Making A Difference – Albert Pujols

I love baseball. I mean, I really love it. Something happens to me during baseball season and it’s been that way my whole life.

I grew up in Evansville, IN and have always been a passionate St. Louis Cardinals fan. Through good years and lean I have always watched and cheered for the Cards. My wife has been very kind and tolerant as she has stopped trying to understand it…she has made the very wise decision to embrace it! We make the journey to St. Louis several times each year to take in a game and hit some of our favorite places to eat. By the way St. Louis is famous for toasted ravioli. That’s right….toasted ravioli! Look into it. I highly recommend it!

Every now and then we get the chance to cheer for an athlete who is at the top of their game.  For Cards fans we have that right now in Albert Pujols. Here are just a few of his baseball stats:

- 2001 NL Rookie of the Year

- 2003 NL Batting Champion
- 2005 NL MVP

- 2006 World Series Champion
- 2006 NL Gold Glove at 1st Base (The 3rd position he’s played for the Cards)
- .333 Lifetime Batting Average
- The only player in MLB history to open a career with 7 straight 30 homerun seasons
- Voted the most feared hitter in all of baseball by 30 major league managers

I could go on and on with the stats and awards as Albert will go down as one of the best right hand hitters of all time. But, the thing that makes Albert special is what is in his heart and what he does off the field.

On November 13, 1998 Albert made what he calls, “The Best decision of my life,” when he gave his heart to Jesus Christ and asked HIM to become LORD of his life.  He goes on to say, “People ask me if I believe how quickly my career has taken off. I just tell them Jesus Christ is my strength. God has blessed me and I will continue to do my best for Him. That is more important than anything I could ever do in baseball.”

How refreshing! Just take a look at his web-site: The Pujols Family Foundation and you will see his testimony and have a chance to read about what makes him tick. Albert’s daughter has Down Syndrome and he spends his free time during the season and his whole off-season raising awareness of this disease and raising money to help those who cannot help themselves. He is very outspoken about his faith, which is something that I find so amazing in today’s culture. I really admire his willingness to take a stand for Jesus and to use his celebrity to build The Kingdom.

Follower of Jesus Christ….Check.

Spends his life helping others….Check.

Making a difference for The Kingdom….Check.

Total stud on the baseball field that is re-writing record books….Check.

I am proud to be a Cardinals fan and you will find me cheering for Albert Pujols for many reasons….some of which have nothing to do with baseball. I also cheer for Albert as a human being and a brother in Christ who is doing amazing things with his life and impacting others for Jesus.

My First Blog – Thoughts…..

I think that my wife is the most amazing woman on the planet. She rocks my world and most of the time she doesn’t even realize it. The way she laughs, the way she walks, the way she LOVES food, the way she plays with her hair when she’s deep in thought….I love it all. Nearly every day she teaches me more about how to pursue God and love people. She’s the total package and I am blessed beyond words.

 

I think I need to play more golf. As I sit here today, I am not a gifted golfer. There was a time when I could play but it’s gotten lost in the day to day of life, business & ministry and I really miss it. I am going to play more this year.

I think that dogs are awesome…..especially my dog, Sophie!

I think that people who serve us or do things for us deserve our respect. People who bring us food in a restaurant, the guy who cuts our grass, the people who take care of our cars…those who serve us deserve more respect from us. Just because we pay them doesn’t mean we get a free pass to be annoying or disrespectful.

I think the Cardinals need better pitching….really, how long can they expect these guys to keep delivering? Spend some cash or make a trade for pete’s sake.

I think the Colts could be really, really good again this year. No bold predictions yet but I think they will be a force.

I think the Church of Jesus Christ needs to take a long hard look in the mirror, form a new ministry paradigm, scrap some traditions and take the world for Jesus.

I think that family and friends are invaluable and I need to spend more time pouring myself into both.

I think that I am going to spend more time getting to know my neighbors this summer because I can’t reach them if I don’t spend time with them.

I think that I need to stop writing until next time….until then, I hope that I live with NO Regrets!