Love… Like a Child

It has been way too long since I’ve posted anything, so I decided I needed to do that.

Before I share the piece of video I happened to catch a week or so ago on the Today Show while running late to work, I want to share two verses from the Bible that came to mind.

Matthew 18:2-4

 ¹At that time the disciples came to Jesus and asked, “Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” ²He called a little child and had him stand among them. ³And he said: “I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. ⁴Therefore, whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.

I Corinthians 13

 ¹If I speak in the tongues^[a] of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. ²If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. ³If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames,^[b] but have not love, I gain nothing. ⁴Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. ⁵It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. ⁶Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. ⁷It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

 ⁸Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. ⁹For we know in part and we prophesy in part, ¹⁰but when perfection comes, the imperfect disappears. ¹¹When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put childish ways behind me. ¹²Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.

 ¹³And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.

The story is about a six-year-old little girl  from Ohio - Elena Desserich - who was diagnosed with childhood cancer and how she chose to live her life. We can all learn something from Elena. It is an incedibly moving story.

6-year-old, Elena Desserich

Now, the video…

Unfortunately, because of copyright issues and limitations to WordPress, I can’t embed the video in my blog, so you’ll have to use the link below to watch it from the NBC site.

To get the book, click the book cover or click here.

The Gift of Hope

The following is a story that originally appeared on ESPN.com in Rick Reilly’s “Life of Reilly” column. The story is one worth sharing. Hopefully, it will inspire you and encourage you to offer hope to others.

There are some games where cheering for the other side feels better than winning.

by Rick Reilly

Melinda Wright
Gainesville State players douse head coach Mark Williams in celebration.

They played the oddest game in high school football history last month down in Grapevine, Texas.

It was Grapevine Faith vs. Gainesville State School and everything about it was upside down. For instance, when Gainesville came out to take the field, the Faith fans made a 40-yard spirit line for them to run through.

Did you hear that? The other team’s fans?

They even made a banner for players to crash through at the end. It said, “Go Tornadoes!” Which is also weird, because Faith is the Lions.

It was rivers running uphill and cats petting dogs. More than 200 Faith fans sat on the Gainesville side and kept cheering the Gainesville players on—by name.

“I never in my life thought I’d hear people cheering for us to hit their kids,” recalls Gainesville’s QB and middle linebacker, Isaiah. “I wouldn’t expect another parent to tell somebody to hit their kids. But they wanted us to!”

And even though Faith walloped them 33-14, the Gainesville kids were so happy that after the game they gave head coach Mark Williams a sideline squirt-bottle shower like he’d just won state. Gotta be the first Gatorade bath in history for an 0-9 coach.

But then you saw the 12 uniformed officers escorting the 14 Gainesville players off the field and two and two started to make four. They lined the players up in groups of five—handcuffs ready in their back pockets—and marched them to the team bus. That’s because Gainesville is a maximum-security correctional facility 75 miles north of Dallas. Every game it plays is on the road.

This all started when Faith’s head coach, Kris Hogan, wanted to do something kind for the Gainesville team. Faith had never played Gainesville, but he already knew the score. After all, Faith was 7-2 going into the game, Gainesville 0-8 with 2 TDs all year. Faith has 70 kids, 11 coaches, the latest equipment and involved parents. Gainesville has a lot of kids with convictions for drugs, assault and robbery—many of whose families had disowned them—wearing seven-year-old shoulder pads and ancient helmets.

So Hogan had this idea. What if half of our fans—for one night only—cheered for the other team? He sent out an email asking the Faithful to do just that. “Here’s the message I want you to send:” Hogan wrote. “You are just as valuable as any other person on planet Earth.”

Some people were naturally confused. One Faith player walked into Hogan’s office and asked, “Coach, why are we doing this?”

And Hogan said, “Imagine if you didn’t have a home life. Imagine if everybody had pretty much given up on you. Now imagine what it would mean for hundreds of people to suddenly believe in you.”

Next thing you know, the Gainesville Tornadoes were turning around on their bench to see something they never had before. Hundreds of fans. And actual cheerleaders!

“I thought maybe they were confused,” said Alex, a Gainesville lineman (only first names are released by the prison). “They started yelling ‘DEE-fense!’ when their team had the ball. I said, ‘What? Why they cheerin’ for us?’”

It was a strange experience for boys who most people cross the street to avoid. “We can tell people are a little afraid of us when we come to the games,” says Gerald, a lineman who will wind up doing more than three years. “You can see it in their eyes. They’re lookin’ at us like we’re criminals. But these people, they were yellin’ for us! By our names!”

Maybe it figures that Gainesville played better than it had all season, scoring the game’s last two touchdowns. Of course, this might be because Hogan put his third-string nose guard at safety and his third-string cornerback at defensive end. Still.

