Three Wise Men

As you may be able to tell I am writing this month with a holiday theme. If you grew up going to church you know the story of the three wise men; also, known as the three kings. These men came from foreign lands to find the messiah being born. They followed the stars to Bethlehem. No one knows what land they came from.

If you have read the Old Testament or heard the story about King Solomon who asked God for wisdom; he is the wisest man to ever live. People from many places came to learn of his wisdom.

The thing about being wise is not necessarily mean that you are very smart as well. Being wise and being smart are two different things. We all know a lot of smart people but not necessarily very many wise people. Being smart means that you know a lot about many things but you may not be wise. Of course, you could be wise but not smart.

Sometimes we need to seek out people that are wise. Those people have a very special talent. They are those that can help us make decisions that can help change our lives. They may not give us the exact answer but give us different alternatives. Likely they will tell us things that we never considered before. The reason they would give us different alternatives is so we can find the right answer for ourselves. These men or women would be known as wise counselors. Depending on the decision we have to make it is likely we will have go to more than one. Also, we may already know the answers but we want someone to confirm it for us.

It is possible for a person to be wise as well as smart but we should not decide whether they are the same person. If you need wisdom but do not know anyone yourself that is wise you can go to someone you know that is smart, and they can refer you to a wise person. The thing is that there are a lot more smart people than there are wise people.

If I were you it would be much better for us to ask for wisdom over being smart. Wisdom can go further for us than being smart. As I said we can find a lot more smart people  than wise people. 

Really Enjoying Football

This time of the year when your favorite NFL team is on a roll it really helps enjoying football. Also, it does not hurt they are the defending Super Bowl champions. Most experts do not give them a high mark in winning the Super Bowl because most defending champions do not repeat. The last champions to repeat were the New England Patriots.

The main reason the Seattle Seahawks are on a roll winning the last four games is that they are playing outstanding defense. You can see my previous writings about football. Though the defense has been great the offense has been struggling, and unable to score very many touchdowns. This past Sunday they beat San Francisco 49ers 17-7. What helped in the scoring was the referees charged the 49ers a roughing the passer penalty in the fourth quarter at a crucial time.  Later after the game the NFL said the penalty should not have been called. When I was watching the game I agreed the referees should not have charged the penalty. Without the penalty the Seahawks would have scored a field goal instead of a touchdown which would have made the 13-7. It would have allowed the 49ers to score a touchdown to win the game. The way the Seahawks defense was playing the chances of scoring a touchdown was not very good; however, the chance was there.

The Seahawks have two remaining games to play in the regular season. They play the Cardinals in Arizona this coming Sunday night, and the St.Louis Rams to end the season the following Sunday. They will be favored in both games because the way their defense has been playing, and the two teams have mediocre quarterbacks. Both teams are playing backup quarterbacks, and Arizona is on their third string quarterback. Arizona lost their second string quarterback in their last game against the Rams. What makes both teams dangerous is they play very good defense as well so likely the scores will be very low. The Seahawks will have to run the ball successfully and throw in some passes occasionally. Arizona especially is good at rushing the quarterback. Of course, the Seahawks with Russell Wilson at quarterback is good at scrambling and running the ball. He will need to do both on Sunday night. 

Peace on Earth

This time of the year a lot people if asked what they would want for the next year they would say peace on earth; though it sounds like a good idea it likely will not happen.

The media will want to think that those who are radical or fundamentalists are the bad guy which is far from the truth; being radical means that you have strong convictions, and fundamental means that you have strong beliefs of your religion whether you are Christian, Jews, Muslim, Buddhist or whatever. Those that are terrorists or are very dangerous are ones that have twisted the Truth of their religion. They believe the Truth in a manner that is no longer the Truth.

In politics it is said that some are far to the right or to the left, and many believe they are dangerous as well. Politics is like religion it those that take it beyond the fundamental beliefs of their party. Other words they are twisted as well. I think they probably belong in mental institutions.

Jesus Christ said that it is easy to love our friends; however, he commanded us to love our enemies. You may think you have no enemies but that is not true. If you have ever been bullied or slandered by anyone they would be considered enemies. Peace on earth would begin with us loving those who hurt us. Not any easy thing to do but a must. Why because otherwise we can feel like victims the rest of our lives.

So this holiday season when we say Peace on Earth what we should actually let peace on earth begin with me. The one true way to have peace is to have it in our own lives. We can have confusion all around us but have peace in our heart.

