So we practiced last night. Not much to comment on. We're getting slightly better at our bounce passes on basketball, the guys are getting consistently decent marks on balloon. We need to work with Jeff on it because he hasn't done it nearly as much as everyone else on our team.
Tug sucks... Some people get pulled over onto the ground and then stay down. It's annoying as hell. Other's let go of the rope, but that happens sometimes so I'm not all that mad about it. Although, when I weigh c. fifty pounds less than two of them and I still pull as hard as them, that is a little pathetic.
I don't even remember what else we did, if anything. We worked on bean bag bonanza and that didn't go all that well. We can do better, I know. Especially when we get Jeff in there for Ben because he is like lightning.
That's all. Just starting to fine tune stuff.
Love. Peace. Clam Chowder.
More (maybe?) on Thursday
Tuesday, January 29, 2008
Thursday, January 24, 2008
Bringing Down Babylon
PREFACE: This note ACTUALLY makes sense. However, it might be a little hard to understand because I am rushing through it. I have a lot to say and very little time to say it. If you have any questions, leave them as comments and I'll explain it.
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"Humility is to make a right estimate of oneself." - Charles Haddon Spurgeon
I read this quote and it made me feel really good. I'm not going to lower myself: I am really good at a lot of stuff. So when I read this, I thought "This is great! I'm not the best at some stuff, but I'm awesome at some other things. So long as I don't puff myself up and act like I am better than I really am (like some other people I know), then I will be good to go."
I must be mentally handicapped.
I've been given a big helping of humble pie (we say that like it is a bad thing) this week. I won't go into any details but everything I had pride in (not necessarily in excess, but things I liked about myself) got taken away or destroyed. I stumbled upon another quote, similar to the first. When I first read it I though "That is awful, this guy is taking credit for what Spurgeon said." As it turn out, Tryon Edwards is older than Spurgeon and said it first. But this is neither here nor there (ever wonder where those two places are?)
"True humility is not an abject, groveling, self-despising spirit; it is but a right estimate of ourselves as God sees us." - Tryon Edwards
So I looked at this and though "Wow... I'm an idiot. Why did I not realize this before?" So I thought about how God feels. This is when the thought "Oh crap..." came to mind.
One of the things that makes me most upset (as you can plainly see from my narrative on Tryon Edwards and Charles Spurgeon) is when someone takes credit for something that isn't their own. I think that what we hate about others is what we really hate about ourselves. Well, I have been taking credit for my accomplishments. That is the equivalent of a pen taking credit for writing the Declaration of Independence or a paintbrush for creating the Mona Lisa. Neither did anything with out the author and the artist. So then why am I so hasty for taking credit for the castle of accomplishments I've built. God built that castle using a tool: me. Not only was He the one who built it, He is the one who made the tool and the one who made the stuff that the tool was made out of. So then why am I, the paintbrush, taking credit for creating the painting. Why am I saying "Is not this great Babylon, that I have built for a royal dwelling by my mighty power and for the honor of my majesty?
2,500 years ago, a ruler said these words. He took credit for the majesty of Babylon. They guy who actually built up Babylon was a little hacked at Nebuchadnezzar for stealing His thunder so everything was taken from Nebuchadnezzar and the king was completely humiliated. For seven years, he acted like an animal, running around the palace lawns eating grass. The only time this king understood was when everything was taken away from him and God took his glorious Babylon away from the arrogant king.
Last night, I went to sleep thinking "I am Job. I'm being tested to see if I'll stay true to God." There's another arrogant mistake on the part of Marcelo: you have to actually be somewhere to stay there.
After thinking about this, it makes me a little upset at preachers. They should know this stuff right? They don't preach Nebuchadnezzar, they preach Job. "If you're going through hardships, God will bring you through it. You just need to stay true to him." I'm not saying this isn't true in some cases, but I am willing to bet that in the majority of hardships, that isn't God's thought process.
