A Cry for Help

Just another day in New Orleans

Well, I'd like to come to you today via video blog, but I was unable to record anything last night, due to my roommate being here on the phone all night. But that's cool, I actually want to talk about a couple of things that, with the thin-ness of these walls, are better left typed.

I spoke at the FCA breakfast yesterday, and though I only had a few minutes (closely guarded by Coach Weis and a watch), I was able to speak a short message about an eternal perspective on life, much like my post two days ago. As well as the breakfast went, and as cool as the immediate response was, I'd like to take a moment to address the response I've had since then, for it's a matter for which continual prayer is needed.

I've always been "that guy." I've been the guy that people write off because I don't partake in a lot of the activities that my friends do. Now, don't get me wrong, I probably have at one point or another, but I choose not to do them now. A lot of people take everything I say with a grain of salt and I feel the impact of my words is very limited.

But today is a new day. I have several members of my team that I see as tough sells when it comes to my faith...A few atheists, members of other religions, and even some Christians that don't hold my same values. But in the short time I've been awake today, these tough sells have come and responded in ways I could have never before predicted. Now, thousands haven't accepted Christ in the past day, but people truly heard what God had to say yesterday morning, and young men I see every day are asking questions.

I'm really excited about what's going on, now. I'm pumped. I hope you'll join me in praying that, during this time of the new year, people set aside their New Year's Resolution and get to make a New Year's REVOLUTION, with Christ changing everything about them. And lets not forget our own revolutions as believers. We need to be changing every day to be more like the One who made us!!

Get fired up!

Bobby

Breath of your life

Video Blog Day 2

Bobby's 1st Video Blog

All He Wants for Christmas...

Hello, from Hudson, Massachusetts! I'm currently taking a few minute break from my Grandma's family Christmas party to say hey and jot down a thought or two. Today's been a fun day. There hasn't been too much tension, and the laughter has far outweighed any other kind of noise, so it's been a full out success in my mind.

After noon and before dinner, we had our family gift exchange. It was at this point that I formulated the thoughts on which I'm writing now. My grandparents are awesome people, but they could be the hardest people in the world to shop for. Seriously, they've collectively (added together) lived through 150 years and they've kept gifts and appliances from every one of those years. It was a struggle for my mother, my brother, and I to figure out what to do for Christmas. Do you know anyone like that?

What do you get the person that has everything? It seems as though it's impossible to find something that would be pleasing. Isn't that the struggle sometimes in our spiritual lives, too? I mean, let's face it, God doesn't NEED anything from us, He made it all! If he wants something, I'm sure He could whip it up Himself. But even though God doesn't need anything from us, there is something that He wants. There's something He desires so much, that He'd pay any price for it.

That gift...is You. That gift is you, and me, and every person He breathed the breath of life into since the earth began. He wants us. He wants us so bad that He became one of us, so that He could die and redeem us back to Himself. How awesome is that? And all we have to do is come. We just need to come to Him, trust in Him, and surrender ourselves to Him in all we do. That's the greatest and only gift we can give to the Lord.

So when you drive by a house or church with a manger in front, or you see a special on TV, remember what it meant for that baby to be born, for God gave His gift only so that we may give our own.

Merry Christmas!

Bobby

Leavin' On a Jet Plane

...I don't know when I'll be back again.

Haha, I love that song. I especially love the rendition done by the men in the film Armageddon. I was just thinking about that song and movie as I am getting my gear ready to head to Boston for Christmas. The more I think about it though, I love that movie.
There are so many great moments in that movie, and the ending jerks the tears out of me every time, but above everything else, my favorite scene of the movie was when Bruce Willis looked upon a group of astronauts getting ready to fly to an asteroid and, with his crew in mind asks,

"All they have to do is drill?"

You see, he already had the idea in mind that he was going to bring his men to this asteroid to perform the task of saving the world. Looking upon the men that the world would expect to perform the task, he shakes his head and knows in his heart that his men, oil rig men, were the ones that could best get it done.

