I’m an Introvert.

Posted on May 1, 2012 by parvinator

Hello. My name is Steve, and I am an introvert.

Those of you who “know” me are probably thinking, “Duh. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure that out”. And that’s true, I’m the quiet one in the group. I’m the guy making eye contact and trying to listen, but not saying a whole lot. I’m the guy who walks into a crowded room and looks uncomfortable. Actually, I’m probably trying to figure out how to gracefully and tactfully excuse myself. Surely, I need to go use the restroom, or maybe I’ve left something in my car. Or some other lame excuse to rescue myself from “certain doom” in the crowd of people.

I’m also the one who feels guilty because “there is something wrong with me”. I mean, aren’t all good Christians supposed to be outgoing, gregarious, people lovers? That’s not me, so something must be wrong with me? Right?

That’s the message that “the church” has “subtly” communicated over the years, albeit mostly unintentionally and likely obliviously. However, it’s still the message that’s been sent.

And in the midst of that, I’ve wrestled with things like what is God calling me to do? Or how has God gifted me? Or where does God want me to serve? Or even am I good enough to be used by God?

But here’s the deal, all that is a bunch of lies.

You see, the Bible says that God made man (that’s me, you, and everyone else) in His image. That’s in the book of Genesis, chapter 1, verse 26, if you want to check it out for yourself. And yes, there’s the whole sin thing in Genesis 3, but that’s a whole other post by itself. Let’s just say, to keep it simple, that sin messed up God’s original plan. Fortunately, God had a plan B. (Or was it really plan A since God is omniscient? Try to wrap your brain around that one.)

Anyway, long story short, God’s plan was to sacrifice Himself (i.e. Jesus, the cross, Good Friday, Easter, y’know) in order to undo our screw up. And by undo, I mean to make us back to being like Him again. There’s a whole lot of theological stuff that I’m glossing over here. If you want to know more, go download the sermons from my church’s website for 4/22/12 and 4/29/12.

So, what this all means is that even though I am an introvert, I am made in God’s image. And even more than that He loved me enough to sacrifice His own life so I could be in relationship with Him.

My problem is that I have an easier time listening to who others say I am instead of believing who God says I am. Some days are better than others. Today isn’t one of those days. Fortunately, I have this forum where I can ramble, get my thoughts out there, and remind myself of what is Truth. And that’s a good thing.

Thank you God that You made me in Your image. Thank You that You don’t make junk. Thank You that You are loving and patient with me as I wrestle with my unbelief.

How about you? Do you wrestle with being an introvert? Or do you wrestle with seeing yourself as God sees you?

Categories: About Me, God Stuff | 3 Comments

Blog Reboot… Again!!!

Posted on April 21, 2012 by parvinator

Welcome (or welcome back) to Thought Shrapnel!!!

Simply put, this is my electronic brain dump for all the world to see. Sometimes (probably more often than not), you will read stuff about my relationship with God – the Father, Jesus the Son, and the Holy Spirit. (No, I’m not Catholic – not that there’s anything wrong with being Catholic – but I believe that God is Trinity – 3 persons in One. And I believe that my relationship with God includes how I interact with each of the 3 persons of the Trinity – Father, Jesus, and Holy Spirit.)

OK, thanks for indulging my short digression, now back to our regularly scheduled blog post.

Where was I… oh yeah, what you’ll find here. God Stuff, check. Besides God Stuff, you’ll occasionally find stuff about me that doesn’t necessarily have anything to do with God or spiritual things. For example, I may post pictures and write about my travels (vacation or otherwise). Or maybe I’ll post about baseball, one of my biggest passions. The bottom line is that I may post about almost anything, hence the name Thought Shrapnel – random postings about random topics.

For anyone that has read my posts in the past, you’ll know that I can very easily get into a rut and not post for long periods of time. It’s crazy just how undisciplined I can be about things. I am hoping this time will be different. My goal is to post at least one spiritually relevant entry per week in addition to any nonsense to go along with it.

Thanks for reading. Hang on and enjoy the ride. Comments welcomed and encouraged. Just be nice. :-)

Categories: About Me | Leave a comment

Jesus Likes Humility

Posted on April 17, 2012 by parvinator


Then Jesus told this story to some who had great confidence in their own righteousness and scorned everyone else:

“Two men went to the Temple to pray. One was a Pharisee, and the other was a despised tax collector. The Pharisee stood by himself and prayed this prayer: ‘I thank you, God, that I am not a sinner like everyone else. For I don’t cheat, I don’t sin, and I don’t commit adultery. I’m certainly not like that tax collector! I fast twice a week, and I give you a tenth of my income.’

But the tax collector stood at a distance and dared not even lift his eyes to heaven as he prayed. Instead, he beat his chest in sorrow, saying, ‘O God, be merciful to me, for I am a sinner.’

I tell you, this sinner, not the Pharisee, returned home justified before God. For those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.”

— Luke 18:9-14 (NLT)

As I see it, the key point in this passage is not that we should beat our self up for sinning like the tax collector did. Nowhere does Jesus commend the tax collector’s behavior.

Rather, like with all things, Jesus looks at the heart. In this parable, Jesus says our heart should be like the tax collector – humble and contrite, and NOT like the Pharisee – prideful and judgmental.

How often do we think that we are better than others – especially when we look at the outward appearance? Do my looks, my financial status, my social standing, my job, or whatever make me better than anyone else?

Or here’s an interesting twist: Do my looks, my financial status, my social standing, my job, or whatever make me worse than everyone else?

In God’s economy, the answer to both questions is a resound NO.

I have found that the enemy uses two lies to keep people stuck:
Lie #1: You’re better than everyone else.
That’s what the Pharisees believed. That’s called pride, and God doesn’t care much for it.

Lie #2: Everyone else is better than you.
On the surface, that is what the tax collector might be communicating to us, but that is the furthest from the Truth. This lie is also called pride – just from a different angle – kinda like the flip side to the same coin. God doesn’t care much for this either.

To be honest, I struggle a lot believing Lie #2. For whatever reasons, I don’t consistently see myself as really being loved by Jesus in a real, genuine, day-to-day way. In my head, I understand that Jesus loves me, but in my heart, I don’t always feel it. And my thoughts, actions, and attitudes towards myself and others don’t always reflect the Truth.

Jesus, thank You that, even though I doubt and struggle with belief, You still love me NO MATTER WHAT. Thank You for Your patience and gentleness with me.

Which of these lies to do you struggle with?

Categories: God Stuff | Leave a comment

My Top Ten Cardinals of All-Time:
#6 Albert Pujols

Posted on December 9, 2011 by parvinator

#6. Albert Pujols
#7. Joe Medwick
#8. Jim Bottomley
#9. Enos Slaughter
#10. Ken Boyer

No links, no pictures, no stats, no witty anecdotes.

Falling from #3/#4 (I was still undecided) down to #6 on my list of all-time Cardinals is former 1B Albert Pujols. For those of you who have been following my list, that bumps Ozzie Smith up to #5.

Mr. Pujols was in the top 5 in most Cardinal offensive categories of all-time. And for the first 10 years of his career, he was the face of the Cardinal franchise batting 0.299 with 30+ HR and 99+ RBI in each of these seasons. Many assumed and expected that he would finish his career as a Cardinal and supplant the great Stan Musial (more about him in a later post) as the greatest Cardinal of all-time. Today, that all ended when Mr. Pujols succumbed to the almighty dollar and took his talents to SoCal to play for the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim in a 10 year, $254 million dollar contract.

I understand that baseball is a business. I understand that the days of a player staying with one team his entire career are long gone. Yet, recently, I was given a glimmer of hope that maybe, perhaps by chance, that a brief return to days gone by had returned to St. Louis. Maybe, the Cardinals had found a throw back to yesteryear. Alas, those hopes were dashed today, and here I sit a naive fool for thinking that things could be different.

I don’t begrudge Mr. Pujols his money. If a team is foolish enough to give a near 32 year old player a guaranteed 10 year contact at those dollar amounts, then shame on them, not the player for taking it. In fact, I think the Cardinals offered too much.

My beef is that Mr. Pujols claimed he loved St. Louis, loved playing for the Cardinals and for the St. Louis fans, and wanted to finish his career as a Cardinal. I guess he loved an extra guaranteed year and around $3 million per year more.

I am sad and disappointed as what transpired – partially for the circumstances, partially at myself for thinking that things could be different.

While I am not a vindictive person and do not wish any ill will towards Mr. Pujols, I do hope he realizes very quickly what he gave up by leaving St. Louis. I hope that he sees that there is more to baseball than money and that what he gave up in St. Louis is worth a lot more then $3 million per year. And if the Angels don’t make the playoffs at all in the next 10 years, I won’t be too upset with that either.

Up next, #4 on my list.

Categories: Baseball | Leave a comment

My Top Ten Cardinals of All-Time:
#5 Ozzie Smith

Posted on September 30, 2011 by parvinator

#5. Ozzie Smith
#6. ???
#7. Joe Medwick
#8. Jim Bottomley
#9. Enos Slaughter
#10. Ken Boyer

OzzieSmith

After a long hiatus, I’m returning to my top 10 Cardinals of all time. Making the list at #5 is shortstop Osborne Earl “Ozzie” Smith.

Ozzie was traded to the Cardinals in 1982 for then shortstop Garry Templeton. Ironically, both shortstops we embroiled in conflicts with their respective teams at the time.

OzzieSmith

Nicknamed the Wizard for his outstanding defensive play, Ozzie became one of the cornerstones for the Cardinals in the 1980s and early-to-mid 1990s. That team won a World Championship in 1982, and made two other World Series appearances in the 1985 and 1987.

Defense at shortstop was Ozzie’s forte. Over his career, Ozzie won 13 Gold Gloves – 11 as a Cardinal – every year from 1980 – 1992. He lead the league in assists 6 times, and lead the league in field percentage for SS 8 times. Ozzie holds the major league record for assists by a shortstop (8375), shares the major league record of most times leading his league in fielding percentage at shortstop (8), ranks 4th all-time in career fielding average at shortstop (0.978), shares the NL record for most seasons topping the league in double plays turned (5), and turned more double plays than any shortstop in NL history (1590).

