A Mat Kearney Song – All I Need
Neil's Diamonds
The Blog of Neil Holman
The Never-Ending Quest of Knowledge and Truth
I still remember the very second I realized that I knew it all. It was somewhere around the second or third grade, and it was a beautiful moment, really. I was sitting on the bus coming home from school, and the kid sitting next to me was amazed that I could name every baseball team’s starting lineup. And how I knew that if you give mean looks long enough to a girl, she’ll stop trying to talk to you. He told me that I knew it all, and I told him he was right.
Of course, eventually I realized there was more to learn. For example, in the eighth grade, I learned something cool about spiral notebooks. My friend Nick and I were goofing off one day because there was a substitute, and everyone knows substitute teachers can’t really get you in trouble. So we rigged up a spiral notebook where it would fit perfectly in the electric socket on the wall. And man you should have seen the explosion. The computer lab next door shut down, sparks were flying, and the lights flickered. It was much more than either of us anticipated. That day I learned you shouldn’t even joke about messing with electrical outlets, and that substitute teachers can send you to the principal’s office. And principals can get you in trouble.
Even after an experience like that, it may come as a surprise to you that I was still a ways away from infinite knowledge. I went to college, then immediately figured out a way to flunk out. By that, I guess I learned teachers grade much harder when you don’t do your homework or study very much. At least, that is the way it seemed to me. And you should never take a class that starts before eight o’clock. Or nine o’clock. Actually, it’s probably best to stay away from all classes before lunch. I found it much easier to go to class after I had eaten lunch.
I am still constantly learning. I’ve learned it is true when God says He can work all things for the good of those who love him. Flunking out of school was a devastating experience, and something I am still dealing with the consequences from. However, I cannot help but notice all the beauty God has brought to my life that would have never occurred otherwise. I would have never met nearly all of my close friends, and I would have never walked through the doors at University Church; a place I have come to love. I would have never worked at Wilkinson’s Mall or Hibbett Sports in Conway, and as a result, would have missed out on getting to know a lot of great people. Basically, I can’t imagine life if I had passed at Harding. And I don’t really want to. I like my life the way it is.
So this is my charge for everyone. Let us constantly learn what it means to truly live. Let us be taught by the magnificent teacher. Let us understand what it means to be a Jesus follower. Let us drown in the Word of God and constantly burn with the fire and passion of the Holy Spirit. And then, let us make a difference.
2010 New Year’s Resolutions
Originally, I wasn’t planning on doing any New Year’s resolutions this year, but as January 1 rolled around, I couldn’t help but to take this opportunity to lay out some changes I would like to make. Some are incredibly practical, while others, frankly, might not happen. Let me be the first to tell you, if I don’t succeed at all of these this year I will not be too disappointed. For me, it is about the journey. It is about the growth taking place as I strive for these goals. Accomplishing these goals would be fantastic, but in reality, I just want to make sure and try. So here are 10 resolutions I have given myself for 2010.
1. Become a better writer. This is at the top of my list. I would like to have better thought out posts on the blog, as well as do some other writing I’ve been planning on. This doesn’t just mean writing more often, though that is a part of it, but also taking the time to mold my writing into exactly what I wanted to say, and it means I will need to read more.
2. Read through the Bible. I know we are only 6 days in, but so far so good. What I am doing, which seems to be helping me out, is receiving emails with my daily bible reading. You just pop open the email, read it, and you’re finished. There are a lot of different reading plans to choose from. If you want to receive daily Bible readings through email just visit here.
3. Go to a Cowboys game. I’ve been a lifelong Cowboys fan. I honestly don’t remember I time when I wasn’t a Cowboys fan. So I’ve decided this is the year I want to go to a game. I’m not real sure if it will happen, due to the fact games sell out quickly and the whole finances of it all, but I definitely want to make an effort. And hopefully they will be the defending Super Bowl champion Dallas Cowboys.
4. Purposefully build better relationships. Those who know me know that I am one of the most laid back people you will ever meet. I have trouble feeling a sense of urgency about much of anything. While this is an attribute I really like about myself, it doesn’t come without its shortfalls. The biggest, in my opinion, is in building relationships. It causes me to be content with knowing someone, but never really investing in them. So I want to take intentional steps to building new relationships, as well as digging deeper into the ones I already have.
