If you’ve read this blog at all, you know I’m (a) a huge sports fan, and (b) an Alabama alum and rabid college sports fan (ROLL TIDE!).  Well, over the past few months, I’ve earnestly tried to put together the ultimate guy weekend over Labor Day weekend this fall:  Alabama vs. Virginia Tech in the Georgia Dome on Saturday, and the first ever Atlanta night race (NASCAR Sprint Cup) on Sunday.  I’m sorry to say that it probably won’t happen, mostly due to scheduling, but in no small part because of the price of the tickets.  The football game on Saturday was going to cost $215 per person for 3rd level seats.  That’s right, it’s not a typo:  $215 for third level seats.  Add in the cost of travel, lodging, and food, and it was going to cost approx. $800 a man to do this trip.  At first, I was like, “well, I guess money has to be no object for one of these deals”, and moved on.  I thought, “well, hey, maybe I can just go to an Alabama game in Tuscaloosa.  The reason these tickets are so high is because it’s the “Kickoff Classic” sponsored by Chick-Fil-A (mmm…Chick-Fil-A…don’t have those here in the Northeast).

Well, I’m sorry to say that for the “good” games in Tuscaloosa this year (vs. Tennessee, Arkansas, LSU) the prices are pretty much the same.  Although, Bryant-Denny Stadium in Tuscaloosa only has two decks instead of three, it’s still nose-bleed seats for approx. $200.  Add in travel and lodging, and it ends up being approx. $500 per person for a trip like this.  Unreal.

Earlier this month, I’m watching the NBA Finals, and the clincher:  there was an awesome story at halftime about an Orlando family who’s son has an anxiety disorder (some sort of “mutism”, if I remember correctly) and he never talks, basically.  Ever.  He’s almost 5 years old, and never really communicates with others.  He can talk, just doesn’t.  Well, as the story goes, one night, the family is sitting and watching the Orlando Magic play on TV, and the kid (Ryan) starts talking, trying to say “play basketball”.  He doesn’t quite make it the first few times, but eventually, he’s talking and pointing at the TV.  His parents are in tears!  It’s the break they’ve been waiting for.  So, the father immediately wants to take his son to a game, kinda like therapy.  Great idea, right?  Well, they’re interviewing the father, and he says it cost him $641 to take him and his son to the game.  $641 dollars!  And during the interview on ABC, he says he basically had to decide between paying the mortgage that month and helping his child overcome this ailment!  So, he thought, “well, they usually give you thirty days to make good if you miss a payment, so it wasn’t a hard decision.”  (that’s not an actual quote, just my paraphrase from what I remember of the story)

And, of course, the story ends well:  they go to the game, Ryan continues to grow in communicating and overcoming his disorder, the father emails the Magic thanking them for everything, and the Magic organization gives them free tickets for the remainder of the season, and they’re able to go to the playoffs, etc.  Great story, but the point is:  nowadays, only people that either are making 6-digit incomes or willing to allow their kids and grandkids into inherit their enormous credit card debt can go to top-tier sporting events with any kind of regularity.  And it stinks.

I’m naive to think that it will end soon.  It would take a massive boycott by Americans to make any change in the system and the exorbitant lifestyle that players, owners, and coaches lead nowadays; and, heck, even THAT might not be enough.  Baseball is approaching that day faster than the other sports, I believe.  The New York Times a couple of weeks ago noted a startling stat:  The Yankees have sold out one game out of the first 30 home games this year at the new Yankee Stadium.  And, I’ve noticed several times as I flip past baseball games on the TV that it’s not limited to Yankee stadium.  There are ALWAYS plenty of good seats still available in a number of ballparks. 

