Lovin and Living
This is a place for me to just be me… (All content Copyrighted Yeve Eeffoc 2008-2015)Archive for Sports
Involvement
I have been thinking about this for a while. I have yet to really come up with a good conversation starter to be able to address it with my husband.
I am a Christian. I am a person who has a relationship with the Lord (sometimes it is stronger than others but I have one). I believe that in order to have a good grasp and to really be a part of the community you need to be involved with others who have like beliefs (this does not mean I am against those who do not believe the same as I do or that I do not spend time with those who do not have the same beliefs that I do).
I understand that Monkey’s need to be involved in activities and sports and building relationships and getting exercise and finding what they are good at in life. So why is it that sports are more important than going to church with the family and being able to participate in the youth groups that take place during the week or the weekend?
We belong to a church that believes in infant baptism and our Monkey’s are 6 and 3 and we still have not had them baptized (no criticism over what I am about to say please). We could get them baptized at any time. I just need to call up the church and set a date and time. Jack in the Box always asks me when we are going to do it and I just shrug my shoulders. It isn’t that I don’t believe in it. It isn’t that I want to wait until they can make their own choices. I have finally come to the conclusion that I have put it off because of Jack in the Box’s heart and that is wrong because baptism is about the relationship between Father and child. The problem though is that so many of us as adults base our relationship with the Father on our own relationship with our father and their involvement in our lives and the church. Jack in the Box isn’t really involved in church. He goes on Sundays maybe, if we are lucky 6 times a year. Now there are times when he is working and he can’t go but there are also those times when he chooses not to go and there are times he chooses to go to other activities on a Sunday morning instead (organized sport thing). This really bothers me. You want us to baptize the Monkey’s but you really don’t want to be involved with church. (and let me say I am praying over this because they need to be baptized)
So getting back to being involved I am struggling with the fact that Jack in the Box and 90% of the people out there put more importance on sports than church and church family and having that relationship with other believers. Are we not supposed to set ourselves apart from non-believers? Wouldn’t choosing youth group over sports be a way to do that?
I do believe that we are losing a lot our children to other things because we say it is okay. We allow them to participate in activities that take away from church relationships, a relationship with God and youth groups. This does not mean I believe they should not be involved in sports but I think we need to find sports who are willing to work with us on days they practice and play games.
For the community that I reside in I am really shocked that most programs do not take into consideration Wednesday night programs and Sunday programs. Our community is very religious (not that I agree with that term) but in this area it is. And I am especially disappointed in one group whose states, “Our mission is to put Christian principles into practice through programs that build a healthy spirit, mind, and body for all.”. How is it possible to be putting Christian principles into practice if you are making it impossible for children to participate with their Christian communities?
What do you convey as important to your Monkey’s? Do you require them to put God and the relationship with Him before anything else? Or do you allow them to put other things before Him and their relationship with other Christians?
This really has been a huge struggle for me. I want my Monkey’s to be involved in sports if they want to but I think they need to build their relationship with God and others Christians. God should always come first in your life and I want my Monkey’s to start making that choice at a young age because I truly believe it makes all the difference in their lives. And the only way this is going to happen is if we are showing them that God needs to come first, that we pursue God and our relationship with Him, that we attend church and we attend Bible study and we are involved as volunteers and whatever else God is calling us to do (If you love me, keep my commands. John 14:15).
I want to follow the Lord and what He has planned for us. Maybe that means that I stand up to my husband and make a statement that our children will not participate in sports on Wednesdays and Sundays. It may cause a huge rift in our marriage but I believe that God is more important that sports. I really believe that allowing my children to fall into the mentality that it is okay to be missing church and missing youth groups and missing that opportunity to create a good relationship with God is the wrong thing to do. I want my children to be set apart, I want others to see their Christian values and I want them to be Jesus with skin on and in order to do that there will be sacrifices that need to be made.
I wonder if there is a Christian sports group out there that doesn’t have practice on Wednesdays or games on Sundays? Hmmmm
Christian Living
We have been having a series at church that really has had me thinking a lot. The main point of the whole series has been about asking if what you are about to do fits into the your Christian Life.
