Why I love going to major league baseball games...

We went to the Texas Rangers' final home game of the season this afternoon in Arlington, Texas. We had great seats down the first base line, up in the "shade" of an overhang of the stadium, with a really cool breeze blowing in on us from the west (very pleasant since the temperatures got into the 90's late in the game). We really enjoyed the afternoon and the game. Well, at least until the top of the ninth innning. But, more about that later...

All throughout the game I kept remarking to my wife, Ellen, about how much I loved the experience of being at that game. I especially love the games at the Rangers' Stadium, The Ballpark in Arlington. Here's a few of the primary reasons why I love going to major league baseball games:

• Before the game even begins, you sometimes get a chance to see batting practice and/or watch how all the players get themselves ready to play the game. It is really fascinating to observe how each player has developed their own peculiar routine for a warm-up. It takes a lot of good conditioning and intense discipline to be a major league baseball player. I admire those who do it greatly!


• Also before the game begins, someone (or some group) sings the National Anthem and everyone in the stadium sings along with them, looking at a flag of the United States of America while we do it. We get to take off our ball caps, put our right hands over our hearts and reflect on what a great country this is. I love patriotic moments like that, don't you? It is so good for the soul to sing this song and be reminded of the privilege we all have of living in the United States of America. In my humble opinion, there is no better place in all the world to be a citizen and to live. No place else like America!


• Baseball is a team sport. It requires a lot of hard work and cooperation from two to nine players simultaneously on the field in order to be successful and win. In this day and age of so many people living as "islands" and basically unwilling to do what it takes to play well on a team, baseball is a great reminder of the importance of teamwork in this life.


• A baseball game usually takes between three to four hours to play the full nine innings. If you want to sit there and just be quiet for that entire time, you can. If you want to stand up and clap your hands and/or start the "wave" or shout out to one of the players, you can do that, too. The point is that for those three to four hours, you are free to just let the rest of the troubles/hassles of your life go by and happen without you. That stuff just has to wait when you are at a game. You need to take breaks from life and when you're at a baseball game, you really aren't available for doing work or any of the other activities that keep you so busy during other times. Baseball is kind of like "fishing" to me. You can just sit there and not have to say anything or do anything if you don't want to for those three to four hours. I like that...


• At the Rangers' games, we usually sing "Deep in the Heart of Texas" after a few innings. And when we do, we get to clap our hands and all sing this fun song. I love it because it reminds me of how much I love living in the great state of Texas!


• At the seventh inning stretch, the game stops for a moment, the players stop playing and then everyone in the stadium gives their attention to someone (or some group) who sings "God Bless America." This tradition was started after 9-11-2001, and I still get goose bumps (and sometimes even shed a few tears) when I hear the words of that song sung by an entire stadium. Once again, another great reminder of how blessed we are to be Americans and living in this great country of ours!


• I love seeing all the children and families at the Rangers' games. Some kids wear their baseball/softball gloves and hope to be lucky enough to catch a foul ball. Very few of them do, but the hope of that possibility occuring is so great! Parents who bring their kids to the baseball game seem to really love being there and "treating" their offspring with the very special occasion of being at a major league baseball game. Whenever I go, I am reminded once again of all the fond memories of the many times we took our children out to the games as they were growing up. Oh how special that always was for our family!