I feel like one of those oil rig men sometimes. I feel like there are people so much better suited to take care of business in areas that God selects me for, yet I feel perfectly prepared for the ONE task He has for me at a time. It's never too much, but it's never too little. It takes everything I have to do each little task He lays out for me. I feel like He sees an opportunity for me to serve Him and others and pops a little grin saying,

"All he has to do is drill?"

Drilling,
Bobby

We Are Marshall!

Tonight serves as the national opening for Matthew McConaughey's new film We Are Marshall. I decided to wait until now to let everyone know that I've already seen it. Haha, that's right. Coach Weis had the movie flown in on Tuesday so we could watch it as a team. Now, my opinions on the movie are going to be withheld, but I would like to comment on one part of the movie that struck me.

McConaughey's character had been hired to coach the nonexistent football team. He expressed his concern about recruiting considerations and asked the president of the university to petition the NCAA to give Marshall the ability to play freshmen as soon as they arrived on campus, which was previously disallowed. The president, though hesitant, agreed that he would try, but noted that it would not come easily. Later on, when the president had gotten fed up with negative responses, he approached McConaughey with a look of failure plastered on his face.

McConaughey's response was hilarious, but the encouragement he gave was the best.

"...You don't need rules.
You're an outlaw..."

He then whistled an old saloon tune that brought smiles to every player on the team. But beneath my smile, I was learning a lesson. I've spoken many times about being a contrarian, and a barbarian, but Matthew McConaughey said it just as clearly. It's all about being an outlaw. An outlaw doesn't worry about what others think of how he lives his life, he just lives it, no questions asked, and no apologies.

That's how I want to live my life. Granted, I want to live for Truth and Righteousness, but I want to offer no apologies for a life lived in such a manner. Too often, we feel sorry for offending the nature of people with actions that are truly in line with Christ's will for our life, but everything we do will offend the nature of man. As Christians, we must put the nature of Christ above the nature of man, and live our lives accordingly. Offended men will question their lives one day, and if they see a life of truth, they will follow.

Packin' the six shooters,

Bobby

Nausea, Heartburn, Indigestion, Yadda Yadda, Yadda Yadda...Yay, Pepto Bismol!

I've just finished my slow and steady road to recovery from being quite sick at the end of last week/beginning of this week. In the time it took the clock to roll from Thursday evening to Monday afternoon, I had lost over 11 pounds and I wasn't able to keep down any food to keep myself from sliding further down the scale (I know this sounds wonderful to some, but trust me, no amount of weight lost was worth how I was feeling). I had felt iffy during parts of some of the days, but the worst time was Sunday night.

I took a trip with the youth group to Merriville Ice Complex in Mishawaka. We went skating, and we had a great time, but the bus ride home was a turning point for my evening, because my stomach was not very happy. The rest of the evening was spent with me fighting my body, trying to make it do things it was not comfortable with...and I lost the fight repeatedly. The one fight I would not lose however, was the battle for sleep.

I've had a few stomach bugs during my day, so I know how to attack them when they get me. I take a shot or two of NyQuil and a big drink of pepto bismol. Yes, I take both, and the differences between the two are actually quite applicable to more than just gastrointestinal turnovers.

Pepto Bismol is a reliever. From the moment it hit my lips as a child with my first bug, I felt better. It doesn't taste wonderful, but it was the taste of "feel better" that I was in need of. Sure enough, just like the cheesy commercials always say, my nausea, upset stomach, and everything else felt great almost immediately after drinkin' the pink stuff. The only problem with Pepto comes two hours after you take it, because the pains and aches are back...WITH A VENGEANCE! What a smack in the face! You thought you had it all under control and all the bad stuff was gone and then WHAM! And they don't go away immediately the next time. It's quite traumatic for a child...or a 22 year old.

