Grab the Button!
<a href="http://www.lifeway.com/cuteshoes" target="_blank"><img border="0" alt="Check out my book!" src="http://i165.photobucket.com/albums/u80/thepreacherswife/cuteshoesblogbutton.jpg"/></a>M2M Blogroll
-
Join Our Facebook Group!
Click here for interactive conversations with
other ministry wives!
-
Routine, Thou Dost Elude Me
UPDATE: We have flurries! And it’s not even lunch yet! We are having Belgian Waffles in my new waffle maker I got for Christmas. I’d like to tell you we are having brunch because I’m trying to infuse some culture into my home. Truth is, we just slept that late and we are all still scrounging around with matted hair and pj’s. Hope y’all are enjoying the free day and are staying warm!
Original Post:
Just when I’d settled back into my Happy Place, some lame forecaster had to see a shadow on the Exclusive Doppler 5000 and predict Blizzard 2010. As in, we may get 2 inches.
Maybe.
But when you live in Alabama, maybe is all it takes to bring all operations to a screeching halt. Our schools have been cancelled for Thursday AND Friday and the first flake has yet to fall. In fact, the precipitation isn’t even anticipated until lunch tomorrow. But hey, we are serious about our weather preparedness south of the Mason Dixon. If you don’t believe me, just check out the bread aisles and milk coolers in town. There’s not a loaf or gallon to be had within the city limits. No worries, though. In our house, it’s much more practical to just buy a feed trough and 2 cases of Ramen noodles.
For real, I do hope we get enough snow for the kids to play in at some point. We used to have great ones in North Carolina and Kentucky but they weren’t old enough to remember. There was one particular snowstorm in NC that pushed me to the brink of sanity. Days 1 and 2 were amusing but when all was said and done, I was trapped in a seminary apartment with 3 kids ages 4 and under for 13 days straight. When we were finally able to drive out, I felt like Tom Hanks when he was finally rescued in Cast Away. I’m pretty sure I looked just that unkempt and was only communicating in grunts until Luke gently reintroduced me to civilization.
What do y’all do when you are snowed in? Please don’t tell me you sit around and play board games and exacerbate my feelings of inadequacy where engaging my children in meaningful activity is concerned. I’m perfectly content to keep the hot chocolate coming and the warm baths run for when they come in soaked. Or if this thing turns out like I suspect, when they come in with a marble sized snow/dirt wad they scrounged from in between the grass that is still showing through the dusting we’ll get.
But at least they are safe at home instead of risking the walk across the field to the school house.
Lights Out
Luke’s dad has a saying we all repeat often: “If ‘ifs’ and ‘buts’ were candy and nuts it’d be Christmas every day.” I’ve had to remind myself of that more than once since our 35-13 loss in Friday night’s round three state play off game. I know everyone says it, but the score in no way reflected the intensity of the game in which we were leading 7-6 as late as the 4th quarter. The tide turned quickly and unfortunately we just didn’t catch any breaks. But, there’s no amount of replaying the game in our minds that will change the result so – all ‘ifs’ and ‘buts’ aside – it is what it is. After 13 games in which we finished 11-2, it’s time to shut down the stadium lights on the 2009 season.
If I were a man, I would recap by quoting undecipherable statistics or by telling you what a “physical” team we have become or how we have finally learned how to “put four quarters together”. However, being a girl who just recently learned to appreciate the beauty of a perfectly-executed onside kick, I can only express my thoughts through the emotion of what it felt like to sit on the edge of those bleachers with my heart in my throat Friday after Friday. It may mean nothing to a group of teenage boys that there was a middle-aged preacher’s wife in the crowd who finally wanted to understand the game because of you and I’m not asking for it to. But, you guys who know me understand that just because you don’t care won’t keep me from telling you.
I’ve never known much about the history of our school’s football team save for overhearing the retelling of past golden days by the men of our community who were either members of those teams or a witness to them. I’ve learned much about the pride our town takes in past victory. It thoroughly amuses me to watch the faces of these guys as they remember old coaches and remarkable plays. With that said, would you players like to know what you have done for those guys? For our town?
You’ve given us fresh legend.
No one has to look back any further than a couple of weeks to have a new smile on their face over your accomplishments. They don’t have to reach into past coaching eras because we have that man today who has led our team to the winningest season in school history. These men are no longer recounting the plays of when they were on the winning team because now the pinnacle of their gameday pride is in their very own sons. Boys, I hope your parents don’t mind sharing because I think I speak for our community when I say you are our sons as well. Personally, I couldn’t have been any more invested if my own kids were on that field.
