Bravos at the Reds

Braves WIN! Braves WIN! Braves WIN!

Yes, maybe not as dramatic as the game 7 of the NLCS of 92, but Jason Hayward hit a game winning double in the 10th last night. It was AWESOME! And all those Reds fans around us were pretty ticked when the whole family jumped up and started screaming and high fiving. It was a great night of baseball!

Heading to the Braves game in Cincinnati

Just wanted to post quickly. We are heading out to watch the Braves play the Reds. I'll post some pictures tomorrow!

Blog: Day 11 Run: Day 10 Weight lost: still 5lbs. I need to step up the game if I'm going to lose 10 more pounds in the next 20 days...

Psalm 73

Here is another incredible Psalm. It begins with the psalmist's confession that he was close to stumbling away from the Lord. The psalmist was envious of the wicked. While he suffered, they prospered. Being righteous did not seem to have any benefits, while being wicked seemed to offer everything: good health, wealth, and influence.

And then the pivot point of the Psalm:

¹⁶But when I thought how to understand this,
it seemed to me a wearisome task,
¹⁷until I went into the sanctuary of God;
then I discerned their end.

Being in the presence of God, the psalmist realizes that God does indeed bless the righteous and that the wicked will not always prosper. But here is the biggest revelation of the Psalm and what actually had me in tears today:

²¹When my soul was embittered,
when I was pricked in heart,
²²I was brutish and ignorant;
I was like a beast toward you.
²³Nevertheless, I am continually with you;
you hold my right hand.

²⁴You guide me with your counsel,
and afterward you will receive me to glory.
²⁵Whom have I in heaven but you?
And there is nothing on earth that I desire besides you.
²⁶My flesh and my heart may fail,
but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.

So there it is. When we are brutish and beastly toward God, He is still lovingly holding us. He is our portion, our strength, our savior, and brings us into His glory. Amen!

not much going on...

Short post tonight. It's day 9 of the blog and day 8 of the run. Still about 5 lbs lost.

Nothing much in the works right now. Just busy with school work and feel a bit low. I kinda fell a little like the psalmist did from yesterday's post....

But I will remember. And I know that despite my shortcomings, God is still at work in my life and the life of my family. So, I will praise Him and I will recall all His wondrous deeds!

Keep us in your prayers folks as we search out how and where God is going to use us. We need the revelation of the Holy Spirit and the guidance, wisdom, and prayers of friends and family.

Goodnight and I hope you all have a wonderful day tomorrow!

Psalm 77

I have been working on Psalm 77 for one of my classes and have really fallen in love with this Psalm. The author of this psalm uses the first 10 verses to proclaim the depth of his sorrow and his fearful questioning of God. God has seemingly abandoned the author (and presumably all of Israel) and the author of the psalm is experiencing great torment and pain.

Can you relate? I know that I have been in similar places before, where God's presence seems far off. The remedy for the author of the psalm is to remember. In the final verses the redemptive and creative acts of God, from creation to the salvific act of deliverance at the Red Sea, are recalled. As the author recalls God's work, the very presence of God seems to return. Remembering is a powerful act. Hindsight, as the saying goes, is 20/20. As we remember, we can see how God has been at work in our own lives and throughout the history of humanity.

Here is the Psalm:

