What’s Up in Local Sports

By Calvin Hastings

Last week the Cleveland Country Club hosted a most unusual golf tournament.   As a matter of fact,  I’ve never heard of it, but I did find it quite interesting.   It was the 32nd annual Bobby Jones Open.   I’m writing this article a few days before the tournament, and even now I can predict that Bobby Jones will win the tournament.   As a matter of fact, Bobby Jones will also finish 2nd, 3rd, 4th and etc.   You see, everyone playing in this tournament is named Bobby Jones.   The tournament began in 1979 to honor the legendary amateur golfer, Robert Tyre Jones, who founded the Masters.   Robert A. Jones of Southfield, Michigan founded the event.  The tournament also raises money for Syringomyelia, the neuromuscular disorder that led to the death of the legendary golfer, Bobby Jones, in 1971.   Over $250,000 has been raised.   This is the first time the event will be played in North Carolina with the help of local, Dr. Bobby Jones.   Jones has been playing in the event for 16 years.

Hats off to  Shelby’s Elliott Grayson!   Grayson won the 2010 Starburst Junior Golf Classic in Waco, Texas over 71 other 13 year old golfers.   The 54 hole  event is known as the World’s Largest Junior Golf Tournament.     Grayson won the event by three strokes.

The North Carolina Women’s Amateur Golf Tournament was played at the Gaston County Country Club last week.   Laura Wearn took home the championship after leading the entire way over the three day event.   Wearn shot a three under par 213.   Wearn is a rising sophomore at Furman University. Last year’s champion, Katherine Perry, finishing second.   Former Ashbrook star, Courtney Taylor, finished 14th in the event.

Kings Mountain Lady Mountaineers basketball team has a new head coach.   Dara Goldstein has been named the coach succeeding Candice Fleming.    Fleming had served as head coach for two seasons.

The Big South 3A has handed out its girls softball awards.   Crest’s Bailey Smith was named the Player of the Year, and Greg Earl of Crest was named the Coach of the Year.   All Conference selections included Bailey Smith, Lou Bankhead, Kendyl McWhirter, Katelyn Spangler, Gracie Pitchford, Dakota Keller and Brooks Powell from Crest;   Taylor Grigg, Taylor Jordan and Brittany Harrelson of Hunter Huss;  Sidney Mitchell and Kinsey McClure of North Gaston;  Taylor Mahaffey, Jordan Wilson and Katie Sheathen of South Point;  Jessica Smith and Mary Cloninger of Forestview;  Kinsey Mcclure of North Gaston; and Andreya O’Brien of Ashbrook.

Follow Prep Football Fall of 2010 With Us!

Shelby native and former UNC baseball player, Chad Holbrook, took his South Carolina Gamecocks to the College World Series.   Holbrook serves as associate head coach and recruiting coordinator for the Gamecocks, marking the fourth time in the past five years South Carolina has made the field.   The Gamecocks advanced with wins over Coastal Carolina.

Cherryville Dixie Softball will be hosting the Dixie State Tournament in Cherryville on July 9th-15th.  Thirty teams will compete in the event from all across North Carolina.   Approximately 2000 to 3000 people are expected to attend the event.

Former Forestview Jaguar, Perry Floyd, has been named first team preseason as a NCAA Division II kick return specialist at Wingate.   Last season Floyd averaged 30.4 yards per kickoff return and 15.1 yards per punt return.   Floyd also plays wide receiver and had 289 yards receiving and three touchdowns last season.

Hats off to Kaitlyn Milholland and Johnny Walker!  Milholland was named the Female Athlete of the Year at North Lincoln and Walker was named the Male Athlete of the Year. Milholland has signed a letter of intent to run track at Wingate, and Walker has signed a letter of intent to play baseball at Wingate.

Congratulations to the Boger City Optimist 7 year old coach pitch All Star team!  The team won the District 3 tournament at Tryon Park last week downing Dallas in the championship game.  Team members included Matt Heavner, Kyle Abernethy, Josh Brown, Jacob Cline, Wesley Brooks, Wyatt Manus, Landon Beard, Peyton Norman, Dillon Davis, Brad Heavner, Jamie Cline and Kevin Norman.   Glenn Ruby coached the team

Belmont Middle School was the winner  of this year’s  Gaston County Winner’s Cup which is based on superlative sports performances among Gaston County’s Middle Schools.   Belmont placed first followed by Cramerton, Grier, Stanley, Friday, Holbrook, Mt. Holly, Southwest, Chavis, Bessemer City and York Chester.

