Until It Sleeps

I've been working a lot lately. The funny thing is, the storms haven't really been here in Wichita Falls proper, but they've been all around us. And as long as they're in our viewing area, we have to keep an eye on them and make sure they don't take a severe turn. Now don't get me wrong, I love severe weather. But when the storms are between the "rain shower" and "severe thunderstorm" stage, it can get frustrating. They can either dissipate and fizzle and not be of any threat or they can turn on a dime to storms that spawn tornadoes. So a lot of the time it's just a waiting game. That game gets harder when it's 3 in the morning and the storms are just barely in your viewing area and they're teetering that fine line of severe/not severe. So that's basically been the last couple of days for me and it sure does appear as if it will continue through at least Thursday morning. Lets just say I'm ready for the weekend.

The Mavs lost. Reports are that Dirk will, in fact, win the MVP. Can you tell I'm thrilled? Good. Because I'm not. I'd take a deeper playoff run over an MVP any day. Name me one player that wouldn't. I could say a lot more, but I won't. I'm just going to spit out the popular cliche and wait until next season. Come on Rangers, you have just been given the spotlight. Are you sure you can't pull something out? Win the fans of the Metroplex over. You certainly haven't over the past few years.

I've been listening to a lot of different music lately. It's amazing the music I've discovered since I started playing Guitar Hero. The more I play that game the more I love those songs. Do I have a favorite? Probably "More Than A Feeling" by Boston. Fantastic song. I'm also learning more about guitars, believe it or not. I love the Gibson X-plorer. What a fantastic guitar. I can't even play the guitar and I want one. The SG is a good model to (and this model is replicated in the Guitar Hero SG controllers for the PS2 version, the X-plorer is for the X-Box 360 version). Maybe I'll pick up trying to learn how to play the guitar again. Then I can fork over some dough and buy myself an X-plorer. A big fan of the X-plorer? James Hetfield, the lead singer of Metallica, another band I've been listening to more of lately. It seems like I fade in and out of Metallica. Nevertheless, they'll always be one of my favorites.

Here a photograph of said Hetfield with his customized Gibson X-plorer:



Rock on.

M-V-P!

It took Dirk until about three and a half minutes left in the game to make a difference but boy did he come through.

The Game 5 win wasn't an accident. Seriously, the game changed on a dime. Fortunes reversed in an instant. We hit everything. They did not. We rebounded. They did not. Supernatural.

"From the LORD comes deliverance..."
"Answer me when I call to you, O my righteous God. Give me relief from my distress; be merciful to me and hear my prayer."
"In your anger do not sin; when you are on your beds, search your hearts and be silent."
"Many are asking, 'Who can show us any good?' Let the light of your face shine upon us, O LORD. You have filled my heart with greater joy than when their grain and new wine abound. I will lie down and sleep in peace, for you alone, O LORD, make me dwell in safety."

Now I know that this psalm wasn't written to refer to the basketball game tonight. I'm aware. However, God really spoke to my soul tonight. Typically, during these playoff games (or during any game where I'm rooting for my team) I get pretty emotional and fired up. Especially when we're losing. Every single game in this series (or again, any sport I follow) I can get down right nasty. I scare myself sometimes. I say things I regret and I really don't put a lot of faith in God in times like those. Tonight was different. As the Mavs began to lose their grip and finally bottom out late in the 4th quarter, I sat on my futon and just watched in silence. I didn't yell. I didn't cuss. I didn't discount God. Lets just say, in my anger, I didn't sin ... as I sometimes do. I've been known to have a short temper. Ask those I've lived with. Not tonight. There was a sort of peace around me. I trusted. I had faith. Then, as I just mentioned, things changed. We won the game - but it went deeper than that for me. I kept telling God tonight that win or lose, You are still God. I completely gave it over. It was God who chose for the Mavs to win. But again, it wasn't just about that. I've been struggling to trust God in a couple of areas lately and tonight, He showed me that by giving Him His glory no matter what the situation and putting my faith in Him regardless of the circumstances, He listens. He hears. He is sovereign. The Lord delivered me. Tonight I did not sin in my anger. When I was on my bed (my futon doubles as a bed), I was silent. I searched my heart and was silent. God prevailed. Now, I'm not saying that the Mavs will win Game 6 or possibly Game 7. That's not the point. The point is that God spoke to my heart tonight and "filled my heart with a greater joy..." than can be found in a basketball game. He taught me about faithfulness tonight. In my time of need, God showed Himself to me tonight. I needed that in the worst way. It went beyond basketball tonight. Proof that God can use any means necessary to reveal himself.

"I will lie down and sleep in peace, for you alone, O LORD, make me dwell in safety."

Yes, I will. Amen.