Deflated Balls & Church Nonsense

deflated balls

The major question dominating sports world at the moment is, “Did the New England Patriots deflate their balls”?  First of all – Eww!  Second of all – who gives a rip?

Ok – so maybe deflated balls give you some sort of advantage in some way on the field.  I played ball enough to know there’s only a few instances where it matters if the ball is a little softer, and I can’t imagine how it’s a game changer in most of those instances.  But ok – there are rules.  For every normal person upset about this I have one question – will it prevent you from watching the Super Bowl?  I sense the answer is a resounding “NO”.

Here’s the thing – we’re crazy about the Super Bowl.  Of course, we want to see our team in it, but the fact of the matter is we don’t care who is in it – we’re still gonna watch.  It’s a great night for anyone who can appreciate the game and for the rest who just watch for the commercials and will eventually appreciate the game if they keep watching.  I could care less if Tom Brady was in on it – he’s always been a too much of a pretty boy to me anyway.  I’ll be watching the Super Bowl.

This whole discussion reminds me a little bit of drama my pastor is going through lately. You might have heard of him – he’s the guy under a lot of fire right now for “changing” the 10 commandments.  He’s Perry Noble.

I don’t “know” him on a personal level.  I think he might just maybe know me by name if he saw me in public, but that’s only because of mutual friends and 11 yrs of faithful attendance.  But I still call him pastor.

I don’t “know” his heart beyond what I see from a distance on a stage, but I do believe there is good in him beyond what he gets credit for in situations like he’s in right now.

I’ll be among the first to say the man isn’t perfect.  There are times I want to stand up in church and say “shut up Perry – you ain’t as tough as you think you are” or “think about what you’re saying” – you know, in those times when he comes across very arrogant.  But that would be incredibly inappropriate in church, wouldn’t help anything, would misrepresent my own character (as if some people aren’t reading this and judging me anyway), and ultimately would do nothing to advance the kingdom.  Perry isn’t perfect.  Shocker!  None of us are.  But I can’t say I’ve ever disagreed with the biblical basis of messages I believe Perry is trying to teach regardless of whatever attitude he sometimes clouds it with.

The whole scandal of the 10 commandments message is another one of those cases, and it’s being blown way out of proportion – IMHO (in my humble opinion for you acronym-less peeps).  I was in that service and I thought it was a fantastic way of presenting the 10 commandments as promises to those who need hope rather than a checklist for those who think they’re keeping all 10 of them.  So he mistakenly stated there is no such thing as the word “commandment” in the original translation.  Who really cares, and why?  That’s a detail.  He apologized like a real man – accept that and move on.  The point of the message was this – Don’t let your inability to keep “10 commandments” keep you from walking into a relationship with Jesus, because quite frankly none of us can keep those commandments – Instead think of them as promises, which might be a better translation of the original text anyway.  It was a great message – I left feeling very encouraged in my own walk with Christ.

Put on top of that the whole “N” word nonsense (don’t get me started) and goodness gracious Perry has taken a real beating lately.  You might say his balls are deflated.  You might even say it’s discouraging and makes you not even want to go to church.  My question would be this.  If something stupid like deflated balls doesn’t stop you from watching football why would it stop you from going to church?

Skip the super bowl of church (NewSpring) if you want (I personally sometimes find the hype of all the “branding” a bit distasteful too), but don’t skip out on church just because you don’t like a player.  Find somewhere to do regular season church.

An Exciting New adVenture

From the time I was in college I’ve dreamed of owning business, and I actually have in various ways – from the mobile car detailing business I did for a couple of years to network marketing programs to consulting, speaking, and project managing as an outside contractor for other businesses (even my sales job is essentially a business of it’s own).  So I am very excited about the newest venture.

Introducing Impact Sport Events, LLC.  Created to make active lifestyle normal and fun for families – Impact Sport Events exists to provide family friendly and fun opportunities to be physically active.  Our core values are centered around faith, family, community, fitness, and fun.  Part of our excitement is also for the opportunity to support RiceBowls.org with portions of our proceeds.

Shamrock-Shuffle-3-14-15The first event we’re directing is the Shamrock Shuffle at Hartwell Dam in Hartwell, GA on March 14, 2015 – a 5k and 1mi Family Fun Run.  It will be a great day to get out and be active, and it will be an honor to have as many of our family and friends there as possible.  So if you can be there please consider coming out and joining in the fun.  Click here to register!