5. Work harder. This one is pretty self explanatory. I constantly battle with apathy, laziness, and procrastination, and this year I want to continue to battle, rather than give in.
6. Get involved with something bigger than me. Too be honest, I’m not really sure what all this entails. I just know that I live most of my life very selfishly. My desire is to throw myself into something that is all about God. Something making a difference in the world, as well as spreading the gospel of hope. What this will be is to be determined.
7. Create more time. I know I’m not magic, so I don’t mean this literally. What I mean is to plan better. By planning my time better, I don’t end up wasting hours and hours each week doing nothing.
8. Build up a savings account. First, let me say I think there is a danger with building up too much savings for the future for the sake of having more money. So please don’t interpret this as me building bigger barns while much of the world is suffering. This is really about me being a better steward of the money God has blessed me with. By carefully spending my money, and in return saving up, it will allow me to give more to the church, as well as become involved in other missions for the kingdom of God, that I haven’t had the funds for in the past. By building up savings, I will be able to be more active in the work of Christ in the world.
9. Figure out how to get more people to comment on my blog. I love it when people leave comments. I just like to know who all has stopped by. Do you have any specific resolution for you this year? Or a response to any of mine? If you don’t have anything to say in relation to the post, just say hi. I like it when people say hi to me.
10. Live each day intentionally. I tend to be a bit of a visionary. By that I mean I can get so caught up in the future. The great things that are going to happen. Most of which involve me changing the world, causing everything evil in the world to repent. So this year, I want to be reminded of the little things. Revolutions start with the little things. May I be Christ to my neighbors, even in the smallest of acts, that they may know they are dearly loved. I want to let tomorrow worry about itself, intentionally living every second in the present.
There you have it. I’ll see you all again real soon.
Urban Meyer: To Coach or Not To Coach…Or Both?
I was absolutely stunned when I read it. I had gotten on my computer to check my email, but as I always do, I eventually found myself on ESPN to catch up on what was happening in the sports world. As soon as the page loaded, the story jumped out at me. “Urban Meyer resigns as head coach at Florida.” I was sure it was one of those misleading titles designed to get the reader to click on the link, only for the reader to then realize the story really has nothing to do with the title. It worked. I felt I had no choice but to read it. So you can imagine my surprise when I read how Urban Meyer had actually resigned.
It seemed to be quite the emotional ordeal for Meyer, and rightfully so. Considered the premier coach in college football, most expected Meyer to lead the Gators for decades to come, or at least until he gave the NFL a shot. But there he was, at the relatively young age of 45, stepping down because of his health, of all things. Meyer, who admitted himself into the hospital the day after the SEC championship game, said the stress of coaching has taken a toll on him physically, as well as causing some rather severe chest pains. You could tell it was a tough decision to make, but anyone who saw the press conference understood it was the right decision. Especially after Urban’s oldest daughter, a freshman volleyball player at Georgia Tech, proclaimed she was “getting her daddy back.”
Which makes it all the more incredible when less than 24 hours after Meyer’s press conference, he schedules another to let the world know he has changed his mind. What? All it took was 24 hours? It seems Meyer, as with many coaches and players over history, couldn’t just walk away from the game without second thoughts. Much like how Brett Favre has retired somewhere around 12 years in a row, only to come back the next year anyway. So instead of getting out for good, Meyer decided just to take a little time off, while Steve Addazio, the offensive coordinator, runs things in Gainesville. Most expect Meyer will be back by the Gator’s first game in 2010.
I feel for Urban. If his health problems are as serious as he let on at his initial press conference, he is in a tough spot indeed. That spot where his heart’s desire is to coach football, something he is good at and enjoys. All the while, the stress and abuse he places on himself while coaching, seems to be causing his body to revolt against him. In recent interviews, Meyer noted that when he returns to coaching, he must change his style. He needs to back off the gas pedal, maybe delegate more responsibilities to some of the assistants. But when you understand the competitiveness which made Meyer a great coach, you also understand it is the same competitiveness that makes backing off the gas pedal sound quite unrealistic.
I am hoping Meyer ends up making the right choice, whatever choice that may be. Hopefully, this time off will allow him to regain his health and gain back some of the weight he’s lost over the past couple of years. College football will go on. While the sport is certainly better off with Urban Meyer on the sidelines, it doesn’t need him. The question soon to be answered is does Urban Meyer need college football?