Show me how many times in the Old Testament the Israelites decided to turn away from God and how many times He punished them, then brought them back to Him. Tell me how many times God took things away from Israel and said "I'm testing you. Beloved Israel, you just need to stay true to me on this and well all be happy." I can't think of one time that happened. Granted, I'm not a Biblical Scholar, but the closest thing I can come up with is that God was testing them as they walked out into the wilderness. But, seriously, I don't think it is much of a test of faith to follow a floating pillar of fire in the sky after someone tells you its God. Israel wasn't Job and neither are we. Every person on the face of this earth is Nebuchadnezzar. We are all building up our castles in the name of ourselves and when they come tumbling down, we say "It's okay. It's a test. I'm just going to keep doing what I'm doing (following God) and I'll get through it." That may be true, but I suggest that you take an honest look in the mirror and tell yourself that because you are probably doing something wrong.
We need to stop taking credit for things that are not our own to take credit for, and when things get tough, we need to quit being pious little pharisees who say "I'm being tempted" and start examining ourselves in the mirror and decide if we're doing something wrong and that someone is trying to get our attention.
I read this quote and it made me feel really good. I'm not going to lower myself: I am really good at a lot of stuff. So when I read this, I thought "This is great! I'm not the best at some stuff, but I'm awesome at some other things. So long as I don't puff myself up and act like I am better than I really am (like some other people I know), then I will be good to go."
I must be mentally handicapped.
I've been given a big helping of humble pie (we say that like it is a bad thing) this week. I won't go into any details but everything I had pride in (not necessarily in excess, but things I liked about myself) got taken away or destroyed. I stumbled upon another quote, similar to the first. When I first read it I though "That is awful, this guy is taking credit for what Spurgeon said." As it turn out, Tryon Edwards is older than Spurgeon and said it first. But this is neither here nor there (ever wonder where those two places are?)
"True humility is not an abject, groveling, self-despising spirit; it is but a right estimate of ourselves as God sees us." - Tryon Edwards
So I looked at this and though "Wow... I'm an idiot. Why did I not realize this before?" So I thought about how God feels. This is when the thought "Oh crap..." came to mind.
One of the things that makes me most upset (as you can plainly see from my narrative on Tryon Edwards and Charles Spurgeon) is when someone takes credit for something that isn't their own. I think that what we hate about others is what we really hate about ourselves. Well, I have been taking credit for my accomplishments. That is the equivalent of a pen taking credit for writing the Declaration of Independence or a paintbrush for creating the Mona Lisa. Neither did anything with out the author and the artist. So then why am I so hasty for taking credit for the castle of accomplishments I've built. God built that castle using a tool: me. Not only was He the one who built it, He is the one who made the tool and the one who made the stuff that the tool was made out of. So then why am I, the paintbrush, taking credit for creating the painting. Why am I saying "Is not this great Babylon, that I have built for a royal dwelling by my mighty power and for the honor of my majesty?
2,500 years ago, a ruler said these words. He took credit for the majesty of Babylon. They guy who actually built up Babylon was a little hacked at Nebuchadnezzar for stealing His thunder so everything was taken from Nebuchadnezzar and the king was completely humiliated. For seven years, he acted like an animal, running around the palace lawns eating grass. The only time this king understood was when everything was taken away from him and God took his glorious Babylon away from the arrogant king.
Last night, I went to sleep thinking "I am Job. I'm being tested to see if I'll stay true to God." There's another arrogant mistake on the part of Marcelo: you have to actually be somewhere to stay there.
After thinking about this, it makes me a little upset at preachers. They should know this stuff right? They don't preach Nebuchadnezzar, they preach Job. "If you're going through hardships, God will bring you through it. You just need to stay true to him." I'm not saying this isn't true in some cases, but I am willing to bet that in the majority of hardships, that isn't God's thought process.