Super Bowl XLVI

How much are you spending to celebrate America’s most popular sports moment?  This info graphic illustrates how much is spent by consumers and advertisers.  Below the graphic are my five rules for Super Bowl parties…

Mark Asbell Super Bowl Party Rules

  1. Watch the game.  Before the game and after the game anything else goes, but during the game WATCH THE GAME.  If you choose not to watch the game at least don’t try distracting those who are watching the game.
  2. Watch the commercials.  Refer to rule #1.  This is not a normal football game, it’s the super bowl.  From opening kickoff to the final second is “during the game” and everything that happens “during the game” is part of the super bowl experience and shouldn’t be missed.
  3. Watch the halftime show.  Refer to rule #1 & 2.  No one knows if it is going to stink.  I’ve never regretted watching while it stinks but I have regretted missing it when it’s great.
  4. Eat great food.  Wings are a great football watching food, but keep your ranch dressing away from me.  Veggie trays are cool too but again, keep your nasty ranch dressing away from me.  Keep your sour cream, mayo, and any other rank tasting white sauce away from me.
  5. Just be a good sport.  Pick a team to pull for even if you don’t like either one of them, and don’t get flagged for poor fanmanship (whatever you do don’t be “that guy” who talks smack like they’re one of the players on the field).

As for me, I’m pulling for the Giants.  I could care less about the Giants, but I like the Manning brothers.  Good luck Eli and the Giants.

Basketball Love – Discipline Trickery

I love basketball. It’s what gets me out of bed and to the gym in the morning, which is the only time of day I can consistently get exercise without stressing about work or family time. When it comes to getting up early in the morning I’ve tried everything I know to try. Shawna isn’t a morning person. Friends schedules conflict so they can’t be there consistently.  But there is one thing I can count on – 99% of the time at least one other dude who loves basketball as much as me will be in the gym at 6:00 shooting hoops, and sometimes we even have 6-10 of us so we can play a couple of games.

Basketball is the ONLY thing that has ever consistently gotten me out of bed in the morning to go to the gym, and it works out great. I can show up at 6:00, play ball for 30 minutes, and then do some other cardio or resistance exercise for 30-45 more minutes. It gets me up and going, it’s something I enjoy, and it helps me be fit and healthy. I’m basically tricking myself into having a healthy discipline of regular exercise because something I enjoy motivates me.

Don’t we all need something like that in our life? Maybe you’re like me and you need something you love to encourage physical fitness in your life. What is one thing you enjoy so much that it gets you up and going in the morning?

The same principle is true with regards to financial discipline.  It isn’t fun having to budget and being disciplined to follow it.  That is why we say there must be fun in the budget.  There must be things in the budget that are enjoyable for you so that you have something to look forward to that motivates you to have the discipline to do the rest.  What is the fun thing in your budget that motivates you to stick to the plan?

 

Basketball Love – Watching the Finals

Anyone who knows me more than a day probably knows that I love sports, particularly basketball.  And anyone who knows me more than a week knows that I like to PLAY sports more than watching on TV, particularly basketball.  So right now with the NBA Finals in progress I am compelled to watch.  I could care less which teams are playing or who wins but I love to watch the game (although I’m leaning towards the Heat because I like D. Wade and Lebron is a freak of nature that is just fun to watch).

My wife likes basketball too, not loves – likes.  She doesn’t share my interest in playing and she doesn’t enjoy the game enough to watch teams she doesn’t like.  She is a Lakers fan.  If they aren’t playing she isn’t watching.

The whole playoffs I might have watched part of two or three different games, but never really got into it.  When the finals started though I became engaged.  I want to watch.  Even though Shawna doesn’t like to watch teams she doesn’t care about she knows I love the game.  So during these playoffs Shawna is does what I’m sure all great wives are doing – she snuggles up next to me while I watch.  She plays on her ipod the whole time but I don’t care.  She’s next to me and we’re relaxing.  Sometimes that’s all we need. (not a substitute for date nights though)

When is the last time you did something with your spouse that might not be your favorite thing but you did it just to be with them and share something that is interesting or important to them?

Also In Football…

I’m already following the teams I pull for more this football season than I have in probably the last five seasons combined so I’m going to share all their scores…

– I already mentioned FSU lost to Clemson 24-18. Bummer.
– How about GA TECH over Notre Dame 33-3. Go Jackets!!!
– LSU over Miss. St. 45-0. Booyahh!! Looks like LSU is gonna be hot again this year. Currently ranked #2. Go Tigers – LSU Tigers that is!
– Ole Miss edged out Memphis 23-21. Go Rebels!

I can be happy now that I look at it this way – Three out of four of my teams won.