Oh yeah!
Gee, glad I'm not on Franklin Street tonight!
'Night, All!
❤ My Tar Heels!
Evie
Location:Lylebourne Ct,Apex,United States
Tuesday, April 4, 2017
And the Winner is...
Rooting for my team, in style!
Oh yeah!
Gee, glad I'm not on Franklin Street tonight!
'Night, All!
❤ My Tar Heels!
Evie
Oh yeah!
Gee, glad I'm not on Franklin Street tonight!
'Night, All!
❤ My Tar Heels!
Evie
Sunday, April 2, 2017
What Basketball Taught Me
When I was a sophomore in high school, I tried out for the girls' basketball team. It was my Plan B after my parents quashed my dream of becoming a school cheerleader.
I thought I would make a good cheerleader because I loved being a part of Sanderson High, had a lot of enthusiasm and school spirit, enjoyed shouting for our teams, and yes, wanted to wear one of those cute pleated skirts that the other girls got to wear on game days.
However, it was not to be as my parents admonished me to "Be on the team, not just cheering for it."
And so, with perhaps thoughts of my dad's own glory days as a basketball player for his high school and college teams, I tried out for the team at my school. As a 15 year old who had shot baskets on her driveway with her dad through the years, and could barely dribble the ball through her legs, I was rightly and justly cut from the tryouts and lost all my hopes of joining the team.
A few weeks later, however, my math teacher approached me and said that one of the girls he coached on our basketball team was missing too many practices. He said that if I could commit to attending all of the practices and to coming to all of the games, he would like me to join the team in her place.
And so I said yes!
As a member at the bottom of the lineup, I played in practices like the rest of the team, learning and running through the plays countless times while helping to sharpen our starting five.
And I ran laps around the court and suicides back and forth with everyone else, though I was often red faced and hyperventilating by the time we were through.
I dressed out for games and huddled with the team as our coach marked out with x's and o's the best strategy to defeat the team before us.
I loved my team and rooted with all of my heart for them from the bench from the beginning of each game until its final moments. If there was a minute or two left on the clock when we had a strong lead, I was sometimes called onto the floor.
What emotion surged through me as I was suddenly out there and facing the other team. My rational thoughts went away as adrenalin took over as I tried to catch and pass the ball and put it up on the backboard for a possible 2.
During those moments I remember looking back at the bench to see Linda, Ann, Teresa, Gwen, Diane, Susan, and the others standing up and yelling and waving their arms and rejoicing to see their third string teammates out there doing our best in the midst of it all.
We were a team, each one with an important contribution to make, each one pulling for the other, for the team, and for the school as a whole. Yes, something greater than basketball was there, and it is with me still.
Love,
Ronda
Location:Lylebourne Ct,Apex,United States
When You're In the Game, You've Gotta Give It Your All
If you watched last night's two NCAA Final Four matchups, then you know that they were nail biters, with the two Number 1 seeds Gonzaga and North Carolina fighting off their tenacious opponents until the final seconds of both games.
This was the headline that greeted us today in the Raleigh News & Observer:
Who will win the NCAA Championship Game on Monday night is anyone's guess, but UNC has a long record of reaching the top (34 Final Four or Championship appearances) in this league. As one announcer said last night, if you are willing to submit yourself to the coaching and players of a winning program, then that program will help you to develop and mature into a far better player than you could ever have been on your own.
And it is that kind of team spirit that allows Carolina to play effectively through injuries and adversities as lesser players rise to the occasion when their main players are sidelined in some way. When a player submits his own glory for the good of the team, then something greater is at work.
In this particular year, the player at the center of the storm is Joel Berry who is playing on two sprained ankles as he continues to provide leadership for his team.
“Sometimes you can be selfish and just think about yourself and your well-being,” Berry said. “That’s the one great thing about this program: you’re such a family to where sometimes you put yourself aside to where you start thinking about other guys.
“And I think that’s just why people [on past UNC teams] were motivated to play through the injuries. I’m the same way. Even though I’m hurting I just want to do whatever it takes to be able to help my team out.”
