On Sunday we signed Ivy up for t-ball. Then we went store to buy her a tiny glove and begin the task of learning to play catch. It was the moments you would expect (from tears after being hit to jumps of joy when the ball stayed – can not honestly write “caught” – in the glove), but the aftermath  was surprising. When we got inside from the cold I hung up our jackets and put up the baseball to help prevent damage. I returned to find Ivy still had her ball glove on. She wore it the rest of the night. I made her take it off for dinner, but it went right back when she took the dishes to the sink. It proved helpful as she filled it up with toys while picking up their room. And it stayed on while she watched a movie and ate popcorn. That night she put up her pony (lightning – the fastest pony in the land) and slept with her ball glove. The next day was much the same, but I insisted on breaking in her glove. So I wrapped it up in her room on the dresser. By morning Ivy again had the glove with her in bed…

A child can find joy. Not a moment, but life consuming joy. A celebration that is not just a smile, but a commitment. A life change. Ivy carries her glove, because it does not just represent a game, but a dream. She is now a baseball player. On her way to being a Kansas City Royal… You could tell girls do not play in the Majors, but I doubt she would hear you. She is wearing her glove. And that is more true than the words of defeated adults…

So victorious Christian, how does your life compare? Do you put on Christ with joyful abandon. With belief.

Or do you live in the defeated words of others?

“Take heart! I have overcome the world.”

I know many enter into a small depression when I miss a few weeks blogging… Seriously, the work on the Journey to Easter devotion book has taken up all kinds of time. But the church stepped up and wrote engaging devotions for the forty day journey. Now printed and ready the book looks great and I am excited to see the church travel together to the cross and resurrection. The trek beginas TODAY – so let me know if you need a book (sean@chandlerbap.org).