Nothing much exciting has opened over the last week or two. Baseball season is right around the corner (we have about 19 days til Opening Day) and I'm struggling to get back into baseball mode i.e. working 14 hours day. I spent several days last week with our ownership group's Creative Director going over the entertainment for the Rainiers this season and that was very helpful. Last week I hired a new Fun Squad (the Rainiers equivalent of the RedHots), a new mascot, and a new tech crew. I've got a ton to do before the season starts but I'm enjoying being busy.
My senior year of high school I started having problems with my left shoulder and had arthroscopic surgery about a year later during spring break my freshman year of college. Well that same shoulder has bothered me off and on over the last 6 years and has increasingly gotten worse as of late. Last week I had an MRI done and I have a dr's appointment Monday morning for the doctor to read me the results of the MRI. I don't want to have surgery again but at this point I just want the constant pain I've had for the last 3 weeks to go away. Yuk.
I did make another trip to Portland last Sunday to shadow the Director of Game Operations for the Trail Blazers. It was super cool and everyone in the Blazers organization was so welcoming and helpful. I learned a lot about a couple of the systems that the Rainiers use that are different from what I used in Memphis so the trip was well worth it.
Soon I have every intention of posting some pictures of my apartment. It's about as put together as it's going to be but I still seem to have some random things laying around my bedroom. In the meantime, I'm thoroughly enjoying the NCAA tournament, despite my bitterness that the Illini got snubbed. Hope you are as well!
Friday, March 19, 2010
Tuesday, March 9, 2010
I Am Second
About a year ago a friend of mine introduced me to a website called 'I Am Second' with a video about Josh Hamilton, an outfielder for the Texas Rangers. If you've never heard of it you should check it out. It's a series of videos about people who have come to realize that this life is not about them and they are not in control.
This is a topic that's been on my heart lately. Most of the time I live my life like it's all about me. Luke 9:23 says, "If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me." This verse has become something I pray every morning. I constantly have to fight to lay down my rights, my wants, my attitudes and feelings because the reality of it is, it's not about me. It's not about what I deserve or what I want. I deserve death! But God, being rich in mercy because of His great love with which He loves me (Eph 2:4), pulled me from the depths to which I had fallen and redeemed my life for His glory. There is nothing I did to earn His love. There is no good in me apart from Christ.
I am selfish. I like to be in control. I like to have things my way. My heart is deceitful. I do what I want to do, when I want to do it, how I want to do it. I am driven by pride. I live for me. What would it look like if I really lived with Jesus first? Not just sometimes when I think about it or when it's easy or convenient. 100% of the time. I have a post-it pinned to the wall right over the top of my computer where I'm always staring at it. The post-it says, "Every decision I make I'm going to make through the lens of Jesus Christ. - Tony Dungy". Whoa.
As I thought about and prayed through why I so often live for myself, I started to question from where I find my identity. If I truly am found in Christ and rest in Him then there's no place or reason for pride. I want to be found in Christ, wrecklessly abandoned to my Savior. Can you imagine what that would look like to the world today? Foolish. I want to be foolish for the cross. I lay down my life, I give up my rights, because it's not about me. I am second. Are you?
"For not one of us lives for himself, and not one dies for himself; for if we live, we live for the Lord, or if we die, we die for the Lord; therefore whether we live or die, we are the Lord's." Romans 14:7-8
This is a topic that's been on my heart lately. Most of the time I live my life like it's all about me. Luke 9:23 says, "If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me." This verse has become something I pray every morning. I constantly have to fight to lay down my rights, my wants, my attitudes and feelings because the reality of it is, it's not about me. It's not about what I deserve or what I want. I deserve death! But God, being rich in mercy because of His great love with which He loves me (Eph 2:4), pulled me from the depths to which I had fallen and redeemed my life for His glory. There is nothing I did to earn His love. There is no good in me apart from Christ.
I am selfish. I like to be in control. I like to have things my way. My heart is deceitful. I do what I want to do, when I want to do it, how I want to do it. I am driven by pride. I live for me. What would it look like if I really lived with Jesus first? Not just sometimes when I think about it or when it's easy or convenient. 100% of the time. I have a post-it pinned to the wall right over the top of my computer where I'm always staring at it. The post-it says, "Every decision I make I'm going to make through the lens of Jesus Christ. - Tony Dungy". Whoa.
