Sports!
You know, I was thinking. Lately I have been kind of quiet about the success of our amazing Tigers this year. I have commented on other posts in the past couple of months on this topic but I haven't said much here. Well, let me start off by saying that so far I have predicted the winner of each of the divisional playoffs and the ALCS with pinpoint acuracy. Alright maybe I missed how long the series would go but I did predict each and every winner. Tonight will determine if my streak continues or ends. I picked the Mets in six. The Mets and Cards meet in game seven this evening and if the Mets win, then the streak continues. The final prediction..............TIGERS WIN! If I must predict how long the series will go then I will give the Mets (or Cards) the benefit of the doubt and say that the Motor City boys win it in five (not every series can be a sweep)! You've got to love the fact that Detroit has won seven playoff games in a row!
While I'm at it here are some other predictions for other sports this year:
The Lions: On the heals of their first win I believe the Lions will have a better season than they have over the past several. They won't make the playoffs this year but I will go out on a limb and say that they will finish 8 & 8!
The Pistons: Not going to be the same without Big Ben but just as good! I say that the central is theirs to lose this year. If they remain healthy, there will be another white banner hanging in the Palace.
The Wings: I know that I will tick off a lot of people (especially what's her name) with this one and quite honestly this is the one that I hope I miss. Wings won't make it to the playoffs this year. There I said it now get off my back.
NCAA Football: With two power houses going at it on November 18 I believe that the Michigan/OSU game will be the game that determines the National Champion! I will predict that both teams will go into this game undefeated and that there will be a great defensive battle in the Horseshoe. No matter what I do I can't pick OSU to win this game. Final score will be the Maize & Blue 24 - the Scarlet & Gray 21!
Well there you have it, sports ala Pudge. Please remember that all predictions made here are the sole opinion of the Pudgeman and are not to be used, duplicated or republished without the expressed written consent of the author or Pudge Enterprises, Inc.! Be blessed beyond belief today.
Real Community
You know, I was thinking. At some point on the sixth day of creation after God had created Adam. He let Adam realize that there was nothing in all of creation that would suit him as a partner in life then God said that it wasn't good for man to be alone. After that God created Eve and the first human community on earth was begun. God has created in us a need to be with others. A need to build relationships. A need to love and to be loved. We cannot help but to be this way, it is a part of us and one that needs to be cared for and nurtured. When people give their lives over to Jesus often times they feel that they have got to figure all of this stuff out for themselves and that simply is not true. If you have been reading my posts for the last week or so you have seen where I have tried a number of ways to bring myself into community with other people. Some of those communities were good but most were not! They were all there to try and fill that empty spot I had in my life that needed people in it! My searches were part of an inner need that was put there by God for me to seek out relationships with other people. The relationships that we have with people are a direct reflection of our relationship with the Father. My problem was that the world and its ideas got in the way of developing relationships that are healthy and nurturing.
Community in our lives is vital and most people know that they need it. They are just not sure where to find it. Small groups are a wonderful way to experience community. Please understand that they are not the only way to experience Godly community in your life but in my humble opinion they are the best way. In just a few weeks we are going to be helping people at NewSong find a small group that will help them fill this empty hole in their lives. I know that we have a number of hurting people out there that just don't understand the healing that takes place when you have real community. You can have a healthy community without being involved in a NewSong small group, but you will not find a healthy NewSong small group without it having real community.
Let me end this series of posts with a few Pudgisms:
If God expected you to do this by yourself why did He surround you with so many people?
If life really is a bowl of cherries, then where is the tree?
Who really cares how much wood a woodchuck could chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood?
Be blessed beyond belief today.
Twelve Step Community
You know, I was thinking. Hello my name is Doug M. and I'm a compulsive gambler! I first spoke those words in May of 1996. I have spoken them many times since. There are a number of "twelve step groups" to help people through many kinds of addictions. My experience the first time around was a positive one but wasn't as effective as it could have been. I was still living in Illinois and struggling because of not having any real community around me to give me what I needed in my life. I remember the very first meeting that I went to, I was afraid! I didn't really know what to expect but was willing to try anything to stop this roller coaster that I was on. When I arrived at the meeting room they had a person take me to another room to answer some questions and to help me discover whether or not I had a problem. I knew coming in that I did have one and was hoping to find some help. Through several weeks of meetings and one on one's with my sponsor I acheived moderate success. I wasn't able to completely stop gambling for whatever reason but I didn't stop trying to quit! To spite their best efforts, twelve step groups cannot help someone that doesn't want to be helped or who is unwilling to take the steps necessary to change.
