{"id":338,"date":"2012-03-20T12:40:00","date_gmt":"2012-03-20T12:40:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/fullmeasureofjoy.com\/?p=338"},"modified":"2012-03-20T12:40:00","modified_gmt":"2012-03-20T12:40:00","slug":"the-great-american-pass-time","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fullmeasureofjoy.com\/?p=338","title":{"rendered":"The Great American Pass Time"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u201cTake me out to the ball game\u201d can be heard around the country once again. Some may say it\u2019s boring, but I like it. I enjoy the sounds of baseball. Bats hitting balls. Balls being caught in baseball gloves. The voice of umpires as they make calls. I don\u2019t know, I just like it.<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/div>\n
I\u2019ve been a baseball fan, off and on, throughout my life. I recall watching the Cincinnati Reds with my Dad as a young teenager. I really enjoyed this activity with him. It was just one of many things I loved doing with my Dad.<\/span><\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
I remember playing baseball in our back field with neighborhood friends as a young girl and teenager. Getting hit by a line drive baseball was not so fun, but still, it was a great way to spend a Saturday afternoon.<\/span><\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
\n
<\/a><\/div>\n

More recently, I went to a Spring Training Orioles baseball game with my dad, my son, and my nephew. We sat in the first row, just beside first base. It was awesome! We tried to watch for stray balls, but we missed one. My son, Philip, was hit in the stomach. It didn\u2019t hurt him and he was able to keep the baseball, so it wasn\u2019t as bad as it could have been.<\/span><\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
My husband loves baseball. He comes from a Baseball Hall of Fame family (on both sides). So naturally, his office is covered with baseball memorabilia and we enjoy watching baseball together. We are anxious for the season to begin.<\/span><\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
I\u2019m sure you\u2019re wondering how I\u2019m going to bring this around to God. I could talk about the first mention of baseball in the Bible\u2026you know \u201cIn the big inning\u2026\u201d But, no, that\u2019s not where I\u2019m heading.<\/span><\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
I find some wisdom in keeping our eyes open. Watching out for what is coming our way. And God talks a lot about this in His Word. Let me point out a few.<\/span><\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
    \n
  • Matthew 6:22 tells us that \u201cThe eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are good, your whole body will be full of light.\u201d<\/i><\/span><\/li>\n
  • Psalm 119:18 says, \u201cOpen my eyes that I may see wonderful things in your law.\u201d<\/i><\/span><\/li>\n
  • And in Psalm 119:37 he says, \u201cTurn my eyes away from worthless things; preserve my life according to your word.\u201d<\/i><\/span><\/li>\n
  • \u201cBut my eyes are fixed on you, O Sovereign Lord; in you I take refuge\u2014do not give me over to death.\u201d<\/span><\/i> (Psalm 141:8)<\/span><\/li>\n
  • John quotes Jesus in John 4:35. \u201cOpen your eyes and look at the fields! They are ripe for harvest.\u201d<\/i><\/span><\/li>\n
  • Ephesians 4:18 says, \u201cI pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints.\u201d<\/i><\/span><\/li>\n
  • \u201cLet us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith\u2026\u201d<\/span><\/i> (Hebrews 12)<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
    <\/div>\n
    These are just a few verses that teach us to keep our eyes open. To be aware of what\u2019s going on around us and more importantly, what we are to be looking toward. Don\u2019t get caught with your eyes shut. Don\u2019t be looking the wrong direction.<\/span><\/div>\n
    <\/div>\n
    If you are a baseball fan, you are as excited as I am that baseball is in full swing. If you\u2019re not a baseball fan, I apologize for spending a whole day talking about it. Whatever the case, I pray that you will watch out for the stray balls of life and that God\u2019s Word will give you insight on how to keep watch. <\/span><\/div>\n
    <\/div>\n
    Grace and peace be yours in abundance,<\/span><\/div>\n
    <\/div>\n
    Donna<\/span><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    \u201cTake me out to the ball game\u201d can be heard around the country once again. Some may say it\u2019s boring, but I like it. I enjoy the sounds of baseball. Bats hitting balls. Balls being caught in baseball gloves. The voice of umpires as they make calls. I don\u2019t know, I just like it. I\u2019ve […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_s2mail":"","_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[16,15,25,27,23,21],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-338","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-following-god","category-knowing-god","category-praising-god","category-remembering-god","category-seeing-god","category-trusting-god"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/fullmeasureofjoy.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/338","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/fullmeasureofjoy.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/fullmeasureofjoy.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fullmeasureofjoy.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fullmeasureofjoy.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=338"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/fullmeasureofjoy.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/338\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/fullmeasureofjoy.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=338"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fullmeasureofjoy.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=338"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fullmeasureofjoy.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=338"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}