So then there's NyQuil, which Mom always offers that second time around. She offers it this time, because every child is desperate enough to accept it. Let's face it, NyQuil tastes terrible. There is no good flavor, nor is there any proper way to wash it down so that you don't make "that" face. It is just plain uncomfortable. But the funny thing about NyQuil is it is more than just a reliever. You feel the effects of NyQuil even when you wake up the next day, because the pains in your stomach (if they've returned at all) are much less poignant. You still have a crick in your neck, but the blinding migraine has been minimalized. It gives you more than just relief, but it helps make steps of progress and correction.

In the past five years of my life, I've spoken at a few events, and I've gotten various receptions. I've been blessed at times with people loving every word I've said. And while that made for an easy ride home, I feel I've been blessed even more so by crowds I've found disagreeing with every syllable I've chosen. You see, when I speak at events, or I talk to friends, I don't want to be a comforter at all costs. I don't want to be just a Pepto public speaker that hides problems for a few days and leaves people with nothing to use in their daily battle. Sometimes, I'd love it to go down like NyQuil. I know people may not like it right then, but the next day they may look back and see some amount of Truth in what was said...at least that's the aim...and the only Truth I can proclaim is that of Jesus Christ.

Jesus...
...the All-time
...Descending
...Walking
...Praying
...Crying
...Living
...Dying
...And Living again
...So you can see the Face of the Father...medicine.

Love y'all,
Bobby

Back to Camp

I'm writing this post in the Guglielmino Athletic Facility's computer cluster. I'm in the midst of my second consecutive 12-hour football day. Now, please realize that a 12-hour day is not straight practice. It includes meetings, meals, and the occasional lift.

This kind of "training camp" mentality is always a little bit of fun at first, but it starts to wear on me very quickly. Spending so much time around the same guys, with the same humor, and the same differences gets things to be very tense in a very short time. It's during times like these that I find my patience truly tested, because I find myself wanting to take the conversation out of God's hands.

A few weeks ago, I snapped at a few of my teammates for a very incorrect view they held on a controversial topic. Since then, I have been very strongly challenged to fight my inclinations for disputes during our locker room times. So far, so good...but I have five more days of locker room time to go.

Not much of a challenge in this post, I know, but this one's for me. This one is a personal challenge to present the face of righteousness to a dark room for the last few weeks of my career.

Bobby

Bruise Runs Deeper Than I Thought

What a weird day. If you know me pretty well, you know that I'm pretty even keel and more often than not, I'm in a great mood. I find joy in the sun, the clouds, the rain, the snow...I find joy in every bit of nature. Let me rephrase that. I find joy in every bit of nature except one. I'm not a big fan of hawks.

You heard me. I said it. I am not a big fan of hawks. It's not every day that you find someone who has an opinion on the bird, and when you do, rarely is it as negative as mine. Please understand though, a hawk ruined my day today...

It all started walking back from the administration building at ND. I was walking past the library, looking at some loud bird, when all of a sudden....

[WOOSH...BAM!!]

A hawk came from out of nowhere and planted itself full steam right on this smaller bird. It was an awesome site, really. That's not where my problem arises. It's when I remember the last time I saw a hawk catch its prey. You see, the last time that happened, I knew what to do. I picked up my cell phone and called my dad. He would understand my mix of horrified excitement, and he did!

So as I saw this scene take place again, I reached for my cell phone and looked for the number. I kept looking for it until I took a second to realize the name 'Dad' should fall between Corey and Dale, and it wasn't there. Okay, thanks a bunch, day ruined. Look, I know I could have handled the rest of the day differently. I know I have a choice on how to react to certain things. But looking back, I should have just gone to my apartment and gone to sleep, because everything that took place from then until now reminded me of something I miss about Dad, and every reaction I had pushed me farther away from certain people I don't want to be all that far from.

I don't need to go into the details of all that happened. If you heard, you'd tell me I was overreacting, and you'd be right. But I didn't know how to handle myself today. I was an emotional wreck that didn't get emotional. I was a bawling baby whose eyes stayed dry. I don't know where to draw the line with this whole thing. I want my friends to know why I'm acting a fool, but I don't want to kill a time for all. Nor do I really want to get anywhere close to emotional with a few of them.

