KU VS UT....I REALLY WISH I COULD HAVE HEARD "ROCKY TOP" ONE MORE TIME. NOT!!!!!!!!!!!!!

On Sunday, my pastor, his boy, my brother, and I traveled to Knoxville TN to watch the #1 team in America, the Kansas Jayhawks, take on the Tennessee Volunteers. We left that morning and drove pretty much all the way there before we stopped for lunch. We ate lunch at Wild Wing Cafe. Great place to stop and eat if you are taking a trip towards the Knoxville area. We arrived and found a decent parking spot about an hour before the tipoff of the game. I will say that it was extremely cold and found it hilarious that our pastor's son was actually walking in and wearing shorts!!! Of course, they are from the north so to him, he said "This isn't cold, you guys don't know what cold is!"

We get in and find our seats pretty easy. We were very happy to see that although we were the opposing team and obviously going to be outnumbered, we were sitting amongst a ton of Jayhawks fans. So at least if we were to throw down, we would have help!! :) The place was packed out and was very loud. It was awesome to experience such a crazy atmosphere for a basketball game. I will say that I really thought with all of the junk going on with Tennessee's program, they were going to get killed by Kansas. And with my pastor being such a huge Kansas fan, I was hoping for this reason it would happen as well. Not the case.

As the game began, Tennessee played with a lot of emotion and Kansas seemed very flat and lethargic. As the game progressed, Tennessee was making EVERYTHING they threw up and Kansas was turning the ball over almost every other trip. I was amazed that the game stayed as close as it did with as horrible as Kansas played. I will not lie and say that it being a close game made for a wonderful atmosphere at the very end.

The photo above is one of my favorite from the trip. Some things I will remember is that Rocky Top is the only song known in the state of Tennessee. I will guess that it was played at least 30 times in a 2 hour span. Being an Alabama fan, it was pure torture to hear that song over and over. The other thing that I will remember is how the student section was too chicken to rush the floor in the end. If my team just beat the number 1 team in the nation, it would take masses of people to keep me and my buddies off the floor. Yet they did not even make one big push to attempt to get on the floor. Poor, poor, student section.

Thanks to our pastor for inviting us to go and hope we get to make it to some more games soon! Even though it was a loss, I know that he will continue his "Rock Chalk Jayhawk" chant as my brother and I continue our "Let's Go Duke" chant. How awesome would it be to have a Kansas vs Duke National Championship game. We shall see.

LET IT SNOW, LET IS SNOW, LET IT .......... NOT SHOW!?!?!?!?

As a teacher, Christmas break is a wonderful thing. There is lots of time to do lots of different things....like blog. :) But as the routine of school has come back around, the free time that was once enjoyed has now become limited.

So when the news broke that we were going to get snow on Thursday and Friday, "snow joy" filled the Whitt household. We were so looking forward to building a snowman, making snow icecream, and riding the sled down the hill. You can only imagine the disappointment when my children went down for their nap with flurries all over the place and woke up to .........sunshine and grass??? No snow. NO SNOW!!! DAD, WHERE IS THE SNOW??!!??!! I had to break the tough news that the snow had never truly arrived, and was not going to make an appearance. The rule learned which I am sure we have all learned by now is this. If the weather folks say we are going to get snow, we ain't gettin snow. It's the times where they say that we will only see flurries or not get any at all. That's when we need to truly run to the grocery stores. I am still of the belief that grocery stores and meteorologists are part of a secret society to take care of each other!! :)



Although the snow never arrived, it was very nice to have a day off to just chill. I was able to do a lot of reading and just enjoy the day with the wife and kids. I will say that I probably did too much reading, but thank my wonderful wife for not getting too upset with me about that.