The way we can have peace is to begin with Love.  Many believe love is a feeling; however, real love is a choice. I may never have the feeling of love for you because we may never meet; however, I choose to love you because it is my choice. I write this blog to encourage each person who reads this; however, I write it as well because I choose to love. Whether people believe the same as I do or not, or have a different lifestyle than I do I have love for them. Love is the beginning of peace on earth. Share the love not only in December but all year long. As the rock group Queen once had a song called “We are the Champions”. Those of us that have peace in our hearts are champions. Also, going back to the 60s “Peace Baby”.

Under the Weather

I have an ear ache so I decided to write this short today. I want to be sure no one misses out on me. I am going to take it very easy today so I can become strong again.

This week the weather has been unusual in some respects. Thursday night we had the third storm of the week. This last one was the strongest of the three throughout the northwest. Like many we lost our power; thankfully it was for less than an hour. When sick having power off for a long length of time is especially not good. Today and the weekend we expect very nice weather.

Anyway, I am going to end it here. Everyone have a fantastic weekend. It is now less than two weeks until Christmas. 

Husky Men’s Basketball

The University of Washington Huskies men’s basketball team has started out in a positive direction. The writers that cover Pac-12 men’s basketball predicted just before the beginning of the season in November that the Huskies would finish the season in the league in sixth place. So far in non-league games the Huskies are 7-0. So it shows they are doing better than expected to get ready for the league season which starts on Jan. 2, 2015 against the University of California at Berkeley Bears.

Last week in their last game against 13^th ranked San Diego State they won 49-36. Now in the latest poll the Huskies are ranked 17^th.  Like this score indicates they are playing very good defense. In fact San Diego State in one of the top ranked defensive teams as well. The Huskies have been working on improving their defense. Last year the Huskies were poor on defense primarily because they lacked being a tall team. They actually started for guards. Shaun Kemp Jr. who starts this season at one of the forward positions had been ill at the beginning of last season so he was very weak the whole year. This year he is back in very good condition. Also, they start at the other forward position Jernard Jarreau who last year was injured in the first game of the season and missed the rest of the year. The Huskies have 7’0 center Robert Upshaw who comes off the bench and at this time leads the nation in blocked shots. The three players have made quite the difference to the Huskies especially on defense. Most of the guards have returned with additional experience. Of course, the real test does not happen until the Pac-12 season begins. Usually the league is very tough and I am sure this season will not be any different. If the Huskies can continue on having really good defense it should allow them to get into the NCAA tournament in March 2015.

Ho Ho Ho

I want to wish everyone a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you all. Tis the season to be jolly; I know that for some it has been a naughty year while for others it is a good year. I would say for many it would be somewhere in between.

Tuesday night I decided to watch Rudolph the Red nose Reindeer.  It is having the 50^th anniversary of the show running on television. I haven’t watched it for sometime but since it is the anniversary I decided too. I was not very old but I do remember watching it the very first year and for sometime after. It is probably my favorite Christmas show. I especially enjoy Burl Ives. He was quite the actor and singer. Though Rudolph was a misfit he became the greatest Reindeer of all time. I think many of us could feel like we are in his shoes. I believe if we read stories about many well known people things did not start out well for them. They were able to overcome obstacles in their lives to become great people. I believe it shows that any of us can become greater people regardless of the circumstances we began with. For some it may have been being poor, and for others it was coming from a bad family or overcoming an illness.

I know for me I have not always enjoyed the Christmas season. I have found myself to be lonely at times; however, I realize it is important for me to overcome the loneliness. This time of the year especially we can help out those who are struggling and having a poor year. It is important to think less of ourselves and more about others. Regardless of the dark place we may be living in at this time there are others who likely living in even darker places who can use our help. We can use our experience and encourage others. We can lift people out of the pit and into a better place. We can make this life a better place for others. It is important when we have the time to volunteer or be a mentor to others. This is really important to help others who are going through some of the same things we went through ourselves. We really can be good if we put our heart into it. I wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy Holiday season. 

Love Watching Defense

Watching the Seattle Seahawks playing the last three weeks with their high powered defense back is so enjoyable. I would say most people enjoy watching high powered offense but the Seahawks show defense can be enjoyed as well. This week on Sunday they played the Philadelphia Eagles who run a fast pace offense. In the same way the Seahawks slowed down the Denver Broncos to a crawl in the last Super Bowl they did the same way. Other teams should follow the Seahawks in the same manner playing defense; however, I would say other teams do not have the same personnel or talent the Seahawks have on defense. If you wonder where the defense had been before the last three weeks the Seahawks have had a lot of injuries on the defensive; however, most of the players are back now especially linebacker Bobby Wagner and safety Cam Chancellor who are key players on the defense. The defense was so dominated the Eagles only had 139 total yards for the game. It was the lowest total yardage game coach Chip Kelly of the Eagles has ever had in a game including his time at University of Oregon.

