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| James Drury is 'The Virginian'. This tv show ran from 1963 to 1977.
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| Coach Sam and Elijah at The Bayou Club |
The big news around this area is that some kids in Sweeny, Texas are refusing to stand for the Pledge of Allegiance and the Sweeny ISD School Board has changed it's policies under pressures from the American Civil Liberties Union.
Here is a news link reporting the story details...
http://abclocal.go.com/ktrk/story?section=news/local&id=8088920
Honestly, this turns my stomach.... If America starts turning out more kids like this we have absolutely no hope at all to survive as a country. I am twice as disappointed in the parents of these children. And I am triple disappointed in the elected school board officials who did not take a stronger stand on this issue.
I am definitely praying for this situation...
~coach sam
Role Models: Are You One…?
The word ‘role’ is usually associated with theater arts. When you think of the word ‘role’ you usually think of a character in a movie, play or drama. An actor or actress will play the ‘role’ of a certain character. If they played their role particularly well, we will remember their performance.
The ‘role’ is a description or example of the character it portrays. Now, most stories are about some sort of conflict or problem, and how that conflict or problem is resolved. A basic conflict theme often portrayed is ‘Good versus Evil’.
A perfect example of this theme occurs in the movie: ‘Star Wars’. In this epic motion picture the character that exemplified ‘Good’ was Luke Skywalker. The example of ‘Bad’ was Darth Vader.
In real life we have people who are role models that exemplify ‘good’, or ‘bad’. Honestly, I have come to learn that life is really a struggle of the good versus bad theme played out over and over again. Have you ever noticed any recurring themes in your life?
I wrote a few weeks ago about the importance of teachers and coaches in our lives and how these ‘powerful’ roles can affect us in a positive or negative way. For myself, I think God allowed me to discern good and bad fairly early in life. Praise God that I did have many ‘Good’ directions to turn to. But I have often thought to myself, what if ‘this’ or ‘that’ had or had not happened in my life, what kind person would I have become? What different set of choices might I have made and who would I be today…?
The fact is, any number of scenarios could have played out. But the bible says that God has a plan for us, and it is a plan for ‘GOOD’. In Jeremiah 1:5 God says: ‘Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations.’
Of course, God was speaking to Jeremiah in this passage, but this scripture tells us that our lives are no accident. Things don’t happen by chance. There is a God who is in control of what happens. Jeremiah 29:11 explains: ‘For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."
Friends, we have hope and a future. It is a GOOD future! You may not think of yourself as a role model. But your life, your words and your actions touch countless others around you in ways you may not be aware. I challenge you today to be a role model for ‘GOOD’. Do not under estimate the awesome power of an encouraging word or an act of unselfish kindness or generosity. One good word or deed has the power to transform a life.
~Coach Sam Chadwell, April 26, 2011
I enjoy coaching and living 'out in the country' at Columbia Lakes. I am going to try to keep up with my blogging and spend less time on facebook in the new year...!
Here is a picture of my brother and I this past June at 'Coach Sam's Alumni Tournament' for current and former students as well as anyone who played high school tennis in Brazoria, Wharton, or Matagorda counties over the years.
John and I made it to the finals of the men's doubles division but had to retire in the deciding match because I was cramping up in the heat. I weighed about 236 pounds in that photo. I was actually playing fairly well but carrying that much extra weight is too great a liability, especially in the heat of a Texas summer.
Fast forward to October 27, 2010. My wife and I radically changed our diets nearly two months ago after she did some research and discovered that many people have had amazing results curing their diabetes and high blood pressure with a vegan diet.
We gave it a try and have been simply astonished with the results. In just two weeks my blood sugar levels and heart rate had significantly lowered. After 3 weeks I had lost 12 pounds and had virtually no signs of diabetes whatsoever. I am now closing in on 2 months and weighed in at 217 last night, a loss of close to 19 pounds...!
I feel better than I have in years. ...And, we have been eating like royalty around here, too! If anyone following my progress would like to sample some of our recipes we'll be glad to share...!
So right now I am looking forward to another round of the Alumni Tournament series I started in June. I think I will be more of a threat with the shedding of 20 pounds...
The next Alumni Tournament will be November 19-20 at the Columbia Lakes Tennis Center in West Columbia, Texas. The deadline is November 12. You can register online at http://chadwelltennis.com/
See you on the courts...!
I left Columbia Lakes in November of 2008 and now I am returning after a fifteen month absence...! I am very much looking forward to getting started again.
