A Refreshing Testimony

March 20, 2011 by Leave a Comment

Recently, I heard a refreshing testimony at a men’s prayer breakfast. Appropriate for the season, the speaker was the head coach of the local university’s NCAA D2 womens basketball program.

A few things that made this testimony refreshing:
1. It’s always refreshing to hear a man stand and tell how he came to know Jesus.

2. Although the coach was named conference coach of the year and his team won their conference, he didn’t mention those things. In fact, he deferred such accolades to the men’s coach from his university who shared the same awards: conference champs and coach of the year. Humility is refreshing.

3. The reason he mentioned the men’s coach was that the men’s coach was one of the men who had pursued him for the gospel. His testimony was focused on how God used others to bring him to an understanding of the gospel, which was a gentle reminder to the men in attendance that they have a responsibility to talk to others about the gospel.

4. The man giving his testimony had coached at the highest levels of men’s NCAA D1 basketball and for some reason is now coaching women’s D2. He didn’t seem to use the D1 reference as a way of drawing attention to himself, but rather as an illustration of how “dropping” to D2 women’s basketball was part of God’s plan for him to come to faith. He mentioned hind-sight as being helpful to understand the work of God in our lives. It also struck me how he demonstrated contentment by not seeking the men’s job at his university when it came open. 

5. He also gave credit to his best collegiate player who as a player gave the coach at least three Bibles with various verses highlighted and took the coach’s son to church regularly. And the coach gave this credit to the player who presumably is or was in the NBA without dropping any names. That’s really unusual in our day and age of marketing and building “street-cred” by dropping names of famous or powerful people . . . as if Jesus isn’t famous or powerful enough.

Thanks, Coach. You honored the Lord in the way you gave your testimony.

Filed Under: Culture, Prayer, testimonies, Thanks

Ken and Lucy and Wolf Brand Chili

September 14, 2009 by 3 Comments

It’s football season and almost time for the State Fair of Texas, so these really hit the spot. Our dear friends, Ken and Lucy Nunn, from North Carolina blessed us with a treasure trove of goodies. And among the goodies were several cans of Wolf Brand Chili, which are now being rationed.

Before Ken came on his last visit, he asked if there was anything special that we would like. Our answer: “Canned chili. Preferably, Wolf Brand Chili, but since you are on the east coast, any local brand of chili will be fine.”

Ken likes a challenge, so he searched the Internet to find where he could get Wolf Brand. We never imagined Ken would go to the trouble of shipping WBC from San Antonio, Texas to North Carolina so he could bring it to us in Israel, or we would not have asked for that item. However, Ken and Lucy are like that: They really want to bless those they love. And in God’s mercy, we have been one of the targets of their love.

Over the years they have brought a variety of things for us and others: clothes, candy corn, licorice, scented pencils, beef jerky, kids books, scholarships, baseball uniforms, baseball equipment, and chili are a partial list. And, all of it has been gathered, packed and carried with lots of love.

Ken and Lucy, you are a treasure. We love you.

By the way, the chili has been enjoyed in the form of chili cheeseburgers and chili dogs. Next up: Nachos with a perfect blend of cheese, chili and (recently acquired) jalapenos. Thanks for your part in the menu.

Filed Under: Family Life, friends, Life in Israel, Texas, Thanks

Kids Say and Do the Darndest Things

September 15, 2008 by Leave a Comment

Recently, I was teaching my 1-3 grade class the 10 commandments, and thought it would be a good idea to teach them to Grace at home. She took to them fairly quickly, and could recite them pretty accurately (in four-year-old words, of course) when I called out the number. For example,
Me: “Number 1”
Grace: “Don’t have other Gods.”
Me: “Number 2”
Grace: “Don’t make idols.”
Me: “Number 3”
Grace: “Don’t bring God’s name in Spain.”

I burst out laughing when she said that because it was such a cute misspeak, and is the complete antithesis of our lives.

That made me laugh. This made me think:

Last week, I decided that we should start teaching Grace about giving financially to the Lord. Though it is a regular part of our life, it was something that was completely foreign to her.