Gamblers Anonymous and other twelve step groups are extremely successful in helping people leave their addictions and begin to lead more normal lives. But that is all that they usually accomplish. They address the person in relationship to their addiction(s) and leave it at that. Real community will help people face the reality of their short comings but will also build bonds based on other areas of life. Now, by no means am I saying that these groups are not good. In fact they are great and have helped millions recover from addiction. But there has to be more to have a healthy community. It has to dig even deeper than the mess that we have made in order to really change lives. Real community begins with this kind of real honesty and builds from there. Be blessed beyond belief today.
Gambling On Community
You know, I was thinking. After spending a couple of years in the bars doing the karaoke thing I found myself with a promotion in my job and a transfer out to Aurora, Illinois. Now, being that I am from SE Michigan and that I have never lived anywhere else, I found myself living alone in an apartment in North Aurora. When I first moved there I was quickly able to find the local bar with Friday night karaoke and made a home there. But, it wasn't like it was back in Michigan. I needed more things to do other than Friday nights. At least back home there was still family and long time friends to spend time with, in Illinois I had none of that. So, since I worked the midnight shift which was Sunday through Thursday nights, I decided one Friday afternoon to go to the Hollywood Casino in Aurora. I had never been to a casino in my life up until this point so I really didn't know what to expect. It was one of those river boat things that you had be on it at a certain time and then could only get off at certain times. Well, here I was looking around wondering what to do first. After about 15 minutes I found myself sitting at a $5 black jack table. Well, three hours later I was walking out of there after winning about $600. I was hooked.
About a year later I found myself in the casino about every day of the week. I would do whatever it took to get into "action." On more than one ocassion I would go straight from work to the casino then go back home and shower and then go back to work. I remember once when I did this for three days straight. But, I knew all the morning time gamblers and we were always there at the same table every day doing our black jack thing! We had friendship, fellowship and a common bond. My life was filled with community, but at what cost?
There are some types of community that cause nothing but self destruction and termoil. God has a way of using the messes that we make to bring us back to Him. All communities are not created equally and all do not have a happy ending. When our values change and we come back to our senses God is able to use our weaknesses to show His strengths (I heard that one in a sermon this past Sunday). Be blessed beyond belief today.
A Place Where Everybody Knows Your Name
You know, I was thinking. There have been many occasions in my life where I have been a part of communities that have not been good for me. When I was in my mid 30's I spent a great deal of time going to bars. Ususally on the weekends when there was karaoke! I would spend a great deal of time and money going to these places to get my weekly social fix. One particular place that became very near and dear to my heart was the Monte Carlo Bar in Taylor. They had karaoke every Friday night and it was rare not to see me there. You could say that I would have been classified as the "Norm" of the bar. All of the regulars knew me and the bartender would have my favorite beer sitting in front of me as soon as I sat down. I was the life of the party most of the time even before I began drinking. I was funny, charming, upbeat and could hold my own while singing a karaoke tune. My friends became much like family and I thought that this was how my life was supposed to be. Yep, going to a bar, getting drunk, singing off key, acting stupid for about four hours then going home and puking! Yes, the good life!
Sometimes our communities are empty. Even though I did make some good friends at that time, none of those relationships are alive today. One thing that the enemy likes to do is to help us find those self destroying activities and convince us that they are fun. Even better, that they are better than relationships with God! I found out after a few years of this kind of fellowship that I wasn't growing in my life (except around the waist) and that I wasn't making any real friends. I knew that my life had become empty and hollow and that I didn't like the person that I was becomming! Unfortunately there was more bad community projects for me to explore in the near future and they were just as bad if not worse than this. More about that tomorrow. But for today, be cautious of where you spend your time and who you spend it with. Be blessed beyond belief today.
College Community NOT Community College
You know, I was thinking. I was priviledged enough to have the opportunity to attend Michigan Christian College after high school. I had been a Christian for about three years before I graduated high school so I was seasoned and ready to meet the challenges of the real world. When I began my freshman year at college I found it very easy to make friends. Most of the other kids were Christians as well so we all had that common bond of Christ, but we were still very young, immature and selfish so we would often change with the blowing of the wind. I was blessed with being a part of the Acapella Chorus at school and really found a nitch at the time. We spent two hours a day, five days a week in rehearsals. So we got to know each other pretty well. I had never sang in a group before so I had a great deal to learn but not a whole lot to offer musically. But those around me helped me to learn what I needed to learn so that I could develop both as a singer and as a person. I was able to give back in other ways but I always felt like I took more that first year than I gave back. Once I began my sophomore year, things changed. I was more on board with the program then. I had deveoped a few more skills and was able to better hold my own musically. I felt better about myself and about the fact that I was doing more giving than taking. By the time I was a senior I was not only the bass section leader but also was mentoring and teaching others the very same skills that I had learned as a freshman.
