50 I declare to you, brothers and sisters, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. 51 Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed— 52 in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. 53 For the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality. 54 When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: “Death has been swallowed up in victory.”[h]
55 “Where, O death, is your victory?
Where, O death, is your sting?”[i]
56 The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. 57 But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
58 Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.
That's what the resurrection is all about. We've received the greatest gift we could ever ask for and our lives should never be the same and reflect that each day, with every interaction at work, at a ballgame, simply put everywhere we go and with everyone we meet.
I Hope everyone had a great Easter weekend with family. I was so inspired and humbled by worship this weekend. I hope you all had a similar experience. One thing struck me Sunday afternoon as I was looking at Facebook and saw people post things concerning Easter. It made me realize that we need to live every day like it was Easter. Do I say all of the nice things about Jesus every day? Do I thank Him for the gift He gave by taking my sins to the cross? Do I share the good news of the resurrection with others like I should? No, I honestly don't and I feel ashamed of that. My goal this Easter is to try to do that more consistently and treat each day like it's Easter.
Now, why the title to this blog? It's because I've reached the end of my basketball coaching career and will begin a new phase of my life without it.
Why now? The main reason is that I just think it's time and I trust that feeling. I tried to coach alot on my gut feeling and trust it and I'm doing the same now with this decision. It's about family most of all. That's the reason we left Harlan (more about that in the near future) and it's the reason for this decision. Brett, Nicole, and Jonathan will be moving to Utah and it will free us up to go out there when we want to. A.J. will be a junior at Midland University. We missed a few games this past season because of conflicts with our high school schedule and we just don't want to miss any games if possible over the next two years. It will go by to quickly. We also look forward to being able to spend time with Abby as she enters a new phase of her life as well. And Deb, well Deb has been there beside me every step of the way, through every high, every low, and has been the backbone of support for what I've done over the past 26 winters. We've had our anniversary fall on Dec. 30th and have never been able to really get away together becuase there has always been a practice to be at. It's time for me to be able to do some things with her now as well.
Over the next few blogs I'll spend some time reflecting on my 26 years on the bench as I think about what I've learned by being invovled in a game that I have loved for as long as I can remember. Oh, I won't be very far from it. I'll still see plenty of Cardinal games, MU games, and will help broadcast some games on KMA as a color analyst, but I'll be able to choose now and have some more control over where I want to be.
11 For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. (Jeremiah 29:11) Only God knows the plans he has in store for us as we close this chapter of our lives, but that's enough. We're headed down a different road, but we'll find our way because THE Way will be guiding us through it all.
No comments:
Post a Comment