Having family prayer with young children is an experience.
After we read scriptures at night as a family, we kneel down together and then I select somebody to say the prayer. This should be a reverent, spiritually building experience, but I must admit the comedy of the situation sometimes boils its way to the surface and the result is a family of gigglers hoping the Lord isn't going to come down those stairs and catch us in the middle of something we shouldn't be doing.
It is a challenge for me to select a good rotation in who will be the orator each night. The difficulty is mixing it up enough so that one person is not the orator for the blessing of all the meals, family, companionship and personal prayers. I have to look at this like I am a coach of a baseball team. It is important that my pitchers get at least a day or two of rest before I put them back in the pitching (praying) rotation. There is somebody, however, sitting at the end of the bench that rarely gets used. Chances are, we could be up 3 Runs with two strikes in the bottom of the ninth inning, and if I have that person come in to the game, he/she could blow our lead and we'd lose the game.
I have found that some of the pitchers on my team will continue to throw the same pitch over and over again. "Thankful for this day, help us to have fun, in the name of...." If my pitchers don't shake it up a little bit, the batter is going to go yard on him. Before this happens, I have to take a trip to the mound and signal to the bullpen for a good closer.
I have to keep reminding myself this is Little League, and it is important to the Heavenly Parents that everybody gets an opportunity to play. I don't want to have the children's parents upset with me.
My assistant coach and I try to teach the players that it is important to be reverent, to bow their heads, fold their arms and close their eyes during prayer. As a coach, I find myself praying with one eye open. This is in an effort to make sure my team is doing what they're supposed to. I figure this is a practice I can do away with if I can get my team to the playoffs on a consistent basis, but the trouble is, just when we think we've got a solid team together, somebody new joins the team. (No, my fellow readers, this is not an announcement of a pregnancy!)
With the rookies joining the team, I find my team members all participating in family prayer with their eyes open! As they are looking around, occasionally, they will catch my eye. As the prayer continues, I am wagging my finger at them trying to get them to close their eyes and keep their heads in the game. "Look fellas, we've already committed an error, and if we're not careful, the other team will take advantage of our defensive weakness. Focus! On a ground ball, throw to first for the easy out!"
Sometimes, one of the players will get up and move from his/her defensive position and leaves a large gap in the infield. He/she is usually found outside the stadium at the local kitchen having a donut. The problem is, during the game (prayer), the coach can't leave the dugout or the coaches box. We have to wait until the game is called (amen), before I can re-coach the team.
After we read scriptures at night as a family, we kneel down together and then I select somebody to say the prayer. This should be a reverent, spiritually building experience, but I must admit the comedy of the situation sometimes boils its way to the surface and the result is a family of gigglers hoping the Lord isn't going to come down those stairs and catch us in the middle of something we shouldn't be doing.
It is a challenge for me to select a good rotation in who will be the orator each night. The difficulty is mixing it up enough so that one person is not the orator for the blessing of all the meals, family, companionship and personal prayers. I have to look at this like I am a coach of a baseball team. It is important that my pitchers get at least a day or two of rest before I put them back in the pitching (praying) rotation. There is somebody, however, sitting at the end of the bench that rarely gets used. Chances are, we could be up 3 Runs with two strikes in the bottom of the ninth inning, and if I have that person come in to the game, he/she could blow our lead and we'd lose the game.
I have found that some of the pitchers on my team will continue to throw the same pitch over and over again. "Thankful for this day, help us to have fun, in the name of...." If my pitchers don't shake it up a little bit, the batter is going to go yard on him. Before this happens, I have to take a trip to the mound and signal to the bullpen for a good closer.
I have to keep reminding myself this is Little League, and it is important to the Heavenly Parents that everybody gets an opportunity to play. I don't want to have the children's parents upset with me.
My assistant coach and I try to teach the players that it is important to be reverent, to bow their heads, fold their arms and close their eyes during prayer. As a coach, I find myself praying with one eye open. This is in an effort to make sure my team is doing what they're supposed to. I figure this is a practice I can do away with if I can get my team to the playoffs on a consistent basis, but the trouble is, just when we think we've got a solid team together, somebody new joins the team. (No, my fellow readers, this is not an announcement of a pregnancy!)
With the rookies joining the team, I find my team members all participating in family prayer with their eyes open! As they are looking around, occasionally, they will catch my eye. As the prayer continues, I am wagging my finger at them trying to get them to close their eyes and keep their heads in the game. "Look fellas, we've already committed an error, and if we're not careful, the other team will take advantage of our defensive weakness. Focus! On a ground ball, throw to first for the easy out!"
Sometimes, one of the players will get up and move from his/her defensive position and leaves a large gap in the infield. He/she is usually found outside the stadium at the local kitchen having a donut. The problem is, during the game (prayer), the coach can't leave the dugout or the coaches box. We have to wait until the game is called (amen), before I can re-coach the team.
I liked this post! Great analogy. And I have to say, I think it makes God happy to hear the giggles and laughter of his children. :)
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