Monday, June 20, 2011

How I Feel Affects Other People...

What’s Wrong With Hell?

How many of you have lost a loved one?
When I signal you, please call out their name.

How often have you said,
“[name], I know you’re up there looking down and smiling at me”?
How often have you said,
“[name], I know you’re down there looking up and smiling at me”?
Why not?
What’s wrong with Hell?

I’ve heard some of the best people receive their marching orders,
directions and sentences to Hell
It’s just got to be overcrowded with teachers, parents, coaches, referees,
co-workers & supervisors, tenants & landlords, you’s but never me’s.
Didn’t they hear us…
Or have we been so low as to wish in whispers?

It’s been the chosen gift of countless coaches and fans
(“Give ‘em Hell”)…
The question for character confirmation of countless concerned citizens
(“Who the Hell are you?”)…
Puzzled patrons (“How in Hell?”)… The lost & found (“Where the Hell?”)…
Yet no one wants to go there.

We know about as much about it as we do about Heaven
Though we can guess the GPA
(God’s Prayers Answered) requirement is lower
The population is considered to be on one accord.
You don’t have to watch your back or language.
Weather’s consistent… food & entertainment 24/7… in fact there are no days
And surely no dark nights.

And if there are days, Sunday is just 1 of 7…
No one’s got the Monday Blues…
‘Hump Day’ has a refreshing tone for Wednesday…
Friday gets thanks like each day that starts with a “T” (Today)
And Saturday is not necessarily the last day.

The dress code and political views are welcomed
Diversity isn’t a buzz word; it’s respected at both levels
That’s right, there are only 2 levels: In or Out!
The truth is that the landlord or creator of both places
is branded in their 1st two letters (H-E)
And H-E is actually all in favor of overcrowding while blessing individually

H-E welcomes and invites all to enter willingly,
and no application is rejected based upon education,
social status, race, sex, age, medical or sinful background.
H-E is more than willing to give you all you want.
In fact, H-E has given you all you need

H-E is the one whom everyone acknowledges
Even by professing their disbelief
H-E has been the answer to countless prayers
and provider of timeless testimonies
of mysterious qualities that have proven themselves to be nothing more than our occasional loss of faith or belief that time & place are now & here…
now & here…” two words that (when put together)
signal our journey’s end without the Lord’s grace: nowhere!

For H-E is the Sheppard of the lost & found
And no matter where you think you’re going
You won’t get there without his impact on your life
And what you should really know is that H-E doesn’t look down on you
H-E doesn’t look up to you
H-E looks out for you

Now, why in the H-E-L-L (His Exalting Light & Love)
Wouldn’t you want that?

© June 2009
 www.sportyking.com

Thursday, June 16, 2011

How I Feel Affects Other People...

Men rarely get their proper recognition.

"Yo Mama" are fighting words... jokes about "Mama's baby, Papa's maybe";
"The most confusing day in America? Fathers Day"... even the song titles:
"... I'll Always Love my Mama (OJays)... Sadie (Spinners)...”
while men get “Papa Was A Rolling Stone (Temptations)...."


Well, not every father is a DBD (Dead Beat Dad).
And, like mothers, they don't get a rule book on parenthood either.
So I dedicate this month to the men


---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


SOMEBODY'S FATHER


Your nine month wait showed no physical signs.
Your nourishment was indirect.
You waited in the wings to teach morals & values,
To cultivate self respect.


You were
*the final word, even as the first word...
*the knee that offered stability...
*the shoulder of security...
*the spirit that broke each fall...
The goal to reach (for approval)
Since the day your child could crawl.


You were not seen every waking moment,
But your presence was felt each morning, noon and night.
As your child is blessed to grow older,
Be sure to thank God for your foresight


- Sporty King


----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


No, my father didn't stay and watch me grow up through every stage of my life. And he's never told me he loved me (to my knowledge). He believed his job was as Disciplinarian. He had never met his father, and chose to damn his mother for forcing him to be the man of the house at 12. And I could go on and on about what he did and didn't do... yet I'd rather stop here and say that he is my role model for manhood. Let me further say that more than half of what he taught me are things I wouldn't do... as he was often my biggest negative role model. But sometimes our greatest lessons are those that signal the road we choose not to take:


I don't have children, but I have nieces and nephews whom I choose to tell and show that I love them.


I chose to coach and referee community league basketball for 11 years... without threatening or berating my players... while reminding them that another man was interested in their developing morals and values, besides their father.


I chose to volunteer at youth centers and teach them how bright their future can be.


I chose to speak at Senior Citizen Centers and remind them that their past has shed light on our present.


I choose to thank my teachers in retrospect through motivating those who teach today.


I chose to do all of these things and more, because I believe my father would have done them if his life presented a different set of options. It's not my call to "forgive" him for choosing to leave when I was too young to understand what went on between him and my mother. Nor is it my call to "forgive" him once I understood how and why he made the choice he did. Yet I can't forgive him enough for taking advantage of the greatest option in my life: his part in creating me.


He died from Alzheimer's, so it's okay for me to talk about how much I love him and recognize how hard he tried to be the father he didn't know how to be. Wonder how he would've reacted had I ever told him?


We expect a lot from our parents. How much do we give?


Happy Fathers' Day


www.sportyking.com

Friday, June 10, 2011

How I Feel Affects Other People...

LITTLE PANES



An area minister tells of his first Sunday in a new parish, while presenting the children's message. Seems the sanctuary in the new church had some magnificent stained glass windows, so his message centered on how each of us is called of God to help make up the whole picture of life. Like the pictures in the windows, it takes many little panels of glass to make the whole picture.


And then he said, "You see, each of you is a little pane."


And then pointing to each child individually, "You're a little pane. And you're a little pane. And you're a little pane. And..."


It took a few moments before he realized why everyone was laughing.
~ internet jokester unknown (… but painless …)

As you are inspired by my words please remember that my presence is for hire. When your people hear me speak they won’t have to remember me from somewhere else. ~ www.sportyking.com

The Master of Listening

The Master of Listening
... and Smiling