Another example:  A co-worker of mine was so excited this year because his wife had given him the ok to buy Giants season tickets, something he’s wanted for YEARS.  But now, with the NEW stadium coming this year, the Giants have come up with what’s called a PSL:  a Personal Seat License.  Basically, it’s a license that gives you permission to buy season tickets.  And, it costs anywhere from $1,000 to $20,000 per license.  Then you have to buy season tickets on top of that, which are around $4,000.  My co-worker friend wasn’t devastated, but it was something close.  “Pro sports are forgetting the people that got them to where they are today” he said.  Yep.  That’s it.  It’s a vicious, downward spiraling, never-ending cycle, and it’s all driven by money (you don’t have to read my blog to figure that out).

Here’s my theory:  Owners want more money.  They can do that by simply raising ticket prices (which happens sometimes for no reason) or by fielding a good team that people will want to come see.  In order to do that, they have to pay to get good players.  In order to pay the higher salaries (every year they increase across the board, on average – see chart below), they have to raise ticket and merchandise prices.  The sports LEAGUES also charge more for the networks to show the games on TV, which drives up advertising, which leads to more commercials, which drives home viewers nuts.  Like I said, it’s a never-ending cycle, spiraling prices upward and fan appreciation downward.

Even the sportswriters don’t get it.  There was an article on cnnsi.com a few weeks back by Peter King, in which he reported on how NFL players were complaining over how little they were paid per game when their team makes the playoffs and/or goes to the Super Bowl.  Tom Brady, according to the article, with all of the playoff games and 4 super bowl appearances, has only made something like $35,000/year on average for those games.  And Mr. King was basically stating how wrong this was.  Now, obviously, my response was “holy cow, with the 7-digit salaries these guys make on average, who cares?”  So, I emailed Mr. King and asked him to consider the economy and the number of people losing jobs at an alarming rate right now, and to please not glorify or give credence to these complaints.  He didn’t publish my email in his “mailbag” the next day, but he DID show a couple of emails that were basically saying the same thing, one of them by a lawyer in Florida comparing his yearly salary to the NFL players’ (it was much less), and how complaining over postseason salaries was ridiculous.  Mr. King’s response was, (and I quote), “…if you got an average of $8,000 per case, and then it came time to argue the biggest case you’d ever had before the Florida Supreme Court, and you got $500 for it, would you feel that was fair? Everything is relative.”  Everything is relative?!?!?!  He missed the point.  I think we realize that with the lifestyle that pro athletes lead, either some or a majority of them are going to complain about something like this, among other things, and to the average Joe Q. Public who does the best he can providing for his family, it will always seem ridiculous.  Just don’t TELL us about it or make it seem glamorous, and in doing so remind us of how ungrateful pro athletes can be for the salaries that the American public pay for by having to take out a second mortgage for season tickets.  Puhleeze.

So, there’s my rant.  Nothing really spiritual about it, although I definitely agree with my pastor, who frequently reminds us on Sunday mornings that we are a nation who worships the “God of mammon”, not the God who blesses us with it.  And there is no place where it’s worshipped more than in American sports today.

I was listening to the Mosaic podcast by Erwin McManus this morning, and I loved the main point of his sermon.  I’ll paraphrase:

You don’t overcome great failure/crisis in your life with great success.  Too often we try to get out of the crisis or whatever situation we’re in that’s causing, at least, discomfort, and at most, life-threatening, overwhelming pain, by either hoping that that “big break” comes along, or that we’ll hit that “home run”, etc.  When, in fact, great failure/crisis is overcome with great faithfulness.  He used the story of Naomi in the book of Ruth as an example, but also the example of the North Carolina Tar Heels winning this year’s NCAA championship.  Now, yes, I understand, getting blown out in the Final Four in 2008 does not qualify as great of a failure or crisis as losing your husband and both sons in the middle of a time of famine, as Naomi did.  BUT, the faithfulness needed – by Ruth to stand by Naomi’s side, as well as the faithfulness needed (and given) by the UNC basketball players to postpone the millions of dollars they’ll be making in the NBA to return and pursue a national championship one more time – those are the same.  Both require hard work, sacrifice, and keeping our focus on God (in Ruth’s instance).  And it always pays off.  Maybe not in the way we intended it to, or hoped it would, but in God’s eyes, it does, if we’re faithful to Him.

