"What's important?"

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My wife’s family gathers for a week at the beach on the East Coast every summer. We have a potential gathering of about 40 people, but due to some conflicts only had about 30 there this year. And we all enjoy the closeness of one large beach house.

Of course the joy of all of this family reunion time is catching up on what’s happened in the last year. And we eat as many meals as possible together. We lay out on the beach together, play in the ocean together, walk together—generally have a fantastic time.

This summer we added one more "together event." A brother-in-law brought his DirectTV dish and receiver, hooked it up to the TV, and we watched our nephew Dan Uggla play second base for the Florida Marlins. Our family schedule revolved around watching Daniel play. The Marlins had an afternoon game one day and so another brother-in-law brought his XM radio and we listened to the game. Daniel playing baseball was important to us.

Is your time with God important enough for you to schedule around it today?

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"Who are you all about?"

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Baseball is full of individual statistics. I have a friend who’s like a walking encyclopedia of this player’s stats and the year and how it compared with another player from that time. Players aren’t the only ones with stats. Teams have stats, also, because baseball is a unique combination of individual and team performance metrics. It seems most of the attention and headlines and stories are about individuals rather than teams what with so much celebrity worship going on today.

Our nephew, Dan Uggla, could certainly be one of those celebrities as he has been among the league leaders in home runs, doubles, slugging percentage, and RBIs for a lot of the season. Recently in an interview with USA TODAY, Dan was asked by a reporter about how much he watches those stats. Dan replied, "I let you guys keep up with the stats. I just keep swinging because I want us to win."

That’s refreshing, isn’t it? A person capturing headlines who is more concerned about his team winning. Sounds like Dan Uggla is all about team as he listens to life and makes a life, not just a living, doesn’t it?

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"Does God care about you?"

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I’ve enjoyed baseball all of my life, but not so much with my wife. I mean, she enjoyed the family outings with our daughters to ball games, but for the three of them it was mostly about hot dogs and snow cones…until my wife’s nephew, Dan Uggla, began his career with the Florida Marlins. All of a sudden, my wife began asking me how the Marlins did last night. Then, it was, "How did Daniel play last night?"

At first, I told her, "He did pretty well" or "He had a great night" but that was all. Soon that wasn’t enough. She asked, "Did he hit a home run?" or "How many hits did he have?" So I taught her how to read box scores and the differences between runs scored and runs batted in and how walks don’t count as at-bats. She wants to know about the game. And it’s all because baseball became personal when her nephew started playing.

Sometimes you might think God doesn’t care so much about your life. But God does care very deeply about your life. Life is personal for God because you’re a part of God’s family. Discover your relationship with God as you make a life today.

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"Have you tried something different?"

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My wife and I have a nephew, Dan Uggla, who starts at second base for the Florida Marlins. You might see him play in tonight’s All-Star game. He’s one of the league leaders in home runs. But he hasn’t always hit the ball this well.

Daniel played in the AA Texas League at one time. His average was below .200 and he was really struggling. He knew he had to do something different or else he’d never realize his dream of playing in the big leagues.

He spent lots of time in the batting cage to improve his performance. One day, he started wiggling the bat back and forth across his shoulder before he swung. He hit the ball nicely and decided to try it again. He wiggled the bat once again and hit the ball well.

He decided to try wiggling the bat in a game. He got a base hit and, as they say, the rest is history. Daniel says the movement feels comfortable to him.

Are you doing the same thing over and over while expecting different results? Try something new like Daniel did, something that feels comfortable for you, and get better results as you make a life, not just a living today.

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"A little encouragement goes a long ways, doesn’t it?"

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Jackie Robinson rose through the ranks of the Negro Baseball Leagues and became the first African-American to play major league baseball. That first year, he had a horrible season. Fans yelled racial slurs at him at each game and everywhere he went.

But the turning point of his career came in Cincinnati with PeeWee Reese, the famous shortstop of the Dodgers. The fans were insulting Robinson, calling him names. When there came a delay in the game, Reese walked over and put his arm around Robinson and just stood there for a few moments for the entire world to see. Reese was saying, "He’s my teammate. He’s in my family. He’s a part of me." From then on, Jackie Robinson knew he would make it.

Amazing, isn’t it, how just a little bit of encouragement can make all the difference in the world? A little encouragement goes a long ways.

When was the last time someone stood next to you in a tough time? Knew you would make then, didn’t you?
Find someone to encourage as you make a life, not just a living today.

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