Worthy Words

I read the other day the story of Florence Chadwick, who in July of 1952 waded into the waters on a foggy morning at Catalina Island. Her objective was to swim across the channel to the mainland of Southern California. This swim was not that much of a challenge for Chadwick had been the first woman ever to swim the English Channel in both directions. Unfortunately, on this day, having lost sight of the land because of the fog, Chadwick decided to give up. As it turned out, she was only half a mile from reaching her goal. She was not exhausted or cold. But, because the fog had obscured her vision from the intended goal she quit. Then, some two months later, on a clear day, Florence Chadwick attempted the same challenge — and this time succeeded, setting a new speed record, because she was able to keep her eye on the goal. As Christ-followers, we have a goal: to follow Jesus, to become like Him, to love and serve Him with all of our heart, soul, mind and strength. But how often do we...

Are you a Rangers baseball fan? If so, you already know about the bad call on Adrian Beltre in game one of the 2011 World Series against the St. Louis Cardinals. Beltre is called out by the Umpire when he fouled off the ball. The cameras clearly showed Beltre hopping about at the moment the ball impacted his toe. Joe Buck and the crew at Fox reviewed the call with some nifty new equipment. It seems that Fox Sports has added this cool infrared camera technology to the series. It pin-points contact of the ball by the heat it emits when it contacts the bat or batter. The Umpire called Beltre out and the IR showed clearly that the ball made contact with his foot which made it a dead ball not an out. Ron Washington argued with the Umpire—and rightfully he should, it was a bad call. Did you see Beltre? Adrian should be remembered for his response to the injustice. He smiled, but the bat over both shoulders and headed to the dugout. Did you see it? We know how other players might have res...

During the fifth game of the ALCS while watching Verlander pitch in the eighth inning to the Rangers I thought back to when I played Little League and the count went 3 and 0, our coach always told us to take the next pitch. It made good sense because the pitcher had missed the target three times in a row, so more than likely he'd miss again. That mindset has carried over into the major leagues. When Verlander—whose strategy is more about placement than it is about aim—has a 3-0 count, even sluggers like Hamilton, Beltre, Napoli, and Cruz typically get the take sign. What happens? Verlander, not wanting to give up a walk, usually delivers a strike down the middle of the plate. The most hittable pitch those major leaguers ever see comes on 3-0, and that's the pitch they are least likely to swing at. Something makes me wonder if this decision hasn't carried over from the days of Little League, when this decision once made sense because the skill level of the hitter had yet...

Sometimes I wish I had a better memory. I have a tendency to forget things, like people’s names, or an important phone number, or the exact content of certain conversations. It can be really annoying, both for me and for the victims of my forgetfulness. I recently read about a woman who has the opposite problem. Her name is Jill Price, and her memory has been the subject of scientific tests for many years, because she never forgets anything. She is able to remember every detail of everyday since 1980: What time she got up, what she did, who she met, and what she ate. You can name a date and within seconds she can tell you what day of the week it was and what took place on that day. Neuroscientists are intrigued by her "condition", but she considers it a curse. She says, "Some memories are good and give me a warm safe feeling. But I also recall every bad decision, insult, and excruciating embarrassment. Over the years it has eaten me up." She blames her memory fo...

The apostle Paul wrote to his fellow Christ-followers in Corinth, "No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him" (1 Corinthians 2:9). There is no one in this world who can be in love with God and remain the same. I was given a card a few years back that spoke to me. Here is what it said, LOVE is the Great Transformer…LOVE transforms: Ambition into aspiration, Greed into gratitude, Selfishness into service, Getting into giving, Demands into dedication, Loneliness into happiness. Love transforms you into becoming a person with more of the qualities of Jesus Christ. Dedicate your life to love. Don't let our culture cheapen the meaning and transformation that takes place with agape love, God's highest form of love. When you seek the higher level of love you can rest assured that your life will never be the same. These three things remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love. — 1 Corinthians 1...