This is incredible!

watch?v=9lp0IWv8QZY&feature=haxa_popt00us00

If you have not seen this … well, you never should judge by appearances!

Old Friends

Isn’t it funny how God puts someone on your heart and wont let them go.  This has been happening to me a lot lately!  One guy that God wont let me forget – I guess it is because we had so many good times together … is Jeff Vines.  It seems every time I have turned around lately images of Jeff have been popping up in my mind!  We went on a ski retreat recently and went through Elizabethton, TN.  This is where Jeff was from – we played golf there, once.  Even though we played golf it seemed like every week for years.  Back then Jeff was not too good, and neither was I but we loved the time on the links.

I remember once Jeff bought a new driver – this driver would fix his game for good! Well, it didn’t.  And by the 12 hole he was fed up with this NEW club – he threw it up in the sky as high as he could and there it stayed.  I couldn’t believe it, it was sitting high in a tree probably about 60 feet high.  It was not coming down – there was no way to get it down … well, that is what I thought.  I immediately looked for a climbing pattern to get it down … NO WAY!  And, that is when Jeff went over to his clubs and pulled out Iron.  I thought NO WAY, he is going to get both stuck up there now!  But, on the first throw he hit his new driver and knocked it right out!  Unbelievable!  That was Jeff though … everything he touch seemed to turn to Gold!  What is funny is that this week on Sunday I told that story to some people in the lobby of the church.

On Monday I got to visit with my youth minister, Larry Kineman (Now we are really talking about some old stories there … but, that is another time,) and we were talking about old times and kids who were in the youth group.  He mentioned Jill Shaw, Jill and I went to High School together and then to Johnson Bible College.  Well she went to Zimbabwe after college and then on to New Zealand – and I thought … hey, that is where Amanda Holmes is … so as soon as I got back to the office I looked up Jill on Facebook and sent her and Amanda messages to get them together.  I was going through Jill’s friends and saw what had to be someone related to … you guessed it Jeff Vines.  His daughter was one of Jill’s  friends on Facebook.  Once again God is putting him right in front of me.

I said to myself, Self, God is saying something – do it.

I googled Jeff Vines – the last I knew of Jeff was that he was in Savannah, GA.  Well, what I found was incredible.  Jeff is now at a MEGA church in California and once again turning things to Gold.  Jeff spent years in Zimbabwe – Gold!  Then onto New Zealand – Gold!

Here is Jeff newpastor.asp and I called and we are catching up with each other.  If you ever get the chance to be in southern California – stop by and visit and be blessed by Jeff!  But don’t challenge him to a game of golf – he got lessons from … if I remember correctly the guys name was Price and he was from Zimbabwe!  But, I think it was Nick’s brother.

Jeff is a great guy, very passionate about the lost and only more passionate about Jesus!  If you get the chance watch this guy preach … he can bring it!

Now I gotta go and see what God has in store for me today!  Peace

here is a link for some of Jeff’s sermons – but, watch yourselves … he steps on toes!

Great Sermons

Clear the Stage

The Greatest Coach Ever – Revisted

Last Friday I was going through the Indianapolis Airport.  People in the Security Check line were grumbling about what nonsense the process was, blah, blah, blah.  An elderly lady (in a different line) was struggling with her luggage, pocketbook, etc. She was also confused about what to do, how to do it, couldn’t get her shoes off (and a host of other things). The Security Officials weren’t helping the situation either (they can be mighty callous at times). I started to move her direction, but before I could get out of the line I was in, a gentleman (close by) sat down all of his stuff, and began to help the lady. I thought he looked familiar, but it didn’t register; it was fascinating to see him come to her aid (nobody else was making a move to help!). He was talking to her, making conversation, helping her untie her shoes, putting her things in one of those bins, and making sure she was AT EASE. He helped her through the screening gate, then calmly put his things on the belt, went through and immediately began to help the lady put her shoes back on, gather her belongings, etc. In the meantime she had reached in her purse to show him pictures of her family. He made a big fuss over the photos, then asked for a wheelchair so he could get her to her gate. Honestly, it was a Hallmark script.  They disappeared down the concourse together…he was pushing the wheelchair and she was jabbering with him. It made me smile…a lot.

