"Courage is resistance to fear, mastery of fear -- not absence of fear" (Mark Twain).

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Thanks in advance for your prayers for Jeff Bearden (see my entry from yesterday). I spoke with Jeff for about 25 minutes yesterday and it was good. Jeff is so sincere and his heart is so good. Amazing that in the midst of such chaotic uncertainty in his own life, his single focus yesterday was on the manner in which his treatments would impinge on Michelle's daily life.

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Are Jerry and Lynn Jones hitting it out of the park or what? The Marriage Matters Seminar that began on Sunday and continues through tomorrow evening has been outstanding. The melding of psychology, theology and personal experience has provided a rich blessing for every person who's attended.

Last night, in the course of their discussion on "communication barriers," Jerry and Lynn spoke at length about a barrier called schemata. Schemata is simply a $10 word for those mental maps which guide our thoughts and behavior; they are the substructures of our paradigms.

Now to be honest, no one of us has a perfect paradigm; no one of us sees with pure accuracy reality. Our self-centeredness jades our understanding of reality. Consequently, some of our mental maps, even though we've held them long-term, perhaps a lifetime, to be true reflections of reality are actually proven to be false.

And how do we typically respond when a cherished mental map that is our norm is proven to be untrue? Jerry and Lynn say, "the longer a person believes a certain way, even when outside information disproves the truth of that belief, rather than acknowledge the new truth we typically deny its reality. We've invested too much over time."

That's why we'll fight to the death of a relationship (in a marriage...and in a church family).

Funny how we see expending effort to fight for a cherished, though false, presupposition as no real effort but the effort to change for the good of the relationship as cataclysmic.

This morning, I awoke with several things on my mind to share with you. I wanted to share my adoration for Don Knotts, aka Barney on Andy Griffith, and some memories of his life. I wanted to share some personal reflections from the outstanding Marriage Seminar with Jerry and Lynn Jones. I wanted to share some thoughts on dealing with ambiguities in Scripture from Eugene Peterson's new work, Eat This Book.

But then I opened my email to find the following from Sandy Milligan.

I wanted to give the latest on Jeff (Bearden). I know you will pray for him, but please have your church family pray also.

Jeff and Michelle went to UAMS this past Friday. The doctor there gave them a completely different story on his leg. He still has a tumor in his leg in the shape of a cucumber. The cancer he has is the very fast spreading kind and very dangerous. He will begin heavy chemo this coming week at St. Joseph in Hot Springs. After he completes his chemo, he then has radiation. The doctors hope this will shrink the tumor. Then after those treatments are completed, they will operate again to remove the existing tumor. If the cancer continues to spread, the last resort is amputation.

Naturally, they are at a loss and in a fog - doubt and uncertainty. "The fear of the unknown". Johnny has been keeping his business open when he has to leave and will continue to do that. He naturally is worried about his
family and how they will make it if he doesn't.

I know you will, but please pass this along to Jimmy also. Keep the entire family in your prayers and I will continue to keep you posted on his progress.

For anyone who ever questioned the value of small groups ministry, look no farther than Jeff and Michelle. Introduced to the Village church by Mike and Kim Sykora on Friends Day, they returned immediately to small groups and very quickly assimilated into our church family. Now, Jeff and Michelle are leaders in the Village church family ministry.

I ask you today to join me before the Father for Jeff, Michelle, Dane and Jacob.

Tomorrow will mark the first birthday of my blog! Since I don't normally write on the weekends, I thought I'd write today in celebration of a year of writing, reflection, Texas Rangers commentary and memories of my family.

My normal morning routine is to get to the office as soon as I drop Trae off from school and write my blog. It is therapeutic for me and serves as a kind of personal journal that I don't mind sharing with you.

Since putting my sitemeter on in July, over 8,000 visits have been made here and I appreciate all of you who drop by.

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Let me tell you what I am planning. There is a really neat creation called Blog Binders who can take your blog off-line and put it into a bound, paper edition of the things published in a blog.

