Memories

It has been a good trip back to my hometown. I have come to realize a few things while I was here. But before I continue, I made a major mistake the other day and I need to correct it. I mentioned that I was coming home to see my parents but I failed to mention my wonderful sisters. They still live in my hometown and that are two of the greatest sisters ever. They are wonderful people with wonderful families. I am very proud of the wives, and mothers they have become. They are special. I miss them a lot, and I wish I was able to see them more, but I sort of like keeping the memories we had as children in my head. They are my little sisters. They will always be my little sisters, no matter what.
Since being home I have realized that while I have grown, I expect everything I knew as a child and teen to stay the same. It doesn’t but the cool thing is that the memories do not change a bit. I have driven by old hang-outs and relived many of the things I did as a teen. I can still see the faces, the people, I can almost reenact the conversations and laughs we had. I love my hometown and I love the people.
I am currently at McDonald’s typing this blog. That is cool. I use to come here for pre-game meals as a basketball player. I can almost still feel my teammates and my letterman jacket on my shoulders. I will drive around in town and have the same feelings about the same places as I once did.
Memories are powerful. They allow us to learn, to grow, and to keep wonderful spots in our hearts and minds. I love to remember. They best part is to laugh at the mistakes, the people, and the places. Growing up is great, but keeping places in your heart and mind that reminded you of your youth are the best. I am getting older, and Guntersville is growing, but no matter how much it grows it will still be the same place it was when I was young. I will never forget my youth.

We Made It!

We made it. We made the trip. We were successful. We left Wednesday at 9:00pm and we arrived in Birmingham, Alabama at 8:00am. There were only a few minor hiccups. Evelyn got sick in Baton Rouge, so we had to stop for a clean p break. Other than that we made good time and the kids slept the whole way. Now we have to only make it back on Monday.
Once we arrived, my wife and kids went with my mom and I went to spend one day in Montgomery to visit friends. I met my friends Emily, Melissa, and Rob. It was so good to see them and to catch up. We were great friends in college. We did everything together and after 12 years it was great to see that things have not changed much.
Emily is married and has a 15 year old stepson. She is a teacher in Alexander City. She is a great teacher. You can tell she has a real passion for what she does. Through the course of dinner she would talk about her students and school, which shows how much she likes her students and her job. She seems to be a great step mom as well. I am so proud of her.
Melissa and Rob are doing great. They have two beautiful children. You can tell how proud they are of them. They are a great couple; they have been married for 10 years. They shared stories and we laughed. We laughed a lot.
We spent most of the night sharing old stories and some new ones. We had a lot of fun. It is so great to see the maturity in all of us. We are all married and we all have kids. We are older, and we seem to be wiser than we once were. It is fun to remember yet recognize and celebrate growth. I hope we all keep growing. I hope that when we see each other again, that nothing changes. Everyone was so happy. I am proud of them and I love them.
Well, I will finish my journey today as I head to beautiful Lake Guntersville. Wish me luck.

