don't be a fair weather fan

Well, I'm sure that many of you are still having some difficulties accepting that the Vikings season is over for the year...I sort of am as well even though I didn't watch one full game this season. Either way - I happened to notice this link of Favre's 10 Worst Career Moments...and I thought I would share some thoughts on the subject. Click here to check out Favre's 10 Worst Career Moments according to Sports Illustrated.

Now, looking over this list, there are some pretty painful examples. My personal "favorite" (or one that causes the most pain in my mind - this is coming from someone who doesn't watch football at all) is #9 on the list. I mean, Favre was set up in that game to WIN. He had a 35-0 record at home when it was below freezing and the Falcons basically had "no shot" to win according to any football fan watching...but what happened? The Packers lose in a 27-7 defeat....that's not even a close game. How do you think Favre felt after that game? How do you think Favre felt after all of these examples? Probably pretty crappy, huh?

Don't we all have instances like that? The odds are for us...we have shown an awesome track record, and therefore we should get an A on that test, or we should get the lead in that play, or we should get that solo, or we should get to start on the team, or we should make varsity, or...(do you really need any more examples here?)...but instead of reaching our greatness...we fail. We all face these times. All of us. (side note: I feel a little bad for people like Favre who get to hear about their failings from millions of people they don't even know and then get lists of their Top 10 Failures on the internet - I can tell you I am happy that I do not get to find that type of top 10 list about me online!)

How do you move on? How do you go forward? ...by remembering that you are great (failures and all). Sure, Favre has had some pretty amazing failures. However, he's also had some pretty AMAZING successes. I mean, he is 40 and still playing professional football - as a quarterback! He's in his 19th season (started in 1991 - I did that math right, correct?), so he's outliving a lot of quarterbacks' careers AND he's still a quarterback that teams are seeking out to play on their team and that his competitors "fear." I think that's pretty good considering his age. But the only way that he has broken so many records (ex: most career touchdown passes - 497, most career wins as a starting quarterback - 181, consecutive starts as a quarterback - 285 (!!!)) is because he was putting himself out there even in the face of failure. Sure, he succeeded a lot of the time, but all of us are only human and can only succeed part of the time, so we need to be open to failure. One phrase that I love is: if you want to get something that you have never had - you need to be willing to do something you have never done. So true - how will you succeed unless you are willing to fail?

All of this kind of reminds me of a lovely childhood Bible story that we hear so often: David and Goliath. Sadly, our world comes in waves, and sometimes you are going to be David - the underdog who everyone thinks will fail but who instead beats the mighty giant to claim victory...and sometimes we will be that Goliath, who thought we knew so much and were guaranteed greatness...but instead were humbled (or in Goliath's case: killed).

I don't know where you are at today - you might feel like David and are on your way climbing the ranks of greatness, or you might be Goliath on your fall down from your former greatness...but God is there with you each step of the way. He wants you to reach greatness, and He knows you will surely have some failures along the way...but He is by your side through it all.

"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." - Jeremiah 29:11

a "messed up" family

Well, this post is a week or so late...so I hope you can forgive me. :)

Anyways, I was sitting in the back of the church at Christmas Eve Mass...and it just so happens that it was the Children's Mass (who knew they had a special one that requested children to be present?). Now, since I was in the back of the church...that means that I was in the Gathering Space...with rows of folding chairs...and with all of the other people that decided to show up to church within the last 10 minutes before Mass...and therefore I had hundreds of people in front of me...and many children to entertain me.

Let's be honest, I had a lot of distractions during Mass.

There was one kid running around, another kid constantly taking hymnals from the stand and bringing them to his parent...then bringing it back...and then doing it all over again, then one would start crying, then another would need to use the bathroom. There was constant motion, constant distractions, and on top of it all - the reading involves a long list of Jesus' ancestors! I was sitting there thinking "I wonder how many people in the church right now are thinking: 'really? couldn't we have gotten a better Christmas reading?'" I'm sure there were a few thinking this (maybe even the priest since he got to do a lot of work to make sure he was pronouncing some of those names correctly!), but what they were missing out on is how meaningful that list means. If I told you so-and-so was the descendant of Richard Nixon or Elvis Presley or Marilyn Monroe...you'd notice and think differently about the person I pointed out...and that is the reason behind Jesus' genealogy...it tells you something about him!

But I'm getting away from my point (but you should really look into Jesus' genealogy...). While I was sitting there and slightly distracted...I was thinking about what others in the church may be thinking: "these readings are boring...when is church going to be over?...I wish that child would stop crying...I wish my child would behave...I don't like sitting this close to this strange person next to me"...etc. However, then I tried to think of what God was probably thinking while looking at this chaotic Mass...and I feel like he was thinking: "I'm so happy to see it so packed! I am so glad (insert name) is here! I am so glad all of these wonderful children are here! I am so thrilled that all of these families are together!"

And then I pulled that parallel a bit further - to the fact that so many families run into "problems" over the holidays...with various family tensions...either you have a "bad" family or your family might have some 'problems' with one of the members or whatever might be the case...and how I wish that more people would take a step back and look at the chaos and the mess and find a way to appreciate the simple fact that you are together. They're your family! You're not going to get away from that fact. It's time to embrace it and to try to make your family better through you being a part of it rather than standing on the sidelines (if that's what you are doing).

I can guarantee you that God would take His chaotic family all gathering every week over only the "cool, normal" members gathering every week...and I wish that we could all think that way too.

Just something to think about, since it's past the holidays and a little late for my thoughts on this!

Hope you all had a blessed and safe Christmas with your family and/or friends!

"The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel"—which means, "God with us.'" - Matthew 1:23