As Mandy and I talked over a wonderful dinner last night at Russo's -- the best place to eat, by far, in Marble Falls -- we decided it would be really special to have the Blog Binder folks do their magic on my blog. Then, when our girls are older, we'll give them this as a gift.

My single greatest desire in life is that my girls grow up to be Women of Faith. I'm praying that down the road, the thoughts I share here will be an asset toward that goal.

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Have there been more songs penned from Psalm 95.1-7 than any other short text of Scripture?

Come let us sing for joy to the LORD;
let us shout aloud to the Rock of our salvation.
Let us come before Him with thanksgiving
and extol Him with music and song.

For the LORD is a great God,
the great King above all gods.
In His hands are the depths of the earth,
and the mountain peaks belong to Him.
The sea is His, for He made it,
and His hands formed the dry land.

Come, let us bow down in worship,
let us kneel before the LORD our Maker;
for He is our God
and we are the people of His pasture,
the flock under His care.

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Two big events to pray about this weekend. Tomorrow, Rick and Gail return to Cambodia to renew their mission endeavor along the Mekong River. Prayers and blessings to you, Rick and Gail.

Also, this weekend, Jerry and Lynn Jones will begin their four-day Marriage Matters Seminar with the Marble Falls church.

"Consider how hard it is to change yourself and you'll understand what little chance you have of trying to change others" -- Jacob M. Baude

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Last night, I finished my quarter of teaching our teens in the youth house. We had 42 packed in last night as we discussed the virtue of trustworthiness.

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One of the simple pleasures in my life is my Dish Network subscription to Major League Baseball's Extra Innings package. Basically, the package is a season-long feed of every Fox Sports Net broadcast of MLB, typically offering 12 games a day.

The package offers baseball nuts like myself a smorgasboard of baseball. But what has especially riveted me in the three years I've had Extra Innings is the different styles employed by game announcers.

And without a doubt, the best baseball announcer, bar none, is Vin Scully. I was delighted this morning to read in the paper that the Dodgers have extended Scully's contract for two more years, through 2008, which would mark his 59th consecutive season calling Dodger games.

What makes Scully so great? For nine innings, Scully calls the game...solo. His content is unmatched. His preparation is apparent. His delivery is flawless. He exudes class and grace in his presentation of the game.

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I'm blogging this morning between counseling appointments. My heart is heavy as I've just finished a visit with a genuine, sincere person concerned about the future of the church. The concern wasn't that the church is adrift, but that the church's staunch cries for distinctiveness have become so divisive that the world ignores our witness and testimony of Christ.

For every Christian who digs in their distinctive heels, there is another who cries for our distinctiveness to be found, not in our doctrinal positions but in our living out of the way of Jesus.

You know, Baude's proverb rings more true, doesn't it?

The Lady Mustangs took it on the chin last night, losing by 16 points to Kerrville Tivy in the Regional Quarterfinals. I am proud of Megan and Karla for the role they played in helping the Lady Mustangs to a record-setting season.

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This morning, I'm going to link you over to an excellent piece written in the current edition of Wineskins. It is by Gary Holloway, professor of Spiritual Formation at David Lipscomb and is entitled Circle of Fire: Barton Stone and a Spiritual Model of Unity.

Ever since taking a course in Restoration History at Harding, my mind has been absorbed by the thought, "What is Stone had been more prominent politically and socially than Alexander Campbell? How different would churches of Christ have looked?"

Now, there are some that fret over the future of "the church." But the changes I've witnessed and experienced over the last 15 years are nothing more than a pendulum swing away from Campbell's theology and toward Stone's.

Enjoy the read.

Last night was a not so subtle reminder of why I am grateful to no longer be coaching high school baseball.

We had tryouts for the Marble Falls Youth Softball Association last night. This will mark Trae's fourth softball season and despite my status as a "newbie" in Marble Falls, I was privileged to be selected as coach of one of the teams.

So, anyway, last night we had tryouts. It was everybit of 40 degrees with a light mist for the duration of the three hour tryout. I was cold. No that's an understatement. I was so cold I felt as though my bones were numb.

