Hello Friends-

Back in the Spring of this past year, I had the privilege of coaching my son’s Little League baseball team. It was an exciting, and in many ways, a very chaotic experience! Even though it is only Little League Baseball, the competition among players, coaches and parents many times reaches high levels. We try to teach the kids that it’s just a game and that whether you win or lose, the important thing is that you do your best and enjoy the game.  Regardless of this message, as parents and coaches we find that many times we take the games and the competition too seriously.  It’s easy to fall into a trap of trying to win at all costs.

I remember hearing of one Little League game this year where the score was close and it was a back and forth battle.  The competition was building!  Then the game reached an important turning point.  A player came to the plate and hit a towering fly ball to the outfield.  The ball sailed high into the air and then finally hit the grass and bounced high off the ground.  There was problem.  From the vantage point of the umpire, it appeared to him that the ball had hit the ground and then bounced over the fence (a ground rule double).  From the vantage point of the player who hit the ball and the rest of his teammates, it was clear that he had hit the ball over the fence before it bounced (a home run).  The umpire, feeling a conflict of interests, since the player who hit the ball was his own son, called the play a ground rule double and not a home run.  Talk about a tough call for a dad…your kid comes up and hits a fly ball and everyone except you thinks it’s a homerun and you tell your son, “no homerun, it’s only a double”.  At the very least, people were impressed with this dad/umpire because he stuck to his call, even though it meant that his son and his son’s team all thought he was wrong.  But wait, it gets better.  After the call was made, the game was about to resume when time was called by the opposing team (this is the team that gave up the homerun/ground rule double).  The manager of that team came out of the dugout and went directly to the umpire that had made the call.  He told the umpire that from his vantage point it was clear that the boy had hit a homerun and that the umpire should grant the player the homerun instead of the ground rule double.  The umpire reversed his call, because of the opposing team manager’s honesty, which ultimately cost that team the baseball game.  The players, parents, coaches, and umpires at that game saw a picture of integrity and honesty that was an important lesson to all who were there and even those, like myself, who only heard about it.  What was that lesson?  Do the right thing and be honest.  Live with integrity even when it costs you something and you lose as a result.  Integrity and honesty are more important.

This Sunday we’ll be looking at the 8^th and 9^th commandments to not steal and to not bear false witness.  What we’ll see behind these commands is God’s desire that we live lives of integrity.  He desires that we are truthful in our words and actions and that we not only refrain from taking what doesn’t belong to us, but that we live and give generously to those who are in need.  This is the type of life that we weren’t meant to live.

We look forward to seeing you and exploring this more on Sunday.

Couple of things to remember:

Make sure to pick up a “Complete in Christ” journal this weekend.  We’ll be working through this journal together as a church this fall.

This fall we are emphasizing the importance of being in community.  We want to encourage you to sign up to be a part of a Community Group, if you are not yet a part of one.  Pick up a Community Group brochure this Sunday or talk to Dennis Low (dennis@valleychurch.org) about getting involved.

Season of Blessing signups are still happening.  There are a variety of ways you can get involved in blessing our community this Fall.  Please stop by the Season of Blessing table on the patio to get more info and to sign up.

Have a great rest of your week!

Darren Johnson