Former Forestview star, Harold Varner, finished 13th in the North Carolina Amateur Golf Tournament last weekend.   Varner entered the final day of play just three shots off the pace and in second place.   His 74 on Sunday  dropped him to 13th  at two under par.  Ryan Heisey of Greensboro won the tournament with an eleven under par at the Wilson Country Club.   Denver’s Andrew Price also participated in the event and placed 47th at 10 over par.

Gastonia Grizzly, Jeremy Stack, was named the Rawlings Co-Pitcher of the week in the Coastal Plains League.   Stack tossed a complete game shut out of Thomasville last week scattering four hits.

Hunter Huss girls basketball coach, Jan Wiggins, has resigned after 21 years at the school.   Wiggins is second in all-time wins for a Gaston County girls basketball coach.  She led the Lady Huskies to seven conference championships posting a career record of 281 wins against 205 losses.

What’s Up in Hollywood Sports

By Kevin Hastings

If you’ve been paying any attention to ESPN the past few weeks and months you’ve heard non-stop about the World Cup in Africa for the first time.  I’m happy for the people of Africa in attaining the World Cup.  I’m sure the whole nation of South Africa and the continent of Africa are buzzing with excitement.

I’ll admit I was part of the excitement at first.  I never played soccer except when I was five and realized that a game with that much running, that little scoring, and nothing but kicking a ball was not for me.  Now don’t get me wrong. I’m not trying to bash soccer, just trying to offer a few suggestions that maybe could help the game and get us Americans involved in the rest of the world’s favorite sport;  no matter how boring and simple.

I never watch soccer except for the World Cup.  When I studied in England while I was at Appalachian State, we watched a few games in the pubs, and was, for the most part, pretty fun.  But, you have to realize I just wrote that we were in a pub.  If you’re in a pub in one of these countries that live and die by the sport then of course it’s probably going to be fun to watch because of the atmosphere, the people, and the booze.  Trust me, the booze helps. I just never could understand why people are so excited about a game they play for 90 some odd minutes (we’ll get to that in a minute) and hope they tie or score one goal.  Really?  This is the best sport in the world?  No, but it does have potential.  The problem is that someone has to change the sport for good.  That someone is me.

New Rules For (Football) Soccer:

Rule #1:  Shorten the field.  It sounds so simple, but the best way to ensure a high scoring game is to shorten the field.  There’s too much space out there and too far to run to do anything.  Soccer is the only sport I know where half the opposing team doesn’t cross the other half of the field and try to stop the other team from scoring.  Why run around in wide open spaces for two hours not scoring and playing keep away from the other team?  This is an actual soccer strategy.  “Let’s play keep away for 2 hours and hope we tie!”  Not if I’m the commissioner.

Rule #2:  Get rid of off-sides as a penalty.  If you let your man behind that‘s poor defense.  It’s stupid to wait for the referees to bail out the defenders for not doing their jobs.  If your job is to play defense then play defense, and don’t let the other team behind you.  Period.

Rule #3:  No games end in ties.  There’s not enough room in this paper to write about how ridiculous ties are.  I don’t care how you decide who wins; just get a winner.

Rule #4:  Let everyone know exactly how much overtime play there is.   The current system involves “stoppage time” where a referee holding a stopwatch without anyone seeing it, secretely decides how much overtime is to be played and arbitrarily blows the whistle ending the game when he sees fit.  Absolute rubbish!

Rule #5:  When the referees make a call they have to tell the players, coaches, other referees, the fans, and everyone else what they’re calling.  The refs now are allowed to blow their whistle and just point in the direction of who’s ball it is.  There are no hand signals, no special penalties, no explanation.  Just a referee with no liabilty calling whatever he wants.  No wonder fans in other countries beat up and threaten the lives of soccer refs.  We would do the same if refs were allowed to do this in baseball, basketball and football.  I can’t imagine the outrage if a ref in the Duke-Carolina game just blew his whistle, pointed the other way, and took away a game winning shot with no explantion other than he just felt that way. I tried to get into this game, but when the refs have complete control and do whatever they want it’s just ridiculous.  I can’t fathom how a soccer fan can cope with this problem.  That’s all I can think about the sport and I don’t watch and don’t care who wins.

