I came across this February 09 interview with Red Sox pitcher Justin Masterson the other day and thought it was worth sharing.
In part IV and part V of the 5-part interview with Sox1Fan, Masterson talks about his faith, and how his desire to share God’s love not only affects him off the field, but on it as well. It’s an interesting read if you’ve got a few minutes. If not, here’s a few quotes:
If you take the chance to be a positive influence, people see what you’ve done and say “Hey, there’s something different about that guy”. And they want to know more about you, and then guys like you (the media) help me to get the word out about who I am and what I believe in. That’s what helps me and gives me a chance to use the platform, because in some respects I’m not a guy who’s going to beat you on the forehead and say “you should believe in God”. In some respects I don’t think that’s what is supposed to be done as I’m walking through the clubhouse or talking to fans. I think there’s a chance to share my faith.
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It’s that kind of ‘eternal thinking’ that helps me have that calmness… no matter what the situation on the mound, there are a lot of people who have to deal with a lot worse situations than I’m dealing with. In a sense, everything has to be kept in perspective. There’s the competitiveness aspect of the game, and everybody has the drive to want to win, but you still have to keep things in perspective.
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That’s where it all comes from, the ability to say, “you know what, it happened, but God is good, he’s given me a chance to breathe another day, and I’m going to use it to try and please Him”. Even though today may not be the greatest day, there’s still an inner joy that’s deep within that can’t be taken away… it will keep me from a funk, keep me from a depression. And that enables me to approach the next day without carrying yesterday with me.
You can read the whole interview from start to finish at Sox1fan.com.
a few things to check out while Matt Stafford finishes counting up his money…
+ If you’re the person who shrugs your shoulders at the mention of steroids thinking the only people it hurt were the dopes who doped, you should read this fantastic Jeff Pearlman article on catcher Sal Fasano. (Though the article doesn’t mention Sal’s faith, he became a Christian through former teammate Keith Lockhart) I’ve got an indirect connection to Sal, as one of my good friends from college was an undergrad with him at Evansville. Sal actually got us free tickets to Fenway one time back in the late 90s when he came through with the Royals. And who doesn’t love a good fu-manchu? (Reader’s Digest)
+ Jon Copper is a linebacker from the University of Virginia who didn’t get picked in last week’s draft. In the blog he has been contributing to at the Washington Post, Copper talks about the expected and unexpected ways that pride can work itself into your heart and affect how you handle situations. Copper is headed to Green Bay to try out for the team as a free agent, he has this to say:
So as I’m getting mentally ready for the opportunity this weekend, I have one thing to remind myself of — a deep breath. You do it, take a second, and inhale. . . . Now let it out. From where did that come? I believe it is a gift, and all of life is a gift. After a deep breath, I’m thankful, self-forgetful, and I’m looking forward to the strength the Giver supplies over each of the next five days for a needy receiver like myself. (LongShots)
We’ve added another member to the sickness of PFB Membership!
Our newest member is Peter G, a fan of the Tennessee Volunteers. Please join me in welcoming Peter (and his new coach Lane Kiffin) to the fold.
PFB Members get to share their opinions and display their team pride for the entire free world to see. It’s a lot of fun. Kinda like watching LOST without the commercials.
If you’d like to join, shoot me an email* with your name and favorite team. Also, attach a head shot to the email (that’s cool jargon for “photograph”). The cost is still free.
*The email address is prayersforblowouts@gmail(dot)com
The PFB Micro-Sermon: where we take a Bible verse, add a dash of sports, and whip up a sermon in 100 words or less.
“But God said to Jonah, ‘Do you have a right to be angry about the vine?’ ‘I do,’ he said. ‘I am angry enough to die.’” – Jonah 4:9
All that time put in at Double-A and Triple-A. All those long bus trips and motels. He had endured it all and hit .310 with some power.
But in his first game in the bigs, on a deep fly to the wall, Jonah felt the tickle of the ivy on his neck and freaked out. The ball dropped. The run scored. The Cubs lost.
Yes, Jonah was angry about the vine. Angry enough to die.
Oh but Jonah, God wants you in Des Moines. Your AAA teammates need you, Jonah.
- Coaches have to watch for what they don’t want to see and listen to what they don’t want to hear.
- Don’t worry about the horse being blind, just load the wagon.
- Here’s a guy, that when he runs, he goes faster!
- I think comparisons are odious.
- If you see a defense team with dirt and mud on their backs they’ve had a bad day
- Self-praise is for losers. Be a winner. Stand for something. Always have class, and be humble.
- The fewer rules a coach has, the fewer rules there are for players to break.
- The only yardstick for success our society has is being a champion. No one remembers anything else.
- The road to Easy Street goes through the sewer.
- When your arm gets hit, the ball is not going to go where you want it to.
- Here’s a guy, that when he wears his contacts, he see’s better.
- A team should never practice on a field that is not lined. Your players have to become aware of the field’s boundaries.
- Hey, the offensive linemen are the biggest guys on the field, they’re bigger than everybody else, and that’s what makes them the biggest guys on the field.
- He feels the pressure real and pressure imagined.
- Here’s a guy who can use his arms and legs at the same time.
- He would have scored a touchdown if he hadn’t been tackled right there.
- This offense is all about scoring points.
- In order for this team to win the game, the QB has to throw the ball.
