View from the Penalty Box

In case you've ever wondered what the view from the penalty box in the hockey arena was like, here are a few pictures.  See, parents volunteer to keep score in the Official Score Book, to run the clock and to "work the penalty box" for each of Kidlet Three's home hockey games.

I volunteer for the penalty box.  Which means getting situated in the plexi-glass area that usually isn't heated about 15 minutes before the game starts.  Then turning to the bench where the players will be sitting I can see that someone has carried each player's water bottle to the bench and neatly lined them up.  The players will soon be leaving the locker room and getting on the ice to warm up before the game starts.

This is Alex and he has an injury so he can't play hockey right now.  So he was assigned the water boy duty.  I was so impressed that he was the one that neatly lined up the bottles!

The score book stays on the table from game to game.  There is real carbon paper (some of you won't even know what that is) in between the several copies of the score sheets.  After the game each coach gets a copy of the score sheet and a copy stays in the book for the front office to collect at the end of each day.  Each time a team takes a shot toward the goal, a dot has to be made on the picture of the arena at exactly the location the player was at (the player taking the shot).  I know I would get too involved in the game to pay attention to that much detail so I don't volunteer for the score book.  Oh, penalties and goals are recorded on here, too. 

And then there is the clock.  This is the apparatus that makes the clock work.  Too many buttons for me!  The number of minutes in each period of the game are displayed from here.  When a player has a penalty, the player number and the number of minutes for the penalty get plugged in here to display on the big wall clock.  The pressure is on the clock person when there is a penalty because the game can't continue until the penalty time is entered and ready to be started.  I don't volunteer for that kind of pressure.

Instead I stand in the plexi-glass area looking toward the bench to see what Kidlet Three is doing and to check his blood sugar during the game.  If a player does receive a penalty, I open the door and get the player into the box and then shut the door.  Then I watch the big wall clock count down the penalty minutes.  When the penalty clocks ticks down to zero, I open the door and scoot the player out.  Not a stressful job.  UNLESS the game is crazy and the boys are being naughty and causing all kinds of penalties.  There was a time I had three players in the penalty box and the big wall clock wasn't working.  In my head I had to remember what time each boy could leave the penalty box and get back into playing the game.  That was a little stressful because, wowzers, the coaches will yell at me if I leave a player in the "box" too long!

I also get to hear the game plan during the period breaks when the coaches talk to the boys.

The only part of the penalty box you can't really experience from these pictures is the extreme COLD and the SMELL.  I wear my boots, hat and gloves plus bring hot tea to sip on during the game.  And for the most part, I stay warm.  There doesn't seem to be anything I can do about the Sometimes-Overwhelming-Odor that hockey gears picks up.  When more than one player is in the box I close my eyes and say:

Take me away Calgon...

After this short tutorial, you are officially trained in on Penalty Box Duty! 

Rest

The way God gets my attention is by repeating things. For the past several months the word REST seemed to pop up here and there, over and over again. As I turned the radio on, it may be the word just being sung. Or REST may be the point of a daily devotion. One night I awakened around 2 am and the first word that came to my conscience thoughts was REST.

You know, after the word is repeated so many times, I do actually get the point.

The point being, God wants me to know about REST.

My search for the meaning of REST started with asking God what it was He wanted me to learn. He was pretty quiet in giving an answer. Using the computer, I then turned to searching the Bible using biblegateway.com. On that website after typing in the word REST, I found there were over 350 references to REST, RESTORATION, and RESTORING. Since I seemed to be hearing just the word REST, I narrowed my search to verses containing that word and no variations of it.

The first 10 verses in the Bible that have the word REST all pertain to working and then taking time to REST. This day should be considered holy, was referred to as the Day of Atonement, and had certain conditions assigned to it. My God Nudge to pursue REST didn’t seem to be answered from these verses.  I quickly scanned the next set of verses and they didn't seem to be the answer I was looking for either.  So I quit reading.

And then one Sunday morning in church during worship, I had my God Nudge answered. God totally talked to me and I quickly grabbed my journal and I wrote this down:

REST=being able to get to a point of focus and peace with God despite the noise, distractions and problems at that very moment. Even when surrounded by evil, being able to find God and focus on Him.

It was like a breath of fresh air receiving that definition. And then I was led to Matthew 11:28 from The Message. How about this!

“Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me, get away with me and you’ll recover your life. I’ll show you how to take a real REST. Walk with me and work with me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won’t lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you’ll learn to live freely and lightly.”

The key words that jumped out at me from the definition I got and the Matthew verse would be: focus, find, get away, walk, watch, and keep company.

All verbs.

All action words.

All are choices.

This seemed to be the answer. 

By pursuing God, choosing to focus on Him, making a choice to get away with Him, walking and watching Him will bring me REST.

Once I have REST…none of the noises of this life will distract me.

I love that! And I love how He pursued me by repeatedly putting that word in my life. He wants me to have REST.

Amazing!

Wild Rice Soup

Are you wondering what to make with the leftover turkey?

How about Wild Rice Soup!

Mix 1 cup uncooked wild rice with 3 cups chicken broth.  Bake at 350 degrees in a covered casserole for 1.5 hours or until the rice pops open.  I cooked mine up the day before Thanksgiving and stored in the fridge.

Melt 1/2 cup butter in 4-5 quart pan.  Saute 1 large diced onion, 1 cup chopped celery, and 1 cup sliced carrots.

Cut approximately 2 cups of turkey and add to vegetable mixture.

Gradually blend in 1 cup flour. 

Slowly add 5 cups chicken broth and wild rice.  Heat thoroughly.  Add 1 cup Half and Half and reheat but do not boil.

Amazingly good....

I Think I Can...

The Dog was at wits end for a couple of days last week.

Over and over he circled around the cupboard.

 If The Dog could talk, I think he would be saying...

I think I can reach it...

The bread I had drying for our Thanksgiving stuffing.
Was, oh so tempting, to The Dog.

He would jump and jump and jump trying to knock the tray down.

He didn't make it.  Thankfully.

Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving!

Here is the read of the original Thanksgiving story:  Click here first and then come back to read about how Thanksgiving became a National Holiday!. 

Be amazed and be oh so thankful today!  And every day...

Thanksgiving - the Beginning

Click HERE to read about the first Thanksgiving...

Thanksgiving Campaign

I'm linking to my post from last year.  There is so much history in the Thanksgiving celebration and much that I was unaware of from my schooling.  Last year I did some research and was astonished at details I found.

Please take some to read through the next few days worth of posts to learn about the real Pilgrims and the choices they made.

Thanksgiving Post !