it's baseball season...
*note the ... instead of the !!!* it isn't that i don't like baseball (hello, avid sports enthusiast here... except the finals of the ncaa this year) i actually do like baseball...
i like the rivalries, some of the superstitions, the atmosphere, the sound of a ball and a bat (wooden or aluminum) i like the smell of hot dogs and the buzz of the lights. i like the uniforms that honor tradition. i like the mix of grass and dirt stains on white pants. i really like the rings of sweat around some players hats... i like that fans get to participate by catching foul balls and home runs. i like that it represents a way of life for many americans... especially my grandparents... i like baseball.
their were the childhood movies: the sandlot(s), rookie of the year, angels in the outfield, and ed... then the oldies, but goodies :) including, but not limited to: bull durham, the natural, field of dreams, and bad news bears... and more recently: hardball, major league(s), for the love of the game, and the rookie... how many baseball movies have you seen?!? exactly... and the classic abott and costello "who's on first" skit... :)
my dad, whom i dearly love and greatly admire, once made the comment (in a car full of younger girls might i add) that "girls couldn't play baseball because they couldn't throw/catch/run as well." he finally got himself out of that hole, but it made a long lasting impression on me! i did not back down from any challenge from then on out!!
when i saw a league of their own a few years later, i fell in love with the game in a new way... they got to play baseball!!! not softball, but baseball!!! i mean, they had to play in skirts *not cool* but they got to play on a regulation field with a baseball bat and a BASEball... i knew i could do it all because they got to play :) i know i was naive, but i was eleven...
it was on the other day much to my delight. i dropped everything i was doing to watch geena davis stand up for her little sister and take the world by storm as dottie. i won't lie- i wanted to be dottie when i was eleven and when i am twenty-two-----as an eleven year old, dottie was the hero and star; as a twenty-two year old, i see a different character. she demanded the best from people (i really hope you have seen this movie) but when she had to make the biggest play of the season, she couldn't pull the best out of herself. and i still want to be dottie...
why, why do i want to be on the losing end when the final run comes in? because, like dottie, i understand that baseball is just a game... and life goes on beyond that game... and at the end of the game, it is more important for me to be able to maintain friendships with my own teammates and with my opponents... when dottie realizes that her sister became the hero with her inability to make the out, she smiles! she doesn't run over and congratulate her sister, but she celebrates kit's win in her loss... that is really admirable... and that is why i want to be dottie...
but i don't love baseball like dottie... i think it is slow. you stand around and wait for the play or sit on the bench and wait for your turn to play... you rarely get to make physical contact with a person... if i am playing ball, i want to play ball :) baseball is fun if you are there or allowed to take a nap while watching it on tv...
all this to say, uhm, baseball has a hold on the purer times of life for a lot of people... when ball was ball and not a steroid hunt or "baseball tonight" on espn. nothing but a ball and a bat and a couple of bases... it was a simple and beautiful game. that is baseball to me... a lot like what life should be... graceful, easy, and fun!
4.08.2008
all smiles :))
i am going to share something today... i want you to prepare yourself for this... there will be capital letters ;) ready?
i am going to PA SCHOOL in the fall!!! but better than that, GOD IS absolutely AWESOME!!!
it is totally a God thing. i can't even begin to take credit for any bit of what has happened to me in recent days! i also can't wipe this smile off my face :)) some people say it is getting to be an annoyance, but i just keep going! :)
i was talking to a friend about my quick acceptance into school... she commented that "[i] was just that good." and what came out of my mouth... "no ma'am, MY GOD IS just that GOOD!!!" and He is :) He is so good...
it is easy to see when everything is good, but He is good even when things are not. He is good when things are down right bad. He is good when you have lost all recollection of what good actually is.
it is easy to have faith that He is working for good. to know that He is faithful, to know that He will strengthen you, help you, and uphold you... but how do you really know that God is truly good if you do not experience His true goodness? if you only know what is good and never have to testify to His goodness in light of something not so good? it's like eating your favorite food... every meal... every time you eat anything... even if it is the best thing you have ever eaten, eventually it will lose its special flavor. you know what i mean? i'm not trying to diminish the goodness of God by saying we lose our affinity for His succulence- we simply grow numbed or complacent when we experience such good for long periods of time...
it doesn't mean that God is no longer good... perhaps we are just experiencing a palate cleansing season of life so that our next course is more enjoyable.