NOW HERE’S THE KICKER: I got through security and went to get something to drink.  Just beyond the little restaurant was a group of people gathered, all excited, shaking hands, etc., and in the center of them was THE KIND GENTLEMAN.  Guess who it was? TONY DUNGY, the recently retired coach of the Indianapolis Colts!  I looked at his hand and, SURE ‘NUFF there was the HUGE diamond Super Bowl ring.

The point:  The elderly lady didn’t know who he was, or care WHO HE IS, of would even have known had she been told. HE DID THE RIGHT THING FOR THE RIGHT REASON. Important people serve others with a sense of purpose.  These kinds of things are still THE BEST LESSONS EVER.  Thanks for letting me share it.

The Greatest Coach – EVER!

Thanks, Badly Bradly

Life of Reilly
One coach still knows more than all the others combined. And he’s been retired for three decades.
by Rick Reilly

G. Newman Lowrance/Getty Images

This column is for UCLA freshman walk-on Tyler Trapani, who will probably see zero minutes this basketball season, and yet will be my favorite player.

That’s because Trapani is the great-grandson of legendary UCLA coach John Wooden.

Tyler, I’ve admired your great-grandfather for 40 years, known him for 20. Every couple of years I sit down with him, just to breathe the clean, clear good sense that pours out of him. And it occurs to me that I may even know a few things about him that you don’t.

For instance, he turned 98 two weeks ago, but did you know he should’ve been dead at 35? During World War II, he was scheduled for a tour of duty in the South Pacific on the USS Franklin when an emergency appendectomy put him in the infirmary. The Franklin left without him. It was eventually hit by a kamikaze, killing 724 crewmembers. Much the same happened years later, when your great-grandpa didn’t take a flight from Atlanta to Raleigh that he had a seat on. That plane went down. Everybody died.

WOODEN NEVER MADE MORE THAN $35,000 A YEAR, INCLUDING 1975, THE YEAR HE WON HIS 10TH NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP, AND NEVER ASKED FOR A RAISE.

“Pure, blind luck,” Wooden says, holding on to the arms of his wheelchair. “I don’t believe in fate.”

Well, I do. I believe your great-grandfather was spared so he could be an example of how to live morally and simply and well.

For instance, he and your late great-grandmother, Nell, had the truest love I’ve ever seen. Junior high school sweethearts, they were married 53 years until Nell died in 1985. To this day, he writes her a love note every month and sets it on her side of the bed. He has never kissed anyone else.

I once asked him if we could write a book together about how to make love last. He agreed—until the day we were to start. I’d been waiting on his porch for half an hour when he finally opened the door, tears streaming down his face. “It’s too soon,” he wept. And Nell had been dead 15 years by then.

With stocks cratering today, people fret about having to give up their gym membership or their Lakers tickets. Please. Your great-grandfather grew up on an Indiana farm without electricity or running water. He lived his teen years during The Great Depression, listening to his father read poetry by the light of a coal lamp. He never made more than $35,000 a year.
I know some people think he’s about as relevant as the Edsel, but I don’t. For years, UCLA freshmen rolled their eyes when he gave his famous lecture on how to put on their socks and sneakers. Beau Bridges, the actor, was a Bruins walk-on one year and thought he was nuts. But your great-grandfather never stopped. Anytime he sees you before a game, Tyler, he goes into it, right? “I want to see you do it,” he’ll say. “Pull up the socks, make sure there are no wrinkles. Now, put your shoes on, start from the bottom and tighten them up from the bottom up.” It’s gotta drive you bats, but you’ve got to admit, you’ve never had a blister.

