Talking about Gabby Douglas

Talk about ANYTHING…..well, not Jesus, though.

  So here’s the deal.  My wife loves the internet.  I use it here and there, but would call somebody on the phone long before I’d ever tap into skype……kind of a “crooksosaurus” I guess.  Anyway, the upside of it all is that the other day she told me to check out some articles she had found on the internet about a young girl in the Olympics.  So, I did, and it is a good illustration of an ongoing debate/ battle in our society.

  The articles were about a young gymnast named Gabby Douglas.  Lots to see in these things.  What is really bad, is that I LOVE the gymnastic events, and somehow missed them all……that is really disappointing.  Anyway, so if you missed it, too, then know that 16 year old Gabby won the gold medal in one of the women’s events spectacularly.  Before and after, she acknowledge Christ as her source.  In addition, her parents are in the process of going through a divorce, so that also makes her relevant for us.

  Posted some thoughts on the public witness of folks the other day, here is another example.  The articles she sent me to included three from various places (maybe I ought to post the links below….you can check).  One lady didn’t like the idea of Gabby speaking about God, because it doesn’t fit her image of what God should be like or how Christians should behave.  (So is it okay for some of us to not like how THAT LADY practices HER Christian faith, too, or is it only people like Gabby that are out of bounds?)

  Then there is another person who wrote about the issue of whether Gabby believed God helped her win the gold medal, believing that she does.  Well, of COURSE she does.  In fact, God helped every medalist there to win!  There is air to breathe, right?  They do have brains and muscles that work, right?  It’s just that Gabby is one of those who recognizes that God has done things like that for her, and some others are oblivious to it.

  What may be interesting, and what I suspect will be the case….certainly hope so, (but haven’t seen cause have been pretty tied up of late), is whether she understands that God is her source and help when she loses as well as when she wins.  I hear she didn’t win in another event and was disappointed.   Does that mean God didn’t back her anymore?  Ridiculous! 

  Athletes (and other professions as well who really understand the scriptures), understand that God’s help is for us to be able to be the best person in character that we can be….because the kind of person we are is what God really cares most about.  They also understand that we seek God’s help that we may do our best, and do so in a way that brings HIM glory rather than simply ourselves.  And that what God does through us might be something God can use to make a difference in the lives of others.  These things are true whether it is bouncing around on floor mats, or throwing footballs, or mounting brakes onto cars, or serving in Congress, or writing blogs!  It’s all one and the same, all we do is to be done for the glory of God, to the best of our ability, with the strength and gifts that God provides. 

  So Gabby, keep going.  God is using you, because I don’t even know you, didn’t even see your performance, and yet find that your stand for Christ is being bounced around the internet to somebody like me, thousands of miles away.  Gabby, have fun, enjoy the ride, life is too short to worry too much about all the garbage that comes our way.  And, Gabby, I am sorry you had to go through watching your folks marriage fall apart.  Maybe that will change one day.  But I am glad you have learned already that your life does not have to be limited because of that one event over which you had no control.  You are an example of the fact that God can still do great things through people committed to him, even out of circumstances that don’t seem so good at the time.  (Gee, I wonder if she even reads my blog?  Maybe I should invite her to subscribe!)

TL:dr  Can’t do one sentence, but Gabby Douglas is creating a buzz, and it even landed on MY blog!

Thankful for the rain!

Yes Virginia, there really is rain!

Well, we had skywater fall down the other night!  I have heard from ¾ to 1 ½ inches.  But pulling weeds, there wasn’t enough rain that it went very deep…..soil was pretty dry at root level.  But I wanted to tell you something I came across today.  Was out early, walking the dog (no, no money was found!), and was surprised to discover that, for the first time, as I walked along, I would run into groups, herds, flocks, gaggle…..what do you call a whole bunch of mosquitoes and gnats flying around together?  Anyway, there were several times walking along I would feel myself (it was dark) walk into a bunch of the bothersome insects, and have to shoo them away with my hands.  Which means that, during all this drought time, they have been doing whatever those pests do when there isn’t stagnant water standing to gather round.  So, even in a drought, there was something good there if I had only noticed!  And, with all the relief that we have with the rain, there is also the problem of mosquitoes that wasn’t there before.  (And I will have to mow the lawn sometime soon now, too.  I really don’t remember how many weeks it has been since I last had to mow the entire lawn!)

So the point is simple.  In even the worst of droughts, there are things for which we can be thankful if we don’t just pay attention to the rough things.  And in the best of times, there are still things that aren’t so great.  So no matter what the weather, or the circumstances of life, we always are choosing whether to find something to complain about, or something about which to give thanks.  Which one describes you?

TL:DR  In even the worst of droughts, there are things for which we can be thankful if we do't just pay attention to the rough things