I understand my peace is found in Christ alone, and I'm comforted about my dad's continued life with Him, but I still have my days...The days when Mr. Happy isn't really...The days when I really don't know how to act.

Have fun commenting on this one,

Ticked at any football fans from Seattle, hockey fans from Chicago, or basketball fans from Atlanta,

Bobby

FREEDOM!!!

Does anyone else ever sit and think about what it means to be created in God's image? I don't know, maybe I'm messed up, but I think about it a lot. I know that one day I'll meet my Creator face-to-face, but I'd like to have a sense of how I'm like Him, even right now. Over the course of time, I've come up with some things that I think God must have had in mind, creating us in His image, and I'd like to share them now.

CREATIVITY:
To look at the world that the Lord fashioned in just six days and not recognize that He was one creative dude would be foolish. We're talking about the God who not only made you and I as individuals, but made giraffes and zebras. I'm betting he still chuckles about that from time to time. The important thing is that creativity has been placed in us, too, as we were made in His image. Though our creative capacities differ from person to person, they are always there in some way.

LOGIC:
I've met a few people in my short time here on earth that may not have much of what I now speak, but it's there, and it's from God so it needs to be recognized. No other being on earth other than mankind has the ability to think and logically derive conclusions in such a fashion as we do. How awesome is that?! Now, I understand that some people are less in tune to logic than others....ladies, for example (I'm just kidding! Breathe deep)....our ability to think and act on that thinking glorifies God because it's a capacity He gave us and no one else.

FREEDOM:
I feel that the quality that God most instilled in mankind alone was the freedom of choice. You see, all other beings in creation have no choice but to glorify God. The stars in the nighttime sky have no choice but to shine brightly, and in so doing glorify God. A tree, placed in good soil and watered properly, has no choice but to grow and bear fruit, and in so doing it glorifies God. Even animals lack the ability to choose right and wrong. They simply act on their animal instincts and by doing so, they glorify God!

Mankind is a different case, however. We have the logical ability to see right and wrong and to distinguish them, but the freedom to choose which we want to pursue, and far too often we pursue what is wrong, and what is sinful. You see, this freedom of choice, though it makes us more in God's image, is what we used to separate ourselves from the Father to begin with. It is precisely how we fall short of the glory of God, by choice.

But there is good news, my friends. We are given a second chance...a second choice. Through Jesus Christ, God has bridged the gap we chose to put between us and Him and now we are confronted again. I have chosen to walk that bridge, putting my selfish desires behind me and only the cross ahead of me. I am not bound by the pressures of this world, from peers, from loved ones, from outsiders' opinions. I am not even bound by my freedom of choice, for though it bound me once and separated me from my Father, it has also broken the chains I have wrapped myself up in since the day I was born.

Free to choose freedom!

Bobby

The Greatest Story Ever Told

I just got back to the office after speaking at Lakeland Christian Academy's chapel this morning. I hit a few funny topics, but one got real serious and it hit a nerve with me, in all honesty. I was asking a few of the students about their testimony, and they got all tense and quiet, one person finally saying that her testimony was flat-out boring.

BORING?! There is no way a testimony is boring. I don't get how people don't realize that there is no way that a testimony is boring. It really bothers me.

Your testimony is a story; A story about you and God; A story about how He has worked in and through your life, and God is not boring. So often, we look at our lives as unworthy tales of God's power, but we are so wrong, I can't even begin to tell you. God's power is not shown in how He saved us, God's power is shown in THAT He saved us.

I know there isn't a catchy bit of humor here, but I really wish the body of Christ would realize what kind of power its story has. It is a story of salvation and hope. It is a story written by God, directed by Christ. It is a story of God's modern-day miracles. It is truly the greatest story ever told.

Telling it often,

Bobby

Left...Left...Left...

Ahhhh, my computer! I've been missing this thing so much, but I've been appreciating my time away from it, too. I never realized how much technology ate up my time until this weekend, where I spent time traveling, playing sports, and reading the Word a bit more than usual.

