Solid Rock

I will stand on the Solid Rock
I believe if I feel it or not
Word of God come and fill my thoughts
I am yours
Take control

~ "Solid Rock" chorus - New Life Worship


Those lyrics ring true. It is great to know that our faith does not have to sway with the ups and downs of emotions. It is built upon the steadfastness of Jesus Christ.

And the story continues

Today at church the Syria team shared about their trip they just returned from this past week. It brought back great memories for me and was awesome to hear about the ministry work Pastor Samara and the church are doing in that country. I was very touched myself to see my brother, Ryan, and other youth from the church go to Syria. The stories that were shared about the kids at the camp were all so precious. Ones that will stick with them, ones that they can look back on for encouragement, and ones that will propel them forward in their lives and walk with the Lord. I felt in a way that I helped to pave the path there for them in going before them to Syria myself. I know that it was a life-changing experience for them. It is cool that they were able to have some of the same experiences I had from standing on the 2000 year old street called Straight, to the wonderful hospitality of the Syrians, to the amazement of seeing God work in their lives and use them to be an encouragement and light to others halfway around the globe.

Stan the Man

One more post in reference to St. Louis. Stan "The Man" Musial. I think often when baseball fans are asked who the greatest outfielders have been in professional baseball, the names that quickly come to mind are Mickey Mantle, Babe Ruth, Willie Mays, Ted Williams, and Joe Dimaggio, and to a lesser extent Hank Aaron and Roberto Clemente. But Stan Musial's name is not always among those, and it should be. Maybe it was because he did not play on the east coast. During his career St. Louis was one of the western most cities with a team. Now, one can make a statistical argument for all these players I am sure, but I am not going to do that now. Just to note though, Stan Musial was/is at the top of pretty much every hitting statistical category. See his stats here and here. I just wanted to give Stan Musial his due as Joe Posnanski did in the Kansas City Star article and on his blog. Both great reads.


“Here stands baseball's perfect warrior. Here stands baseball's perfect knight.”

~ Ford Frick (former NL president) on Musial

All Star Memories

The 80th MLB All-Star Game takes place later tonight and got me thinking about my own memories of previous all-star games. Two came to mind.


The first one was Sandy Alomar Jr. in the 1997 all-star game. He hit what would be the eventual game deciding home run and received game MVP honors.


The second one was of Tim Hardaway in an early 90's NBA all-star game (I forget the exact one). I remember him driving into the lane, doing a double clutch between-the-legs dribble, and then finishing with a layup. I remember thinking how smooth and fluid the move was and can remember trying to replicate it out in the driveway.

Meet me in St. Louis

St. Louis is hosting the MLB all-star game this year. There's so much baseball history in St. Louis. From the Gashouse Gang to Stan "The Man" Musial to Bob Gibson to Ozzie Smith to Albert Pujols with 10 World Series Championships along the way. St. Louis has great fans, a great baseball atmosphere, and makes for a wonderful place for an all-star game.


Speaking of St. Louis... Here is Louis Armstrong performing St. Louis Blues.

Today's Time

Time goes by, to and fro
I want to grasp it, bottle it, keep it.
Save it up for a rainy day.
A day I think I can get more use of it,
A day when it feels of more worth.
Yet all that is known is Today.
That is all we are given,
All that we are promised.
So throw those worries of tomorrow to the wind,
Release the type grasp of our hand,
on time that we can't hold anyway.
Instead, live in that joy today,
that sense of free
Do great today,
because tomorrow may never be.

Wisdom from Cuban

"The cheaper you can live, the greater your options. Remember that."
~ Mark Cuban


Here is an interesting article from Mark Cubans blog. He makes some good points I think in it, but just to give a warning there is some swearing in it. It's worth a read though.