This is the first day of a weekly publishing of "Dave's Deep Thoughts." Who is Dave, you might ask? Dave happens to be my older and wiser brother. See past article on USC pastor in a PSU church. My brother publishes a weekly correspondence with the college students of his United Methodist congregation and always provides a very creative devotional thought, usually based on a recent incident or experience in his life.
When I called him yesterday to get permission to publish his weekly devotional on my web blog, I also asked him what to call it. He said something like, "Reflections from Dave" or something lame like that. So, in a matter of 5 minutes before I need to leave for a meeting at the church, I have come up with this catchy title which you will see every week when I post his devotional. The title??? Drum roll, please....
Dave's Deep Thoughts
Enjoy my brother's first devotional on Nikos. Read on...
There is a legion of people that adore them.
There are also those who despise them.
And then, there are those, like me,
who are disappointed in them.
I really expected more.
Far more.
Some would wonder what more could I expect
out of a team that had just won the Super Bowl?
Consider this...
An organization that is now
having to build new shelves to accommodate
all the world championship hardware that it possesses.....
An organization that has had only
three coaches during the last 40 years.......
An organization that has developed
a legion of fans unprecedented in the country.
An organization that
continues to win year after year,
despite losing key players
to the free agent market.
Very disappointing........
I turned the television on
to watch the the victory parade
through the downtown of the city.
Thousands and thousands of people
crammed into every nook and cranny along the streets,
welcoming their conquering warriors home,
cheering every speech,
every gesture from the team's players.
An entire city
coming together as one
to celebrate their triumph.
And then it happened.
The doors of disappointment opened wide,
and the players marched on in.
It started with one player.
A second stringer. who receives
little playing time.
you see,
he began to........
.............................
.................................
he began to..........
....................................
he began to...........
sing.
Or should I say,
attempt to sing
It's a simple cheer,
sung by all the fans
at important moments
during each game,
at each pep rally,
at each tailgate.
It consists of 8 notes,
and only three different pitches.
It begins with a minor third.
A minor third!
It's the interval that children
usually first learn to sing
because it is a natural interval
for young ears to understand.
From there,
it goes down a major second,
and then finally up a perfect fourth
In musical theory,
(or to all Sound of Music enthusiasts)
it would be sung to these syllables.........
Do Do Do Do Do Do
La
Sol
It is the simplest of melodies,
so that anyone can sing it.
But not this cornerback.
Not even close.
He tried to get the crowd to join in with him,
but he was so off pitch,
they didn't know how to help him.
So his teammates attempted to come to his aid.
Each one more unsuccessful than the previous.
Finally there were eight players
all trying to sing this cheer,
each in their own key,
each one woefully off the mark.
I sat there utterly aghast at what I was hearing.
There is a word for it in music theory.
It is called cacophony,
it means harsh or discordant sound.
And oh, how harsh it was.
I have seen these players storm back
and grasp victory from the jaws of defeat.
I have seen these players
capture the attention of the nation and even the world.
And yet there they were.
unable to sing their way out of a paper bag............
I fully plan to write the coach
and advise that he schedule singing classes
sometime in between tackling drills and scrimmages next year.
It is said that he who sings,
prays twice.
If that is true,
then these world champions
don't have a prayer.
Forget the 6 Super Bowl titles.
These would be the guys getting laughed off the stage
in the first round of American Idol.
Having a song is important.
It is vital.
I have seen people who work their way,
even triumph over many obstacles in their lives,
and yet they seem to have no song.
In the Old Testament,
the Lord instructed singers to be at the front of the army before each battle
In the New Testament,
they sang songs and hymns before the last supper,
If you find yourself
fighting your battles
and you have little or no song.........
call a timeout,
get to a songfest.
Learn how to sing your song.
You just might be surprised at the results.
"Be filled with the Spirit, speaking to one another
in psalms and hymns, and spiritual songs,
singing and making melody with your heart to the Lord.
Ephesians 5: 18b-19
There are also those who despise them.
And then, there are those, like me,
who are disappointed in them.
I really expected more.
Far more.
Some would wonder what more could I expect
out of a team that had just won the Super Bowl?
Consider this...
An organization that is now
having to build new shelves to accommodate
all the world championship hardware that it possesses.....
An organization that has had only
three coaches during the last 40 years.......
An organization that has developed
a legion of fans unprecedented in the country.
An organization that
continues to win year after year,
despite losing key players
to the free agent market.
Very disappointing........
I turned the television on
to watch the the victory parade
through the downtown of the city.
Thousands and thousands of people
crammed into every nook and cranny along the streets,
welcoming their conquering warriors home,
cheering every speech,
every gesture from the team's players.
An entire city
coming together as one
to celebrate their triumph.
And then it happened.
The doors of disappointment opened wide,
and the players marched on in.
It started with one player.
A second stringer. who receives
little playing time.
you see,
he began to........
.............................
.................................
he began to..........
....................................
he began to...........
sing.
Or should I say,
attempt to sing
It's a simple cheer,
sung by all the fans
at important moments
during each game,
at each pep rally,
at each tailgate.
It consists of 8 notes,
and only three different pitches.
It begins with a minor third.
A minor third!
It's the interval that children
usually first learn to sing
because it is a natural interval
for young ears to understand.
From there,
it goes down a major second,
and then finally up a perfect fourth
In musical theory,
(or to all Sound of Music enthusiasts)
it would be sung to these syllables.........
Do Do Do Do Do Do
La
Sol
It is the simplest of melodies,
so that anyone can sing it.
But not this cornerback.
Not even close.
He tried to get the crowd to join in with him,
but he was so off pitch,
they didn't know how to help him.
So his teammates attempted to come to his aid.
Each one more unsuccessful than the previous.
Finally there were eight players
all trying to sing this cheer,
each in their own key,
each one woefully off the mark.
I sat there utterly aghast at what I was hearing.
There is a word for it in music theory.
It is called cacophony,
it means harsh or discordant sound.
And oh, how harsh it was.
I have seen these players storm back
and grasp victory from the jaws of defeat.
I have seen these players
capture the attention of the nation and even the world.
And yet there they were.
unable to sing their way out of a paper bag............
I fully plan to write the coach
and advise that he schedule singing classes
sometime in between tackling drills and scrimmages next year.
It is said that he who sings,
prays twice.
If that is true,
then these world champions
don't have a prayer.
Forget the 6 Super Bowl titles.
These would be the guys getting laughed off the stage
in the first round of American Idol.
Having a song is important.
It is vital.
I have seen people who work their way,
even triumph over many obstacles in their lives,
and yet they seem to have no song.
In the Old Testament,
the Lord instructed singers to be at the front of the army before each battle
In the New Testament,
they sang songs and hymns before the last supper,
If you find yourself
fighting your battles
and you have little or no song.........
call a timeout,
get to a songfest.
Learn how to sing your song.
You just might be surprised at the results.
"Be filled with the Spirit, speaking to one another
in psalms and hymns, and spiritual songs,
singing and making melody with your heart to the Lord.
Ephesians 5: 18b-19
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