• Late in the game, between halves of innings, we usually do two of my favorite things at the ball park. These are "Kiss-Cam," and dancing to "Cotton-Eyed Joe." The cameramen in the stadium try to catch a guy and a girl sitting next to each other on their camera, and then dare them to kiss since the whole stadium is watching them! It is really cool to see some of these couples (especially the older ones!) really love kissing the person sitting next to them. What's really great is that the entire stadium smiles when this is going on. It is so much fun to be in a place where everyone is smiling and having just a great moment of clean entertainment! Then, we usually all dance in the places where we have been sitting to the familiar "Hee-Haw" tune. Once again, how can you not smile and dance when you're at a baseball game and everyone else is smiling and dancing, too? How many places in life does this happen?
• The best part about going to a major league baseball game might be sitting outside and enjoying the weather at the ball park; the clouds and the shadow patterns as they roll across the field, etc. Have you noticed lately how easy it is these days to just sit inside and waste days away watching junk on TV, or taking in some movie or DVD with no redeeming value, or letting time erode while catching up on Facebook, etc.? All the while missing the experience of being in the wonderful out of doors? I'm convinced that we'd all be a lot better off these days if we spent a lot more time outside, away from electronics and digital gadgets. Why don't we spend more time outside? It's a shame that we don't.
• Another great thing about going to a major league baseball game is that common people go to baseball games. It is still affordable for the "common man." Baseball games are not played in some extravagant palace that charges an arm and a leg to park or for tickets to get in. There are still "bleacher seats" out in center field, and even if you only have a few bucks to spend, you can still go to a major league baseball game (at least you can in Texas anyway!). That's a good thing!
• Frequently, the outcome of the game is not clear until the very end of the game. As a spectator, you are held there in suspense until the last out because sometimes a game can turn on a dime and the outcome can change very quickly. Even if one team is ahead by a lot, the other team still has a chance to come back. You can be very nervous for the home team, even when it appears that they have the game in the bag, because you never know who might hit a long home run or make a diving catch to win the game. It's exciting all the way to the end! You always get your money's worth!
• Finally, even if your team doesn't win the game, you've still been entertained and enjoyed the company of the people you came with to the game anyway. Maybe you even had a chance to make some new acquaintances of some of the other "common" people at the game sitting around you. Going to a baseball game is always good, even if your team doesn't quite hang onto the game. Even if you're disappointed, you're still glad you came out for the game (at least most of the time).

Those are a few of the reasons why I love going to major league baseball games. Have you been to one lately? If not, why not? You don't know what you are missing! Wholesome entertainment and an activity that is really good for the soul.

Don't Forget Where You've Come From...

The above photo is the "wallpaper" I've assigned to the laptop I use nearly everyday. I love this photo! It reminds me everytime I power up the computer of where I've come from. I think that is so important. You see, a long time ago, I grew up on a farm in central Iowa. That is who I am.

This particular shot, taken in 2008, is looking out into my Dad's field on our 200-acre home place. This is just one of the fields I used to help plow and disc, and then plant and harvest corn and soybeans when I was a kid. This photo was also taken from the place where our family's barn, corn cribs, machine sheds and house are located, looking generally to the north on a beautiful day. This location is where I used to park the car I drove when I was in high school and/or home from college (we didn't have garages for our cars, only for the farm machinery).

The silver maple and mulberry trees you see in this photo are some of the ones I used to climb and play in when there wasn't much else to do on the farm. Many of the rocks/boulders we pulled out of the fields are piled/stacked along the fencerow at the base of these trees (along with some old farm implements and/or miscellaneous equipment no longer, or seldom, in use).

The sky and the clouds in this photo are very typical of what you can see all the time in Iowa.

So many thoughts and memories flood into my brain everytime I see this photo! It reminds me not to forget where I've come from. That's so important to me these days.

Why? Well, in another week or so, I will have lived with my family in the Dallas/Fort Worth metroplex for 24 years. I remember the first time we visited some relatives in this area back in 1982. I remarked to my wife, "I could never live here!" We were in the midst of some really crazy Metroplex traffic on LBJ and/or Central Expressway at the time, and it was really frightening to me back then.

Well, about three years later, we had actually moved here (be careful what you say "never" to). And, several times after that I would frequently look out from my office at LBJ and Hillcrest and say to myself, "What's a farm boy from Iowa doing in a place like this?" I guess I've since made the adjustment.

However, adjusting to the environment you are placed in is one thing. Becoming somebody completely different than who you are and where you've come from is something else.

You really can't deny or hide where you've come from. It shapes you, it affects you, it has already determined a lot about you. And I'm here to state that most all of that is a very good thing (at least for me).

