Well, I must comment on the recent state of the MLB Playoff Picture which does not include any of my favorite teams as we head into the AL and NL Pennant series this weekend starting on Thursday. My Rockies were eliminated earlier tonight by blowing a 2-run lead in the top of the ninth. Closer Houston Street, who was acquired via trade from Oakland in the Matt Holliday deal could not shut the door on the defending World Champions Phillies Monday night after getting within one strike of doing so. Chase Utley drew a walk putting two guys aboard for the slugging Ryan Howard who for the second consecutive night drove in the crucial run bringing the game to a tie. Then, Werth singles home Howard to put them ahead for good crushing the hope of a long postseason run for the "Rockin Rockies from mile high Denver, CO. Colorado put the tying run on with two outs for young star Troy Tulowitski who couldn't check his swing in time on a 2-2 offspeed pitch from closer Brad Lidge who finally has bounced back from a rollarcoaster season. Lidge posted an ERA of over 7 for the season and allowed a opp. AVG. of over 300. Jason Giambi and Yorbit Torrealba came up with big hits in the 8th, but it wasn't enough as they face the offseason now. They did produce one of the greatest season turnarounds in MLB History!! Jim Tracy most likely will and should be Manager of the Year in the NL. Mike Scoscia will win for the AL. Dodgers will host the Phils and Yanks will play host to the Angels for the pennants!!

I really wanted to put write something on the subject of bitterness because I know it's something we all deal with that holds us back in our lives. I know even at my job that it's easy to allow the little things that people do affect how I perform. We don't always take time to stop and logically process how we should react when a person offends us. I've made some connections though that have helped me in dealing with it. Whether we get offended or not, is a choice we make. Offense leads to bitterness, and then turns into unforgiveness. This basically weighs us down like a ton of bricks and robs us of the passion that God wants us to live with. It's so easy to allow the small stuff to setoff a downward spiral in our lives that prevents us from being great starting with choosing to be offended by a "Thing" that doesn't really matter that much if you look at the big picture. Most of us probably dont stop and think logically about it though. So I find that processing things a little different helps me and also just giving it to God allowing me to let go and start fresh everyday!! If you're Offended, you're being Negative. I've learned to stop focusing on the thoughts and emotions of others, and stay focused on how I need to think, be, and do. I'll see these young kids that I work with get upset all the time when someone does or doesn't do something to their liking, which would please their flesh, but it's empowering to know that you don't have to let their offense to create bittnerness in you which makes life much simpler. (food for thought)

Hard Thingsby Keith Craft ~ October 8th, 2009. Filed under: 2009, Leadership.
“Therefore many of His disciples, when they heard this, said, “This is a hard saying; who can understand it?…From that time, many of His disciples went back and walked with him no more.” John 6:60; 66
John 6 is an amazing chapter in the New Testament of the Bible. It chronicles two days in the life of Jesus, but more importantly, it chronicles the hearts of men…men who say they follow Jesus. In this powerful passage of scripture, Jesus begins to say some “hard things,” that were not easy for the normal mind to process. It is not so much what Jesus says that was hard that I want to emphasize, but that Jesus said, “The words I speak to you, they are spirit and they are life.”

What makes “hard things” hard?

· “It wasn’t until my wife divorced me that I hit my knees and cried out to God. Unfortunately, it took that!”
· “I didn’t see a need for exercise until after my heart attack. My doctor said I needed to exercise to keep my heart in good shape for the rest of my life.”
· “I have nothing for retirement. I will never be able to retire!”

Hidden within these “hard” statements is the secret of what makes “hard things” hard.

First, couples that pray together have a divorce rate of less than 1%.

Second, heart disease is the leading cause of death in America in both men and women and yet, could be almost totally prevented with daily exercise.

Third, less than 3 % of Americans will retire financially independent.

What do all these things have in common?

· Divorce is hard…but not the issue.
· Heart disease is hard…but not the issue.
· Saving for retirement is hard…but not the issue.

DISCIPLINE is the real “hard thing.”

“Discipline in any area of your life is hard, but a lack of discipline in any area of your life, makes every area of your life harder.” Leadershipology.com

The condensed version is…

“Discipline is hard. A lack of discipline is harder.” Leadershipology.com

What makes “hard things” hard is the discipline it takes to change things for the better.

I want to encourage you today, to do the “hard things” that will keep your life from being HARDER! What “hard things” do you need to do today, that will make your tomorrows better?

Getting up for prayer at 5:30 this morning was hard for me!!!!

