For love of the game...

The pitch came on the rise, probably around 60-70 miles per hour. The batter, though, was focused, dug in and started to bring his hips around. His shoulders followed and the swing brought his hands through to rip one straight for the hole between second base and the second baseman.

Shortstop was idle. On the balls of his feet and prepared to go in any direction... quickly, he had his glove up, eyes up and spirits up.

The second baseman broke for the ball and made the stop. Shortstop, as well as the base runner on first, had already made their break for the second base bag. A quick toss from the second baseman sent the ball floating somewhere above second base rather than sailing into center field.

The shortstop deftly stepped behind the bag while catching the ball, drug his foot across it and fired it back to first and never broke stride.

Two down. Inning's over.

Sounds like a routine double play for any shortstop. Although, they make it look much easier than it is. But this wasn't just any shortstop playing ball. It was my Dad. And he's 57 years old.

Every time I tell a buddy that Dad had a game, they're incredulous. Hell most of them have been telling me that they're too old to keep playing and most of them are in their thirties.

Morgan's refusal to slowdown is becoming somewhat of a local legend. He has friends he grew up playing baseball with that go to the park to watch their boys play against Morgan. And you should hear the trash talk flyin'. ;)

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He watched me play ball all the way through high school. But my days in Little League came rushing at me while I sat in the stands last Sunday morning.

Oh, how our perspective changes. I can't begin to count how many games my Dad and I spent in the reverse roll - him sitting in the stands hoping that the double play goes smoothly and me busting my rear trying to turn it. It was about time I was on the other side - paying back some of the support he had offered me so many times before.

That field was covered with men who truly - truly - understood and appreciated the game.

Little Leaguers are just figuring out the importance of winning. The group that I had the privilege of watching... was just starting to forget.

Somewhere in the middle we get focused on the wrong parts of life. Take a deep breath. Enjoy the game.

Rest and Relaxation

Luke 12:25-26

Can any of you by worrying add a single hour to your span of life? If then you are not able to do so small a thing as that, why do you worry about the rest.

What a beautiful day that was gifted to us today. Here are today's readings in case you missed heading over to the church house.

They don't really talk about rest and relaxation, but with Spring right around the corner, everyone is making a kazillion plans and doing home projects and scheduling kids and . . .

Be sure to take some time for yourself. Quiet time. Calm time. You'll quickly find that this isn't time for yourself, but for you and Him. He'll bring you strength during these quiet moments. His light will shine into your life and clarity will find it's way into your chaotic schedule.

BUT, first you have to make time. Make time for five minutes to get away. Do it now.

Horses, Good Friends and ... Aggie Basketball?!?

Thursday I picked up a little bay mare I started a while back that we call Brandi. I wish I had pictures of her because she's a fantastic looking little mare. She is a solid bay daughter of Playboy Boonsmal and I new she was special from the very beginning. Mike Carter took her through her two-year old year and agreed with me that she would be worth putting some more time into.

I travel ALOT. And while showing, rodeoing, etc. I came to know an individual by the name of Chris Littlefield. Great guy, great horseman. Well, I talked my grandfather, J.M. O'Brien, into sending this little mare to Chris. So guess what... Now I've got to deliver her to Henrietta, TX - Six hour trip, one way, just east of Wichita Falls. Well, a good friend of mine, and former O'Brien Ranch employee Bo Crutchfield, works for Chris these days and just happened to be taking the weekend off. He was going to be in College Station all weekend. Well a drive to College Station sounded a lot better to me than that 6 hour drive to Henrietta.

And wouldn't you know it, the aggies played Mizzou in basketball on Saturday afternoon. Oh, and they also had the Utes in baseball that evening. ;)

Now, I have to go. This goes way beyond "two birds with one stone". Ryan Bellows, a childhood friend and basically family, and several other good friends of mine were also in town for the game. So we're talkin' like seven or eight birds with this stone man. Killer stone. ;)

The last time I went to a basketball game at A&M was when Barone was coaching. I know I'm dating myself here, but it was in G. Rollie and you could hear the crickets chirping in there. We could show up at the end of the first quarter and still sit courtside. I am not exaggerating. It was painful. When the administration decided to build Reed Arena, I thought they built it for graduation ceremonies. ;) I mean seriously, Aggie Basketball?!?!

Boy was I surprised. We had a blast! I kept wondering over and over, "Who are these guys?" They were good. Actually, they were great. Beating Number 15 Missouri by twenty at the half. It was amazing. Reed was packed and rocking. You just think Kyle field can get loud. Put 12,000 Aggies in an enclosed building and see how loud they get. It was awesome. The guys had a brief Aggie moment with about 5 minutes left, but I guess Coach Turgeon reminded them that the game was still going on out there. After that they played great ball and held on to the victory. Great company, great team and great fun.

The guys gave me a hard time telling me that they've never seen me do anything that didn't involve horses. However, Ryan jumped in and let them know that this was no exception. My truck was parked outside Reed complete with trailer and horse. I got to inform him that I had already delivered the mare but for some reason that didn't help my case much with these guys. That's OK though. Horses are my life. I got her delivered and had a great time relaxing a little and enjoying the company of a great group of men.

A little R&R is so important. Schedule your life or it will set a schedule for you. Spend your time on the important stuff. What's most important is not WHAT we have in life, but WHO we have in our lives.

My presence will go with you, and I will give you rest. (Exodus 33:14)