As I thought about and prayed through why I so often live for myself, I started to question from where I find my identity. If I truly am found in Christ and rest in Him then there's no place or reason for pride. I want to be found in Christ, wrecklessly abandoned to my Savior. Can you imagine what that would look like to the world today? Foolish. I want to be foolish for the cross. I lay down my life, I give up my rights, because it's not about me. I am second. Are you?
"For not one of us lives for himself, and not one dies for himself; for if we live, we live for the Lord, or if we die, we die for the Lord; therefore whether we live or die, we are the Lord's." Romans 14:7-8
Space Needle
About a week and a half ago Beth, Ben (my Memphis crew), Melissa (my roommate) and I took a trip to Seattle to do a little sight seeing. I've totally been a tourist for the first two months I've been here. (Can you believe I've been here for 2 months?!!? I can't.) While we were in Seattle we hit the Space Needle and a neat little cafe in Queen Anne's. It was a really pretty night and we enjoyed walking around.
The Space Needle - about 605 ft tall.
The view of downtown Seattle from the top of the needle.
Beth, Me, and Ben from the top of the Needle. It was pretty cold and windy.
The Space Needle - about 605 ft tall.
The view of downtown Seattle from the top of the needle.
Beth, Me, and Ben from the top of the Needle. It was pretty cold and windy.Saturday, March 6, 2010
How Great Thou Art
Today was beautiful across the country and the Pacific Northwest was no exception. I think I mentioned before that 2 former Redbirds interns that I worked with in Memphis have been hired on with the Rainiers. One of them, Beth, is from St. Louis and has been a blessing to have around. Today we decided to head to Mt. Rainier National Park and it was wonderful.
I was able to take a bunch of pictures as we hiked and have posted some of them below. As we walked along the first line of the hymn "How Great Thou Art" kept running through my mind.
Oh Lord my God, when I in awestruck wonder
Consider all the works Thy hands have made.
I see the stars, I hear the rolling thunder
Well hello Mr. Beaver
Beth standing next to a really big uprooted tree.
Thy power throughout the universe displayed
Then sings my soul my Savior God to Thee, how great Thou art!Tuesday, February 23, 2010
Portland
I had a beautiful weekend in Portland! I fell in love with the city from the start and it was great to see my friend Abbey. I drove down Saturday morning and it took me just over 2 hours. Abbey had to work so I got there and walked around downtown and explored the city a bit. The weather was perfect. I went into a Buffalo Wild Wings downtown to watch the Illinois v Purdue game Saturday afternoon and literally ran into an Illinois alumni group that had gathered to watch the game. It was awesome! Except that Illinois lost...:( After Abbey got off work we went for a little run downtown...
Sunday morning Abbey had to work again so I went and checked out her church, Athey Creek Christian Fellowship, and really enjoyed. Then I went and ate lunch at her restaurant and watch her in action. Lunch was good but let me tell you, watching Abbey run around in that little pink apron was even better. :) While she finished out her shift I went back downtown to the Riverfront to enjoy the weather. I strapped my rollerblades on and spent a couple hours roller blading around the water front path. It was great! The path goes across the bridge and makes a big loop. Below are some pictures from my roll...
Sunday morning Abbey had to work again so I went and checked out her church, Athey Creek Christian Fellowship, and really enjoyed. Then I went and ate lunch at her restaurant and watch her in action. Lunch was good but let me tell you, watching Abbey run around in that little pink apron was even better. :) While she finished out her shift I went back downtown to the Riverfront to enjoy the weather. I strapped my rollerblades on and spent a couple hours roller blading around the water front path. It was great! The path goes across the bridge and makes a big loop. Below are some pictures from my roll...
Mt. Hood
Beautiful!
And to cap off our weekend we went to the Trail Blazers v Jazz game. I've got to admit that I never would have considered myself an NBA fan until the last couple years. Now being in a city without an NBA team (by the way, Seattle is still pretty touchy about that), I kind of miss it. The Jazz won the game in OT which made me one of the 10 happy Jazz fans in the stands. But it was a blast either way!
Deron Williams during warm ups-not his best game.