For example, because of my farm background and humble beginnings, I'm really not all that impressed with flash and glitz and glammer. Never have been. I'm also not that impressed with "wealth" (or really the blatant conspicuous consumption people do these days to try and convince you they are rich, even though most of what they have was bought with credit). I grew up with a lot of wealthy farmers, my Dad being one of them. But, to meet him, you'd never know that he has a lot of money. I like that authenticity.

I'm also a pretty loyal, faithful guy. When you grow up on a farm in Iowa, you just take a lot of the things in your life as "givens" and don't worry too much about trying to change any of them. I know that I had dreams when I was a kid, and I am probably living some of them out right now. But, I don't ever remember sitting there on the farm and wishing I was someplace else. I was taught that you make the best of the situation you find yourself in. People just didn't spend their days wishing they were someplace else. We were in Iowa, for goodness sake! Why would you want to be anyplace else anyway? :-)

I'm so grateful for my upbringing and the place where I've come from. Being an Iowa farm boy has really shaped my life in so many ways and there's nothing I can do to change that. As a matter of fact, I wouldn't want to even if I could!

Don't forget where you've come from...

Dreams of a soon-to-be 55 year old...

For some reason, this has been my week to ponder "dreams." You know, those things that you think about all the time and really want to do? Those things that you will almost sacrifice anything for because they seemingly mean that much to you? Those things that you fantasize about doing to bring about dramatic changes in your current life - maybe taking on a brand new direction and/or accepting a brand new (and difficult) challenge? Maybe you have dreams like that? Maybe not.

Through a combination of circumstances (both work-related and family-related), and following a viewing of the movie Julie & Julia yesterday (yes, men, I took a bullet for all of us guys; went to see a morning chick flick on a rainy day with my wife), I decided to write this blog today about "dreams." I've entitled it dreams of a soon-to-be 55 year old (and the bold and italics were especially done for one particular couple of you reading this!).

Actually, I guess I've never really been much of a "dreamer." Oh sure, I've had dreams over the years. For example, I dreamed of being an artist and going to college, of marrying my best friend, of becoming a father, of being named a vice president (and senior vice president) at HDR, of having a leadership position at my church, and of witnessing my children go to and graduate from college, etc. All these dreams have already come true. I'm grateful to God for that!

But, there have also been a lot of dreams that turned into disappointments for me, things that never materialized or happened (at least not so far). For example, here's a sampling of what I'm talking about: I never grew taller than five foot eight inches; I never became a great athlete; I never developed exceptional musical talents as my two sisters did; I never developed a close, day-to-day, interdependent relationship with my Dad (at least not yet); and I never was able to start my own business and/or work in a small landscape architectural design firm. All these dreams just weren't for me. Looking back at them from the other side, I'm grateful to God for that, too!

In May of 2008, however, while reading my favorite magazine (World), I came across a wonderful article about the pastoral author Eugene Peterson and said to myself, "That's my dream! That's how I'd love to live someday." So, let me fill you in on what the article said about his life and how he spends his days since retiring from being a full-time pastor.

First, Eugene Peterson and his wife live in Montana (one of my favorite places in all the world!), in a house that his father built in 1947. It is on a mountain lake near Glacier National Park. All three of his children and their families live within four hours of this place and frequently visit whenever they can. He and his wife attend a small church nearby and many of the people he worships with there he's known for many, many years through his father.

Peterson and his wife live out a patient and deliberate lifestyle, one he tried to teach others while he was a pastor in Maryland. They like quiet, they like rhythm. The rituals of their daily life have a quality of sacredness.

He is an early riser, up at five or six most weekdays. He makes a pot of coffee, prepares a thermos for his wife, and then takes it to her on his way to his study. For the next hour and a half they are by themselves, separately praying and reading the Scriptures. Following that, he gets dressed and then takes a lovely, quarter-mile walk down a country road to get his newspaper. Making this walk throughout the year (regardless of the weather) keeps him in touch with the seasons and the animals.

Peterson and his wife prepare breakfast together. After breakfast he goes to his study to write, working until 1:00 p.m. or so. He claims to work as hard as he ever has, avoiding unnecessary interruptions as much as he can. No e-mails during this time.