OzzieSmith

Ozzie was a human highlight reel in the field. Probably his greatest defensive play as a Cardinal occurred on August 4, 1986. During a game against the Philadelphia Phillies at Busch Stadium, in the top of the ninth inning, Phillies first baseman Von Hayes hit a short fly ball to left field, which was pursued by both Ozzie and left fielder Curt Ford. Running with his back to home plate, Ozzie dove forward, simultaneously catching the ball while parallel to the ground and flying over the diving Ford, avoiding a collision by inches.

OzzieSmith

Over the years, Ozzie also became know for his signature back flip that he would do when he took the field at the start of each Opening Day game.

OzzieSmith

In addition to his defense, Ozzie was a wizard on the base path. He amassed 580 stolen bases over his career, swiping 30+ bases 11 times in his career. He ranks 3rd on the Cardinal all-time stolen base list behind teammate Vince Coleman, and Hall of Famer Lou Brock.

OzzieSmith

Even though he was known for his speed and defense, Ozzie took great pride in his offense. During Spring Training 1982, in an effort to help Ozzie improve his weak hitting, his manager, Whitey Herzog, created a motivational tool designed to help Smith concentrate on hitting more ground balls, which he believed would improve his offensive production. Approaching Ozzie one day during spring training, Herzog said, “Every time you hit a fly ball, you owe me a buck. Every time you hit a ground ball, I owe you a buck. We’ll keep that going all year.” Ozzie agreed, and by the end of the season had won close to $300 from Herzog.

Through his career, Ozzie had a number of notable achievements:

  • Finished 2nd for the 1978 Rookie of Year Award
  • Won 13 Gold Glove awards – the most by a shortstop in major league history
  • Named to 15 All-Star games
  • Won the Silver Slugger Award at shortstop in 1987 – for best offensive player at his position
  • Named the MVP of the 1985 NL Championship Series
  • Finished 2nd in the MVP voting in 1987
  • Won the 1994 Branch Rickey Award and the 1995 Roberto Clemente Award for community service

    • OzzieSmith

    One of Ozzie’s most memorable career moments came with his bat, instead of his glove. In Game 5 of the NL Championship Series against the Los Angeles Dodgers, Ozzie came to plate with one out in the bottom of the 9th inning with the score tied 2-2. He hit a home run to end the game, giving the Cardinals a 3-2 victory. This was his first career left-handed HR, and was later voted by fans the great moment in Busch Stadium history. It was also immortalized by broadcaster Jack Buck’s call of “Go crazy folks! Go crazy!”

    OzzieSmith

    As an all-time Cardinal, Ozzie ranks 3rd in stolen bases, 7th in runs, 7th in hits, 10th in doubles, and 15th in RBIs.

    As one of the all-time Cardinal greats, he is immortalized with a statue outside of Busch Stadium.

    OzzieSmith

    Year    G    AB    R     H   2B  3B  HR  RBI   SB     BA    OPS
1982  140   488   58   121   24   1   2   43   25  0.248  0.653
1983  159   552   69   134   30   6   3   50   34  0.243  0.657
1984  124   412   53   106   20   5   1   44   35  0.257  0.684
1985  158   537   70   148   22   3   6   54   31  0.276  0.716
1986  153   514   67   144   19   4   0   54   31  0.280  0.709
1987  158   600  104   182   40   4   0   75   43  0.303  0.775
1988  153   575   80   155   27   1   3   51   57  0.270  0.686
1989  155   593   82   162   30   8   2   50   29  0.273  0.696
1990  143   512   61   130   21   1   1   50   32  0.254  0.635
1991  150   550   96   157   30   3   3   50   35  0.285  0.747
1992  132   518   73   153   20   2   0   31   43  0.295  0.708
1993  141   545   75   157   22   6   1   53   21  0.288  0.693
1994   98   381   51   100   18   3   3   30    6  0.262  0.675
1995   44   156   16    31    5   1   0   11    4  0.199  0.526
1996   82   227   36    64   10   2   2   18    7  0.282  0.728
STL  1990  7160  991  1944  338  50  27  664  433  0.272  0.694

    In 2002, Ozzie was inducted to the Baseball Hall of Fame on his first ballot where he was named on 91.7% of the ballots. He was the only player inducted that year.

    Growing up, Ozzie Smith was by far my favorite baseball player. This post was particularly hard to write because in my heart, I wanted to put Ozzie higher on the list. However, I forced myself to look at all of the statistics objectively.

    I’ve been an avid baseball card collector since I was in grade school. Even though it died down when I went away to college, I got back into it a little once I graduated and got a job. In the early 1990s, I began a quest to obtain every Ozzie Smith baseball card I could find – all years, all teams, all baseball card companies, you name it. To date, I have over 200 different Ozzie Smith cards – not every one ever made, but a large number of them.

    When Ozzie announced his retirement in 1996, I knew I wanted to be there for his last regular season game. As it turns out, the Cardinals also chose to retire his #1 uniform number that day as well. I was in the stands for 2 of the 3 games in that final weekend series – one where they had a reunion and honored the 1982 World Series Champions, and the other where Ozzie’s number was retired.

    Just over five years later, in July of 2002, Sara, Lizzy, and I made the pilgrimage to Cooperstown, NY for the Hall of Fame induction ceremonies for Ozzie. It was a remarkable site not only to visit the shrine of baseball, the Hall of Fame Museum, but also to see the thousands of people crammed into a tiny NY village to observe a piece of history. It’s a moment I will never forget.

    Ozzie Smith Hall of Fame Plaque

    Up next, #4.

    Video Links
    MLB.com #1 Greatest Defensive Play in Major League History
    Ozzie’s Signature Flip
    Ozzie’s Go Crazy Folks HR

    Links
    Ozzie Smith Wikipedia Page
    Baseball Reference Entry on Ozzie Smith
    Baseball Hall of Fame Page on Ozzie Smith
    Ozzie Smith page at MLB.com
    OzzieSmith.com (Coming Soon)

    Categories: Baseball | Leave a comment

    Do… or do not. There is no try.

    Posted on September 15, 2011 by parvinator

    Luke: All right, I’ll give it a try.
    Yoda: No. Try not. Do… or do not. There is no try.

    In this brief exchange from one of my favorite movies of all times The Empire Strikes Back, young Luke Skywalker, learning what it means to be a Jedi Knight from venerable Jedi Master Yoda, becomes frustrated because his X-Wing fighter has sunk into the swamps of Dagobah, seemingly unrecoverable.

    Luke’s agitation becomes a teaching point for him on using the Force and getting past the perception that moving objects with the Force is not dependent on their size or the size of the Jedi. After Yoda’s chastisement about size not mattering, Luke capitulates and says, “All right, I’ll give it a try.” – meaning that he would try to use the Force to move his half sunken ship out of the swamp. Yoda gives him a sharp retort, “No. Try not. Do… or do not. There is no try.” – implying that as soon as a Jedi begins to doubt his own ability in the Force that he is lost and doomed to failure.

    For those of you who have seen the movie, we all know what happens next. Luke tries to lift his ship out of the swamp only to fail miserably causing his ship to sink further. He walks away frustrated with Yoda, saying that he expects the impossible. Yoda then proceeds to put the young Jedi-to-be in his place by easily lifting Luke’s ship out of the water and moving it safely to more solid ground. Astonished, Luke exclaims to Yoda, “I don’t believe it.” Yoda calmly and matter-of-factly responds, “That is why you fail.”

    So, where am I going with this?

    This past weekend, I was issued a challenge… a challenge to put aside the American “try Jesus” mentality and way of living in favor of giving Jesus what He has asked for, that is 100% of my life. So, I asked the dangerous questions, “Jesus, have I given you 100% of my life? Are there areas of my life that I’m holding on to that are not 100% yours?” And while I didn’t get a response of specific areas, I knew as soon as I asked the question that the answer was YES. And so began my struggle. That struggle took the form of questions that I asked (some verbally, some in my spirit) and then waited on a response.

    Jesus, have I given you 100% of my life?
    Are there areas of my life that I’m holding on to that are not 100% yours?
    What are they? Why I am holding on to them? What am I afraid of?
    What does this say about my belief in You?
    What does it mean to give you 100% of my life?
    What does it mean that my life is not my own?
    What about my choices? Don’t I have free will? Can’t I choose what I want?
    What does it really mean that You are the King… that You are my King?
    How then am I supposed to respond?
    What are You asking me to do? How are You asking me to live?

    After some silence and reflection, I found myself thinking about kings and kingdoms, lords and lordship, and medieval feudalism. I sensed the Holy Spirit leading me back to the basics – to put aside what I thought I knew and re-examine some things afresh. I did some Internet searches and on-line reading, and discovered some interesting things.

    Here are some definitions I ran across:

  • King – A king is a male monarch; member of a royal family who is the supreme ruler of his nation.
  • Kingdom – A kingdom is a nation having as supreme ruler a king and/or queen.
  • Lord – A Lord is a person having formal authority over others, a ruler.
  • Lordship – Lordship means dominion; power; authority.
  • Vassal – In feudal society, a vassal was one who keeps land of a superior, and who vows fidelity and homage to him, normally a lord of a manor. More generally, a vassal is a subject; a dependent; a servant; a slave.

    • So, if Jesus is my Lord and has lordship over me, what does that mean for me? What should my response to Him be?

    If Jesus is my Lord, then I am His vassal. He is my ruler and my authority; I am His subject and servant. It means that my life is not my own to do with as I please. Sure, God loves me, and out of that love, He has given me the freedom to choose as I please. And of course, with those choices come consequences… some good, some not so good. However, if Jesus is my ruler, my King, my Lord, then the choices I make should be those choices that He wants me to make.

    The moment I confessed my sins, acknowledged that I couldn’t pay the price for them, realized that Jesus’ death on the cross was the only way they could be paid for, and asked Him into my life, I accepted Him as my Savior. But, there’s a difference between calling Jesus your Savior and calling Jesus your Lord.

    In my opinion, calling Jesus your Savior means that you acknowledge your sinfulness. It means accepting that Jesus’ death on the cross is the ONLY way to make things right between you and God. It means accepting the free gift of eternal life that He paid for. It means confessing your sins, turning away from your sinful ways of doing life, and following Him.

    But, if I call Jesus my Lord, then there is more to it than that. It means that my life is not my own to do with as I please, rather my life belongs to Jesus. It is His to do with as He pleases. My responsibility is to seek Jesus and find out from Him what He wants me to do. It means taking up my cross daily, dying to myself and my way of doing life daily, and following Jesus in whatever He asks me to do regardless of what I want.