And, as impatient as I am, and have been in my life, this was a good thing to hear today.

Have a great week!

Admittedly, I can be head of the class in the “childish” department from time to time. So it takes one to know one. Nevertheless, I found this article on ESPN.com to be dead-on as to where we are as a nation, not just in sports, but in general; give it a read:

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=macgregor/090309

Why do artists (or at least the Christian artists on my iPod) feel compelled nowadays to end their songs with some weird sound effect or feedback?  Can’t they just trash can it and end the song rather than fading out with weird sounds?  Is this some kind of artistic expression?  Well, it’s very annoying, at least to me…

Why is it so hard to get to know people?  I’m tired of the games…I know I play them myself to some extent, but sheesh…what’s with all the walls?!?!

I remember watching Sinbad (the comedian) a few years ago on Comedy Central.  He was talking about how when you’re a teenager, and you break your leg, “whoomf”!  it heals up.  Then, when you’re in your 40’s and you break something, it stays broke.  That’s why you see people walking around looking like Elaine Benes in the Seinfeld episode where she “dances”.  Well, my right knee is in that category now.  I got called out of retirement to play Y-league basketball this year.  6 games in, and my knee is like Rice Krispies (snap, crackle, and pop).  Like, every time I get up from a sitting position.  Did I mention I turn 40 in August?  Sheesh…my paintball career doesn’t look good right now.  I’m big enough when I’m crouching, if I can’t even do THAT…<shudder>!

Ah, the dark times are approaching.  Football season is over, March Madness will soon be upon us, then after that, the NBA playoffs, then the dark times until football starts again.  Sigh…

Just wondering…why do the guys on my friends list on the Xbox rarely invite me to play a game when we’re both online?  What’s the etiquette here?  Do I need to initiate that more?…(maybe I need to get a life?)

I’d call this “This Week’s Sign of the Apocalypse”, but it’s too funny to be taken seriously…

http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2009/01/07/porn-industry-seeks-federal-bailout/

It seems that the porn industry has fallen upon hard times, and plans on asking the government for a $5 billion bailout.

I personally am taking this as GOOD news.  If there’s one industry that I could stomach seeing go under, it’s this one.  I’m assuming President Obama will laugh at this (I certainly hope so).

I thought Harry Flynt’s quotes at the end of the article about Americans not being able to live without sex were particularly entertaining.

As I’ve pondered the last year during my week off from work this week – I GOTTA get back to my routine of in bed at 10, up at 6 before Monday or it’s gonna be a ROUGH first day back at work    – I’ve thought about all that God has revealed to me.  Mostly because it’s been a pretty boring year in my life, which is not necessarily a bad thing, just the truth.  I really loved working on A Terminal Christmas at my church, and playing out with my band, Inside Out, but other than that, nothing really earthshaking from an activity or occurrence standpoint.

So, I believe God brought to mind a lot of what I’ve been posting about:  how my parents and my mess of a marriage and the enemy and other things that happened in my life have shaped how I behave.  Notice I said “how I behave”, not “who I am”.  I AM a child of the Most High God, and nothing and no one on earth can ever change that, including myself (Romans 8:38-39).

I’ll detail my discoveries while attending my church’s Living Waters small group in later posts, but suffice it to say I’ve learned some important things about myself in the last few months.  But more importantly, this week, I learned that I was handling the information in a wrong perspective, and the knowledge wasn’t leading to healing, or at least not as fast as it could.