¹My voice rises to God, and I will cry aloud;
My voice rises to God, and He will hear me.
²In the day of my trouble I sought the Lord;
In the night my hand was stretched out without weariness;
My soul refused to be comforted.
³When I remember God, then I am disturbed;
When I sigh, then my spirit grows faint. Selah.
⁴You have held my eyelids open;
I am so troubled that I cannot speak.
⁵I have considered the days of old,
The years of long ago.
⁶I will remember my song in the night;
I will meditate with my heart,
And my spirit ponders:
⁷Will the Lord reject forever?
And will He never be favorable again?
⁸Has His lovingkindness ceased forever?
Has His promise come to an end forever?
⁹Has God forgotten to be gracious,
Or has He in anger withdrawn His compassion? Selah.
¹⁰Then I said, "It is my grief,
That the right hand of the Most High has changed."
¹¹I shall remember the deeds of the LORD;
Surely I will remember Your wonders of old.
¹²I will meditate on all Your work
And muse on Your deeds.
¹³Your way, O God, is holy;
What god is great like our God?
¹⁴You are the God who works wonders;
You have made known Your strength among the peoples.
¹⁵You have by Your power redeemed Your people,
The sons of Jacob and Joseph. Selah.
¹⁶The waters saw You, O God;
The waters saw You, they were in anguish;
The deeps also trembled.
¹⁷The clouds poured out water;
The skies gave forth a sound;
Your arrows flashed here and there.
¹⁸The sound of Your thunder was in the whirlwind;
The lightnings lit up the world;
The earth trembled and shook.
¹⁹Your way was in the sea
And Your paths in the mighty waters,
And Your footprints may not be known.
²⁰You led Your people like a flock
By the hand of Moses and Aaron.

Goodbye to Kelly Billy and Eisley!

We had to say goodbye to our good friends the Lawsons today. The whole Fitzgerald family will miss Kelly, Billy, and Eisley very much! I can't wait to see how God uses them as they move to live in a Mennonite community in Waco, TX. We love y'all Lawsons!

In other news, the next few weeks are going to be pretty busy. I am still working on my on-line class, I have Church History II next week as an intensive, and we are meeting on August 8th in Gainseville, GA about the possible church plant there. We really are in a holding pattern right now as we try to discern what the next move is. Please keep praying for us to seek and know God's will.

Blog: Day 7 Run: Day 6 Weight lost: 4lbs. I seem to have gained a pound back. Thank you Totino for making such delicious pizza rolls for my snacking enjoyment.

Running with my boys

Sam and Jack ran with me tonight. Sam ran 4 miles without stopping and Jack ran 2.25. They were really amazing! They both inherited endurance from me, but their speed comes from Brandie's side. And they are freakin' fast! I can't wait to see if Luke is the same way. He's already pretty fast, but he's a little more of a bruiser than the other two.He may be the fullback. Give 'em the ball, let him light it up right down the middle. He'll run the other players over Herschel Walker style. Jack and Sam will take it to the outside, hurdle a few players and do a front flip over a linebacker in their best imitation of Knowshon Mereno.

Can you tell that UGA football is getting closer? Oh my goodness, it's almost time to hunger down you hairy DAWGS....

Blog: day 6
Running:day 5
Weight lost: 5lbs

The Nicholasville Pool

Blog: Day 5 Running: Day 4 Weight Lost: 4 lbs

Ya' know those little fish that swim around you and nibble on your torso when you're swimming in the lake? Yesterday I was at the pool with the family and a little boy with upside down goggles, a snorkel, and a nose plug kept swimming around my legs and waist. I kept thinking about those little fish and he kept swimming closer, making me feel very uncomfortable. Just as I was looking around, trying to see if his parents were around or if I was on a TV show, when he grabbed my wrist and looked at my watch. When he looked up at me I asked him his name. Here is his response, word for word:

"My name is Hunter. I'm seven. My mom just signed me up for golf camp and I have golf balls."

Can't think of anything profound to say about this incident. Just another day at the Nicholasville Pool.

Old Spice

Thank you Old Spice. Because of you humorous commercials my sons wanted to buy your product. Tonight, wanting to "smell like a man" they scrubbed themselves with a vengeance. They are cleaner than they have ever been. And they smell like men...

Blog: Day 4. Running:Day 3. Weight lost 4 lbs.

Baseball, sleep overs, and The Sandlot.

Blog: Day 3. Running: day 2. Weight lost: 2 lbs.

Jack’s friend Caleb is spending the night tonight. Caleb LOVES baseball, but unfortunately is an Indians fan. I tried to reason with him and explain just how bad the Bravos spanked the Indians in the 1995 World Series, but he’s only 7. He’ll see the ligh this year when the Brave win it all…

They watched The Sandlot and laughed hysterically. I don’t care who you are, if you don’t get a little choked up at the end when the adult Bennie is stealing home and Smalls is calling the game from the announcer’s booth, then someone stole your soul.

