when does competitive spirt become divisive?

So I have always been a competitive person. I love sports. I love training yourself to your full potential. I hate to lose. I love being the best at what I do. I love watching the Dallas Cowboys and the Phoenix Suns. I am waiting eagerly for the end of the NBA and NFL 2008/2009 season when they hold up the championship trophy for their sport. I think competition requires a heck-a-lot of discipline (a good thing), teamwork and usually results in respect for your fellow athletes and opponents. ALTHOUGH...

I hit a moment in time that made me wonder if we take things too far sometimes. I was watching the olympics and admiring the incredible skills of many of the athletes and of course cheering for USA. Gymnastics were on and the American athlete was on the verge of having enough points for a medal in the event as one of the chinese girls was about to perform next. I found myself not only praying for a miracle so that USA would win a medal but I was hoping the chinese would have a humiliating error during their exercise. (it would have taken that type of mistake for USA to win)

I realized later I wanted some nervous chinese teenaged girl to fall on her face and her dreams to be destroyed in front of her home crowd....just so the USA could win? be better? Please don't get be wrong, I admire the Chinese and how disciplined and successful their athletes are; It's just in the heat of the moment, in crunch time, I want them to fail and "us" to win...Does it really matter who has the most medals when the Olympics are over? I have never even heard of Shawn Johnson or Nastia Liukin before this year's Olympics started...but I care about it so much that I would wish a devastating experience on a little girl??? Something about that seems odd.

so this brings to question: how far is too far? 

where do you draw the line between being competitive and having a divisive spirit that creates walls among humanity? why do we cheer for the ones we cheer for? why do we want "the other team" to not achieve their dreams or goals? Why do we think we deserve it and they don't? Maybe other people do want their opponents to beat them. Maybe the general public is wanting anyone but themselves to achieve victory. maybe it's just me that wants the gold and I'm a bad bad man. but I am relatively sure other people think this way.

now it's your turn. tell me what your views are on this topic. (but please understand your views and posts won't be near the quality and beautiful structure of my own)

C.

lounging

hey peeps,

I've been having a slow Sunday afternoon lounging around my apartment and then I came to the realization....I should do a xanga entry. So here it is. Things are still dragging along finding a job. It's been tough but it's been a blessing in disguise because I had the opportunity to go down to Georgia for over a week and watch my mom graduated from a massage therapy school....it's good to have a mom that knows how to do massages. it's ok. be jealous. I would. lol.  It was great seeing my family. My little niece is getting big so fast. I'll get pics up at some point. she knows plenty of words and will shout them out randomly. Of course I just missed seeing my incoming nephew make his debut by a month or so. His due date is Aug. 18th, Sept 11th and Sept. 21st. I told Beth that she can't have the baby on the 11th. That just seems weird now. Anyways. So I am back in PA now and working towards landing a job as a youth pastor. it's coming soon I can feel it. I won't name any locations because I don't want my xanga audience to get their hopes up. You'll just have to sit on the edge of your seat in anticipation. Meanwhile I also applied for a part-time job working for a news station. We'll see if that happens or not. I can't wait for Tonya to get back into town. She came down for my mom's graduation as well but only got to stay for a couple of days. It seemed kinda like a tease. I want her home!!! anyways,  it's been an incredible opportunity fior her to go and live out desires. She's seem to really enjoy working for the camp and I can't blame her. it sounds like fun!

welp. that's all for now. see ya on the flipside!

C.

so I think this might help...We need some intensity.

C.

must playgrounds have splinters?

Story time with Clint:

I went running today at a local park. After I was done, I have to tell you I was worn out. I went and sat down on one of the picnic tables and there were two moms with their kids a couple tables down from me. 
          At one point one of their kids came up to the table a little shaken up. she had a splinter in her hand from the playground and she reached out for her mom. Her mom looked at her girl's hand and told her they had to get the splinter out. The girl went screaming and running in the opposite direction. of course after the initial outburst there were threats of packing up and going home, threats of leaving it in and letting her daughter's hand rot off, etc. All the threats made the kid go completely bonkers and I thought I was going to lose my hearing. I thought "man...why do kids even tell their parents about a splinter if they are just going to scream and tortured everyone around them for the next 20 minutes! If you wouldn't tell...you could suck it up, wouldn't have to leave the park and I'd still have my hearing." The girl wanted the splinter out....but didn't want her mom to touch it....but didn't want to have to go home and leave her playmates behind! oh the torture this little girl was going through!
          It's interesting how often there is more going on then what can be seen. so often we deal with the surface issues and never meet what causes them. As I watched this episode I saw how much the little girl was going through. She had so many factors to deal with...her true desire was for her mom to get the splinter out and play with her friends right? Maybe...But She was EXTREMELY tired. her desire was to stay at the park and play but her NEED was to go home and nap. (probably could have used a smack on her hindside as well)

anyways, I have no agenda, no moral. I just enjoyed the moment and thought I'd share. If you have a moral to add. Let me have it! It was funny though....during the torture session (torture to my ears, or the girl...which ever way you want it) it reminded me of how much I hated having splinters taken out when I was a child. Man, I would scream and cry and go bonkers myself. But then I also remember....I had a genius for a grandmother. she knew how to handle the battlefield of 5 year olds. she'd tell me "oooh kay hun, how about this... let's just do a practice try around your splinter"  So she'd "act" like she's just touched the skin around it but REALLY she was snatching that thing right out of me....and I didn't even know so I couldn't scream and throw a temper tantrum!

Thank God for wise grandmothers!

C.

how things work out

It's funny how things work out sometime... You see as most of you know I have been waiting upon the Lord and searching out a new job for the past several months and learning a whole lot of patience and trust in the process. With that said, God has a sense of humor.

Tonya had become dissatisfied with her job and wanted to go and really make a difference somewhere. She wanted to take on new challenges and feel more accomplished. so I told her about some of the sites I've been keeping on eye on and that she might find something she'd love doing on there. I want her to really grasp the fact she can take on the world.

within two weeks she found a job, applied and got it. (the same site I've been looking for the right job for me for months) So now she's in Chicago for the next 3 months working a traveling summer camp as a dance/cheerleading instructor.

I'm happy for her and it's been great to see her face light up to the beauty and adventure of life again. Some places can destroy the joys of life and I am glad she's escaped with her life. Yet This 3 month stretch will be the longest we've been apart since I moved up here. Our break-up was shorter than this! lol. (and I had to see her at work every day even at that!)

throughout all this my faith hasn't wavered. I am determined to live out the call of God on my life. Although there is no end in sight, I won't settle for less than the next step God has set forth. Whatever it may be. Bring it on.

Passion on the path,

Clint