Walking is medicine — it cures anxiety, sparks inspiration, and brings us back to ourselves
I am back home for Christmas, and yesterday, on Boxing Day, I walked in the rain from my village and down into the valley, then upwards and into the woodlands. From Human Parts
By David Freeze
I grew up idolizing my hero, New York Yankees baseball star, Mickey Mantle. Living on a small rural dairy farm, I really had to work to find someone to play ball with. My brother and sister didn’t care for sports much and still don’t. I couldn’t get enough of football or basketball, but baseball had that special appeal. At that time, I think baseball was truly America’s game. To me, it still is.
Baseball on TV was rare then but sometimes I could get a game on the radio while sitting on the front porch swing during nice summer nights. We didn’t have air conditioning at home, so the cool night air was often a relief from a warm house. Just me and my small radio, searching for any game but especially grateful on the nights that the proper atmosphere allowed reception of a station carrying Yankees baseball.
I had a cousin who often visited who loved the game as much as me. We could sometimes get my brother to play baseball games with us. I can never remember more than the three of us at home playing.
Most fun of all was little league baseball that we played in Landis. I played on the Lions and my brother, along with our nearest neighbor, played on the Firemen. Our parents often shared the rides for the three of us to practices and games. There were only four teams in our league and we played twice a week.
I remember my first time at the old Landis ballpark, originally used for semi-pro and high school baseball. The covered wooden stands and the field itself both seemed huge, especially to a small 11 year old boy. We had a team shirt, which I still have, and a ball cap. That shirt lasted a long time. Those games were more than 50 years ago.
Another thing that lasted a long time were the baseballs. I remember how special we felt to ever see a new baseball. The pictures I have seen of early 1900’s major league players never included a new white baseball. All our practices were done with old balls, some of them heavy from getting wet previously. Those were also the days of the good little league teams only having three or four wooden bats. Yes, wooden bats just like the major league players used. Old balls and well-worn bats simply were baseball back then.
Most games began with a new ball and a good used one as backup. We just needed enough balls as a team to warm up with. Should one of the game balls get lost, the home team had to put in play one of their best warmup balls. Someone was always sent to look for a lost game ball on the very big field at Landis. And they kept looking until the ball was found.
My point here is that game balls were often used for a long time and could on occasion begin to show damage. First signs would be scuffs and occasionally the stitching began to break. Little red threads made those stitches and one break usually led to another. Still we played on unless the cover did actually begin to come loose. Each time the ball was hit hard, the cover would continue to unravel. The horsehide started to flap but only on the rare occasion could someone hit the ball so hard the cover actually came off. Usually a mammoth clout finished off the ball and another one from the warm- up bag replaced it. No one complained and we all thought losing the coverless ball was just a part of the game. But the mammoth clout wasn’t that common and took special effort.
But how about that baseball, the one with the cover knocked off? Roy Hobbs, in the movie, The Natural, hit it so hard and well that the ball unraveled on the way to the outfield. In our life, should we always try our hardest for the things we believe in. The term, “Knock the cover off the ball”, today means going hard, giving our best and just simply making the best effort we can for the intended result. How we can go wrong when doing that?
Do your best on your walk of faith. If God tells you to do something, work hard and do your best. God will do all the things you can’t do.
Know ye not that they which run in a race run all, but one receiveth the prize? So run, that ye may obtain. 1 Corinthians 9:24-25.
Groundhog Day is celebrated in many locations around the U.S. The biggest ceremony takes place in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania. Georgia has its own groundhog meteorologist as well. Gen. Beauregard Lee lives in Dauset Trails Nature Center in Jackson. From The Atlanta Journal
By Ann Farabee
The young baseball player began to step up to the plate, while holding a bat that was about as big as he was.
But, before he positioned himself, he looked around, searching for the presence of the one he most wanted to see – his father.
He knew his dad had promised he would be there that day, but he was unable to see him in the crowd.
It only took one pitch – and he was off! Rounding the bases as quickly as those little legs could carry him, he heard a voice from the stands, “Keep going! Keep going!”
He recognized that voice – as the voice of his father.
As he touched home plate to complete his first ever home run, he looked up – and there he was – his father running toward him to scoop him up in his arms.
As he swung him around, the son cried out, “You were here the whole time – and I didn’t even know it!”