Show me how many times in the Old Testament the Israelites decided to turn away from God and how many times He punished them, then brought them back to Him. Tell me how many times God took things away from Israel and said "I'm testing you. Beloved Israel, you just need to stay true to me on this and well all be happy." I can't think of one time that happened. Granted, I'm not a Biblical Scholar, but the closest thing I can come up with is that God was testing them as they walked out into the wilderness. But, seriously, I don't think it is much of a test of faith to follow a floating pillar of fire in the sky after someone tells you its God. Israel wasn't Job and neither are we. Every person on the face of this earth is Nebuchadnezzar. We are all building up our castles in the name of ourselves and when they come tumbling down, we say "It's okay. It's a test. I'm just going to keep doing what I'm doing (following God) and I'll get through it." That may be true, but I suggest that you take an honest look in the mirror and tell yourself that because you are probably doing something wrong.
We need to stop taking credit for things that are not our own to take credit for, and when things get tough, we need to quit being pious little pharisees who say "I'm being tempted" and start examining ourselves in the mirror and decide if we're doing something wrong and that someone is trying to get our attention.
Thursday, January 17, 2008
If You Were Wondering
I didn't forget to post stuff about our Thursday practice. I just haven't been on the internet since then. So here is what happened.
...NOTHING...
Now you are informed. I never pay attention to the girls. In hindsight, this week would have been a good week to do that. Usually, Everett helps the girls (since Arielle isn't there) so I can stay with the guys. I'm still not sure how the girls are doing. I guess I should pay attention to them on Monday. As far as the guys go, I did really well. No one else did really well because no one else cared to show up for practice. Brian had debate stuff, Jonathan had to teach piano lessons, Benjamin had to study for a math test, Andrew had God only knows what to do, and Jeff had an awards banquet to go to. So I ended up practicing with the locals game team, which was awful. I tried to help the two guys who didn't know what they were doing but they refused to look me in the eyes and wouldn't do anything I said. These kids really need help because I watched one of them run into a wall last week. We're not talking about bumped his shoulder on the corner of of a hallway. We're talking about running start, straight into the wall. I'm not sure what he was doing or where he thought he was going. But I digress...
Point is, people need to start showing up.
...NOTHING...
Now you are informed. I never pay attention to the girls. In hindsight, this week would have been a good week to do that. Usually, Everett helps the girls (since Arielle isn't there) so I can stay with the guys. I'm still not sure how the girls are doing. I guess I should pay attention to them on Monday. As far as the guys go, I did really well. No one else did really well because no one else cared to show up for practice. Brian had debate stuff, Jonathan had to teach piano lessons, Benjamin had to study for a math test, Andrew had God only knows what to do, and Jeff had an awards banquet to go to. So I ended up practicing with the locals game team, which was awful. I tried to help the two guys who didn't know what they were doing but they refused to look me in the eyes and wouldn't do anything I said. These kids really need help because I watched one of them run into a wall last week. We're not talking about bumped his shoulder on the corner of of a hallway. We're talking about running start, straight into the wall. I'm not sure what he was doing or where he thought he was going. But I digress...
Point is, people need to start showing up.
Tuesday, January 15, 2008
Restoration of What Little Hope I Had
I'm not sure what everyone has been doing since Thursday, but they all took "don't suck" pills or something because they were on fire (almost) all night long.
We exercised at the very beginning for a long while. By the time summit comes, we are going to be in SUCH good shape. Last night, I thought "Man, I am realllly out of shape". As it turns out, I'm not that out of shape. It was all do to the fact that I hadn't had anything to eat all day and all I had to drink was a bottle of water and a sonic slush. I felt like throwing up, only there wasn't anything in there so my body went for the next best thing. I could have sworn that my stomach was going to come out my throat. But I exercised on after a brief trip to the bathroom in case said event did happen, just so it wouldn't get on the carpet.
We moved on to basketball relay. At the beginning, we weren't doing so hot. People were dropping passes, throwing bad throws, not putting power behind it, not moving when they were supposed to be, it was really bad. Midway through, everyone started to hit his/ her stride, except for, of course, me, who was completely worn out. I didn't know it was possible, butI was sweating harder than I've sweated in a LONG time, and all I was doing was standing there throwing a ball. But, after over 200 reps,you would get tired too, I'm sure. Brian took over in the center and his best time was 21.1. I got back in and got somewhere along the line of 23 or 24 seconds Some other people got in the center so they could get more practice. No one else broke 24. I took over again for one last run through. By this time, I'd actually had time to rest, so I was better. I got 20.4. I was pretty stinkin' excited.