Is there some way the meterological folk could find a balance between last night's weather and last September's 110 degree days?

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It has been a blessing to have my Mom here for the past week. She came in for Tori's second birthday, which was last Friday. Last night, she and Trae took in a movie together (Trae didn't have to tryout since she is automatically placed on her daddy's team). I've been blessed to watch and listen to my Mom sing with my girls, play with my girls and pray with my girls. That is a priceless gift.

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Tonight, the Lady Mustangs move into the Regional Quarterfinal with a game against Kerrville Tivy at Dripping Springs beginning at 6:15. Two of our young ladies from church, Megan Long and Carla McCoy, have been catalysts during the Lady Mustangs 31-2 run this season. Good luck to the girls this evening!

On Sunday nights as a follow-up to our recently concluded expository tour of Galatians, I am sharing Biblical insight on the Holy Spirit.

If you think about our traditional teaching on the Godhead, we've often imposed a framework upon our understanding of the Trinity. For example, think of how we've typically thought of the Godhead in corporate, hierarchal terms: God the Father is the CEO; Jesus the Son is the Vice-President; the Holy Spirit is the inter-office mail carrier, just a notch above the custodian.

How did we ever conceive such a misguided notion about the role and responsibility of each person of the Godhead? And what would happen if we recovered a truly Biblical view of three distinct persons yet one God? And why (out of extremist fear) would we ever neglect One whom Jesus himself calls our "Comforter"?

Sorry to have kept you holding for the last couple of days. I have been in bed with the full-blown effects of the flu.

I knew I was in trouble when I visited Dr. Amy and her first question was, "Did you get your flu shot?"

Honestly, I've always thought flu shots were for wimps or senior citizens. Not anymore! The last 48 hours have been sheer torture, dealing with the ravages of a flu bug that has inundated the Hill Country.

Thankfully, though, the help of Amy and the good Lord, I am feeling much better...just in time for my baby's second birthday on Friday!

My mom is here to help us celebrate Tori's second birthday. I've never forgotten the words of a Glorify Him song that said: "everytime I hold a child, I feel the sweet embrace of my God." Unlike Trae, who is now seven going on seventeen, Tori still loves to be held. She still loves to be rocked before bedtime. And everytime she reaches out for me to hold her, that moment reminds me of the sweet embrace in which my God holds me.

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I hate that I missed being able to post on Wednesday -- a sacred holiday for all Rangers fans. On Wednesday, pitchers and catchers reported to Surprise, Arizona to commence spring training.

Last March, Rick and I spent three wonderful days in the greater Phoenix area, watching the Rangers play and getting to witness the wonders of spring training. Though I won't be going this year, I'll be following the events closely, leading up to what promises to be a more competitive season for the Rangers on the diamond.

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"For if you possess these qualities (the Christian graces mentioned in verses 5-7) in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ" (2 Peter 1.8).

Last Sunday, I had the blessed opportunity to sit in on Paul Castiglione's class on 2 Peter. During the course of the discussion, a point was made about the importance of verse 8.

Frankly, I'd never paid a lot of attention to verse 8 and the possible consequences of "ineffective" and "unproductive" knowledge. When it comes to knowledge in church circles, the discussion always takes the track that if one seeks knowledge, they become more empowered to live Christlike.

Yet, experience tells me sometimes people use their knowledge of the Word in counter-productive ways to the very mission of Jesus. When knowledge of the Word is used as an anvil, is it productive? When knowledge of the Word leads to divise splintering of the Body for which Jesus Himself prayed for unity, is it effective?

Peter's caution is a poignant reminder for us to use our knowledge of the Word in productive, effective ways to enhance the mission of Jesus and to encourage the building up of His body.

If I speak with human eloquence and angelic ecstasy but don't love, I'm nothing but the creaking of a rusty gate.

If I speak God's Word with power, reavealing all his mysteries and making everything plain as day, and if I have faith that says to a mountain, 'Jump,' and it jumps, but I don't love, I'm nothing.

If I give everything I own to the poor and even go to the stake to be burned as a martyr, but I don't love, I've gotten nowhere. So, no matter what I say, what I believe, and what I do, I'm bankrupt without love.