Our Big Adventure

Today is the day. It is a day that I spent a lot of time thinking about. I have both dreaded it and rejoiced in the day. It is the day that my family-yes, all four of us-will be traveling to Alabama. Now that doesn’t sound like a big deal but we are not flying we are driving. I can hear the gasps and laughs now. We have rented a mini-van (which I swore I would never be that person) and we plan to load up an leave Houston tonight for a 10 hour trip. Like I said, I am both nervous and excited. It will definitely be an adventure. Here is the time for all those that know me place bets on how far we will get in this trip. Some at work have said-all the way, Baton Rouge, Beaumont, and to the end of my neighborhood.
We are going to travel with my wife, myself and Evelyn-2, and Jackson-6 months. We have packed every conceivable form of entertainment. We have every Nick Jr. movie made in last year. We have a cooler packed with snacks and drinks. We have pillows, diapers, and a massive amount of wipes. You can never have enough wipes. We rented the car (I cannot say mini-van) yesterday. The rental guy and my wife inspected the outside for any damage, I laughed, because the damage is going to be on the inside. It will be a minor miracle if it comes back with no stains, no torn fabric, and in perfect working order. I guess the joke will be on him.
I am definitely making light of the trip. I am very excited. I will get to see my parents and more importantly they will get to see my children. I have always known that my parents were proud of me, but I cannot wait for them to see my children and see what kind of parent I have become. They have heard stories on the phone, but it will be different in person. This will be the first time they have met Jackson. I am proud of my children and care for them deeply and I know my parents will be proud of them as well.
There is no greater feeling than showing off your children. I love to show mine off. I think God feels the same way about us. We see examples in the Bible, especially with guys like David, Job, and others, of how God feels about his children. I hope as a child of God I can make him proud. I want him to show me off. I want to be labeled as His, “good and faithful servant.” I want to make God proud. I think if we keep that in mind it will helps us as we go about everyday life. We can ask ourselves, “Would God be proud of me?” Well, we are a few hours away from the big trip. I will give an update on how far

Turning Discomfort Into Comfort

I have decided that this summer I want to get into better shape. I started my routine yesterday, and it has been a painful two days. I started yesterday with a little jogging and some time in the weight room. It is amazing has easy it is to get out of shape, and how difficult it can be to get into shape. With consistent training I believe you can make what is uncomfortable now become comfortable later. You can change what you dream it could be, and make it what you expect it to be. That is my goal.
We have such a hard time with discomfort. We spend most of our days trying to make ourselves comfortable, yet we do not want to be uncomfortable doing it. We just want it to happen. I have come to realize comfortable can only be achieved by weathering the discomfort it takes to get their.
I preach this to our basketball players all the time. They all have a desire to be the best player, yet when it comes to the work it takes to be the best very few are willing to submit. Submission is hard, it means discomfort, even pain, but the prize is so great. Most settle or give up when they don’t see instant results. Look at all the fad diets, fad work-outs; you hear slogans like “in only 90 days”, or with “10 minutes a day.” If you really want to make a change or you want to be different, you have to submit for more than 90 days or 10 minutes a day. It has to be a constant, daily change. It is a lifestyle change.
The same is true with spiritual fitness. What if told God, I am going to be your servant for 90 days or 10 minutes a day? Would he be pleased? God wants us to submit not for a few days, but for the rest of our lives. It will mean a little discomfort, and possibly a little pain-but how sweet the reward is. Do not get me wrong, starting with 10 minutes a day, is better than no start at all. Submission has to be daily, weekly, monthly, and yearly.
I have decided I will weather the discomfort. Trust me, I am sore. I am going to rejoice in my soreness, for I know it will only last a little while, it I am consistent. Soon discomfort will be comfort, and it will be what I expect not what I want.

“He who ignores discipline despises himself. He who heeds correction gains understanding” Proverbs 15:32

Seniors 2009-2010

What a great time of the year. Tonight is our graduation and it will a time of celebration and joy. Those who are graduating will put behind them the high school years and begin the next chapter of their journey. I am very excited for those seniors who played basketball for me. They have been a great group that I am looking forward to following in their college careers and beyond.
We will be graduating 6 seniors (players) from our 2009-2010 team. Justin Foreman will continue his development at a prep school in Nevada. Nick Leonard will be going on to Baylor where he will no doubt do really well. Nick Shepherd will be playing basketball and continuing his education at Long Beach State. Anthony Brancato is going to Lubbock Christian. Ashton Fontenot will play football at Clark-Atlanta. Duke Phillips will get a chance to be a student athlete on the basketball team at Faulkner University. All have received scholarships of some value, and will benefit from a great college education at little or no cost to their families.
We also graduate three student coaches, Jon Scott-University of Texas, Elvan Young- University of Houston, and Eduardo Perme. I am proud of them all but I would say I am the most proud of Eduardo. Eduardo has some disabilities but has worked through high school and will graduate tonight. Eduardo is a great kid, with a great spirit. We have benefited by his presence. I am going to miss him the most. I am so excited to see what he becomes and I pray we have made an impact.
As excited as I am about their futures, I pray we have made a difference in their lives. We have tried to teach them to be servant leaders, give great effort-work hard, and put others ahead of themselves. I will not forget them, and I really don’t care if they forget me along as they don’t forget the lessons. The lessons are more important than those teaching them. I know they will do great, but I want them to great husbands, great fathers, and great men.