ESPN announcer Jay Bilas said of Berry, “He brings toughness, leadership and then he’s an attack guard. He attacks off the dribble and he’s a great finisher, even at his size. And he provides them another 3-point shooter. … That takes a weapon away if he’s not 100 percent.”
But it's Berry's teammate Justin Jackson who states the reason that UNC has the ability to win the final game on Monday night:
“That’s one of our leaders, one of our best players — any aspect you want to throw out there, he’s at the top of it,” Jackson said. “Not having that type of guy out there, it can hurt a little bit. But Coach always says the Tar Heels are playing, not Joel Berry or Justin Jackson or whoever. So whoever’s out there has got to be able to play.”
Life is a lot like basketball.
Go Heels!
Ronda
This was the headline that greeted us today in the Raleigh News & Observer:
Who will win the NCAA Championship Game on Monday night is anyone's guess, but UNC has a long record of reaching the top (34 Final Four or Championship appearances) in this league. As one announcer said last night, if you are willing to submit yourself to the coaching and players of a winning program, then that program will help you to develop and mature into a far better player than you could ever have been on your own.
And it is that kind of team spirit that allows Carolina to play effectively through injuries and adversities as lesser players rise to the occasion when their main players are sidelined in some way. When a player submits his own glory for the good of the team, then something greater is at work.
In this particular year, the player at the center of the storm is Joel Berry who is playing on two sprained ankles as he continues to provide leadership for his team.
“Sometimes you can be selfish and just think about yourself and your well-being,” Berry said. “That’s the one great thing about this program: you’re such a family to where sometimes you put yourself aside to where you start thinking about other guys.
“And I think that’s just why people [on past UNC teams] were motivated to play through the injuries. I’m the same way. Even though I’m hurting I just want to do whatever it takes to be able to help my team out.”
ESPN announcer Jay Bilas said of Berry, “He brings toughness, leadership and then he’s an attack guard. He attacks off the dribble and he’s a great finisher, even at his size. And he provides them another 3-point shooter. … That takes a weapon away if he’s not 100 percent.”
But it's Berry's teammate Justin Jackson who states the reason that UNC has the ability to win the final game on Monday night:
“That’s one of our leaders, one of our best players — any aspect you want to throw out there, he’s at the top of it,” Jackson said. “Not having that type of guy out there, it can hurt a little bit. But Coach always says the Tar Heels are playing, not Joel Berry or Justin Jackson or whoever. So whoever’s out there has got to be able to play.”
Life is a lot like basketball.
Go Heels!
Ronda
Location:Lylebourne Ct,Apex,United States
Friday, March 31, 2017
So, Maybe it Doesn't Really Matter at All What I Choose to Do...
Does this mean that it doesn't really matter what I choose to do, since God will straighten it out afterward, when I finally stop going my own way and finally beg that His Will be done?
No, it doesn't mean that at all! When we choose to do something that seems good to us at the time, but ends up being bad for us or harmful to someone else, then an injustice has been done and we need to make amends to God and to those whom we have harmed.
If Evie decides to go out in the backyard after it rains and returns to the front door to be let back inside, it may be that she finds she is not as welcome as she had hoped...
And so she may have to stay outside a little longer until her coat dries off and she can be brushed off and let inside.
While she is cooling her heels, she might decide to return to her mud puddle, dig around in it some more, and then come racing up the front walk to try to be let in once again....
(Yes, this is all actually happening as I type this...!)
And so stronger measures will have to be used, until she gets it right. Because God in His mercy loves her, and me, and you, and wants us to be INSIDE with Him in heaven forever, if we'll only agree.
Now, excuse me while I take Evie out to be hosed off and dried!
Love,
Ronda
No, it doesn't mean that at all! When we choose to do something that seems good to us at the time, but ends up being bad for us or harmful to someone else, then an injustice has been done and we need to make amends to God and to those whom we have harmed.
If Evie decides to go out in the backyard after it rains and returns to the front door to be let back inside, it may be that she finds she is not as welcome as she had hoped...
And so she may have to stay outside a little longer until her coat dries off and she can be brushed off and let inside.
While she is cooling her heels, she might decide to return to her mud puddle, dig around in it some more, and then come racing up the front walk to try to be let in once again....
