Step through the wardwobe

Alright... Stop, collaborate and listen. Josh is back with a brand new edition. Something has ahold of me tightly...Caught ya!! You were singing it weren’t you. Anyway there is something that has ahold of me tightly and that I need to get it off my chest and let you guys chew on it for a while.

I know that I technically billed this blog as a sports themed blog, but as it evolved it turned into a view of my life, as a panoramic view in the nosebleed section. Being able to step back and really take a good look at what is going on in my life. Good, bad or otherwise. Lately I have been stuck in my own head, chewing on a lot of different ideas and thoughts. Some I have shared some I keep for myself, but most of them have a common theme.

The last few nights I have been reading up and someone who is quickly becoming my new favorite author. C. S. Lewis. I really want to explore Narnia with my kids, and after their asleep I want to explore the dark recesses of my soul with The Screwtape Letters.

If any of you have not read this book, it really makes you think. It is about a Senor Demon taking his nephew on as an apprentice. I have only read part of it and am working on it, but it gives you a good picture of what is happening on a deeper and supernatural level. Being someone who has always been interested in the supernatural it gives you a really good picture.

"He wants them to learn to walk and must therefore take away His hand; and if only the will to walk is really there He is pleased even with their stumbles. Do not be deceived, Wormwood. Our cause is never more in danger, than when a human, no longer desiring, but intending, to do our Enemy’s will, looks round upon a universe from which every trace of Him seems to have vanished, and asks why he has been forsaken, and still obeys.”

This statement, which may seem harsh to some, is far from. It shows that when you feel that God has left you to yourself, and kicked you to the curb but you still do his will it causes fear and chaos among the ranks of demons. What a picture...

I know this post feels kind of different that my other post, but it is truly something to think about. Step back and put the 3D goggles on and take a look at what’s really happing on the field of your life. You have your game being played, but as soon as you put the goggles on you get another game completely, on one side you have the demons, trying to destroy you and on the other you have the greatest QB that ever lived with his team of angles kicking the crap out of the other team.

So if this post keeps you from reading my future posts than thanks for reading so far, and I will miss your views, but I will not change what I believe or am led to put on paper for anyone.

Thanks and I hope you enjoyed this edition of life in the Cheap Seats

I can't take it anymore!!!

I would like to take a second before I get into the deep dark areas of my mind, to congratulate the Detroit Tigers on their win last night to go up three games to none against the devils team, the Yankees. I would also like to take a second to say thank you to the Lions for taking five years off my life with that overtime victory on Sunday.

Now the good stuff. The past few months have been very stressful on me and my family. I’m not going to go into details, so I will leave it at that. At times I just want to rip what hair I have left out, and scream at the top of my lungs" I CANT TAKE IT ANYMORE"... I feel like stress is driving wedges that should not be there between the people that should be the closest to you.

I heard the other day that stress is nothing more than a chance at improvement. There are two outcomes, you pass with flying colors, or you fall on your butt. Either way needs to be viewed as an opportunity for advancement. Pass or fail you now see what you need to work on. Let me put in another way. This last Sunday I was doing what I do every Sunday; watching my Lions. But just like my Lions they started out rather slow. Matthew Stafford had three very bad quarters, his throws were not very accurate, and he just seemed off.

Then came the fourth quarter. The Lions were down 16 to 6. The pressure was on. The stress starts to build. He threw over 200 yards to lead them to an overtime victory. Do you think he buckled under the stress or did he fall on his butt?

When stress builds to the point of crumbling you either take what you get and learn from it or you let it beat you. Take your butt into the video room and watch tape on yourself to learn from your mistakes when you did fall flat on your face. You also get to see what you did right when you conquered the stress and made the play.

This is very hard to do. Look at yourself in as an objective third party, and say "Right there... that’s where I dropped the ball," or "yup I saw blitz coverage and that left one on one coverage down the sideline for a wide open wide receiver."

Another point to look at is that when stress hits you, you need to tackle it as a team. Like I said stress handled poorly drive a wedge between you and your team mates. But on the other side stress handled correctly and forge a bond between team mates that is stronger than ever before.

I hope this find you, before it tears apart your team... Thanks for reading my Life in the Cheap Seats.

P.s. Please leave a comment on what you guys think after you read, it will help me make it better for you.