Soccer is a good game for kids.  Gets them healthy and promotes teamwork.  However, until soccer gets its rules and act together, it will never catch on in this country no matter if the refs cheat for us to win.  Americans will support a sport it deems as having satisfactory rules but right now soccer has rules that wouldn’t fly at your local YMCA.

What’s Up with Howard Black

By The Grace Of God And Constitutionally Guaranteed,

Howard Black Pokes Fun At The Realities

Of Life, Politics And Human Insanity!

One of the funniest commercials on television is where the two squirrels cause a car to swerve and crash into the ditch.  For some reason I can just imagine the squirrels in my neighborhood doing the same thing.  Most neighborhoods have normal squirrels; in our neighborhood we have little gray-haired beasts.  Most have names like Duke, Butch or Rocky.  Believe me, our neighborhood squirrels can beat up your neighborhood squirrels with their tiny paws tied behind their back.

Over the years I have kept Ferguson Hardware in business purchasing trashcans.  I’m not saying that trashcans sold at Ferguson Hardware are inferior; I am just saying the squirrels are a lot tougher!  The bottom line is this, squirrels are a nuisance, and that is a reason that God made bullets.

The Arizona Department of Transportation has been given a $1.25 million grant from the Federal Highway Administration to build bridges for endangered red squirrels on Mt. Graham.  The money will be used to build canopy tunnels for the squirrels, install cameras and monitor the effects of the canopy tunnels.  According to the United States Forest Service, approximately only five squirrels per year are killed on this road each year.

In the Mount Graham area the red squirrel population has remained constant for the past ten years, but population growth was slowed due to a wildfire in 2000 that destroyed almost a quarter of their habitat.  The decreased habitat causes the squirrels to cross the road to find food in a larger area.  Less than 2% of the squirrel population becomes pavement topping each year, but our government is willing to spend $1.25 million to build bridges for these squirrels.  The road has approximately 650 cars per day.  It is projected that the best results would only add 100 squirrels over the 20 to 25 year lifespan of the bridges.

While the federal government spends $1.25 million to prevent road kill, the rest of Graham County suffers from nearly 600 miles of bad roads.   The present red squirrel population is approximately 250, and that works out to be an expenditure of our tax dollars from the federal government of about $5,000 per squirrel.

Someone is nuts here, but it ain’t the squirrels!

Here is my common sense idea.  I will buy some new trash cans from Ferguson Hardware with locking lids.  I will ship the trashcans to Mount Graham and include Duke, Butch and Rocky.  They get the squirrels, and I get the $1.25 million dollars.

What’s Up with Being A ‘Lil Rusty

By Rusty Stroupe

www.rustystroupe.blogspot.com

Recently, college basketball analyst, Dick Vitale, was struck in the abdomen by a foul ball at a Tampa Bay Rays baseball game.  Fortunately, Vitale was fine and had a sense of humor about the situation when interviewed on camera a few minutes later.

It seems there has been an unusual amount of foul ball incidents lately in baseball games. It started during spring training when Hideki Matsui, a member of the Los Angeles Angels, stroked a foul ball that sailed into the parking lot and struck the team owner’s car, smashing the windshield.  What are the odds?

Foul balls have always fascinated me. When I was eleven years old, I had the opportunity to experience the thrill of a foul ball headed right towards me at a Pirates-Braves game in Atlanta. The ball was hit by one of my favorite players, Manny Sanguillen, and I would have given my entire baseball card collection at the time to have that ball. I would love to tell you that someone jumped in front of me and caught it, but that would be a major embellishment.  The truth is that I bailed out and ducked for cover, thus wasting a perfectly magnificent opportunity to achieve sports immortality- in my own mind at least.

I have seen fans catch line drives bare handed, while overpaid players on the field wearing gloves miss line drives often.  I saw at man at the College World Series in Omaha in 2004 catch a line drive with his jacket.

I’ve witnessed fans clapping and cheering wildly at high school games when they heard a foul ball smash a car outside of the stadium.  For the life of me I cannot figure out why that deserves an ovation, but it happens all the time.  And not to be outdone, the sound effects people in the press box press buttons when foul balls leave the park to make it sound like the ball is smashing a windshield.  People even clap for that too!

I am not the first person to ask this question, but why do folks holler “Heads up!” when a foul ball is headed in someone’s direction?  It would seem more appropriate to duck instead of raising up, thus exposing the dome within which your brain resides.