(Yes, this is all actually happening as I type this...!)
And so stronger measures will have to be used, until she gets it right. Because God in His mercy loves her, and me, and you, and wants us to be INSIDE with Him in heaven forever, if we'll only agree.
Now, excuse me while I take Evie out to be hosed off and dried!
Love,
Ronda
Location:Lylebourne Ct,Apex,United States
Is This Thing My Will or God's?
Let me stop myself right there and ask....
....and find that I am a happy, more loving, kind, patient, thoughtful, and faithful person because of it,
...then I know that I am doing not just my will, but God's.
God's Will
On the other hand, if I achieve my desired goal, land that new job, or embark on that new relationship
...and find that I am becoming a more arrogant, impatient, unkind, self centered, destructive, and stressed out person as a result,
...then I know that I am doing my will perhaps, but not God's.
My Will
Loving God, This Time Let Thy Will Be Done
Sometimes the best things happen to us when they are not chased after, not longed for, not brooded about, but rather come to us seemingly of their own accord, and in a completely unexpected way.
Canine Good Citizen Graduate/Puppy Class 101
We know that all things work for good for those who love God, who are called according to his purpose.
(Romans 8:28)
Where is God When Things Don't Quite Go Your Way?
Far be it from me to want to jinx the luck of my Carolina Blue Tar Heels in the National Championship game this weekend, and certainly a life of faith in God is completely incompatible with belief in superstition, so I am going to risk it all by sharing with you what I am thinking about today:
What happens when you are in the heat of pursuing your dreams, excited, and almost certain that what you are reaching for is also what God wants for you...
....and then somehow, someway, the unthinkable happens and you suddenly fall short of your goal, you get passed over for that school you hoped to be accepted by, you broke up with your boyfriend, you didn't get that job you applied for and thought would be a perfect fit for you....
... or like happened with our pup Evie on her first Christmas a few months ago: you saw the big, beautiful evergreen tree going up in your home, you felt excited to see and smell its fresh outdoorsy scent, you felt certain that it was God's will that you investigate and see if you could help in setting it up...
And then what happens? You end up with the humiliation of having the lights wrapped around you instead of around that great big glorious tree.
What are you to think when, eager as you were, things didn't quite go your way? Where is God in that and what is He calling you to do?
Well, according to Jesus when his disciples asked him how we are to pray (and verified too by the teachings of his Saints), the greatest gift we can give to God, is to conform ourselves to His holy will:
"Our Father, Who Art in Heaven, Hallowed by Thy Name. Thy Kingdom Come, Thy Will Be Done, On Earth as it is in Heaven..." (Matt 6:9-10)
And that means accepting all things, both joys and losses, celebrations and humiliations, justices and injustices as coming directly from God's Hands.
"Prosperity does not lift me up, nor adversity cast me down," reported a holy monk to his abbot when questioned about what was different about him that so many miracles were happening in his wake. "I direct all my prayers to the end that God's will may be done fully in me and by me."
"That raid that our enemies made against the monastery the other day, in which our stores were plundered, our granaries put to the torch and our cattle driven off--did not this misfortune cause you any resentment?" queried the abbot.
"No, Father," came the reply. "On the contrary, I returned thanks to God--as is my custom in such circumstances--fully persuaded that God does all things, or permits all that happens, for his glory and for our greater good; thus I am always at peace, no matter what happens." (Story recounted in St. Alphonsus Liguori's Uniformity With God's Will".)
And so for us, we should desire neither to win the big game nor to lose it, to be accepted at the best school or rejected, to get the coveted promotion or be denied it, to dive into the Christmas tree decorating party or be tied up on the sidelines...
Everything that happens to you, seemingly favorable or seemingly bad, is God's will for you and your life...and because God is all Good, His will is always the best thing for you.
And what is God's perfect will? Your salvation...an eternal home for you in heaven with him forever.
Please Lord, have mercy on us and in all things grant us Your peace!
Love,
Ronda
Thursday, March 30, 2017
A God Who Fulfills our Dreams
It is Spring here in North Carolina: the time when days are lengthening, bulbs are pushing up through the soil, trees are breaking into flowers, and yellow pollen is coating absolutely everything.
