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When I grew up playing sports, the coaching staff always took the time to teach us the basic fundamentals and to also serve as role models.  Oh, how the times have changed.

Yesterday it was reported that Rutger’s basketball coach, Mike Rice, had been throwing basketballs at players and physically pushing his players. I’m not sure what bothers me more? The fact that he did these things or that the University waited several months before firing him? ESPN had run a story on Coach Rice yesterday, showing videos of him kicking his players, throwing basketballs at their heads and even grabbing them by their jerseys. And now, 24 hours later, Rutgers University has made the decision to relieve him of his head coaching duties.

But the interesting part of this story, to me is this:

Rice had been suspended for three games in December and fined $50,000 after athletic department officials saw video footage of abuse.

So, Rutgers was area of this situation, suspended Coach Rice and fined him.  I am all about giving people second chances, but not when they could potentially hurt a player.  How are our kids supposed to learn how to play the game the right way, when coaches are doing this? Was this an isolated incident in the NCAA. I am sure that it is. And I am also sure that given the chance to do this again, that Coach Rice would never have chosen these methods of coaching.  And I do sincerely hope that at some point time in the future, another university will give Coach Rice another chance to redeem himself. But today, I watch in disbelief and think back to my coaches and the lessons that they taught us.  And not just lessons about fundamentals to field a ground ball or take a charge. But how to conduct yourself when you are in public, because you represent your school and team.  The importance of teamwork and that you have to rely on others in life for help. Thanking a teammate for a pass or picking up a missed ground ball.

Was this an isolated incident, I certainly hope so, because I really hope that my kids never see a coach treat players like this. And I would really hope that any university or high school program today, if they know of any of their coaching staff that is using these same coaching techniques and styles, are evaluating and improving their programs.  Kids need role models.  They need good coaches. I just feel bad that the kids at Rutgers had to experience this.

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Growing up in a Baptist Church, we attended ever Sunday morning, Sunday evening and Wednesday night, without fail. Somewhere along the way, my views on church started to change and my views longer aligned themselves with the Baptist church. So, instead of looking elsewhere, I just quit attending all together. Not the right approach, but when our minister and his son both died in the same week of very difficult cancers, I really had some serious questions for God and I needed some answers.

Over the course of 2 years, I searched for answers, not hard, but I searched. I talked with people/friends/etc to ask, why? Why would God allow a pastor and his little son to both die? No one had an answer. But, something happened one day Friday after work. I got a phone call from my sister and she said that her best friend’s mom had just died and the wanted me to attend the funeral the following week. I was close to my sister’s friend, so it wasn’t a strange request and it was easy enough to change my schedule to attend the funeral. But something happened that day. Something changed me while I was sitting in church. For some reason, I was at peace with all of those questions that I had about God and church before.

That day, after leaving the funeral, I was asked what I thought about the service and I just replied that, I would start attending that United Methodist Church going forward. And that is what happened. From that day forward, I have been a member of the Methodist Church.  I look back on my time in Texas and I was very active in the church. I was there for everything. I was always willing to give if a child could not afford to attend a camp.  The church was a huge part of my life there.

Then I moved to the east coast. And I searched and went to 10 different different Methodist Churches and I just couldn’t find a fit. My now wife and I attended a Methodist Church and it was ok. I was not blown away by any of the sermons. I never left better than I came into the sanctuary.   I often was more at peace after listening to the church sermon from my church out in Texas than I was at any of the churches that I have attended here. And then today. Today, on my Facebook wall, I saw a post about a United Methodist Minister, Jeffery Herships, holding church in Denver bars. And it hit me, man, this is awesome. Not because you could have a beer or a glass of wine with the sermon, though that is cool. But this guy is going where the unchurched are. He is going to meet the people in their environment. He says the exact same thing that I told friends just yesterday, Church can be anywhere.