My youngest son is not a huge baseball fan, but he loves to go to his older brother’s games lately.  He has caught the fever for catching- or more appropriately retrieving- foul balls.  At major league games you keep the ball.  At youth league games there is an even better deal- take it to the concession stand and trade it for a drink or candy.  My son hauls in five balls a game on a good night, adequate to supply him with enough Coke and Sour Patch Kids candy to keep him awake until 3 a.m.

I’ve retrieved plenty of foul balls at various sorts of games before but I have never caught one in the air to the best of my recollection.  It has now become a goal of mine; and since I don’t carry a glove around on my person, I will be forced to accomplish the feat barehanded.  I look forward to hearing the crowd cheer when I make a highlight reel catch.  I just hope I don’t bail out again!

Rubbin’s Racing with Clint Spencer

*By Kevin Hastings

Mr. Spencer had the week off from watching racing last weekend after a long year educating the fine students of Lincolnton High School.  Have a great vacation Clint!

Last week Clint’s article was about how unstoppable Denny Hamlin is becoming.  Hamlin has won five races this season and sits 4th in the standings but would be in first if the season ended today because he has the most wins.

If I remember correctly the last time I wrote an article for Clint it was about how Jimmie Johnson is the most underappreciated NASCAR driver and champion in history.  All you Jimmie bashers out there keep forgetting that #48 is pretty darn good.  This weekend at Sonoma, Johnson roped his first win on a road course in his storied career moving him up to 2nd place in the standings.  Johnson led the most laps on Sunday after 12 lead changes and seven caution flags.   The last caution flag would be the most influential as race leader Marcus Ambrose stalled on one of the hills trying to save fuel for the rest of the race.

Even though Johnson had led most of the laps he was having trouble passing Ambrose for the lead at the end of the race. He was sitting in 2nd at the time of Ambrose’s engine stall and took quick advantage sliding past him during the caution along with five other cars leaving Ambrose in 6th.

But Kevin, how can you get passed on a caution lap?  Well the rule clearly state that “a driver must maintain a reasonable speed.”  When Ambrose stopped he had no speed allowing other drivers to get around him before he could fire his car again.  The gaffe cost Ambrose his first career NASCAR victory giving Johnson his 51st.  He’s now in sole possession of 10th on the all-time NASCAR wins list.

With Johnson struggling the past few weeks some were saying that this is the year he finally loses and we crown a new champ in NASCAR.  Hopefully Dale Jr.,  right Clint? Well Dale ain’t winning this thing and just maybe no one else is for the forseeable future as long as Johnson and Knaus are teamed up with that #48 team.

Kevin Harvick is in the lead for now and has the  best chance to overtake Johnson.  Harvick’s only problem is that once The Chase starts, he’ll be starting 4th instead of 1st because of his lack of wins.  So to Harvick, Hamlin, Gordon, the Busch brothers and all the Jimmie Haters out there.  Don’t count your chickens before they hatch.  NASCAR has a long season and the 4-time defending champion will not bow out easily.

*Side note about some Dale Earnhardt Jr. info.  This past Wednesday Shaq faced off against Junior on his TV show “Shaq Vs.”  According to reports it takes Shaq 25 minutes getting in and out of the car and he’s requested a “no bumping” rule.  My prediction:  If Shaq can find his pit he has a chance to win but Dale Jr. will finally get his first win on the track in two seasons.  At least he had better win because if he can’t beat Shaq driving  a race car, who can he beat?  I’m sure Rick Hendrick’s will love having Shaq beat his poster boy at his own game.

Be The Champ of NASCAR Pick'em!

What’s Up-town Shelby

By Janet Workman Berry, CPF

Frame Masters Gallery & Gifts, Shelby, NC

www.framemastersgallery.com

A journey of discovery awaits you when you visit Frame Masters Gallery & Gifts.  You will be delighted with the many affordable unique accessories for your home and office.  John and I proudly offer signature one-of-a-kind artistic pieces selected for their personality and character.  We represent artists from right here in Cleveland County, across the United States and around the world.

At Frame Masters Gallery “Beautiful Objects for Beautiful Lives” sums up the way you will view our unique fine art selection chosen with your desires in mind.  We offer lamps designed by Elaine Germane, mirrors of various sizes and shapes, hand carved items in teak and other exotic woods from your favorite wood carvers, J D Carvers and J.Axon, hand blown glass vases and candle sticks from glass masters in Russia and Hungary, pottery by Cyndi D., Ramiro Medina, Ruth Newins and many other of your favorite potters.  We also carry greeting cards by Sophie Terrell, StoryPeople by Brian Andreas, original oil paintings on canvas from Internationally recognized artists like ZAK, James, R. Wilkins and Joshua and hand tooled leather boxes from master saddle makers in Peru.

