I’m not as big a fan of baseball as I was as a kid. In fact, I sort of lost interest in the sport back during the lockout of 1994. It was passively rekindled when I would sit with my dad and watch Yankee games between alternating snoozes.
I played baseball in my younger days, first as stick ball in the street and pick-up games at local lots in Paterson, NJ, then with the Paterson Little League — go Chevy Midgets! — and finally as a freshman in high school where a slightly gun shy catcher {I had broken my finger in my last Little League appearance} was no match for an eventual All-League backstop. So, I traded the bat and glove in for a pad and pencil and pursued other {although unbeknownst to me at the time} career path pastimes.
I discovered I enjoyed writing about baseball much more than playing it and was blessed to cover the 1970 Little League World Series {wow, 50 years ago!} when Wayne-New Jersey East waltzed through the Williamsport tournament with three straight shutouts over Canada-Quebec (10-0), Highland-Indiana Central (4-0), and finally Campbell-California West (2-0), two of the shutouts by Steve O’Neill and a team ERA of 0.00 — both still in the official Little League record books. The following year, 1971, I followed the Pequannock (NJ) East squad to Gary, IN, and the Senior Little League World Series. The Jersey squad played four close games in the double elimination tournament, beating Puerto Rico, 7-5, and Wisconsin, 4-3, before dropping a 3-1 decision to eventual champion LaHabra, CA, in a 17-inning marathon in the semifinals and in 11 innings to the eventual runner-up, Richmond, VA .
Only my oldest son showed any real interest in baseball beyond early summer amusement. But four of my grandsons hit the diamond with determination well beyond Little League. One played in college and the developmental league before a shoulder injury and adulting took over.
All of that brings us to today … actually last night. My youngest Ohio grandson is playing in a shortened community league. I got to see him play and I will probably be watching again this evening when he has another game scheduled.
The present tucked in among the memories. I am blessed.
THOUGHT TO REMEMBER: Peace does not mean to be in a place where there is no noise, trouble or hard work. Peace means to be in the midst of all those things and still be calm in your heart.
For Dad 
More Lockdown Humor 
If you haven’t read the book, it is a fictional Christian apologetic novel Lewis uses to address theological issues, primarily those to do with temptation and resistance to it. The story is simply a one-sided series of letters — 31 — from a senior demon Screwtape to his nephew Wormwood, a junior tempter in the “lowerarchy” of hell. Screwtape responds to his nephew’s reports regarding his responsibility in securing the damnation of a British man known only as “the patient”. It was first published in February 1942, thus evoking the fear of war, hatred of the Germans, and war itself.
My version also included a short postscript written in 1959 for the 
Dr. James Dobson’s experience at the public school system was from 1960-63. In his the final year, he had to say goodbye to 25 to 30 teary-eyed kids. One young lady whom he said goodbye to in 1963 called him in 1975. Julie had grown up. James remembered her as a seventh grader with a crisis of confidence in herself. Her Latin heritage embarrassed her and she was overweight. She had only one friend, and this friend had moved away the following year. She and Dr. Dobson talked on the phone about the good ole days.
For us as believers, contentment should be governed by inner attitude and the decisions we make rather than by external circumstances. Because Paul had learned this secret, he was able to experience joy and peace in any kind of situation — whether he was surrounded by friends or isolated in a Roman prison; whether he had plenty or was in great need.
Charles Stanley is senior pastor of First Baptist Church in Atlanta, GA. He is the founder and president of In Touch Ministries and served two one-year terms as president of the Southern Baptist Convention from 1984-1986. He has an evangelical and dispensationalist theology. For more biblical teaching and resources from Dr. Stanley, visit 
Approach the throne room and respond with faith and not fear, knowing the promises of God and His mighty hand will hold us through any situation! Sometimes, all it takes is just one prayer to change everything. Something extraordinary happens when two or more agree together in prayer.
Eric is at end stage of an autoimmune disease, battling high ammonia. He is very weak and has dropped 40 pounds in three months. Prayers requested.
Cindy is asking for prayers. She has had three heart attacks and headed to ER with possibly another one.
Toby is fighting an infection caused by stepping on a nail. He is in danger of losing part of his leg. Prayers requested.
Leticia is suffering from glaucoma, optic nerve damage/detachment, and high pressure in the eyes. Prayers requested.
We come to You, Lord, because prayer is the least yet the greatest thing we can do for each other. When two or more are gathered in Your name, we confidently know You are with us. What better company can we have? You reign and we trust You! We may be broken and battered but know You heal and quiet the soul. You are the source for all that happens in our lives. We thank You for the progress being made. We thank You for the many blessings we have received this week. Some we unfortunately didn’t notice. Nonetheless, those blessings are ever-present in our lives. We thank You for healing. We thank You for slowing us down. We thank You for providing us our daily needs — no more and no less. We thank You for being with us, listening to us, walking with us on this journey. We thank You for the support of our family and friends … for seeing the extraordinary in the ordinary — sunrises, sunsets, flowers, kids laughing, adventures, good news amid the bad news. We know we can come to You with our concerns and they will be heard. Through Christ all things are possible. We lift up those family members and friends who are battling various physical, emotional, financial, career or spiritual issues and ask not for Your guidance and healing (although that would be welcomed) but to keep reminding us we are not alone in our battles. Specifically we lift up Eric, Laura, Virginia, Pamela, Tom, Angela, John, Mindy, Cindy, Jack, Pete, Henna, Lissette, Donna, Sarah, Michelle, Toby, Beth, Leroy, Frank, Alma, Debra, Liz, Leticia, Miriam, James, Greg, Hilda, Andrew, and all those needing Your healing and guiding touch. We pray for the families of all those You have called home. We grieve … You celebrate. We pray for obedience to Your Will so Your “Son” Light shines through us through the power of the Spirit. And we come to You through the confidence of the words taught by Your Son Jesus. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
I’ve also been sharing other takes on the value of the exercise, taken from snippets found in 
We know we’re not perfect. We also know in our imperfection, we are often blinded by our biases, cultures, gender, station in life. The world around us — remembering we were born into it at this time and place — helps shape the world we are trying to serve. And, so, the big HOW.
I — we — have to look beyond the darkness and look for the light. There is so much to celebrate in life — accomplishments, opportunities, walking together. We have to be willing to not only talk together but listen and work together. We have to switch our thinking from six square blocks of chaos in Seattle to the peace and tranquility of almost 84 square miles of the city. We have to remember one bad action — be it law enforcement or law breakers — is not all inclusive. We have stop dividing and start uniting. Banning Civil War era films, tearing down statues, replacing one culture’s icons for another’s are not the answer.
Congratulations!
Again, congratulations. We applaud your past achievements and we look forward to your future accomplishments. You have to believe you can be whatever you want to be. They key word there is “believe.”
Amen
Pandemic Paranoia 
That led to suggestions from my fellow tweeters to read the book Liturgy of the Ordinary by Tish Harrison Warren. Since I was heading to South Carolina for a long weekend, I downloaded the audio version. It was just over four and a half hours long — a perfect listen for the leg of the journey.
The Light 