I started out by explaining to her that when we love Jesus we give him a portion of our money. To some degree, she understands the concept of money. After all, she has a purse with an assortment of coins from here, there and yonder, which she is “saving for her trip to America.” (I’m afraid she’ll be disappointed in the small return those few coins will bring.) In an effort to encourage her to embrace the idea of giving to the Lord, we explained how the money from the offering box is used. Honestly, they were interesting details, but not critical for this four-year-old.

I tried to make the concept of giving reasonably understandable and doable by giving her two, one shekel coins. I explained that I was giving her two coins and that she might want to put some of that money in the offering box when we went to church later that evening. I even offered to show her where and how.

Clearly, by giving her two coins, I intended for her to give one and keep the other. Though I didn’t say it specifically, I thought it would be a no-brainer. I even added, “Whatever you aren’t going to give to the Lord, I want you to leave here so that you don’t lose it.” “Okay,” she said, and quickly returned to doing whatever she was doing before I started this life lesson.

An hour or so later as we were gathering our things at the door, I noticed that she had both coins in her hand. Thinking that she had forgotten that detail of my instruction, I reminded her that she should only take what she’s going to give to Jesus.

“I know Abba. I’m giving them both.” Realizing that she must have misunderstood something in my lesson, I clarified: “Are you sure that’s what you want to do? Whatever you aren’t giving to the Lord, needs to stay here.” “Yes, I love Jesus, so I’m giving them BOTH to Him.”

Her simple answer caused me to think: Wow, she got the lesson better than I delivered it. Thank you, Lord! Wow, she got the lesson better than I sometimes get it. Help me, Lord!

My prayer: That the desire to honor, obey, and love Jesus will increase and permeate her life the rest of her life. That my desire to honor, obey and love Jesus will be as real as what my four-year-old modeled that day.

Filed Under: Family Life, Grace, Prayer, Thanks

Father’s Day 2008

June 15, 2008 by Leave a Comment

Happy Father’s Day to me. The older Grace gets, the more I understand the blessing that it is to be a father, particularly to her. And, the older she gets, the more I understand how great is my responsibility to train her in the ways of the Lord.

Today, was a wonderful day. Our family spent the afternoon at the pool. We don’t go often because it is fairly expensive. In fact, we had sticker shock, today. However, the cost was worth the joy we shared through the afternoon.

I know so many men who aren’t able (or choose not) to spend time with their children, and many of them don’t enjoy the time when they are with their children. I’m so blessed.

Grace quickly made friends with twin girls whose father is American and whose mother is Belgian. They spoke French and English and have traveled extensively throughout the world. Like them, Grace will soon be bi-lingual, and she is already pretty well traveled.

The girls splashed me, rode my back and tried to dunk me throughout the afternoon – and every moment was both a joy and a trip down memory lane. When I was young, I often went to the pool with my best friend Kenny and his grandfather; and we did the same thing to him that the girls did to me, today.

Thank you, Lord, for blessing me this day.

Filed Under: Family Life, Grace, Thanks

A Great Compliment

August 15, 2007 by Leave a Comment

After we arrived from our recent trip to Italy for the European Baseball Championship, I received a great compliment. It is common for players or their families to say thanks for my efforts as a coach, but this one was different.

Unlike any other teams that travel to the European Championship tournament, Team Israel is required by the government to travel with a special security team. The guys that travel with us have always been very professional, which isn’t surprising since they are the Israeli equivalent of the US Secret Service. Rarely have they ever understood or been interested in baseball, but they did their job well all the same. And I appreciate that fact.

This year, after we had gathered our luggage at Ben Gurion Airport, one of our agents approached me and said, “Craig, I want to thank you for what you do, and I don’t mean the baseball. That was good, but I’m talking about preparing these guys for life. Thank you.”

That “thank you” meant more to me than many others that I have received over the years. Sometimes the “thank yous” are obviously heart felt and are greatly appreciated. Others, however, are clearly just the socially expected behavior.

What made this one different were two things: First, the source: Our security agents see a different side of life than most of us would be comfortable knowing about. They, for the most part, have dedicated their lives to insulating the rest of us from the nasty underside of the world. Second, the observation: This particular agent recognized that my baseball training program is geared toward making my players better baseball players and better people. Better students. Better soldiers. Better citizens. Better husbands.

Perhaps, I have accomplished more than I thought.

Filed Under: Baseball, Life in Israel, Security, Thanks
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