Clean Up

Today was the last day of school! Yes! We made it all the way! It is also housekeeping time. The halls are full of trash and trash bags, people are working to clean up the mess and clean out the lockers. It is amazing the things left behind, that go unwanted or considered trash. Clean up and clean out is good thing and something we all probably need to do more often.
I am reading a very good book and the chapter I finished dealt with the value we put on stuff, and how that value system is misguided. Stuff is not as important as we making out to be, we use phrases like “we need this” or “we have to have that.” I was reminded of this as I watched the kids throw things away that at one point they really felt like they needed. It was important at one time, but obviously not important at this time. It was stuff and it needed to be cleaned out.
I think cleaning out stuff is very important. The things we accumulate is amazing and yes at some point very important, but when the usefulness is gone, why not throw it away? Better yet, why not think ahead and realize we really don’t need the stuff anyways. I am talking about physical items, but can’t we do the same in our souls. Sometimes we need to clean out our mind and bodies. We even need to realize that something’s are unimportant and will only take up space.
I learned a valuable math lesson one time. Full can be represented as 100%. Full means that no more can go in the tank, and if when continue to fill it up something has to be pushed out. If God wants our whole-self then He requires 100% of the space. When we put stuff in the tank there is less room for God; He knows has only 80% of the space. That is what stuff does it takes up space; the worldly stuff occupies the space we have reserved for God. We need to evaluate how much space we have for Him. Then we need to do a little housekeeping and get rid of all the things occupying His space in our lives. We need to self evaluate our stuff because we only have so much room (100%). It is never a bad time to do a little house cleaning.

Happiness and Joy Beat Discomfort

Last night was a great night. We had some of our favorite people over for dinner-the Sutton posse. I call them a posse because there are a lot of them. There is Darla (mom), Marissa (8th grader), Kylie (7th grader), Brady (4 years old), and Katelyn (3 years old). Of course there is dad-Reed. Reed currently took a job in Alabama, where he is currently living. Darla and the kids have stayed behind in Houston to sell the house and finish school. They travel in a pack; you can’t find one without three others following. They drive a cargo van everywhere they go. They are a great family or posse. I love to be around them because they are so much fun.
I have to tell you a little about myself to understand the rest of the story. (no, this is not a Paul Harvey story). I am a pretty private person, very independent, a loner, I value my quiet time, and probably the most important thing is I value my space. I do not go out much; I do not do a lot away from work. This to those that know me the best will find it shocking that I had a large group like the Sutton posse over to my house for no special reason. However, I love to see my wife happy and more importantly my daughter happy. So, to have the Sutton children to play with my daughter makes her extremely happy, and to have Darla visit with my wife makes her very happy. It does however cause me to be a little uncomfortable.
Last night there were kids everywhere, and they all wanted to do something different. Ok, the truth is they did not want to sit on the couch like me and quietly watch television. Darla wanted to visit with my wife, and I know they needed a break from kids; so I was left as the entertainment for the kids. Do not get me wrong, I love kids, but they were everywhere. To make things worse, as anal as I am, they would get it out, I would pick it up, and then they would get something else out. I think it became some kind of game. At one point, I look over and Kylie is lying on my favorite couch wrapped in my favorite blanket; wow some nerve. I thought they were moving in!
I was uncomfortable, even to the point that I had to go outside for awhile; but I think God was teaching me a lesson, because it was lightning pretty bad, so it was not a great night to be outside. As the night wore on, I felt my discomfort leave as I watched all the smiles in the room. I learned that sometimes doing what is uncomfortable is ok, when others around you are happy. I think everyone was happy last night. At the end of the night I was happy, mostly because everyone else was. Happiness and joy can be contagious and it got me last night. Happiness and joy can overcome discomfort- it worked for me.