A friend of mine in Nashville put a post on her blog this past year entitled, “Need/Provision vs. Cause/Effect”.  You can read the entire post here, but here’s the paragraph that caught my eye:

God is the plumber who fixes your sink when he knows have no money to pay his bill – the accountant who gets your finances in order when you have no clue about how to do it yourself, and then does not take his cut.  God is not the plumber who brings you a wrench and then tells you to fix it yourself, nor the accountant who brings you a calculator and expects that is going to put you on a budget.  It is rare to find God this way, through the actions of people.  Therefore, we think it impossible that God is actually this way.  He must want something from us.  He only wants our choice, our need for Him. 

I know some of you read the paragraph above, and were a little put off.  I’m sure you thought, “Yes, but doesn’t God give us the tools we need to live our lives according to His will?  What about ‘teaching a man to fish instead of just giving him one’?”  YES, God teaches us to “fish”.  He teaches us that our only true provision comes through Him, and that fishing in any other water is only going to lead to a different kind of poverty – and that includes the waters of our own abilities.  Have you ever noticed how often God works through people in the Bible out of their inabilities?  The resumes of Bible heroes would not read so good.

And, I realized, I had come away with all of these discoveries in the past year, both through my relationship with God, and through Living Waters, and yet I was still trying to “fix myself” with the information.  I’m not sure where this attitude came from, whether my flesh or the enemy or some kind of programming I’ve received over the years, but yesterday, I thanked and praised God for all He has shown me, and I had a really great day doing nothing.  Just watching some football, taking a couple of naps, playing a while on the Xbox (yes, I have one now…more on that later, too).  There was a great reduction in “drivenness” as a result.

Bottom line…God shows us these things about ourselves not to bring shame or guilt, but to free us.  Ok, another line…God’s love is the only thing that can heal us.  Period.  I’ve probably posted that multiple times on this blog, ok fine, but I’m saying it again to help me to remember this time.  It’s almost as if I heard Him say, “Zeph, you want to know why you’re so driven, and feel so needy sometimes, and can’t seem to relate or connect to people like you think you should?  Well, it’s because of <this> and <this> and <this>.  That’s all.  Let me heal you of it by loving you as my son.  Accept me as your Father, and let’s go!”  Whereas I think the message previously was, however subconsciously, “Zeph, <these things> are what’s wrong with you.  Get it together.”  See the difference?

I hope anyone reading this can be freed of any guilt and shame because of their past, or in this case, any memories that God brings to mind for healing purposes that the enemy tries to come in and corrupt with a “now go and fix yourself” attitude.

So, Happy New Year everyone!  And, oh, yeah…

ROLL TIDE!

(Sugar Bowl, ‘Bama vs. Utah, tonight @ 8:00 pm, on FOX) 

Well, here I am again.  Three months or so off from blogging whilst I was going through a small group at my church that deals with sexual and relational brokenness called “Living Waters”.  Last night was the last night, and I must admit, I’m glad we’re done.  More on that, and a whole lot more, later.  But first, you gotta see this:

This story on CNN.com this morning caught my eye.  First, It’s kinda creepy how Rick Warren looks like a young Jerry Falwell in the picture on CNN.com’s front page.  Just my opinion.  Second, I was surprised – pleasantly – that our president elect chose Mr. Warren to give the inaugural invocation, seeing as how they differ on many issues.  But then, I saw these two paragraphs:

People for the American Way President Kathryn Kolbert told CNN she is “deeply disappointed” with the choice of Warren and said the powerful platform at the inauguration should instead have been given to someone who has “consistent mainstream American values.”

“There is no substantive difference between Rick Warren and James Dobson,” Kolbert said. “The only difference is tone. His tone is moderate, but his ideas are radical.”

Wow…I mean…wow.  Talk about the founding fathers rolling over in their graves.  Maybe I’ve been living under a rock.  I didn’t realize that abortion and gay rights were mainstream American values yet.  In our culture?  Yes.  Mainstream?!?!  Huh?!?!  But alas, it seems that ideas like those are no longer deemed “radical”, but the ideas that seek to abolish them ARE.