Merry Christmas!
Well, it’s almost Christmas Day. I’m at my parent’s and we’re going to celebrate Christmas tonight. Due to work and being out of town, I’m not going to be able to post in the next couple of days, so I wanted to go ahead and wish all of you a very merry Christmas from me. I hope it is an uplifting season. I don’t really have much to say, so I decided to post a video of my favorite Christmas song being sung by one of the best vocalists there is, David Phelps. Enjoy!
The Neily Awards – 2009 College Football
While all the other awards for the college football season have been handed out, it is time for the most important. That’s right, I’m talking about the 2nd annual edition of the highly coveted college football Neily Awards. So without further ado, here are my picks for this season.
Player of the Year – Toby Gerhart, RB, Stanford – Gerhart was an absolute beast this year and was robbed of the Heisman. Played 6 rushing defenses in the top 40 and still led the nation in rushing, as well as scoring 26 touchdowns.
Offensive Player of the Year – Golden Tate, WR, Notre Dame – I thought Tate was an absolute electrifying player. In my mind, should have been a top 3 Heisman guy, but was hurt by the inability of Notre Dame’s defense to stop anyone.
Defensive Player of the Year – Ndamukong Suh, DT, Nebraska – While Eric Berry tried valaintly to win his 2nd consecutive Neily, Suh was just too dominate this year. People will always point to his performance against Texas, but Suh played like that all season, including single-handedly destroying my beloved Sooners.
Offensive Freshman of the Year – Dion Lewis, RB, Pitt – I wanted so bad to give this one to Stanford’s Andrew Luck, I had even typed in his name. But in the end, my head overcame my heart to go with Lewis. He was an absolute workhorse for Pitt and should go into next year with legitimate Heisman hopes.
Defensive Freshman of the Year - Aldon Smith, DE, Missouri – This was the toughest of all the choices. Too be honest, I ended up going with the guy I was most familiar with. Smith was a machine as a freshman, and there is already talk of him being a future top 10 pick in the NFL.
Coach of the Year – Gary Patterson, TCU – While the popular choice for this award is new Notre Dame coach and former Cincinnatti coach, Brian Kelly, I think Patterson is the most deserving. His defense is excellent every year, including the top ranked defensive squad this year. I felt like TCU was the one undefeated team that could hang with Alabama or Texas.
Stay Connected With Neil’s Diamonds
Hey everybody. I just thought I would stop by and let everybody know about a what I think is a cool new feature on the blog. In the upper part of my sidebar, there on the right, is an option to subscribe to get email from the blog. I know I tend to be a little bit of a streaky blogger. I might have four or five posts one week, then go a couple of weeks without one. But now, buy subscribing for emails, you can make sure you have always read the latest post. You never even have to come back to the site. As soon as I am finished writing it, the entire post is sent directly to your inbox. Just a little something I thought might make things a little easier for my readers.
Oh, and in celebration of the holiday season, I added a little snow to the blog. I have a couple of sports posts coming up. One about the Heisman Trophy finalists, my second annual College Football Neily Awards, plus some other stuff I have yet to think of. Love you, bye.
Heaven & Earth – Phil Wickham
I must say that I am real excited Phil Wickham has some new music out. In my opinion, Phil’s first two CDs put him firmly as one of the best, and most unique, artists in Christian music. And his new album is no different. Where in the past, Phil kept it pretty simple, a lot of acoustic guitar to match up with his distinctive voice, on this album he seems to be testing waters a little. While the last three songs on the album “Because of Your Love,” “Cielo,” and “Heaven Song,” seem to round it out with the classic Phil sound, the rest of the album hits pretty hard with a lot of piano, electric guitar, and a whole lot of synthesizers. But it works. Phil calls himself a worship artist, so I give it to him. Even with the change in sound, this is a very worshipful CD. (I’m not sure worshipful is a word, but I used it anyway.) He has a way of keeping lyrics very simple, but not falling into the same old ordinary sounding worship songs you hear all the time. To me, this is the best album of the year. I loved it. Every single song made me hit the repeat button at some time or another. Phil is getting better and better with every album.
