My extra inning streak HAS to end!!!!!!!!!  It has been a joke in our family for years that when I go to see the hubby there is inevitably extra innings or a rain delay. This usually happens on the first day I arrive or when we have dinner plans.

Well this year's Opening Home stand has beat it all!!!  On Opening Day we had a 10 inning game. We won, thank God, because the only thing I dislike more than extra innings is losing in extra innings!!  Then on that Wednesday we played 16 innings.  Much to the dismay of many baseball fans, coaches do not have to show up just before game time and leave immediately following the game.  They go in about 6 hours before, stay at least 1 1/2 hours after and then go home to do more work, about 2 hours for my hubby.  So the 16 inning game ended around 12:30am and we left the ballpark at 1:45am to home for 2 hours of work.  I tried to be a good wife and stay up with him until he was done, which I regretted the next day as we had a 12:45pm game. .The hubby had to be in at 8:15am so his sleep was much shorter than mine.   When the rain began during the game on Thursday my prayer was there was not a delay, it was a 9 inning game.   There was not, Thank you God!!!

Thursday night ended up being a quick dinner out, I didn't have the energy to cook and clean up, and early to bed.  My thoughts about opening week was...I am tooooo old for this!!!!!!!
Baseball is always entertaining.  However, there can be too much of a good thing!  I love baseball and I love watching my hubby doing what he loves as a job.  But these long games have to stop!  I cannot take it!!

No matter how many innings there may be I will always be at the ball park waiting on the hubby.  I may threaten to leave early or complain about being unhappy with the extra innings or rain delay, but my love for this game and my hubby will always win out!  I would rather be in a ball park with thousands of fans than be in an apartment alone.  Through out the years this has been my choice and it will continue.  My kids know that this is my destiny to be waiting on the hubby through extra innings and rain delays, and they know that is where I will be...always.

My Baseball Chapel Devotion

“Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves.”   Philippians 2:3 

As women, mothers and wives we often live this scripture in our daily lives without really thinking about it much deeper than just what we do. Being Christ-like to our children, our spouses and our friends often becomes second nature. The side effect of this selflessness often produces extreme fatigue mentally, physically and spiritually. When these times of fatigue overtake me I find that I sometimes retreat into a place of ‘Who is going to take care of me?’  I am a true believer that Jesus is there for me in all circumstances. However, sometimes the enemy sends a black cloud to cover my belief, my knowledge, and my common sense. It is at these times I have to dig deeper into God’s Word and pray that the Holy Spirit will control me and wipe away my doubts. I reach out to our loving Father and ask Him to fill my cup with his unconditional love. God has given us an open buffet that we can take from as we need. He has laid His love out for us.

“You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil, my cup overflows. Surely goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.” Psalm 23:5-6.

“What, then, shall we say in response to this? If God is for us, who can be against us?” Romans 8:31.

Quiet your hearts and wait on the Lord. Wait for him to refresh you.


Prayer: Lord thank you that when the darkness of the enemy covers me, when my cup runs low, I can reach high with my cup and fill it with the love that you, Jesus, have for me! Lord, let me embrace all the sacrifices that I make in your name and know that my reward waits for me with you. 

Suggested Reading: Psalm 23, Romans 8:31-39, Romans 12:9-21 

Opening Day

Yesterday we celebrated our 11th MLB Opening Day!!!  Every one has been memorable in its own way.  I am not an emotional girl but seeing the American Flag brought in by a paratrooper really tugged at the heart strings!!!

The day was wonderful with it being sunny and not so cold.  Also not to disappoint was a walk off home run.  Pirates win 1-0!!!  A few more days with the hubby then back home to the little man.  Balancing the baseball season leaves me feeling like a circus juggler with flaming batons but once again I will tackle our 27th professional ball season the best I can.  So proud of the hubby and all of his accomplishments!  I am blessed to live with a man who strives for excellence in all that he does and for the Glory of God!

"The best of the best make their life and work a quest for excellence and that there is a difference between success and excellence. Success is often measured by comparison to others. Excellence, on the other hand, is all about being the best we can be and maximizing our gifts, talents and abilities to perform at our highest potential." Jon Gordon

"Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters," Colossians 3:23