And admittedly, Ms. Kolbert is probably as liberal as they come, so I’m resisting the urge to throw out the baby with the bath water here.  Still, this response to Mr. Warren’s selection is very telling.

More to come…gotta go to work.

Books are the quietest and most constant of friends; they are the most accessible and wisest of counsellors, and the most patient of teachers.

-Charles W. Eliot

And so I wrote this song for you
I think I know just what you’re going through
Did you believe you’d never change
Nothin ever stays the same

I know it’s hard holdin on
Even harder trying to let it go
And so you’re frozen like a stone
But you are not alone

Every step I take
I get a little less afraid
Of giving in to love, love
Let it out
Believe me when I say
It gets better every day
Once you get used to the pain

What you hide inside I see
There’s a scar that’s always gonna be
There’s a past in everyone
You can’t undo
You can’t outrun

Every step I take
I get a little less afraid
Of giving in to love, love
Let it out
Believe me when I say
It gets better every day
Once you get used to the pain

Keith Urban, Used to the Pain

I’ve had an interesting week so far.  Sunday, I heard part two of a sermon on pain and suffering.  Then, by the time I left work on Monday, I was suffering.  I missed work yesterday due to the mother of all cricks in my neck.  I’ve had this before, it’s usually caused by poor posture by walking or while working on the PC, or by sleeping a a wrong angle for a night or two.  Anyway, there was no position, sitting or standing, that I could get comfortable, save laying flat on my back.  Now, when you consider that I’m a “side sleeper”, a.k.a. sleeping on my side instead of my back, this presents a problem.  I probably got 5 hours or more each of the past two nights, which is OK, but still not optimum for me, especially with all I have going on right now.

One of the interesting points of the sermon on Sunday was, in her attempt to explain why there is pain and suffering in a world where God loves his children so dearly, Pastor Marlene simply stated that, to the best she can tell, “Pain is part of the deal”.  For the sake of discussion here, I also want to bring back an idea I’ve read in at least two of John Eldredge’s books:  People, men and women both, spend a large part of our time trying to make a “safe” existence for ourselves, which is NOT how God wired us to be.  We’re created to glorify Him, and rule creation, regardless of the pain we encounter.

So, true to form, Monday, immediately after work, I drove straight to the chiropractor’s office, whom I visit every other week anyway, for an emergency adjustment.  He didn’t promise me a miraculous relief, but adjusted me and told me to ice it down like usual and come in again on Tuesday, which I did…twice.  And I’ll probably visit again today.  Because, like the rest of the human race, what do we do when we’re experiencing pain?  Do everything we can to stop it, or shorten the length of time that it’s with us, of course.

And like I’ve said, I’ve been through this cycle of chiro visits before, and missed a day of work, as well, just like this time.  And take into account that I missed golf on Monday and Tuesday, and I’ve got InsideOut practice tonight (two gigs upcoming in September), and I’m running sound for a benefit at a local golf course this weekend, and well, I want the pain to just go away, mainly so I can “perform” at optimum levels for the remainder of the week and for the upcoming gigs.

But, funny things have been happening the last couple of days.  In the hours that I’ve been unable to do anything but lie flat on my back, I’ve realized how busy I’ve been this summer, and how much it’s been stressing me.  And, in that busy-ness, how much energy I’ve been expending in pain management/avoidance.  Finally, this morning, as I trudged into work, I realized how much emotional and physical energy I’m expending in either being anxious about upcoming events while I’m in this physical condition, or in actually physically trying to get comfortable while at my desk or lying in my bed or lying on the couch.  When I realized that this pain is part of the deal, my body and mind relaxed, and although I’m still quite uncomfortable sitting here typing this (yes, at work, I realize…it’s a slow day), I’m OK with it, whereas before, I was not.

