Watchin' Game Film

I spent some time hanging out with a friend of mine today. His coach told him to go back and watch all of his game tape from this past season. My friend John is a guard which, if you don't know much about football, is one of the least glamorous positions to play. Running Backs, Quarterbacks, and Wide Receivers get all the attention while offensive linemen do all the work.

I watched film with him for about an hour. We watched as he missed some important blocks in games early on in the year. At other points we watched as he made great physical blocks only to have his quarterback or running back choose another route. You work really hard on the offensive line and it doesn't always pay off.

Let me stop here and say I don't know a lot about football. I love it, and I love watching it, but even John teased me by saying that I had been enlightened to 'some' of the nuances in football. Which I think might be just a nice way to say, "Matt, I am the one who plays football, not you."

All that being said, you have to do a lot right for a play to succeed when you play on the offensive line. You have to have solid footwork, and keep leverage against your blocking assignment. On top of that if you don't communicate with your other linemen you could end up not blocking everyone and that can be disastrous. Your hands are important too. You want to use them to keep whoever you are blocking close, but you can't hold because that would be a penalty.

As you are beginning to understand there really is a lot that goes into playing offensive line and you really don't get any credit at that position. If you talk with a linemen though its not like they hate playing their position or they hate the lack of recognition. They almost feed off of it. They like the fact that they make it possible for awesome plays to happen. They love it when they open up a hole for a running back to break a big play.

No one has ever said, "Imagine a world full of offensive linemen." Probably because there wouldn't be enough food for all of us. Still, I think most of us could use the character and grittiness of an offensive lineman. They work hard on every play. They trust that everyone else is doing what they are supposed to even though they can only take care of their part. I think thing that sets them apart though is that even though they only get noticed if they make a mistake, they still go out there and do their best to help their team succeed.

Wednesday Morning

Howdy, I hope you are having a good Wednesday, or a good whatever when you are reading this.

Moving Offices
Aaron and I are moving our offices today. Last week Student Ministry and Children's Ministry sat down and decided to end our 2yr. Gang War. The papers have been signed a cease fire has been called. Since then we have realized just how cool Clayton and Paula are, so we are moving into their offices. Maybe I'll take some pictures and put em up once we are moved in, but we are siked because today is moving day! It will be great to spend more time working together to make a difference in children's lives for the Kingdom.

New Switchfoot Album
Hello Hurricane dropped yesterday, and it hasn't been off my ITUNES since. You definitely have to check out the title track and Sing It Out. The passion of Sing it Out is just great. I love the lyrics.

OSU vs. IOWA
This Saturday @ 3:30 the outright Big 10 Championship is on the line. I am worried about it though, because everything points to a Buckeye Win which means a lot of bad things could happen. The Buckeyes could have a letdown from last weeks great performance. They could be looking past Iowa to THE GAME against Michigan next week. Hopefully I am just a worryer, and the Buckeyes won't forget what is on the line, or that its the Seniors last game in the shoe.

HS Playoffs
Anderson and Turpin both won their 1st round playoff games, but this week both of them have a major task ahead of them Trotwood Madison and Middletown both have a lot of speed. It will be interesting, and I hope they both have great games.

Proverbs 3
I read Proverbs 3 this morning. Here is something I found both challenging and encouraging:

¹⁹ By wisdom the LORD laid the earth's foundations,
by understanding he set the heavens in place;

²⁰ by his knowledge the deeps were divided,
and the clouds let drop the dew.

²¹ My son, preserve sound judgment and discernment,
do not let them out of your sight;

²² they will be life for you,
an ornament to grace your neck.

²³ Then you will go on your way in safety,
and your foot will not stumble;

²⁴ when you lie down, you will not be afraid;
when you lie down, your sleep will be sweet.

No Shave November
Alright its been a week since the shave here is the update.

Yesterday Frank John (10th Grade) came into my office. Last week I had a full beard when he say me and yesterday he just stared at me and said, "What did you do! You had something so magnificent and wonderful and you just decided to shave it off?" - I don't think he is too big of a fan of No Shave November so far.

13 Cavities
Thank goodness my mom doesn't read my blog because if she did she would be mortified right now. I just have to share something catastrophic from my life. I went to the dentist yesterday. They said I had a few cavities. 13 to be exact. I felt like I should be getting fitted for dentures right then and there. The first 18 years of my life= No Cavities. 18-22 yrs old=3 cavities. 22-24= 13 cavities. Is there a Biggest Loser for people with Obscene dental issues? They asked about my dental hygiene habits (I do everything but floss), and after that they tried to make me feel better by telling me sometimes our bodies just change. I am terrified! My teeth could have at least done me the favor of telling me they were going to heck in a handbasket.

