mybabyr0c: 10 Words to Live By

Sunday, July 24, 2011

10 Words to Live By

Improve: to bring into a more desirable or excellent condition: He took vitamins to improve his health.

“Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee.”

-Psalm 119:11

One of the greatest basketball players, if not the greatest, that has ever played at the Ohio State University was Jerry Lucas. Lucas was a three time 1st team All-America from 1960 to 1962, he won a National Championship in 1960 and later in that same year Lucas won an Olympic Gold Medal in Rome. The U.S. Olympic men's basketball coach Pete Newell later called Lucas "the greatest player I ever coached, and the most unselfish." Lucas later went onto star in the NBA for eleven years and to eventually be named one of the 50 Greatest NBA Players (wiki) of all-time in 1996.

And as an impressive side-note, Lucas graduated from Ohio State as a Phi Beta Kappa.

Jerry Lucas

Once you begin to research Jerry Lucas' career you soon realize that his accomplishments could be discussed for some time. A small town boy from Middletown, Ohio Lucas is truly one of the greatest basketball players that have ever played the game of basketball.

1961 & 62 College Player of the Year.

Two weeks ago I had the distinct privilege to listen to Mr. Lucas speak at Cypress Wesleyan Church (CWC) (Video). Lucas shared with those in attendance that how as a boy he had an active and curious mind. He loved to read and to learn. So much so that he mastered the ability to take any word and alphabetize the letters of any word. The word "HAD" would be "ADH", the word "CAT" would be "ACT". I know crazy; crazy like Rain Man.

Great movie...

And though his ability to arrange the letters of words alphabetically would seem somewhat useless it is just the beginning as one peers into the mind that is in a word brilliant. At an early age, Jerry realized that being a successful student in school took knowing not only how to learn but also how to retain that learned information. He became determined to develop ways to make the learning process EASY, FUN and LONG-LASTING. Like a farmer who plants small seeds in the soil and carefully tends them so that they grow, Jerry has devoted his life to cultivating ideas and methods for fun and easy memory-retention. The resulting methods are now known as The Lucas Learning System™ and have earned him the title of Doctor Memory™.

1961 Sportsman of the Year.

As Lucas ended his talk he shared with audience that he routinely rises from bed between 3 and 3:30am to spend time with God. He also described a childhood that was different, difficult and at times depressing.

And with all of his success athletically he was left feeling empty.

See Lucas was raised in a house that God wasn't spoken of nor honored.

When Lucas was in the NBA a good friend shared with Lucas that his life, like others, had three areas; Body, Mind/Soul & Spirit. His friend Bob went onto share with him that he had excelled in the areas of the body and mind, but was empty and void of any growth in the area of his spirit; after hours of speaking with Bob, Lucas gave his life to Christ in a LA hotel.

Not too long after that Jerry memorized the entire New Testament.

All 260 chapters.

Word by word; verse by verse.

Now that is amazing.

As he finished his talk Lucas shared "10" words that can improve our relationships and how we can remember them, and take them with us everywhere we go.

"Our relationships are the most important thing we have", he said. Our relationship with God and our relationships with others are vital.

I agree.

Relationships are all we have.

Below are the "ten" words that can start building, strengthening and improving our relationships with our family and all of those around us.

1. RUN

Think, and picture, a group of TV's running in a race. Now remember that the TV is the enemy of the family when used poorly and irresponsibly.

MESSAGE: Run home to your family every night, not your TV... Spend quality time with your family.

2. SHOE

Think, and picture, you putting shoes on the feet of your family and friends.

MESSAGE: Be a servant to those around you. Be a humble servant.

3. TREE

Think, and picture, children playing in a tree.

MESSAGE: Spend quality, one on one, time with your children as often as you can.

4. DOOR

Think, and picture, Jesus standing behind your front door every time you get ready to walk into your home.

MESSAGE: Take on His character when you're with your family. Treat them as He would treat them.

5. DIVE

Think, and picture, an empty swimming pool full of pages from the bible. Picture pages and pages of God's word; bible after bible that fills the swimming pool like water.

MESSAGE: Dive into God's word daily. Spend more time reading the bible. Start with Proverbs. Read a chapter a day that corresponds with the day of the month. Today is July 24th, read the 24th chapter. There are 31 chapters in the book of Proverbs.

6. STICKS

Think, and picture, your mouth full of sticks.

MESSAGE: Don't speak poorly of others. If you can't say anything good about another don't say anything at all. That is pretty easy to do if your mouth is full of sticks... I'm just sayin' ;)

7. HEAVEN

Think, and picture, your home in the heavenly clouds.

MESSAGE: Create an atmosphere at home that is heavenly; create an heavenly atmosphere.

8. GATE

Think, and picture, a gate made of a sweet "bar" of candy.

MESSAGE: Belief + Action = Results... sweet results!

9. VINE

Think, and picture, vines running along the legs of your kitchen table and all along the sides of the table:

MESSAGE: The family table is where life begins. Eat together as much as humanely possible together as a family. Discuss your day, your difficulties and your dreams. The family table is a very special place.

10. HEN

Think, and picture, a hen laying "love" instead of eggs.

MESSAGE: Spread God's love... EVERYWHERE.

So there it is: 1-Run, 2-Shoe, 3-Tree, 4-Door, 5-Dive, 6-Sticks, 7-Heaven, 8-Gate, 9-Vine and 10-Hen.

Ten easy ways to improve who we are and how we deal with those we love and cherish.

In closing, as I grow older and mature as a husband, parent and friend I realize that the world in many ways is against all of us. To me there is no more evidence of that truth than the effort that must be put forth raising my kids in the world we all live in today. In many ways the world and all of its lies, and pressures, are trying to depress, deny and defeat all that our/my children learn at home. The world tells our children that what they have learned at home is outdated and of little use in the "real world".

We as parents are in a war with the world and the stakes are high.

We cannot afford to lose.

In my garage, and in our house, are constant reminders for our children communicating how much we care about them and that our home is safe and secure. We have constant reminders of things we believe in and what we ultimately want them to carry with them into the world. These words, ideas, sayings and our faith are the weapons we use to protect our kids against the world's treacherous terrain.

Ten words to live by...

On the garage wall before you come into our home are the words that Jerry Lucas shared with our church two weeks ago. I was so moved and inspired by them that I want our family to see them every day as they come and go. I also painted the words "We're Happy UR Home", surrounded with each child's (and Mom and Dad's) hand prints, to remind everyone that is a part of this family that we are glad they're home and that we love you very much.

"We're Happy UR Home"
(p.s. Logan's hand print is being added today!)

We can't remind those we love enough that we care for them dearly and that they're very important to us.

We really can't

Remember, don't forget to memorize, and carry with you, these ten words and begin today to cherish the people you call family.

God really can do remarkable things to, in and through us.

He really can.

"God's voice is glorious in the thunder.

We cannot comprehend the greatness of his power."

-Job 37:5