Journal 4: Jay Williams & Jesus

I have a few thoughts to write down today and decided that I'd like to do it on my blog. Just a second ago I was reading a "blog" of Jay Williams on NBA.com. Jay plays for the Chicago Bulls (a 2001 member of the Duke National Championship team) but is sitting out this year due to a severe injury suffered from a motorcycle accident last summer. Anyway, as I was reading his journal, I started to see his character/personality come out in his writing. I don't know him at all, except that he is an excellent baller, but felt that he is the type of professional sportsman that I can get behind. He is open, honest, knows what he is talking about and seems to be very positive about his situation - the motorcycle accident, I gather, was very severe and they didn't know if he would able to play ball again. Jay's only 22-years-old.

The next thought I had was if I think, just through his writing, that Jay is someone that I can admire - how much more so are others? It's hard in sports to separate the good from the bad; because a lot of times the good make mistakes and we then see them as bad. Take Kobe for instant. I'm not ashamed to see that he is my favorite player ever; and while I commend him for his honesty, I can't forget his mistake - that he may pay dearly for. Jay, I'm using him as an example, has not "fallen" yet.

Thought number three was if he hasn't "fallen" yet, will he? We can't depend on other people to stay "perfect" or "good." We are not capable of being good all the time. Even when we don't think we have sinned, we have. And then it all becomes clear that we weren't made to be "perfect" but that we were made to strive for perfection, as people. Not as a businessman, a performer, a minister. To be a "better" person than we were the day before.

So how do we learn? Who do we learn from, if no person is dependable to be good all the time? Then Jesus comes into view. He was perfect. Some of us deny Him but we can't because every good thing about us is what Jesus gave to us, through His example. But sometimes some of us can't see Him clearly and we need others who are examples of a part of Jesus to show us.

So what is it that I can take from Jay Williams' journal today? Two things: 1) that he isn't giving up, no matter how hard it may be. He is taking his life seriously and is thankful to have it; so he's doing all he can to get healthy and use his gifts as he should. 2) people care about you; even people you don't know. You are an example though you may not be famous like Jay. You have a fan club; but your fans don't necessarily want to start a website for you. That, to me, is the only difference between being Jay and being me.

Journal 3: Beginnings (not very good ones)

Okay, so here's the first little "excerpt." Well, we can't really call it that because it's just the beginning. I know this whole section will be re-written to read much better. It's the relationship that I want the reader to see in this small passage. The next time you read it, it'll actually have literary qualities. Until then, this'll do:

"...Yes, he has a wife and two kids – who haven’t seen him in four years. He’s missing, though you won’t see his face on a milk carton. His family has moved on without him; Jake, now 9, and Riley, 5, have grown up without him. Riley doesn’t even remember Michael; he was too young when Michael went missing. Jake is a different story altogether. Jake looks over his shoulder everyday, wishing/hoping to see his father. Michael and Jake were inseparable. Jake loved Michael and Michael loved Jake. If they weren’t father and son biologically, they would have somehow found a way to have a father/son relationship."

So that last line is really bad but I just wrote it so it's supposed to be. Whatcha think so far though? Here's another excerpt from the same story:

"...Fit and attractive, yes, she was that; but it was more so mentally. Not necessarily a book genius, Ellen possesses qualities that allow her to control almost anything or anyone. There really is no end to her abilities. She works hard but it comes naturally, too. There are just things that she can do that no one else can, literally."

So that needs work, too, but you can see how complex of a story I'm trying to put together. There's a lot of characters; I know I'll have take some out to make the story not so croweded. So far, three more characters have come to life in the last four hours that I did not expect. They are good; the original idea is still there but it's also morphing into something that is almost incomprehensible to me with the inclusion of these characters. Which, if you think about it, is a very good thing. It's better that things keep expanding upon each other rather than stopping in their tracks. Some call it writer's block; I call it a bad story - or a bad tangent of a good story. I'm hoping these characters turn the story into a novel - that would be a good tangent of a good story. I wouldn't mind that one bit.

Journal 2: I forgot I had this!

It's been a while, hasn't it? I'm not doing so well at this blogger thing; probably because I forgot I had it. However, it's a new year and I fully intend to post at least once a week to my blogger - even if it's something simple like this. I have done a little writing today on my breaks at work. I want to type some of what I wrote on my blogspot later today just to get some opinions on it. I won't give you the whole story; just a sample to see if it hooks you. If not, I still have some work to do. It it does, then I know I'm going in the right direction. Well, I need to get back to work. Check ya later!