I’ve often struggled with the idea that church has to be Sunday morning at 9:20 am or 11:00 am in a big building. Why can’t church be on a mountain top over looking a city? Why can’t church be out on the water and a group of 5 sail boats are all anchored out? How says that church as to be on Sunday morning? I have watched this video a few times now and have emailed it to friends that work with the United Methodist Church and we have all said the same thing, church is changing.  And for me, going to church is important and it is something that I want to instill in my sons, that there is a higher being and that it is ok to believe in God. But I also want them to understand too, that church does not mean that you have to wear a suit and tie on Sunday morning to a big building, because those people that are in the video that are getting a sandwich in the park, are not dressed up, but they are being ministered to. They are receiving a blessing from God.

So what does church look like for you? A big sanctuary on Sunday morning? Or spending time with others in the presence of God wherever you are?

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Today isn’t just about the Easter bunny coming for a visit, it is the day that Christians celebrate the resurrection of Jesus.

We have setup Easter eggs for the boys and have their baskets ready. The boys have been been fighting off colds the last several days, so I am not sure if we will be attending church today or not? But we will spend the day together, as a family. Easter is a time for reflection. Easter is time to remember that Jesus gave up his life here on earth to save the lives of those of us here.

So whatever you do today, I hope that you spend time with your family and that you remember the reason for today.

 

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Today is a symbolic day within the Christian community, as it is the day that Jesus died on the cross for us.  I don’t want to go too deep here, as everyone has their own personal beliefs on religion.
I think that as with everything, you can look at days like this in multiple ways.  It can be a time for internal reflection of your own personal religious beliefs. It can also serve as just another day for those that do not believe.

But as a Christian, I look at it 2 ways.

1) Jesus took it upon himself to fulfill the prophecy to save the world and my sins.  But even on the cross, he saved the life of one of the criminals that was hanging on the cross with him.

42 And he was saying, “Jesus, remember me when You come in Your kingdom!” 43 And He said to him, “Truly I say to you, today you shall be with Me in Paradise.Luke 23:42-43

2) God sacrificed his only son Jesus, for us. As a parent, it is our responsibility to sacrifice ourselves for our children. We need to put their needs in front of ours.

So, if you are a Christian, take a moment and reflect on this Good Friday and what the symbol of the cross means for you, both as a Christian and a parent. If you are not a Christian, then I pray that you would consider reading more about Good Friday using a great site YouVersion.

 

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I love pizza, I mean, who doesn’t? So recently I tried a store bought pizza dough and loved the flavors and the way that it tasted. And then I thought, why not make a homemade pizza? So after searching around, here is what I came up with and I’ll denote if there were any changes to the recipes.

First the pizza dough: This will easily make 3 large pizzas. So, if you look at it from a cost benefit – the flour might be the most expensive ingredient for this recipe.
Olive Oil Dough Pizza Crust – If you don’t own the Artisan Bread book, please consider picking it up.

Then, the pizza sauce: Again, we are looking at enough sauce for 3 large pizzas. For the cost stand point, this is a verable cost, because the tomato paste could be used with fresh tomatoes and the herbs could be fresh, etc.
Pizza Sauce – I used herbs that I had at the house that were in a jar, but that was because they were already there. Next time, I will be using fresh herbs and maybe a little less rosemary than what is called for.

Basically, 20 – 30 minutes of work to make the pizza crust and sauce and you might be out, maybe $10- 15 dollars depending on your costs? Not bad for 3 large pizzas.

And, if you wanted to include something for the kids. Take a cookie cutter and cut a little dough for the kids and make a small individual pizza for them. Not bad for 20 – 30 minutes of work and I promise, you’ll never buy another store bought or chain pizza again, provided you have the time to make all of this.

*Note: We did purchase a bottle of Butter Flavored Olive Oil, so I used that instead of the extra virgin olive oil for the pizza crust and used a Tuscan Herb Olive Oil for the sauce.

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Sometimes, it rains. Sometimes, it snows. And based on my view outside, we have about 6 inches of snow on the ground.

This morning we had a snow storm to move through and drop about 6 inches of fresh snow on the ground, which caused a few things to be changed in my day. Mostly, the nanny wasn’t able to get to our house, and my wife had to go out for work, that left me being the odd man out to call out and take a snow day.