- To make mud, you mix water and dirt, and then you have mud.
+ For $5 a week folks in the Decatur, Illinois area can attend Karate for Christ classes where they learn front snap kicks and lessons from Romans 10 from Sensei Billy Roberts. “We are to defend our body, the temple of God, from attack of another person who is bound by Satan to hurt us physically,” Roberts said. “Through our example of protecting the aggressor from committing a sin against us, with the same covering of the Holy Spirit, we can block through the attack.”
+ Tangle.com (formerly GodTube) announces new partnerships with some of the world’s most impactful ministries, sealing deals with and adding the Potter’s House/T.D. Jakes Enterprises, Focus on the Family and The Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA) to its list of continually growing ministry partners. The new ministry partners will join tangle’s current roster of influential organizations including: Samaritans Purse, Buckner International, Christian Living Magazine, Max Lucado and Women of Faith, among many others.
Over the past couple of weeks we’ve collected predictions on the upcoming baseball season from the smartest people we know (our members), the coolest people we know (like Jeff Miller from Caedmon’s Call), and also Andy Osenga.
If you haven’t blocked it out yet, Andy won our NFL Predictions contest this past season despite thinking football is a joke. And he enjoyed his coronation so much he’s back to embarrass us all again on the baseball diamond.
Will it happen? You never know. But in the spirit of making truly asinine predictions (he predicted Sam Madison as NFL MVP last year) Andy has chosen a New York Yankee as his pick to lead the Majors in homers this year. Teixeira? nope. A-Rod? uh-uh. Jorge Posada??? Not even close.
His pick for MLB Home Run king this year is
…wait for it…
…Chien Ming Wang!!!
If you didn’t get a chance to submit your picks for our contest, leave your selections in the comments.
Good luck to everyone this year, should be a great season!
Two words we use all the time in sports. Sacrifice bunts, sacrifice flies, and fullbacks sacrificing their bodies to create a hole for their running back to get an extra 3 yards. Comebacks from down 5 runs, down 4 strokes, and down two touchdowns with 4 minutes left in the game.
Sacrifices are all about giving yourself up for a greater good and comebacks are all about winning when it seemed you were going to lose. And since you’ve been able to see where I was going with all this from the first few words of the post, I won’t pretend like I’m about to sneak up on you with some spirituality.
Easter weekend is all about sacrifice and comebacks in the Christian faith. Believing that Jesus’ death was not just another death, but that in sacrificing his life, he was atoning for the screw-ups and failures and pride and hatred and bad choices and personal junk of the world. Believing that Jesus was as divine as he said he was, and that he beat death by coming back to life by the power of the Holy Spirit.
As you go about your day, and even your upcoming week, keep those two words fresh in your head. Remember the sacrifice that Jesus made, and be willing to sacrifice your own desires for the good of others around you. Remember how Jesus came back from the dead, and recall that Paul tells us the same spirit that raised Christ from the dead dwells in us. That comeback power of the Holy Spirit, available to us to glorify God by the things we do and say.
Happy Easter everyone, hope you enjoy a special day with friends, family, and the God who has made it all possible. And if Jesus’ sacrifice and resurrection are important to you, remember to thank God for the Greatest. Comeback. Ever.
So that I don’t put you to sleep with the backstory, here’s what you need to know:
I’ve been a HUGE fan of the band Caedmon’s Call since 1997.
I started a website for them in 2001 that became popular with their fans and the band took notice.
I’ve seen them in concert over 30 times and have gotten to know some of the guys fairly well.
In the fall of 2003 Erica and I road-tripped down to Maryland to see the band play, and before the show Cliff Young (the lead singer of the band) pulled me aside and asked me if I’d be interested in going to Ecuador with the band. I was interested of course, and in April 2004 I flew to Ecuador with the band on a Compassion International trip. The band was in the process of recording their next album, Share The Well, and I had a blast seeing South America for the first time and hanging out with my favorite band. The trip was as surreal as you’d think it would be for a wide-eyed, psycho fanboy like me.
The last day of our trip was Sunday, April 11. After attending a church service in Quito, we were treated to an amazing steak and shrimp barbecue by a local family. Unfortunately for me, my stomach had been queasy all morning and I wasn’t able to eat. After lunch I found a couch and a television in one of their upstairs rooms and flipped on the TV, surprised to see that the Masters was on. Cliff and I had been following the scores in the paper each morning, but I was so wrapped up with what was going on with the band, the sports world really wasn’t on my radar screen.
Cliff eventually found me upstairs and we watched the entire back nine in anticipation as Phil Mickelson, the lovable loser, tried desperately to best the 8-under that Ernie Els had posted a few groups ahead of him. At that point Mickelson had never won a major, and folks were wondering if he ever would. Mickelson birdied #16 to tie Els at 8-under and hit the green with his second shot on #18, giving himself an 18-foot putt for his first Major title. Like most of you who were watching at that moment, Cliff and I were on the edge of our seats as he lined up the putt. Though neither of us were huge Mickelson fans, we both wanted to see the putt drop. When the ball disappeared into the hole, we both jumped off the couch (higher than Mickelson did) and exchanged a nice white guy high five.
Here’s the putt again:
It was one of those sports moments that you are happy to experience with someone else, rather than by yourself. And it will always be special to me because it was an amazing ending to an awesome week.
