(I took this picture of Anthony Reyes in Minute Maid Park a few weeks ago. Little did any of us know then that he would be starting Game 1 of the World Series!)

Today is a beautiful day in Ocean Springs. I had the chance to sleep in this morning, and then I went out in the cool weather and mowed my front yard, hopefully for the last time this mowing season.

Right now I’m watching the Razorbacks play Ole Miss. I heard that my friends, Jamey & Janey, are at the game, and they are seeing a great game so far. Felix Jones opened up the game with a 100-yard kickoff-return for a touchdown, and the tone for the first half was officially set. The Hogs are winning 21-3 at halftime, and hopefully they’ll keep it up in the second.

I sent out a general email to my buddies just a couple of days ago in case anyone was interested in coming over to watch the first game of the World Series tonight. I sent out the email before the Cardinals won Game 7, expecting I’d be watching either way. With the Redbirds winning, however, I’ll be all excited tonight. I think my friend, Herman, is coming over, but I haven’t heard from anyone else yet. I told everyone that I wasn’t cooking or cleaning house – the best I could promise was some chips and salsa and a television! And a mowed front yard…

On paper, there is no way the Cardinals should beat the Tigers in the World Series. I’m really glad this year that they don’t play the games on paper.

(Warning: the graphic nature of the words in the next paragraph is intended for a mature audience.)

My youngest daughter blew chunks all over the school hallway this morning. It was pancakes and syrup, with Sunny Delight, for those scoring at home. The poor janitor had clean-up duty. I just had to pick up the perpetrator and give her a ride home.

I received the call about 9am or so from Nurse Mary that Hillary was throwing up. The good news was that she didn’t have a fever. The even better news was that she takes after my wife instead of me. Periodically, both of them puke their guts out and then feel better than they’ve felt in a long time. Me? A puking episode leaves me in a death watch. Thankfully, this was one of Hillary’s “feel better” puking stories. Today was the first day of school she has missed this year, but as it turned out, she would have been just fine the rest of the day.

I was really glad she didn’t turn out to be sick for several reasons, chief among them was the fact that tonight was our Children’s Halloween Party at church, and Hillary was really looking forward to it. We have LOTS of kids at our church, and it seems that this particular party has the biggest turnout of all. Maybe it’s the novelty that a church is having a Halloween party instead of calling it a Fall Festival? Who knows, but for whatever reason, we always have a really big time, and tonight may have been the biggest of them all.

We had Jack Sparrow in attendance, along with the cast from the Wizard of Oz. We had cute little brides in their white dresses, and a pop star princess. We had a policeman, Spiderman, a skeleton, Yoda, Harry Potter, little bugs and butterflies, princesses, the scary dude from Scream, Raggedy Ann, some pirates, the green Power Ranger, a bumblebee, and the most adorable witches I’ve ever met. And I’m sure I’m missing some…

Herman rented a Space Walk. There were several fun games spread around the church yard, and a LOT of good (spooky) food in the fellowship hall. A lot of folks worked very hard to set this sucker up, a lot of folks worked very hard to make sure the kids had a blast during the party, and then a lot of folks worked very hard to clean up afterwards.

All the hard work was worth it. The kids were adorable, and they had a blast.

And as far as I know, no one blew any chunks tonight.

I took the little video above with my digital camera last February at the University of South Alabama. My favorite baseball player, Albert Pujols, had come to host a charity golf tournament in the area, and he loaned his name to the university’s Hall of Fame game by showing up for (and winning) their home run derby.

Luis Gonzales is the hero at USA (and at present a broadcaster for Fox Sports), and he is always the show at the home run derby (though Pujols stole the show this past year). Gonzo isn’t the only Jag baseball hero, though: both Juan Pierre (of the Cubs) and Marlon Anderson (of the Dodgers) were in town, too. But I showed up to see Pujols, and I was so glad that I did. After the derby, I was lucky enough to work myself into position to get an autograph from my favorite Cardinal.

I guess I was thinking of this video today because I’m hoping to see a bit of that tonight in Game Seven of the NLCS at Shea Stadium.