It is also the time when college basketball is on everyone's mind. Our family's team, the UNC Tar Heels has made it to the Final Four in the NCAA Tournament which will be decided in games this Saturday and Monday night.
(We are grooming our ten month old golden retriever Evie to be a fan, but sometimes she is more interested in Dad and the popcorn he makes for the big games!)
Because our daughter has spent the past year taking GRE Exams, researching English PhD programs, and applying to graduate schools, we are acutely aware that this is also the time of university acceptances, which hopeful students everywhere await with deep anguish until they hear from all the places they have applied.
During her years at school, we have heard stories of so many of our daughter's friends who have found just the right mentor, or the perfect program of study, or a timely internship, and later, great jobs in big cities offered to them after graduating from school.
How about you..have you ever had big dreams, or deep desires that you nurtured and worked toward, that somehow came true?
I was reflecting on this when I went to Mass this morning...where our new church is finally rising from the ground after eighteen years of building with other families on a shared dream of raising our children in a loving community of faith.
Of faith in what or in Who?
St. Paul addressed this very question when he stood on the great rock at the Acropolis in Athens. He addressed the people of that time and place (and through the scripture and tradition of the Church, each one of us today:)
"You Athenians, I see that in every respect you are very religious. For as I walked around looking carefully at your shrines, I even discovered an altar inscribed, 'To an Unknown God.'
What therefore you unknowingly worship, I proclaim to you.
The God who made the world and all that is in it, the Lord of heaven and earth, does not dwell in sanctuaries made by human hands, nor is he served by human hands because he needs anything.
Rather it is he who gives to everyone life and breath and everything.
He made from one the whole human race to dwell on the entire surface of the earth, and he fixed the ordered seasons and the boundaries of their regions,
so that people might seek God, even perhaps grope for him and find him, though indeed he is not far from any one of us." (Acts 17: 22-27)
Truly our little Evie is my family's latest dream come true, and I thank God for her perfection each and every day.
Love,
Ronda
It is also the time when college basketball is on everyone's mind. Our family's team, the UNC Tar Heels has made it to the Final Four in the NCAA Tournament which will be decided in games this Saturday and Monday night.
(We are grooming our ten month old golden retriever Evie to be a fan, but sometimes she is more interested in Dad and the popcorn he makes for the big games!)
Because our daughter has spent the past year taking GRE Exams, researching English PhD programs, and applying to graduate schools, we are acutely aware that this is also the time of university acceptances, which hopeful students everywhere await with deep anguish until they hear from all the places they have applied.
During her years at school, we have heard stories of so many of our daughter's friends who have found just the right mentor, or the perfect program of study, or a timely internship, and later, great jobs in big cities offered to them after graduating from school.
How about you..have you ever had big dreams, or deep desires that you nurtured and worked toward, that somehow came true?
I was reflecting on this when I went to Mass this morning...where our new church is finally rising from the ground after eighteen years of building with other families on a shared dream of raising our children in a loving community of faith.
Of faith in what or in Who?
St. Paul addressed this very question when he stood on the great rock at the Acropolis in Athens. He addressed the people of that time and place (and through the scripture and tradition of the Church, each one of us today:)
"You Athenians, I see that in every respect you are very religious. For as I walked around looking carefully at your shrines, I even discovered an altar inscribed, 'To an Unknown God.'
What therefore you unknowingly worship, I proclaim to you.
The God who made the world and all that is in it, the Lord of heaven and earth, does not dwell in sanctuaries made by human hands, nor is he served by human hands because he needs anything.
Rather it is he who gives to everyone life and breath and everything.
He made from one the whole human race to dwell on the entire surface of the earth, and he fixed the ordered seasons and the boundaries of their regions,
so that people might seek God, even perhaps grope for him and find him, though indeed he is not far from any one of us." (Acts 17: 22-27)
Truly our little Evie is my family's latest dream come true, and I thank God for her perfection each and every day.
Love,
Ronda
Location:Lylebourne Ct,Apex,United States
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