After the game, both teams gathered in the middle of the field to pray and that’s when Isaiah surprised everybody by asking to lead. “We had no idea what the kid was going to say,” remembers Coach Hogan. But Isaiah said this: “Lord, I don’t know how this happened, so I don’t know how to say thank You, but I never would’ve known there was so many people in the world that cared about us.”

And it was a good thing everybody’s heads were bowed because they might’ve seen Hogan wiping away tears.

As the Tornadoes walked back to their bus under guard, they each were handed a bag for the ride home—a burger, some fries, a soda, some candy, a Bible and an encouraging letter from a Faith player.

The Gainesville coach saw Hogan, grabbed him hard by the shoulders and said, “You’ll never know what your people did for these kids tonight. You’ll never, ever know.”

And as the bus pulled away, all the Gainesville players crammed to one side and pressed their hands to the window, staring at these people they’d never met before, watching their waves and smiles disappearing into the night.

Anyway, with the economy six feet under and Christmas running on about three and a half reindeer, it’s nice to know that one of the best presents you can give is still absolutely free.

Hope.

Impossible Love

While some of the overlays are in German, this is one of the most compelling videos I’ve seen in a long time. The story of Dick and Rick Hoyt is not new, but one that should be told and retold to remind us all of four very important things:

1. LOVE – Do it now, do it often, do it unconditionally, do it forever.
2. Be Fully Present – many times when talking to others we are trying multi-task or our minds are already on to the next thing. Stop. Really LISTEN and seek to UNDERSTAND.
3. Don’t Judge A Book By It’s Cover – Looks can be, and often are, deceiving. Give EVERYONE a chance.
4. “Yes you can!” – You can achieve beyond your wildest dreams if you simply ACT with FAITH and DISCIPLINE.

Be inspired…

Here is a touching “tribute” video that’s also worth watching:

(Bonus points to anyone who can tell me who performs the song in the video.)

I’ve Had It! So, I’m Running For President.

I cannot take it any more!

All the pandering. All the manipulation. All the double-talk. All of it. I just can’t take it.

That is why I am running for president…and I need your vote.

http://www.briandshelton.com/bds08.html

This is what happens when a true Internet expert enters the presidential race. We’ll take the White House, and take back the country this November. But, I need your help to do it.

http://www.briandshelton.com/bds08.html

The Last Lecture – What Matters Most?

I was reminded today – through divine appointment – about a lecture that truly inspired me when I heard it several months ago. The lecture, given by former Carnegie-Mellon University cxomputer science professor Randy Pausch, was part of a program in which universities from across the country students invited their best professors to give a hypothetical “last lecture,” to think deeply about what matters most to them.

Mr. Pausch was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and given only weeks or months to live. His last lecture, “How to Achieve Your Childhood Dreams,” was so inspiring – and word got out – that he appeared on Oprah to reprise his lecture…

You can see the “full” version of his lecture, which I recommend when you have time, by clicking the link below. It runs about an hour.

Watch the “full” Last Lecture Here

As a follow-up, Pausch addressed the 2008 Carnegie-Mellon graduates this past Saturday (May 18, 2008), 9 months after his doctors told him he had 3-6 months to live! Watch the commencement speech by clicking the link below.

Watch Randy Pausch’s Commencement Address

Free Hugs

A quick post…

This is “old news,” but timeless – a definite classic. Prepare to have your day turned around, to be filled with hope, and to be downright inspired.

Enjoy the video, and remember to hug at least 3 people today!

Reminder: Character Counts

It’s hard to believe that anyone has not heard the inspiring story about what happened during the NCAA Division II playoffs where Western Oregon and Central Washington battled for their conference title.

It’s a classic story…

Central Washington lost the first game of the double-header, and desperately needed a win in the second game to prevent elimination. It was the second inning. The score was tied at zero.

That’s when Western Oregon outfielder Sara Tucholsky stepped to the plate with two runners on base. Tucholsky, a mere 5 feet, 2 inches tall, was a career .153 hitter, but after taking strike one she did something she’d never done before in a game, in batting practice – ever.

She ripped the next pitch over the wall in left center.

It was the biggest hit of her entire career, but the joy of the moment was short-lived. In her excitement, she missed touching first base. When she turned to come back to the bag, she crumpled to the ground with a knee injury.

Her teammates, by rule could not help her. A pinch runner would nullify the homerun – instead making it a two-run single.

What happened next surprised everyone. Watch the video to see for yourself. (You might want to grab a Kleenex.)

“It’s a great moment when someone has character to step up and do the right thing at the right time.” – Pam Knox, Head Coach, Western Oregon

A harebrained idea…from God

This is a break from my normal posts.

I am keeping my fingers crossed and continuing to pray about an idea that came to me this weekend as I mowed the lawn. I am not giving anything away about my “harebrained idea” just yet. Instead, I am holding out hope that I will hear back from Audra or Matt Hughes, and can give this God-inspired idea some legs. Stay tuned for updates.

