Currently Reading What if Jesus Had Never Been Born? By D. James Kennedy, Jerry Newcombe see related

Surround Me

Currently Reading Year with C. S. Lewis, A By C. S. Lewis see related

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to Everyone.  I hope everyone is enjoying their time off of school or work.  I got to spend time with my family and some close friends over the break so that was nice.  Dad is back in the hospital because his kidneys are bleeding so keep him in your prayers.  He will be on campus to preach in chapel in February so make sure you check that out if you are on campus. 

In other news, my boy Jake Santel was selected as Cintas Player of the Week last week so big ups to him.  He put up 33 on East Clinton to win the award and he is a really good kid so I am proud of him.  You can check out his award presentation at http://www.channelcincinnati.com/video/5616976 I will be in Cincinnati on Tuesday night to see Jake vs Cory at Batavia High School...they are two of my best former players and it will be fun to watch.  I also started my new job as athletic director and men's basketball coach and I am looking forward to working with a great group of guys.  Be sure to come on campus sometime and cheer on the Crusaders.  Much love!

Lazer Tag 2005 with my Cincinnati Crew - Boo, Hannah, Kelly, Jake, Kandi

"Christianity, if false, is of no importance, and if true, of infinite importance. The only thing it cannot be is moderately important."

 "God has landed on this enemy-occupied world in human form...The perfect surrender and humiliation was undergone by Christ: perfect because He was God, surrender and humiliation because He was man."

"Love is not affectionate feeling, but a steady wish for the loved person's ultimate good as far as it can be obtained."

In Theaters December 9th, 2005

"And I saw a mighty angel proclaiming in a loud voice, "Who is worthy to break the seals and open the scroll?" But no one in heaven or on earth or under the earth could open the scroll or even look inside it. I wept and wept because no one was found who was worthy to open the scroll or look inside. Then one of the elders said to me, "Do not weep! See, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has triumphed. He is able to open the scroll and its seven seals."           -Revelation 5:2-5

Currently Reading The 17 Indisputable Laws of Teamwork: Embrace Them and Empower Your Team By John C. Maxwell see related

In an effort to promote and recognize some of my former CCA basketball players, I will be randomly posting box scores from some of their games throughout the season...

Glen Este 63, Batavia 53

David Walker scored 25 points and grabbed 15 rebounds for Glen Este.  Jake Santel was the leading scorer for Batavia with 22 points.

Glen Este (1-0) - Walker 7 11 25, Winegardner 4 0 8, Slater 2 0 4, Wilson 3 7 13, McCalla 3 0 8, Perry 1 1 3, Schwalback 0 2 2. Totals: 20 21 63.

Batavia (0-1) - Kerber 1 4 6, Denman 0 2 2, Avery 3 0 6, Santel 7 4 22, Strine 1 1 3, Bradburn 1 0 2, Harlow 3 5 12. Totals: 16 16 53

Glen Este	18	10	16	19	-63
Batavia	14	15	8	16	-53

3-pointers: G 2 (McCalla 2); B 5 (Santel 4, Harlow).

8th grader Jake Santel uses a cross over dribble against Zeb Frazee and Xenia Nazarene in the 2001-02 season.  Jake started Varsity as an 8th grader and led the Jaguars in three point shooting.  Randy Jennings and Noodles Castaloni can be seen in the distance.  AP Photo

Currently Reading Paradise Lost By John Milton see related

The Life of Job

In the land of Uz there lived a man whose name was Job. This man was blameless and upright; he feared God and shunned evil. He had seven sons and three daughters, and he owned seven thousand sheep, three thousand camels, five hundred yoke of oxen and five hundred donkeys, and had a large number of servants. He was the greatest man among all the people of the East. One day when Job's sons and daughters were feasting and drinking wine at the oldest brother's house, a messenger came to Job and said, "The oxen were plowing and the donkeys were grazing nearby, and the Sabeans attacked and carried them off. They put the servants to the sword, and I am the only one who has escaped to tell you!" While he was still speaking, another messenger came and said, "The fire of God fell from the sky and burned up the sheep and the servants, and I am the only one who has escaped to tell you!" While he was still speaking, another messenger came and said, "The Chaldeans formed three raiding parties and swept down on your camels and carried them off. They put the servants to the sword, and I am the only one who has escaped to tell you!" While he was still speaking, yet another messenger came and said, "Your sons and daughters were feasting and drinking wine at the oldest brother's house, when suddenly a mighty wind swept in from the desert and struck the four corners of the house. It collapsed on them and they are dead, and I am the only one who has escaped to tell you!"...So Satan went out from the presence of the LORD and afflicted Job with painful sores from the soles of his feet to the top of his head. Then Job took a piece of broken pottery and scraped himself with it as he sat among the ashes. His wife said to him, "Are you still holding on to your integrity? Curse God and die!" He replied, "You are talking like a foolish woman. Shall we accept good from God, and not trouble?" In all this, Job did not sin in what he said.

I read blogs on our CBC blog ring from time to time and I am amazed at how many people are 'miserable' and 'so busy' and 'just frustrated'.  You know if we were totally honest with ourselves we would have to admit that we have very easy lives for the most part.  Many of our problems and ailments are emotional issues where we simply don't feel happy.  How weak is that?  I look at a guy like Job in the Bible and the kinds of things we went through and I wonder if comfortable Christians like us would have been able to get through something like he experienced.  Even if we got through it we would probably be complaining and whining the whole time.  What a bunch of babies we are sometimes.  Job went through his ordeal and praised God in the midst of the chaos and confusion.  His friends and wife even brought chaos to the situation.  The greatest praise Job had towards God wasn't the words that he spoke but the way he hung in there and trusted him no matter what.  The bottom line is that Job was tough.  He was sitting on ashes scraping his boils with broken pottery and didn't complain.  His family was almost all dead and all of his earthly possessions were gone.  In the midst of all that he was tough and had an "I'm ahite" attitude.  Let's try to be more like Job.

"In the place of suffering, there's a God worth worshiping."