A couple of weeks ago my sister-in-law forwarded me the article below about Phillies' pitcher Jamie Moyer and his family. Over Christmas, the World Series ace, his wife and seven children traveled to Guatemala, the place where they adopted his youngest daughter, Yennifer, from.
Moyer's down-to-earth personality has already made the hometown boy a fan favorite. But his dedication and desire to give back display qualities that reach out to people beyond the baseball world.
It's a shame we don't see more stories like Moyer's in the sports pages.
Read the article by ESPN's Buster Olney here.
Thursday, January 29, 2009
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
A New Era
44th President of the United States of America Barack Obama began his first day on the job today, 144 years after slavery was abolished, decades after the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and Voting Rights Act of 1965 were passed and six days after what would have been Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s 80th birthday.
I am hopeful for President Obama as he leads our country into the future, and I pray that he is guided by God to make faith-filled decisions which will truly benefit the integrity of all people in this great country and beyond.
Below is an excerpt from President Obama’s inaugural speech which marked this historic event.
“…For as much as government can do and must do, it is ultimately the faith and determination of the American people upon which this nation relies. It is the kindness to take in a stranger when the levees break, the selflessness of workers who would rather cut their hours than see a friend lose their job which sees us through our darkest hours. It is the firefighter's courage to storm a stairway filled with smoke, but also a parent's willingness to nurture a child, that finally decides our fate.
Our challenges may be new. The instruments with which we meet them may be new. But those values upon which our success depends — hard work and honesty, courage and fair play, tolerance and curiosity, loyalty and patriotism — these things are old. These things are true. They have been the quiet force of progress throughout our history. What is demanded then is a return to these truths. What is required of us now is a new era of responsibility — a recognition, on the part of every American, that we have duties to ourselves, our nation and the world; duties that we do not grudgingly accept but rather seize gladly, firm in the knowledge that there is nothing so satisfying to the spirit, so defining of our character, than giving our all to a difficult task.
This is the price and the promise of citizenship.
This is the source of our confidence — the knowledge that God calls on us to shape an uncertain destiny…”
I am hopeful for President Obama as he leads our country into the future, and I pray that he is guided by God to make faith-filled decisions which will truly benefit the integrity of all people in this great country and beyond.
Below is an excerpt from President Obama’s inaugural speech which marked this historic event.
“…For as much as government can do and must do, it is ultimately the faith and determination of the American people upon which this nation relies. It is the kindness to take in a stranger when the levees break, the selflessness of workers who would rather cut their hours than see a friend lose their job which sees us through our darkest hours. It is the firefighter's courage to storm a stairway filled with smoke, but also a parent's willingness to nurture a child, that finally decides our fate.
Our challenges may be new. The instruments with which we meet them may be new. But those values upon which our success depends — hard work and honesty, courage and fair play, tolerance and curiosity, loyalty and patriotism — these things are old. These things are true. They have been the quiet force of progress throughout our history. What is demanded then is a return to these truths. What is required of us now is a new era of responsibility — a recognition, on the part of every American, that we have duties to ourselves, our nation and the world; duties that we do not grudgingly accept but rather seize gladly, firm in the knowledge that there is nothing so satisfying to the spirit, so defining of our character, than giving our all to a difficult task.
This is the price and the promise of citizenship.
This is the source of our confidence — the knowledge that God calls on us to shape an uncertain destiny…”
Thursday, January 15, 2009
Friday, January 9, 2009
How God helps two brothers choose where to play football
Below is a link to an interesting article I read on Sports Illustrated's web site. It tells the story of Arthur Brown Jr., now a linebacker at Miami, and his brother, Bryce, a senior at Wichita East High School in Kansas. Arthur was offered several D-1 football scholarships before choosing Miami, and now Bryce is in the same situation. The article explains what each brother took into account while making his descion.
Nowadays, college recruiters pull out all the bells and whistles for top athletic prospects. These high schools seniors get VIP treatment during their recruiting trips, following around the university's star players who are usually treated as kings on campus. Coaches and players even travel to the prospects' hometowns to woo them with what their programs have to offer.
I'm sure it's easy to get caught up in all of this. At 18, I know I would have. I think if Joe Paterno showed up my door today and asked me to shine his shoes I would! Let alone play for him.
Amidst all of the recruiting hoopla, the Brown brothers took a different approach in making their decisions. As Arthur stated in a letter to his mother before making his final decision, "I left it in His hands."
And now, as younger brother Bryce's decision process comes to fruition, he simply states, "I'm not going to be swayed by the nicest stadium and Miami's promising future. I just want God's will to be done."
Click here to read the full article by Kevin Armstrong.
Nowadays, college recruiters pull out all the bells and whistles for top athletic prospects. These high schools seniors get VIP treatment during their recruiting trips, following around the university's star players who are usually treated as kings on campus. Coaches and players even travel to the prospects' hometowns to woo them with what their programs have to offer.
I'm sure it's easy to get caught up in all of this. At 18, I know I would have. I think if Joe Paterno showed up my door today and asked me to shine his shoes I would! Let alone play for him.
Amidst all of the recruiting hoopla, the Brown brothers took a different approach in making their decisions. As Arthur stated in a letter to his mother before making his final decision, "I left it in His hands."
And now, as younger brother Bryce's decision process comes to fruition, he simply states, "I'm not going to be swayed by the nicest stadium and Miami's promising future. I just want God's will to be done."
Click here to read the full article by Kevin Armstrong.
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