Mid-Week Joy Report

It's been a good week... busy, but good.

We celebrated Mother's Day with a trip out-of-state to eat at Olive Garden. (Yes, you read that right. The closest Olive Garden is in another state). We've enjoyed warm weather, gentle breezes, chirping birds, and so much more.

I also invested MANY hours in setting up a website for our association of churches. WOW! I didn't know if I'd be able to do this or not, and truthfully, it still has a few kinks to work out, but I think I'm making great progress so far. I have a lot of work to do on it... but it's coming along! And the best part is I've enjoyed the challenge of working on this.

If you're interested in seeing a peek at the website (please be gentle!) go HERE.

I've also made 7 cards this week.

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One of the cards I made is for my 50 Truths Challenge.

Chapter 20 

50 Truths Worth Knowing

"Winning Matters... Sometimes"

In this chapter/excerpt of the book 50 Truths Worth Knowing, Doug reminisces about when he was a youngster playing Little League... coaches were tough. One insisted that the players be willing to lean into the ball when batting - after all a little bruise was worth it if you got "walked". Another made them run laps in punishment after every loss. Yet another (his dad, no less) yelled... a lot!

Needless to say, Doug didn't have a lot of fond memories of playing.

Now, years later, he was embarking on his own coaching experience and he determined that his own son and the other players on the team wouldn't have "that kind" of coach. Instead, he was going to make the season fun, with some lessons thrown in, but no pressure. It was about enjoying the game and nothing more.

That sounded good... at first. But after 5 consecutive losses, the morale of the team - and their parents - had plummeted to the point that no one cared to play the game any more. Doug knew he needed a new strategy.

"We're gonna do something different," he said. And from that day forward, he started emphasizing winning. After all, the team had learned how to lose; now they needed to learn how to win. He still maintained a positive approach, but one that also included a lot of work.

It paid off. They won that game. And the next six games as well.

Doug went on to coach six more years. In the process he learned that winning does matter. It mattered to the kids.

What a great lesson to learn. Now, my challenge was figuring how to use that story as inspiration for a card. Hmmmm... did you know that in my HUNDREDS of stamps, I do not have a single softball/baseball image (at least not that I could find) and very few sports images. Not surprising, since I'm not athletic, nor are any of our family members. But a challenge IS a challenge. So... I put on my thinking cap.

I remembered a photo that I have saved on my phone. It's a picture of our Brock, in his batting stance. Now you have to understand... someone has shown Brock how to stand to best hit the ball, but he doesn't very often stand this way. I think that's one of the reasons why this photo makes me smile.

There is a church in our town that hosts a short softball season for people of all sorts of special needs. Brock is one of them. He loves going to play softball. In fact, last Saturday was their first game this year and he was READY!

But this softball team is unique. No one is ever called "Out!" Everyone gets to run every base (and the ones who need it have a "buddy" to help them do it). The crowd cheers when they cross home plate - even though no score is recorded. Both teams win! And at the end of the game, the players gather for refreshments and a devotional. It's a pretty awesome experience!

I printed the picture of Brock onto cardstock so it looks a bit fuzzy, but I still like it because it makes me smile to see Brock ready to swing that bat.

I think I might just write a thank you note inside this card and send it to the host church, letting them know how much we appreciate the way they invest in Brock and the others who come out to play softball.

Thanks for stopping by my blog today!

Image: Okay, not really an image - it's a picture I took of Brock 

Papers: Recollections Kraft and Navy CS and DP from the DCWV Boyhood Stack

Embellishments: Star Brads from an unknown vendor