Consider the Birdie

Today is Wednesday, which is a busy day typically.  Daddy did get to see Madison for a little bit, of course - this time when he came home right around tennis practice.  Madison was one of three kids there for tennis practice today, so she got a lot of practice time.  Mommy said her forearm shot is improving, especially when she's serving a tennis ball.  Basically the situation with her forearm has been her tendency to angle the racket towards outer space, where she generally hits the ball.  We don't see that with her backhand, which she seems to have down a lot better.  But today her forearm has improved, which is great to see.

It was a day of more looming weather.  There is cooler weather coming in, and rain continues to dominate the forecast.  Not just any rain, but a threatening sort of rain where there are warnings and watches posted all over the North Georgia area for this reason or another.

Daddy spoke to the kids tonight, the last message of the series "Fore!"  It was in fact message four of "Fore!"  Which is fun to say.  It's been great fun, and has Daddy really wanting to play another round of mini-golf with Mommy and Madison.  We've been talking about doing this on Monday, perhaps.  We'll see how this weather turns out.  Also, there are a few holidays this weekend to consider.  What?  You don't know what big three days are coming up?  No, it's nothing like Easter or Christmas.  But it's hard to ignore FREE COMIC BOOK DAY, STAR WARS DAY and CINCO DE MAYO, all back-to-back-to-back.  Yes, there will be much celebration.  We just discovered a comic book shop nearby too, one over between here and Cumming - and it is participating!  That means I'll be heading over there on Saturday with Madison, just to pick up our free comic books.  She loves having them read to her.  Recently, we've been reading the Bible at night, followed by comic books.  We're still working our way through a cross-over book that has Spider-man, Superman, Wonder Woman and the Hulk.  Oh, and Dr. Doom.  Can't forget the guy from Latveria!

Anyway, as for "Fore!", I'm sad to see it go so quickly.  It's a busy day today as mentioned earlier, but here's the general flow for the message, as we turn in for the night:

KidPak Adventures:  Fore!
Eagle’s Crest

HOST:  “Hey there!  You know we started this series the same time as the Masters, and it was the first time I ever watched the event.  I sat there, absolutely amazed at one thing:  how patient all these guys were.  Sure, some lose their cool at a bad shot – but most have this inner peace that I have to be honest with you:  I wouldn’t have it at all!”

HOST: “ These guys miss a putt, and they just casually sink it with the next attempt and move on with life.  Me?  I might even be throwing clubs around!  And that’s what is so striking to me about this game – there is so much self control.  I’m about to show you a clip from a movie that sums up what goes on in a professional golfer’s mind before making a big shot.  This is simply amazing to me.  Want to see it?”

Let audience answer.

HOST:  “I do too.  I could watch this over and over.  Let’s watch it together.”

CUE MOVIE CLIP:  “HARRY VARDON’S PEACE”

HOST: “It’s an amazing clip.  It shows what a golfer has to do – but when I saw this, I was thinking, that is so true to all of us.  We’ve got this goal we want to get to, but there are all kinds of distractions around us.  First of all, there are things we like to do – those aren’t so bad, necessarily. But they could keep you from getting to where you need to quicker.  They could cause delays if you’re not focused on the prize.  So in your mind you sort of have to wipe them away and remember what it is you want to do – get to that goal.  But then there are those dark figures.  In the movie, those were guys from his past who said some hurtful, judgmental things.  He had to get past that.  It rally bothered him, but in his mind he had to do the thing that Queen Elsa said:  LET IT GO.”

HOST: “And so he did.  He let it go, and soon it was just him and his goal.  And the sound of nature around him – it was a beautiful place.  He found inner peace.”

HOST:  “So I started thinking, how do I get that sort of inner peace?  Because you know something?  I’m not there yet.  I stress out about stuff, and I’m the kind of guy that likes to bend golf clubs in half!”

HOST:  “I want to show you something amazing that happened last year on the golf tour.  This really happened, and if it happened to me, I would have given up.  But the golden rule in golf is that you have to play it where it lands.  But look where it landed!”

CUE MOVIE CLIP:  “SERGIO’S TREE”

HOST:  “Again, I would have thought there’s no way I could come back from that.  But he just calmly climbs up into a tree to hit probably the best tree shot you’ll ever see.  He had that same inner peace that Harry Vardon had in that first video.  So how do we get that peace?”

HOST:  “Tonight I want to share three quick tips God gave me from the game of golf that can help.  In fact, here’s the first one:”

CUE SLIDE:  CONSIDER THE BIRDIE

HOST:  “Consider the birdie.  Of course, golf, a birdie is when you get the ball in one shot better than what many others do.”

CUE SLIDE:  FORE!

HOST:  “But the birdie that I want to talk to you about is the sparrow.  You see, at one point along the green, Jesus spoke of a sparrow.  He used this birdie to explain something really important:  go ahead and plan for the future, but don’t worry too much.  God takes care of the birdies, so you can have peace in knowing He’ll take care of you.  Let me show you what he said.”