Following this, Peterson and his wife eat lunch and then take "liturgical naps." After this they either walk the wooded trails nearby or cross-country ski, kayak, canoe, etc. They are pretty much outside most of all afternoons.

At about six in the evening, Peterson builds a fire in the woodstove, and then he and his wife begin preparations for supper. Then they read aloud to each other for an hour and a half (I absolutely LOVE that), reading various novels and memoirs. When they're done reading, they finish their dinner prepartions, eat and go to bed. Very simple. Their daily schedule changes somewhat for Sundays, with only attending church services and visiting friends on the docket. Very little else.

Well, that's my dream. Living intentionally. Making a conscious choice about how to live. Being completely at odds with the busyness of American life.

Hey, I can dream can't I? What about you? What are your dreams? Would love to hear about them...

The Importance of Having a Focal Point

About seven months after my lovely wife Ellen and I were married, we also found out that "we" were pregnant. Actually, it was only Ellen that was truly pregnant (I did my part, and then the rest was up to her). But, back then (in the last half of 1981), it was a "we" proposition to have a baby. Husbands/fathers were finally allowed into the hospital birthing rooms after several decades of being totally restricted to the waiting rooms - all while the women they loved more than anything in all the world went through a pretty demanding and oftentimes painful physical experience (to say the least!). I can't imagine what that must have been like to be a guy in the 30's, 40's and 50's who just had to sit there and wait for the doctor to come out and tell them that he was a father. How dumb was that?

No, in 1981, we were so much more progressive than that (yeah, right!). Men were now allowed to be an integral part of the whole birthing process with their wives. As a matter of fact, men weren't just allowed, it was downright "expected" that all husbands/fathers be there to actively participate in the birth of their children. That's where the Lamaze natural child-birth classes came in.

As soon as you found out "you" were pregnant, "you" had to find a class to attend as a couple to prepare you for what you would both experience when the birth of your baby happened. This was not optional for too many men in 1981. Nope. She was "expecting," and you were "expected."

But, I'll never forget our Lamaze classes. We had the best instructor! She was an absolute HOOT. She made it so much fun to learn about natural child-birth! Seriously, we laughed a lot in those classes! :-)

Anyway, one of the most critically important strategies she taught us was the importance of having a focal point. You see, in the middle of the actual labor and birthing process, my sweet bride Ellen would need to have a focal point to help her concentrate so that she would not be too distracted by what was happening to the rest of her body (like that would even be possible?). I think we chose a picture on the wall to be her focal point. We were such amateurs the first time, or at least I was! Poor Ellen...

This morning at church our pastor/speaker mentioned in his message entitled "A Change in Perspective" that we need to have a focal point when it comes to our work. He said that we need to see our work as art, and that we need to see our work as worship. If we have a focal point (something/someone beyond just our work being only just plain work), then this is easier for us to do.

That made me think about blogging about the importance of having a focal point.

How many of you find it really hard these days to stay laser focused on the important tasks at hand, not allowing yourself to get easily distracted by urgent or silly stuff in your life? How many times have you been so conflicted by the pain you are going through and/or the sometimes really unimportant tasks that you are asked to do that you give up on what you know you should be focusing on?

Just like in child-birth, when the going got tough, and when there were a whole bunch of things around Ellen that would have easily caused her to be distracted, when she turned her complete attention toward her focal point, she was able to manage and make it through the tough times and the pain. She was able to set her mind on what was to come at the end of the pain (a new life!) by letting her focal point keep her on track.

What's your focal point? What are you focusing on to help you navigate through all the pain and distractions and nonsense that want to take you off course? Is your focal point something/someone that helps you see beyond just the here and now? In light of eternity, a lot of the stuff we allow to distract us here seems so very unimportant, doesn't it?

Maybe it's time you rediscover what you may have once known through your Lamaze classes - that is the importance of having a focal point. In this life, a focal point will help you be effective when everything around you is strange, confusing, painful and/or distracting. Think about it.