Here are my predictions for tonight:
* Lots of Redbird runs tonight. They come early, and often.
* Suppan won’t turn in a stellar performance like his last start, but he will fare better than his Met counterparts
* Late in the game, when the Cards turn to their bullpen, the Mets will make a run and get the crowd back into the game
* It will come down to Adam Wainwright in the 8th and 9th innings to hold on to the lead
* Wainwright pulls it off, and the Cards win 8-6

Okay, my predictions always suck. So I think I’ll just watch the game and see what happens…

A lot has changed in the years since I was in college. Real food courts on campus, for one. A 5,000% (give or take a few thousand percent) increase in tuition, another. The dorms are like hotels now instead of crappy World War I army barracks. The kids are also a lot younger than they used to be. Parents are now “expected” to pay for a child’s college education. And now, add “fall break” to the ever-expanding list.

We did have a fall break in my day. We called it Thanksgiving. But now, by October, overworked college kids putting in somewhere in the neighborhood of fifteen hours every week in class need a few extra days off for rest and relaxation. Thus, fall break.

But I like it.

My reason is selfish, however: I’m just really glad to see my oldest daughter. It’s good to have her around the house for a couple of days. It will be good for her to take her little sister to her dance class tomorrow night. It will be good for her to help out at the children’s Halloween party at church Friday night. It will be good to hear her voice in our home, and it will even be good to have to juggle cars in the driveway with her around.

It’s been good to hear her talk about her classes and projects as good things, and it has been good to take a picture of her beautiful smile to share with you all.

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Well, it’s a good thing Erica is home, because the Cardinals blew Game 6 tonight. We need a repeat performance from Jeff Suppan tomorrow night, and a couple of hits before the 9th inning. I’m not giving up hope. Yet.

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I heard there was a report floating around the Internet today about a “dirty bomb” threat targeting seven NFL stadiums this weekend. Guess where I’m getting to go this weekend!?! I have such luck sometimes. But the good news is that “my” stadium wasn’t on the list. Thank goodness terrorists are honest, huh?

Most people that know me know that Habitat for Humanity is an important part of my life.

It all began when I received Jimmy Carter’s book, Living Faith, as a Christmas present in 1996. After reading the chapter on “justice” that highlighted President Carter’s involvement with Habitat for Humanity, I was struck by the need for that very thing in my Arkansas hometown (Paragould), partly for addressing poverty housing, but probably even more to break down an awful lot of walls that I had come to notice. Socioeconomic walls for one. Religious walls for another.

I was 25 years old at the time, with about that much sense, so I mentioned to my friend Trent (who was around 27, going on 8,000 in terms of sense) my thought that our hometown could really use a Habitat for Humanity affiliate. He shocked me by saying that he had thought the very same thing. So I, idealistic to the core, just went ahead and started one.

I moved to the Mississippi Gulf Coast in early 1999, but I had been infected with “habititis” already. I piddled around with the affiliate in Harrison County (starting their homeowner’s association) since there was no affiliate in Ocean Springs, but something told me that history just might repeat itself someday. And it did.

In early 2001, the mayor of Ocean Springs mentioned that some people would like a Habitat for Humanity affiliate in our town, but no one knew how to get one started. Well, that was the one thing I did know how to do, so I set out to do it again.

This experience was quite different from the first. One, I’m a tiny bit smarter than the first time around, and I made a few less mistakes. For another, God has assembled a pretty amazing set of folks here along with opening doors we could have never imagined. But finally, there was Hurricane Katrina. And that has changed everything.

We have received more significant attention as well as massive confusion than you would believe. Our need for simple, decent places to live in our county has exploded, along with the interest in meeting that need. It is absolutely nuts. Add to all this that last May marked the end of my time on the board (along with the two remaining founding board members) due to term limits, so I’m not completely up on what’s happening anymore.

But I’m still infected with Habitat for Humanity. And I’m still on the Family Support Committee that I formerly chaired. And we had a very good meeting tonight.

