i would like to take a little side trip today.
Have you ever played T Ball?
Been a parent of a T Ball Player?
Or coached T Ball?
i had the pleasure of being two of these,
a parent of a T Ball player
and a coach of a T Ball team.
Don’t know if you know but T Ball players are from age 4 to 7,
Don’t know if you remember being in that age group, i do.
It was an age that getting my chores dune fast
so i could play with my dog and having fun were the main goal of the day.
Most spring and summer days i was expected to have my bed made,
be dressed, take out the garbage, eat breakfast,
water my part of the flower beads feeding the chickens
help weed the garden and vacuum the liven room rug,
and then i could go out and play.
We got up around 5AM and i could have that all dune 7:30 or 8am and the rest of the day was spent outside riding my trike pulling my red flyer around and playing with my dog.
From around 8:am to 12: noon my dog and i went on grand adventures, saving the world from the bandits,
around 12: noon was called in for lunch and by 1:PM was back out concerning the woods with Roben hood, me and and my trusty dog chasing rabbits and scaring crows out of the corn patch.
My Dad left for work at 5:30AM and got home around 4:PM,
and at that time we would eat dinner and from around 4:30 to 6 we watched tv, then i went to bed.
My Dad was old enough to be my Grandpa, at the time in my life i didn’t know or understand what that ment,
we went fishing and camping on weekends but never played ball and i never thought about sports,
except when the world series ball game was on the tv.
In fall time during harvest season my days were spent picking whatever needed to be picked and the helping processing it.
We normally picked berries; strawberries, raspberries, black berries, blue berries, elder berries, currants, mulberries, chokeberries, goose berries huckle berries and salmon berries and would make jams, jellies, pies and candys.
We picked Apples 4 or 5 different kinds, peaches, cucumbers, squash, apricots, cherries, figs, plums and pears.
We picked Bell Pepper, broccoli, corn, cucumbers, cabbage, onions, carrots, garlic, potatoes, tomatoes, peas, beans, pumpkins and cauliflower.
Apples, peaches and potatoes we picked two to three truck loads.
And we processed it all,
our pantry was 20 feet by 16 feet with thousands of jars of food,
our seller was about the same size and just as full,
we hardly ever went to the store.
And when i say picked, we picked.
We had a 1060 ford pick up my Dad had build a insulated canape on that made the inside tall enough to stack 120 boxes my Dad had built just for picking in.
They were 12” x 12” by 20”. We would fill them and then stack them in the truck take them home and spend the rest of the day processing what ever we had picked our days were long and heard,
my sister and i were expected to work right along with my Mom picking and processing everything,
we normally got up around 3:30 eat breakfast and left the house by 4:am and did not go to bed until after 8:30PM.
We could eat as much of what ever we were picking and had a large lunch and a large dinner,
but we worked,
it is one of the most memorable and satffing times of my life besides camping and fishing with my Dad, i loved it.
Most of what we picked was for our own use,
but we did get paid for some of what we picked,
and i could make almost as much as my Mom made,
i liked to work, and see the results of it.
i bring all that up to say i didn’t have time to play ball much less even think about it.
We forward in time a few years and my Son is 4 and wants to play T Ball,
so i went to the first meeting to find out what we needed to do to get him singed up,
and was asked if i would be a coach long story short my neighbor talked me in to it,
i knew nothing about it and was not truly interested,
but for my Son i did it.
First meeting of the coaches they picked the teems and it was right out stated that the neighbor and i was given the kids no one ells wanted,
the old timers knew their team before the teams were ever picked it was more about them, the coaches winning then the kids having fun.
i remember stating “you have given us the least likely to win so don’t be mad when we do win, our team will be having fun.”
And one coach the one who’s team was all 6- and 7-year-olds and usually won every game and the big trophy at the end of the season,
stated those who play for fun our always losers.
We met with our team and had a talk with the parents,
i straight out let them know how and why their kid was on this team,
and that i didn’t care if they won or loos but if winning was more important to them,
they needed to talk with the managers to the T Ball league and have their child transferred to another team.
But if they stayed and showed up to the games they need to not yell at their kids if they did something wrong,
that if they did, they could take their kid and leave for they would not be allowed to play in the next game,
even if they showed up,
that they should be there to encourage them even when they lost.
