Taking the Blame for a Wild Pitch

Story of the Day for Friday October 23, 2015

Taking the Blame for a Wild Pitch

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“Have you eaten from the tree I commanded you not to eat from?” “The woman you gave me, gave it to me to eat, and I ate it.” Then the Lord God asked the woman, “What is this you’ve done?” And the woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.”

Genesis 3:11-13

Contrary to public opinion, blame was not first discovered by political talk show hosts. Blaming others goes back to the Garden. God asks Adam if he ate from the tree. Instead of admitting it, he blames both God and Eve: “the woman YOU gave me . . .” When God directs his question to Eve, she passes the blame to the Serpent.

TV station managers love bad weather because it’s news. Meteorologists, on the other hand, hate storms. They have learned that people are furious and rain down obscenities on them when bad weather hits the area. One forecaster in Louisville said she hates to go to the grocery store during storms because everyone blames her for the bad weather.

And blaming others is contagious. Nathanael J. Fast from USC and Larissa Tiedens from Stanford published a study on “Blame Contagion.” In one experiment, half the participants read a newspaper article that said Gov. Schwarzenegger blamed special interest groups for a costly special election that failed. The other half read an article in which the California governor took full responsibility for the failure.

Afterward, participants were asked to write about a personal failure and add who was responsible. Those who read the article where the governor blamed special interest groups were more likely to blame others for their failure; those who read the second article tended to accept responsibility for their actions.

Every troubled organization knows about the “circular firing squad.” Pointing fingers and assigning blame, Fast and Tiedens discovered, is especially prevalent among people who feel insecure.

This is why God’s grace is so beautiful. We can have the courage to take responsibility for our failures, because when we do, God will forgive us. Our sense of security is not based on our goodness, but on the knowledge that we are safe in God.

When we know we’re forgiven, there’s no longer a need to shift the blame.

The Baltimore Orioles needed a win to tie for first place in the AL East. But, a Toronto Blue Jay runner scored from third on a wild pitch, and the Orioles lost the game.

Afterward, the Orioles catcher Jamie Quirk shouldered the responsibility. “A major-league catcher has to block that ball . . . I should have blocked it . . . I’m a professional catcher.”

And guess what? By taking the blame for a wild pitch, Jamie Quirk didn’t receive scorn from Orioles fans. He bravely protected his pitcher. And won the admiration of all.

(text copyright 2012 by climbinghigher.org and by Marty Kaarre)

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Learning When to Break the Rules

Story of the Day for Friday September 5, 2014

Learning When to Break the Rules

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The Lord Almighty says, “Is there no more wisdom in Teman? Has wise counsel perished from those with common sense? Has their wisdom decayed?”

Jeremiah 49:7

 

On April 5, 2008, Christopher Ratté took his seven-year-old son, Leo, to a Detroit Tigers baseball game. Leo wanted a lemonade, so Christopher bought him one at the concession stand.

Mr. Ratté is a professor of classics at the University of Michigan. As an archeologist, he is absorbed with the past, and this may help explain why he had no idea that Mike’s Hard Lemonade was an alcoholic drink.

A security guard noticed the boy with the alcoholic drink, and soon Christopher and his son were surrounded by a cluster of security guards. The two were escorted from the game and Leo was examined by a nurse, who found no evidence of inebriation.

No matter. Leo was forcibly taken by ambulance to the Children’s Hospital in Detroit. In the emergency room, they found no evidence of alcohol in his blood. Nevertheless, Leo was taken into a private room by officers from the Child Abuse Division.

By this time, Leo’s mom had been contacted and arrived at the hospital, but even she was denied permission to see or speak with her son. The boy was placed in the custody of the Wayne County Child Protective Services. Scared and confused, little Leo cried himself to sleep.

To lessen their son’s trauma, the parents called Leo’s aunt in Massachusetts – who drove all night to take custody of her nephew. The aunt was not only a social worker, but a licensed foster care provider. Yet, she was refused custody of her nephew.

A couple of days later, a juvenile court judge ruled that the little boy could return home – but only if the father moved out of the house and agreed not to speak to his son.

After two weeks of anguish, the authorities quietly dismissed the case.

The response of the officials, police, social workers, and judges was all the same: they hated to do what they did. They all claimed they were just following rules. No one, apparently, had given them the authority to exercise reason, compassion, or common sense.

