Spring training is a picture of grace; The Speed of Life

A Season for Starting Over
Spring training is a picture of grace

As mounds of snow begin to melt
some other mounds appear.
The spell of winter’s wearing off.
Spring Training’s finally here.

Though base paths still are mostly mud
and infield grass is brown,
I think that I can almost hear
those most amazing sounds…

The slap of leather, crack of bat
and feet stomps in the stands.
The vendors’ cries, the ump’s “yeer out!”
and cheering of the fans.

And though my team was bad last year
and finished up dead last,
with spring a new day dawns with hope.
Regrets are in the past.

And that is what the Bible says….
Grace offers brand new starts.
The old has passed. The new has come
with clean, forgiven hearts.

* “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!” (2 Corinthians 5:17 NIV)

The Speed of Life
We’re moving much too fast!

We’re moving at the speed of life.
There’s way too much to do.
Our mates have plans. The kids have needs.
Our aging parents, too.

Yes, multitasking finds us frayed
much like a stretched-out rope.
We juggle countless balls at once
except that one called “cope.”

Our President’s proof positive.
His salt-and-pepper hair
is case in point of how life’s speed
breeds wrinkles, stress and fear.

We go, go, go and go some more.
A death sentence for sure.
While nouns once punctuated life,
we’ve given way to verbs.

The speed of life is much too fast.
O, God, please slow us down.
Create some speed bumps in life’s road.
Replace our verbs with nouns.

Confessions of a Cheesehead; Super Bowl XLV

Why I’m Pullling for the Packers
It all goes back to when I was a boy

Mr. Rogers’ neighborhood
are Pittsburgh Steelers fans.
Daniel Tiger’s stripes are black and gold.
King Friday thinks come Sunday
the “steel curtain” will prevail.
But I think the king is prematurely bold.

The cheddar wedge I’m wearing
indicates the team I’m for.
Yes, I’ve been a Packers fan since I was nine.
Coach Lombardi, Starr and Hornung
brought the game to life for me
about the time I played with words that rhyme.

Lambeau Field (that frozen tundra)
breeds a brand of athlete
that’s made strong by dealing with adversity.
No domed stadium for Cheeseheads.
Players and their fans alike
are a kind of pain-means-gain fraternity.

Like St. Peter in the Bible
they believe that suffering
has the means to purify what’s valuable.*
Tested by both ice and fire,
they know well what tempers steel
and that’s what the Pack will do come Super Bowl.

* In all this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. 7 These have come so that the proven genuineness of your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed. 8 Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, 9 for you are receiving the end result of your faith, the salvation of your souls. (1 Peter 1:6-9)

** http://www.bpnews.net/bpnews.asp?ID=34574

Super Bowl XLV
A kind of Judgment Day

It all comes down to Sunday’s game.
Two winning teams. One common aim.
To claim the Vince Lombardi prize
and be called “champions.”

The Super Bowl provides a test
to prove who really are the best.
It is a kind of Judgment Day
when hard work earns its due.

But come the Judgment Day we’ll face,
who wins will win because of grace.
The trophy of eternal life
was won at Calvary.

In Christ we’re reigning champions
because of what God’s Son has done.
He tackled death and sacked our sin
to earn our victory.

The votes are in; Smart Phone Addiction

Chicago’s All-Time Favorite Sport
The votes are in

I know you’ve probably heard about
Chicago politics.
“Vote early and vote often!”
How ’bout Blago’s shady schtick?

Where Al Capone and Baby Face
once crimed their way to fame
a godfather-like atmosphere
still lingers in this place.

The Daley Show has run its course
and proved you can’t get rich
without some union on your side
or scratching someone’s itch..

The Windy City’s good old boys
aren’t known to kiss and tell.
Look how they tried to block the way
of Rahm Emanuel.

The Cubs, Sox, Bears, Bulls and Blackhawks
pale when contrasted to
the game that’s played at City Hall
where old tricks still are new.

Smart Phone Addiction
Why the Blackberry is often called Crackberry

You’ve likely heard of Blackberries*
(a most addictive fruit).
It’s one of many smart phone brands
that leaves you un-astute.

You crave (and simply can’t ignore
the need) to send a text.
And then the e-mail signal “dings”
and you must read that next.

The Microsoft ads on TV
aren’t REALLY that absurd.
They underscore a sickness
that (to date) has no known cure.

A smart phone junkie feels withdrawls
when they eat, sleep or drive.
That unmet urge to stay in-touch
feels like they won’t survive.

Yes, I admit my iPhone apps
provide me with a high
to which I’ve grown accustomed and
without which I will die!

* Blackberry smart phones are so addictive, they are often nicknamed Crackberries.

A look back at Jack LaLanne’s legacy

He juiced his veggies, snacked on nuts,
he lifted weights and then
he plagued his body working out
so it would not plague him.

Ninety-six? He looked sixty
with biceps few can boast.
Was it genetics, carrot juice
or whole wheat seeded toast?

But now that Jack LaLanne is gone
the bottom line is clear.
Both exercise and diet count.
Those fit die healthier.

The fitness guru’s death recalls
the need for exercise.
But rock-hard buns and abs of steel
pale next to Heaven’s prize.

A daily workout in God’s Word
will build faith muscles fast.
For in the end a healthy soul’s
the only thing that lasts.
 
* My grandmother was a Jack LaLanne enthusiast fifty years ago. Whenever I would visit Nana Birkeland, I would join her doing “exercises with Jack” in front of the old black and white TV. She also blended vegetables into juice. I learned to drink “Carrot Annie” about the same time she introduced me to Postum.