Winners vs. Champions, Kisses from Glo

Our church is hosting a Youth Conference during this week. The preparation has been daunting as we anticipated over three hundred teenagers would attend. We have not been disappointed. There were over three hundred in attendance yesterday and today’s attendance should be even higher if the pattern of years past follows. We even ran out of food during lunch and had to supplement with Wendy’s. Since lunch was Famous Dave’s chicken tenders and fries, Wendy’s was a little disappointing to those who had it. Today that will not happen. On the bright side, there was plenty of salad and few complaints.
Mama and I spent a lot of time running around getting the food and deserts for today’s lunch; Joe’s Subs – the six foot kind - today followed up with Famous Dave’s tonight. Our men are also roasting a pig for tonight with a luau theme. Wish I was there.
The preaching has been extraordinary, as usual, and the large crowds do not seem to be affected by the loss of our air-conditioning system. Yesterday we rented portable units and placed them as best we could to cool the auditorium. It was better than nothing as one of our former members worked very long hours to replace and upgrade our worn-out HVAC system. It will not be ready for several days yet so the portable units may be in place through Sunday.
One of the teenagers at conference was wearing a shirt with these words printed on the back:
Winners train until they win.
Champions train until they cannot fail.
I thought that was a great thought. A person can win by luck, by accident or by default and having won so, may never be able to repeat the success. Champions win over and over and over because they train differently. They think differently. Winning is a goal but never failing is the objective. Being so on top of their game that they automatically perform better than anyone else on the field of play is the master plan. Being so practiced that their training takes over in any moment of decision allowing them to control the outcome is the real objective of their focus.
I have often been a winner at many different things – but nothing consistently. I have been a champion at very, very few things – nothing athletic and nothing that is a solo activity. I list Mama’s and my marriage in this category – a team effort; something to which I am so committed that I can allow nothing to distract my focus on the Lord and on my wife. It is a continual effort because if I fail on that front, many will suffer. On the fathering effort, time will tell if I am a winner or, with God’s help, a champion.
My family in Arkansas watches a young special needs child of the pastor and his wife. Glo (her nickname) is the youngest of a very talented, hard-working and gifted family. Her gift is yet to be revealed. One of my daughters and her Grandpa are the most involved in the care we give – and it is very labor intensive since Glo is almost five years old with the mind of a one and one half year-old. With her body so far ahead of her thought processes, she is a handful, headstrong, demanding, and playful. (Perfectly normal for the way she relates to the world.) She can walk, which is helpful, because she is a heavy load when she decides she wants to be carried. She definitely loves attention and it is fun to give it to her.
Yesterday my daughter called to report that she had received her first real kiss from Glo. I think it is an honor to be inducted into such a select group of people to be loved by such a child.

Congratulations Victoria!