The Rose Garden
Abbey's friend Phil (far right) is on the Blazers stunt team.
All in all, great weekend. I can't wait to go back in a few weeks!
Friday, February 19, 2010
I live here.
I'm starting to get more comfortable here. I think there were a couple pieces of Memphis that I was holding on to. And God, in His graciousness, peeled my fingers off about 10 days ago allowing me to be fully here. Don't get me wrong, I still miss Memphis and in some ways the Northwest will never compare but I'm going to be ok.
I'm adjusting to an office that is about 50/50 women and men after coming from a place that is about 80% men. And I've enjoyed it. So while the boys took a trip to the Winter Olympics last weekend, we had a girls day and went shopping (of course!) and to one of the many casinos in the area. We had a great time! Below is a picture we took as we were heading home from the casino.
I'm adjusting to an office that is about 50/50 women and men after coming from a place that is about 80% men. And I've enjoyed it. So while the boys took a trip to the Winter Olympics last weekend, we had a girls day and went shopping (of course!) and to one of the many casinos in the area. We had a great time! Below is a picture we took as we were heading home from the casino.
(l-r, Back-Me, Beth, Melissa (my roommate), Front-Mallory, Nici, & Melissa)
On a side note, I was hoping to get to make a trip to the Olympics myself but it doesn't look like it's going to happen. We've found it impossible to find somewhere to stay and while Vancouver is less than 3 hours away (yes, I'm really far up here), it could take almost 5 hours to get through customs so a day trip isn't likely. Tomorrow morning though I'm making a trip to Portland, OR to visit my friend Abbey so I'll recap that next week. Abbey and I cheered together when we both taught camps for Cheer Ltd. We haven't seen each other in about 5 years and are pretty excited to hang out.
I know that everyone else has seen lots of snow lately, I however have seen none. I noticed yesterday that the trees are starting to bud. As of Wednesday, we're in the middle of a string of 4-5 days of absolutely beautiful weather with abundant sunshine and temps in the mid to upper 50's. It does rain pretty frequently up here so I've tried to capture some of the beauty of the area when we do get some sun. Here are a few shots that I got this week.
I know that everyone else has seen lots of snow lately, I however have seen none. I noticed yesterday that the trees are starting to bud. As of Wednesday, we're in the middle of a string of 4-5 days of absolutely beautiful weather with abundant sunshine and temps in the mid to upper 50's. It does rain pretty frequently up here so I've tried to capture some of the beauty of the area when we do get some sun. Here are a few shots that I got this week.
Downtown Tacoma at sunset on Wed. I believe that's the Cascade Mtns in the background.
View of Mt. Rainier from my Control Booth at the ballpark.
Pretty little sunset this evening.
Pretty little sunset this evening.
Sunday, February 7, 2010
You were made for this.
In the fall of 2008 I began volunteering with Memphis Urban YoungLife. I had heard of YoungLife from a girl in my Bible study in college who was leading a small group so when I ended up in the same small group as the Memphis Urban YL Director I jumped right in. Soon I was the one piece of vanilla in a chocolate inner city youth group. My first week in Tacoma I was doing something with group sales at work and came across a YoungLife group that would be coming to the ballpark this season. I got the contact for that group who happens to be the Area Coor for YL, met with him, signed up to volunteer, and jumped right in.
Today I spent the day in Everett, WA at the Regional YoungLife Leaders Conference. I gave up the opportunity to watch Illinois beat Michigan State on national television to go to this conference. And I needed it. As I settle into Tacoma one of the things I've noticed the most is how disconnected I feel from the body. I guess that's normal when you move to a new area but every season of my life God has really blessed with me fellowship and accountability and I'm missing that right now. Even just a conversation with someone, face to face, that's deeper than the surface.
Tomorrow I'm going to church #4 in an effort to find a place to connect to. Each Saturday I get really excited for Sunday morning and each Sunday morning I wake up disappointed when I realize I don't get to go to my church. I'm starting to realize that I'm not going to find anything close to Fellowship out here but today at the conference was the best combination of worship and teaching I've found since I've been in Washington.