Dropping the ball and leaving we were hot, we went to balloon and, from what I saw, the girls did really well. When we had one or two miscues, they actually beat us. They guys were doing REALLY well. We were relatively close to the record for our first couple runs, then Everett saw where our time was coming from. One person was taking forever to get to the front. Everett said the person had the balloon in his hands before the girl did, and the girl still beat him to the front. So we put this person in the back where he couldconcentrate on nothing but grabbing the balloon and running. I am in the front and I am grabbing the person running up at the very beginning. I am used to it being a small guy because that is how we had been running it. Along comes this guy and he is two or three times as big and I was completely off. The next couple of times, I new what was coming so I was ready for it, only "it" never came because the next four tries, he dropped the second pass of the event. I hated it. We were doing REALLY well with what we had, but when Brian and Everett thought it would be better if we switched, I went with that. I'm captain, so ultimately, its my choice, but if the coach thinks it will work better like that, I'm not going to argue. My first option would be to take that person out and put in our sixth player (who wasn't there that night). He needs to work on his running up to the front too, but at least he can hold on to the ball.
We stopped there. I was REALLY frustrated at this point. We exercised again, then stretched. Then I wanted to practice agility because I've been DQing a lot lately. I ran it by myself three times: I was good on the first one, and DQ'd on the next two. The I actually ran against someone. I ran against Brian and Jeff. Brian dove out and won, but I didn't dive and was still only a split second behind him, not to mention that Brian DQ'd twice. Jeff DQ'd once but he wasn't all that close, which surprised me a lot. No one wanted to keep running it so I ran it on my own. I DQ'd the next time, and I was only running it by myself. I ran if four more times and never DQ'd. I think it was because I was tired and going slower, but we'll see. I'm going to keep running it until I have it perfect. Just like I am going to do with EVERY game.
I've also decided that I am going to run the marathon race every time I see an AWANA games circle. I'm just going to run around the circle 8 times, go in, and then continue what I was doing. I haven't practiced it a whole lot, which I should because for some reason, I can't not DQ on THAT game either. But I'll be good.
We exercised at the very beginning for a long while. By the time summit comes, we are going to be in SUCH good shape. Last night, I thought "Man, I am realllly out of shape". As it turns out, I'm not that out of shape. It was all do to the fact that I hadn't had anything to eat all day and all I had to drink was a bottle of water and a sonic slush. I felt like throwing up, only there wasn't anything in there so my body went for the next best thing. I could have sworn that my stomach was going to come out my throat. But I exercised on after a brief trip to the bathroom in case said event did happen, just so it wouldn't get on the carpet.
We moved on to basketball relay. At the beginning, we weren't doing so hot. People were dropping passes, throwing bad throws, not putting power behind it, not moving when they were supposed to be, it was really bad. Midway through, everyone started to hit his/ her stride, except for, of course, me, who was completely worn out. I didn't know it was possible, butI was sweating harder than I've sweated in a LONG time, and all I was doing was standing there throwing a ball. But, after over 200 reps,you would get tired too, I'm sure. Brian took over in the center and his best time was 21.1. I got back in and got somewhere along the line of 23 or 24 seconds Some other people got in the center so they could get more practice. No one else broke 24. I took over again for one last run through. By this time, I'd actually had time to rest, so I was better. I got 20.4. I was pretty stinkin' excited.