In the picture above, you’ll see three very impressive people who, along with me, form the Family Support Committee for Habitat for Humanity of Jackson County: Cynthia on the left, who succeeded me as chair; Michael in the middle, who serves as maintenance supervisor; Diann, on the right, the homeowner education coordinator; and me, behind the camera, who collects “sweat equity” reports.

Thinking after the meeting, and then looking at the picture, I realize that at least one of my initial dreams came true thanks to Habitat for Humanity just in this little committee. Four people that did not know each other beforehand: two men & two women, two from the eastern end of the county & two from the western end, only one Coast native, only one “connected” to the important folks in our area, three ethnic groups represented, and finally, a Catholic, a Baptist, a non-denominational sort of person, and a member of a Church of Christ.

One thing brought us together tonight: a belief that Jesus calls us to love everyone and serve people in need.

That’s why I love Habitat for Humanity so much.

by octoberdolphin

I heard today from my Hawaiian friends, Ric and Jonellen. Well, I guess it isn’t fair to call them Hawaiian friends. Ric is from Delaware, and Jonellen from Tennessee, but thanks to the need for the federal government to have its Coast Guard guard the coast of Hawaii, too, these friends are now enjoying the beautiful islands.

Well, I’m not sure if they enjoyed the last couple of days or not. As you probably noticed, an earthquake upset tropical life in the popular tourist destination yesterday. Having learned the Katrina lesson not necessarily to expect the media to perfectly describe day-to-day life surrounding natural disasters, I emailed my friends to see if they were okay. They responded today that they were doing fine; they just had to endure twelve hours without power and the corresponding opportunity to get to know their neighbors a bit better.

Out of the sheer goodness of my heart, I offered to make a humanitarian mission trip to see them and deliver a case or two of potted meat products and other necessary survival items, but though they appreciated my compassionate offer, this young married couple told me they were surviving just fine without me. I suspect they are telling the truth, but on the off chance they are just being humble, I’m thinking I might ought to go on a fact-finding mission just to be sure. Humanitarian relief projects require such attentiveness.

I really miss Ric and Jonellen. They are just a really neat couple. I wish we could have had the chance to get to know them even better while they were in Ocean Springs, but the chance we did have was very good. I had the honor of baptizing Ric one Sunday at his request, and soon afterwards I grew to understand that Ric is one of those rare folks that are so obviously transformed in that decision. All of the baptisms I’ve witnessed were good, of course, but only a handful is of people so obviously “changed.”

I’m such an analytical person that I’m always trying to notice things, take notes, “figure out,” and learn lessons. But people like Ric – people who are transformed like Ric – those rare souls are far beyond analysis. They are more like a work of art to me, something you just stand and admire without words.

Kind of like a Hawaiian vista, I guess. Without an earthquake.

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SPORTS SCENE:

* No Cardinals game tonight. They must have had as much rain in St. Louis as we’ve had in Ocean Springs. A weird weather day around here…

* For all you fellow Lady Jag fans out there, our next game is in Denver Friday night. I’m afraid we won’t be able to make this road trip!

* For the Razorback fans, you’ve probably already noticed that we’ve climbed to #15 in the polls. We’re actually #13 in the brand new BCS rankings. I’ll have to admit that I’m a bit nervous about the Ole Miss game this weekend. We should win, which is what worries me.

* The Dallas Cowboys had a terrible first half yesterday, followed by a terrific second half against the Houston Texans. Walking soap opera T.O. caught three TD passes in the win.

* My three fantasy football teams have had a decent week so far. If Rex Grossman has a decent night tonight, I’ll win in one league. He would have to score 53 points in another league for me to win there! And I’ll win in the final league if a couple of his receivers don’t do much. Sort of a catch-22 for me…

(Hillary, with friends, Amanda and Rebekah tonight)

Tonight was our night to host our teens from church for a devotional. Jody made some awesome meat nachos along with some tasty Halloween brownies and cookies. I pulled out a “crokinole” game from under the bed, and Joey & I took down Trent & Matt in a heated game. If you’ve never played crokinole, you’re missing out on a lot of fun!