What was the purpose of these rules that everyone felt obligated to follow? We can only assume that the rules were made to protect children. And yet, it was not an unwitting academic dad who harmed this little child; this child was severely traumatized by the very agencies whose mission was to protect him.

Laws and rules, of course, are absolutely essential. Yet, the Bible says that all the rules that God makes can be summed up in one phrase: Love your neighbor as yourself.

We can hide behind rules as a way to excuse our behavior: “I was simply following procedure.” But to God, rules are the expression of compassion and justice. And, if that is so, we must not only learn to follow rules, but also to break them in the interests of love and common sense.

(text copyright 2011 by climbinghigher.org and by Marty Kaarre)

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Is it Possible to Hit a Baseball?

Story of the Day for Wednesday April 16, 2014 

 

Is it Possible to Hit a Baseball? 

 

                Solid food is for the mature, who, by practice, have trained their senses to discern what is good and what is bad. 

Hebrews 5:14     

 

Based on everything I have read, it is impossible to hit a baseball.   

George Will, in his book, Men at Work, helps us work our way through the mathematics.  A 90-mile-per-hour fastball leaves the pitcher’s hand 55 feet from the plate and will cross the plate in four tenths of a second.  A change-up will loiter along and reach the plate .052 seconds longer than the fastball.   

The batter must decide whether or not to swing at the pitch.  Once he commits to swing, he has two tenths of a second to make his body do it.  The ball is capable of being struck for only fifteen thousandths of a second before it passes the batter and smacks into the catcher’s mitt.   

Fifteen thousandths of a second, did I mention that?   

 

So, let’s review: a batter must locate the ball as it flies toward the plate.  He must decide if it is a ball or strike.  He must determine if it is a fastball, curveball, or change-up.  Then he must decide whether to swing.  When he does his bat can only make contact with the ball for a time span of fifteen thousandths of a second.   

 

Well, if you ask me, that’s impossible.   

How can anyone think that fast?  George Will says they can’t.  He says, “they must, through regular discipline and repetition, teach their muscles to react to hit the ball.”   

 

The Bible uses an athlete’s training to picture the life of spiritual maturity.  In the book of Hebrews, it says that those who are mature eat solid food.  The food is God’s grace and his teaching about how we life the New Life.   

When the Bible talks about mature believers going into “training,” it uses the Greek word, gymnazo – from which we get our English words, “gymnastics,” and “gymnasium.”  In other words, as athletes go through rigorous discipline to train their bodies, so we are eager to go through practice and training to strengthen our maturity in Christ.   

A batter in a baseball game must learn “muscle memory.”  He practices his swing so repeatedly that he has trained his muscles to think.  His swing is instinctive.  

 

When we begin to pray, to forgive, to love our enemies, to trust in God’s promises, we feel clumsy. We feel like a couch potato on his maiden voyage into the gym.   

But, keep in mind: baseball players practice hard, but still don’t hit every pitch.  Same with us.  Sometimes we swing at the curveball that is high and outside.  But the more we train, the more we begin to see the difference between what is good and what is not.  And we know when to swing for the cheap seats.  

(copyright 2012 by climbinghigher.org and by Marty Kaarre)

(image: http://www.elcivics.com/lifeskills/images/baseball-player.jpg)

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Do You Know Who You Are?

Story of the Day for Thursday February6, 2014 

 

Do You Know Who You Are? 

 

               Be subject to God, but resist the devil, and he will run away from you. 

James 4:7    

 

Back in 1914, when the Dodgers were still in Brooklyn, rookie Ed Appleton was pitching against the St. Louis Cardinals. The score was tied, 4-4, in the seventh inning, with a man on third base.   

The Cardinals manager, Miller Huggins, was coaching at third base. “Hey!” he shouted to Appleton, “let me see that ball.”  

Appleton was, apparently, raised to be polite and respectful. He turned to the Cardinals manager and tossed him the ball. But Huggins sidestepped the ball and watched it roll into foul territory.   

The ball was in play!   

The runner scored and the Cardinals went on to win the game.  

 

Do you ever read your horoscope? Yeah, sometimes – but just out of idle curiosity, right? But when we allow superstition or bogus astrological forecasts to taint our behavior, we’re bowing to a false authority. The devil has pulled a “Miller Huggins” on us.  