We finished out the evening like many others watching the BCS National Championship game between Alabama and Texas. I was very happy that Alabama won, but one of the big things that will stick out for many is the fact that Texas's best player, QB Colt McCoy was knocked out of the game 5 plays into their first drive and never returned. Unfortunately, this drastically changed the game and put Colt in the spotlight in a totally different manner than he had been in the entire year. I am an avid Alabama football fan, yet one of the biggest things that I will remember about this game is how Colt McCoy stayed strong in his faith as he was interviewed by the media at the end of the game.

In his postgame interview, Colt McCoy stated, "I always give God the glory. I never question why things happen the way they do. God is in control of my life, and I know that nothing else, I'm standing on the Rock."

My FCA devotion on Friday was entitled "Praise in Defeat" and talked about Colt and his witness during this defeated time in his life. The focus verse was Job 1:21 which states:

".....The Lord gives, and the Lord takes away. Praise the name of the Lord."

It really made me think about how many times in our lives it is very easy for us to praise the name of the Lord when we are on top, when things are going well, when life is "easy." But how about when life is hard? Do we praise the name of the Lord when our car breaks down and we only have $5 to fix a $500 job? Do we praise the name of the Lord when we are physically injured and can no longer go about the routines of our day as we once did? Or do we praise the name of the Lord when we have a certain desire on our heart that we want fulfilled and "not right now" or "no" continues to be the answer from Our Father?

I commend Colt McCoy for standing strong and sharing his faith in defeat. It's so much easier to praise His Name when we are hoisting up the trophy or things in our life are going wonderfully well. But the Lord has called us to praise His Name in all things, good, bad, or ugly. I pray that our focus will be that the Lord IS ALWAYS in control and know that He loves us, regardless of our circumstances or situations. Praise His Name today in whatever situation you are in, because somebody out there is watching!

If you missed it, below is a link to Colt's postgame interview and also another youtube video called "I Am Second" that he and Sam Bradford, Oklahoma's QB, made. Both of these kids have been in the spotlight and have taken major stands in their faith and personal relationships with the Lord, and may God bless them for that.

Postgame Interview
I Am Second video

ROLL TIDE!!

Congratulations to the Alabama Crimson Tide for becoming the 2009 - 2010 BCS National Champs!!!

2010 - A New Way?

As my wife and I closed out 2009 with a wonderful dinner date to Flemings ( I would encourage all to partake of this restaurant at least once in your life!!), we began to talk about the 5 million things that are already on the calendar for 2010. Even though the first day of the new year has not even begun yet, there are things already looked forward to and planned out on paper (Tennessee vs Kansas basketball trip and Guatemala wedding trip to name a couple). The beginning of a new year is always exciting for many because it brings a sense of "starting over." The previous year is always different for all. For some, it was filled with wonderful memories such as getting married, finding out that you are pregnant, maybe getting a job just to name a couple. For some, it was a year of struggling with some painful/sad memories involved. The beginning of a new year always brings about a time of reflection and an inner want to make the next year better. New goals are set, bad habits are targeted to eliminate, and the overall persona of a clean slate comes as a refreshing thought to many. Yet, should it be a new year that always brings about the thoughts and development of a new way?

Jesus says in John 14:6 "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me."

Many times we lose focus of the fact that the Lord is chasing us and there for us daily. We often get caught in our daily routines and within those same routines, we have habits that we really don't like in our lives. Instead of facing these things and turning them over to Him, we just keep rolling along in life letting these things get the best of us most times. Know that although this is the first day of a brand new year, the way we feel about the first day of a new year is the way we can and should feel about each day the Lord blesses us with. We should live each day for Him meaning that every time we wake up and our feet hit the floor, we should evaluate where we are in our relationship and walk with Our Savior. Make everyday count as a new day, not a new way.

Our "way" should always be Jesus. We will all face our own personal struggles and challenges in this new year we have entered into. Many of us on this day will make a commitment to stop doing certain things, or start doing certain things. We will all experience the good and the bad of 2010. May our hearts be renewed daily yet may our "way" never change.

Shane and Shane sing a song called "Great Reward." This song is my prayer for 2010.

May God bless your 2010!!