"Who Said Golf Was Meaningless and Boring?!"

Lessons of life according to the game of GOLF!! :)

Since I have taken up friends with the o so wonderful game of golf, I thought I might share some tidbits of life that can go alongside it as well.

1. There is ALWAYS room for improvement!
I've heard it said that not even the Pros have ever played a perfect game. I guess that means us beginners need not fret. As so in our christian walk with God, we always have much room for improvement. God is there to help us through each and every part of it. He is there strengthening and helping us to become all He has purposed us to be! Isaiah 41:10. "I will strengthen and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand."

2. There is always gonna be ditches/waterways to hit your ball up and over!
There is one such ditch at Walden that you must cross. So far it has got me each time! I'm still learning of course. But my David has given me the FAITH to believe that I AM going to hit it up and over that darn ditch .... in time. Perserverence will pay off! As in our spiritual life - we all come to ditches at one point or another. But in coming to that ditch we know that we are not alone and that God is there to help us to aim high and over it. For it is Christ in us that makes us strong and not we ourselves. Philippians 4:13 "I can do everything through Christ which strengthens me." Never give up!

3. Playing golf can be HOT and tiring!
Who hasn't noticed that it is just downright HOT out there?! Maybe we should've picked up this idea of being golfers a little later in the season. And sometimes playing can be tiring, but I guess it just goes along with the FUN. :) Serving God can be rewarding - but it has it's time of being "hot and tiring" as well. When we are tempted to say "What does it matter? I'm tired. This isn't fun anymore." We stop and remember the verse that says 1 Cor. 15: 58. "Stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain."

4. Playing golf requires hydration!
We all know that water is an essential must for our bodies to be maintained properly. Without proper hydration we become sick and are unable to continue on. David got me a nice big Bubba mug (in purple) to keep me full of water. Sometimes I simply make myself drink because I don't always get thirsty on my own and I know it is for my good. God has given us His Word - the Bible - to keep our lives hydrated and functioning as it should. But if the Bible (water) just sits there on it's own and isn't consumed by us how will it help us? God gives us hope through His Words in showing us how to deal with every part of life. But we must read it and consume it. John 4: 14 "But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life."

5. The game of golf is played to KEEP your balls - not to lose them!
Ah yes, it's gonna happen, even on your good days the inevitable happens. . . you lose yet another ball. Ya know I'm not sure you should call it "playing" golf but rather it should be sometimes called "working" golf! There's alot to remember "working" this game including where did you last hit your ball. Trying to help your team mates watch for their balls AND keep in mind where yours are is tricky sometimes! I'm sure the home tenants must think "Yup...another beginner on the course. They are looking all over the place!"  By the way, it feels really great when you do find that darn little ball! :) God assures us though that He NEVER loses us as His children! John 6: 39 "And this is the will of him who sent me, that I shall lose NONE of all that that he has given me, but raise them up at the last day." John 10: 29 "My Father, who has given them to me, is greater that all; no one can snatch them out of my Father's hand."

6. Everyone has their own golf swing!
I'm sure everyone must have their own little peculiar ways of standing, setting up and swinging through the ball. I often wonder how odd I look myself as I'm trying my darndest best to connect with this little itty bitty round object laying on the ground. Though not totally comfortable with the idea of people watching as I am learning, I think I have improved! David and Levi try to give me helpful tips to manage myself. Sometimes their tips help.....and sometimes they just don't. But I listen and at least attempt to follow through with what they are saying. I know that I can take all these helpful tips, find which ones work for me, and in time become the O so wonderful golfer I hope to be! Heehee! It's just like in our christian walk. My walk (golf swing) with God may not resemble your walk with God. But it's MY walk with a God who loves me and relates to me right where I am at! I can know that God is putting all the "stuff" of my life together to make me into who He wants me to be in time. Philippians 1: 6 "Being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you/me will carry it to completion until the day of Christ Jesus."

(I see I am getting longer with each example. I will try to wrap this up!)

7. Lining up your ball and shooting straight takes time and patience!
One thing I do have over David and Levi, on most occassions, is that I can hit the ball straight! But a straight ball is only as good as the power behind it. David and Levi have a very sharp right hook once they have hit it. It is frustrating to say the least, but it is something they are learning to overcome with time and patience. Lining up our lives with Christ can be just as time consuming and requires patience at times as well. We need to watch and be careful lest we veer to the left or the right for temptation is all around us. In knowing that, we stand firm, trusting the One who knows us best to help us stay lined up with His purpose. Hebrews 12: 1-2 "Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles us, and let us run with the perserverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith." Philippians 3: 13 "I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus."