Do you actually live a Christian Life? Do you make time to read the Bible? Do you make time for Church? Do you make time to have a relationship with Him? Do you Tithe? Are you making choices that put you in Debt? Do you Gift others? Are you someone who knows they have issues to work on but Never does?
It can apply to anything in your life. Do you swear to much? Do you eat to much? Do you exercise to little? Are you moving in with someone and are not married? Are you having premarital sex? Are you having an affair? Are you using the gifts God has gifted you with? Are you really in need of the new car, shoes, boat, house? Are you living above your means? Are you saving money for later in life? Are you gossiping about others? Are you involved in activities at church? Are you pushing aside church for sports, sleep, fun?
How important is the Lord in your life? He sent His only Son to this world to save us!
John 3:16-17 16 For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.God sacrificed His only Son for us! Do you make any sacrifices for Him?
God did not send Him to condemn us He sent Him to save us! Which then brings me to another verse that really has opened my eyes with how I view some things.
For a very long time I have read Matthew 18: 15-17 and seen it in a different way than the way I do currently.
Matthew 18:15-17 15 “If your brother or sister sins, go and point out their fault, just between the two of you. If they listen to you, you have won them over. 16 But if they will not listen, take one or two others along, so that ‘every matter may be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.’ 17 If they still refuse to listen, tell it to the church; and if they refuse to listen even to the church, treat them as you would a pagan or a tax collector.In the past when I read that verse my mind instantly goes back to the Old Testament. It is the only way I could explain it to myself. How was a pagan treated? You avoided them, you didn’t want them in your life, you didn’t want to be influenced by them and so you “killed” them. Of course now you would not literally kill them but you could remove them from you life and kill them and the relationship that way.
But now read that verse and see it from the eyes of the one who is speaking those words, Jesus. How did Jesus treat a pagan or a tax collector? He ate with them, He sought them out, He spoke to them, He was kind to them, He LOVED them; sins and all! He won them over with His actions and His grace and then told them they were forgiven and to go and sin no more. Did He really expect they would never sin again? I don’t think so because we do live in a fallen world, but to have the Savior say go and sin no more to you, to touch you, to care about you and what YOU did when no one else did?
We are not supposed to push these people away from us (there are situations when I do think it is important to remove them from our lives, like if they are influencing us to follow in their footsteps instead of you influencing them), we are supposed to love them and after a while confront them again.
There isn’t a single Christian around who does not sin. So are you open to others confronting you and you confronting others? That is also part of Christian Living! Are you defensive if someone points something out to you that goes against the Bible and God’s way for us?
I am not perfect and I certainly don’t claim to be. There are days I really am not the Christian I should be or could be. There are days I struggle more than others, just like anyone. But for me the really big thing is am I really trying to make it to church, tithe, have a relationship with Him, showing others I am a Christian by my actions, and not using excuses for not doing all of it?!
How is your Christian Life going? Are you loving everyone, no matter what their sin is? Are you judging instead of loving?
1 Kings 8:39 Forgive and act; deal with everyone according to all they do, since you know their hearts (for You alone know every human heart),You are allowed to bring to the forefront a sin, but we are not allowed to judge because God is the only one who know what is truly in our hearts!
Is This Week Over?
So here it is Tuesday and really I wish the week was over already. Not that it would help if it was over because it just means another week starts.
I have an ear infection. I am taking antibiotics from a while ago. They are helping today. I mean I can really tell a huge difference today! Which is nice because even though my head still feels as if it would be better if it was ripped off my head – it feels better than it did.
I missed an assignment for school this past week. I think I missed it on purpose. I just could not think or focus or function. So I skipped it. Maybe I actually did it and just never turned it in. Maybe I just didn’t want to do it. Maybe I didn’t understand what she was asking. Maybe I just didn’t care. I don’t know – does not matter because in the end – I missed it.