Life of Reilly Bonus Content

* Former Bruins coach Steve Lavin reflects on the legacy of John Wooden

He is as square as a pan of fudge and honest as a toothache, but I love him. Unlike so many coaches today, he didn’t see the game as his own personal Hollywood screen test. He’d sit quietly on the bench, a rolled-up program in his right hand. In 27 years at UCLA, he remembers getting only one technical. “I really didn’t deserve it, either,” he says. “Someone behind me called the ref something not very nice. And the ref thought it was me!” Forty years later, he still blushes.

Your great-grandfather is his own man. He changes his principles as often as his haircut, which is to say, never. He believes in team, not star. And so he loves Chris Paul and is “disgusted” by Allen Iverson. He hates the dunk and college’s one-and-done rule. He admires you not for your unselfish style of play—although he sighs and admits you have “heavy feet”—but your 4.3 GPA. Oh, and he loves that you never mentioned him when you applied.

I worry about him, though. Earlier this year, his walker caught on the rug and he fell. He was on the floor—with a broken wrist and a broken collarbone—from 9 p.m. until someone found him at 7 the next morning. “What’d you do that whole time?” I asked.

“Froze!” he said.

Now he has someone with him 24/7, which is one reason he’s selling “the best car [he] ever owned.” So what about buying it, Tyler? You know how chicks love a pimped-out great-grandfather’s 1989 Ford Taurus, right?

When I said goodbye last week, I mentioned that the next time we visit, he’d be 100. “How will you celebrate?” I asked.

“Probably from a stretcher,” he said.

And he’ll still be the most upright guy in town.

Indy

Well, yesterday I went to see Indiana Jones and I thought it was pretty good.  It is getting – “love it or hate it” reviews.  I can see why some people would hate it, but, I would give it a “love it.”  But, I am an Indy fan.  I seem to like one and three the best.  Probably because of the biblical side of it.  This one didn’t have any biblical side at all.  It was mainly taken from Mayan tradition.  If you have seen anything on the Crystal skulls then this one follows those beliefs pretty much.  So it takes you in another direction.

One of the main complaints with this one is that Indy is getting old – NO KIDDING!  It has been 19 years since the last one.  What would they expect – a James Bond like story.  I am not sure that I am ready for a new and younger Indiana Jones.  Harrison plays him so well, and if they let someone else do it, I am afraid I would never buy him as Indiana.

There are some very unrealistic things in the movie, but … it is Indiana – when hasn’t there been.  I will most certainly buy this as soon as it comes out – and will probably go see it again, and maybe again before it does.

Dentist Visit

Ouch, one cavity filled and one repaired. They wanted me to come back and do them on separate days – but, I wanted to get it over with. One on each side of my mouth. The tooth that was repaired – the dentist had to drill about 6 inches deep. I could feel the drill starting to move threw my scalp when I finally told him that I don’t think that part of my brain is numb. When I jumped out of the seat and drooled out – ouch, that hurts! I think he understood. He then grabbed a needle that was about 4 inches long and squeezed out this blue stuff that would numb my brain. That was much better.

Why do they have you swish the water around in the mouth and then spit out? I don’t get that. Both sides of my mouth was totally numb and my tongue and my occipital lobe. My shirt needed changed after the first swoosh. I don’t cuss, I have tried – I am not good at it. It just never sounds right coming out of me. You know what I am talking about some people have that gift – if that is what you call it. Me on the other hand, it is always a stammering, then it partially comes out, then I pause to look to see if my mother or father is around … and by that time, everyone is laughing. So, I just don’t do it, I always thought there has to be a better way of expressing myself. So I just yelled it out – DANG! And the doctor, and the assistant said, “I think you need a little more time to let that take effect.” No kidding! My fingers were embedded into the chair every bit of 4 inches and my feet were about at the ceiling.

I love dentists, I really do. Sometimes, usually when I am at the dentist, I wonder what in the world people did when they didn’t have them. The short term pain of the filling is much better than the constant pain of a cavity. No crowns yet, he said that one day that tooth might need one but he should be able to drill a couple more times because that root is 7 inches long. They put a half a sack of concrete in my tooth and I feel so much better. It is kind of funny to watch me take a drink – and then let it drip out. It is so beautiful.