I don't know if there was a theme for the day or even if the speaker spoke on the same topic in all his sessions but I know the presence of the Lord was there and He met with me today. Over the past several months I feel like God has been working on me in two specific areas: 1. my selfishness and 2. the condition of my heart. So I think this conference is pretty well summed up for me in these song lyrics "love so amazing, so divine, demands my life, my soul, my all". In the first session the speaker talked about when Jesus was trying to get away from the crowd in Luke 5 and He got into Peter's boat. He then tells Peter to put his net deep in the water and Peter tells Him that they haven't caught anything all night but because Jesus said to he would. Of course, he net is overflowing when he tries to pull it back out of the water. Right then and there Peter leaves everything and follows Jesus. On the greatest day of his fishing career, things are looking up, Peter just up and leaves it. What does that say? It reminds me that nothing in this world will satisfy me like Jesus can.
In the last session of the day we sang Chris Tomlin's "The Wonderful Cross" from which the above lyric comes. As we sang that part it hit me. I'm here. I'm not going back. Jim Elliot once said, "Wherever you are, be all there. Live to the hilt every situation you believe to be the will of God." I am all in Tacoma and I am all the Lord's, wrecklessly abandoned to Jesus Christ. And this means I have no rights, I don't deserve anything. Everything I have is because the Lord chooses to pour out His grace and kindness toward me in Christ Jesus (Eph 4.7). I struggle a lot with the "older brother syndrome"--frustrated when the prodigal is shown grace b/c I think I deserve something better--and then I remember the height from which I have fallen and the richness of God's mercy that redeems me.
I am not my own. I am here b/c of God's grace and for His glory. I pray that I never forget the height from which I have fallen and that I continually lay down my rights, my wants, my desires, even my needs for the sake of knowing Him more.
"If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross daily and follow Me." Luke 9:23
Today I spent the day in Everett, WA at the Regional YoungLife Leaders Conference. I gave up the opportunity to watch Illinois beat Michigan State on national television to go to this conference. And I needed it. As I settle into Tacoma one of the things I've noticed the most is how disconnected I feel from the body. I guess that's normal when you move to a new area but every season of my life God has really blessed with me fellowship and accountability and I'm missing that right now. Even just a conversation with someone, face to face, that's deeper than the surface.
Tomorrow I'm going to church #4 in an effort to find a place to connect to. Each Saturday I get really excited for Sunday morning and each Sunday morning I wake up disappointed when I realize I don't get to go to my church. I'm starting to realize that I'm not going to find anything close to Fellowship out here but today at the conference was the best combination of worship and teaching I've found since I've been in Washington.
I don't know if there was a theme for the day or even if the speaker spoke on the same topic in all his sessions but I know the presence of the Lord was there and He met with me today. Over the past several months I feel like God has been working on me in two specific areas: 1. my selfishness and 2. the condition of my heart. So I think this conference is pretty well summed up for me in these song lyrics "love so amazing, so divine, demands my life, my soul, my all". In the first session the speaker talked about when Jesus was trying to get away from the crowd in Luke 5 and He got into Peter's boat. He then tells Peter to put his net deep in the water and Peter tells Him that they haven't caught anything all night but because Jesus said to he would. Of course, he net is overflowing when he tries to pull it back out of the water. Right then and there Peter leaves everything and follows Jesus. On the greatest day of his fishing career, things are looking up, Peter just up and leaves it. What does that say? It reminds me that nothing in this world will satisfy me like Jesus can.
In the last session of the day we sang Chris Tomlin's "The Wonderful Cross" from which the above lyric comes. As we sang that part it hit me. I'm here. I'm not going back. Jim Elliot once said, "Wherever you are, be all there. Live to the hilt every situation you believe to be the will of God." I am all in Tacoma and I am all the Lord's, wrecklessly abandoned to Jesus Christ. And this means I have no rights, I don't deserve anything. Everything I have is because the Lord chooses to pour out His grace and kindness toward me in Christ Jesus (Eph 4.7). I struggle a lot with the "older brother syndrome"--frustrated when the prodigal is shown grace b/c I think I deserve something better--and then I remember the height from which I have fallen and the richness of God's mercy that redeems me.
I am not my own. I am here b/c of God's grace and for His glory. I pray that I never forget the height from which I have fallen and that I continually lay down my rights, my wants, my desires, even my needs for the sake of knowing Him more.
"If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross daily and follow Me." Luke 9:23
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