8. Last but not least. . . . HAVE FUN!!
Golf is challenging . . . but golf can be fun! There are people who love a challenge. I, on the other hand, do not. But I look past that fact and I see all the fun that lies in one simple game. It is time well spent with my very best friend. It can be a self motivator to get up and be active. It can boost self confidence in a positive way. And it simply can be fun to learn and accomplish something new. God also wants us to be active, have fun, enjoy and see the blessings in all that He has given us! Philippians 4: 4 "Rejoice in the Lord ALWAYS. I will say it again; Rejoice!" Psalms 144: 15 "...Happy is that people, whose God is the Lord."

: - ) Enjoy life!

"Life: It's All Around Us!"

I am searching for a new Blog topic....praying.....asking.....believing.....but all the while just getting all kinds of snippets spinning around in my head. Maybe I'm supposed to write a bunch of short stories!

Like there was one day last week that I decided I wanted to TRY my hand at swinging a golf club, on the driving range, with my guys. I guess a weird sensation overcame me when I actually connected with the ball and convinced me that ALL things really are possible! For the very next day I was convinced I was ready! David and I played 9 holes of golf on a real golf course....and I did better than expected....from both of us! :) I had always believed that I would essentially always be the awesome golf cart driver who did her darn best to read the thoughts of my men golfers and always stop at the EXACT location of hit ball as well as take off with just the right speed giving them the right amount of air breeze to cool them off. (Yes writers have permission to use run-on sentences when needed.) BUT.....there was more....so much more! You have to understand that I have had a firm outlook to the game of golf as being the LESS than fun game and would be right up there with the game of chess. Boring to say the least. Pointless to make it even more descriptive. But then I began to see it with a new set of eyes....a new perspective and it became so much more just as I said! It was something that David and I could find enjoyment in, share an interest in (we have MANY of those) as well as a great tool builder of self confidence! All I needed was some encouragement. My David encouraged me and off we went! I have a ways to go, of course, but I know with my husband's support, love and encouragement...as well as God helping out with maybe just a tad of natural ability (heehee)....we can have a shared hobby that can take us who knows where! A funny sidenote: a man at our church heard that I was now playing golf with David and Levi and said his wife had really been wanting to get into the game as well. He said we will have to get together and find a time to play! All the while I'm giving him one of those "yeeeeeaaaah....thats a nice thought, but not really" head shakes. As I related the story back to David he said "We could have a golf ministry." I told him I had never seen this guy's wife with him at church....hence the golf ministry idea. David dear also said almost in same sentence....."We are solitary golf game players." my sentiments exactly! :)

Some may know and some may not that my Levi has been enroute to Hawaii for the past couple of days. We started out as "Hey Mom...Cody wants me to go to Hawaii on Friday. Is that alright?" and this particular day was already Wednesday.....which turned into hearing no more whatsoever regarding it all day Thursday which would become "Hey Mom...it's on now. I'm going with them." and this being Thursday NIGHT. Friday came and went with no departure....flights looked bad. Saturday at 4 they decided to try again. They're flight to California did actually take off this time landing them that night at 9. And that brings us to today, Sunday, with yet no word of any flight taking them to their much anticipated location of .....Hawaii. I'm sure whatever the situation, they are making the best of it. I know that if God wants them in Hawaii....they'll get there. It will definitely be an experience that is most likely once in a lifetime and one that this Mom doesn't plan on ever making. I told Levi "Remember it all for me!" Me and planes do not have a compatible liking.

Instead of continuing on with my "short" stories and making this Blog longer than necessary I will come to the conclusion. In sharing with you, I sense that God is saying ..... Life is happening all around us and it comes in all kinds of packages. There are surprises- -finding a new interest that you never dreamed having! There is encouragement to help you become a better you - - David giving me the confidence to keep trying no matter how many times I didn't connect with the ball! There is God who wants us to share a life of enjoyment with our spouse and not just live in a mundane everyday existance - - a new shared interest is discovered! There are new opportunities awaiting - - Levi given the chance to go to an island we certainly will never take him to! There are setbacks in life and times of waiting on the unknown - - Levi waiting to see if and when they do make it to Hawaii. There are simply the times of making the best of what is given - - Although Hawaii is absolutely wonderful (or so I've heard), California can be pretty amazing as well!

We see that in any and every circumstance of what life can bring us. . . God is and will always be in control. His blessings are countless. His timing is perfect. He is forming He is shaping each and everyone of us into exactly what He wants us to be. Sometimes we need to have the right perspective to see Him at work in all of life's happenings....for He is surely there.

For Life Is What God Makes It!!  :)