My focus right away is to get some programming in here that really caters to the local community, especially familes. I have many fond memories growing up in Bay City and playing tennis just about every day with my mom and younger brother...
I really want to see families grow closer through quality time spent together engaged in activities at the Columbia Lakes Tennis Center. There's so much potential here. I have many new fun programs and events already in the planning stages...
Yay... It's almost Christmas 2009. Christmas Eve has been an enjoyable, relaxing day. I've been preparing some delicious stuffed pork loin rolls all afternoon. Elijah has been helping me. We have also decided to watch all the Star Wars movies this weekend. -That's a nice Chirstmas tradition.... We're watching NEW HOPE right now...
Monica's been busy but has not had a stressful day. Everything is going pretty well for this Christmas holiday.
Church is coming up at 5 PM and then we are going to visit some friends this evening. Looking forward to it...
More later.....
I like this photo that was taken of me during a tennis class a few weeks ago. I am demonstrating a two handed backhand technique, but you can see a player a few courts away in the background and it looks like a little miniature player standing on the rim of my racquet. Hey: Don't fall off, Jennifer...!
Special thanks to Sharon McReynolds who has been taking photos during my weekend classes the past month...!
I am gearing up for a big week of Thanksgiving camp activities next week. Go to my website: http://chadwelltennis.com or email me at coachsam@chadwelltennis.com for more information...! Pre-registration is requested so that I can plan good programs...!
TODAY, I am renewing my commitment to praying earnestly for Barack Obama...! I think I am going to start a weekly letter of encouragement and constructive criticism to the President. SERIOUSLY. I am going to do that. I'm not being sarcastic.
Elijah and I were fishing and I decided I would pretend to be asleep. Elijah climbed on top of my tummy and said 'Daddy, Daddy, wake up...' But I pretended to be snoring....
Elijah took my hat off but I continued to pretend to be asleep.... (Making more snoring sounds...)
Elijah decided to model my hat for mommy who was taking photos...
Here's a neat photo of Elijah and daddy enjoying a fun moment of fishing at a park in Lake Jackson during spring break this past week. All we caught was a turtle, though... But we has a great time. Mommy joined us, too. We also played on several playgrounds in the area.
I'm sad spring break is over... But I am planning to budget my time better from now on so we can enjoy more fun family moments like this one in the future...
I used to blog all the time. I have seven blogs, you know. And I used to get to all of them at least once a week. Now I can hardly find the time to update one blog every day. But here I go again, trying to recapture what I consider 'sanity' in my life.
Yesterday, March 20, was the nine year anniversary of my mom's passing. I can not believe that my mom has been gone for nine years. Oh how I miss her.
My poor mom was a mess. She made many bad life choices and died a painful, senseless death without any of her family or friends around her.
At the time of my mom's passing, she and I had been in a disagreement about her life style (alcoholism) and had not spoken with each other for nearly three months. I can't even recall our last conversation, but I do remember writing her a letter telling her how disappointed I was that she was not taking care of herself and that I was 'taking a break' from her until she changed her destructive habits.
Yeah... I found that letter on the mantel of her fireplace as my sis and I were cleaning up her house getting it ready to sell. It really chokes me up to think how my mom was feeling in those days leading up to her passing. How alone and abandoned she must have felt... How scared she must have been...
But the one thing that really gets me You see, is my mom didn't know the Lord. She had given up on pretty much any kind of religion. And me... I knew the Lord, but I was a weak Christian back then.(still am, in fact) I was fed up with my mom. I was worn out caring for her. I was sick and tired of her not trying to get better.
I tried to witness to her but couldn't get through... So I just gave up. I gave up on my mom. Oh I was just 'taking a break' I told myself. But I ran out of time...
And she died.
I'm really doing bad emotionally with all this right now. I still have guilt that I didn't stop my busy life for a while longer and throw myself into the woman who gave birth to me. The woman who held me in her arms as a little baby and loved me.
And now I have little doubt where her soul is resting in eternity... Oh I could have done more...
Sure, she had Free Will and made her own life decisions, but I see my mom's life as a missed opportunity.
My daddy passed away six months later. That's an entirely different story, there...
I could go on and on but I think I've spilled enough emotion for the morning. Let me close on a positive note:
I know I can't change the past. But I can make sure that history does not repeat itself. I'm not going to give up on or take a break from anyone else. I'm going to diligently seek my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, every day. In that way, I believe there will be some meaning to my mom's life and death. I know my Lord has plans to prosper me, not plans for calamity.