Love never gives up.
Love cares more for others than for self.
Love doesn't want what it doesn't have.
Love doesn't strut,
Doesn't have a swelled head,
Doesn't force itself on others,
Isn't always 'me first,'
Doesn't fly off the handle,
Doesn't keep score of the sin of others,
Doesn't revel when others grovel,
Takes pleasure in the flowering of truth,
Puts up with anything,
Trusts God always,
Always looks for the best,
Never looks back,
But keeps going to the end.

Love never dies (1 Corinthians 13.1-8a from The Message).

HAPPY VALENTINES DAY!

I've got one word for you if Prentice Meador is ever in your area to present his serminar for me called "Weekend of Champions."

Go!

A group of about 25 men from the Marble Falls church, including myself, attended the weekend seminar at the Westover Hills church in Austin. Prentice's use of video, story and Biblical principle solidified the images of warrior, marathon runner and sniper in my mind. The hour-long video featuring the legendary "Wizard of Westwood," Coach John Wooden, and his definition of success was enlightening. His final presentation on the need for men to see themselves as God does was inspiring.

As a veteran of several ecumencial men's programs (Promise Keepers, etc.), I can safely say that the "Weekend of Champions" for content and solid instruction is as good as it gets!

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What a blessing to spend this past weekend with Rick and Gail. Rick and Gail came down so Rick could take part in the Weekend of Champions. It was great spending all afternoon yesterday visiting and catching up.

Last night, we commissioned George Hall and Jim and Helen Dobbs to the church-planting endeavor in Guatemala on which they will leave this Friday. George shared with the church their goals and dreams for their two-week mission.

Following a wonderful time of prayer, Rick shared with the church an update on their work in Cambodia. It was truly a blessing to hear the excitement and enthusiasm in Rick's voice as he and Gail near time to return to Cambodia. The boat is set for launch on the Mekong River on March 30th.

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Finally, how touched my heart was as 38 moms and dads came streaming down the aisles during yesterday morning's invitation to bring to Jesus the faith needs of their children. The touch of the Master's Hand pervaded our assemblies yesterday and now our prayers shift to a plea that the Master's Hand will touch the heart of every child who has abandoned their faith.

To all my Marble Falls family: please be earnest in your prayers this week and in the weeks ahead for every mom and dad, grandmother and grandfather, who courageously came and shared yesterday. I know the names are too overwhelming for you to remember but God remembers. Partner in prayer with each of these folks who cared enough to come and enlist your aid in the spiritual restoration of their children/grandchildren.

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One final prayer plea this morning. Jeff Bearden, a dear friend and brother in Christ, had a cyst removed from behind his knee last week. The pathology report has revealed the cyst to be cancerous -- a very aggressive form of cancer. Jeff will be undergoing additional testing over the next two weeks at UAMS in Little Rock.

Keep Jeff and Michelle in your prayers, please. Jeff is a wonderful father to two rambunctuous little guys who are lucky to have him as their father. I echo Michelle's request that you specifically ask God to have removed all the cancer via the surgery last week; that the cancer was contained in that one cyst.

What a crazy two days!

Yesterday, Allan, Jimmy and I enjoyed a "Staff Bonding Day" at the Bob Bullock State of Texas History Museum. It was a fabulous tour through the events and people that have made Texas what it is today. The IMAX was awesome. The fellowship even better.

Today, it's off to College Station to meet up with Jamie Saveall and Don Phillips for lunch. They are at A&M for a Football Coaches Convention and I am looking forward to seeing them and catching up.

Following our lunch and visit, it's back to Austin for this evening's kickoff to the "Weekend of Champions," featuring Dr. Prentice Meador at the Westover Hills church. We've got about 25 men from Marble Falls going to the conference and it will be great to see Rick Northen there. Rick and Gail are in Texas for the weekend and I can't wait to see him over the next three days.

Add to all that my introduction to the rough-and-tumble world of "Bunco" last night at Mike & Lee Ann Clark's. A part of me can now see how you gals get so addicted to that game.

