[youtube= http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W3kr99KcoSA]

I’m always wary of people who like to name drop Jesus when winning an award. When I heard Tim Tebow thanking the Lord twice in his Heisman acceptance speech, I decided to do some research into his background and from what I found, I was really impressed.  He seems to be the real deal.

Tebow grew up in a Christian family, led by missionary parents Bob and Pam Tebow. The Tebows are members of First Baptist Church in Jacksonville. He began his walk with Christ as a 6-year-old and has regularly traveled with his family during summers to the Philippines, where he was born, to lead evangelistic crusades and minister in orphanages.

Although his college commitments prevented him from going to the Philippines this summer, Tebow told the Witness the experiences of ministering there remain with him — and is something he will pursue in the future because “it is a valuable part of my life.”

Reflecting on the people he has ministered to, Tebow said, “Meeting all of those different people who have nothing and are poor gave me an appreciation for what me and my family have and provided me with the perspective of taking nothing for granted. It also allowed me to see the effect that I could have on those people. For some, the belief in Christ is all that they have and is much more important than money or material possessions.”

[BP Sports]

Wow and I thought that nothing good could come from the University of Florida (or South Carolina or Alabama or Tennessee).

This is truly amazing [compliments of MudPuppy]. It’s a geographical map of baseball teams and their fan base. Enjoy. The pic can be found here.

I love baseball and Barry Bonds makes me sick. There is so much in baseball that is dishonest and has nothing to do with the game. Barry has brought shame to the game, but he’s not the only one.  He’s just the only one relishing in a glory that is not his. But how many of us do this - relish in glory that’s not ours?

Last week, when I was speaking to a group of youth at a camp about evangelism I asked, “how many of you here have saved someone.” Most raised their hands. Then I quickly retorted, “Christ is the only one that saves, not us.” We don’t save people. We can’t. We’re called to share the good news and be a ready instrument of God, but we will never saved anyone. We never will.

Knowing that Christ is the Savior and not us is a humbling thought. How often do we relish in an event when kids are saved or the Lord really moves, as if we had something to do with it? I used to be concerned with numbers when I was a youth pastor and worked for a church that worshiped numbers. Then I began to realize that it doesn’t matter. Nothing in this world will stand. The only thing that lasting is Christ’s work within us. Is what Barry has done an accomplishment? Not really. He hit the home run, then marched around the bases and then when he stepped on home plate he pointed to heaven as if to thank God [for giving him BALCO]. It’s just amazing how we celebrate nothingness in name of God.

John the Baptist (and yes I believe he was a dirty baptist) said it best, “he [Christ] must increase, but I must decrease” (John 3:30).  So where in our lives do we need to decrease so God can do his lasting work? I’m just amazed, excited and humbled that in light of this that He still takes me along for the ride.

I love baseball. Each spring I wait for this. And this spring I really, really love baseball - because my team is winning! That’s what it’s all about - the hope of next season.

All last year watching the Atlanta Braves I was waiting for the season to end (it was awful!) hoping for a fresh start. We’ve had such a fresh start so far. The Braves are 8 and 3 and sitting in first place. I know it’s early, but back off! Let me savor it for as long at it lasts.

Watching games is such a family event around here. Sure we’ll watch other sports, but baseball is a journey that we can’t wait to start each April. We watched the game today and then James and I practiced hitting this afternoon in the yard. Spring comes and so does baseball. It doesn’t get any better than this!

Anyone else excited baseball is back?

[And no, I can't bring myself to become a Seattle Mariners fan. I'm a southern boy at heart and I don't believe in the American League. It's just plain wrong. The DH is a sin! Once you've gone to a World Series game with your team - they're your team for life!]

It’s always amazing to see parallels in your life. For me, it seems that my life has been inexplicably connected to Braves outfielder Jeff Francoeur’s batting average.

Francoeur has a special place with our family. A rookie last year, he quickly became James’ (my 4 yr old son) favorite player. It’s either because he swung an amazing bat or simply because James likes to say Francoeur because it sounds funny. So as the season started this year, we were all excited to see this young kid continue to surge.

But then it happened, or shall I say nothing happened. Frenchy (as the fans call him) couldn’t hit anything. He was carrying a .80 average for a while and leading the league in strike outs. Simply put, the guy was struggling.

And for some reason, watching this guy try so hard and always come up empty seemed to get to us. It almost seemed like his slump was mirroring our lives. We had been hit with sickness, frustration, and a loss of focus. My family was struggling too.

We’d come back, ready to watch each game. Ready to have hope that Frenchy could do it. We wanted to see him succeed.

But hey look! Over the last two weeks, he’s been surging. He’s up to .231 and the swing seems to be back. Things seem to be getting better for us as well.

Hope fufilled is a wonderful thing. Go Frenchy, go!

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I love the boys from A-town. I’m a big fan, but apparently, I have nothing to boast.

The “No. 1 Braves Fan,” Pearl Sandow has died. Sandow, enshrined in the Baseball Hall of Fame’s fan section, attended 1,889 consecutive Braves home games, starting with the team’s first game in Atlanta in 1966.

For more on Pearl

So I guess, I’ll just stick to the title, “No. 1 Braves Fan” in the Pacific Northwest.