The same goes for doing what we know is flat-out wrong. Sometimes we feel powerless before temptation. We’re victims – powerless before the authority of evil. Prison convicts commonly describe, say, a stabbing as if the knife was the active agent and they just had the misfortune to be holding onto it.  

 

The devil is sly. But here’s the point: he has no power or authority over you.When you resist him, the Bible says, he will flee. Don’t toss him the ball.  

It’s vital to know that when we cave in to the false authority of the deceiver, we can always find forgiveness in the Lord. But it’s also essential to know who we are. The devil has no authority over us; we have authority over him.  

 

A former governor of Massachusetts, Christian Herter, arrived late for a barbeque. As the story goes, he’d had no breakfast or lunch, and was famished. As he moved down the serving line, he held out his plate and was given one piece of chicken.  

The governor asked the serving lady, “Excuse me, do you mind if I have another piece? I’m very hungry.” 

“Sorry. I’m only supposed to give one piece to each person.”  

Governor Herter again explained that he was starving.  

“Only one to a customer.” 

The governor was a modest man, but was so hungry he decided to put the weight of his office behind his plea. “Ma’am, do you know who I am? I’m the state governor.”  

The woman shot back, “And do you know who I am? I’m the lady in charge of the chicken. Now move along!”  

Don’t you love a person who knows who they are? 

(text copyright 2012 by climbinghigher.org and by Marty Kaarre)

(image: http://mlblogsyankeedinosaur.files.wordpress.com/2010/09/miller_huggins.jpg%3Fw%3D350%26h%3D451)

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Great Fires and Small Flames

Story of the Day for Tuesday December 31, 2013 

 

Great Fires and Small Flames 

 

                    Look how great a forest is set on fire by a small flame.  

James 3:5           

 

 

Bostonhas named its major league baseball team after a certain color of stocking, but that wasn’t always the case. Back in the 19th century, Boston’s baseball team used to have a silly name. They were called the Boston Beaneaters.

The Beaneaters had,arguably, the best stadium in baseball. The South End Grounds included the Grand Pavilion, a two-story grandstand, which featured ornate spires and turrets.  

On May 15, 1894, the Baltimore Orioles were playing the Beaneaters in the South End Grounds in Boston. In the third inning, a man lit a cigarette in the right field stands and the match fell below the bleachers, starting a small fire.  

But, at that very moment, a fierce fight broke out between Boston’s Tommy Tucker and Baltimore’s John McGraw. Soon both teams emptied their dugouts and ran onto the field. The fans were riveted on the brawl. Spectators began throwing food and beer bottles onto the field. Fights erupted in the stands.  

All this while, the fire grew and spread. Soon the bleachers were engulfed in flames. The fire not only destroyed the ballpark, but spread through the city. Before the fire was brought under control, 170 buildings were destroyed and hundreds were left homeless.  

 

When a brawl erupts during a baseball game, a little flame doesn’t captivate our attention. But, after it becomes a devastating fire, and hundreds have lost their homes and all their belongings, a fight at a ballgame doesn’t seem all that important.  

The apostle James warns us about the dangers of little things. Great fires are started by small flames. And bitter feuds – even wars – can be started by minor slights or insults. Yet, we’re often unconcerned about the minor rifts we create because, like a small flame, it’s so minor.  

 

But little things, when ignored, become big things. The longest peacetime border in the world lays between the United States and Canada, but that peace was threatened by the death of a pig.  

On June 15, 1859, Lyman Cutler shot a neighbor’s pig that got into his garden. His now pigless neighbor threatened to defend his case in British Columbia, but Cutler refused, claiming the island on which they resided was American territory.  

Tensions grew as sixty U.S. soldiers, led by Captain George Pickett (who would later lead the ill-fated charge at Gettysburg) claimed the island as U.S. territory. The Canadians brought an equal number of soldiers – claiming the island for Canada.   

“The Pig War of 1859,” as it is called, involved a military standoff that lasted twelve years. It was finally settled without loss of life . . . except for one pig.    

 

Extinguishing a flame early is a lot less costly than trying to put out a raging forest fire.  

