A Great Morning

Thanks to one of my elders, I am a little sleepy this morning. No, it wasn’t that I was up fretting all night over an elder’s meeting kept me awake (although that has happened in the past). No, Bob Bean invited me (and even paid for my ticket) to attend with him and guys from his work a prayer breakfast at Liberty Baptist sponsored by “A Gathering of Men.” The speaker was Joe Gibbs, the Hall of Fame football coach of the Washington Redskins. Being a longtime (and that means longsuffering) Redskins fan, I was thrilled to be able to go hear Coach Gibbs. I was even more thrilled when they called my name in a drawing at the end for an autographed football. That certainly made the extra two hour wait worthwhile (Gibb’s plane had to circle Patrick Henry six times while waiting for the fog to lift). That wasn’t a problem, but then they ran out of coffee. and THAT was a problem!

Coach Gibbs’ speech was nothing profound, but it was profoundly entertaining and helpful. He compared life to football—God is the coach, the Bible is the game plan, etc. Of course he shared all kinds of football stories and took several backhand slaps at the Dallas Cowboys… both of which I loved! (“I can tell that we have no Cowboys fans here this morning… no one is that ugly.”) He quoted liberally from the Bible, referring to it as God’s plan for our finances, our marriages and our lives. He said a lot of things that men need to hear, and about 1200 men were there listening because, well, he is Coach Gibbs. There is something very powerful and encouraging in hearing someone that visible and prominent sharing their Christian faith in a public way.

It was also encouraging to see so many Christian guys turn out so early to listen to a spiritual message. It is easy to get so busy in one's own little church and circle of fellowship that we feel rather isolated in our faith and Christian commitment. It is good at times to sit in a big group like that with other guys who share in common a commitment to Jesus Christ. We are not grasshoppers waiting to be crushed by a hostile world; we are not the only ones committed to God and His Son. We are children of the King who worship and serve Him connected to many others who worship and serve Him. It is good to be reminded that are so many who have ordered themselves around the Son, though perhaps in slightly different obit than mine.

The Big Game

The big sports news is that Giants and Partiots are going to the Super Bowl. The big family news is that Tressa (Lord willing and Expedia cooperating) is going to the Super Bowl. Tank Daniels (here celebrating the winning field goal in OT at Green Bay Sunday) becomes not only the first Harding grad to play in the NFL but now the first to make it to the Big Dance. And while it may seem like the only reason the Giants are there is so the Patriots will have someone to beat on their way to a perfect season, I think the Giants just might pull it off. Who would have thought a month ago that the talking heads at EPSN would have been debating whether or not Eli Manning is better than Tom Brady right now?

It appears that the real reason there is a two week break between the championship games and the Super Bowl is so that the teams playing in Green Bay have time to thaw out completely. In case it comes up in conversation, Tressa confirms that 4 below zero and 25 below wind chill does indeed seem pretty chilly. She called me from the game just to confirm that it was really, really cold in Green Bay.

For the record, I’m not a bit jealous that Tressa was there when the Patriots beast the Giants to complete the first perfect 16-0 regular season. I’m not jealous that she was there at Lambeau to see the Giants upset the Packers in OT for the NFC Championship. And I’m not jealous one bit that she will be there in Phoenix at the Super Bowl itself. Sure, my biggest NFL moment was winning a signed football from Joe Gibbs at a prayer breakfast. But I’m not jealous! But come on, wouldn’t you think that at some point my darling little girl would reflect on all that her dear old Dad means to her and has done for her and say, “Here, Dad, take my ticket and go.” But noooooooooo! Well, I’d better get a T-shirt out this deal somewhere!