Eventually, I took the small group into my office for a little devotional message. I showed them the Team Hoyt video (along with reading the Rick Reilly article about the inspirational father-son duo) since the teens didn’t get to see it during my Peak of the Week class a few weeks ago. I tied the message to Paul’s statement in Philippians: “I can do everything through Christ who gives me the strength.” I pointed out that Christians shouldn’t use that awful word CAN’T to mean that something is too hard or too difficult, but we use it way too much.

It’s been a good night, other than the fact that the Cardinals are losing right now. But after my own little devotional, I’m not going to say that they CAN’T come back and win tonight.

But it sure doesn’t look so good right now…

Okay, you guys know we’re big Lady Jag Volleyball fans at our house, but after tonight, we’ve pretty much become lifelong fans.

Some might think we’d have had a hard time rooting against Arkansas State University tonight, seeing that ASU is my wife’s alma mater. I even attended some summer classes and did some graduate work there. But I don’t care – we’re for the Lady Jags no matter what… Let me tell you about it.

Before the match, the starting lineups were announced. When the Lady Jags were announced, Brittany (a sophomore middle blocker) ran straight toward the bleachers and threw a Lady Jag Volleyball t-shirt directly to Hillary. It turned out that several of them came over and threw shirts into the bleachers, but it was obvious that Brittany intended Hillary to have that shirt!!! I’m convinced that Lauren tried to throw another one to Hillary, too, but another kid ended up with the shirt. This was Hillary’s night before the match even started!!!

The Lady Jags lost the match in three straight games, but they had a great effort. The combination of picky officiating on our setter, Stephanie, and the ASU talent didn’t spell victory for the Lady Jags, but they still played well overall. They were closer each game, but they still came up short.

After the match, we went to wait outside the locker room to try to get a few autographs Hillary missed last night (in the picture, you can see Hillary had already slipped on her new t-shirt!). While we waited, a few parents gathered around, and Brittany’s dad gave Hillary his shiny new media guide!

But it got even better…

When Kalyn was giving Hillary an autograph, she and Taylor asked if Hillary would like to see their locker room. I think you know the answer! It was so cool to see those two athletes take her back to the locker room for a tour! While they were back there, they found a t-shirt that actually fit her, and Hillary told me later, she was impressed that Lauren remembered her name from last night.

I know the newspaper will just have a little note that ASU defeated USA in three games tonight in Sunbelt Conference volleyball action. But I can tell you, there was a lot of good stuff going on from where I stood – good stuff from some impressive college girls, and an unforgettable night for a little girl.

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On another really good note, how about those St. Louis Cardinals?!?! Up 2 games to 1 now in the NLCS with the Detroit Tigers awaiting the winner. I’d love to see a Cards/Tigers series!

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On a computer note, I’ve added a links section on the left hand column of my blog for those of you interested in checking any of them out! I’m just so proud of myself that I figured out how to use the html to add the links!

All who know me will be relieved to know that I’ve added yet another favorite sports team to my rather large cadre of favorite sports teams. Before tonight (unbelievable I know), but I have not had a favorite women’s college volleyball team. Not to say I haven’t watched any women’s college volleyball along the way, but I have yet to find it in me to select a team to follow. That is no longer the case. I am now a full-fledged fan of the University of South Alabama Lady Jaguars. Go Lady Jags!!!

It wasn’t their performance tonight, though they played well in their exciting five-game loss to the University of Arkansas at Little Rock Lady Trojans. Instead, it has everything to do with my nine-year-old daughter, Hillary.

Hillary has always said that she loved volleyball, but Hillary loves a lot of things. I always suspected she declared her fondness for volleyball simply because that was what her big sister loved, but who can be sure with kids? But Hillary is in 4th grade now, and I’ve suddenly noticed that the years are starting to pass us by. Basketball was my thing, and I started playing in 4th grade. Volleyball was Erica’s thing, and she started playing in 4th grade. I thought this might be a good year to start looking ahead with Hillary.