(copyright 2011 by climbinghigher.org and by Marty Kaarre)

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Too Busy Nursing Our Toes

Story of the Day for Tuesday December 10, 2013 

 

Too Busy Nursing Our Toes

                After they stoned Paul, they dragged him outside the city, assuming he was dead. But . . . he got up and went back into the city.  

Acts 14:19-20        

 

When Henry “Zeke” Bonura was sixteen, he entered the javelin competition at a National Track and Field Championship in 1925, and threw it seven feet farther than the “Chariots of Fire” Olympic gold medalist did in Paris the year before. He still remains the youngest male athlete to win an event at an AAU Track and Field Championship.  

At Loyola University, he starred in football, basketball, and track. Notre Dame’s famous football coach, Knute Rockne, called him “The South’s Wonder Athlete.”  When he played major league baseball for the Chicago White Sox he twice led American League first basemen with the lowest percentage of errors.   

I won’t tell you that Zeke Bonura was an excellent fielder – not to avoid boring you with the obvious, but to avoid lying.  

Bonura was LOUSY at first base.  Sports editor, Otis Harris wrote in 1946: “It was never established beyond a shadow of a doubt that Bonura was the worst fielding first basemen in the majors, but the consensus was that he would do until another one came along.”  

So, how could Bonura win the title of best defensive first basemen in both 1934 and 1938 and yet be considered such a bad defensive player?  

Simple. He didn’t try.  

Zeke made the brilliant discovery that you can’t be charged with an error if you don’t touch the ball. So, he let easy grounders roll into left field and waved at them with his “Mussolini salute.”  

 

I would love to take this opportunity to heap scorn on the lethargic ambitions of Zeke Bonura, but I can’t. I find myself doing the same thing. Sometimes I become so afraid of failing that I never try.  

 

On the apostle Paul’s missionary trips, he often failed to win over the people he met. Once, (against the wishes of the town’s Chamber of Commerce) they stoned Paul and left him for dead. But he picked himself up, dusted himself off, and continued to carry the Good News on his lips.  

And good things happened because he wasn’t afraid to fail. 

 

One of the greatest inventors of his time, Charles Kettering, said, “You will never stub your toe standing still. The faster you go, the more chance there is of stubbing your toe.” “But,” Kettering adds, “the more chance you have of getting somewhere.”  

 

When we get our purpose figured out, we won’t waste time trying to pad our stats. We’ll be too busy nursing our toes. 

(copyright 2012 by climbinghigher.org and by Marty Kaarre) (image: http://thumbs1.ebaystatic.com/d/l225/m/m694_L0pMaksQKBouHuLCYg.jpg)

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Scatter Seed With Reckless Abandon

Story of the Day for Friday October 4, 2013 

 

Scatter Seed With Reckless Abandon 

                Whoever plants sparingly will harvest sparingly.  But whoever plants generously will also reap generously. 

2 Corinthians 9:6   

 

Dr. Earl Pearce tells the story about a “city slicker” who decided to move into the country and start up a hobby farm.  He bought a cow to provide his family fresh milk.  But soon after he started milking, the cow dried up. 

The man shared his misfortune with a neighboring farmer.  What was especially troubling to the city slicker was the fact that he did not milk her often.  “If I needed a quart, I would only milk her for a quart.” His neighbor had to explain to him that you must fully milk a cow every time.  The less you milk it, the less you will get.    

 

We often think that the less we give, the more we will have.  I suppose that’s true for some things.  But it’s not true for cows, it’s not true for love, and it’s certainly not true for spiritual growth.   

 

Earl Weaver, former  manager for the Baltimore Orioles, wrote a book called Weaver On Strategy.  His Fifth Law states, “If you play for one run, that’s all you’ll get.”  He’s referring to the bunt.  He believes you should only bunt if you need just one run to win the game.  He claims you’ll be far more successful if you “swing away.”   

How would you describe your generosity?  Is it a bunt?  God promises to bless us lavishly when we are daring enough to “swing away.” The more we plant, God says, the bigger the harvest.   Apparently, that is not an easy promise to swallow.  Thestudies show that the average Christian’s giving is only around 3% of his earnings.  We haven’t exactly developed a reputation for extravagant generosity.   

 

Do you know the main reason I am not more generous?  I honestly believe that, when I buy a new, remote-controlled gizmo for my TV it will bring me more pleasure than using that money to buy a washing machine for this poor widow I know – the one who goes to a laundry mat that sucks quarters out of her pocket like a vacuum cleaner.  

