind.

Coaching

I'm currently coaching my three sons' soccer teams. Yes, all three. Apparently when you sign up your kids for soccer, you can check a box that says "I'm already coaching another team" which prevents a situation such as mine from happening! But, all in all, it's been fun and if I had to choose between watching the game or being involved somehow, I like the opportunity to be involved.

My oldest son plays U9 and this is the most advanced form of soccer for our family yet. Soccer up until this age- and sometimes still with this age- resembles a bit of blob ball, where a blob of kids just pushes the ball up and down the field. Hard to coach and sometimes even harder to watch! But at the U9 level, it's on. We play on bigger fields, have goalies, have referees, and 25 minutes halves which makes for a 50 minute game. There's a host of soccer etiquette and rules that I've been breaking (such as not having my subs come to the halfline and myself going onto the field to coach which are both apparently no-nos!) but it's been a fun experience and one that's taught me some real life lessons:

• It helps to listen to the coach- I know, this one is a duh and a bit biased since I am the coach, but generally speaking, you're better off listening to me when I say something like "throw it to the sideline" (as opposed to in the middle so that their other team's Pele can jump in and score another goal!). Whether it's a mentor, a boss, a friend, or even a book or passage of scripture, we're better off when we listen to a coach.


• It helps to have a co-coach- my knowledge of soccer is pretty limited- every game it seems like I am learning something that I should or shouldn't be doing! My co-coach has a much better understanding of the game and helps to get the players where they need to be, who's going to be subbing in for who, how they should be passing as well as spacing, etc. I manage the game, call for the subs, and do a whole lot of yelling (I mean, encourgagement!). We work very well together and I think if you find yourself in a coaching role, having a co-coach is always a good thing.


• It helps to practice- games are fun, and even more fun when you win, but games also give you an opportunity to know what things aren't going well and to work on those things in practice. Some things the team needs to practice and some things individual players need to practice. Of course, all the practice in the world doesn't mean anything if you don't have a game to test the practice out on.

More Today We Are Rich

This book Today We Are Rich is excellent, just excellent. Much of it is admittingly self-help, positive thinking, rah-rah kind of stuff. But when it comes from a former Yahoo executive who worked with Mark Cuban, owner of the Dallas Mavericks, it is louder. Some thoughts:

• You should be as careful about what you put into your mind as about what you put into your mouth. Your mind is a machine. When you ingest a piece of information, your mind goes to work, chewing on it, digesting it, and then converting it into a thought. When good stuff goes into your mind, good thoughts emerge. People who maintain purposeful diets of positive stimuli think healthy thoughts (49).

• I’ve never met any devil’s advocates with many good ideas. Usually they are compensating for their lack of creativity by being nitpicky. Their negativity isolates them over time, as idea people eventually shun them. They end up with a point of view that’s anti-change, anti-risk, anti-new (98).

• Almost any negative thought pattern can be broken with thoughts of gratitude. When you “think thanks”, you dial into what you have instead of what you lack. The effect is immediate—you feel positive (132).

• No matter how hard you try, there will be times when you give and give and never get thanked enough. As long as you hold on to the egotistical notion that you should receive gratitude in return for your charity, you are setting yourself up to move backwards in the development of your generosity (161).

A Golfing Observation

Somehow this summer I golfed (a sport I despise) more times (3) than I played tennis (a sport I cherish, 0). How did this happen?!? I am terrible at golf, just terrible. Ask anyone from my family, my wife's family, or my church family- they will enthusiastically concur that I am one of the worst golfers ever.

What's interesting about the game of golf is that it is the only sport I can think of where it is not only accepted, but sometimes even encouraged to give the people you're playing with (otherwise known as your opponent, the person you're trying to beat!) advice on how to play better. Now, to be fair, the people giving me advice are generally trying to help and it wouldn't be right for me to actually think that I am their opponent! Even with the advice, there's no way I will beat them so they are safe! But really, think about it- when I'm playing basketball, the person guarding me doesn't stop the game and say 'you know, you need to shoot more with your legs'. If I am playing tennis, the guy on the other side of the net doesn't come over and explain to me that the toss on my serve needs to be higher. Not sure how it came to be that offering other golfers advice was kosher, but alas it is.

And so help me, I will never have another summer where I 'play' more golf than tennis!

Today We Are Rich

From Tim Sanders and his newest book Today We Are Rich:

"Avoid gossip the way you would the flu. It's a socially acceptable form of pornography that is hurtful. Other people's misfortunes should never be a source of entertainment (56-57)."

Wow. And ouch. At the same time.

Get off the couch!

From Joshua 18:3- So Joshua said to the Israelites, "How long will you slack about going in and taking possession of the land that the Lord, the God of your ancestors, has given you?".

Couple thoughts:

• The Israelites had already accomplished much including taking out Jericho, Canaan, and Judah. I am sure some had the thought that they had already done so much, why keep going so hard, or at least take a break?


• Some of the tribes hadn't yet claimed their land. The text is quiet on why but we can offer some ideas- lack of motivation, wanting Joshua to do it, etc. Whatever the reason, Joshua was tired of their complancency and told them to move.

As I read this, I am reminded that the temptation to coast is always there for us, to think we've done enough or accomplished enough. And there's the other temptation to perhaps let someone else do the work for us, to let the Joshuas is our lives do the heavy lifting for us. If we give in to either temptation, though, we can expect to get a rebuke similar to the one the Israelites got from Joshua.