Over the course of this weekend, a friend and I traveled into Chicago for a day of walking and shopping. Needless to say, I was the less seasoned of the two shopping veterans that day, as I was shocked at some of the prices I saw (I'm sorry! If I'm going to spend 2,000 dollars, it's going to be on a house or car...probably not a jacket), but that's not where my daily (or every few days) blog thought arose from...

After hitting a few stores in the morning, my friend and I decided we'd hit up a pizza place for lunch. We were right off Michigan Avenue and there were a few restaurants in the near vicinity. We sat at a crosswalk, eyeing two or three places to eat.

[WALK] So we did. Still undecided about where to eat, we crossed that street pondering what direction we were actually heading. We stopped at the corner at which we'd just arrived and waited, still undecided.

[WALK] And so we did. We crossed the intersecting street, leaving one restaurant in our midst. Not even sure what was in this direction, we juked and jived through the mass of city-walkers to the next corner. Here we stopped once again to think....and guess what?

[WALK] ...........and we did. That's right, we took three trips, crossing two streets before we eyed California Pizza Kitchen for lunch. I can only imagine what one would have thought if they'd seen the whole situation progress. We truly looked lost! There was no sense of direction or purpose in our crossing of streets, we were just crossing streets to give ourselves something to do.

So often in life we find ourselves crossing streets with no direction. Even worse, there are many times I end up crossing a fourth street. That's right. I end up walking in a complete circle because I don't focus on where I'm supposed to be going. On Saturday, if we'd have eyed California Pizza Kitchen the entire time, we could have avoided a bunch of elbow hitting and shoulder bumping, and we wouldn't have had to cross a dangerous street (you never know) three times. We could have crossed the street once. In life, we don't have to put ourselves close to the fire time and again because we don't know where we're going. Our walk with Christ will try us, have no doubt, but if you keep playing with the fire without the need, you WILL get burned. And if you keep crossing the streets unnecessarily, you're gonna get hit by a car...it's science.

So stay focused. Get your eye lined up with God's. You don't need to know where you're gonna end up in years, just find out where He wants you today.

Proud that I finally turned right,

Bobby

Fountain of Youth

So last night I drove out to Warsaw, IN, to speak at an FCA banquet. The dinner was wonderful, and the people I met were fantastic. I spent a good deal of time speaking with a young man named Josh.

Josh is one of ten leaders of a student-led FCA huddle at Tippecanoe Valley High School. His power and authority in speaking the name of Christ was empowering, for he's only a Junior in HS. Talking to him instantly brought my mind to the book of 1 Timothy. In chapter 4 and verse 12 it reads, "Let no one look down on your youthfulness, but rather in speech, conduct, love, faith and purity, show yourself an example of those who believe."

In the world's eye, Josh and his peers are too young to make a difference. They haven't experienced enough in life to know how the world really works. Working with the Grace Church Youth Ministry, I even find myself doubting the perspective of the teens whom I serve. But God has a plan for Josh, I can assure you of that. God is using Josh not only to reach teens for the Lord through his FCA role, but to encourage and spur on the thinking of believers like myself, who are supposed to be the leaders of Josh and his generation.

I got straight pumped up while I was speaking with Josh, because I realized the power and awesomeness of God through every one of His children, and I realized that I always need to be wide-eyed and wide-hearted, ready to learn what God has for me, even through the lives of Josh and his peers.

Seeing the example...being the example...

Bobby

Let it Snow

While I understand a few of my consistent readers don't appreciate how I feel about snow due to their usual winters, I'm going to write about the weather anyway. So there!

I'm a big fan of blizzards. I'm not going to lie, I really like it when I wake up and there is 8 inches of pure powder sitting on my windshield. I love going into an empty parking lot and running a donut. I'm an even bigger fan of building snowmen. The core of the matter is that I love it when snow just floats nonstop to the ground.