And this can be applied to so many areas of my life.  How much energy do I spend avoiding embarrassment, emotional pain, and the biggie, abandonment (or what I perceive as potential abandonment)?  WAY TOO MUCH.  God is actually trying to thwart my attempts, because until I can go through these things (well, with Him, abandonment is not part of the deal, but anyway), I won’t grow, or learn to trust Him.  My safe little kingdom needs desperately to collide head on with HIS, and it’s for my own good.

Pain is part of the deal.  And in my case, the energy I spend trying to get out of this deal is much more detrimental to my soul than experiencing the pain itself.

Haven’t posted for a while.  Mainly because I’ve been pretty busy this summer, with two golf leagues, golf tournaments, paintball, the band, worship at church, business trips, you name it.  And I realize I’m complaining about recreational activities, but they still take time.  I’m very tired lately.

And, contrary to my previous beliefs (concerning downtime), I’ve spent too much time watching TV.  And, even with the limited cable access I have (I miss my ESPN!), I have found myself again using TV for an escape from issues that God is trying to get to in my heart, and also watching some racy scenes on TV.  No porn or anything, but risque nevertheless.

Which led me to ask a question:  What is “acceptable” viewing for a man when it comes to TV and movies?  I realize, after a long period of growth that God has brought me through, that to a large extent, it’s not WHAT you watch, as much as WHY you’re watching, and HOW you process what you see in your brain and soul, and HOW it AFFECTS your brain and soul.

For instance, the other night, while I was able to go to bed knowing that what I watched is not how God wired women to be, and that the people (the actors) portraying these extramarital sexual actvities aren’t ever going to be able to satisfy the craving inside for love by having sex, my flesh was still awakened, and I basically felt like I was under attack (and, actually, to a large extent, I think I was) for a couple of days, like I REALLY couldn’t relax, when relaxation was what I was searching for by vegging in front of the TV in the first place.  Very ironic, and a lesson well learned.

So back to my question:  What is, in fact, “acceptable”?  And here’s my point (or at least a point to discuss):  I believe that the only person that we males were ever meant to see scantily clad or naked is our wives.  Period.  We can say, “well, the rest of the movie was good, and I wanted to see it,” or “you can’t escape it in today’s culture.”  I’m not denying that.  Sex is everywhere, it’s impossible to not notice.  I don’t want to get into what we can or can’t AVOID in this post, or suggesting that we CAN without becoming a hermit.  (which, by the way, becomes more and more attractive to me all the time)  I’m simply asking:  when God created us at the beginning of the world, what was his plan concerning our eyes, our brains, our hearts, and our souls?  And how much have we compromised in the name of “art” or “entertainment” or even viewing true human situations (as opposed to what LP calls “pop culture crap”) via TV and movies?  (It’s a GIVEN that the Internet falls into this category, so there’s no use in bringing THAT up here, either)

And again, I’m not stupid, NO ONE can watch large amounts of this stuff and not be affected.  It’s impossible.  So that extreme is a given, as well.

Again, the question:  what were we meant to see with our eyes, and subsequently our hearts and souls?

And even further, from a positive spin, what NOURISHES our hearts?  Sunday night, about 1 AM, there was a thunderclap here locally like I’ve never heard.  And in the hour that I was wide awake afterwards, I believe God had some words for me.  He cares about ONE THING.  Our HEARTS.  I’ve read it (see:  Eldredge, etc.), but it struck me anew Sunday night/Monday morning.  He doesn’t care about our acheivements, our morality, our abilities, any of that stuff, NEAR as much as He cares about our HEARTS.  He wants to NOURISH them with His Word, His presence, TIME with Him.  And, like I’ve said before, so MANY things in our culture do not nourish our hearts.  They may make them race with excitement or numb them, but ultimately, we need NOURISHMENT.  Peace.  Quiet.  “Shhh….listen.” moments should dominate our time, not be an occasional oasis.

So anyway, I’m not trying to be legalistic or totalitarian about the subject, I just want some opinions.  Discuss…and thanks!