Let the March Madness Begin!

Congratulations to the Radford University Highlanders basketball boys, a.k.a the Big South Conference Champions! They beat VMI 108 - 94 this afternoon to not only win the title, but also a ticket to the NCAA tournament. Working their way up from 7th to 1st by the end of the season, they're moving on to March Madness for the first time in 11 years, and only the second time ever.

So well done to the Highlanders, from an old alumni. And Hannah and her friend Kaitlyn say, "WHAT WHAT!"

Radford bold and free, on to victory.
Hail our quest to be the best,
Tartan pride for all to see.
GO RADFORD!
Wave flags and sound the horns.
Hold the colors high.
Cheer our team on to victory,
That’s the spirit of ole RU!

Snow Days

There’s nothing much more exciting to a kid that waking up to a fresh blanket of snow on the ground. And if it gets you out of school that day, then all the better. In fact, I was once informed by my Hannah that snow on a weekend or holiday is just a waste.


Little kids can’t wait to get out and play in the snow…then come back inside to warm up…then go back out to build a snow man…troop back in for lunch…head back out sledding…drag in for hot cocoa and to dry out… The whirlwind of coats, scarves, hats, earmuffs, gloves, mittens, and boots is dizzying. I imagine snow days are hard on stay-at-home parents.

Teenagers, on the other hand, embrace a snow day like their pillow as they crawl back into their cave-rooms for another five or six hours of sleep. It’s a little like a bear deciding hibernation isn’t over yet, and they can be just about as grouchy. They’ll even tell you their brains are hard-wired to need more sleep, but I’m not buying it.

I remember being at Radford, where falling snow triggered much giddy celebration and general craziness. Of course, it doesn’t take much to get the festivities going on a college campus. My son Ben is actually taking a skiing class for college credit at ASU next semester, so he’ll be all about snow this winter.

As you age, your opinion of snow continues to change and how you feel about snow as an adult typically depends on how likely it is to inconvenience you. When you get a real job, with all that usually entails—house, job, family, pets, etc.—snow can be downright annoying. I watch the weather with great interest these days, wondering if getting to work will be an issue and, to a lesser degree, if I’ll be able to wear jeans to the office tomorrow. Are we only expecting a “skiff” of snow, or should I lay in supplies, just in case?

Even for an adult though, snow on the weekend can be a manifestation of grace…a wonderful excuse to stay at the house and enjoy a rare chance to really rest before the work week madness repeats itself. A Saturday spent inside where it’s warm can be a blessing when you spend the day watching flurries in the woods outside.

Occasionally snow mirrors my life circumstances, like when I’m trying to navigate through a driving snowstorm that pummels my windshield like problems and worries that just keep trying to chip away at my faith. I feel like I’m hurtling through space, pushing through a dark tunnel …and the light at the end is nowhere in sight.

Other times I feel as though I’m living my life in a glass snow globe, subject to being picked up and shaken against my will until the blinding snow has me feeling my way around a circle of belief. I can’t see a thing, but if I hold firmly to my foundation the snow will eventually settle and I will be able to see again….maybe even more clearly than before.

My sweet friend Connie has a beautiful collection of nativity snow globes. We protect our childhood image of that first Christmas, fleshing it out in our imagination and daring anyone to suggest it may have been different. But Mary and Joseph likely felt as though they were blinded by a veritable snow squall of problems, with no shelter in sight besides a dirty, smelly stable. And the deity of their son demanded that they step out of their comfort zone and into the spotlight to share Him with the world. Talk about God shaking up your snow globe.

Connie once also confessed to me, “One step out of today and I’m in a world of trouble.”

I’m not urging you to step out ahead of God. But don’t be afraid to step out of your globe. Even though we may sometimes feel constrained in our own spheres of influence, that’s not our reality. True, we’re each dealing with our own problems, insecurities, and weaknesses, but we are not trapped inside glass walls. We’re afforded the freedom of moving beyond our walls to reach out and touch others with Christ-like hands. We are free, indeed!

“Like the coolness of snow at harvest time is a trustworthy messenger to those who send him; he refreshes the spirit of his masters.” ~ Proverbs 25:13

On the Brink

“This is the last stop on the “College Tour.” Last school…last child. It should be easier by now, but it doesn’t feel that way. And I know it won’t feel any easier in August, when she loads up her car with all that is precious to her so far in life…the tangible things, anyway.

“But there’s also a sense of satisfaction and pride that I have when I listen to the university administrators and professors. I know she’s up to the challenge, and I’m brought to tears when I consider how many possibilities, how many adventures, are ahead of her. Oh, to be 17 again and standing on the brink of my future!”

I wrote that a couple of weeks ago, when my daughter Hannah attended an Open House at Radford University. We were in a mock English classroom and it was a writing exercise, but for me it was a reality check.

We are in the homestretch of her senior year. Life is a flurry of decisions about college, prom, graduation…and I’m the facilitator. Please don’t misunderstand and think I’m central, or even necessary to the process. It will happen with or without my participation. For once it really is all about her right now. But my reality is that the last chick is getting ready to fly the coop, and for a parent this is one of those life events which, like a flash flood, leaves a wake of reflections and emotions after its passing.

It’s ironic to me that, while I’m trying to deal with all of this one day at a time, her life is taking a quantum leap into the future. What’s a mom to do? Well, like her brother, I know she was raised in the truth and that God has a marvelous plan for her life. So I’ll just trust and pray as I wait to see His plan unfold.

I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth. ~ 3 John 1:4 (NIV)