    I see Jesus as Savior and Jesus as Lord as different, but similar. In fact, some may argue that these are indistinguishable – that you can’t call Jesus your Savior without also calling Him your Lord. I’m no theologian, nor am I a Bible scholar. In fact, often times, my brain hurts when I think too hard or too much.

    I like to look at it like this: Accepting Jesus as Savior is a one-time, once-for-all decision. Acknowledging Jesus as Lord is a process and a regular, daily choice. It’s a process, in that, over time, we bring more and more areas of our lives under His lordship (i.e. rule, dominion, or authority). It’s a series of regular daily choices, in that, as we go through our day, we are faced with the free will decision to turn our lives and wills over to the care of Jesus for that moment, or to live for our self, doing what we want, whether that lines up with Jesus’ desires for us or not. With time and maturity, more areas of our lives come under the lordship of Jesus, and our decisions to do life His way becomes easier.

    So back to my wrestling…
    Yes, there are areas of my life that I have been holding on to out of irrational fear. Yes, there are too many days where I do life my way because it seems easier and simpler than doing what Jesus has called me to do.

    And you know what, I don’t want to do that any more. Jesus, I give you control of the areas of my life that I have been holding on to. You purchased my life back from the enemy, so I give it back to You to do with as You please. And when I try to take back what is rightfully Yours, I give You permission to call me on it. And Jesus, I continue to commit my daily life to You. I turn my life and will over to You today. Fill me with Your Holy Spirit so that I may know what Your will is for me today. Empower me to do what You want me to do. Give me the courage and the boldness to come out of my introverted shell and be a blessing and encouragement to the people whom You put in my path. And give me the power to do it all over again tomorrow. May my life reflect Your glory.

    So… where are you at with Jesus? What is He speaking to you about? What is He calling you to do?

    Take a chance. Make a move. Step out and do it. You won’t regret it.

    Categories: God Stuff | Leave a comment

    You Are Missed Becky!!!

    Posted on August 27, 2011 by parvinator

    This earthly world is little bit dimmer this morning. My friend, Becky, who had been engaged in a losing, but valiant battle with pancreatic cancer, went to be with Her Lord and Savior Jesus Christ last night. She went as she would have wanted it: peacefully, surrounded by all of her family.

    It’s sad. Sad because this disease came on suddenly without warning. Sad because she has a loving family and had a lot to live for. Sad because of who she was and what she did with her life.

    Yet, in the midst of the sadness and the grief, there is a glimmer of joy. Joy because her suffering is over. Joy because she is now in the presence of her Creator, Lord, and Savior, Jesus.

    I met Becky’s husband, Mike, back in the mid 1990s. I was a software engineer working at Frasca International. He was one of our customers, in charge of training at Bell Helicopters in Dallas, TX. I had the opportunity to work with Mike off-and-on over the years on several different helicopter simulators for Bell. A couple of years ago, Mike and Becky moved to the Champaign area so Mike could come work for Frasca. Becky too started working at Frasca as our morning receptionist.

    What I remember most about Becky was her cheerful and pleasant demeanor. She was always friendly and always cheerful. She always had a smile on her face and a kind word on her lips for anyone who came up to the front desk. She was quick with a friendly “Good morning.” or a “How is you day going?” She was perfect for that job – as the first thing people see when they walk in the front door at Frasca.

    Becky was also very hospitable. This past year, Mike volunteered to host our fantasy baseball draft at their home. I remember that she slaved all morning (ok, maybe Mike helped a little) preparing a veritable feast for us guys. And as people came over, she was very welcoming and inviting. When you entered her home, she made you feel like family.

    I also remember that even in the midst of this terrible disease, her faith and her love for her Savior didn’t waver. She came to visit our church (The Vineyard) one Saturday night so that we could pray for her. And even though God chose not to bring physical healing to her that night, He brought emotional freedom to her over some issues that she had been dealing with for years. She found joy in the emotional healing that God DID bring, instead of sorrow over the physical healing that He did not.

    One of my last memories of Becky was visiting her at her home earlier this summer. She was still in pretty good shape – weak and in some pain, but still manageable. What struck me most was her attitude. She was not mad or bitter. In fact, she commented that over the last several months, she had been closer to Jesus than she had been in her entire life. She was finding joy and pleasure in the little things in life – a clear blue sky, a cool breeze, the flowers growing in the yard. She talked about her times reading the Bible and praying being fresh, vibrant, invigorating, and peaceful. She was truly inspiring in how she faced death. She saw it as joy and sorrow intermingled – sad that she would be leaving her family that she adored so much, but joy that she would be with her Savior Jesus where all pain and sorrow would be gone. That left an everlasting impression on me.

    To Melissa, Meredith, Marc, and Jon:
    I extend to you my deepest sympathies on the loss of your mother. May your lasting memories of her be of the good times and not those of the last several weeks. May you draw near to the same Jesus whom your Momma loved so much. May you find in Him the same joy, peace, and comfort that she did in Him so that one day you will be reunited with her.

    To my friend Mike:
    Words can not express my feelings on the loss of your wife, friend, and soul-mate. My condolences, my sympathies, and I’m sorry just don’t seem adequate enough. I grieve with you. Remember that I am here for you whenever you need it. Don’t forget that. Whether it’s to talk about what you’re feeling and going through, or to hang out and try to get you mind off of things, I’m here for you.

    To all of the friends and family of Becky:
    May Jesus be your source of comfort, peace, hope, and love as you go through the grieving process. May you be drawn near to Him. May His love overflow in and on you. May He turn your mourning into dancing and your sorrow into joy. May He give you peace.

    Good bye, Becky. I know I’ll see you again some day.

    Revelation 21:1-5
    Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth has passed away, and there was no longer any sea. I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Now the dwelling place of God is with men, and He will live with them. They will be His people, God Himself will be with them and be their God. He will wipe every team from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.” He who was seated on the throne said, “I am making everything new!”

    Categories: About Me, God Stuff | 2 Comments

    25 Things About Me You May Not Know

    Posted on August 24, 2011 by parvinator

    We had a cookout tonight at our senior pastors’ home for some of our church leaders. I was inspired by the get-to-know-each-other activity that we did tonight. So, in response to that, I present…

    25 Things About Me You May Not Know
    1. Many people know I am a huge fan of the St. Louis Cardinals baseball team. However, what you may not know is that my favorite Cardinal player of all-time is shortstop Ozzie Smith, who played for them from 1982-1996. In fact, I went to the Baseball Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony in Cooperstown, NY when Ozzie got inducted in 2002.

    2. I have seen the following musical acts in concert (not all at the same time): Duran Duran, Def Leppard, Debbie Gibson, Midnight Oil, Amy Grant, and Paul McCartney.

    3. I was put on academic probation at the U of I after my 1st semester junior year. I was kicked out of the U of I after my 2nd semester junior year for not getting my grades up. Yet, I petitioned to get back in and was able to graduation. Oddly enough, I never FAILED a class – I just got more D’s than B’s my junior year.

    4. I graduated from graduate school with my MBA with a 4.0 grade point average from all of my graduate level classes. Go figure. Amazing what a few years of maturity will do.

    5. One of saddest moments of my life was in December 1999 when I found out my best friend from high school committed suicide. We had lost touch after high school, but he was going to grad school at Northwestern in Chicago. I felt guilty for a long time that I hadn’t done more to keep our friendship going.

    6. From 1993 – 1997, I was involved in my church’s worship team – even spending much of this time leading worship during our Sunday morning service.

    7. My two favorite Christian musicians are Michael W. Smith and Steven Curtis Chapman. I have all of their albums (except a greatest hits album or two and some re-releases). I have seen each of them in concert on more than one occasion.

    8. As a vocation, I manage software engineers at a company that manufactures flight simulators. On bad days, I pretend I still know how to actually be a software engineer. I hate heights and cramped spaces, and have NEVER flown in a small single or twin engine airplane.

    9. Loyalty is very important to me – both giving and receiving it.

    10. One of my biggest vices is that I still enjoy watching professional wrestling. My favorite wrestlers of all-time are Sting, the Rock, and Stone Cold Steve Austin.

    11. I am a huge fan of most things science fiction with regards to TV and movies. Some of my favorite sci-fi TV shows are: Battlestar Galactica (both the original AND the newer), Star Trek (all series), Babylon 5, Firefly, and Doctor Who.

    12. When I was in high school, I went to a Doctor Who convention in St. Louis, and was within 10 feet of Colin Baker – the 6th Doctor. The funny thing is that I didn’t recognize him. At the time, he was my least favorite Doctor, and I hadn’t seen too many of his episodes – not to mention that he looked a lot older at the convention than he did in the show.

    13. Staying on that theme, my favorite Doctor is the 9th Doctor, Christopher Eccleston. I was disappointed when he only did one season.

    14. I have an easy time starting books and a hard time finishing them. Right now, I’ve got about a dozen or more books that I’ve started and not finished.

    15. As a kid, I collected comic books and baseball cards. I stopped collecting comic books about a year or so after I got married. I still collect baseball cards, but not as intensely as I used to.

    16. Sticking with the comic book theme, my favorite comic book was the Uncanny X-Men. Part of the reason I got out of collecting was the it got too expensive. Not only were the individual issues $2+ an issue, but each super hero group had anywhere from 2 to 5 titles and story lines often crossed over these multiple titles.

    17. My favorite foods are pizza and homemade chocolate chip cookies. I have little willpower when it comes to these foods.

    18. I play both fantasy baseball and fantasy football. I am in 2 baseball leagues and 4 football leagues.

    19. I accepted Jesus as my savior on October 10, 1988 around 3pm in the afternoon in my dorm room on the 4th floor of Hopkins Hall in the U of I campus. A friend had shared the gospel with me the night before and I didn’t want to be pressured into praying with him then so I waited until after class the next day when I was by myself.

    20. One of the craziest things I did in college was during finals week my first semester sophomore year. I had one last final exam on Saturday morning, but a bunch of my friends were done on Friday morning. So instead of staying back and studying for my Saturday morning final, I joined them on a road trip to Chicago to walk around and enjoy the downtown Chicago Christmas festivity. We got back around 2:00am – enough time to do some last minute studying for my 8:00am final. Needless to say, I didn’t do too well.

    21. I feel awkward in social situations because I typically don’t know what to say to people, and I don’t want to look stupid.