Do Overs

Is there such a thing as a “do over?” I started to think about this question this weekend. I think the best answer I could up with is yes and no. Not a great answer, but it is all I can come up with. I will explain how I came to this profound conclusion.
This weekend and young man with whom our basketball team competed against died tragically in a car accident. I only knew him from a distance. I had seen him work-out in our gym and even talked to him on occasion. I watched him play and even shared some time with him at an event honoring him and another player. He seemed like a great kid, well spoken, and intelligent. He was going to play basketball in college and looked to have a promising future. He died too early. He does not get a “do over” in this life, yet because of the legacy he left behind and the lives he touched, those who knew him will be changed, So, yes they get a “do over.”
I met with a few 8th graders today. I know this is a rough time for them, and they cannot see it that way just yet. They really want to grow up, yet they are not sure just how to do it. In that process they are making a lot of mistakes and burning several bridges along the way. They will not get a chance to “do over” the 8th grade. It only happens once. (We hope). They will however get a chance to be ninth graders next year, a chance to “do over.” I wish them a lot of success.
Everyday we encounter moments that are defining. We have choices, options, but for every choice there is a consequence or multiple consequences. We fail to realize that there might not be a “do over.” That is why it helps define us. We have split seconds to make decisions that can affect us, and others. We have to make decisions. We have to understand that not everything comes with a “do over.” We also have to be alert to the decisions that others make because that might be our “do over.”
The greatest “do over” in life is the forgiveness of sin. God sent Jesus to die on the cross for the forgiveness of sin. He gave us a “do over.” God gave us the Bible as our guide to make our “do over” count. We have to be alert; we have to change with the consequences in mind. We will never know if that is our last “do over.”

A Coach's Role

Last night was the conclusion to our athletic year. We had our last banquet of the 2009-2010 school year. We celebrated and awarded all of our spring sports-track, tennis, golf, baseball, and softball. It was a great night. Coaches talked about individual and team success, the highs, and the lows.
Each time we have an athletic banquet I am reminded of why we do what we do. Why we coach kids. We coach because we have the opportunity to have a helping hand in the development of a young person. We get to take athletes from where there are, to some place they never imagined they would be. Some don’t even recognize that they have grown; which makes it even sweeter. I am not just talking about physical development, but I am talking overall personal development. Coaches can change a person’s life, change who they are, change what they can accomplish, and even change who they will become. Coaches and teachers have to be the second most influential person in a young person’s life, only second to their parents, and in some cases the replacement to an absent parent.
I had great parents growing up, they taught me lessons, they loved me, they nurtured me, and they grew me up. I also had coaches who influenced me for the good and aided in my development. I was not an easy person to coach. I thought I knew it all and was afraid to work hard. My coach never gave up on me. He could and I don’t think anyone would have blamed if he did give up on me, but he didn’t. I am thankful that he didn’t; I owe a lot of who I am to my coach. Even today, those who know him and me would say we are a lot alike. Just the other day I was visiting Coach and we went to church together, a man at church came up to him and me and asked if we were brothers because we have similar profiles. I guess I have even started to look like him. It was kind of scary.
Coach taught the importance of hard work, he taught to be on time, he taught me to compete, and he taught the truth of God’s word. Coach was the first person to have a bible study with me, he cared about my soul. I think that is the main reason he never gave up on me. He saw what I could become, he took me from where I was, never said to me I can’t help you because your not at this point, instead worked with me to get me to another level. Isn’t that what coaches are suppose to do for their athletes? I am a coach now, I am a husband now, I am a parent now, I am deacon now, and most importantly I am a baptized believer.
My parents played the biggest role in my life, but Coach also had a large role in finishing me off. I have disappointed him, and I have disappointed my parents at times; but they continued to love me. That type of love might be the greatest lesson I ever learned. I try to be the coach and teacher that my coach and teachers were. Thanks to all coaches, and a special thanks to Coach.

