River Valley Rockford Blog

LOST Resumes for Some

I’m a big fan of LOST. The TV show began its final season Tuesday, and I carved out time to watch. If you haven’t kept up, it is probably too late. This is the story of the passengers on Oceanic 815, a flight that crashed and sent a few of its survivors reeling on a mysterious island. There is a spinal surgeon, a brilliant liar and criminal, a Scottish guy who likes to sail, a chubby fella who won the lottery and may be mentally ill, and of course a cute girl with a bad side that all the guys like and who is in competition with another cute girl (who was already on the island) who is a doctor and so intelligent you realize she is always hiding something. There is an evil but intriguing guy named Ben and a man who has probably died several times named Locke. There are other people who survived the crash, people who chose to come to the island for some scientific Dharma initiative and vintage jumpsuits, and “others,” the not-so-technical name for the bad guys who are sometimes good guys. The stories involve fear and celebration, relief and stress, love and romance, pain and conflict, and an occasional travel through time. The story flashes forward and backward, and now it seems to have gone sideways. I can’t keep that straight, but I love the character development and the parallels with our lives.

There are many truths in the show. A prominent one for me is this: frustration mounts when they can’t figure out the purpose of their experience or the trustworthiness of any of the island’s so-thought leaders.  

Super Bowl Disappointment

The Dallas Cowboys lost to the Vikings in the playoffs, and before anyone else feels the need to say anything, I will say it:  “They stunk it up.” I don’t even need to know the stats. Favre outplayed Romo, and the entire Minnesota organization looked better than Dallas. Their cheerleaders probably even out-danced ours. I’ve been a Cowboy fan all my life (thanks to my Texas relatives who loved them so much that I think I believed they owned them). But here is what is fascinating to me about all this sports team loyalty stuff. People talk about “their” teams as if they are truly “their” teams. We cheer and feel the stress and the exhilaration and ultimately, mostly, the disappointment. We have a stake in something of which we literally have zero control. That is truly a stressful position in which to be. So, to be clear, I really like cheering for the Cowboys. But when they win, I know they won, not me. And when they lose, well, that was certainly their fault, not mine. I’m going to spend my days stressing about the things over which I have some influence, because if I can have influence, there is no need to stress. I can always do my best and then adjust and follow God’s promptings. And those things that God leads me to do will continue to matter a whole lot more to me than some stinkin’ Super Bowl, especially now that America’s Team has gone home.

Blog Re-Start

I’ve decided to re-start using this blog to connect with anyone who wants to connect. My goal will be to talk about life and Jesus Christ. My passion is to help people experience and share the incredible life God has planned for them. I guess if I fully disclose, my primary passion is to experience and share the incredible life God has planned for ME. I’m that selfish. I want it all. I want to know God in deeper and deeper ways and to experience more and more of his craziness and danger and adventure in my life. Yet, for me, my selfish desires are only realized if I can help You become who God has always meant YOU to be. That makes for a pretty healthy mission. When I equip you to live your dream, God is most glorified in me and I am most satisfied and you aren't so bad off yourself. I like that.

And the ESPY Goes To...

I saw this story again, and it stirred me.  This time, however, instead of being just another news piece, it was honored as the Best Sports Moment of the Year, a recognition of sportsmanship, at the 2008 ESPY awards.  And it made me wonder, “What would I have done?”

On April 26, 2008, Sara Tucholsky, a softball player for Western Oregon University, hit the first home run of her career. As she rounded the bases, her knee blew out, rendering her unable to complete the triumphant jog under her own power.  Her teammates couldn’t touch her or she’d be called out.  And this was the championship game.  And her run would put her team ahead.

What would you have done if you were on the opposing team?