    22. I am the youngest of four children. My sister, Karen, is 10 years older than me, lives in southern Illinois, has her PhD in nursing, and teaches at St. Louis University. My brother, Ron, is 9 years older than me. I don’t have any contact with him. I haven’t seen him in over 10 years. Last I heard, he was somewhere on the east coast. My brother, Michael (I think that was his name), died as a baby several years before I was born. I don’t know much about him because he wasn’t talked about when I was growing up.

    23. I have worked at my current job for over 19 years and have had the opportunity to travel all over the world. Some of the places that I’ve been are:
    Miami, Phoenix, New York, Dallas, Cincinnati, Orlando, London (four times), Oxford (twice), Shrewsbury (UK – three times), Toronto (twice), Montreal, Zurich, Copenhagen, Cognac (France), Paris, Tokyo, and Rome.

    24. I really don’t like change. I can handle it and deal with it, but I really don’t like it. I’m all about stability, and change often means instability.

    25. And lastly, I asked my wife, Sara, what is one thing about me that people may not know. She said (after lots of ummm-ing): that I like country music since I hid it for so long. She’s right. I do kind of like country music. My favorite country artists are: Shania Twain and Carrie Underwood.

    So there you have it, 25 things about me that you may not know. I hope it was enlightening for you.

    Categories: About Me | Leave a comment

    What’s My Job Again?

    Posted on August 23, 2011 by parvinator 
    Isaiah 61:1-3
The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is upon me,
      for the Lord has anointed me
      to bring good news to the poor.
   He has sent me to comfort the brokenhearted
      and to proclaim that captives will be released
      and prisoners will be freed.
He has sent me to tell those who mourn
      that the time of the Lord’s favor has come,
      and with it, the day of God’s anger against their enemies.
To all who mourn in Israel,
      he will give a crown of beauty for ashes,
   a joyous blessing instead of mourning,
      festive praise instead of despair.
   In their righteousness, they will be like great oaks
      that the Lord has planted for his own glory.

    So, what is my job again? This passage tells me that as follower of Jesus, I have some specific marching orders and work to do for Him.

    1. Be filled with the Holy Spirit
    The only way to accomplish His work is to be filled with (and thus empowered by) His Spirit. Vs 1 says that the “Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is upon me” and “the Lord has anointed me”. That can only happen when I am filled with His Spirit.

    2. Bring good news to the poor
    Good news that Jesus loves them and has an awesome plan for their life. Good news that no problem is too big or too overwhelming for Jesus to handle. Good news that Jesus loves and accepts them just as they are right now – that they don’t have to clean themselves up in order to be accepted by Jesus. That’s good news.

    3. Comfort the brokenhearted
    Comfort implies bringing the Comforter by asking the Holy Spirit to come and minister His peace and comfort to each and every situation. It also means listening without judging or fixing. Let me repeat that last part… without judging or fixing. For many people (myself included), that can be challenging.

    4. Proclaim that the captives will be released and that the prisoners will be freed
    Jesus brings freedom!!! He brings freedom from sin, freedom from bondage, freedom from oppression, freedom from sickness, freedom from disease. With His death on the cross, Jesus purchased our freedom with His blood. With His resurrection, He conquered the power of sin, death, and hell on our behalf. That free gift (and just so you know, free means free) is open and available to each and every person – just like a present on Christmas morning sitting under the tree ready to unwrapped and opened.

    5. Tell those who mourn that the time of the Lord’s favor has come
    Unfortunately, mourning is a part of life. Sadly, bad things do happen from time-to-time. Yet, Jesus meets us in the midst of the storms of our life. He not only comforts us in the middle of the them, but He leads us through them into bigger, better, greater things. It is often the storms in our lives that Jesus will use to reorient us back towards Him – not that He’s the author of those storms (He’s not), but He will use them. And just like calm seas and bright skies often follow storms, growth and maturity often follow the challenges and difficulties in our lives.

    6. Communicate that God has a good plan for their life
    Often people will tritely say, God loves you and has a wonderful plan for your life. That annoys me when people say that tritely. Why? Because IT’S SO TRUE!!! And something that true and that important should NOT be dealt with tritely. God DOES love you. There is nothing pithy or trite about it. And He has a plan for you – a good plan, a perfect plan, a plan to prosper you, a plan to give you hope, a plan to give you a future. It’s real – not just some warm, fuzzy Bible verse.

    I need to be real and genuine when I communicate that to people. For me, however, the issue isn’t about genuineness, it’s more about communicating. I err on the side of not communicating (i.e. I don’t communicate) as opposed to communicating in a way that trite or pithy. I’d rather not communicate than be trite or pithy. Jesus has been asking me to change that over the past 8 months – and stop with the clamming up. I’m still a work-in-progress though. :-)

    So, how do I accomplish all this? Well, this is one of the reasons that I help lead my church’s recovery ministry, Healing Journey. At Healing Journey, we seek to extend the hope and healing of Jesus to men and women with all sorts of attachments and negative behaviors. Whether you are struggling with a substance, people, process, or sexual attachment, we are here to help you walk the path to a joyful and free life.

    Jesus has also called me to stop flying-under-the-radar and come out from behind-the-scenes. That’s one of the reasons I’ve taken more responsibility over the last 8 months leading Healing Journey. It’s also one of the reasons that I’ve been considering my church’s new School of Kingdom Ministry. Talk about breaking me out of my comfort zone. If I’m serious about doing my job, then I think that’s a good next step to pursue. I better hang on. :-)

    Categories: God Stuff | Leave a comment

    2011 Vineyard Fantasy Football Draft Recap

    Posted on August 23, 2011 by parvinator

    This is my second year in the Vineyard Fantasy Football League run by my campus pastor, Adam. This was my first fantasy football draft of 2011. I have to admit that I wasn’t as prepared as I would have liked to be. Overall, my team’s OK, but I’m not that excited about it. It’s good enough to win, but it’s not exciting.

    Here’s my analysis of the draft as it relates to my team. Enjoy.

    League Info
    First things first, there are 8 teams in our league with a roster that looks like this:
    QB, RB, RB, WR, WR, TE, WR/TE, RB/WR, K, DEF, BN, BN, BN, BN, BN, BN

    Scoring is basic, standard fantasy scoring with no PPR (points-per-reception).

    My Team

    Round 	Pick 	Player 	           Position
1. 	(6) 	LeSean McCoy       RB
2. 	(11) 	Steven Jackson     RB
3. 	(22) 	Greg Jennings      WR
4. 	(27) 	Tom Brady          QB
5. 	(38) 	Dwayne Bowe        WR
6. 	(43) 	DeAngelo Williams  RB
7. 	(54) 	Wes Welker         WR
8. 	(59) 	Vernon Davis       TE
9. 	(70) 	Percy Harvin       WR
10. 	(75) 	Felix Jones        RB
11. 	(86) 	Tim Hightower      RB
12. 	(91) 	Mike Sims-Walker   WR
13. 	(102) 	Stephen Gostkowski K
14. 	(107) 	Marcedes Lewis     TE
15. 	(118) 	Sam Bradford       QB
16. 	(123) 	New York           DEF

    Round 1
    I don’t get far out of the gates and I am faced with my first dilemma. The highest rated player on my board is Chris Johnson RB TEN. However, I don’t like Chris Johnson and I don’t like TEN. They have an old and broken down QB, a top WR who can’t stay out of jail, and little other offense to speak of. That means defenses can key on Chris Johnson. Then there’s the problem of Chris Johnson holding out and wanting more money. No thank you. However, there is no clear cut next-best-player in my mind. I waffle between Andre Johnson WR HOU, LeSean McCoy RB PHI, and Aaron Rodgers QB GB. I really want to get a stud RB in the 1st round, so I go with McCoy.

    Round 2
    I was hoping Andre Johnson WR HOU would slip to me at this pick. He didn’t. I considered Aaron Rodgers QB GB, Rashard Mendenhall RB PIT, Steven Jackson RB STL, and Larry Fitzgerald WR ARZ at this pick. I didn’t really want to go QB this early. I also didn’t want to take Fitz this early either. So I passed on both thinking that that one of them SHOULD still be there at my next pick. I love Mendenhall, being that I am an Illini alum, but I was concerned about his durability after his tremendous workload last year. I think there will be a drop in his numbers from last year to this. Jackson, on the other hand, has a new Offensive Coordinator in Josh McDaniels so his numbers should be on the upswing. He’s also a St. Louis Ram. I went with my heart and not necessarily my head and took Jackson.

    Round 3
    Neither Johnson nor Rodgers made it to me at this pick. With 2 solid RBs, I turned my attention to WR or QB this round. As far as QBs go, Peyton Manning IND, Michael Vick PHI, Aaron Roders GB, and Drew Brees NO are all gone at this point. 4 teams still need a starting QB, but Tom Brady NE, Tony Romo DAL, and Phillip Rivers SD are still there. Romo and/or Rivers should be there for me in Round 4, so I’ll go WR. Greg Jennings GB, Mike Wallace PIT, and Vincent Jackson SD are the top 3 available WR on my board. I waffled between Jennings and Wallace. I took Jennings because Rodgers is a better QB than Roethlisberger, AND because GB passes more than PIT.

    Round 4
    In the 4 picks between my 3rd and 4th round picks, both Romo and Rivers get taken. I don’t want to get stuck with the 8th best QB on my board (which is Roethlisberger), so I reluctantly take Tom Brady QB NE. I would have rather had taken Mike Wallace WR PIT at this pick.

    Round 5
    With my starting QB, 2 starting RB, and 1 starting WR in the books, I look at WR or RB (for my flex RB/WR) position. The top WR on my list is Dwayne Bowe KC. The top RB on my list is Ryan Mathews SD. I took Bowe with the thought that maybe Mathews is still there in 4 picks for me in the 6th round.

    Round 6
    Mathews is gone, and I am thrown for a loop. I’m looking at best RB or WR on my board at this point. At WR, I’m looking at guys like Jeremy Maclin PHI, Santonio Holmes NYJ, and Stevie Johnson BUF. At RB, I’m looking at guys like Jahvid Best DET, Knowshon Moreno DEN, DeAngelo Williams CAR, and Daniel Thomas MIA. Indecisiveness set-in. I’m waffling between Best and Holmes, then, I run out of time and the top guy on my list gets selected – which is DeAngelo Williams RB CAR. Not a bad pick, but I think I would have rather had Best or Holmes.