Dropping the ball and leaving we were hot, we went to balloon and, from what I saw, the girls did really well. When we had one or two miscues, they actually beat us. They guys were doing REALLY well. We were relatively close to the record for our first couple runs, then Everett saw where our time was coming from. One person was taking forever to get to the front. Everett said the person had the balloon in his hands before the girl did, and the girl still beat him to the front. So we put this person in the back where he couldconcentrate on nothing but grabbing the balloon and running. I am in the front and I am grabbing the person running up at the very beginning. I am used to it being a small guy because that is how we had been running it. Along comes this guy and he is two or three times as big and I was completely off. The next couple of times, I new what was coming so I was ready for it, only "it" never came because the next four tries, he dropped the second pass of the event. I hated it. We were doing REALLY well with what we had, but when Brian and Everett thought it would be better if we switched, I went with that. I'm captain, so ultimately, its my choice, but if the coach thinks it will work better like that, I'm not going to argue. My first option would be to take that person out and put in our sixth player (who wasn't there that night). He needs to work on his running up to the front too, but at least he can hold on to the ball.
We stopped there. I was REALLY frustrated at this point. We exercised again, then stretched. Then I wanted to practice agility because I've been DQing a lot lately. I ran it by myself three times: I was good on the first one, and DQ'd on the next two. The I actually ran against someone. I ran against Brian and Jeff. Brian dove out and won, but I didn't dive and was still only a split second behind him, not to mention that Brian DQ'd twice. Jeff DQ'd once but he wasn't all that close, which surprised me a lot. No one wanted to keep running it so I ran it on my own. I DQ'd the next time, and I was only running it by myself. I ran if four more times and never DQ'd. I think it was because I was tired and going slower, but we'll see. I'm going to keep running it until I have it perfect. Just like I am going to do with EVERY game.
I've also decided that I am going to run the marathon race every time I see an AWANA games circle. I'm just going to run around the circle 8 times, go in, and then continue what I was doing. I haven't practiced it a whole lot, which I should because for some reason, I can't not DQ on THAT game either. But I'll be good.
Friday, January 11, 2008
Hate 08
The first games practice of the year was bad. I'm not sure that it is really bad, something that barely exists can't exactly be bad right? Out of the six guys on the Summit team, three showed up. Out of the three that showed up, two actually practiced. Out of the two that practiced, one was on time. It wasn't even me.
Jonathan, Benjamin, and Jeff didn't even show up. Andy, Brian, and I were there. Sitting there doing nothing was Andy, while Brian and I actually tried to practice. Have you ever had a practice for games that require five people using only two people? As incredibly AMAZING as Brian and I are, we aren't THAT good.
Apparently, NO one has been exercising like they are supposed to be, except me (and I have witnesses so no one can say otherwise), because everyone was huffing and puffing by the end of it.
Enough about everyone else... on to me.
I realized JUST how bad my allergies have become. I can't run because I can't breathe. Breathing is actually important in running. For some reason, every time I run, my allergies kick in and I can't breathe. I am constantly holding my breathe as we sprint because inhaling makes it worse. I have no idea how I am going to fix this problem.
In addition, I was informed that I need to stop DQing in agility, which is absolutely true. I'm actually doing much better than before. Last night, I was going to try planting my hand, but I think that actually slows me down.
That's about it... Nothing else to say right now...
Jonathan, Benjamin, and Jeff didn't even show up. Andy, Brian, and I were there. Sitting there doing nothing was Andy, while Brian and I actually tried to practice. Have you ever had a practice for games that require five people using only two people? As incredibly AMAZING as Brian and I are, we aren't THAT good.
Apparently, NO one has been exercising like they are supposed to be, except me (and I have witnesses so no one can say otherwise), because everyone was huffing and puffing by the end of it.
Enough about everyone else... on to me.
I realized JUST how bad my allergies have become. I can't run because I can't breathe. Breathing is actually important in running. For some reason, every time I run, my allergies kick in and I can't breathe. I am constantly holding my breathe as we sprint because inhaling makes it worse. I have no idea how I am going to fix this problem.
In addition, I was informed that I need to stop DQing in agility, which is absolutely true. I'm actually doing much better than before. Last night, I was going to try planting my hand, but I think that actually slows me down.
That's about it... Nothing else to say right now...
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