Lessons Learned From My Favorite Cartoons

I have a 2 year old daughter, Evelyn Rose. She is a beautiful young lady, thanks to her mom. She is also very smart, curious and funny. (Of course I am biased). She loves to play outside, but she also loves to watch her shows. Like many of adults she has her shows that she has to watch and they have become so important we DVR them. Her shows include Yo Gabba Gabba, Caillou, The Wonder Pets, and Ni Hao Kai Lan. My shows include Law and Order, Lost, Survivor, and Friday Night Lights. We use to DVR my shows, but know we do not have enough space for my shows because we are recording hers. I have become a big fan of several of her shows and know most of the lyrics to most of the songs. Everyday I find myself singing songs about sharing, teamwork, eating my snack, and helping others. Those songs were not learned watching my shows-and has made me ask the question- which shows make me better? I am 35, and most would think I am to old for cartoons, but I think I learn more from them and probably even better I am reminded of the core values I learned as a child.
We were watching Yo Gabba Gabba, (I am a big fan of Plex-the magical robot), they were singing about continuing to try and never give up. I had a particular difficult day that day, and had run into a situation I was ready to quit on. After watching Yo Gabba Gabba, I was reminded not to give up and to keep trying. Then we watched The Wonder Pets, and their main message is helping others with the use of teamwork. “What’s going to work-teamwork!” I found myself thinking the same thing and even humming the song at work the next day as we prepared to tackle a project.
We have also tuned in to shows like Dora the Explorer and Ni Hao Kai Lan. Dora is Hispanic and Kai Lan is Chinese. They teach and translate words both in English and Spanish. I am able to go to school and speak with our Hispanic students and Chinese students about their culture and use words in their language I have learned from the show. They usually laugh at me but it opens up a line of communication that might not have ever existed.
Why have we become so adult, that we forget the lessons we learned as a child, and are embarrassed to be reminded of them by watching cartoons? Sometimes we needed to be reminded about teamwork, sharing, and to never give up. We need to be reminded that all people are important and we have to try to reach them at their level instead of expecting them to come to ours. Who cares who teaches the lesson? Sometimes learning from a magical robot or three little pets might be just what we need. I encourage you to tune in to Nick Jr. every once in awhile to be reminded of the things that can make us better and maybe even a little more successful.

The End Is Near

We are coming to a very bittersweet time at school. We are in our final week. It is a time of rejoicing, it is a time to reflect, and it is also a time of sadness. At some point in the final days we-students and teachers-will do all of these.
It is a time of rejoicing because the end has come, we have finished the journey that began in August, and for those that are seniors began 13 years ago. We will celebrate all the accomplishments of the year, the awards, the accolades, and the triumphs. We will rejoice because it was something we thought would never get here, and for some probably didn’t get here fast enough.
It is a time to reflect because now we can look back and take stock of what we learned or failed to learn. We will reflect on the journey and decide whether we got all we could and took advantage of all that was given to us. We will evaluate if this is where we wanted to be when the trip began. We will evaluate what we could or should have done differently.
It is a time of sadness because we have to move on. We will leave behind some of our youth, some of our friends, and some of the fun and games. We will also be saddened by what we failed to accomplish, or what we failed to achieve. We will be saddened by the mistakes we made and those we wronged.
High school is a great time. At 35, I can sit back and say I still feel all of these things about my time in high school. I celebrate a lot about high school, I evaluate what I received and learned, but most importantly I am saddened about some decisions I made and mistakes that I can’t rewrite. The lesson to be learned is high school is a thing that they do not have a do over for. Life is also a thing that there is no do over for. What we learn has to be used to grow and improve everyday. High school is a small part of our lives but so many things can come from the experience.
God wants our best. He knows we will make mistakes, but he trust that we will not continue to make the same mistakes. God celebrates our triumphs, God will evaluate how we have lived our lives, and God will be saddened by the mistakes we make. Because of this, we have to work each day to be better, we have to run the good race, and we have to fight the good fight. I hope I can look back at each day and celebrate success, but be humble, evaluate and learn, to improve for tomorrow, and rewrite the sadness, so as to please God.