    Round 7
    After my bout of indecision, I was firm that I would take either Holmes or Best if they were there. If both were gone, I’d take best available WR since I had 3 RB and 2 WR at this point. Both were gone (surprise, surprise), so I took Wes Welker WR NE.

    Round 8
    With 3 each of RB and WR, I started looking at the available TEs along with best available RB and WR. Vernon Davis TE SF was still there. He was the #3 overall TE on my board – and the best available. Best available WRs were Austin Collie IND and Percy Harvin MIN. Best available RBs were Knowshon Moreno DEN and Marshawn Lynch SEA. There was pretty good drop off on my list of TEs from 3rd to 4th, so I took Davis.

    Round 9
    Collie, Moreno, and Lynch were all gone, but Harvin was still there, so I took him at WR.

    Round 10
    At this point in the draft, I’m looking to fill the back-up QB spot along with building depth at RB and WR to cover all bye weeks. Potential back-up QBs that I was considering were all gone at this point: Ben Roethlisberg PIT, Joe Flacco BAL, Matt Ryan ATL, Matt Schaub HOU. Since none of these guys was available, I decided I’d go with Sam Bradford STL as my backup QB, and figured I could get him in round 14-16. Best RBs at this point were: Felix Jones DAL, Fred Jackson BUF, BenJarvus Green-Ellis NE, and Ryan Grant GB. Dallas always has a good running game, and with Marion Barber gone, Felix Jones should get the bulk of the work. I almost took Green-Ellis NE, but he had the same bye week as 2 of my other RBs, so I took Jones.

    Round 11
    More depth. None of the available WR excite me, but Tim Hightower RB WAS is still on the board. He did well in ARZ last year, and Mike Shanahan is known for producing great RBs. Hightower is mine.

    Round 12
    At this point, I’ve got 5 picks left – 1 for a back-up QB, 1 for K, 1 for DEF, and 2 for more depth. Also at this point, I’ve got 5 RB and 4 WR, so I look to take another WR. I’m still not excited by any of the available WRs. My choices are: Julio Jones ATL, Santana Moss WAS, Mike Sims-Walker STL, Braylon Edwards SF, Steve Smith CAR, or Pierre Garcon IND. Like I said, nothing too exciting here. I went with my heart again and took the St. Louis Ram, Mike Sims-Walker.

    Round 13
    The draft is almost over. My plan up to this point was to make my K, DEF, and back-up QB my last 3 picks in some order. So, with my 4th to last pick, I’m not sure what to do. I noticed that my top available K (my #3 overall) is still available. He was one of 3 Ks I was hoping get. I decided to reach a little early for him since I wasn’t enamored with any of the other RBs or WRs out there. Stephen Gostkowski K NE, welcome to the Parvinators.

    Round 14
    Same dilemma in round 14 as I had in round 13. I decided to look at the TEs to see if there were any decent ones left. I saw that Marcedes Lewis TE JAX was still there. He was as good as the best available WRs: Mike Thomas JAX and Roy Williams CHI. Since we have a WR/TE flex spot AND since Lewis has a different bye week than my other TE (Vernon Davis SF), I decided to grab him.

    Round 15
    Sam Bradford or DEF? Most of the DEF that I wanted are gone at this point, so I will plan to use the rotating DEF strategy and pick-up the best available DEF each week from the free agent pool to play. That means I finally make it official and draft Sam Bradford QB STL.

    Round 16
    I’m the last team to draft a defense, so all of the really elite ones are gone. The NY Giants are the top available defense – and they were #7 on my board, so I take ‘em.

    Recap
    I think I’m strong at QB with Brady. Bradford is a decent back-up, but I’m not sure I would want to play him week-in-and-week-out.

    I think I’m strong at RB too. I have a lot of depth at RB, even though I don’t have any of the 5 elite RBs.

    I think WR is my weakest area, but again, what I lack in elite WR, I make up for in depth.

    TE is also a strong area with 2 top 8 TEs that could start for any team in the league. I could easily see weeks where I start both Davis and Lewis.

    K and DEF are fine.

    I think I have a good enough squad and pay enough attention week-to-week that I should make the playoffs – barring multiple, catastrophic injuries.

    Categories: Fantasy Football | Leave a comment

    Does Your Face Shine?

    Posted on August 12, 2011 by parvinator

    Dictionary.com defines radiant as:
    1. emitting rays of light; shining; bright: the radiant sun; radiant colors.
    2. bright with joy, hope, etc.: radiant smiles; a radiant future.

    In the Old Testament, the book of Exodus records the life and times of Moses, the great man of God, who spent time with God face-to-face.

    Exodus 34:29 (New Living Translation)
    When Moses came down Mount Sinai carrying the two stone tablets inscribed with the terms of the covenant, he wasn’t aware that his face had become radiant because he had spoken to the Lord.

    Here is the same verse in a different translation:

    Exodus 34:29 (New American Standard Bible)
    It came about when Moses was coming down from Mount Sinai (and the two tablets of the testimony were in Moses’ hand as he was coming down from the mountain), that Moses did not know that the skin of his face shone because of his speaking with Him.

    What struck me from this passage is that as Moses spent time with God face-to-face, his own face was radiant, or shone. In other words, as a result of spending time with God, Moses reflected the glory of God – or put another way, God’s glory rubbed off on Moses.

    What convicted me from this passage was the question that got stirred up in me: are YOU radiant because you’ve spent time with God? Has God’s glory rubbed off on YOU so that other people can see Him reflected in YOU? Are YOU bright with God’s joy and hope?

    I have to admit that the answer is no, not as consistently as it should. I don’t spend the time consistently with God as I should be. I don’t consistently take the time to stop and rest in His presence – soaking up what He has for me so that I can give away to others what He for them through me.

    Father, help me to rest in Your presence. Help me to be quiet before You to hear from You and receive from You so that I have something good to give to others. May I reflect and radiate Your glory, joy, and hope because I have been in close relationship with You.

    Categories: God Stuff | Leave a comment

    Emotional Suckiness

    Posted on August 5, 2011 by parvinator

    Hi. My name is Steve, and I’m an emotions stuffer.

    For the past 4 months, I’ve been wrestling with some difficult situations and circumstances – and with those come a full gamut of negative emotions. Let me expound further on the biggest of these…

    I have a couple who are friends of mine. The husband, Mike, works with me at Frasca. I’ve known him since the mid-1990s when he worked as one of Frasca’s customers. A couple of years ago, Mike came to work for Frasca, and his wife, Becky, became our morning receptionist. Becky is one of the nicest, sweetest ladies that I’ve ever met. She always had a smile on her face and a kind word on her lips. I have had the privilege of getting to know Mike and Becky during this time period.

    In March of this year, their lives got turned upside down. After routine gall bladder surgery for Becky had lingering pain, further investigation revealed something no one saw coming: Stage IV pancreatic cancer that had already spread to the liver.

    As I have watched Becky and Mike go through this ordeal, various emotions of my own have been stirred up:
    Shock / disbelief
    What the heck?!? Is this really happening? Where did this come from? She seemed fine. This doesn’t make any sense. This happened so suddenly, so out-of-the-blue. I don’t get it.

    Sadness
    This isn’t good. It’s aggressive and it’s already spread. What about Mike? What about her 4 adult children and her grandchildren? They’re losing their wife, mother, and grandmother. Worse than that, they have to sit back and watch her die. And then there are all of her friends. We’re losing our friend. I’m losing my friend. I don’t want her to die.

    Anger
    Cancer, you suck. I hate you. This is wrong. Becky is a good person. She doesn’t deserve this. She doesn’t deserve to die like this. She doesn’t deserve to suffer.

    Hopelessness
    God, what are You doing here? I’ve prayed and prayed and prayed – and Becky only gets worse. Nothing medically is making her better. Only You can heal her, but it looks like that’s not going to happen here.

    Numbness
    If I dwell on the sadness, I’ll be overwhelmed. So, if I know what’s good for me, I do the best I can to bury the sadness.

    Doubt
    God, I thought You didn’t like sickness. I thought You answered prayer. I thought You desired to heal the sick. I thought… I thought… I thought…

    Guilt
    Maybe if I prayed more… Maybe if I fasted more… Maybe if I read my Bible more… Maybe if I did X, Y, or Z, then maybe God would answer my prayers and He would heal Becky.

    Now, let me just say this: These are some of the thoughts that have been rattling around my head. These are not what I necessarily believe. Yet, these thoughts forced me to take a step back and ask myself some really hard questions about what I believe. What is my foundation? What am I standing on?

    One day, I found myself in Psalm 13:

    1 O Lord, how long will you forget me? Forever?
      How long will you look the other way?
2 How long must I struggle with anguish in my soul,
      with sorrow in my heart every day?
      How long will my enemy have the upper hand?
3 Turn and answer me, O Lord my God!
      Restore the sparkle to my eyes, or I will die.
4 Don’t let my enemies gloat, saying, 'We have defeated him!'
      Don’t let them rejoice at my downfall.
5 But I trust in your unfailing love.
      I will rejoice because you have rescued me.
6 I will sing to the Lord
      because he is good to me.

    I like Psalm 13 because it shows that a man who loves God (i.e. King David) can pour his heart out, ask hard questions, even doubt, but at the end-of-the-day, reminds himself what he knows to be true: that God’s love is unfailing, that God rescues, and that God is good.

    It is in God’s goodness and mercy that I find my comfort. And it is in that very same goodness and mercy that I pray provides comfort to Becky, Mike, and their family.

    The reality is that Becky is not getting any better. In fact, over the last 3 weeks, she has gotten significantly worse. The nausea has been so bad of late that she hasn’t eaten anything of consequence for 6 days. She is currently (as of Thursday evening 8/4/11) in the hospital where they are trying to get her strength built up and the nausea under control as Mike put it “so she can be comfortable enough to come home and die in peace.”

    The one thing that takes the edge off the pain is knowing that this is not the end for Becky. She is a long-time Christ follower, and is secure in her place in heaven with Jesus when she dies. In fact, I had the opportunity to spend some time with Becky several weeks ago before her most recent turn for the worse. I was so encouraged by my visit with her. Despite knowing that she was dying and that her health was getting worse instead of better, she had hope. She related that her relationship with Jesus has been closer in the last several months than it had been in a very, very long time. And while she said that she was “ready”, she was still sad – for Mike and for her children having to deal with her disease and watching her deteriorate.