That i would do any correction that needed to be done.
Only had one take their kid and leave.
Told the little ones all but two were age 4 the other two had just turned 5
told them we were there to have fun and i didn’t care if they lost every game as long as they had fun,
don’t know if they really understood but it felt good telling them that.
These kids showed up for practice and had fun,
we laughed together we played hit the ball we ran the basses,
we colored pictures, we eat pop sickles we eat pizza and ice cream and we hit base balls off the T ran.
Came time for the games, and yes, we won,
these little ones the one that on one thought would even win one game went out and had fun and won every game they had.
That’s right Every Game.
When the season was over at the last meeting of the coaches the other coaches were outraged,
the one coach the one who’s team was all 6- and 7-year-olds and usually won every game and the big trophy at the end of the season,
the one who had stated those who play for fun our always losers,
was yelling, demanding another game between his teem and ours to prove what team was the best.
My response was
“you already had that game you were the second team our team we played,,, and you lost.”
“No, our team won every game you scheduled, we beet every team in this league and you won’t take that away from them, they had fun and you lost,,,, live with it.”
Long story i know but the point is;
Is your walk with Christ fun?
Or are you trying so hard its work, trying to win the end goal
or are you finding joy in the journey?
One thing i found in coaching T Ball was the simple joy of watching a young child having fun and winning the prize at the end,
unaware of the life ahead of them but living the moment and enjoying every moment of the game, having fun.
Keeping your focus on the Lord not the world as it is yelling all around you,
listening to Him with a still quiet spirit,
finding joy in every thing that He brings your way.
Depending on Him when trials come your way knowing it is for your good,
your growth in Him,
as the Holy Spirit is teaching you to trust and depend on Him and Him alone.
Nehemiah 8:9-12
Then Nehemiah, who was the governor, and Ezra the priest and scribe, and the Levites who taught the people said to all the people,
“This day is holy to the LORD your God; do not mourn or weep.”
For all the people were weeping when they heard the words of the law.
Then he said to them,
“Go, eat of the fat, drink of the sweet, and send portions to him who has nothing prepared; for this day is holy to our Lord.
Do not be grieved, for the joy of the LORD is your strength.”
So the Levites calmed all the people, saying,
“Be still, for the day is holy; do not be grieved.”
All the people went away to eat, to drink, to send portions and to celebrate a great festival,
because they understood the words which had been made known to them.
(((
Hearing the Laws of GOD that were given to Moses for them and us they began to mourn and weep,
But after being told and understanding this day is holy to the Lord
(This day is Holy to the Lord)
They became joyful.
This was a time before Christ came to earth,
And now that He has come to the earth and has been sacrificed for our sins,
been killed and risen from the dead,
victories over death and the grave.
Every day for the Christian should be a holy day unto the Lord.
The joy of the LORD is your strength
And we should constantly have theses words in our hearts and on our minds
“The joy of the LORD is my strength.”
Joy and fun intertwine and the Joy of the Lord makes this life fun.
The question is:
Will you find and operate in the Joy of the LORD
will you exceedance fun in your daily walk,
or will it just be a burden.
The Joy of the Lord is my strength,
it gives me the strength to experience the fun the in this life GOD has given this body He created.
Stop complaining, stop grumbling, stop looking at everything as being annoying,
Go win the game, go run the race, approach each day of this life as being fun and find the joy,
the joy of the LORD.
For he who has fun in the LORD is the one who gains the Joy of the LORD.
And wins in the end.
i know fun is not a word that is used when speaking about the word of God or GOD
But think about it;
You have fun, that brings joy,
joy can bring peace,
and peace can bring freedom.
This is probably a different way of looking at it than you ever have,
Faith in Christ Jesus brings freedom,
that freedom brings joy
and that joy allows us to have fun in Christ,
pure clean righteous fun.
Fun = enjoyment
Your time with the Lord should bring you great enjoyment.
Enjoyment = something or someone that gives intense satisfaction.
When i think of when Adom got to walk with GOD in the garden what great satisfaction that must have brought him,
and the joy it will be to someday be able to walk with Christ Jesus in the same manner,
to me that will be the most fun i could ever have.
Fun: Joy in the Lord}}}