Blue Ribbon Sports

I was the breakfast cook around our house when the kids were growing up. It’s not that Holly couldn’t, or wouldn’t, but I loved breakfast, and it was an opportunity now and then for her to be able to sleep in. Belgian waffles were my favorite. As a matter of fact when I was off at college, my mom actually bought me my first waffle iron. That one is long since gone, but my love of breakfasts is not. And as a family tradition, whenever everyone is home I can be seen in the morning fixing waffles, eggs and bacon or maybe some French toast.

It was also my mom who brought me my first pair of name brand shoes. I was in seventh grade and had made the basketball team. It seemed like everyone on the team was getting this type of shoe and I just had to have it. Mom being who she was scraped together the money needed to buy me my first pair of Converse shoes, now known as “All Stars” or “Chucks”.

Well, what does my love of breakfast and making the basketball team have in common? The connection is a guy selling shoes out of the trunk of his car for a company he co-founded called Blue Ribbon Sports. But this college track coach wasn’t satisfied with the Onitsuka Tiger shoes he was getting from a Japanese shoe company. So he tried some different ideas and ways to perfect shoes for his team. Finally ruining the family’s--yes that is right--waffle iron when at breakfast he came up with the idea of the waffle sole. They later renamed their company Nike, and we know how well the company has done. All because he did not give up, was willing to step out, even when it may have seemed strange to those around him.

There is this situation Luke records for us (Luke 7:36-50). It wasn’t breakfast, or waffles or even shoes, but it did involve feet and a meal. A woman approached Jesus as He was reclining at a table eating dinner. She wet Jesus’ feet with her tears, wiped them with her hair and then anointed them with perfume. Now almost two thousand years later we are still talking about what she did, because she didn’t just think about it, or pray about it, but did something about it.

A shoe company that is known around the world, has billions of dollars in sales, and actually earlier this decade bought out the company that made the first name brand basketball shoe I owned. It started because someone was willing to step out and do something. A coach had a vision of something greater than just what was in front of him. It started out small, selling shoes out of the trunk of his car and has become the largest shoe company in the world, because someone was willing to step out and do it.

What can happen if you step out? If you go beyond just thinking about asking someone out to services or and activity we have? If you go beyond just being nice, which is a good place to start, and having a conversation about God and His love for us? If you go beyond showing up for “church”, and become the church in the community you live in, the place you work, or the activities you are involved with? Not saying thump them with your Bible, but bring God into the conversation. What can happen if you. . . just do it?

Think about it as you put on your shoes this week,

Randy

For a Limited Time only

It’s that time of year. The limited time that McDonald’s brings back the Shamrock Shake. It is a great marketing gimmick using “for a limited time”, the phrase that gets our attention and makes us think I have to get one now or I will miss out. And I assume it works, since businesses don’t do things that have a negative effect on their bottom line. These shakes started showing up at the Golden Arches a couple of weeks ago and will be gone in the next couple of weeks, usually disappearing a few days after St. Patrick’s Day. So if you want one, you better act fast because they are here “for a limited time only”.

So are you one who dashes out to get one of the creamy mint green shakes? Or, do you avoid them like the plague? From what I have learned, those seem to be the two extremes when I talk to people about this menu item. You either love it or you don’t. Now a couple years ago, to broaden the appeal, McDonald’s expanded their limited time treat to include a Chocolate Shamrock Shake. Me, I still really like the original whipped cream topped green delights.

Someone else that fell into the really like category was my mom. Every year since they were introduced back in 1970, my mom would make the half hour trip to the closest McDonald’s at least once in March to grab one of those Irish delights. I think, like me, my mom truly loved the flavor, though originally it was just a vanilla shake with green coloring in it. There was another aspect to the shake that my mom loved: they were Irish. My mom’s last name? McVay. Yea, she had Irish heritage and she loved it. St Patrick’s Day was a day that we could not forget around my house when I was growing up, partially because of the celebration and partially because if you did not have green on you would be pinched. And she was good at pinching! So when this mint flavored shake came along, it was a perfect combination for my mom.

Unfortunately about ten years ago we lost my mom. A truly wonderful woman, though I may be slightly biased. We remember different things about my mom at different times of year, but in March we remember her in a special way. Every year on St Patrick’s Day my family, and their families, along with my brother and his wife all head to McDonald’s in different cities across the country. That’s right we buy Shamrock Shakes to remember and to honor my mom. And though she is no longer with us in a physical way, her sweet loving nature is remembered through a simple green shake that is here for a limited time only.

This week I want to encourage you to remember something. (No, not by grabbing a Shamrock Shake, but feel free to if you want.) But when you drive by or stop into a McDonald’s, stop to remember. Not my mom, but something even greater. . .God’s love for you. We take time on Sunday to have what we call the “Lord’s Supper” or communion, to remember what was done for us by a life that was given. So often we leave that feeling of gratitude in the building as we hustle through a very busy week. Use those Golden Arches this week to think, to remember, to appreciate what was done for you when Jesus went to that cross. And best of all, unlike the shake, what Jesus did is not for a limited time only but for eternity.

Remembering,

Randy

RESET

THIS BLOG IS WRITTEN BY MY DAUGHTER, HANNAH ORR. THANK YOU FOR THE INSIGHT, HANNAH!

Class Dojo: Behavior Management App

In my classroom, I use a behavior management app called ClassDojo. The app is displayed in the classroom on our projector screen, and each student has a cute little monster avatar that they can customize by logging into the site at home. Throughout the day, I’m able to use ClassDojo to give students points for following expectations, such as being kind to others, acting responsibly, and working hard. It’s a great motivator, and whenever the “ding” of a recently given point fills the room, the students all whip their heads towards the board to see if they earned any new points. Conversations about how many points they’ve earned individually or even as a whole class are common, with students often commenting, “We have more points today than yesterday!” Or “I think this is the most points I’ve ever had!”

However, there is also a feature where I can take away points for misbehavior. While I usually give out way more points than I take away, lost points still happen. My students are 2nd graders, after all; they’re not going to get it right all of the time.

But every single day, I reset all the points. Every single day, we start over. Any mistakes from the past are wiped away, and everyone gets a fresh start. While actions still have consequences in the moment, when my students come into the classroom the next day, all misgivings are placed in the past. I welcome them with open arms, believing the best in each of them, ready to encourage them through another school day.

I know our Heavenly Father sees us the same way. Just as I don’t expect my students to be perfect, God know we’re going to mess up. Yet He doesn’t scold us when we fail. He doesn’t leave us alone and defeated on the battleground. He picks us up, brushes the dirt from our face and says, “it’s okay. You can do it next time. Let Me help you. Let Me heal you.” He doesn’t roll His eyes as we stand up and start back down the right path, but cheers us on as He walks with us every step of the way.

Our failures, our yesterdays, our “lost points”; they do not define us. They do not determine our tomorrows. We can still wake up today, ready to forgive, ready to follow, ready to fight. And just as my students don’t walk through their day alone, neither do we. Our Teacher, our Father, never leaves our side.

Hannah Orr