CUE SLIDE:  “LUKE 12:7”

HOST:  “He counts every hair on your head!  So don’t be afraid.  You are worth more than many sparrows.”

CUE SLIDE:  “FORE!”

HOST:  “The point is that God is like your caddie.  He’s right there next to you throughout the whole thing, giving advice and guiding you.  He’s there to help you and encourage you, and as we’ve said over and over again, He’s got a plan to give you hope and a future.  And peace!”

HOST:  “So we know God is there with you.  That should bring some peace in life.  He’s right there with you.  But take it from me, there’s another way to have peace about your life.  And when I was watching that golf game, it stuck with me.  Let me ask you a question – see if anyone can answer it.  What is the one thing about scoring in a golf game that is different from scoring in any other game?”

Let audience attempt to answer.

HOST:  “The answer is our second point.  Let’s take a look.”

CUE SLIDE:  THE LOWEST SCORE WINS

HOST: “The lowest score wins.  The lower you go, the better a golfer you are.  It’s that simple.  And it’s that simple with life.  In fact, let me show you this scripture.”

CUE SLIDE:  “Matthew 20:16”

HOST:  “So those who are last will be first.  And those who are first will be last.  That’s a great encouragement for people like me, because I’m usually last!”

CUE SLIDE:  “FORE!”

HOST:  “Seriously, what that means is this.  Just because a person is rich or famous does not mean they are on par with God.  It’s all in your attitude – God looks at the heart. Let’s look to Jesus a moment.  Here he is, the one who was there when mankind and all the earth was created, and he’s sitting there eating with his friends.  Out of nowhere it seems, he begins to wash their feet.  Peter is all in his face saying, ‘No way!  I should be washing your feet!’  But Jesus told him something – he said, ‘I’m setting an example Peter.  I’m your teacher, but I’m showing you how you should live: serving others, just like I did.”

HOST:  “One of my favorite stories in the Bible is a simple one.  After Jesus had died, he came back to see Peter.  Jesus was along the shoreline, and Peter saw him from the boat.  Peter was so excited to see Jesus that he jumped out of the boat and swam all the way to shore.  Jesus was dead, and now he was alive.  He had conquered death and the grave.  He looked at death and said, ‘IN YOUR FACE!’

HOST: “ So what does he do when he sees Peter?  Peter was the guy who lied to everyone and said, ‘Jesus?  I don’t know Jesus.  Nope, not me!’  What does Jesus do when he sees Peter in that first meeting?  Anyone know?”

Let audience guess

HOST:  “The answer is… he cooks him a fish dinner.  Seriously, God himself cooks a meal.  I would have LOVED to eaten that meal.  I am not kidding at all.  Talk about the ultimate chef.  JESUS cooked a meal.  And don’t miss the point in all of this:  even after he’s conquered death, he didn’t come back to sing, “Nanny-nanny boo-boo!’  Instead, he came to serve.’”

HOST:  “Which brings me to our volunteers.”

HOST goes to volunteers in audience.

HOST:  “These are our volunteers.  They are not paid to do this.  That’s the definition of a volunteer.  I’m scratching my head here – why on earth are you spending a perfectly good Wednesday night here of all places?”

Let volunteer answer.

HOST repeats process with a few other volunteers.

HOST:  “The common answer is they are here to serve.  Jesus came to serve, and that’s who they want to be like.  And that’s who we all want to be like.  Now let me tell you something big.  Are you ready for this?”

HOST: “You can have the greatest peace and satisfaction in life knowing you’re helping God and His kingdom.  If you’re doing anything else, it’s fun for a while.  But if you want to know real peace, the best place to start is helping others.”

HOST:  “And that brings me to the final point.”

CUE SLIDE:  “FLY LIKE EAGLES”

HOST:  “An eagle in golf is a really good thing.  That’s two shots under par.  But in our Bibles, that’s an even better thing.  Let me show you why with this scripture.”

CUE SLIDE:  “ISAIAH 40:31”

HOST:  “Those that trust in the Lord will receive new strength.  They will fly as high as eagles.”

CUE SLIDE:  “FORE!”

HOST:  “Remember Sergio got that golf ball in a tree?  He didn’t panic.  He just kept rolling.  And as Christians, we have to remember that when things go wrong, we can have that same sort of calm.  Trust in God – and play it where it lands.  Everyone turn to your neighbor and say play it where it lands.”

Let audience respond.

HOST:  “The Bible says there’s a great crowd of witnesses watching you on the fairway.  Okay, it’s not a fairway, but there are a lot of folks watching to see you succeed.  They all know you may have gone off course, but they’re cheering you on, wanting to see you win.  And God is right there in the front of the crowd screaming loudest of all.”

HOST:  “In fact, He wants to help you win.  It says that those who trust in Him will receive new strength.  They will fly as high as eagles.  It’s a pretty peaceful place up there, looking down on all those troubles.  You have a better view of the course, too!”

HOST:  “Just keep your head down, and like our volunteers, keep serving and trusting Him.  You’ll find that peace.”

HOST:  “Let us pray.”