For those of you that don’t know I coach 15-16 boys baseball with my friend Jesse and this weekend we were entering the provincial tournament in Prince George, of which many parents told us we were wasting our time and that we were just going to get killed.

Anyway I couldn’t be there because of a wedding, but I want to show you an excerpt from Jesse about the semi-final game from last night against Coquitlam…it is worth the read!

Hello All,

So today was the semi final game against Coquitlam. And just so you know, you all missed the game of the year and I think of my career. We, knowing how well we can play, figured they would throw their ace at us. They, thinking we were shit, figured they would throw their number two guy and save their ace for the finals. The game starts and we knock the ball around and they make the plays to keep things scoreless. They come up and Will starts throwing a gem. I mean he is not at forty pitches through four innings. We are turning 6-4-3′s, 4-6-3′s and barehanding bunts and throwing guys from third. Our guys are jacked up and feeling great. We start smashing the ball at the plate and they start making errors. We get Troy Johl on first on a walk. He steals second and reaches third on a fielder’s choice error that puts Sam on first. They then bring their ace lefty who Colin works to a full count. There are two outs and Sam is running on the pitch so Colin proceeds to foul off four in a row. The next pitch is down and in ball four and it gets by the catcher. Troy scores from third on the wild pitch and Sam moves up to third because he was running on the play. Sam then scores on a base hit by Mike and we take the lead 2-0. Will keeps throwing and we add one more in the next inning, the fifith. IN the sixth Will is still going strong but gives up a deep flyball to straight away centre, Troy Matheson, playing centre field with Colin behind the plate, goes deep and turns into the second coming of Willy Mays making the over the shoulder catch just in front of the track at the 361 mark in centre field. We then get them in the bottom of the seventh with a pop out to third, a walk, a ground out and and a strike out to win the game. Will ends up throwing an 80 pitch no-hitter in the semi’s at the provincials and I get to hear to “good luck in the finals” from Bruce Michael knowing it is eating him alive. I wanted to say “suck on it on the ride home tomorrow Bruce” but my mother said always be gracious in victory so I said thanks. And the quote of the game goes to Mike Detina who as we’re packing up after the game come up to me and says “Hey Skip, see what happens when we give a shit.” That’s our whole season right there. I’ll let you knwo what happens tomorrow. Now I gotta go run around the block and try and work off the adrenaline.

Jesse “they call me skip” Darnell

spectacular

I am away in Ontario for my bud Jake’s wedding. I hope to start posting again sometime in early august.

cheers

Are you having trouble breaking the silence with your neighbour, co-worker, favourite coffee shop barista? Well I have the solution for you!

from oksocial

An OK button is handsome and functional. It tells people that you’re not only great to talk to, but you like the idea of a warmer and more open city. It’s an icon to let people know that it’s OK if they actually try and speak with you. That’s all there is to it. Get one, they’re free: info@oksocial.org
Note that when you wear an OK button you do so at your own risk. You might strike up a rewarding conversation, or you might end up having a lousy experience. We aren’t responsible for what occurs to anyone wearing an OK button. By wearing an OK button you understand and agree to this.

i just might pick one up.

via

Anna and I had a great conversation this morning about our worth as people. I guess it piggy backs on my blog post from yesterday.

One of the greatest gifts of taking a day off each week has to your soul is that for one day you stop and realize that the world keeps going even when you stop! It’s funny how often i think the world will end…so to speak…if i stop working. And now think of that in light of someone who is going through a job transition and is not working for a month or two or three, etc. and their identity had been found in how they contributed to the marketplace. Now think of those jobs that are hard to measure (I am in one, although there are many who try to measure what I do) and how those people try to get their worth from their work.

What I am trying to say is that somehow we need to be okay with simply “being.” That we are appreciated for simply existing. But its hard to leave it at that, because many of us don’t have those people in our lives who tell us we are appreciated simply because we “are.”

Personally i can tell you how I believe God is that appreciator in our lives, but you would have to believe in a God that accepts you where you are at, loves you for who you are, but doesn’t leave you there in the process.

I think though that this idea of sabbath has to go beyond a day a week, but become part of your life. We all need a rhythm of life that can work and “be” without needing approval of our self worth. We need to be okay with our work being part of of what we do to contribute and live in our current culture, but that it doesn’t determine who we are or our worth as people.

how do you determine your worth…do you even take time to rest and realize that the world keeps spinning without you?

identity…so hard to find, isn’t it?

Adam saved me this week, and he doesn’t even know how. A brief phone call from him saying, “Kyle, stop working on the BAC project,” was all I needed to get a piece of my soul back.

I have really been reflecting on the idea of being saved lately. It came up specifically as our church gathered to talk on restoration, of which i spoke on Luke 15 (yes the whole thing, and it was short!). In each parable (lost sheep, lost coin, and lost son) there was a bigger story going on, and it wasn’t simply the shepherd, the woman, or the father who were involved in the search for that animal, object, or person to be found. There was a village that owned the sheep, there was a family who paid the dowry for the woman to be married, and there was a community that witnessed the sons tragedy and fathers embarrassment. There was a community of people in each situation. Saving was never meant to be done alone.

What was I saved from? Well in a sense, myself…and making choices alone. I was pursuing many things, all spread out and no sight of where I was going.

I had a friend confide in me yesterday that he is struggling with addictions and wants out. he said he has been making too many decisions alone, and in the process taking people down with him. I was doing that too…

So today I am in a better place. A place of rest, and of reflection…no rails today, maybe not for a while, but lots of hope.