Rating: 9.5/10
The Camping Trip (Part 2)
Until just recently, I always drove with the windows up. However, in an effort to save gas, and consequently, money, I decided to cut the A/C and roll down the windows. And I must say I don’t think I can ever go back. (Except when it is really cold. Or really hot for that matter. Actually, the more I think about it, it still has to be pretty perfect weather for me to keep the windows down.)
But there we were. Kid’s taking on the great wilderness. Like birds flapping their wings to learn for the first time they can fly. But we were driving down the road with the windows up, and let me just say the car was getting a bit stuffy. I was definitely ready to get to the cabin, if for no other reason than to just get a breath of fresh air.
As we pulled up to the office for the cabins, my mind quickly moved from fresh air to whether or not I would survive the night. There was a lone streetlight in the parking lot, which was just bright enough to give light to nothing. It felt like we were driving into a scene from a horror movie. We decided that someone needed to go check and see if the door was unlocked. I volunteered Jeff, mainly because I was afraid I would pee on myself if I moved.
The cabin was pretty small. Not something you would stay in for vacation, but definitely better than sleeping on the ground. It even had a TV. But every time we turned it on, a breaker was thrown and the electricity would go out. (It was at this time I expected someone to jump out of the closet with a hatchet.)
We spent a little time chatting, eating brats, and what not. I mentioned to Jeff that I had never owned anything camouflage before. He was nice enough to give me a camo hat that he had. And I figured that since I had a camo hat, I was a real outdoorsman. So I spent the rest of the weekend talking about hunting and Muck boots in a strange accent.
Mason was having to write part of a movie script for one of his classes, so Jeff and I thought we would help him out. You know, make sure he has a real vision of the entire movie, as well as making sure his ideas didn’t suck. We had this real awesome idea for the movie. One where a little girl comes from the future to tell a man that he must save her life. I say “we” had a good idea. It was mainly Jeff and Mason’s idea. For some reason, they thought all my ideas for the movie were real dumb.
I had just thrown out an idea about how the girl could have been a former student in her hero’s karate class, which Mason welcomed with, “Maybe you should just be quiet,” when my life changed forever.
At this point, I was getting a little tired, as well as being frustrated because my awesome ideas weren’t being taken seriously. I felt like Tom Green on The Celebrity Apprentice. So I hugged onto a pillow and rolled over on my back. And if not for Jeff, I would be dead right now. Because I am very trusting, I sat still as Jeff killed a spider which was ready to pounce. For sake of the story, it turned out to be the most poisonous spider in the world!
I had trouble sleeping because my mind was going a million miles per hour. I searched every inch of the cabin for spiders, which I suddenly had an extreme fear of. I also couldn’t get over the fact that I would never be a real man until I had me a pair of Muck boots. Plus the bed pretty much sucked. I think I might have preferred the ground.
As we got ready to go the next morning, it was bittersweet. We had survived (Although just barely). But as we left, it felt good to know that what started as a trip with two men and one scared little boy taking on the great outdoors, three men were returning. That’s right, Jeff had become a man.
Sports Ranting
It’s been a while since I wrote to all of you fine readers about how things are going for me in the sports world. So, if you don’t mind, that is what I am going to do for the rest of this post. If you do mind, sorry. Just stop reading and click on one of the links over there on my blogroll.
Dallas Cowboys
Well, the Boys are heading into December at 8-3. At this point they are almost a lock for the playoffs. But December has always been their achilles heel. As for this December, I am hopeful, yet worried. I am hopeful because it appears that this team is good. The biggest reason has been a very mature Tony Romo. He is simply taking what the defense is giving him, and letting the Cowboy’s defense carry the load. And the result has been wins. I am a little hesitant, however, because the schedule the rest of the way is tough. Giants, Redskins, Eagles, Chargers, and Saints. I’m just hoping everything doesn’t fall apart.
College Football
Does it mean that I’m not really a sports fan if the conference championships are tomorrow, and I’m not really interested. The Sooners and Razorbacks both went 7-5 this year, which means whatever happens tomorrow, really has no impact on either of the teams I root for. The only thing that could make this season worse and less exciting is if Tim Tebow wins the Heisman, at which point I would vow to never care about the Heisman trophy again. Or even college football, for that matter. Toby Gerhart all the way!
That’s about it for now. I’ve got a new computer on the way, so be looking forward to the possibility of more frequent blogs. I’m just so streaky. Stay thirsty my friends.
The Writer
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