Dear Friends, I apologize for the 'dark' tone of my post today. I needed to write to let out some emotion. I'm better now. I believe that in our lives we are going to face struggles. But God is Good. He will never leave us or forsake us. Call upon the name of the Lord and BE SAVED...!
I emailed President Obama through his website today. You can too. Go to this link:
http://www.whitehouse.gov/contact/
Here's what I wrote in my message that was limited to only 500 characters:
Dear Mr Obama,
I would like to extend my sincerest best wishes for your next four years as the Commander in Chief of the United States of America. I want you to know that while I disagree with many of your policies and platforms, I am committed to praying for you, your family, and administration every single day for the next four years.
I appreciate that you are committed to creating the most open and accessible administration in American history.
Kind Regards,
Sam Chadwell
I plan to contact the White House pretty much on a daily basis letting them know in a very nice way how I feel about it's policies and actions.
Wouldn't it be great if Christians every where literally flooded the White House with positive, constructive criticism...?
Hey, we can take a stand for what we believe in without coming across as fanatical religious zealots. I have to admit it's going to be hard for me to be polite when I'm expressing my opposing views on topics such as abortion, but I'm praying that the Holy Spirit will come through for me.
We all have to pray. God is in control. Proverbs 21:1 says: The king's heart is like channels of water in the hand of the LORD; He turns it wherever He wishes.
Pray Hard. Pray like You've never prayed before. LET'S DO IT, PEOPLE...!
I plan to use this blog to voice my opinion about what is going on in this once great country. I think it is more important than ever for American Christians to stand up for what they believe in and take an active role in influencing our country.
Many of us, Christians or not, are too busy with the details of our own lives to stop and notice what is happening around us. And in this day and age things can change in a hurry, sometimes in the blink of an eye.
It is my desire to keep completely updated with what is going on in our government since I disagree with much of the platform of the Democratic party that is in power right now.
I pray for Holy Spirit intervention in matters of abortion legislation, and other issues near and dear to my heart.
I am standing in the gap for this country. I ask my Family, Friends, and Americans everywhere to join me in holding our government leaders accountable and keeping each other informed of important issues in our country.
God Bless America.
Dear Friends...
Happy New Year...! I'm a little behind on my blogging in 2009, but plan to try to start updating this site about once a week... I'm really going to try to keep the content fresh and interesting this year...
Today's topic is about comments made by Episcopal Bishop Gene Robinson regarding his speaking at the upcoming inauguration of President Elect Barack Obama.
You need to read this link for a little background information :
http://www.onenewsnow.com/Church/Default.aspx?id=381722
OK, here's the problem I have with this guy: Forget that he's a homosexual. I'm not even going to address that issue. The problem I have is this 'Episcopal Bishop' reported that he doesn't yet know what he'll say at the inauguration, but he knows he won't use a Bible.
The article also quotes him as saying:
"While the bible is a holy and sacred text to me, it is not for many Americans," Robinson said. "I will be careful not to be especially Christian in my prayer. This is a prayer for the whole nation."
Am I the only one who sees the disconnect?
Gene Robinson has been asked by President Obama to pray at the inauguration but he's NOT going to use a bible and is NOT going to be Christian in his prayer.
Oh, how our world seems to have turned upside down...!
Here's a suggestion for Bishop Robinson: It's a prayer that was forwarded to me via email by a home school mom- It's the kind of prayer that I wish were prayed at this inauguration, and the kind that Believers need to pray every day.
Heavenly Father,
We come before you today to ask your forgiveness and to seek your direction and guidance. We know Your Word says, 'Woe to those who call evil good,' but that is exactly what we have done.
We have lost our spiritual equilibrium and reversed our values. We have exploited the poor and called it the lottery. We have rewarded laziness and called it welfare. We have killed our unborn and called it choice. We have shot abortionists and called it justifiable. We have neglected to discipline our children and called it building self esteem. We have abused power and called it politics.
We have coveted our neighbors possessions and called it ambition. We have polluted the air with profanity and pornography and called it freedom of expression. We have ridiculed the time-honored values of our forefathers and called it enlightenment.
Search us, Oh God, and know our hearts today; cleanse us from every sin and Set us free. Amen!'
Friends, let's start praying for America like we never have before... This is a CRUCIAL time in our country's history.
(Let's also pray for Bishop Robinson...)
Join me in standing in the Gap for America Today...!