The Long and Winding Road

This past weekend I took an extended road trip with one of my players, Duke Phillips. Duke is a senior at Westbury Christian and is two weeks from graduation. Duke really wants to play college basketball and is talented enough to do so, and up to this point we have not found the right fit. So him and I decided we would become proactive and make a road trip to work-out for two college coaches, Jim Sanderson at Faulkner University and Tom Kelsey at Belhaven College. We left on Friday night and returned Monday night. It was experience to say the least. Faulkner is in Montgomery, Alabama-10 hours from Houston, and Belhaven is in Jackson, Mississippi-7 hours from Houston. You can learn a lot about someone during a 10 hour road trip. I want to share some stories and what I learned from this trip.
The first thing I learned is it sometimes takes a long trip to really get to know someone. I coached Duke for only one year, and we have had a good relationship, but it wasn’t until this weekend that I found who he really was. I thought I knew, but I only knew surface things, not the things we keep close to our heart. I was somewhat disappointed at myself that I didn’t know more about him and his family. That is the tragedy of today’s society. Technology is great, but it only allows us to give partial information about who we are. We do not take time to sit and ask questions, deep questions to gain understanding. We use excuses like not enough time, or I am too busy. Then once we generate excuses, we allow our conversations to be in the form of a text or an email, were we give short one or two line answers to everything. We then form assumptions and generalizations about only partial information. We need to take time to talk; it is the only way to learn about the people we care about.
The second thing I learned is the importance of doing for others what was done for you. In 1993, my high school coach Jim Sanderson, took me on the same type of trip. I wanted to play college basketball, so he loaded me up and drove to 3 different schools in the state of Alabama. It worked out that I received a scholarship to play at Alabama Southern Community College. I do not know if I would have gotten that opportunity had he not done this for me. This weekend would have been my first weekend off in a couple of months and it was Mother’s Day, but I knew I needed to do this for Duke. Someone did it for me, so it was my turn to return the favor.
I am so proud of Duke. He really did a great job and hopefully he will get to play college basketball. He is a great kid, and he is my friend. I know Duke now and I think Duke knows me. One day, I hope Duke will have the opportunity to pass on what was done for him, as I did. It was a great trip. Faulkner and Belhaven are great schools, with great Christian coaches. Duke will be blessed if gets to play at either school, but those coaches will also be blessed by Duke as well.

My Greatest Strength and My Greatest Weakness

One summer I had the opportunity to work as an intern with the United States Marshal Service. It was a great experience; one of the most memorable moments was the interview process. I was interviewed by the U.S. Marshal for the Southern District of Alabama. I did not fully appreciate it at the time, but for one-she was appointed directly by the President (she was a big timer); and two, it was my first very professional interview (I was 21 at the time). The moment that stuck out to me was when she asked two questions back to back- “What is your greatest strength?” and “What is your greatest weakness?” I have had about two more professional interviews since that time, and coincidentally they have asked the same two questions. As a current administrator, I have added those to my interview questions when interviewing new coaches. Those two questions are very important and reveal a lot about people-as long as they answer them truthfully. I want to share with you how I answered.
The first question, “What is your greatest strength?” My competitive nature is my greatest strength. I love to compete; I am at my best when I compete. I want to win. I like to win. I can be relentless when I compete. I can be cut throat when I compete. I want to be a winner.
The second question, “What is your greatest weakness?” My competitive nature is my greatest weakness. I become consumed with winning. I will do anything to win, no matter the consequence. I will say and do things, I would not normally do. I will forsake feelings-mine and others-to win. I want to win despite the cost.
Now, as I am a little older, I am learning to change my answers. I still love to compete, but not everything has to be competition. I do not have to always win. Sometimes losing is ok. Winning at the risk of hurting others, especially those I love, is not worth it. I would like my answers to be-my greatest strength is my willingness to be the best I can, by doing what is right, with love and compassion; my greatest weakness is loving to much, caring to much, and allowing others to succeed and celebrating their success, at the possible cost of my failure. These are lofty goals for a person who is constantly competing at everything. I know this is what God wants for me. I can learn from Jesus. Jesus was willing to sacrifice himself at the cross for the success of the Kingdom. He did it with love, he cared enough-some would even say to much. I will get better, I will learn.