(quick little fact... lemons and limes are the best palate cleansers; however, if you are looking to clean out your olfactory tract, go for the coffee beans! did you know that those three things are all extremely acidic... and they are cleansing... but if you put any of those things on an open wound, they burn and cause more damage? think about that...)
think about that~
i am going to PA SCHOOL in the fall!!! but better than that, GOD IS absolutely AWESOME!!!
it is totally a God thing. i can't even begin to take credit for any bit of what has happened to me in recent days! i also can't wipe this smile off my face :)) some people say it is getting to be an annoyance, but i just keep going! :)
i was talking to a friend about my quick acceptance into school... she commented that "[i] was just that good." and what came out of my mouth... "no ma'am, MY GOD IS just that GOOD!!!" and He is :) He is so good...
it is easy to see when everything is good, but He is good even when things are not. He is good when things are down right bad. He is good when you have lost all recollection of what good actually is.
it is easy to have faith that He is working for good. to know that He is faithful, to know that He will strengthen you, help you, and uphold you... but how do you really know that God is truly good if you do not experience His true goodness? if you only know what is good and never have to testify to His goodness in light of something not so good? it's like eating your favorite food... every meal... every time you eat anything... even if it is the best thing you have ever eaten, eventually it will lose its special flavor. you know what i mean? i'm not trying to diminish the goodness of God by saying we lose our affinity for His succulence- we simply grow numbed or complacent when we experience such good for long periods of time...
it doesn't mean that God is no longer good... perhaps we are just experiencing a palate cleansing season of life so that our next course is more enjoyable.
(quick little fact... lemons and limes are the best palate cleansers; however, if you are looking to clean out your olfactory tract, go for the coffee beans! did you know that those three things are all extremely acidic... and they are cleansing... but if you put any of those things on an open wound, they burn and cause more damage? think about that...)
think about that~
shall we dance?
did you ever learn as a small child that you aren't allowed to define a word with the word? i think that rule should always apply... unless, of course, the word is so commonplace or understandable that its very definition is automatically defined by word association due to over-abundance of said word in society... savvy?(sorry, that felt like a capt. jack sparrow moment right there) but you know what i mean?
take for instance the word dance. look it up in webster's dictionary... in its verb form, it means "to engage in a dance;" while as a noun, it means "an act of dancing." now, it could just be me... but i am pretty sure dance is used in both definitions, and that is a violation of a common "law."
it is a hard word to define. it means so many things to so many people. dancing = ballroom dancing, clubbing, middle-school slow dancing (aka "waddling and shuffling"), toddlers bouncing up-and-down dancing, ceremonial dancing, "first dances" dancing, square dancing, etc. if you find one universal definition that applies to all without using the word dance, the people at webster are looking for new word definers :)
seriously though, dancing is what you make it. it can be formal, outlined, admirable, and critiqued. it can be casual, spontaneous, inventive, and stylish. it can symbolize a wide variety of emotions and transcend every cultural/international/racial divide within humanity. we all dance... some of us better than others (i am in the "not so hot freestyler but if it has steps i got it under control" sector of the club) needless to say, we can all dance.
i have a fascination with formal ballroom dancing... pretty sure it started when i saw "beauty and the beast" or "the king and i" or one of those fabulous movies in my early youth (i have always been a hopeless romantic) :) i recently took part in a dancing class (so out of my character, so much fun). while in class, i was a model for one of the more "passionate" dances... the dance instructor carefully, yet forcefully, took me in his arms with a quick "ready, go" and we were off... dancing around the room with everyone else watching... i did not feel a single eye on me! i knew the steps, but i didn't know where i was going- he was undoubtedly the leader... i was kind of shocked, to tell you the truth- there was a level of comfort i had not experienced in a situation i had definitely not experienced. when we finished the dance, he threw me into his shadow (literally, not quite... more like he tossed me to the side and strutted center stage as if he had just had his way and was done... very authoritative... very attractive... haha)
he came back later and said, "erin, you like to lead, don't you?" (for those of you who know me, you know i am independent, confident, and willing to take *or demand* the lead) however, a short dance with this man had left me completely vulnerable!
as i replayed this in my head, i decided there was a lot to learn from this scenario. 1) i can be tamed; 2) it's okay not to be the leader; 3) it is okay to let go and trust the leader; and 4) i would be okay dancing again :) and then i applied it to life using a popular saying of today's young people: "learn to dance with Jesus; He will find the right guy/girl to cut in." i like some of that... but i would change some things...
