Northern Stars

      When I was kid, I remember watching Tony Hawk land the 900 on TV. It was by far, the most amazing thing I had ever seen. It was unthinkable that someone on  a skateboard could launch off the side of a half pipe, spin two-and-a-half revolutions, and then come down and land back on the board. In 1999 he was the first ever to land this trick in competition at the X Games, and it was a big deal for action sports. People said that the ground shook that day. It made a huge impact because it took his sport to the next level.
      Ironically that same year, Travis Pastrana, who is also an action sports legend, praised skateboarding and Tony for moving action sports forward as it did. Something he said his sport (freestyle motocross) could not do. In 2006 he landed the first double back flip on a dirt bike in X Games history. It was about the same feeling and just as magnificent as when Tony hawk Landed the 900! And this time, the ground really did shake!

     The accomplishments that these two men made were legendary. But they didn't happen overnight, and they weren't one-shot deals either. It took Tony Hawk eleven tries to land the 900 in competition before he finally landed it. And for Pastrana, he had landed double back flips riding a motorcycle on his ramps at home, into a foam pit, or on dirt. But never of the height, or the setting in competition where it counted. Falling short performing that feat at the X Games meant serious injury or death. Either one of them could have quit, or given up, let someone else do it, or walk away. But they didn't, and that's what made them great.
     Were faced with choices like this each and every day. Life has a tendency to suck (for lack of better words). One day were bulletproof, and then the next were broken. We find ourselves down for the count, but we have all have the choice to get back up. . if we want too. We can choose to get back up, and we can choose to keep trying when it seems like everything is pinned against us. It's never a matter of what we can and can't do, it's a matter of what we want to accomplish and if were going to do what it takes to get there.
      Before we came to this earth, we knew we would pass through the veil and forget everything up to that point. We knew we chose God's plan and that meant coming to get a body, and be subject to not only joy and happiness but also the pains and trials that came with it. We knew this life wouldn't be easy, but we knew it would be worth it. There are things we have to go through, that just don't make sense. . We fall short, we miss chances, we make mistakes, and we screw up. . several times even! Thats just how life goes sometimes. But with the help of God and our Savior Jesus Christ we can turn those mistakes, and shortcomings all into lessons. There wouldn't be any point to life life we couldn't!
      We learn and progress by making mistakes and learning lessons. When Thomas Edison was asked if he felt like a failure after falling short over nine thousand times when inventing the light bulb, he replied: "I now know definitively over 9,000 ways that an electric light bulb will not work. Success is almost in my grasp." After the ten thousandth attempt, Edison accomplished his goal. He never let failure hinder his dreams, he only used it to push himself further.
     If we trust in our Savior, who went below the imaginable to give us this priceless gift, we can move past anything that tries to hold us back. That "when the devil shall send forth his mighty winds, yea, his shafts in the whirlwind, yea, when all his hail and mighty storm shall beat upon you, it shall have no power over you to drag you down. . " (Helaman 5: 12) It's all about building our foundation on the rock of our Savior Jesus Christ, so that we can turn our shortcomings and mistakes into northern stars that lead us in the right direction.

Right By Your Side

Her parents never took the young girl to church
Never spoke of His name
Never read her His word
Two non-believers walking lost in this world
Took their baby with them
What a sad little girl
Her daddy drank all day and mommy did drugs
Never wanted to play
Or give kisses and hugs
She'd watch the TV and sit there on the couch
While her mom fell asleep
And her daddy went out
And the drinking and the fighting
just got worse every night
Behind their couch she'd be hiding
Oh what a sad little life
And like it always does, the bad just got worse
With every slap and every curse
Until her daddy in a drunk rage one night
Used a gun on her mom and then took his life
And some people from the city took the girl far away
To a new mom and a new dad
kisses and hugs everyday
Her first day of Sunday school the teacher walked in
And a small little girl
Stared at a picture of Him
She said I know that man up there on that cross
I don't know His name
But I know He got off
Cause He was there in my old house
and held me close to His side
As I hid there behind our couch
The night that my parents died

"The Little Girl" - John Michael Montgomery

       

   

      For anyone reading this who is struggling with something in life, never forget that there is always hope. Even through the darkest times, when it seems that there is no way out. Our Savior Jesus Christ knows exactly how we feel, and He will stand by us no matter what. He endured through pain and sorrow beyond all capabilities of the imagination, and He did it for us. I know this because He took away my pain. I know the Atonement Of Jesus Christ is real and that through its power we can experience great happiness and return to live with Him again. No matter where we go or what we go through in life, He will be there, right by our side.

