Football is over now. It was such a great season for our 9th grade team...but since this blog was started to record events from our family...and specifically "Joshua stories," I wanted to remember this...
After we got home from the very first game, Clark was cleaning out his football bag and just casually mentioned that he didn't get a "treat bag." I had just spent 3 years helping with the Mom Squad for the Varsity boys when Logan played, and we made sure EVERY player got a treat bag for EVERY game. We'd fill them with peanut-butter crackers, roll-ups, granola bars...things they could eat for a quick snack before the game, or afterwards, on the bus-ride home. I remember Logan saying that sometimes kids would come in the locker room and take the extra treat bags for themselves...but I was still NOT impressed when Clark told me he didn't get one. He said there were "a few" others who didn't get one, either. Argh. Talk about gettin' my Momma Bear genes all riled UP. RILED.UP! I started asking questions and he said, "MOM, chill. Don't make a 'thing' about it."
What? Like I would.
(I might. I jusssssst might)
ENTER: JOSHUA GARLAND
Joshua heard the conversation. His brother is not going without a treat bag. No ma'am. Not on his watch. So the night before every game, Joshua would come into the kitchen, get a marker and a WHITE lunch bag...and head to his room. After a time, he would bring back the decorated bag for me to fill up with goodies, and we would "hide" it in Clark's football bag. Clark always knew it was in there, but he didn't look at it until he was at school and getting ready for the game. As soon as I figure out how to load pictures on this blog, I will upload some so that I can remember what he wrote on them. For the first few bags, he only used a light blue marker and wrote things like, "we love you" and "go for a win." When I found the GOOD markers, the whole colorful box, I took those to Joshua and said, "look! I found these good markers! Now you can make the bags more colorful!" Joshua goes, "ohhhhh...yeah..." and proceeded to use the BLACK marker for that bag. None of the other colors...just the black one. :)
He also used some quotes from some football movies..."you blitz all night...make sure they remember the night they played the Hornets" and "STONE-WALL DEFENSE." And for some, I had NO IDEA what prompted them: "smell them, show them up! Turn them into girls!" WHAAAAT? And this one "spank them like a 4 year old in K-Mart."
I love that Joshua loves his brother. I love that he is his biggest fan.
I've always cheered for my children...whether in sports or academics, at church or home...any accomplishment or a goal completed...YAY! Let's have cupcakes! My husband says that I've been dangerously close to celebrating mediocrity at times...but I like to reward genuine effort. All 4 of our children are SO different and I love each one of them equally. I tell them I love them. When they were little, I would write them little notes on their napkins..."love na'kins"...and put them in their lunches. I tell them "good job,"or "you'll get 'em next time." I tell them I'm proud of them. I hope they know that I really, really am. I'm sure I haven't told them enough.
I don't remember getting a lot of "atta-girls" from my parents growing up. They loved me for sure, and I knew that...but I only remember hearing the negative words, like when I did the wrong thing, or messed up, or didn't do a good job. I'm sure I did get some praise...but not enough that it sticks out in my mind. I was even in the pep club in high school, and I don't remember either one of my parents ever coming to ANY of our games. Maybe that's why I try to make every game or event for my kids. Whether they "start" and play the whole time, or sit the bench and maybe play the last minute...I didn't want to miss a thing. We would go to swim meets for Holly...sometimes we'd have to drive a long way and spend the night, all 6 of us in a hotel. Then, we'd have to get up early for warm-ups 2 hours BEFORE the meet...and then she might swim a total of 4 or 5 minutes in all her events.
But I would've HATED to miss it.
We all want a cheerleader in our lives. Someone who will tell us to keep going...someone who will pray for us, hold us up when we think we can't go on...who says, "hang in there...you can do it...I'm here for you." Yep...I've had people like that in my life for sure, and it's a great feeling. Who cheers for you?
Who do YOU cheer for?
I love the "faith" chapter of Hebrews in the Bible. Chapter 11. In it, the author lists one by one some men and women of the Bible who lived out their faith in the trying times of their lives. This chapter is SO encouraging to me. As I read it...I can hear the song "Find Us Faithful" playing in my mind...
"oh may all who come behind us find us faithful...may the fire of our devotion light their way. May the footprints that we leave, lead them to believe...and the lives we live inspire them to obey...oh may all who come behind us find us faithful."
Abel, Enoch, Noah, Abraham...Isaac, Jacob, Moses...Joshua, Rahab, Gideon, David...and many more. The chapter gets more and more exciting as you read it...you can remember each story and recall how GOD was glorified.
And then...Chapter 12: 1-2
This is the best part, because it's for us...now. God is cheering us on in His Word! It's like we have this heritage of faith from the ones who have gone before...and I just picture them standing in Heaven, along with Jesus, God and all the angels, cheering me on..."come on, Marty...it won't be long now...you can do this!"
Read it yourself: "therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance, and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God."
We are to run this race called life...laying down everything that weighs us down, laying down the sin...keeping our eyes on Jesus. It doesn't say it will be easy. In fact, just the mention of the words 'encumbrance,' 'sin,' entangles,' and 'endurance,' kind of gives us a heads-up that it's going to be difficult. Even hard. And WE have to lay those things down. Jesus will take our burdens, and He will forgive our sins and help us each day as we live...but WE have to ASK Him...it doesn't just magically happen. But we keep our eyes on Jesus...who for the JOY SET BEFORE HIM endured the cross and the shame...for what joy?
FOR ME!
(Yah-HOO!)
And for you!
And then what did Jesus do? He SAT DOWN. Why? Because He was done.
"Jesus paid it all...all to Him I owe. Sin had left a crimson stain, He washed it white as snow."
My very own treat bag from GOD! And guess what? No one is overlooked. He came for all. :)
1 Thessalonians 5:11 "Therefore encourage one another, and build up one another..."
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