This coming Sunday December 14 the Seahawks will be playing the San Francisco 49ers again this time in Seattle. The Seahawks one the first game against 49ers on Thanksgiving 19-3; the game really was not even that close. On Sunday they lost to the Oakland Raiders so most expect the 49ers will lose to the Seahawks again. If the Seahawks defense is even close to what it have been the last three games they should win very easy. The 49ers offense has fallen apart the last three games. If the Seahawks continue to play this dominating defense they should be favored to win the Super Bowl again. 

More about Change?

About this time last year and early 2014 I stated writing about change. I used the word change instead of having a New Year’s resolution. The thing about the New Year’s resolution most people give up on it after a few days or weeks while change can be ongoing. Not just for the year but the rest of our lives.

I think change starts with our attitude and grows on depending what the change is. For some it may be losing weight or exercising. I think it can be how we think about ourselves or others. How we may treat better or get new friends because the ones we have bring us down. This can really be especially true for young people.

This year two things that have really made the news has been about being bullied and domestic violence. The whole thing about both of them is that if we have been involved in both either as a victim or the person who has been the aggressor we are all above it. We can be more than we think we are. Some began as victims and then became an aggressor. It is possible that it happened years back and it is no longer part of our lives but we still may feel bad about ourselves. We must love ourselves as well as others. We must decide we are no longer the victim or aggressor. This is where change comes in. I have said before that when it comes to change in our lives especially something like this we may need others for support. We may need to make new friends. It is important to be around other people that will give us a positive attitude.

Another part of change I mentioned was after the Seattle Seahawks won the Super Bowl in February. They became champions because they lived as champions. This is another way for us to live a fulfilling life. This season the Seahawks showed during the first half of the season it is not always easy to keep up with being champions. For them much of it was injuries to key players but they now in the last three games have the attitude back as champions. Some may call it their mojo. So they are now showing no matter how things go no matter what we are still champions. Our lives never stay the same. Circumstances happen that are not in our control.

Other changes that can happen in our lives can be life changing. It may be a change of our job or moving to another city. For several years my sister-in-law felt she really needed a change in her job; however, she was unable to find another job where she and my brother were living. There youngest son Danny was finishing high school so the timing was good to find a job in another city. She wanted to be close to her family including a brother and sister along with both parents. She was able to get another teaching position at a high school near her family. In fact, the job was the first one she had applied. It gave her a positive attitude as well since other jobs where they had lived never came about. My brother was able to keep his job while working out of their home. She is happier than she has been for some time. The hardest part was leaving students and other teachers behind that she had built relationships with. The whole thing about change is sometimes we have to leave behind something’s or people for the better good.

The thing about change is that it can be good but we must take a risk. Sometimes though we may find it is not as good as we think; however, the risk is important for the better good. It could lead us back to where we were as well but may never know without taking the chance. 

Holiday Travel

This year will be like every year before where a lot of people travel during the holiday season. Some travel by car and others by plane depending where family happens to be located. I expect people will travel by car this year that normally do not because gas prices are down.

I have done most of my plane travel during the holiday season. It has all happened during my adult life. Growing up our family was primarily in Washington State so if we traveled it was by car. Most years we would go visit cousins living in Seattle on Christmas Day. Of course, we would do so after opening Christmas presents we had under the tree. It was nice going to Seattle not only to see our cousins but open more presents. It was always good to show off the most important gifts we received especially the ones we got in Seattle. Later on when my sister got married we spent at least ten Christmases at her in-laws in Lakewood, Washington. It was a really good time getting together with both our family and brother-in-laws family and the food was delicious. This period of time was when my brothers would come home from college as well.

The first trip that I took to travel at Christmas time was when my sister, her husband, and two boys had moved to Quebec, Canada. Almost thirty years later they still live in Quebec, Canada. It was quite an experience for the first time trip. I never will forget the trip. I and my parents traveled to Montreal, Quebec. There was no direct flight to where my sister lived. My brothers by that timed both lived on the east coast so we met them in Montreal which had a lot of snow. What made it quite the trip was that my parents and I were fogged in at Sea-Tac International Airport for three days. I have to say they were the longest three days of my life. Of course, I had to do some complaining as well though it was no one’s fault. We finally got out on a flight that went from Boeing Field in Seattle that went to Dallas, Texas. We than caught a flight to Montreal. It was the only flight that got out of Seattle that day. I can say I got to know Sea-Tac Airport very well. I really enjoyed the rest of the trip, and there was no problem when returning back to Seattle.