It's busy. It's hectic. It's a frenetic pace. But it's all good because God and His people are in the center of it all.

I've come face-to-face with a frightening reality...at least for a preacher.

In my filing cabinet resides approximately 10 years worth of sermons. Outlines that have been pieced together from reflection, study, experience and a personal walk of faith with God.

Now, here is the frightening reality: the realization that I could preach at Marble Falls for the next 9 1/2 years and never study one whit. That's right, just recycle what's already been prepared and voila, microwave sermons with minimal prep time.

Jimmy has a saying when someone trots out an idea covered with re-tread, "(his) ideas have dust on them." Well, I don't want my sermons to have dust on them and, because of that desire, I awaken every morning filled with the thrill of what new thing God will teach me.

I say all that to say this, this coming Sunday evening, I'll begin a new series on the Holy Spirit. Back 6 years ago at Hot Springs Village, I did a series on the Holy Spirit and appreciated the reception of the congregation to what was shared. Now, the easiest thing to do would be to just trot out the same outlines for a church filled with people who've never heard them.

But that is, in my estimation, a lose-lose proposal. The church loses because some of my ideas regarding the Spirit have, no doubt, grown a little dusty in the last six years. And, I lose because, nuggets of truth regarding the Spirit's place and purpose in my life would go unnoticed.

One of the books I'm sifting through in my renewed search to understand God's Holy Spirit is Jim McGuiggan's Where the Spirit of the Lord Is... McGuiggan writes on the Spirit from the perspective of our heritage and lays out a rich, theological framework for the activity of the Spirit in the life of the believer.

McGuiggan writes with wonderful insight on the role of the Spirit in transforming believers into the image of Christ.

"God in Christ, and through the Holy Spirit, refuses to offer us less than moral and spiritual grandeur. The presence of the Spirit and his implacable hostility to what's evil, cheap, dishonorable, and pathetic is our assurance that for those who abide in Christ there can be nothing less than glorious Christlikeness -- we will be like him!

It's true that we're continually wrestling with wickedness, but it's also true that the Spirit is our helper. 'For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh; for these are opposed to each other, to prevent you from doing what you would.'

This is not simply the statement of unending struggle; it has the tone of assurance. The tone isn't, 'Well, it's too bad, but we're always going to be stymied by the flesh because it is always at odds with the Spirit.'

The passage doesn't avoid tough reality: it insists that, despite our being in Christ and despite our rejection of 'the flesh,' we still have an inner struggle against wickedness. But it also insists that a tougher reality exists -- the Spirit within us who opposes the evil! That means we won't be swallowed up by sin, because greater is he who is in us than he who is in the world.

In some ways, it's those of us who are most familiar with the Spirit's promises who are in the greatest danger. Someone said that familiarity may not breed contempt, but it takes the edge off awe. Something like this is true about rich texts and glory-filled promises the drop the jaws or widen the eyes of newcomers but provoke no more than a raised eyebrow in the old-timers who have ceased to dream.

We need to say it aloud -- not only to one another but to ourselves, in front of a mirror -- 'God did it, so don't tell me it can't be done!'"

Tonight is another proof that the wheels in Texas turn differently. When I was coaching baseball in Arkansas, our schedule was always designed with a view toward leaving Tuesdays and Thursdays open for Track meets, tennis matches, etc.

Not here.

Tonight, the Marble Falls High School baseball team, soccer teams and basketball teams all play simultaneously. With kids from the youth group playing on all the teams, its hard to decide which team to watch. Maybe between Allan, Jimmy and I, we can cover them all!

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Last Sunday evening, I finished a sermon series on Paul's letter to the churches in Galatia. That letter is a wonderful reminder of the theological significance of the finished, redemptive work of Jesus at Calvary.

Throughout Galatians, though, Paul raises the spector of the Holy Spirit as it relates to living a redeemed life. Holiness is a key product of salvation and redeemed living requires the presence of the Holy Spirit, living inside the believer, to make the transformation into Christlikeness.