I’ll get back to the regular posts soon!

Stay strong,
Brian

“Yes, You Can.”

A few years ago – I believe it was 2004 – a coworker of mine gave me a book to read. She thought I would enjoy it. She was right.

In fact, it changed my life. It sounds corny, I know. But, that book was the right message delivered to me at the right time. A divine message, to be sure. But this message isn’t about the book…it’s about the author.

The Ultimate Gift was written by Jim Stovall, a former Olympic weightlifting champion turned author/speaker. What I didn’t mention is that Jim is blind. But, it wasn’t always that way.

A seed was planted in my brain this morning on my way to work. I recalled visiting Jim’s site (http://www.jimstovall.com) shortly after finishing the book in 2004. Something was telling me to go back to the site, which I did.

There was a video clip on the homepage that I watched (of course), and I realized why I was there. The message in that clip was perfect, and absolutely worth sharing.

So here it is.

For those of you who feel you “don’t have time” to watch this,” I’ll summarize some key points, but you owe it to yourself to watch the clip so that you can be fully inspired by Mr. Stovall and his incredible delivery.

• You will face challenges – some of them will seem impossible to overcome.
• “You will always live up to the expectations you have of yourself or those expectations that you allow other people to place upon you.”
• “You can – right now – exercise your right to choose to make a quality decision, and change your life by changing your mind.”
• “When it comes to you and your Big Dream – the biggest one you ever had inside of you – it is always to soon to quit. You think you’ve tried everything. You think you’ve thought of everything. You think you’re at the end of your rope. You’re not even close.”
• Look at all the challenges, obstacles and barriers that come into your world as the key to unlocking your ability to “find out what a giant of a human being you were created to be.”
• Get up and do something with your life.
• Never underestimate the power, influence, and impact a single person can have in the world.
• “No matter what the dream is inside of you, the answer is always ‘yes, you can’ because that Big Dream would not have been put inside of you if you did not have the capacity to achieve it.”

So the next time you hear yourself saying, “I can’t…” Remember, the answer is always, “YES, YOU CAN!”

Choose To Be ‘Extreme’

We’ve all heard of extreme sports – skydiving, whitewater rafting, sea kayaking, street luge, base jumping.

Some of us have even participated in extreme sports (my personal favorite was whitewater rafting in a hurricane!).

But even if you haven’t defied death and gone to the ragged edge for adventure’s sake, I think you can appreciate what I am about to share.

Close your eyes for a moment and imagine yourself scaling the face of a mountain. The golden glow of the sun is reflecting off the stone face. The blue sky above is glorious and the air smells so fresh and sweet. In a word, it is beautiful.

Reality check. You are dangling hundreds of feet above the earth. You’re sweating. Your muscles are tired and aching. You’re getting tired. You understand that one small break in concentration could be devastating.

You realize that the only way down…us up.

In his bestselling book The Way of the Wild Heart, John Eldredge states, “Climbing is wonderful practice for living.”

He continues, “If you will choose to take the risk, it will be beautiful, exhilarating and dangerous. Yes, at times it seems insurmountable. That is true for all of us.”

Eldredge goes on to detail a climb he tool with his son Blaine, barely a teenager. Blaine got to the point where he thought the climb was insurmountable. Fear and doubt were creeping in. But, Blaine took control of his thoughts, reminding himself, “I’ve done this before. I’ve done this before. The only difference is the “exposure” (defined by MountainZone.com as “the condition of being on high vertical rock with full consciousness that nothing exists between you and the distant ground but thin air.”).

Eldredge assures, “Thankfully, climbing, like life, comes to us one piece at a time. You can not take on the whole mountain at once, just as you cannot create a marriage at once. You make the next move committed that your only plan is to do it. Much of it is unpredictable… It’s sketchy, like life, when you live it versus trying to manage it.”

While there is SO MUCH MORE to learn from Eldredge, I want to stop there because this is core to the message I want to share today.

I am guilty of it. And, I would wager to say that you are, too. I am guilty of trying to manage my life instead of living it.

Have you ever thought to yourself, “I used to have so much fun. What happened?”

My wife Rachel and I had this very conversation this weekend as we were trying to get the house in order. When we were in college, young and in the advanced stages of puppy love, we had fun. I mean, we had a lot of fun. We laughed. We “did things.” We enjoyed each other’s company.

So, what happened?

We stopped LIVING life and started managing it, which, I would argue, is human nature when you have to get a job, pay a mortgage, raise children. Responsibility has a way of pulling us away from our ability to choose to LIVE life. It pushes us toward “life management.”

Sure, you still have responsibility, no matter what stage of life you are in, but you CAN make the CHOICE to LIVE life – accept the cards you are dealt and seize every moment. If you try to manage, you will miss out on all life has to offer. You will be worrying instead of living.

Go make the most of it today!