While witnessing this, and hearing those words from a child, I was reminded of the story of Jacob in Genesis 28. Jacob was in a hard place in life. A dark place. A cold place. A lonely place.
I can almost envision the pain, fear, exhaustion, desperation, and perhaps tears that he experienced while in that place. The sun had set, so he stayed all night, and used a rock for a pillow.
It was not a comfortable place to be.
It was a hard place to have to stay.
But – oh it was so worth it.
Because God showed up – to let him know that He was with him in ALL places – wherever he went – and that He would never leave him.
As Jacob began to awaken from the dream, the reality of the personal life-changing encounter with the Creator of the World left him with these words in his heart and burning on his lips, “Surely the Lord is in this place, and I knew it not.”
It had not been about the place at all.
It had been about the Presence – of the Father.
God WAS there the whole time.
God IS there the whole time.
God WILL BE there the whole time.
But yet – too often – we know it not.
Or we do not even notice.
His Presence.
His Promise.
In our place.
Priceless.
Ann is a speaker and teacher. Contact her at annfarabee@gmail.com or annfarabee.com
NPR’s Ailsa Chang talks with Robert Klara, senior editor for Adweek, about the best and worst Super Bowl commercials — which are often more memorable than the big game itself. From All Things Considered
Adorable 3-year-old leads his pre-K class in lunchtime prayer From USA Today.
By Doug Creamer
About once a month a group of retired teachers gathers in Stanly County for lunch. I taught at North Stanly and South Stanly for about eight years of my career. Somehow when this group meets, I get an invite to join them. Retirement has some benefits.
When I taught in Stanly County I was young and energetic, but I was green. I had one bit of wisdom in my youth: find those who are excellent in their field and hang around them. Learn and glean everything you can from them. I did that. I found the best teachers, the ones with the best reputations, and spent time with them.
One of the most important things I learned early in life was to always do my best on the job. It doesn’t matter if the boss is watching, do your best. Later in my career, I had a principal tell me that she didn’t need to formally observe me to know if I was doing my job. She said that all she had to do is walk past my door and she always saw me engaging with my students.
The retired teachers met for lunch last week. Two things struck me about the conversation around that table. The first was when the thought circulated that they felt they could not teach and engage students today. I looked at them and said, “No, you would still be great. Students today still need the same things you gave them when you were in the classroom. They want to be noticed. They need to be loved. They want to be encouraged to pursue their dreams. They want to be challenged to raise the bar. They want people who believe in them and have hope for their future.”
I agreed that today’s students have many more distractions. I agreed that the educational system seems overly focused on testing. I agreed that the individual freedoms that teachers once had have evaporated. But I still believed that these great teachers could still have an impact on the next generation.
The other thing that impacted me as I listened to them talk was how powerfully teachers had impacted their lives. They were discussing various Catawba College professors. They remembered details about their college teachers that impacted and changed their lives. They remembered specific assignments they completed. They remembered certain tests and even specific questions from those tests.
As I sat and listened I began to wonder how many of our students have the same memories about us. Do our students remember tests or certain activities we did in class? Did the things I said or did have lasting impacts on my students? Do students reflect on what we did in my room like these teachers were remembering their college professors?
I have run into former students through the years, and they always have stories about things that happened in my room. Most of the memories are of something funny. They all remember the Golden Rule of Business: Treat every customer the way you would want to be treated if you were the customer. It was the last question on every test.
I hope I impacted my students with the most important thing of all, God’s love. I know that I am an imperfect person, but I hope that in spite of that, God’s love showed through my life. What we become in life is nowhere near as important as who we become. I wanted to help my students develop high moral standards, learning how to choose right from wrong, seeing the impact of doing good deeds, and how a kind and encouraging word can change someone’s day.
THE most important thing in life is having faith in God. We will all stand before His throne and have to answer for our lives. The key question will be: Did you ask Jesus to be your Savior? If the answer is no, all the good things you have done in your life will not change your destination. We also have to live for Jesus. Is your life a reflection of His love?
I want to encourage you to make the most important decision in your life today. Ask Jesus to be your Savior. No one knows if today will bring a tragic ending to your life. Don’t put this critical decision off. You may not get a moment right before you pass to ask Him into your life. Ask now and live for Him every day. Who knows what kind of legacy you can leave behind if you make the choice to follow Jesus?
Contact Doug Creamer at PO Box 777, Faith, NC 28041or doug@dougcreamer.com