Cheering for the Home Team:

​Happy St. Patrick's Day! But instead of something green, I decided to carry on with the theme I used last week: Basketball and March Madness. One of the first things our daughter, Stacie, did when she purchased her new KIA Sportage was to order a personalized license plate. Her original word, "TARHAWK" above her bumper, let everyone know that though she lived in NC and supported the Tarheels, her home team would always be the KS Jayhawks.

This picture was taken in 2008 when the two teams met each other in the semi-finals of the NCAA Tournament. The Kansas Jayhawks won that game and advanced to become the National Champs. It was a great year. March Madness is always a favorite time and we hope to see our two teams play in the final game in 2016. We'll be cheering for the Jayhawks, but if we have to lose, a Tarheels win would be an OK consolation prize.

As I gazed at this photo of me and my daughter, and pondered our dual basketball loyalties, I was reminded that though we still live here on earth, our Home Team is in Heaven. Even though we're missing our favorite teammate, we refuse to sit on the bench. We want to keep playing our hardest, listen to our Coach and do what He tells us to do. The goal is to finish the game, accomplishing all we have been assigned and trained to do.  But we long for the final buzzer (Trump of God!) when the real Champion, Jesus Christ, comes back in Victory and takes us Home forever.  WE WIN!