Yet, whenever I am seized with an attack of sanity, I remember the wild joy of sharing with someone needier than myself.  My remote-controlled gizmo never made me want to dance like this.   

Are you nervous about living without the latest “stuff”?  Then here’s what you do: find a friend who has the latest gizmo and tell him you would like to borrow it to see how it works.  When he asks for it back, tell him you lost it.  With the money you save, you can help people in need.  

But, if that doesn’t work (and it probably won’t), why don’t you just GO FOR IT?  Scatter seed with reckless abandon.  Then wait.  Seeds grow.   

 

And, try to keep up with Him, but just remember: you’ll never be a more reckless, generous sower than your Lord.  

(copyright 2012 by climbinghigher.org and by MartyKaarre)

(image:  http://www.whitepinepictures.com/wp-content/gallery/cache/331__640x272_wpp_signature_titles_scattering-of-seeds.jpg)

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Is it a Dirge or a Flute He is Playing?

Story of the Day for Wednesday July 24, 2013 

 

Is it a Dirge or a Flute He is Playing? 

 

                    What can I compare this generation to?  They are like children sitting in the marketplace who called to each other, saying, “We played the flute for you and you didn’t dance.  We sang a mourning song and you did not mourn.” 

Matthew 11:17     

 

 

Deion Sanders is one of the greatest athletes of all time.  He is the only athlete to hit a Major League home run and score a touchdown in the NFL in the same week.  He is the only player to play in the World Series in baseball and the Super Bowl in football. 

 

We Christians sometimes think God has given us the task of rooting out sin wherever we find it (as long as it’s in other people).  I never liked Deion’s cocky attitude on the field, and there are many who would be shocked that I am going to use him as an example for us to follow. Oh well. How many people were shocked when Jesus used a devious business manager as an example of shrewdness?  

My view of Deion Sanders has softened since I read about his upbringing.  He was born and raised in a poor section of Fort Myers, Florida.  The “heroes” of his neighborhood were the corner drug dealers.  They wore flashy jewelry and drove expensive cars.  Sanders, in an interview with Sports Illustrated, said, “in my hometown, [drug dealing] was the community job.”   

Deion began playing football in the Pop Warner youth league since he was eight.  He played basketball.  He played baseball. He worked hard. 

 

When Sanders worked hard, and became successful, many were turned off by his gaudy jewelry and “showiness” of wealth.  But he says he was trying to show the kids from his culture that you can have the trappings of wealth without becoming a drug dealer.  “I’m showing them something else,” he said, “I’m proving you can do it on the right side.”   

 

In an interview with Esquire magazine, Deion says the world’s best athletes are standing on street corners, selling drugs.  He calls them “I’das.”  He explained how they say, “If I’da done this, I’d be here today,” or “If I’da practiced a little harder. . . I’d be a superstar.”  Deion admits that some of them were as fast as he was as a kid.  But instead of working hard and disciplining themselves, they chose the easy option of selling drugs.   

 

Do you have any “I’das”?  If I would have written all my “I’das” down, I would have a handsome, three volume set by now.  If only I’da . . . 

“I’das” look backward.  They can only bring regret.  But God calls us to change our focus.  To listen to his call for today.  When he plays a dirge, it’s time to repent.  When he plays the flute, he’s inviting us to dance.   

Like Deion Sanders, the Lord wants us to go for it.  

(copyright 2012 by climbinghigher.org and by Marty Kaarre)

(image:http://www.sneakertube.tv/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/prime.jpg)

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How Our Story Ends

Story of the Day for Monday July15, 2013 

 

How Our Story Ends 

 

                   But what will you do in the end? 

Jeremiah 5:31 

 

 

George Hopkins wanted to prove he could do the impossible and, unfortunately, succeeded. On October 1, 1941, Hopkins jumped from a plane and parachuted to the top of Devils Tower in Wyoming.  

      

While we can admire George’s daring feat, many feel he should’ve spent more time meditating on how he planned to get down. In Hopkins’ defense, he had instructed his pilot to drop an axle from an old Fordonto the summit of the Tower. He planned to wedge the axle into a crevice, tie a rope to it, and shinny down to safety.  

When the axle hit, however, it bounced over the edge. It’s just as well — the plan wouldn’t have worked anyway. His rope was too short.  

