We give, yet we get...

Two Sunday's back, our small group participated in the Faith Blitz Sunday along with the rest of our church. Attached is a photo of Loise, who is the wonderful young women we met and spent time with that day. She is 85 years young and loved sitting and holding my children who came with us.
The Senior home we visited asked that we complete a biography for each of the people there by giving us a packet with questions to ask. Her son was visiting that day and he was very helpful as his mom was a little fuzzy on some of the details. It was so special to see the look on her face as she retold of things she probably hasn't thought about in many, many years. "Tell us about how your husband proposed to you." "What were some of the games you and your sisters played as little girls?"

Her face was so happy and full of life...yet I think we were the ones who walked away touched the most. How easy it is to let life fill our every hour and every moment when it would mean the world to someone if they would even stop by and visit for 10 minutes. Last night our small group decided we were going to continue to see the people we met that day. Kind of like adopting them with the goal of furthering the relationships we started. I believe those in the home will be tickled pink to see us come back again...yet none will likely be affected half as much as our small group and our kids who we know are watching and learning the lessons we are trying to teach.

Who am I?

For those of you who haven't seen this, I wanted to share.

Red Sox can only win 3 in a row...

Congrats to the Red Sox for winning the World Series for the second time in four years. One AMAZING stat I want to share is how streaky they Sox are in the playoffs.
You may recall that they Sox trailed the Indians 3 games to 1 in the ALCS this season before they reeled off three in a row to advance to the World Series.

Here is the wild part. Winning three games in a row is the only way the Red Sox ever win playoff series. That is not an exaggeration. The last time the Red Sox won a playoff series that did not end with three wins in a row was… drum roll please… 1918.

Here are the last ten playoff series the Sox have won:

• 2007 W. S. vs Colorado: 4-game sweep
  
• 2007 ALCS vs Cleveland: 3-game sweep
  
• 2007 ALDS vs Anaheim: 3-game sweep
• 2004 W. S. vs St. Louis: 4-game sweep
• 2004 ALCS vs New York: ended with 4-game streak
• 2004 ALDS vs Anaheim: 3-game sweep
• 2003 ALDS vs Oakland: ended with 3-game streak
• 1999 ALDS vs Cleveland: ended with 3-game streak
• 1986 ALCS vs California: ended with 3-game streak
• 1975 ALCS vs Oakland: 3-game sweep

And before 1975, the Sox had not won a post-season series since 1918, when they closed it out with a one-game win streak.

I promise not to bore you with too much Red Sox stuff in the next few days!

Faith Blitz Sunday

This Sunday, our church had over 2,300 people set out to bring the church to those outside the walls of our buildings. The Times-Union even had a video of our day online which followed an article in the Monday edition. What topped it off for me was an email I got from our Missions Minister Doug Newland about a short-term mission team that was in Chiang mai, Thailand
View Larger Map working with a local children's orphanage on Sunday. Though the purpose of their trip was to help these workers, they did a Faith Blitz project that was separate from the established plans. They sent along a photo of the group and they are all holding their Faith In Action workbooks.
They poured a concrete driveway for the Christian church in Baan Haan, Thailand. Christ's Church Missions 2007 was written into the base of the concrete slab.

What an awesome feeling to be part of something so vast and something with far more reaching effects than we can comprehend.

Georgia-Florida Weekend

It's almost Georgia/Florida weekend. In the LeSage family, that is really a big deal. It's ironic, sort of, that my wife is the Georgia fan and she has to deal with the constant stigma of losing to the Gators. They are like the Yankees to the Red Sox, which is a burden I have to bear most years! Ha!

Back to the good stuff...each year we travel downtown on game day with our friends the Furlong's and the Ford's (my-in-laws). We put up a tent and cook food out among all the revelers who one would think are heading into the game eventually. Come to find out that there are THOUSANDS of people downtown doing the same thing we are: using the atmosphere but not actually attending the game. There are typically two BIIIIGGGGG screens set up in a large grass area just outside the stadium. There you can see the game and be among the rowdy fans, all without having to sell a kidney to afford a ticket. (Though honestly, if we thought the Dawgs stood more of a chance of winning once in a while, I might be ebaying an organ to get a ticket for my wife.)

The Furlongs are major Gator fans that we manage to love anyway. :-) They keep it spicy yet aren't ugly when they eventually win each year. They are the type to tease us by getting all orange and blue M&M's to eat but at least they soften the blow by actually letting me have a bunch of M&M's to gorge myself on. So it's really a wash.

My in-laws are both Georgia fans by default of sorts, since she is an FSU fan and he is a South Carolina fan. The fellowship is good and it has become something we all look forward to.