I had another trip back to Quebec a few years later at Christmas time as well. This trip my parents did not go with me and I had no problem with fog. Besides my sister and her family my older brother Dick was there as well. He actually spent the Christmases with them. He did a great job of being a good Uncle. He rented a car, and I did the driving. That is a whole another story in itself. It was a really good time, and it was actually the last time I saw him since he died the following June.

I traveled to Minneapolis, Minnesota for Christmas a couple times when my brother Jack and family lived there. It was really nice to have an actual white Christmas as well. I spent a couple Thanksgivings when they lived in St.Louis, Missouri as well as a Christmas. I expect in the future I will travel back at some point to my sister’s in Quebec and to my Brother Jack’s home as well. There is nothing more special than to spend the holiday season with family and if it is to travel somewhere than a bonus.

Husky Football

I have been a University of Washington Huskies football fan since I was young kid. I started being a fan listening to the games on the radio. The first quarterback the Huskies had when I became a fan was Sonny Sixkiller who was a Native American from Oregon. I really like him a lot I think mainly because of his name. Also, the team was very successful under his leadership. I still see him sometimes on television doing commercials for Casinos and golf courses.

This season the Husky football went 8-5 in the regular season under new football coach Chris Peterson who replaced Steve Sarkisian who went to coach University of Southern California after five seasons at University of Washington. Sarkisian previously had been an assistant coach at University of Southern California. Chris Peterson pervious had coached at Boise State University for eight seasons.  He was very successful at Boise State having several teams in the top ten in the country; however, he decided it was time to go to a higher division of football. He had been offered other positions before but thought the Huskies was the best fit for him.

Listening to some on local sports radio they think the Huskies could have had a better record than 8-5 and do not consider it a successful season. The Huskies did lose a game against University of Arizona which they lost by one point by a field goal with no time left in the clock. They had a turnover with about 90 seconds   remaining in the game. They had several turnovers plus a missed field goal in the game. Otherwise they actually dominated the game on both offense and defense.

I believe the team was successful overall because they have a young team especially on the offense. The starting quarterback Cyles Miles was suspended for the first game and did not participate in spring practice because of off the field problems. He quarterbacked the rest of the games except having to leave in one because of a concussion. The last two games against Oregon State and Washington State I could see some growth in his play which is a good sign because it was just after the Arizona game. Next season he will be a junior and should be more confident. Of course, he will have competition for the quarterback position.

On the offensive side the Huskies showed depth at wide receiver. In fact one of the receivers John Ross went over to the defensive side to play cornerback the last couple games of the season. Most likely he will go back to wide receiver next season since he prefers to play offense. Also, he is very explosive as a kickoff return. In fact, he scored touchdowns on two returns. He could have had another one, however, a penalty cost him a touchdown. I could see him being at least a kickoff returner in the NFL.

Another player for the Huskies who showed his versatility was Shaq Thompson. He started the season as a linebacker on defense, however, his speed and toughness the Huskies decided to use him as a running back when they especially needed a first down or a touchdown. Because of injuries he started two games as a running back and ran for over hundred yards in each game. When the other running backs returned for the last couple games he requested return to linebacker. He prefers to play linebacker but played running back for the team. Shaq Thompson is a junior, however, most experts believe he will go into the NFL next season. With his versatility I am sure teams will look at him for both linebacker and running back. Also, he is a finalist for The Paul Hornung Award for the most versatile player in major college football.

On the defense the line was the most experienced and strongest on the team. Danny Shelton defensive lineman is expected to be a high draft pick; next season though they will need to replace him and a couple other guys. The linebackers are strong and have depth since the team was allowed to use Shaq Thompson as a running back. The defensive backs were the least experience positions on the team; however, I could see quite the improvement over the season. Next season they should be a major part making the Huskies a very good defensive team.

The Huskies do have one remaining game to play. They should know by the weekend who they will play in a bowl game. Also, during the off season Coach Peterson will have his first real class of recruits that he will call his own.

Until next time Go Huskies!

Words

There is nothing more power in our lives than words. The saying sticks and stones may hurt me but words won’t hurt me is totally wrong. I am sure most of us had words spoken to or over us as children that still affect us today. I know that in my life I still think of some words said to me. I now try not to let it affect me but that is not always easy.

I believe it is important that we think about words before speaking them or writing them. We are much better off if we can speak positive words into people instead of negative. The thing though since childhood we are so accustomed to joking or teasing others. I know that I did not being a part of a joke or being teased. I know that I am not much better than anyone else. I know that I have made fun of others myself. The differences though I have felt bad about it later while others I do not think so much.

