Sometimes It’s More Than A Game

On September 7, 2016 By roberthansen1317In Be The Change, cancer, Christian life, College football, everyday heroes, faith, God is there, Good News Stories, help somebody, how do you want to be remembered4 Comments

Image result for choosing to live a christian life instead of a game quotes

What a great first weekend of college football. The Buckeyes looked like they might be better than last years team. You know, the team that had a record number of NFL draft picks. It is early. We will see how how the rest of the season goes.
It was great to see the upsets. Houston beating Oklahoma. Texas A&M beating UCLA in overtime. Wisconsin beating LSU. Clemson almost losing to Auburn. Tennessee almost losing to Appalachian State. South Alabama beating Mississippi State. Western Michigan upsetting Northwestern. Richmond upsetting Virginia.

Texas upset Notre Dame on Sunday night. Texas was my first choice of schools to go to but out of state tuition was/is too expensive so I became a Buckeye instead.

Most of the SEC struggling to win or lost. Seven SEC teams losing in week 1.

Alabama losing. Oh yeah, that was just a dream. They looked unbeatable , but they said that two years ago also.

All these great games, close games, upsets, etc…..

But sometimes it’s more than a game.

James Conner, star running back for Pittsburgh, coming back from Hodgkins Lymphona cancer. He broke Tony Dorsett’s records that had stood for 38 years. He was invincible…until he wasn’t. He played in the first game in 2015 then was out the rest of the year battling for his life. You can read his story in his own words here : http://www.theplayerstribune.com/james-conner-pittsburgh-college-football-cancer/

Travis Rudolph, Florida State wide receiver, was visiting a school and saw a boy eating alone. He sat down and joined him for lunch. The boy, Bo Paske, has autism and often eats lunch by himself. Travis says he didn’t think it was that big of a deal. We are all the same and one man can make a difference. You can read the full article here: http://mobile.nytimes.com/2016/09/02/us/photo-of-fsu-football-star-sitting-with-boy-eating-alone-at-florida-school-charms-internet.htmlnyskyz.com.

photo credit : Michael Halligan, Associated Press.

Sarah Hill, the wife of Weber State’s head coach Jay. She was diagnosed with Hodgkins Lymphoma. Weber State football players, coaches, family and friends shaved their heads in support. At the end of each practice they chant How strong are we? Strong like Sara. You can read the story here : http://www.sltrib.com/sports/4275503-155/weber-state-football-wildcats-rally-around

(Leah Hogsten | The Salt Lake Tribune) Sara Hill hugs her daughter Allie, 5, after she and her husband, Weber State football coach Jay Hill, talked about her battle with Hodgkins lymphoma and how the Wildcat family has rallied around her and her husband at Stewart Stadium, Wednesday, August 24, 2016. Weber State football players, coaches and family and friends shaved their heads in support of her chemotherapy treatments. — photo credit Leah Hogsten , Salt Lake Tribune

The one that really brought a tear to my eye is Nebraska. On July 23rd, they lost their senior punter Sam Foltz in a car accident. Michigan State punter Mike Sadler also passed away in the accident. On Nebraska’s first punt of the game they only sent out 10 players, the punter didn’t go out. They took a delay of game which the opposing team, Fresno State, respectfully declined. Tell me you don’t get goose bumps watching this video. http://www.ncaa.com/news/football/article/2016-09-03/nebraska-football-honors-sam-foltz-lines-10-men-first-punt?cid=ncaafbsocial_fb_sf35087046

Lions by Skillet –

Cheer You On by Jordan Feliz –

We March On by Hillary Scott and The Scott Family –

Beyond Me by TobyMac –

It’s Alright by Stephen Marley –

Artists Stand Up To Cancer –

We Will Never Forget 9/11

On September 11, 2015October 1, 2015 By roberthansen1317In 9/11, Christian life, everyday heroes, God is there, music, We will never forget7 Comments

Can you believe it has been 14 years since 9/11? The babies are now in high school. I remember where I was and what I was doing. Actually. I am in the exact same seat at the same company I worked for then. I remember someone saying a plane just crashed into one of the World Trade Centers. We were all in disbelief. How could an airplane crash into it? Did the pilot have a heart attack? Where was the co-pilot? Then we heard the news of the second plane crashing into the other World Trade Center building and that it could be a terrorists attack. Then the plane that crashed into the Pentagon and the plane the passengers took down in a field near Shanksville, PA.

Do you remember where you where?

9/11/01 is a day that forever changed our nation. Airport security. Wars- that we are still involved in. The loss of thousands of lives in these wars. The tens of thousands of injured soldiers, soldiers with PTSD, depression and traumatic brain injuries returning back to our country. The billions of dollars financed to fund these wars and the impact on the world economy. Suspicious of certain ethnicities. Government surveillance in all our lives.

Many rescue and recovery workers that helped at the site have lung diseases and other health problems from the toxic chemicals that were in the air. They also suffer from PTSD. depression and injuries.

Not to mention their families and how they have been impacted. Children growing up without parents that either died in the attacks or in the wars after. Psychological, physical and emotional trauma from the attack, loss of loved ones, loss of health, loss of income.

Some may ask where was God in these attacks? He was there. The flights could have had 684 passengers but only had 266 aboard. Of the 50,000 employees that could have been in the towers, only 10-14,000 were said to be at work at 8:46. The stories are numerous of people running late because of “mysterious” events like alarm clocks not going off, missing buses, late taxis, sick kids, they woke up sick, couldn’t find their keys, unexpected subway, traffic, and commuter delays. The towers fell inward instead of toppling over, saving unknown amount of lives. He was there in the cross that was left in the rubble. He was there.