Now what?  

We have a daredevil sitting on top of an enormous monolith rising over 1200 feet from the surrounding countryside — without food, shelter, or warm clothes.  

 

Achieving bold, daring goals is a waste of time . . . if you haven’t planned what comes next. Many professional athletes are obsessed with the dream of standing on the winner’s podium. But once they achieve their goal, they don’t know how to climb down. Whether the goal is winning at sports, raising a family, or reaching retirement, many suffer from depression after they have reached their goal.  

Those who are most focused on achieving goals are most apt to flounder afterwards because they never planned for what comes next.  

 

Hall of Fame baseball manager, Earl Weaver, approached the game differently from most. If a runner on first steals second base, he’s better positioned to score. But Weaver didn’t like to call for a steal unless he only needed one run to win the game. Holding the first baseman to the bag increased the possibility of several runs scored rather than one. Weaver had the uncanny ability to focus on the final score rather than the next score.  

 

When we pray, we usually ask the Lord for blue skies at our picnic. But God will often disappoint us when we are focused on our present happiness because he is more concerned with how our story ends.  

Jesus doesn’t care how rocky a road is; he cares where the road ends up.  

 

George Hopkins’ hairbrained stunt left him stranded on top of Devils Tower for six days. He was eventually rescued by a handful of experienced mountain climbers.  

Afterward, when Hopkins was asked why he did it, he said it was “to let people know just what a person can do with a parachute.” 

 

He showed us far more than he imagined. 

(text copyright by climbinghigher.org and by Marty Kaarre)

(images:  moabbasedadventures.com ; http://moabbaseadventures.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/hopkinsrapidcity.jpeg)   

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The Best Bad Call

Story of the Day for Monday July 1, 2013 

 

The Best Bad Call 

 

                      If your adversary is hungry, give him something to eat. 

Romans 12:20             

 

 

The decision of the umpires was later found to be in error, but I’m so happy that they got it wrong.  

 

Central Washington University was hosting Western Oregon University in 2008 in the last game of the season. The winner would earn a spot in the NCAA Tournament in Division II woman’s softball.  

Western Oregon sent Sara Tucholsky to the plate. With two runners on base she hit a home run – the first one of her career. She was so jubilant that she forgot to Listep on first base. Realizing her mistake, she spun around so quickly that she tore the ACL in her knee.  As she lay writhing in pain, her teammates were helpless. If they touched her, that would constitute assisting a base runner and she would be called out.  

After conferring on the rules, an umpire told Western Oregon’s head coach, Pam Knox, that a pinch runner could come in for her, but it would be credited as a single, and her home run would be taken away.  

 

It broke the coach’s heart to erase the only home run of Sara’s career, but she was clearly unable to tag the bases on her own.  

At that moment, however, Mallory Holtman, the star player for the opposing team ran up to an umpire and asked, “Would it be okay if we carried her around and she touched each bag?” The ump shrugged and said there was no rule against it.  

So, Holtman, and her teammate, Liz Wallace, gingerly picked her up and started walking her around the bases. When they came to a base, they would gently lower her good leg and tap the base with Sara’s foot.  

As the three girls rounded the bases, the crowd gave them all a standing ovation.  

This caring act for their opponent ended up costing Mallory and Liz’s team the game – ending their hopes of getting into the tournament. But no one seemed to care.  

 

Mallory Holtman viewed Sara Tucholsky as her opponent . . . until she was overcome by compassion for her need.  

We are so easily angered by the behavior of our enemies. But what if we focused more on their hurts. Their needs. What if, when we noticed how hungry they were, we gave them some of our food?  

 

The NCAA later said the umpire’s ruling was in error. A substitute could have run the bases and Sara would’ve been awarded a home run.  

I’m so glad, however, that the umpire got it wrong. Far more important than a correct ruling was what happened to our hearts when two brave women helped their opponent when she was hurting.  

 

Have you ever been glad when a ruling was wrong?  What hurts, needs, wants do your enemies have that you could focus on instead of their obnoxious behavior?  Have you ever helped an opponent when they have been hurting?  Tell us about it. 

(text copyright 2011 by climbinghigher.org and by Marty Kaarre)

(image: http://www.internetmonk.com/wp-content/uploads/Carrying1.jpg)

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