"learn to dance with Jesus" is a must. your hand in His, your hand on His shoulder, His hand just above your waist, your eyes fixed in His... He has a total hold on you, but it is gentle. His eyes look into yours while guiding the two of you around the dance floor. can you feel it? you are safe and in love...
and as far as that "right guy cutting in?" that requires someone cutting out... unless Jesus makes this dance a three person dance, i am not leaving his arms for anyone else's!
supposedly, finding the perfect dance partner is pretty hard to do. you have to cover the other's weaknesses while also displaying your own strengths. i have a great dance partner, though; He covers all my weaknesses and still lets me shine. He makes me the most beautiful dancer on the floor... pretty sure He'd like to dance with you :)
take for instance the word dance. look it up in webster's dictionary... in its verb form, it means "to engage in a dance;" while as a noun, it means "an act of dancing." now, it could just be me... but i am pretty sure dance is used in both definitions, and that is a violation of a common "law."
it is a hard word to define. it means so many things to so many people. dancing = ballroom dancing, clubbing, middle-school slow dancing (aka "waddling and shuffling"), toddlers bouncing up-and-down dancing, ceremonial dancing, "first dances" dancing, square dancing, etc. if you find one universal definition that applies to all without using the word dance, the people at webster are looking for new word definers :)
seriously though, dancing is what you make it. it can be formal, outlined, admirable, and critiqued. it can be casual, spontaneous, inventive, and stylish. it can symbolize a wide variety of emotions and transcend every cultural/international/racial divide within humanity. we all dance... some of us better than others (i am in the "not so hot freestyler but if it has steps i got it under control" sector of the club) needless to say, we can all dance.
i have a fascination with formal ballroom dancing... pretty sure it started when i saw "beauty and the beast" or "the king and i" or one of those fabulous movies in my early youth (i have always been a hopeless romantic) :) i recently took part in a dancing class (so out of my character, so much fun). while in class, i was a model for one of the more "passionate" dances... the dance instructor carefully, yet forcefully, took me in his arms with a quick "ready, go" and we were off... dancing around the room with everyone else watching... i did not feel a single eye on me! i knew the steps, but i didn't know where i was going- he was undoubtedly the leader... i was kind of shocked, to tell you the truth- there was a level of comfort i had not experienced in a situation i had definitely not experienced. when we finished the dance, he threw me into his shadow (literally, not quite... more like he tossed me to the side and strutted center stage as if he had just had his way and was done... very authoritative... very attractive... haha)
he came back later and said, "erin, you like to lead, don't you?" (for those of you who know me, you know i am independent, confident, and willing to take *or demand* the lead) however, a short dance with this man had left me completely vulnerable!
as i replayed this in my head, i decided there was a lot to learn from this scenario. 1) i can be tamed; 2) it's okay not to be the leader; 3) it is okay to let go and trust the leader; and 4) i would be okay dancing again :) and then i applied it to life using a popular saying of today's young people: "learn to dance with Jesus; He will find the right guy/girl to cut in." i like some of that... but i would change some things...
"learn to dance with Jesus" is a must. your hand in His, your hand on His shoulder, His hand just above your waist, your eyes fixed in His... He has a total hold on you, but it is gentle. His eyes look into yours while guiding the two of you around the dance floor. can you feel it? you are safe and in love...
and as far as that "right guy cutting in?" that requires someone cutting out... unless Jesus makes this dance a three person dance, i am not leaving his arms for anyone else's!
supposedly, finding the perfect dance partner is pretty hard to do. you have to cover the other's weaknesses while also displaying your own strengths. i have a great dance partner, though; He covers all my weaknesses and still lets me shine. He makes me the most beautiful dancer on the floor... pretty sure He'd like to dance with you :)
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