       

The Strength To Come Back

    Josh Hamilton was the first player chosen in the first round of the 1999 baseball draft by the Tampa Bay Devil Rays. He grew up his whole life playing baseball and had a natural talent for it. His ability enabled him to outplay kids twice his age. He was destined to be one of those rare "high-character" superstars. But in 2001, working his way from the minors to the majors, all of the plans for Josh went off the rails in a moment of weakness. What followed was a nightmare of drugs and alcohol, estrangement from his friends and family, and his eventual suspension from baseball.
    After signing with Tampa Bay, Hamilton spent his first two years in the minor leagues living with his parents, who had quit their jobs to shepherd their son. Just before the 2001 season began, all three were injured in a car accident. While his parents recovered at home in Raleigh, Hamilton recuperated in Florida while staying with the team.
    Alone for the first time, unable to play, he started hanging out in a local tattoo parlor where he developed his first addiction—to ink. Josh soon began too fall to the influence of the parlor employees which soon led him to alcoholism and the use of cocaine.
       At first Hamilton's drug use was occasional, but by summer 2002, he was using during the season and acting out the paranoid life of a junkie. Then came the first of several positive drug tests and suspensions. By 2004 he had been banned from pro ball altogether.   
      Nearly four years later, after crack-and-booze-induced hazes, bouncing between trailer homes where he'd collapse onto the floor with other addicts, and posh rehab centers where he failed time and again, Josh finally began to hit the road to recovery, when he began to pray and read the bible. He read and stumbled across a scripture in James 4:7: "Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you" At that moment, he went cold turkey. It was a frightful few weeks. His mind played tricks on him. The cravings were gargantuan. But he began to gain weight and strength, and his Grandmother, who at the time was providing him housing and support, began talking about a comeback. 
       For Josh, that comeback meant making restitution with his wife Katie, restoring their trust, and restoring meaning to his life. It wouldn't be easy, but he knew what he had to do.  After much counseling together their marriage was saved, and Josh found the way to restore the meaning in his life: Pick up the bat and play ball. 
        He began by spending a long winter and spring at the Winning Inning, a Christ-centered youth baseball academy in Clearwater, Florida, where Hamilton cleaned toilets, mowed lawns, and slept on an air mattress. He had to do his chores, help teach the students, and maintain a good attitude. At first, Josh was withdrawn. He had a hard time trusting others, but through his work ethics and bible study his demeanor began to change, and his time in the batting cages proved he still had the goods.
       By the end of the 2006 season, Josh Hamilton was given a second chance by the Tampa Bay Rays and he played well in fifteen games with their minor league team. He was then traded to Cincinnati where he displayed flashes of greatness but was held back by injuries. Then after being traded once again, Josh found his home in Texas. It was here during the 2008 season that Hamilton hit for an average of .304, knocked 32 home runs, batted in 130 runs, and was chosen to play in the all-star game. 
       The night before he set the record in the annual Home Run Derby where he smashed 28 homers in the first round. Crushing the current records set by sluggers like Bobby Abreu, David Ortiz, David Wright, Jason Giambi, and Mark McGuire, some even soaring over 500 feet. His longest one, and estimated 518 feet. Afterward, as millions watched from home, Hamilton credited God for his recovery, and almost immediately the speaking requests poured in from churches, drug rehab programs, and schools.

     
       Hamilton was named to the American League All Star Team, and made the All-Star team the next two seasons as well. He also won the American League batting title in 2010. Then on October 22, 2010, Hamilton was selected as MVP of the 2010 season, and on November 23, 2010, was named the 2010 American League MVP, earning 22 of 28 first-place votes. He would also carry the Rangers to the world series that year, where they lost to the San Fransisco Giants, but despite missing the taste of a world title, Josh Hamilton continues to amaze baseball fans all over the world.
      If you ask Josh, he'll say it's all part of his "platform" for reaching people who deal with their own or loved ones' addictions, and for reaching people with the good news of the gospel. He says, "I'm amazed God could use somebody as flawed as me."
      Josh Hamilton found his way back, and so can we. Each and every one of us are faced with challenges, whether they be big or small, and each of us encounter our own trials. Although we may not know just quite how others feel in these times, there is always someone who does. Our savior Jesus Christ, who suffered for the sins and afflictions of the world. We may never know in complete detail the pain that he suffered, but we do know that because of that great sacrifice we can all return to live with God again one day. 
       No matter how far off the path we find ourselves, we can always pick ourselves back up and keep moving forward. Sometimes it takes time and most always it takes a lot of courage and strength but its possible if we have faith and pray. Never let the fear of striking out keep you from playing the game, because there's always hope through our Savior Jesus Christ who can give us the strength to come back.