Our selection of limited edition and open edition fine art prints is the best in the area.  With over 2,500 images from artists like Bob Timberlake, Ray Bryam, Shirley Brutko, Phillip Philbeck, Cotton Ketchie, Elaine Hahn, Dianne Romanello, Jennifer Goldberg and many others, you are sure to find just the right subject, style and color to enhance your decor.

Since 1976 Frame Masters Gallery has been preserving memories.  I am a Nationally Certified Picture Framer  (CPF) and also a Certified Judge for picture framing competitions.   We stock over 500 ready-made picture frames in standard sizes.  Need a custom size frame?  We stock over 20,000 feet of moulding.   You can be assured your art will receive the finest care when framed by our knowledgeable staff, Myra Lackey, Joel Hendrick, John and myself.   All work is done here.  Your art never leaves the building until it is ready for you to take it home.

Be Extraordinary, Be Inspired,  Visit Frame Masters Gallery.  Serving Shelby, Cleveland County and surrounding areas since 1976.  We have home accessories you will not find anywhere else.  We offer unique gifts, beautifully gift-wrapped if you choose, that you will be proud to present.  We also offer pick up, delivery and installation.   Our store hours are Monday thru Friday 10 am until 5:30 pm and Saturday 10 am until 3:00 pm.  We are available other times by appointment. Phone 704-481-8312.  Visit us on-line www.framemastersgallery.com, web site designed by our Uptown neighbor, Awen Marketing Group.

Be Inspired, Be Different, Be Uptown Shelby !!!

Shop Locally- Support Independent Merchants

that Support Your Community.

Opening June 29, 2010 and running until August 28, 2010 at the Gaston County Museum is Colorscapes by Katie Wall Podracky.

Katie is a North Carolina-based artist who currently resides in Greensboro.  She has studied art at Washington and Lee University, and was a graduate fellow at Savannah College of Art & Design.  Inspired by a desire to preserve memories and moments of beauty, Katie’s large-scale oil paintings proudly showcase color and light.  Her works are in the permanent collections of universities and private collectors across the county.

Artist statement – “Organic branch forms and intense seasonal tree colors have long intrigued me when it comes to painting the trees. Perhaps the intrigue stems from playing in the wooded area next to my parent’s Asheboro home, or even that summer job in the biology lab that had me collecting leaf samples from the Dogwoods of the Shenandoah Valley.  In every painting I attempt to capture extravagant color, swirling movement and elegant patterns of light and dark. I fuse my fascination with nature, background in biology and my own love of intense color to create art that surprises and delights. Each painting is an exploration of color as light and a celebration of the art of living every day to the fullest”.

Museum hours:Tuesday – Friday 10:00 AM – 5:00 PM Saturday 10:00 AM – 3:00 PM

Contact:  Jeff Pruett, Programs Coordinator, 704.922.7681 x105 or jeff.pruett@co.gaston.nc.us   Museum’s website –www.gastoncountymuseum.org

What’s Up with Lisa Harper

Isn’t it amazing that you can hear scads of compliments and soon forget them, but let someone say something bad about you, and you will remember it all of your life?

Not to say that this is something that has never happened to me or anyone for that matter; it did rear an ugly head my way most recently.  With that being said, it caused many emotions and feelings that I had undertaken so many times before.  But, what really hit to the core was that the person who spoke these negative words seemingly went on about their day like it never happened.  I am sure they now realize all too well that those words of hurt did indeed set off a domino chain of events.

Long story short, I have walked away from a place of worship that I called home for over thirteen years. Though I had left before under different circumstances, this time my heart and God told me to move on and heal my hurt and forgive all who had ever spoken hurtful words or comments about me.

The one thing I will never be able to understand or comprehend is how some who portray their love and Christian faith in public can turn around and let their personal egos and selfish ways take precedence ahead of what we all know is more important-which is being what God wants us all to be-true Christians and role models for everyone who comes our way in our lives.

