You might be a baseball mom if...

For the past 5 years I have known the day would come that all three of my kids would play ball at the same time.  I have kind of dreaded it.  Three different teams.  Three different practices schedules.  Three different game schedules.  One frazzled mom!  But actually, I'm so excited for SweetTate to start!  He has some mad almost-five-year-old skillz and he is going to love it!  I can't wait to watch him play too!  His and SweetDoll's games are on the same day in the same place.  And SweetBoy's schedule will be winding down when theirs gears up, so I think I can handle it.  (Remind me of that in a few weeks!)

You might be a baseball mom if...
* you have scraped a page or two on your laptop in the car during practice
* you have the early bird supper at 4:45 before practice or games
* you know what an rbi, dp, and k mean and when it is a good thing!
* you have a repertoire of suppers to take to the ballpark
* you are horse from cheering for your favorite teams
* you also have DQ's number in your phone so you can place an order and pick it up for supper!
* you have shopped for boy's foundational garments--that was a new experience!
* you love to see your man playing with the kids
* you have a permanent cooler packed with snacks and drinks by the door
* you sit through rain, snow, wind, heat, cold, and sun to watch ballgames
* you know how to score a game for the coach
* you can wash a uniform Friday after the game and have it ready for a Saturday morning game
* when you hear the word diamond, shiney and sparklely don't describe your picture
* your heart has sunk too when they strike out
* your heart has soared when they get their first hit of the season!
* you jump up and scream when they score!
You might be a baseball mom, if you can't wait to watch your kids play!

Fearless Climb

After I wrote the last post about our rock climb adventure, I got to thinking about how I wasn't afraid to do that.  I have always wanted to repel. It just looked fun to bounce down a mountain—that doesn’t paint a very pretty picture, but you know what I mean—bounce with a rope safely attached landing on your feet! It looked like too much work to climb up, but getting down looked fun! Of course, this one I had to climb to the top first!  Usually I am a fraidy cat and fear will get the best of me and I won’t even try something out of my comfort zone. So what was the difference here? I mean, I strapped that harness on, clicked on the safety rope, and didn’t even hesitate all the way to the top. Where did that confidence come from? I was motivated—I had always wanted to repel, and it is not as much fun to repel only half way! More than that, I trusted the guy on the other end of the safety rope that was almost twice my size, knowledgeable about his job, and strong enough to keep me from falling. I had no fear to go to the top.

There is a God stop here. So many times I talk myself out of climbing higher in life because I am afraid. But here is the truth of the matter. My God is huge! His wisdom is perfect. He knows me and has had a plan for me since before the world began. (Jeremiah 29:11, Ephesians 1:4) He is infinitely strong, and more than able. I just have to trust Him. How far could I go if I was so completely confident in my Father and His love for me?!

Ephesians 3:16-21
I pray that out of His glorious riches He may strengthen you with power through His Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge--that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.
 
Now to Him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to His power that is at work within us, to Him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever! Amen.

This might be a familiar passage. It is one of the first chunks of Scripture that I memorized, and it became so meaningful to me. I love Paul’s writings, but sometimes it gets a little wordy. Break it down with me.

He prays that the believers would have the power to grasp what?
           How wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ

And that they would know what?
          This love of Christ that surpasses knowledge

God is able to do more than in our lives if His power is working in us. What power?
          Power through His Spirit
          Power to grasp and to know the love of Christ

So through grasping and knowing the love of Christ, God is able to work powerfully in my life. Wow! That is the safety rope! I need to be harnessed in and fastened to it—grasp it and know it all the time, and especially when things get crazy. On our rock climb, SweetBoy lost his footing and the coach kept telling him to grab hold of the rope.  Our safety rope in life is God's love for us.  I can climb higher knowing His love for me is strong, sure, and more than enough to keep me from falling. If I have my safety rope fastened to anyone else, I have reason to be afraid!  But in God it is a sure thing!

Romans 8:37-39
No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Psalm 94:18 NIV
When I said, “My foot is slipping,”
your unfailing love, LORD, supported me.

I can climb with God all the way by knowing His love is my safety rope and keeping my focus on Him.  His faithful love endures forever (Psalm 136)—that is what anchors me and gives me freedom to be fearless.