My Most Unique Purchase Ever on Ebay

I bought dirt from Fenway Park!

At one time, I had a small amount of dirt from Fenway but I lost it. I got it when we took the Fenway tour in 2003. The seller lived in Maine but could have lied about it coming from Fenway. But I figured for $3, I'll take that chance.

It came today. It's the same consistency and color (It's not normal dirt) as what I had before so I smiled.

Oh and Brenda rocks because she sent me Now I Can Die in Peace. She lost the season long bet we made last year regarding the Red Sox vs. The Twins. She bought one before but because of our move, got lost somewhere in the shipping process. So being the great lady that she is, she went above and beyond the call of duty by sending me a second copy.

Home Run!

No, baseball hasn't started yet. 14 more days till Spring Training, in case you didn't know. Go Sox!

Youth Specialties has hit a Home Run with their New Parents Newsletter! You can subscribe here.

YS continues to show they they truly care about youth workers and the students we minsiter to by providing good, practical and free resources to youth workers.

YS Biggest Loser Contest

The Marko is challenging youth workers everywhere to be a Bigger Loser Than him in YS's new contest. Announced via the YS Update. Official rules will come out next week but start date is Feb 4th and McNutt will be cheering everyone on.

I'm going to do it and go for a prize because for some reason, good health and long life isn't enough, I need a free book. :-)

And please refrain from nominating any other youth workers who should join this contest in the comment section.

You just don't get that in Big Church

Yesterday we had an "All Worship" service for our students during the normal Sunday morning meeting time. We try to do these every 5-7 weeks. This past week I talked to the student worship leader and we talked about adding different elements of worship into this one besides singing with an opening and closing prayer.

One student shared a passage that meant a lot to him and it was received well. Later a female student stood up and started with:

I was called and asked to say something today and my first thought was "OH CRAP!"

I and another adult said, "You just don't get that in Big Church".

She then went on and shared her struggles with staying close to God during good times and how it shouldn't be that way. She did wonderful and her honesty went a long way with why everyone seemed to identify with what she was saying.

Mistakes, Scars & Prayers

I have a small curved scar near the ring finger-knuckle of my right hand. Like most scars it came because I made a mistake. I was trying to start a weed-eater and it wouldn't start. I kept pulling and pulling it. Finally I pulled it very hard and my hand slipped off of the handle. The force caused me to hit the wall behind me where my hand found a nice piece of metal. I learned a valuable lesson from that mistake: Don't get angry at inanimate objects and if you do make sure there is nothing sharp nearby.

An old saying talks about wisdom being gained from experience and experience being gained from mistakes. Have you ever talked to someone who showed you a scar from their life and you made a mental note to change your life so you could avoid the same mistake? I had that experience once while talking to long-time empty nester.

He said that he prayed for his children and grandchildren now more than ever because it was the best thing he could do for them. His biggest regret as a parent was not praying for his children more while they were young.

I pray for my children more as a result of that conversation. I also believe that we need more prayer for our children and youth ministries. It's easy for us as good Americans to make our plans and work our plans but even in the church we can fail to pray about our plans as we should.

We can plan and program events, lessons, and discussions times in order train our students under our own power but if we don't pray for the students, the events, lessons and discussion times then lasting transformation by the power of God probably will not occur.

We all need to pray for our children and youth ministries more as an admission that we will not have long term life transformation without God's power and guidance. Here are some practical ways you can begin to pray more for our children and youth ministries.

1. Pray for your own children everyday. Pray for their spiritual growth, their vocation and their possible spouse. If you don't have children "adopt" one and let the parents know you are praying for their child regularly.

2. When you drive by any church use that as a reminder to pray for our church and our children and youth ministries.

3. When you see events on the church calendar, pray for God to prepare people's hearts and for those events to be used by Him.

4. When you see me, tell me you'd like to join the Youth Ministry Prayer Team and I'll e-mail you detailed items of prayer.

5. Pray when you can, for as long as you can and as often as you can you will not have to share your scars of not praying enough with someone years from now.

Daniel & the Lions Den

I was given that picture once when I left a church. It was a farewell gift. It's nice. On the day it was given to me people asked me if the leadership got the irony and if I had named the lions.

I truly hadn't considered the irony until it was mentioned to me and it was mentioned by 4-5 different people.

I had considered different endings for the picture. Throw it away, give it away, give it to a church and let them hang it in the men's bathroom. In the end, I decided to keep it.

I just found it and will put it up in my office once everything else is in order. Now though, I don't look at the lions but rather I look at Daniel and how he seems to be looking to God for deliverance and company.

During my "lion's den" or dark night of the soul, God was the one I was able to look to for deliverance and company and that picture gives me comfort. And for what it's worth, I've yet and refuse to name the lions.

Jim Rice for the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2008

*Led the A.L. with 382 home runs and 1,451 RBI during his 16-year career, all with Boston.

*The retired players with career home runs and average as high as Rice are Hank Aaron, Jimmy Foxx, Lou Gehrig, Mickey Mantle, Willie Mays, Stan Musial, Mel Ott, Babe Ruth and Ted Williams, all members of the Hall of Fame.

*Seventeen players with 350-plus home runs and a .290-plus average have been on the Hall of Fame ballot, and all but Rice are in the Hall of Fame: Aaron, Cepeda, Joe DiMaggio, Foxx, Gehrig, Al Kaline, Mantle, Mays, Johnny Mize, Musial, Ott, Frank Robinson, Ruth, Snider, Billy Williams and Ted Williams.

*Rice is an eight-time All-Star, had eight 100-RBI seasons, was a seven-time .300 hitter, the 1978 A.L. MVP, six times amongst the top five in MVP voting, more than anybody in history, four times with 39 homers or more, more than anybody else during his career, three-time A.L. home run leader, the only player in Major League history with three consecutive seasons of 35-plus home runs and 200-plus hits (1977-79), the only player since Ruth and Foxx to have three straight 39-homer seasons while batting .315.

*From 1975-86, he was the league leader in games, at-bats, runs, hits, homers, RBI, slugging, total bases, extra-base hits, go-ahead RBI, multi-hit games and outfield assists. He led the majors in five of those categories.

* Discounting his first and final seasons (24 games and 56 games, respectively), Rice's career stretched 14 meaty seasons. Rice is one of only 10 players ever to lead the American or National League in runs, hits, HR and RBI over a 14-year span. He and Rafael Palmeiro are the only players to accomplish the feat who are not in the Hall of Fame.

* Among the eight Hall of Famers on this list, five were elected on their first ballot.

* He's one of only 13 major leaguers have hit .300 with 375 HR and 1,400 RBI in a 14-season stretch and one of only eight players ever to lead the major leagues in hits and RBI over a 14-year span.

* Rice is the only A.L. player in the past 70 years with 400 total bases (DiMaggio, 1937).