Living and loving football

WARNING: GRANNY ALERT!

As most of you know, I go to bed early. 

Really early. 

Last night, I stayed up till 9:30, and Andrew told me how proud he was that I stayed up late. I was proud too. But within seconds of his facetious remark, I climbed into bed. 

But before I dose off into REM bliss, I usually read. 

My book of choice this week was "Coming Back Stronger: Unleashing the Hidden Power of Adversity" by Drew Brees. It's an amazing testimony of faith, hard work, and reliance on God. 

Here's a few excerpts: 

"Many people would define the "good life" as one that's free of pain and hardship and heartache. But I've learned that adversity is actually an opportunity. It's a gift, though it may not look like it in the moment. The difficulties life throws at you can be a doorway to something better---something you haven't even dreamed was possible."

"Football is all about timing. There's the timing of the snap count. The speed and depth of the receiver running his route. The pause of the running back before he explodes toward the line. 

When I was lying on a gurney in the training room during the last game of 2005, my shoulder shredded and my career in jeopardy, I couldn't imagine how anything good could come of out something so awful. But as I would soon learn, sometimes the way God works is all about timing too. I had to wait. I had to work. But in the end, he had a clear purpose in everything that happened."

I finished the book in a few days, inspired. You can even see football in a new light. Through a God-light. 

You know your family loves football when this is on your husband's bedside table:

"God & Football: Faith and Fanaticism in the SEC" by Chad Gibbs is Andrew's latest pick. I picked it up last night after finishing the Drew Brees book. It is hysterical with a wonderful sense of God at the forefront of it all. And I'm only on chapter 2. 

"A 2004 Gallup Poll that tracked religious affiliations state by state showed that in eight of the nine SEC states, over 86 % of people considered themselves Christians. (Note: Despite the best efforts of Tim Tebow, Florida checked in at a measly 81.6 %.) I began to scour the Internet for a poll that wasn't six years old but lost focus after I discovered peopleofwalmart.com."

I laughed out loud. 

On that football note, I'll leave you with a remark about this weekend: I'm so excited! 

Why is this purple and gold bleedin' girl excited about the weekend? Despite that purple and gold blood, I'm going with my orange and blue bleedin' husband to the National Championship to watch those Auburn Tigers. Earlier in the week, I talked about being "all in." I was referring to Louisiana. But in this case, it's marriage. It's football. It's football that's close to our hearts. After all, we did meet at an Auburn/LSU game. Now tell me that's not God. 

But I'll go ahead and say it. "All Auburn. All in." That's their motto this year. I guess it will be mine for the weekend. 

War Eagle!