    Throughout all of this, I have learned a few things (and am still learning them too):
    1. I don’t have to understand everything.
    I’ve tried to resist the urge to ask, “Why God?” and simply accept that I don’t understand everything – and that’s ok.

    2. God does not promise to remove hard things from our lives. However, He does promise to be with us and comfort us in the midst of them.

    Matthew 28:20
And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of
the age.

    John 14:15-18
15 If you love me, obey my commandments. 16 And I will ask the
Father, and he will give you another Advocate, who will never
leave you. 17 He is the Holy Spirit, who leads into all truth.
The world cannot receive him, because it isn’t looking for him
and doesn’t recognize him. But you know him, because he lives
with you now and later will be in you.  18 No, I will not
abandon you as orphans-I will come to you.

    2 Corinthians 1:3-7
3 All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. God
is our merciful Father and the source of all comfort. 4 He
comforts us in all our troubles so that we can comfort
others. When they are troubled, we will be able to give them
the same comfort God has given us. 5 For the more we suffer
for Christ, the more God will shower us with his comfort
through Christ. 6 Even when we are weighed down with
troubles, it is for your comfort and salvation! For when
we ourselves are comforted, we will certainly comfort you.
Then you can patiently endure the same things we suffer.
7 We are confident that as you share in our sufferings,
you will also share in the comfort God gives us.

    3. No matter what, God is good.
    This is what I hang my hat on. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve prayed:
    God, I don’t understand. But I know You are good. Help me to rest in Your goodness.

    Thank You Jesus for Your goodness!!!

    Categories: About Me, God Stuff | 1 Comment

    My Top Ten Cardinals of All-Time:
    #7 Joe Medwick

    Posted on July 25, 2011 by parvinator

    #7. Joe Medwick
    #8. Jim Bottomley
    #9. Enos Slaughter
    #10. Ken Boyer

    Joe Medwick

    Making my list at #7 is left fielder, Joe Medwick.

    Medwick debuted with Cardinals in 1932. His aggressiveness, competitive spirit, and hard-nosed style of play exemplified the Cardinals 1930s Gas House Gang. He was nicknamed “Ducky Wucky”, or just “Ducky”, because of his waddle when he walked. His build also led him to be called “Muscles”.

    Despite his often surely demeanor, Medwick was an outstanding and feared hitter. He holds the major league record for consecutive seasons with 40 or more doubles with 7 from 1933 through 1939.

    On June 29, 1935, Medwick hit for the cycle against the Cincinnati Reds at Crosley Field, going 4-5 with 3 RBI and 3 runs scored. Despite his effort, the Redbirds lost 8-6.

    Joe Medwick

    Medwick’s well-known temper was at the root of two of his most infamous moments.

    The first was during Game 7 of the 1934 World Series. Medwick slid into third with spikes high and spiked Tiger third baseman Marv Owen. A struggle ensued, but neither player was ejected. When Medwick returned to left field in the bottom of the 6th inning, Detroit fans barraged him with fruit, bottles, and other garbage. Baseball Commissioner Kenesaw Mountain Landis had Medwick removed from the game for his own saftey.

    The second incident happened six days after Medwick was traded from the Cardinals to the Brooklyn Dodgers in the middle of the 1940 season. The Cardinals were in Brooklyn for a series when Medwick, Dodger manager Leo Durocher, and Cardinal pitcher Bob Bowman got into an argument at a New York hotel. In the next game, Bowman hit Medwick in the temple with a fastball and knocked him out cold with a sever concussion. While Medwick played for another several years after this incident, he was never the same player. The photo below is from that incident.

    Joe Medwick

    From a statistical standpoint, Medwick ranks 4th in doubles, 8th in triples, 11th in home runs, 8th in RBI, 4th in BA, and 9th in OPS all-time for the Cardinals. He played in 6 All-Star games as a Cardinal, helped lead the Cardinals to victory in the 1936 World Series, and won the NL MVP in 1937.

    One of Medwick’s greatest achievements was his performance in the 1937 season. Not only did his win the MVP that year, but he won the NL Triple Crown. He is currently the last NL player to accomplished this feat.

    Year    G    AB    R     H   2B  3B   HR  RBI  SB     BA    OPS
1932   26   106   13    37   12   1    2   12   3  0.349  0.905
1933  148   595   92   182   40  10   18   98   5  0.306  0.835
1934  149   620  110   198   40  18   18  106   3  0.319  0.872
1935  154   634  132   224   46  13   23  126   4  0.353  0.962
1936  155   636  115   223   64  13   18  138   3  0.351  0.964
1937  156   633  111   237   56  10   31  154   4  0.374  1.056
1938  146   590  100   190   47   8   21  122   0  0.322  0.905
1939  150   606   98   201   48   8   14  117   6  0.332  0.886
1940   37   158   21    48   12   0    3   20   0  0.304  0.766
1947   75   150   19    46   12   0    4   28   0  0.307  0.840
1948   20    19    0     4    0   0    0    2   0  0.211  0.461
STL  1216  4747  811  1590  377  81  152  923  28  0.335  0.917

    Joe Medwick Hall of Fame Plaque
    Medwick was elected to the Hall of Fame by the Baseball Writers in 1968.

    The funniest quote I read from Joe Medwick was from a USO tour in 1944. Medwick was among several individuals given an audience by Pope Pius XII. Upon being asked by the Pope what his vocation was, Medwick replied, “Your Holiness, I’m Joe Medwick. I, too, used to be a Cardinal.”

    Up next, my hardest post at #6…

    Links
    Joe Medwick Wikipedia Page
    Baseball Reference Entry on Joe Medwick
    Baseball Hall of Fame Page on Joe Medwick

    Categories: Baseball | Leave a comment

    My Top Ten Cardinals of All-Time:
    #8 Jim Bottomley

    Posted on July 23, 2011 by parvinator

    #8. Jim Bottomley
    #9. Enos Slaughter
    #10. Ken Boyer

    Jim Bottomley

    After a long delay, making my list at #8 is first baseman, “Sunny” Jim Bottomley.

    Jim Bottomley played for the Cardinals in the 1920s and early 30s with the likes of Frank Frisch, Chick Hafey, and Rogers Hornsby. He earned the nickname “Sunny Jim” for his cheerful disposition and upbeat demeanor.

    Jim Bottomley

    Bottomley was an RBI machine, driving in 90+ runs in every season from 1923 through 1930. On September 16, 1924, Bottomley set the Major League record for RBI in a single game, with 12 – a feat since tied by another Cardinal, Mark Whiten, on September 7, 1993.

    Bottomley hit for the cycle on the July 15, 1927.

    Jim Bottomley

    In 1936, Bottomley set the single-season record for most unassisted double plays by a first baseman with eight.

    Bottomley was the second player in baseball history to hit 20 or more doubles, triples, and home runs in one season. He was also the first of two players to collect 150 or more doubles, triples, and home runs in a career. He is the only player to achieve both.

    Sunny Jim and the Babe

    From a statistical standpoint, Bottomley ranks in the top 10 in almost all of the all-time Cardinal offensive categories: 10th in runs, 10th in hits, 8th in doubles, 5th in triples, 8th in home runs, 4th in RBI, 8th in BA, and 8th in OPS. Bottomley won the MVP in 1928 where he lead the NL in triples, HR, and RBI. He also won the World Series twice as a Redbird in 1926 and 1931.

    Year    G    AB    R     H   2B   3B   HR   RBI  SB     BA    OPS
1922   37   151   29    49    8    5    5    35   3  0.325  0.902
1923  134   523   79   194   34   14    8    94   4  0.371  0.960
1924  137   528   87   167   31   12   14   111   5  0.316  0.862
1925  153   619   92   227   44   12   21   128   3  0.367  0.992
1926  154   603   98   180   40   14   19   120   4  0.299  0.870
1927  152   574   95   174   31   15   19   124   8  0.303  0.896
1928  149   576  123   187   42   20   31   136  10  0.325  1.030
1929  146   560  108   176   31   12   29   137   3  0.314  0.959
1930  131   487   92   148   33    7   15    97   5  0.304  0.860
1931  108   382   73   133   34    5    9    75   3  0.348  0.937
1932   91   311   45    92   16    3   11    48   2  0.296  0.823
     1392  5314  921  1727  344  119  181  1105  50  0.325  0.924

    Jim Bottomley Hall of Fame Plaque
    Bottomley was posthumously elected to the Hall of Fame by the Veterans Committee in 1974.

    Up next, hopefully with less delay than this post, #7…

    Links
    Jim Bottomley Wikipedia Page
    Baseball Reference Entry on Jim Bottomley
    Baseball Hall of Fame Page on Jim Bottomley

    Categories: Baseball | Leave a comment

    My Top Ten Cardinals of All-Time:
    #9 Enos Slaughter

    Posted on July 14, 2011 by parvinator

    #9. Enos Slaughter
    #10. Ken Boyer

    Enos Slaughter

    #7, #8, and #9 in my list have all flip-flopped positions over the last couple of days – meaning that in my eyes, they are all similar. Making my list at #9 is right fielder Enos Slaughter.

    Nicknamed “Country” because of his rural North Carolina upbringing, Slaughter began his Cardinal career in 1938 and patrolled right field for thirteen years.

    Enos Slaughter

    Slaughter was known for his hustle and hard-nosed play. Legend has it that one day in the minor leagues, Slaughter was running in from the outfield, slowed down near the infield, then walked the rest of the way to the dugout. His manager told him, “Son, if you’re tired, we’ll try to get you some help.” From that point forward, Slaughter ran everywhere he went on the baseball field – even running hard to first base on a walk.

    Slaughter’s hard-nosed play earned him the moniker by some as the “dirtiest player in the league” – a claim he never disputed. He even was accused of being a racist when he spiked Dodgers Jackie Robinson (playing first base at the time) in the thigh while he was stretched out to catch Slaughter’s ground ball. Slaughter denied the racism attributing it to his old school style of play, “I asked no odds and I give none. A guy got in my way, I run over him.”

    Enos Slaughter

    One of Slaughter’s most famous baseball moments came in Game 7 of the 1946 World Series against the Boston Red Sox. The game was tied, 3-3, in the eighth inning. Slaughter led off the inning with a single. The next two batters failed to get on base. The next batter, Harry Walker, stepped up to bat and hit one into left center. Slaughter was stealing on the pitch when the outfielder bobbled the ball. Slaughter rounded second and third base. When the third base coach gave him the stop signal, Slaughter ignored it. The Red Sox short stop was so shocked to see Slaughter still running that he delayed his throw home, giving Slaughter just enough time to beat the ball to the plate with what would prove to be the game winning run.