That being said, this winter has stunk so far. I mean, I know it's cold and it snowed a little bit a few days ago, but come on! Can I get a real winter day, please? I'm looking outside at a green lawn and an iced-over parking lot. That's a teaser. It's neither Fall nor Winter. It's Falter, and it's terrible. You see, if it's going to snow, I want it to SNOW! And if it's not going to snow, I want it be 70 and sunny. I'm tired of this 'tweener stuff. It frustrates me.

Looking at my feelings on the weather, I can see how I frustrate God from time to time. Revelation 3:16 pretty clearly explains how God views me as a 'tweener,' riding the fence in between hot and cold. Even when I feel on fire in 99% of my life, he still considers me "lukewarm," or Falter. It took me such a long time to realize that God, like me with weather, wants all or nothing. He's not interested in anything in the middle. I guess it's time to sell out then. And if the weather ever cooperates and a blizzard hits, my fire's gonna be so hot, I can melt the snow off the windshield.

Get off the fence,

Bobby

The Not-So Secret Santa

Tonight is a big night for me. I'm not even exaggerating. For the past 5 years, I have played the part of Santa for the local hospital's Pediatric Oncology and Hematology Unit Christmas party. Tonight is the last time I will be able to play that part while at Notre Dame.

Over the past half decade, I have had many memorable moments that stem from this party. I've had a suit that was too small, a beard that was too gray, a pair of cowboy boots instead of snowboots, and I've tried to eat a cupcake one child made for me through my beard. The most memorable moment however, took place outside of the actual party.

I was walking through the local Meijer superstore the day after the party last year. I was approaching the checkout line when a familiar looking young boy approached me with a pen and paper. As a football player, I've seen this a few times so I appropriately kneeled and took hold of the pen and paper, asking who I was addressing this to. The young boy smiled when he looked at me and said,

"Could you write it to Sam...from Santa?"

As I looked up to find this child's father, a man patted me on the shoulder telling me the child's name was James, and Sam was his little brother. He wanted to get the autograph last night, even though he knew Santa was just a really big offensive lineman. This kid had figured it all out, he didn't ruin anyone else's party, and he seized the opportunity in Meijer to get that signature!

The point of this story is that this kid, James, knew who I was that night despite my being dressed up in a big red suit...Just like God knows who we are deep down when we try and dress our outside to be more pleasing to others. Forever, I will have the eyes of this young boy engrained in my mind when I'm putting a false foot forward, because I seriously believe that those same eyes are looking at me daily, whether I put on a big red suit and cater to the world, or I walk out that door with the face of righteousness and the face of Christ as my own.

Saving up for one last Ho ho ho!

Bobby

This Is My Son...

I'm going to preface by letting you all know this will not be as lighthearted as some of my previous posts. There are no broken beds, legitimatelies, or pictures...just me on this one.

Last night I delivered a sermon to the Youth Group here at Grace Church of Granger. Working with them everyday, sometimes it gets hard to go beyond being funloving and stupid and really drive home a point. Lets just say last night, that wasn't the case.

I spoke about Peacemaking, and spoke of the rewards. Matthew 5:9 says, "Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God." I broke down as I read this. You see, my dad isn't around anymore. I keep my head up and my tears in my eyes, but I feel it daily that I can't call him and complain about who we're playing in football, or talk about some person that I've met. I miss him every time I leave Notre Dame's campus for a 7 minute drive to my apartment that EVERYDAY included a phone conversation with him.

That being said, I know who my Daddy is. Haha, I said this wasn't going to be funny. My dad, Bob Morton, is gazing upon His face as I write this. It comforts my heart to know that in only a breath of time, I will see them both face to face. But I do have some time before that happens, and knowing who my real Daddy is helps me in this time, too. You see, I live for encouragement. I love to give it, and it eases my heart to receive it. I'm not going to make this long and drawn out...because I have to go...but what I'm trying to say is this:

When Christ was baptized, the heavens opened and God told the world that Christ was His son, and He was well pleased. I live my life everyday for the moment I get to see both of my Fathers in heaven, and they both give me the nod of approval.

Living for the approval of one,

Bobby