My deep dark secret

I have been waiting patiently for the light bulb to flash, for a sudden epiphany to impart that piece of my humanity from my particular point of view. Driving home from work that said light bulb flashed. This is probably one of my biggest issues, and I hate to admit it. If you know me, I have a small stubborn side, and to admit anything that goes against that side rarely sees the light of day and stays buried deep inside so no one can see it.

It’s not fair to yourself, but its only something you can change. Forgiveness. There I said it. I absolutely suck at it. I don’t like doing it. Why would I want to forgive somebody for hurting me or my family? It's no big deal. All you have to do is avoid them. These are lies that we all tell ourselves to convince ourselves that its ok to stay upset.

Let’s get one thing strait, you can forgive someone and still be upset. Deep down, it’s a personal decision to make a conscious effort to forgive, weather you’re at fault or not. A lot of times people don’t even know that they hurt you, so how are they supposed to ask for forgiveness. It is at this point where you have to dig deep and forgive them for something they didn’t even know that they did.

On the other hand there are events in your life where you are so deeply hurt by someone that, that certain type of forgiveness isn’t what you’re looking for. You’re looking for the type where you say, They caused me pain and they need to apologize. You have to realize that this might not happen, and move on. Forgive them. That doesn’t mean that you have to continue a relationship with that person, but the fact that you have forgiven them means that even though it feels like you lost the game, you come out on top.

Forgiveness is a game changer. It is that shift in momentum that a team looks for to turn the game around. Are you having a rough time? Is there someone out there that has done you wrong? Forgive them. See if it is that swing of momentum to your favor, and helps you to pull out the comeback. Let’s be honest. When you’re holding a grudge at someone, anytime that person crosses your mind, you get angry. That’s normal. Once you have forgiven that grudge, it feels like that pick six to put you in the lead.

I’m still going to say that just because you have forgiven a certain grudge, sometime ties still need to be cut. You can do that. Sometimes it is harder than others, but forgiveness brings you out of the funk that having a grudge can cause. With all this being said I kind of feel like I’m saying "Do as I say not as I Do" because I absolutely suck at doing this. I guess that is my I found inspiration in this topic. If I struggle with this than I can’t be the only one. So if this can help anyone than it did its job.

Thanks for reading today, let me know what you think. If there is something you would like me to talk about, comment with a topic. Until next time enjoy Life in the Cheap Seats.

Confidence vs Arrogance

Well its been a while. I received a few good tips to make this blog better for you, after all that is why I do it. I don't want this to be about me, I want this to be about you. So when I post a something, its really for you to get something out of it the way I did. because if something moves a guy like me, then there is a really good chance that it might affect you. But I have decided that I will not post something unless I feel it is really important. I will not force issues just to post a blog.

With that being said, I bring you to the topic of today, Arrogance vs Confidence. For those of you who don't know me personally, let me take a second and tell you that I wasn't always as confident as I am now. I'm still not as confident as I want to be, but I am working on that. Growing up I was always a quiet kid, for the most part. I was the one that got picked on, on the play ground. I was the one that always got picked last for kickball. So looking back what was there to be confident about. It was that way almost until I graduated, when I found a group of friends that liked me for me, and not what I was trying to be. At that moment, I started to look at myself differently. I didn't care what other people thought of me and as long as I was happy with myself, that was all that mattered.

Until a few weeks ago, a friend at work told me that someone else at work was talking about me behind my back. "He is probably one of the most arrogant guys I have ever met" This got me thinking. Is what I thought was confidence really coming out as arrogance. If you think about it, there really is a fine line between the two. Me being confident in myself, was being perceived as me being arrogant. That is not what I wanted.

How did I cross the thin line that separates the two. As I look back, there is a point where I can see the footprints of my size thirteens clearly stepping over the line. Its time to throw the red flag and view the instant replay. After reviewing the play, the ruling on the field is confirmed. The players foot stepped over the line and is indeed in the arrogant zone...

The moment when I stopped caring what other people thought of me, to the point where it bothered me to deal with anyone that looked at things differently. That was the line and I clearly crossed it. So not that I think about it, how many others viewed my confidence as arrogance. I am truly sorry for that.  In attempt to show confidence and live without regret, I crossed the line and became something that I was trying to avoid. The good thing is that there is always more time to cross back over that line.

It feels so good to have you guys with me up here, so we'll talk more later about Life in the Cheap Seats.