As I tucked the boys into bed (inside a pretty sweet sheet fort I made for them) Caleb looked up and said, “Mr. Joey, do you think I can make it to the majors when I grow up?” It was such an innocent, sweet, hopeful question. I kissed him on the forehead and told him that I absolutely thought he could make it.

Of course I now expect a cut of his major league salary. And I’ll cheer for him even if he plays for the Indians.

Independent Study

I had a great lunch with an Asbury Professor today, Dr. Mike Pasquarello. He is going to oversee an independent study for me as I look at the use of art work in the history of Christianity. Specifically I will be looking at the effects of the Reformation on Art, how we are still recovering from the violent overreaction of the Reformation, and how the Church can use art today. I know, for some that may seem like torture, but I am really geeking out here! I can't wait. I am going to write 3 papers, create 3 corrosponding pieces of artwork, and organize and host an art exhibit at the seminary. You are all invited to attend.

It's day 2 of the 30 day blog and day 1 of the 30 day run. I ran about 3 miles this morning and it felt pretty good. I just weighed and I am right at 185. Hopefully on August 19th I will be down to 170 or under.

News and notes...

OK, I am going to start again. The past month I have been awful at my posting. Here we go: I am going to post every day for the next 30 days until August 18th. I am also going to run everyday for the next 30 days in an attempt to lose 10-15 lbs. I am tired of being out of shape, undisciplined, and always so exhausted. So here goes...

Here are the news items that I have neglected:

• Here is the picture of Ringo, our new Dog.
  

• I am the new assistant coach for the Asbury University Swim team. Doesn't pay much, but coaching is the one thing (besides the kids themselves) that I have missed since I left Dalton High School and came to seminary.

• We'll be heading to GA to talk with some folks in Gainesville about doing the Anglican church plant there. I am excited to see what happens. Keep this in all of your prayers..

• I have also finished my job as a youth pastor. This is so bittersweet. On one hand I know that I am in God's will in leaving, but on the other I really am going to miss those kids. But the guy that took over for me will do a great job and I know that the kids will love him.

Well, that's all the news for now. I'll have something witty and clever tomorrow.

Wesely Drinks a Coke

Thanks to my friend Kelly Lawson, here is a picture of Wesley drinking the heavenly Cola of the Trinity.

No Coke at Asbury

I am upset. They have replaced the Coke machines at Asbury Seminary with Pepsi machines. And i thought that we loved Jesus here...

I was so upset that Sam, Jack, Luke, and I went and taped a Coke can in the hand of the John Wesley Statue and hung a sign around his neck asking for the Seminary to bring back Coke. I plan more extensive protests in the future.

In other news, the NL just won the All Star game. SWEET. That means that when the Braves win the World Series this year they will have home field advantage.

Ringo

So I have not written in about a week and a half. I think that have lost my bet. I may be getting the rabbits after all...

I did get a new dog. He is a black and white border collie and is 5 1/2 months old. We named him Ringo. No matter what my wife may say, he is NOT named after a certain member of The Beatles. We were going through names while the boys were playing with him. Luke had a hose and was spraying the dog, who absolutely loved it! Since he liked the water so much, I started thinking about all the swim teams I have coached. The Ringgold Tigersharks popped into my mind and since I love and miss my old team, I suggested Ringo for short. The boys and Brandie all agreed. So Ringo it is.

Plus Ringo was one of the bad guys in Tombstone, one of the greatest Westerns of all time. And for a little bonus, there is a classic country song about a cowboy named Ringo sung/spoken by Lorne Green. Here is a video I found of it on Youtube:

an ER visit

Well, we tricked out the slip and slide today by digging a hole, covering it with a tarp, and filling it with water. The boys loved it. Right after this video was taken, I tried my turn. At the bottom, my foot hit a stick and sliced it right up. Now I have 7 nice stitches on the bottom of my foot. I am in pain....