What was really funny in my visit today was … I have my wisdom teeth – one of the few that has that gift. I claim that, that is the reason I have so much wisdom. My dentist that I grew up with didn’t believe in removing them. My mouth is full of teeth. And, that makes it hard to get that little piece of metal in that they put around the tooth to pack the filling in with. Well, that is my assessment of it anyway. It took him a sledge hammer to put that thingy in and it took a pair of vice grips to get it out. It was kind of funny to watch the dentist fall over on the floor when it popped out. He was laying on the floor like a turtle caught on his back.

Anyway I am really looking forward to eating a piece of gum with the aluminum foil left on it – or how bout that piece of foil left around the baked potato. It is going to be so wonderful! Your day had to be better than that! I don’t want to hear about anyone having a bad day this week!

ESPN Sportsmanship video

I think ESPN is reading my blog!

Go Here

Sportsmanship

The game, and that means any game, is about winning.  Whatever it takes to win the game – just do it!   Win at all costs!  I have heard them all before.  That is where these top 10 moments of BAD sportsmanship come from.

Then there is this story … and,  hopefully we will all understand what sportsmanship really is.

This is a follow-up on the story with an interview from all three of these athletes.

I have played a lot of sports over the years and this is incredible.  I can remember in one game that a friend of mine knocked a guy head first into the end wall on a fast break lay-up – that was bad, very bad.  I can remember another game when it was a really close game and the other team was in a full court press.  The same friend realizing that he cannot get the ball in bounds, proceeds to throw the ball as hard as he can off the other guys face.  In both cases he ran like a chicken to get the heck out of dodge.  On both occasions the benches cleared – once in college basketball and the other in a church league game.

I can remember playing in a game once after I graduated from college and Bear was playing, too.  A guy from the other team fouled her pretty hard on one play and I warned him that his was coming.  This was just a intramural  game, but in my eyes you never mess with any of my teammates, especially my wife.  Well, during the rest of the game I acted like I was going to hurt him every time he shot or did anything.  Just the fear scared him for the rest of the game.  I didn’t understand sportsmanship the way these young ladies did – and I am sorry for that.

It is a game, just a game.  At the end of the day we all still have to go home and live with ourselves – and that is where the glory or the pain comes.

GUIDELINES FOR UNDERSTANDING THE HOOSIER CULTURE

Got this from Jamie James – a fellow Hoosier!

For those of you who are Hoosiers, this is so accurate it hurts.

KNOW THE STATE CASSEROLE.
The state casserole consists of canned green beans, Campbell ‘s cream of mushroom soup, and dried onions.

You can safely take this casserole to any social event and know that you will be accepted.

GET USED TO FOOD FESTIVALS.
The Indiana General Assembly, in an effort to grow bigger athletes, passed legislation years ago requiring every incorporated

community to have at least one festival per year dedicated to a high-fat food. It is your duty as a Hoosier to attend these

festivals and at least buy at least one elephant ear..

KNOW THE GEOGRAPHY.
Of  Florida, that is. There are Hoosiers who couldn’t tell you where Evansville is but they know the exact distance from Fort Myers to Bonita Springs . That’s because all Hoosiers go to Florida in the winter. Or plan to when they retire. Or are related to retired Hoosiers who have a place in Sarasota . Hoosiers consider Florida to be the Lower Peninsula of Indiana. If you can’t afford to spend the   winter in Florida , use the
state excuse, which is that you stay here because you enjoy the change of season. You’ll be lying, but that’s OK. We’ve all done it.

SPEAKING OF INDIANA WEATHER,
Wear layers or die.  The thing to remember about Indiana seasons is that they can occur at anytime.  We have spring-like days in January and wintry weekends in October. April is capable of providing a sampling of all four seasons in a single 24-hour period. For these reasons, Indiana is the Layering Capital of the World. Even layering, however, can pose danger.  Golfers have been known to dress for hypothermia and end up dead of heat stroke because they couldn’t strip off their layers of plaid fast enough on a changeable spring morning.