One evening last week I was in charge of cooking supper, so of course we ended up at a Chinese buffet. Hillary and I had a great talk there. We talked about the many things she is interested in, and as we talked it became more and more evident that Hillary really was interested in volleyball – interested above all the other choices.

So earlier this week, we strung up a rope across our backyard and started tossing volleyballs. Hillary decided that she liked “hitting,” and she has decided that she wants to be an outside hitter when she gets bigger. And I can’t wait to help her pursue her dream.

I got online and took a gander at the University of South Alabama volleyball schedule since they are the closest college team to our house. We’ve missed the biggest part of the season, but I noticed they had home games tonight and tomorrow night and asked Hillary if she wanted to go. She did, so that’s where we’ve been tonight.

The beauty of the lesser-known college sports is the access you get to these awesome athletes (did any of you watch a 6’6” girl from Bulgaria play ball tonight?). Admission to the game was free, and there couldn’t have been over a hundred fans show up to watch. And after the game, Hillary stood outside their locker room with an ink pen and a scorecard in her hand, and once middle-blocker Brittany started the ball rolling, Hillary got autographs from nearly the entire team.

They were all sweet to her, but I suddenly have a favorite player in Lauren Robbins. In addition to possibly being the best player on the team (and an outside hitter!), she was the sweetest of all to Hillary, including posing for the picture above.

I bet we’ll be back tomorrow night…

Go Lady Jags!!!!!!!

What a bunch of thugs!!!

Today was a day for preacher meetings I guess.

I began with breakfast at the Bayview Gourmet at the invitation of one of my good friends (and faithful readers!) with a bevy of Episcopalian clergy. I must pause to say that I have never used the phrase “bevy of Episcopalian clergy” before, but I like the sound of it! What a neat group of folks! It turns out that I was the only one who actually drove a car to breakfast. Both Marcia and Wayne rode scooters, Bruno his bicycle, and Harold his “hog” (for all my readers back in Arkansas, I’m referring to his Harley-Davidson motorcycle, not an actual farm animal). Harold is the rector of the Church of the Redeemer in Biloxi, whose building site and Hurricane Camille Memorial (now ruins) is the site of one of the most dramatic scenes following Katrina. I very much enjoyed my time with this neat group and look forward to another round of lively discussion very soon…

Then lunch consisted of the gang pictured above, a collection of Church of Christ preachers, so you know that group was trouble!

* On the far left is Cornell, preacher at the Meridian Street Church of Christ in Moss Point. Cornell has the best laugh of any preacher I know, along with a mischievous sense of humor!

* Next to Cornell is Les, preacher at the Orange Grove Church of Christ in Gulfport. Les came to the Coast about a year before me, and we became instant friends as soon as I arrived.

* In the middle, appropriately, is Roger. Roger is now 77 years old, and the most delightful man you will ever meet. He preached in Homestead, Florida, when powerful Hurricane Andrew slammed South Florida. He was on his second tour of duty in Biloxi just over a year ago when Killer Katrina came through. So Roger has been on the inside of two of the most amazing events in American history, most especially for a preacher. His health led him to retire after Katrina, but he was back this week in hopes of seeing everyone. We got together for lunch at his request.

* Next to Roger is Lyle, the “new” preacher at the Rodenberg Church of Christ in Biloxi (following Roger), fresh to the Coast from Gainesville, Florida. Roger wanted us to meet Lyle, and we all enjoyed his company very much. He was very gracious even though we all acted like ourselves! I hope he will come back to another meeting!

* On the far right is my great friend, John, preacher at the Central Church of Christ in Pascagoula. John is the king of preacher-blogdom. In addition to checking out his personal blog, you need to go to the links page on his church website to find so many good links that you’ll never have to leave your house again (if you don’t believe me, I dare you to check it out!)!

Best I can tell, supper will be with my family instead of a bunch of preachers. But I needed those other two meals today, mostly for the great people involved, but also for the friendships (some new, some old) that those people represent.