Doing hard things for a better life,

Fearless!!

I just read a little exerpt in a book at Sam's earlier called Fearless by Max Lucado. I always enjoy taking bits n' pieces of different things from great minds and apply what they've learned to my knowledge and spin on things to develop myself as a person even further. It talked about what a "fearless" life would look like. And the question posed in the first chapter was this: What if our initial response to chaos or trauma was faith, instead of fear. I think it's more natural to be fearful and choosing to be faithful is more difficult and goes against the grain of how we natural go as human beings. Thats why it's difficult and why most people fear. Fear is the reciprocal of faith. Just as hate is opposite of Love. Faith is believing and having confidence in God's Word over what the world says is truth. Believing the best will happen, regardless of what the circumstance is. When we are faced with an intense situation, then we findout what we really have confidence in, because whatever that is, thats what we stand on. (Please respond or write back: love hear thoughts and opinions)

Ideological Warfare

Ideological Warfare

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"The Hunt in October"

I don't know how many hardcore baseball fans are out there, but I absolutely love the month of October!! Hockey season is beginning, basketball's around the corner, and best of all baseball playoff season is upon us!! 162 games is a long season only to determine who gets a shot at the grand prize, "The World Series" ring. I love the excitement hanging on every pitch and the fact that baseball is a thinking mans game as one of my little league coaches once told me. Some people may think baseball is boring and slower pace than other professional sports such as basketball and football; but you can't ignore the fact that there's always something to think about during a game. Since I would love to become a coach someday and the sport I did play was baseball, then I enjoy getting inside of the mind of a big-league manager and seeing how he makes his strategic moves during the coarse of the contest. I've really become a big Colorado Rockies fan since their amazing playoff run two years ago when they won a one-game playoff vs. SanDiego against the alltime saves leader Trevor Hoffman with a 2-run triple by Matt Holliday in extra innings!! They swept their way into the WorldSeries before being swept by the great RedSox. I bring up the Rockin' Rockies because they always seem to come up with a late inning homer by some young kid who the average fan has never heard of. Jim Tracy took over as manager midseason when Clint Hurdle was canned, who was the one that took them ohh so close 2 yrs. previous. Tracy says that he manages the game from the 6th inn. forward. Thats when he makes the crucial moves that he's paid to make. Those are the moments that decide if you're one of the greats or just an average joe. We all know that you must have 3 quality ace-type pitchers to win in the postseason in baseball, along with a good bullpen including a shutdown closer for 1-2 innings. The rest is debatable cause with a little timely hitting a team doesn't need 9 MarkMcgwire's or A-Rod's to win a championship, just nine guys who are committed to the big picture and will give their all with a "will to win" on the inside. Every team needs a David Eckstein, Robby Alomar, or Dave Roberts. Well if this posteason is anything like last nights Tigers/Twins matchup, then we are in for a treat. The SuperBowl is great, but to me there's nothing quite like the road to the WorldSeries, probably cause it's the game I grew up loving most. America's Pasttime is how I would like it to be remembered. The intensity, exhilaration, and pure love for the game from players, coaches, announcers, and fans everywhere is what makes it truly one of a kind. I'd love to hear your feedback and comments and hope everyone from average fan to "Baseball Nut" will enjoy what will be an amazing baseball October!!!

"It starts with How I Lead"

Hey everyone!! I just started this blog here for the first time and thought it would be cool throw some stuff out there that Ive learned recently. I think it's great that we can come together and bounce ideas off people so we can grow into the greatness God wants us to be!! We are not born into the best person that we can be, which is why its a growth process full of adversities, conflicts, and struggles in life. I want to focus and "leading yourself" because everything that you want to happen in life will be a direct result of how you lead yourself everyday. It's so easy to fall into the trap of blaming other people or playing the "what if" game, but if we can really decide to start each day by aligning our thoughts with what God says in his Word, so that how we are with people will reflect the best that God put inside us!! Our thoughts shape our lives, so when we get that we can start creating better outcomes each day with the little things. There's a pattern that goes as follows: thoughts=emotions=decision=habits=character=destiny
The pastor of Celebration Covenant Church where I attend is teaching a message series on leadership and the Power of it. It got me to think that most people don't value leadership enough or even think that it applies to them in improving their life. Though, if we focus on how we're leading ourself with a think/be/do process, then we are not waiting around for someone else to make my life better, but we are able to produce better results in our lives because we're allowing God's word to get on the inside of us, so we become the transformed being that He wants us to BE, so we can DO the GREATNESS that He wants us to do.