In the future, this weekend will become even more fun once the Bulldogs get the monkey off their backs. Right now, it's fun and jovial until just before kickoff and then the tension rises. The impending doom is too much sometimes to bear. I feel so badly for my wife who loves the Dawgs to death but yearly has to suffer at the games conclusion.

How deep is that UGA love? She has an English Bulldog on her wish list and we even joined the Bulldog Fan Club of Jacksonville just to have the opportunity to see the UGA version of Tebow. No not Stafford but Eric Zeir. Wow, who is this woman with the short hair cut? :-)

OK, so the Red Sox lost...

I was just telling my small group tonight how my passion for the Red Sox had "changed" since they won the World Series back in 2004. Last night as I sat there in disbelief as my Sox went down 3 games to 1 after looking like world beaters in the 1st game of the series. Now, we've lost 3 straight and looked bad doing it. But I keep telling myself I won't let it get me down. " No. No. I can't do it. I won't do it."

I say that half kidding.

A friend of mine who was a BIG Braves fan back in the early 90's told me something one day when I asked him how devastated he felt after the Braves lost again during the play-offs. He said to me, "I know it's just a game and I shouldn't allow whether they win or lose to dictate whether I am going to have a good day or a bad day." As I repeat that now, these 35 year old ears hear words of wisdom. Back then the scars from the '86 Series loss for the Sox were still as fresh and painful as the fateful night it (Buckner) happened. So those insightful words were undoubtedly met with mocking laughter and an increase in ribbing for the next 6 weeks. Boy I was a horse's patootie back then. Ahh...the ignorance of youth. :-)

I had to insert this funny Curt Schilling commercial just because...

I love my Small Group...

At Christ's Church, there is a strong push to have all our members get into a small group. This is where "real life change happens." In a church our size, it can be very easy to just sit in the pew and leave each Sunday, feeling like you can now check that box off your list. Being actively involved in a small group changes that and allows you to make connections to people you might otherwise never meet.
Without sounding like a "yes man," everything these small groups are advertised to be is true. When we came to Christ's Church (known as Mandarin Christian Church then), Senior Pastor Dennis Bratton told us to give it a try and don't stop if it's not the right match the first time. Well, that rang true and our second group was MUCH more successful and those relationships we built are some of our very close friends to this day. Janet, Dell, Clay, Donna, etc....people who God put in my at just the right time.

Mark Tyre and the rest of the Small Group ministry tell us that being in a home study group helps you make connections which makes this large church not seem so large and intimidating. As someone who grew up in a Church of Christ (non-instrumental) with about 200 people, coming to Mandarin Christian was a shock of sorts. I can't tell you how nice it was to see those faces of my small group friends each and every week.

And over the years as we have joined different small groups, the relationships and friendships have grown. I probably have 20 dear friends that I have as a direct result of being in a small group with them. Connections like that don't come from an ABF class. Or a basketball team. And it sure doesn't happen from just coming and sitting in a pew every Sunday.

Now my current Small Group seems to fit like a glove. My wife and I were just thrilled that each of the 13 people in our group seemed to mesh. What's so awesome is we have singles, married with young kids and married with adult kids. Some in our group are in their early 20's and some in their 60's. Some are in their first small group and some in their 5th. Some are brand new to CC and some are pushing 20 years of attendance.

Now this assortment of folks will offer variety and perspectives that will make this group flourish.

NOW it's time to watch baseball

In honor of the Major League Baseball playoffs starting tonight, I want to share a picture of my daughters' first major league game. We went to see the Red Sox play the Devil Rays down in Tampa last year. It was a great match-up between Josh Beckett and Scott Kazmir who are the aces of both teams. Despite Kazmir tossing a complete game two-hitter in a 3-0 win, we had a blast. My family and I shared some moments that all dads dream of. We chanted "Maaaaannnnny, Maaaaaaaannnnny..." and then we all enjoyed saying "I love it when you call me Big Papi." every time David Ortiz stepped up. And we saw Jonathan Papelbon warm up just feet from us in the Red Sox bullpen. And we shared the ultimate baseball moment by singing "Take me out to the ball game," in the 7th inning.

Yes, those were great times and very soon, we will add to those memories by bringing my son Grayson Thomas Boston along to see his first Sox game. For those who haven't heard the story about his two middle names, this was a compromise between my wife and I. I was pushing pretty hard for Boston to be his first name but no dice-k. I thought Curt was gonna work for a while but that eventually was axed as well. Oddly enough, Manny, Pedro, Nomar and Yaz were not even allowed to be discussed. Geez... :-)

I will root for the Red Sox like I always have and try to keep it all in perspective if they don't win. Having my kids sit down and watch it with me is what will make this time truly special as I will probably forget who actually wins tonight but I will always remember who was watching with me.

Go Sox!