Today was the official appointment for the middle monkey with the O.T. for his evaluation. We were supposed to have one last week but when we got there we were told it had been canceled. It was okay because I didn’t really want to be there last week. The O.T. had a death in the family and was gone. What really makes me mad though was the fact that they called middle monkey’s father and then never called me. Of course middle monkey’s father never called me either. Why would he? He thinks I am a witch and he wants me to pay in any way I can. Anyway I made another appointment last week for this Tuesday (today). The woman who made the appointment told me they would do a reminder call for both of us (as in father and me). Well today when I did not get a call I figured I had best email father with the information. Of course even though he wants to be involved in all major decisions and says I leave him out of all the appointments, etc. He never bothered to show up today! Why in the world would he? It has nothing to do with him being released to go back to his beloved motocross.
He says over and over and over how I leave him out, how I don’t allow him to be there, how he never knows when anything is, how he wants to make these decisions together and yet he only shows up to ones he feels will benefit him.
I have a friend I confronted today. She probably thinks I am a witch. She is having serious issues though. I told her she needs to get some help. Not even two weeks ago her husband was on vacation and she said she was so happy. They had never had a better time. Then it was he is short-tempered, unfair, mean, lacking in spending time with us, and so much more I refuse to post. Then it was I am leaving and getting a divorce. She was looking and calling apartments that day. She also went to see her Pastor that night. They talked that night (her husband and her) and then she was still moving out. I gave her a challenge – do, “The Love Dare” – which is 40 days. She agreed. The following day their marriage was great, he canceled his WoW membership, he is spending more time with their son and her and he agreed to go to counseling. Now today (this is only 48 hours after he canceled his membership) she says, “We are trying for a baby again and I have never been so happy. He is spending so much time with me and our child.” I had to break down today and say, “You need help.” Of course I said more than that. There is something seriously wrong to go from one extreme to the next. Don’t get me wrong everyone at one point in their life or another had extreme emotions but to go from I am done, I want a divorce, I am getting my own checking account, I am moving out to we are making a baby – in less than 72 hours – something is not right!
I signed up for two classes in Spring 2010. I was not going to. I was honestly going to just let it go. I was going to do nothing. Then I sat here thinking about how much I really want this. Thinking about how much this really means to me. I have given up on most things in my life because I let my bipolar take over. I let life get overwhelming. Okay so I don’t really just let it – it happens with my emotions and highs and lows but I always give in. So in some ways I do let it. Of course it is hard. Who does not have hard times in their life? Not a soul. So I did it. I signed up for two classes today and then I went and ordered the books right away. So at this point in time I am pretty sure I have everything I am going to need to start school next year. Good for me!
I have realized I can’t fix the world. I know this might shock all of you but I do not have super powers that make everything better for everyone. I attempt to fix things but I have a friend who I have realized really does not want solutions. She just wants to complain. She wants to be miserable. She just likes to be a “poor me” soul. She does not function when she is there but she has been there for so long that she does not know how to be anyone without that there. She is afraid to pass beyond the poor me syndrome. Maybe she isn’t afraid as much as she likes being in that spot. I think in many ways it is her identity. This is just how she knows herself and she is comfortable with it. So I have to just let it go. When she makes comments I have to just let them go. I have to not acknowledge them. I have to pretend she has not said them. If I continue to try and make things better she is just going to be allowed to continue on the way she is. So I have to stop. I have to stop enabling. I know there are others who are doing it but I can’t do it anymore.
Oh and to top it off – this states sport teams suck. The Losing Lions. The timid Tigers. They are horrible. Lets pray, pray, pray that the Wings can do something. All I can say is, “It is the economy’s fault” what else can it be? Other than the coaches seem to stink and the players don’t seem to know how to play together. Sad…. Honestly I could not do any better if I was in charge – that isn’t something I have ever done. It is just really sad…
This is only a bit of what this week has been and it is only Tuesday. Sigh. It will get better.
Two Good News Items To Share…
Jack in the Box got the job at Charter! Normal pay, not so normal hours, but a base plus commission – so all is good. It will be nice for him to have a job where we can know what base pay will be. Where we know what overtime pay will be. Where we don’t know what commission will be but that is okay because his base pay will cover what our expenses are! YEAH….
!!!!!!!!WINGS WON THE STANLEY CUP!!!!!!!!
Hey, hey Hockey Town!!!!
Lovin and Living 