The great part about today, is that I get to spend another day with the boys. We have had a lot of fun today, playing games, reading stories and watching cartoons. I love days like this.

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Lately, I’ve been doing a lot of cooking on the weekend for the week. And this week, with the weather turning a little warmer, I thought that I would fire up the smoker. So this weekends menu will be as follows:

Saturday – smoke a turkey and sausage links. This will be a 6 hour smoke, using hickory wood, so this will also give me time to whip up some homemade BBQ sauce as well.
Sunday – I found this recipe for Slow Cooker Bacon-Wrapped Apple BBQ that really peeked my interest. Since I will only be cooking 4 pieces of chicken, I’ll probably make some Chicken Enchiladas too.

So what are you cooking this weekend? Next week, I’ll share with you the recipes that I’ve been using for homemade pizza.

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“Imagine what our real neighborhoods would be like, if each of us offered as a matter of course, just one kind word to another person…
One kind word has a wonderful way of
turning into many.” – Fred Rogers

Today would have been Mister Rogers’ 85th birthday, and true to Mister Rogers legacy, today is Won’t You Be My Neighbor Day.  Could you imagine neighbors helping others, just as a random act of kindness?  Could you imagine how our society would change, if more stopped and helped others?  Please take a moment to read more about Won’t You Be My Neighbor Day on Mister Rogers’ website: http://www.fci.org/neighbor/ and you view the Caring Checklist here and also see below the ideas to be a better neighbor:

  • Smile
  • Plant a tree
  • Say “Thank You”
  • Sort and recycle glass, newspapers, plastic and cardboard
  • Give the gift of laughter: clip cartoons, share funny stories
  • Offer to take the shopping cart back for someone loading his or her car
  • Shop with reusable bags
  • Make a donation to your favorite non-profit – You can donate to the Mister Rogers Company.
  • Save throw-aways (egg cartons, ribbons, etc.) for art projects
  • Share a hug
  • Be a good friend by just listening
  • Reuse cardboard boxes to store toys and supplies
  • Volunteer at a senior center
  • Pay someone a compliment
  • Visit your local library for story time, crafts, songs and games
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For most, the weekend is a time to get caught up with chores around the house and planning for the next week. But that isn’t the case for us this weekend. This weekend, is a little different, as we are going to be kid less.

Finally, a weekend off. Well, not really a weekend, more like 24 hours, but nevertheless, time off. No responsibilities, just my wife and I. Dinner, a movie, a little shopping for the boys.

Will we miss them? Absolutely. Fortunately, our family will be sending us photos, but it is needed time a way. Not because we will not love them or miss them, but before it was a family a four, it was my wife and I, a family of two.

As I recently told a friend, who he and his wife are expecting their first child, it is important to stay connected to your wife after your child is born. Because if you lose that connection or the relationship gets lost, there is no marriage.

So plan a weekend away. Take time for just the two of you. Miss your children, but reconnect with your spouse.

I can not wait for the weekend.

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I have a feeling that this will be the first of many Guys Weekend.  My wife has to be out of town for a conference and it is just me and the boys. GUYS WEEKEND!

So what do you do with 2 2 year old twins for Guys Weekend? Well, strip clubs are obviously out, not that I have ever done that before anyway. Maybe Hooters? Maybe the zoo? But it still might be too cold for that? I want to get them out and do something, but not sure what?

I’m sure that there will be something that we can do, even if it is going to the mall and just walking around. I’ve been blessed beyond belief to have two great little boys that like to go and do, but more importantly, behave when we are in public.  And because they are so good in public, I don’t mind taking them out or even taking them to lunch on my own. Maybe there is a game on tv? I know that UNC vs. dook is that night, but that will be past their bedtime. Maybe watch a spring training game?

So what is on tap for Guys Weekend? No clue, but whatever we do, we will be together and I am pretty sure that there will be a lot of laughing.

I can’t wait for Guys Weekend, but I also can’t wait for my wife to get back to help me out too.

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