Why Small Groups Can Be So Tough
One of the HS Guys I am mentoring started helping with one of our Middle School Small Groups this past week. He did a great job and it was neat watching him connect with the students. We were talking afterwards about how interesting small groups are, especially with Middle School Students. They say some really interesting things (ie- Zach saying, "I brag to my pillow every night, 'I have arms and legs and you are just a pillow for my head to rest on.' ") Still they also have great insights and depth to them.

We were talking about different aspects of our group and one thing we focused in on was positive and negative reinforcement. Its easy to just give attention to the students who act out in negative ways. Its easy to say be quiet etc. Its harder to reward students for great answers or great questions or just for sharing. During this school year though we have already recognized the growth in some of our students from that positive reinforcement. If you make a habit of rewarding students for contributing and participating they will start doing it more and identifying themselves in new ways. Its not the easiest thing to do but it makes a huge difference.

Are You Read for Some Parkside Fantasy Football!

Ok so Brian Bruemmer (Website/Graphics Guy) and I were talking around the water cooler a week ago (ok so we don't have a water cooler, but we were really talking). We decided that it was time that Parkside Christian Church had a Staff Fantasy Football League. Ok so if you think that Fantasy Football is dumb just stop reading this post right now. All we are trying to do is bring the office closer together and have a chance to trash talk in the office (thats a spiritual gift right?). Well our draft was today during lunch. I thought some of you might be interested to see how things turned out for my team so here is the 411.

I was slotted with the number 2 overall pick and was lucky enough to get Adrian Peterson with that pick. Here was how the rest of my draft went.

The Home Schoolers (That's my team name. Yeah, I was Home Schooled)
1.(2)Adrian Peterson RB
2.(19)Andre JohnsonWR
3.(22)Randy MossWR
4.(39)Ryan GrantRB
5.(42)Philip RiversQB
6.(59)Thomas JonesRB
7.(62)Anthony GonzalezWR
8.(79)DeSean JacksonWR
9.(82)Matt RyanQB
10.(99)Willie ParkerRB
11.(102)Lance MooreWR
12.(119)Robbie GouldK
13.(122)Visanthe ShiancoeTE
14.(139)Kevin BossTE
15.(142)CarolinaDEF

I think I did pretty well. Andy, Bart and Randy had a good draft too though. I won't play them for a few weeks though. Every Monday I'll try to give you an update on how the Home Schoolers did in Fantasy Football over the weekend. I think it will be fun.

Great Article in the Paper today

I read an awesome column by Paul Daugherty today from cincinnati.com click on this link to check it out yourself:

Who You Are is What Counts

Paul shares a story that has just been put into a book about a guy who goes from being a 7th grade teacher to playing in the Super Bowl in the course of 7 weeks. The crazy thing is that its totally true. On top of that, winning the Super bowl is not even the point of the story. The book is written by author Jeffrey Marx and is about Brian Kinchen who won the Super Bowl with the 2003 Patriots. Here is an excerpt from Daugherty's column that explains more what the book is about-

The Long Snapper’s weight comes from the other game Kinchen plays, the one with his spirit. He joins the Pats thinking a return to the game will validate his life. He leaves after the Super Bowl with a new definition of success. It’s not at all what he believed it to be. Said Marx Monday, “We as a society have arrived at some fairly destructive definitions of what it means to be a successful man: How much money you have, what car you drive, how big your house is. This book is an exploration of the real differences between success and significance.’’

I have not yet read this book, but I am definitely going to check it out. I have read another book by Marx that goes along the same lines. Its entitled Seasons of Life and is about a former Baltimore Colt player who goes on to be a minister. The book focuses on what it truly means to be a man. I loved it. I know several High School Football coaches who use the book with their players every year. I think it also reminds us of the role we all play in the Kingdom of God.

We all have tasks that we do here on earth. We have hobbies and passions too. However that isn't what we are truly doing. I have heard a professor describe tasks, sports, hobbies etc as a bunch of head fakes. We play sports because they are fun, but they teach us character. We do a task to get things done or make money, but we learn valuable lessons along the way. What Marx has said several times in Seasons of Life, and Daugherty references in his column is pretty much the same thing. When we start getting our identity or meaning from a headfake (sports, job, hobby) we are truly missing out.

I am going to try to track down this new book, because it looks pretty good. Below I have included links to both of Marx's books I have mentioned. Go buy them form amazon and read through them yourself or with your son or a group of guys. Too many of us get so wrapped up in the task that it becomes who we are. The task isn't what matters. To borrow a phrase from Paul Daugherty, "Its who we are that counts."

Seasons in Life by Jeffrey Marx

The Long Snapper by Jeffrey Marx