This coming Sunday, with Galatians in our rear-view mirror, we will begin a quest to better understand the presence, power and purpose of the indwelling Holy Spirit. I am convinced that the Holy Spirit is the greatest, untapped resource in the lives of many descendants of the Restoration heritage. Our roots in Baconian philosophy and the logic of John Locke left little room for something so "uncontrol-able" as the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.

Add to that the reactionary manner of human nature. What I mean is, whereas the charismatic movement led to the Holy Spirit doing any and every thing in the life of the believer, we Restorationists silenced the Holy Spirit, relegating His work strictly to the Word. Why? Because the Spirit was more "control-able" that way; the Spirit fit neatly into our theological box of presupposition.

In recent years, many within our heritage have been rethinking the Holy Spirit. Transformed living, such as Paul calls the Galatian Christians to in Galatians 5.16-26, can never be accomplished by human ingenuity, skill or willpower. Transformed living requires change on the inside (where the real problem exists) and that is why God deposits His own Holy Spirit within us to change us and recreate us.

"Let others say that the changes are simply the result of psychology, human kindness, and conditioning; fine literature, church services, new laws, or government leaders. Christians will insist that all of these and more tools in the hands of the transforming Spirit, bringing life to the dead, passion to the indifferent, and generosity to the selfish. It is he who is at work convicting and sanctifying.

For the Christian, nothing less than the presence of the Spirit is enough to explain the marvelous changes worked in human lives. Call it grace; call it providence; call it the result of Bible study, practical involvement, or social ethics; call it 'common grace' -- call it what we will, just so we understand that in and behind any or all the instruments is the presence and work of the Spirit who seeks and finds and transforms" (Jim McGuiggan).

39 years ago Friday in a small, military hospital outside of Springfield, Massachusetts, Manual and Diana Williams welcomed their firstborn child into the world, a little girl they named Mandy.

I was blessed to be introduced to Mandy back in the fall of 1993 and life for me has never been the same since!

On Thursday night, I surprised Mandy with a special gift. For the last six weeks, one of her best friends, Tara Tate and I have been conniving a special gift for Mandy's birthday that we pulled off flawlessly. I had saved back a frequent flier round-trip and used it to fly Tara in for Mandy's birthday. On Thursday evening, the day before Mandy's birthday, I told her following our evening dinner with the Granites (the retirees group in our church) that I had to make an emergency hospital visit. I ran down to San Antonio and picked up Tara who had flown in. When we arrived at the house, we surprised Mandy so much I was afraid her squeels would wake up the kids.

Tara and Mandy had a great weekend together, catching up, shopping and spending an evening on the Riverwalk in San Antonio. Earlier today, Tara caught her flight back to San Antonio, leaving behind a treasure trove of memories for my wife on her 39th birthday.

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Today was our first Sunday with Jimmy on board as our new Youth & Family Minister. I felt as though I preached with a little more fervor today, thanks to the reunion of Jimmy as Worship Leader. It is great to be working with Jimmy again!

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This month, we are focusing on a month-long effort at "Home Improvement." Our culture seems bent on attacking the nuclear family. From homosexual rights to no-fault divorce to prime-time programming, it seems as though the mainstream has become anti-family.

During February, my sermons are focusing on the need to uphold the family values of faith spelled out in God's Word. In addition to our sermon focus, two special opportunities are available in February to enrich the family. The first is for men/fathers on February 10-11. The Westover Hills church in Austin is hosting Dr. Prentice Meador's outstanding Men of Champions weekend seminar. Good friend and mentor Rick Northen and his wife, Gail are coming for the weekend which is exciting.

February will close out at Marble Falls with Jerry and Lynn Jones coming February 26-March 1 to present their excellent "Marriage Matters" seminar.

My hope and prayer is that God will use this month of February to uplift, encourage and equip every family in our church with the motivation to uphold God's design for marriage and the family.

What a blessing Wednesday was for me. I had the privilege to spend the day with Jimmy Mitchell, my long-time colleague and our new Youth & Family Minister at Marble Falls.