    Enos Slaughter's Mad Dash

    From a statistical standpoint, Slaughter ranks 5th in runs, 4th in hits, 6th in doubles, 3rd in triples, 12th in home runs, and 3rd in RBI all-time for the Cardinals. While he never hit more than 20 HR in a single season, Slaughter did drive in 90+ runs in it He hit 20+ HR and had 90+ RBI in 6 of his 13 seasons as Cardinal. He was a 10 time All-Star and 2 time World Series champion in 1942 and 1946, and ranks 4th all-time in games played as a Cardinal.

    Year    G    AB     R     H   2B   3B   HR   RBI  SB     BA    OPS
1938  112   395    59   109   20   10    8    58   1  0.276  0.768
1939  149   604    95   193   52    5   12    86   2  0.320  0.852
1940  140   516    96   158   25   13   17    73   8  0.306  0.874
1941  113   425    71   132   22    9   13    76   4  0.311  0.886
1942  152   591   100   188   31   17   13    98   9  0.318  0.906
1946  156   609   100   183   30    8   18   130   9  0.300  0.838
1947  147   551   100   162   31   13   10    86   4  0.294  0.818
1948  146   549    91   176   27   11   11    90   4  0.321  0.879
1949  151   568    92   191   34   13   13    96   3  0.336  0.929
1950  148   556    82   161   26    7   10   101   3  0.290  0.782
1951  123   409    48   115   17    8    4    64   7  0.281  0.777
1952  140   510    73   153   17   12   11   101   6  0.300  0.831
1953  143   492    64   143   34    9    6    89   4  0.291  0.828
     1820  6775  1071  2064  366  135  146  1148  64  0.305  0.847

    Enos Slaughter Hall of Fame Plaque
    Slaughter was elected to the Hall of Fame by the Veterans Committee in 1985. His #9 jersey was retired by the Cardinals in 1996.

    Up next, #8…

    Links
    Enos Slaughter Wikipedia Page
    Baseball Reference Entry on Enos Slaughter
    Baseball Hall of Fame Page on Enos Slaughter
    The Official Enos Slaughter Site
    HistoricBaseball.com – Enos Slaughter

    Categories: Baseball | Leave a comment

    My Top Ten Cardinals of All-Time:
    #10 Ken Boyer

    Posted on July 11, 2011 by parvinator

    #10. Ken Boyer

    Ken Boyer

    Starting my list at #10 is third baseman Ken Boyer.

    Although he began his career as a pitcher because of his strong arm, his hitting ability and lack of control (as well as a curve ball), led the Cardinals to focus him at third base.

    Ken Boyer manned the hot corner for the Redbirds from 1955 through 1965. For 11 years, he was one of the best third basemen in the NL along with Eddie Matthews of the Braves and Ron Santo of the Cubs.

    Ken Boyer

    With the Cardinals, Boyer was an 11 time All-Star, 5 time Gold Glove winner, and NL MVP in 1964 – the same year he helped lead the Cardinals to the World Series Championship.

    Boyer’s #14 was retired by the Cardinals in 1984. He is the only player not in the Hall of Fame to have his number retired by the Cardinals.

    Ken Boyer

    From a statistical standpoint, Boyer ranks 8th in runs, 8th in hits, 3rd in home runs, and 6th in RBI all-time for the Cardinals. He hit 20+ HR and had 90+ RBI in 8 of his 11 seasons as Cardinal.

    Year    G    AB    R     H   2B  3B   HR   RBI  SB     BA    OPS
1955  147   530   78   140   27   2   18    62  22  0.264  0.735
1956  150   595   91   182   30   2   26    98   8  0.306  0.841
1957  142   544   79   144   18   3   19    62  12  0.265  0.732
1958  150   570  101   175   21   9   23    90  11  0.307  0.857
1959  149   563   86   174   18   5   28    94  12  0.309  0.892
1960  151   552   95   168   26  10   32    97   8  0.304  0.932
1961  153   589  109   194   26  11   24    95   6  0.329  0.930
1962  160   611   92   178   27   5   24    98  12  0.291  0.838
1963  159   617   86   176   28   2   24   111   1  0.285  0.812
1964  162   628  100   185   30  10   24   119   3  0.295  0.854
1965  144   535   71   139   18   2   13    75   2  0.260  0.702
     1667  6334  988  1855  269  61  255  1001  97  0.293  0.832

    My 1st experience with Ken Boyer was during my late grade school days when I started collecting baseball cards. I ran into a 1964 Topps Ken Boyer card like the one pictured below (but not in as good condition and without the autograph). ;-)
    1964 Topps Ken Boyer Baseball Card
    I still have this card today.

    Boyer was regarded as the consummate teammate. He was the guy everybody walked up to in the clubhouse and talked to. He was quiet and reserved, preferring to lead by example. He also credited with helping create racial harmony on the Cardinals, making them one of the first truly integrated teams in the major leagues.

    In addition to his playing career, Boyer managed the Cardinals for 3 years from 1978-1980 forcing to give up managing because of his failing health.

    This quote from thebaseballpage.com epitomizes Ken Boyer as a teammate and as a person:

    Stan Musial, whose kindness and encouragement made a strong impression on Boyer early in his career, said of his former teammate

    Kenny Boyer was a pillar of strength in the Cardinal organization. It was kind of an understood thing that Kenny took care of the players coming into the organization. He took people under his wing — it was kind of like a father image.

    I wish I would have had the opportunity to see Boyer play. He sounds like he was model of what it meant to be a Cardinal.

    Up next, #9…

    Links
    Ken Boyer Wikipedia Page
    Baseball Reference Entry on Ken Boyer
    Ken Boyer at TheBaseballPage.com
    Ken Boyer.Net

    Categories: Baseball | Leave a comment

    My Top Ten Cardinals of All-Time:
    Intro and Last 7 Out

    Posted on July 11, 2011 by parvinator

    I am a Cardinal fan born and bred. Period. No denying it. No apologies.

    I have followed my beloved Redbirds since 1978 and the last years of Lou Brock, through the ups-and-downs of the Whitey Herzog era of the 1980s, amidst the less-than-stellar Joe Torre tenure of the early 90s, and of course during the current Tony LaRussa regime which began in the mid-to-late 1990s.

    I’ve also been a student of the franchise – researching and reading about the Cardinal players past and present. As a result of that research and my love of the Cardinals, I present MY Top 10 List of All-Time St. Louis Cardinal Players. Over the next couple of weeks, I’ll present 1 post each day or so revealing the next player on my list with a brief bio, some links to various sites, and my thoughts on the player.

    I am basing my criteria primarily on statistics AS A CARDINAL PLAYER. I did not take into consideration any stats accumulated while a member of another franchise (i.e. you will NOT see pitching great Steve Carlton on this list for example).

    I also factored in things like All-Star game appearances, gold gloves, years of service with the Cardinals, post-season play, and historic moments.

    Before I get on to the main post, let me mention 7 players who didn’t quite make the list. These are 7 Cardinal players who I am particularly fond of, many of whom I watched play. They are great players. 3 of them are current Hall of Famers. Arguments could be made that the other 4 deserve to be in Cooperstown as well. In no particular order, here are the top 7 players who didn’t make the cut:

    1. Mark McGwire
    Mark McGwire
    If it wasn’t for his link to performance enhancing substances, Big Mac would have been a lock for my Top 10. He helped revive baseball after the strike of 1994-95 with his pursuit of the Roger Maris’ single season HR record – ultimately breaking the record in 1998 by hitting 70 HR that season. I vividly remember watching him hit #62 on TV – a line drive bullet shot that barely cleared the left field wall. Too bad all of this was tainted by his use of performance enhancers.

    2. Bruce Sutter
    Bruce Sutter
    I have to admit that I didn’t give pitchers much love on my list – and closers even less. Yet, Engine #42 was one of my favorites. What’s not to like about a stringy haired, bushy bearded imposing figure who saved 127 games over his 4 years as a Cardinal? And if that wasn’t enough, he invented a new pitch (or at least is credited for perfecting it): the split finger fastball. He was also a workhorse, averaging just under 1.6 innnings pitched per game played – in other words, Sutter was not your typical one inning closer. If that wasn’t enough, he’s a Hall of Famer.

    3. Lee Smith
    Lee Smith
    Possibly the 2nd most intimidating pitcher ever to play for the Cardinals. Large. Imposing. Impressive. Smith is 2nd all-time on the Cardinals save list, amassing 160 saves over a 4 year period between 1990 and 1993. I had the opportunity to meet Lee Smith and get his autograph several years back. He is just as large and imposing in person as he is on the mound. He SHOULD be in Cooperstown.

    4. Dizzy Dean
    Dizzy Dean
    I know. I know. How in the world can you NOT put Dizzy Dean on your top 10 list of all-time Cardinals? Well, it was tough. In his 7 year career as a Cardinal, Jay Hanna “Dizzy” Dean had a 134-75 record, placing him 6th all-time in Cardinal wins. His 1095 strikeouts are 2nd among Cardinal history. He’s a Hall of Famer, had a sub 3.00 ERA, and had 30 saves to boot. He was also that last Cardinal to win 30 games doing do in 1934 with a 30-7 record enroute to his only MVP award. He also went 2-1 leading the Cardinals to the 1934 World Series title.

    5. Ted Simmons
    Ted Simmons
    Ted Simmons was the greatest Cardinal catcher of all-time: 6 times an All-Star as a Cardinal; in the Cardinals Top 10 in both HR and RBI. From 1972 through 1980, Simmons ranked 3rd in the NL or better in SB allowed as a catcher – leading the NL 4 of those years.

    6. Red Schoendienst
    Red Schoendienst
    This was another one that was hard to leave off my list. Hall of Famer. 9-time All-Star. Cardinals Top 10 in Runs, Hits, and Doubles. Managed the Cardinals for 12 full seasons and parts of 2 others, compiling a 1041-955 record with an NL Championship in 1968 and a World Series Championship in 1967. The 2nd greatest 2B in Cardinal history only behind the great Rogers Hornsby.