Real community often begins with us on the receiving side of things. Many times we become surrounded by people who want to help us develop in whatever area it is that we need development. The beautiful thing about real community is that as time goes on the taker becomes the giver and the circle of love and appreciation continues on thoughout the passage of time. When you belong to a giving community it is alright to take what you need from it! Just remember that some day, you WILL give something in return. Be blessed beyond belief today.
Community-The Junior High Band
You know, I was thinking. When I think about the different communities that I have been a part of over the years I immediately begin to think of Junior High School and the band. You see, I was the fat kid at school. I did have a large circle of friends and did build good relationships but I never felt that I was on the same level. I always worked really hard in order to be liked (a 13 year olds perspective) and was hurt easily and often. There was one place that I could certainly hold my own and that was the band. I was a very good young trumpet player if I do say so myself and seeing that I just did we'll leave it at that. I was always somewhere in the top five chairs (out of 15 trumpet players) so I felt good about my ability to play. The band was a place where I was accepted and liked for who I was and the talent that I had. I didn't have to go out of my way to prove myself. I was probably the most at ease when sitting there behind a music stand. It just seemed so natural.
When we enter into real community with other people it should feel natural. We should be at ease to be exactly who God made us. So many times in life we have to take on certain roles at work or in the home where we may not be so naturally gifted. For instance a very loving and kind father might have to take on the roll of strict diciplinarian from time to time. A role that might not be so natural but is important. A mother and wife might run a well organized home and keep many things in order. She might even hold down a career outside the home, but sometimes finds it challenging to be the gourmet chef that she aspires to be! A business man who has a fear of public speaking might be the one chosen to give the big presentation at a regional sales meeting. We all get put into roles that are uncomfortable from time to time, but when we have true community we can be exactly who we are no matter what that might be.
Do you have a community of God loving people that you belong to? Do you have a place where you can go and be exactly who you are and not have hide any part of your personality due to fear? If your answer is no or I am not sure then keep following this blog for the next few days, I have a couple of ideas that might just help you. Be blessed beyond belief today.
My First Sense Of Belonging
You know, I was thinking. Growing up in a traditional blue collar home was pretty typical in SE Michigan during the 60's & 70's. Dad was a drywaller and mom stayed at home and took care of the family. This held true up to 1973 when my dad was injured and their rolls would eventually be reversed. But I can remember back in those early days when, because we had such a large family, that we often had get togethers. Those times growing up with all of the aunts, uncles and cousins around really takes me back. Nobody cared about what each other had or what each other really looked like. We were family and we truly loved one another. It wasn't unusual for the adults to be engaged in a game of horseshoes or cards while us kids would go wondering around in the woods or start up a baseball game. Everyone cared about each other and I cannot remember a single time when things weren't wonderful. But that is the perspective of a child and I am sure there were things going on that mom and dad just took care of and didn't bother us with the details. We had trust that we would always be alright. That's what happens in community! Those who are the responsible ones take care of things while everyone else just does whatever it is that they do. There is a lot of love, trust, care and communication.
This may not seem like much to some people but the idea of community and family go hand in hand. To this day the Mollette-Fraley-Couture clan goes out of our way to make sure that these family get togethers continue. We have the determination that we all have to stay close and to love each other the best way we possibly can. When you have a real family you have real community and when you have real community you have a real family. Be blessed beyond belief today.
Community IS Everything
You know, I was thinking. Here I am fresh off the heels of a fantastic small group conference at Willow Creek Church near Chicago. I got to spend some very good quality time with the pastor as well as get some much needed information and renewed energy about small groups. The one thing that I guess I have always known but haven't always remembered is that community is the most important thing to people. A sense of belonging and having a common bond is essential to every single human being. God designed us this way. I used to find my community in the bars and casinos, now I find it with God's people.
When we live in true community we have the ability to share our TRUE selves with one another, not just the person you want people to see. Over the next few days I want to share with you how community has changed my life, how I have contributed to and failed the community of believers that I fellowship with, and how building true community will expand the Kingdom of God beyond anything that we could ever imagine. My God bless you beyond belief today.