No, I don’t have a child on the Varsity team yet, but I will. Would you like to know what you’ve done for them – especially the one who served as your water boy? Instead of talking about the jersey numbers of his favorite college players, he is talking about yours. He wants to emulate you. You didn’t ask to be some kid’s hero, but that doesn’t keep him from looking up to you and being proud that he was able to be a part of this history-making team in this small way. This mom thanks you for embracing him and being individuals I’m not afraid for him to esteem.
Seniors (and I’m especially talking to you, Casey, TD, and Dakota), I know it’s so hard walking off that field for the last time but as much as you have been a gift to this community, let the adoration of the crowds and the school spirit that you’ve fired be one that will be the stuff of the tales you tell someday. More than that, keep your perspective. God, not football, is life.
But I’m pretty certain He’s loved watching you, too.
We are so proud of you, boys! Thank you for a great run…You started fast, now FINISH STRONG!
********
Since we are talking legend, will those of you who followed The Team comment on your favorite play of the season? It is so hard having to narrow it down to one, but mine was definitely that amazing Justin L. onside kick where our boys looked like a black thunder cloud running down that field. Beautiful. I never dreamed in my life I’d call a football play beautiful and there I just did it.
See what you boys have done to me?
********
A portion of the Game Three 90 yard Spirit Line:
The Seniors and Team Captains at Game Two Coin Toss:
The Water Boy and Water Girl in Action:
Final Post-Game Prayer:
It’s 4 a.m. Do You Know Where Your Shoe Boxes Are?
A year or so ago, our church invested in one of those fancy little calling devices so Luke could send recorded messages out to the church peeps. It’s come in handy more than once to cancel services for bad weather or to alert people of special events or to give them an ever-loving heart attack when the ghost in the machine decides to call between the hours of 2 – 4 a.m. to remind them to bring their shoeboxes for Samaritan’s Purse.
Only us. This junk only happens to us. Doesn’t it?
Luke and I got a call at 4 a.m. Friday and for any of you in ministry, you know that a 4 a.m. phone call is NEVER good news. Luke ran through the house trying to find a phone. We always make sure all four of them are nowhere near the base because it’s so fun running through the house in the dark trying to guess where the ringing is coming from without breaking our necks. Truly fun. He answered and finally hushed me from repeating ”who is it? what’s wrong?” to say, “It’s me calling.” Huh? When he told me that it was the phone tree I freaked. The reason I freaked is because we are the last people on the list so I knew that it had already called the entire church. Luke ran to the offices and jerked the thing out of the wall – about 2 hours too late. The reason for these random times is still a mystery because all the settings are programmed for 10 AM – 6 PM. Go figure.
To say we’ve been catching a little flack is a colossal understatement. Enough people have heard about The Call now that it has officially become a Town Incident. At the football game last night WHICH WAS A SCHOOL HISTORY-MAKING WIN I might add, at least 20 people wanted to know what the deelio and when I tried to explain to by-standers they would say, “Oh yeah, someone told me about that.”
(By the way, I can’t believe I just used the word deelio. All this smash mouth football has me feeling all edgy.)
We’ve even gotten mail about The Incident. One of our most precious, darlin’ church members whom I love with all my heart sent this note:
“I know I wear my ‘kerby frown’ in the choir sometimes and maybe even sometimes when you are preaching, but please…I don’t mean to. It’s just a part of me — My husband used to ask, “S., are you mad?” OH…I didn’t send you a card in October! Maybe that’s it? No? Hmmm… what could it be? What would make my sweet, adorable, cute little pastor wake up a peacefully sleeping little ole white haired lady in the middle of the night with the ringing of her phone?? I KNOW… You Love Me!! I love you too!”
There’s more to her letter but I want to be sure to include the part she said about me being the “best of the best wife” because it makes me happy. We adore you, S!!!
We are grateful everyone has been good-humored about the whole thing though we do know the alarm it caused. If anyone is ticked, well, all I can say is now you know how it feels to be a pastor who gets middle-of-the-night phone calls more than he lets on.
In the meantime, I’m thinking no one will forget their shoe boxes Sunday morning. {You’re welcome, Franklin Graham.} And if you don’t bring one, be warned.
You may just get another call from the pastor.