    7. Jim Edmonds
    Jim Edmonds
    This was probably the hardest one to leave of my list for a variety of reasons – not the least of which is personal in that Jim Edmonds and I were born on the exact same date: June 27, 1970. My “evil twin”, as I’ve grown to call him, was probably the best defensive CF I ever saw play the game – noting that the All-Time greats in CF like Tris Speaker, Willie Mays, Joe Dimaggio, Mickey Mantle, and Ty Cobb, had long since stopped playing by the time I got interested in baseball. Edmonds is 4th in HR and 12th in RBI on the Cardinals All-Time lists. He went to 3 All-Star games as a Cardinal and helped lead the team to its 2006 World Series Championship.

    So, who made the cut? Who is on my top 10? Stay tuned to see my Top 10 Cardinals. We start with #10…

    Categories: Baseball | 1 Comment

    So Long, Ryan Franklin.

    Posted on June 30, 2011 by parvinator

    June 29, 2011 – The St. Louis Cardinals released veteran pitcher and former closer Ryan Franklin. Franklin was signed in January 2007 and spent all of 2009 and 2010 as the Cardinals’ primary closer.

    Ryan Franklin

    I have mixed feelings about Franklin leaving. First, let me confess that I have dogged him and said many less than kind things about him this season. His pitching performance – especially the blown saves which literally cost “us” victories – really irked me.

    However, I do wish things would have worked out better for him and for the Cardinals. Franklin was always known as a class-act, a top notch clubhouse guy, the kind of player you WANT on your team. He was know for placing the organization and the team first, and Ryan Franklin second. And then there’s what he did from 2007 – 2010, especially in 2009 and 2010.

    Look at the top 2 stat lines – especially 2009-2010.

    Year W L SV BS SV% G IP ERA WHIP H/9 BB/9 SO/9 SO/BB HR/9
    2007-2010 20 15 83 20 80.6 264 284.7 3.03 1.184 8.28 2.37 5.72 2.41 0.85
    2009-2010 10 5 65 7 90.3 121 126.0 2.71 1.111 7.57 2.43 6.14 2.53 0.64
    2011 1 4 1 4 20.0 21 27.7 8.46 1.843 14.30 2.27 5.52 2.43 2.92


    From 2009-2010, 90.3% save percentage. Outstanding. That means 90.3% of the time when Franklin pitched, he was going to preserve the win. And a WHIP of 1.111. That means he allowed just barely over 1 base runner per inning pitched.

    So what happened? Well, from 2009-2010 to 2011, a couple of things stood out to me. First, his H/9 (hits per 9 innings pitched) exploded from 7.57 to 14.30 – almost double. Second, his HR/9 (home runs per 9 innings pitched) ballooned from a miniscule 0.64 to a horrendous 2.92 – almost 5 times. As a result, his WHIP and ERA, consequently his blown saves, sky rocketed.

    The question is why. Was he “hiding” an injury? Was there a flaw in his pitching mechanics? Was he tipping his pitches? I would be surprised if it was either of the latter two options. Pitching coach Dave Duncan is known for being sharp and on-the-ball. Historically, he has caught many of those flaws in other pitchers.

    Did age simply catch up to him? Franklin is 38 – which is old for a major league pitcher. Hard to say – and I doubt we’ll ever really know for sure.

    One thing I do know, the Cardinals would not have contended in 2007 – 2010 if not for the production of Ryan Franklin. He preserved wins in 83 games during that period – 65 in 2009-2010 alone.

    My hope is that Cardinal fans can put aside this year and remember Ryan Franklin for the good things he brought to the team in his previous four seasons.

    I wish you all the best Ryan Franklin. I hope your 2011 season – and the response of far too many highly vocal fans, like myself at times – will not have soured you on the St. Louis Cardinal organization and its fan base. My hope is that you figure out what is behind the aberration in your 2011 performance and find a team willing to give you a shot at turning your season and career around after 2011′s little hiccup.

    Categories: Baseball | Leave a comment

    Where everybody knows your name…

    Posted on June 21, 2011 by parvinator

    Making your way in the world today takes everything you’ve got
    Taking a break from all your worries sure would help a lot
    Wouldn’t you like to get away?
    Sometimes you want to go where everybody knows your name
    And they’re always glad you came
    You wanna be where you can see our troubles are all the same
    You wanna be where everybody knows your name
    You wanna go where people know people are all the same
    You wanna go where everybody knows your name

    I never really watched Cheers when it was on TV – an occasional episode here-and-there, but not “religiously” like with the later Star Trek series (i.e. TNG, DS9, Voyager). Anyway, I always mildly admired the camaraderie and friendships among the “regulars” at the bar: Sam, Carla, Coach/Woody, Diane/Rebecca, Norm, Cliff, and Frasier. It wasn’t until I started hanging out with some regularity at Buffalo Wild Wings in Savoy that this appreciation grew. This post is a look into the “regulars” at BWW Savoy, and it is dedicated to them. My relationship with these people is no where near on par with the folks from Cheers. Many of these are casual acquaintances or less. But who knows what may happen?

    The folks I see at BWW Savoy fall into 3 main categories: Buzztime Trivia players, non-trivia players, and BWW Savoy staff.

    Buzztime Trivia players
    This is the main reason I go hang out at BWW Savoy – to play Buzztime Trivia (and to watch sports too). There are a number of “regulars” who show up to play on Wednesday and/or Friday nights.

  • First, there’s Tim (aka WILLIE – his Trivia Handle). I’ve known Tim since college. We even shared a house together the year after I graduated. He’s really good at trivia, and he’s a friend.
  • Next, there’s Susan and Ernie (aka ERNSUS). They’re Friday night regulars. They are probably the best trivia players @ BWW Savoy. My goal when they are there is to beat them because that is a major accomplishment. I’ve talked with them a couple of times, but don’t know much about them other than they are Illini and Cubs fans.
  • Then, there’s Marin (aka IRISH). I’ve talked to her once or twice. She’s quiet and often sits at the end of the bar playing trivia and reading a book between rounds.
  • Finally, there’s a group of friends who come in most Wednesday nights. I’ve never met any of them, and know them only by their Trivia Handles – DANGER, DRAGON, PDUBYA, PIGLET, KTDID, RMANX. They’re all pretty good and competitive. DRAGON always wins Sci-Files (a science fiction based game) on Wednesday.

    • Non-trivia players
    In the course of hanging out, Tim has introduced me to some of his friends that he’s gotten to know as he’s hung at BWW Savoy over the years.

  • First, there’s Dewey. He runs the Prime Time Pizza in Champaign. He often brings in a pizza for the BWW Savoy staff and “trades” it for beer. I’ve talked with him on a few occasions. He’s a nice guy.
  • Next, there’s Scott and Debbie. Scott is a finance guy of some kind, loves to play tennis, and is a Cardinal fan. Debbie is a hospice nurse and a Cubs fan. I can tell that she has a real heart for people in that stage of their life, but I can tell it eats her up inside.

    • Beyond that, I don’t really interact with anyone else who isn’t a trivia player or BWW Savoy staff member.

    BWW Savoy staff
    And then there’s the staff. These are hard working men and women in mostly thankless jobs – waiting tables, serving drinks, and the like – many working their way through college, earning peanuts and hoping for the generosity of their customers.

  • First and foremost, there’s Jamie. She is the “regular” bartender on Wednesdays and Fridays. She’s friendly, treats her customers well, and makes THE BEST Long Island Iced Tea that I’ve ever had (after a little training on my part to get her to leave out the Tequila). ;-) While I almost always get good service no matter who is working, Jamie is best.
  • Next, there’s Israel (or Iz). He tends bar on Fridays from time-to-time with Jamie. He also waits tables. He always says “Hi” to me when he see me whether he’s waiting tables or tending bar.
  • And of course, I can’t forget Joe (or Trivia Joe). He tends bar and waits tables, but he’s more known for being the Trivia MC for Wednesday night Live Trivia. He’s a nice guy too despite being a Cubs and Blackhawks fan.
  • Then, there’s Ashley. She used to tend bar on Wednesdays, but I see her waiting tables more often than I see behind the bar.
  • There’s also Jen. I’ve never talked to Jen, but she is hard to miss. When I first saw her, I thought to myself, “Is it legal to have a 12 year old working in a bar?” She’s not very tall. However, she is always smiling and works harder than almost anyone I’ve seen on staff at BWW Savoy. She’s always running around getting drinks or checking on customers or whatever. She doesn’t tend bar, so I’ve never had her wait on me, but if I ever go in and don’t sit at the bar, I hope I get assigned to her table. I know the service will be outstanding.
  • And then there’s Deb. She’s another server who has tended bar on occasion. I haven’t talked much with her either. The main thing I remember about Deb is a story she told Tim one night (with me sitting right there) about a guy hitting on her using a pick-up line written on a napkin. It said, “It must be a sin to be as hot as you.” Really? Do pick-up lines really ever work? Sad. At least we all got a good chuckle out of it, including Deb.
  • Finally, there are the managers / supervisors that I’ve interacted with: Matt, Amanda, and Roger. They’re all hard working, friendly, and very customer focused.

    • There are also two ex-employees who are worth mentioning too:

  • Andrew was a former Friday bartender. He worked his tail off. He was the original Trivia MC, and was awesome at it. He left last spring for a “real” job out east.
  • Beth was also a former Friday bartender. She was by-far THE hardest worker at BWW Savoy – always on the go, always going a mile-a-minute, never standing around chit-chatting. She left near the end of last Spring Semester.

    • What a great bunch of folks!!!

    My prayer is that the Holy Spirit will open my eyes to what He is doing around me, and that He will give me the courage to risk being made fun of, thought less of, labeled as a religious kook, or whatever to step out and say those scary and powerful words, “Can I pray for you right now?”, when I sense that He is up to something.

    Categories: About Me | 1 Comment

    Game Night with Lizzy – May 23, 2011

    Posted on May 24, 2011 by parvinator

    Tonight, Lizzy and I played Ticket to Ride: Nordic Countries tonight. (Sara wasn’t feeling well, so it was just the two of us.)

    Lizzy

    The Board

    Lizzy played really, really well. She out scored me in destination tickets by over 50 points. I thought for sure she had me beaten. It came down to counting train points (which we do at the end of the game instead of as you go because it’s easier). I wound up barely winning 151-149 because I had the 27 point, 9-train-long route from Murmank to Lieska. We both had a blast!!!

    Categories: Photos | Leave a comment