Unfortunately, we rehearse those hurtful words over and over if we do not take action to heal from them.  It is as if we enjoy picking at the scab until we get the wound infected again.  We torture ourselves again and again.  I believe it is one of the tactics Satan uses to steal the joy from believers.  He reminds us of our past pain, and we hurt all over again.  People may be quick to say hurtful words about others because it serves their own pride.   Hurting others may take some of the sting out of their own failures if they can rub off the glitter and joy that other people possess.

Healing from hurtful word requires a commitment.  You must be committed to forgive the person who said those words to you.  You must forgive if you are to recover.  Hurtful words require the forgiveness of Jesus.  They require that you remember that you, too, have been forgiven.  You may have been forgiven for saying hurtful words to someone else.  Regardless, you have been forgiven for many other things in life.  You do not need to make yourself better than others by not giving them forgiveness.

You also need to commit yourself to not bringing up the memory.  Some people say that we should forgive and forget.  Forgetting hurtful words is one of the hardest things to forget.  You have to do your best not to bring that memory to the surface.  Yes, I still believe that Satan will remind you of those words, but I know you can remind him that you have already forgiven what was said by putting those memories out of your mind.  Of course, you can also give Satan pleasure by dwelling on those words and going through worse pain.  Hurtful words become more hurtful when you dwell on them.  The devil calls into question God’s word.  The devil’s business is misrepresenting God.  When you slander or gossip you are continuing the work started by Satan.

Commit yourself to the picture God has of you.  Hurtful words hurt so much because we secretly believe them.  We seem to adapt the picture we have of ourselves by what we think others think of us.  We generally get our perception of ourselves as such: I am not what I think I am; I am not you what you think I am; I am what I think you think I am.

Instead of basing your value on what another has said of you, base it on the Almighty who knows your heart.  He has showered you with love, and He has incredible plans and works for you.  He would not do these things if He didn’t know He could trust you. Dwell on His love rather than hurtful words.

Commit yourself to do these things for the rest of your life.  Otherwise, you will be overtaken by hurtful words after you think you have mastered them.  You will master them, but it will take you the rest of your life.

Finally, enlist a close friend to pray for you.  Tell the friend that you want to have victory over something that is defeating you.  Have them pray for faith and strength in your life.  Turn it over to God.  He will make you victorious.

A good practice is to THINK before you speak.

Ephesians 4:32 -Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.

What’s Up on Linda’s Mind

By Linda Benfield

What are the thoughts behind those eyes when in a seemingly loving conversation?  It is said that the eyes are the windows of the soul, but they are not always a clean window.  I think character depends a lot on our capacity for love.  Our real character is what we are when no one is looking.

One way to develop character is to live your life like it is constantly being recorded. This is not so bizarre, since in this day and time we never know who is watching or recording.  Everything is monitored now. Think about the videos we have seen when a babysitter was unknowingly monitored and caught mistreating children.  It takes discipline to manage your character.  We should be the same in any situation whether at home or in public.  Our conversation should be the same if we are among friends or at church.  You can dress up and go to church, but only YOU know what is really inside.  “I have a short fuse, and I just can’t control my temper” is no excuse.   If you have been screaming at your spouse or children when someone from your church comes to visit, do you suddenly become calm and collected?  Have you ever been arguing with your spouse and received a phone call from an important client or friend?  If you could compose yourself at that moment, then you can do it all the time.  Self control is a real aspect of your character.

It is so disappointing to find out that someone you admire is not of the character you thought.  You may have been in a bathroom stall when your so called friends came in talking about you, or hung up from a phone conversation only to realize that you were still connected and heard the real story.  I think we have all seen someone act out of character when they did not know we were watching.  Your family knows the real you when they watch you interact with associates.  Their opinion of you should be as important as the rest of society.

A while back the phrase “what would Jesus do?” was popular. There were jewelry, t-shirts and bumper stickers to remind us of this quest.  What happened?  Was it too hard for us?  It is all a matter of character.  It begins with a heart change and desire to be like Jesus.  He is our example.  By grace we can have the character of Jesus, but we have to want it and ask for grace everyday to be of good character. We need sincere motivation.

Some do not want to be any different.  They are proud of their temper, fowl mouth, bad habits and carelessness.  Well, that is their character.  What is yours?  Whatever you choose, you must live with yourself.  We cannot escape ourselves; we have to live with what we think and do.  At the end of the day when we lay our head down we know.  Is it worth self-examination?  Some day we will all be examined, and it will all be laid out for public display.  Are you ready for that?

Life is an Adventure, and the best is yet to come!