Jimmy and I enjoyed a wonderful breakfast at the world-famous Bluebonnet Cafe with George Offutt. George, a faithful member of the Marble Falls church and member of the Board of Trustees of ACU, is always such an encouragement.

Later in the morning, we drove up to Goldthwaite for lunch with Kerry Williams. Kerry and his family have served the Early church for the last three years as their Preaching Minister but will soon be moving to Florence, Alabama where Kerry will assume the pulpit of the 550-member Sherrod Avenue church.

During the meals and throughout the drive, it was just great to visit with Jimmy, to laugh together, to relive old memories, and to make dream of all the new memories God has in store for us.

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During the Winter Quarter, I have been blessed to teach the Middle School/High School class on Wednesday nights in our youth house adjacent to the church building. We typically have about 40 kids in there on Wednesdays.

What has deeply impressed me every Wednesday night is the depth of our young people. They love to be challenged and long to grow deeper in their faith. I was so impressed when I interviewed them about a profile for their new youth minister before we began searching. They spoke with one voice when they said, "We want a youth minister who is not afraid to go deep with us." I love that!

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As we been discussing ways to go deeper in our personal and corporate faith, tonight's discussion took us to the role of prayer. We compared the prayer of Jabez in 1 Chronicles 4.9-10 with the very obscure prayer of Agur in Proverbs 30.7-9.

I asked the kids, "Why is that the prayer of Jabez became a best-selling book while little is ever said, much less a book written, about the prayer of Agur?"

If you look at the verses, the prayers come from two totally different paradigms. Jabez's prayer seeks the blessings of the Lord for the sake of Jabez's personal kingdom while Agur's prayer seeks the simple life -- just enough so that his faith isn't rocked by either too much or too little.

My prayer is that we would allow the prayer of Agur to serve as our model moreso than the prayer of Jabez. The simple plea of the simple life might simply allow our faith in God to flourish in the midst of a world of materialism and greed.

For those of you who frequent my blog, you know of my unabashed passion for Texas Rangers baseball. Pitchers and catchers will be reporting to Surprise, Arizona and the kick-off of spring training in a little over 10 days.

Last Saturday at the Arlington Convention Center, the Rangers hosted their annual Winter Fan-Fest. Jamey Newberg recounted the events on Monday and what he said about Michael Young raises the bar of my regard for Young, his style and his leadership on the Rangers.

I'm starting to think that one reason I'm so drawn to him (Michael Young) as a player is that imperfect brilliance.

His imperfection, the thing that separates him from Alex Rodriguez and Vladimir Guerrero and Albert Pujols, is that he's a normal guy.

When he rose to the podium Friday night to accept his Player of the Year award, he turned back around and was clearly, legitimately stunned that the entire crowd had risen to its feet. And he put his head down, raised his eyebrows, and exhaled, the sort of look you'd see on his face if he'd just been buzzed up and in by Billy Wagner. The kind of look that someone has when they've just barely averted disaster -- not when they've earned a standing ovation.

(And then he told the crowd he knew we were standing only because our rear-ends were as sore as his was from sitting all night through a banquet.)

When the Rangers asked his wife, Cristina, to come up on the stage for the presentation of a diamond bracelet, Michael not only handed her the microphone but slid back a good 20 feet to let her have the stage to herself.

It was in keeping with what he said about being teammates with Mark Teixeira (who sent Michael a congratulatory letter from Arizona [where his wife is expecting their first child in the next few weeks] that was read to Michael and to the crowd, and included Teixeira's hope that the two of them will play together in Texas for a "very, very long time" and help bring a championship home): "I need Tex batting behind me. If Tex is hitting ninth, I want to hit eighth."

And when Michael sat back down at his table and they began to play a video tribute showing pictures and footage of every man ever to win the American League batting title, he didn't even look up to watch most of it.

He's too normal. In fact, he's almost abnormal in that he has no use for the spotlight or the statistics or the honors. He just wants to play baseball and win baseball games.

Michael Young is almost defective in a way. Superstars aren't supposed to act like that. He's not quite what you'd expect.

We're lucky.