Words can be very positive especially in music, poetry, books, movies, and theater. There is nothing like hearing music of the Beatles. So much of their music was expressing themselves about the experiences they went through. Songs like Penny Lane was about a real place. If you read the bible there are all the psalms that were written mostly by King David of Israel. In English they are best in King James translation. I do not know Hebrew but I am sure they are even more powerful. Of course, if you are familiar with Shakespeare’s writings than you know how wonderful they are. There are many other wonderful writers that I can name as well.

As far as my blog here I want to be sure to write things that will lift others up. I try to choose my words very carefully. I think of this like being a journal as well. I really enjoy writing this blog to encourage everyone along with telling stories sometimes about Gig Harbor and my childhood. I take as much out of this as well. Like my pastor says sometimes about his sermons it is like therapy for him. I feel the same thing here as well.

So I believe it is important that we think more about what we have to say than we do. It is OK to joke around but we should not make other people the butt of the jokes. We can never leave jokes out of our lives because they can so often release us. Since we get stressed out in our lives we need something to make us feel a lot better.

It is important for parents to speak with their children to encourage them not to make fun of other children. No one really likes to be a butt of other’s jokes.  I believe it happens because kids are insecure; to take things out on other kids make you feel better; at least for a time.  Parents need to always speak positive words into their children. I know some parents want their children to be just like them, or maybe the way they wanted to be.  Every child is special and they have their own unique gifts. We need to encourage them to be the best in their uniqueness.

Words can hurt us. 

Apple Cup

First of all for those who wonder what the Apple Cup means.  In college football in state rivals that when they play each other they have a name for the game; so the University of Washington and Washington State University play each other it is called the Apple Cup. The reason for the name is that apples are largest export from the state of Washington. Not only do they go throughout the United States they export to other parts of the world as well.

Many teams in college football play the rivalry game at the very end of the season. Only once have either the University of Washington Huskies or Washington State Cougars have ended a season playing someone else. 

Most years the Huskies have been favored over the Cougars; however, the rivalry is such no matter how good or bad either team is they usually play a very good game against each other. In fact several times the Cougars have won have kept the Huskies out of a big bowl game or the national championship. This year the Huskies were favored by seven points so most people thought the game could go to either team. The game was played in Pullman, Washington the home of the Cougars. The temperature was around nineteen degrees and it had snowed in the morning so Cougar fans thought they had a real good chance in winning. Unfortunately for them it was not the case. The Huskies won the game 31-13. The game really was not even that close. The Cougars did not score until the fourth quarter. What made this score surprising is the Cougars averaged over thirty points a game for the season, and this game was the lowest points they scored all year. The Huskies dominated the game both on the offense and the defense. The Huskies have had to work all season to improve their game. I will write more about that in a couple days. The game ended the season for the Cougars while the Huskies will go to a bowl game likely in January. Do not know who they will play right now; however, they should know no later than next week. 

Beginning of December

Welcome to the month of December. Here in Western Washington has started out cold. The highs today will be in the mid 30s. Compared to places in the Midwest and East Coast it would be warm.

Over the weekend we had a little bit of snow.  Like most years it did not stay around for very long. I do not expect much snow the rest of December though it would be nice surprise if it did. I have never seen it snow on Christmas. I remember once in the mid 1973 it did snow the day after Christmas. It is nice whenever we do get a few inches of snow that will last three or four days. Early last week the mountains did get some snow. There were some delays driving on the highways. Right now the ski resorts are open for sledding but little for skiing. I was really never really into skiing myself. Whenever going sledding was a challenge as well. I enjoyed the time; however, I always ended up in the mountain lodge to get warm up. Also, I enjoyed basketball too much to risk of getting broken bones while skiing.

Yesterday November 30 I remember my Brother Dick’s birthday. He would be 61 years old. He died in June 1992. If you look up one of my early blogs you would see my writing about him. We had some very special Christmas’s together.

I believe it is important that we remember all the family members and friends who are no longer with us this time of the year. In fact, this time of the year just does not feel the same; however, our thoughts of them make the Christmas and holiday season still very special.

It is amazing that 2014 is coming to a close. So many years just go by so fast. I have been told the older we get the faster it gets which seems very true. I find it is important to look back on the year for the high and the lows. Also, think about the changes we have made in our lives this year. We must start thinking about more changes we want to make in 2015. It is important we continually evolve. The most important thing is that we have a purpose in this life more for others than for ourselves. I hope to continue lifting others up especially in joy and laughter. Also, make as much peace as you can with others. Until next time have a really good time.