I know my God was right there with us, holding us in his hands, weeping with us, comforting us. He was there then and He is here with us now and He will be with us always.

We must never forget. We will never forget.

10 Years I Miss You Daddy by DJ Sammy – this brings tears to my eyes every time, guess it’s a daddy thing –

Beauty Will Rise by Steven Curtis Chapman –

Where Were You When The World Stopped Turning by Alan Jackson –

Have You Forgotten by Darryl Worley –

Didn’t They by Taylor Swift –

Never Forget by Harmony Roads (fka Beyond the Veil) –

Last Fallen Hero by Charlie Daniels –

Hands by Jewel –

Little Did She Know (She’d Kissed A Hero) by Kristy Jackson –

Everyday Heroes by Dave Carroll –

If I Had Only Known by Reba McEntire –

He Knows by Jeremy Camp –

I Believe by Blessid Union of Souls –

God Is There by Diamond Rio –

God Is With Us by Casting Crowns –

God Is Watching by Jonny Diaz –

God Of This City by Chris Tomlin –

Hey God by Lonestar –

I Saw God Today by George Strait –

God Weeps by Eli –

God Only Cries by Diamond Rio –

In God We Still Trust by Diamond Rio –

He Is There by The Hooker Family –

The Battle Within

On July 22, 2015September 25, 2015 By roberthansen1317In battle within, Christian life, everyday heroes, God, music, super heroes, timeLeave a comment

In an earlier post I mentioned how I like super hero movies. After an epic battle going back and forth the good guys always win. They face many challenges and there is always a time where we start to think they won’t win but they fight and overcome the enemy. I don’t think I have ever seen a movie though that I didn’t know who the good guys were and who the bad guys were. What happens when you don’t know who the bad guys are?

There is also more to the story lines than just good vs. evil. Heroes that are cheered one day, then are booed the next. You have friends that turn into enemies. Brothers who turn against brothers. Enemies that come together to fight a bigger enemy. Friends (communities) that combine to save society. The battle they fight with themselves.

The battle within. The battle we all fight every day. The biggest battle I fight is time. There is never enough but somehow there is always too much. Let me explain.

There is never enough time to do everything I want to do each day. As my youngest daughter is growing up there isn’t enough time to spend with her before other things come into her life. For my oldest daughters there is never enough time to spend any time with them. They have school, jobs, boyfriends, friends etc.. They don’t have much time left over to spend with me. There is never enough time do my workouts, write, play, spend time with wife…I can go on.

Even with saying all that there is too much time. I can look back on each day wondering where the time went, I didn’t have time to do anything but then I look how I spent my time. I spent too much time watching tv. I spent too much time thinking about nothing. I spent too much time talking at instead of talking to. I spent too much time reading a book and not THE BOOK.

You may be thinking that time isn’t something that is within you and I can see that. But the way it makes me feel inside is the battle. The way I get frustrated if I didn’t get around to what I needed to do. The guilt I feel if I didn’t spend enough time with my family. The yuck my body feels if I didn’t work out. To me, time is very much a battle within.

I also battle with the voices in my head. The one that tells me go ahead and do this or that. Just five minutes won’t hurt anything. Next thing you know those five minutes turned to sixty and I have nothing to show for it. The one that tells me I don’t have to pray today. You woke up late, you’re rushing around, got to get dressed, get to work, you don’t have time to stop and pray. Next thing I know it’s bed time and I didn’t talk to God today.

How about the battle with temptation? God wouldn’t have made all these beautiful people if He didn’t want us to look at them right? God wouldn’t have made these donuts taste so good if He didn’t want us to eat them right? God wouldn’t have made cable tv with 350 channels if He didn’t want us to watch tv all day right? God wouldn’t have made smartphones if He didn’t want us staring at it all day right? What do we miss when we give into these temptations? We miss the beautiful people in our lives already. Our beautiful spouses and children. We miss the wonderful food God put on this earth for us to eat. Not the GMO, added sugar, added additives, added etc… We miss this wonderful world God has made. Look away from the tv and look up from our smartphones and look at this world. I subscribe to a few instagram sites with pics from around the world. There are some beautiful places out there but while I am looking at them, I miss the beauty in front of my eyes in my own backyard.

I see a direct correlation between these movies and what the Bible has taught us. Look at the picture quotes in this post and then ask yourself is there a Bible verse like this. Trust me there are. Are there stories in the Bible where the hero is cheered and then booed, friends turned on friends, brothers turned on brothers, once enemies turn to friends for the greater good, communities coming together for the greater good..etc? Yes there are.

In real life we all face the same common enemy- Satan. With that we all face the same fears, doubts, worries, that we aren’t good enough but we can all help each other through the struggles of life.

I think I should write a post every week about the Disney Channel show Girl Meets World. Last week about investing in our children, our future. This week about being a hero. You don’t have to have super powers to be a hero. Quotes from the show “There is enough dark in this world, heroes were meant to bring the light” and “When it’s a struggle between right and wrong, that’s when real heroes fight the hardest.”

In real life we all have a hero inside us. One that can choose between good and bad, right and wrong, to help or not to help. God gave us free will so that we can make that choice. Will you choose to be a hero today?