DON’T TAKE INDIANA PLACE NAMES LITERALLY.
If a town has the same name as a foreign city -Valparaiso and Versailles, for example — you must not pronounce them the way the foreigners do lest you come under suspicion as a spy. Also, East Enterprise has no counterpart on the west side of the state.  South Bend is in the north. North Putnam is in the south and French Lick isn’t what you think either.

BECOME MULCH LITERATE.
Hoosiers love mulch and appreciate its subtle differences. Learn the difference between hardwood, cypress and pine bark at a minimum. Researchers think the state affinity for mulch derives from its relatively flat terrain. People have a subconscious need for topography, and when it can’t be supplied naturally, they are more likely to make little mulch hillocks in their front yards.

AMISH
The best way to sell something in Indiana is to attach the term ‘Amish’to it. The product need not be genuinely Amish.

This would explain the existence of Amish moo shu pork.

TREND FOLLOWERS
Remember that Hoosiers are never the first to embrace trends. When they do embrace them, they do so with a Midwestern pragmatism.

For example, if you see a Hoosier with a nose ring, there’s a good chance he’s had it undercoated to guard against rust.

YOU GOT TO KNOW SPORTS.
In order to talk sports with obsessive fans in Indiana, you have to be knowledgeable on the three levels — professional, college and high school. The truly expert Indiana sports fan knows not only the name of the hotshot center at Abercrombie and Fitch High School, but also what colleges he’s interested in, how much he bench-presses, who he took to the prom, and what he got on his biology quiz last week.

YOU KNOW YOU\’RE FROM INDIANA WHEN…
You think the state Bird is Larry.
You can say ‘French Lick’ without laughing out loud.
There’s actually a college near you named Ball State
You know Batesville is the casket-making capital of the world and you’re proud of it.
You could never figure out spring forward-fall back, so let’s just ignore Daylight Savings Time!
Your feelings get hurt whenever someone points out the acronym for Purdue University is PU.
You know several people who have hit a deer.
Down south to you means Kentucky.
You have no problem spelling or pronouncing Terre Haute.
Your school classes were canceled because of cold.
Your school classes were canceled because of heat.
You know what the phrase ‘knee-high by the Fourth of July’ means.
You’ve heard of Euchre, you know how to play Euchre, and you are a master of Euchre.
You’ve seen a running car, with nobody in it, in the parking lot of the grocery store, no matter what time of year it is.
Detassling was your first job. Bailing hay, your second. Or you could stack hay, swim in the pond to clean and then have the strength to play a couple of games of hoops, all in the same barn lot on the same day.
You say things like catty-wampus and catty corner and know what they mean.
You carry jumper cables in your car regularly.
You drink pop. You catch frogs at the crick. If you want someone to hear you, you holler at ‘em.
You know that baling wire was the predecessor to duct tape.
You know that strangers are the only ones who come to your front door.
Kids and dogs ride in the passenger seats of cars and the backs of pickups.
You think nothing of driving on the roads and being stuck behind a farm implement in spring and fall. You just   hope it’s not a hog truck or a manure spreader.
High school basketball games draw bigger crowds on the weekend than movie theaters, IF you have a movie theater.
Driving is better in the winter because the potholes are filled with snow.
You can see at least two basketball hoops from your yard.
You can name every one of Bobby Knight’s exploits over the last few years.
The biggest question of your youth was IU or Purdue.
Indianapolis is the BIG CITY.
Getting stuck by a train is a legitimate excuse for being late to school or work.
You’ve been to the Covered Bridge Festival. And you took back roads to get there. Why sit in traffic?
To you, tenderloin is not an expensive cut of beef, but a big, salty, breaded & fried piece of pork served on a bun with pickle.
You end your sentences with prepositions, as in ‘Where’s it at?’ or ‘Where’s he going to?’