S.N.B.L. (Sunday Night Basketball League)

I am a basketball coach and a former college basketball player. I retired from scholastic participation in 1998. Since that time, I have played in various recreational leagues. There has been no better league than my current league- The Sunday Night Basketball League.
The league began about 2 or 3 years ago with no set schedule or reasonable organization. This past season however it has take a new form; it has become a set night with some reasonable organization. We play every Sunday night beginning at 6:30pm. We have anywhere from 4 players, playing 2 on 2, to 12 players, playing games of 4 on 4. You have league veterans, Randy King, Lee Martin, Kelvin Brown, Brian Edens, and myself. Then we are joined at times by Greg Glenn, Mike White, Michael Strom, and a few others. We all gather to compete, exercise, and re-live what we once were.
The games can become very competitive, and more times than not someone leaves upset. More times than not-its me who leaves upset or I am the cause of someone leaving upset. Various members have sworn not to return, yet we all do. This is what makes the league special to me.
I have learned a lot about friendship, and Christian love. These guys in the league are my friends. I have learned it is ok to compete, and even get upset, but in the end the love we have for each other is greater than a game of 4 on 4. We compete hard on Sunday nights and then on Monday we talk and laugh about how silly we were the night before. I have even done and said some mean things, yet I have always been forgiven. We do not judge each others characters based on the Sunday night games. We judge each others character based on how we respond after the games are over. We always end the night with a prayer. We hold hands and we pray. We forget the hard fouls, the bad shots, the bad calls, the wins, and losses. WE PRAY TOGETHER!
We have a great time. We laugh, we make fun, we compete-and we will do all again next Sunday. These guys are great examples of the love God wants us to have for each other. We learn to accept the flaws, and look past the competitive nature. We get mad (I get mad), but we forget. I love the Sunday night basketball league. I love my friends. See you guys on Sunday.
Oh by the way, I am going to apologize in advance for the hard fouls. Sorry.

Alert: National Appreciate the Forgotten Things Day.

No, its not a national holiday, but I think it should be. Maybe if I explain why it should be a holdiay, more people will catch on-and then poof it will be on all pocket calendars, desk calendar, etc.
Every Saturday, I coach a 5th and 6th grade spring basketball league. There are two very interesting charaters that attend, they are twins, and one is never there with out a hat on! Yes, a hat at basketball camp! For 3 weeks I wanted to ask about the hat, but was afraid. I did not want to offend him in anyway. I finally decided I had to ask, so I did and the anwer and the conversation that followed, is what led me to be the number one activist for: National Appreciate the Forgotten Things Day!
It all started with the simple question, "Why do you always wear a hat?" The answer, "I like hats!" That simple! I kept prodding, there had to be more. He began to tell me that hats were on his list of the greatest inventions ever. He has a list? Now there is some exciting news, I was now on to something. I had to ask, "What else is on the list?" He began to run down some very obvious things that would be universal to any list-air conditioning, refregiration, microwaves, hats, and pockets. Whoa! I stopped him at pockets. He began to remind me how important pockets were. Where would you put your keys? Were would you keep your money? I was now a reborn fan of pockets. He was right! I had forgotten the importance of pockets.
So today when you look down to put your keys in your pockets, take time to thank your pockets for being invented. Besides, what do you call shorts with out pockets- underwear.