Oklahoma Class "C" State Football Champions!

Going to the state tournament in football is always exciting!  This year was no exception!  The cold rain didn't keep hundreds of fans - both young and old - away from cheering on the Tipton Tigers.  Fans, friends and relatives from all over came to cheer on the team and their family members. It was so much fun!  So much so that I would like to relive it all over again!

Family picture after the game.  Such a great memory of a great night!
Siblings!

Team picture minus a few.

Jacob and his girlfriend.  :)

Everyone wanted their picture with the gold ball! Who wouldn't?

A great ending to Jacob's Senior year in football!  In his three years playing (9th, 10th, and 12th, the team won silver, gold, and gold!)  Quite a record!

Congratulations to the Tipton Tigers!

State Football Championship Ring Ceremony

When our football team won the Class C Championship in December, a fundraiser began immediately to raise money for the team, coaches, and assistants to get rings to commemorate this special occasion.  On Sunday afternoon, the rings were officially given out.

Our 16-year-old was really excited to be a part of this State Championship team.  He was on last year's team that lost in the State Championship, so experiencing this big win was quite special.  

And although our oldest son, who is a Senior this year, doesn't play football, he is the sports commentator and is known as the "Voice of the Tigers" on our school's broadcasting network through his FFA Ag Communications class.  He's been doing the live broadcasts for events the past two years, so when the administration wanted to recognize him in this way, he was very, very appreciative!  So were we, as his parents!  Pretty neat to be honored like this.  

A special part of the team this year was that our nephew is now the head football coach.  He had been an assistant for three years prior to this.  Also, our brother-in-law is one of the assistants.  How fun to have an uncle and cousin being coaches for your team!  And fine Christian men they are, which is even better.

The boys are showing off their rings here.  They are BIG rings, too!!  They won't be wearing them every day, but have them to wear on occasions.  The cheerleaders, cheer sponsors, and video technician also got awarded, but instead of rings, the females got pendants to wear on chains.

Here's our youngest with his teammates that are also Sophomores.  They'll be Seniors in no time!

What a special memory this ceremony will be for our boys!  A great season of DOMINANCE on the field!  Way to go, Tigers!

2014 CLASS C OKLAHOMA FOOTBALL STATE CHAMPIONS!!!

Here they are:  The 2014 Class C Football State Champions!!

The Tipton Tigers won the Gold Ball in the Championship Game against the Cherokee Chiefs, with 18 seconds left in the 3rd quarter!  The 45 point mercy ruling went into effect with the ending score of 58-12.  The game was played at Southwestern Oklahoma State College in Weatherford, OK.

 And the celebrating began as a few thousand fans cheered on the Tigers!  

Our nephew is the head coach.  We're so proud of him!  He's not only a great coach, but a great example of a Christian man to these young men.  His influence goes way beyond the field.   His dad (our brother-in-law), is also one of the coaches.

 Our 16 year old, Jacob, was a part of the team that went to State last year, receiving the silver ball.  It's still a great accomplishment, but there's nothing like winning the GOLD!  So, of course, we had to get a picture with the trophy!

Sophomore teammates, minus one.

Our oldest put a Go Pro camera on his brother's helmet for a few minutes!

Our oldest son has been broadcasting and commentating the Tipton Tiger football games for a few years.  This was his view for the live audio broadcast.  Pretty neat view!

Our four kiddos....

 The celebrating continued when we got back to Tipton.  The team's bus was greeted by lots of cheering fans and the lit-up scoreboard....

 ...and escorted in by the police and firemen!

 Encouraging words from the Coach...

 And our Freshman gave a big pep talk to the team and to the fans:

 He said, "Y'all are acting like this is over...that when these guys graduate, that it's the end of the Tipton Tigers winning.  But it's not over! We're gonna continue to win!"  We were so proud of him!

One last team breakout :(. That's a little sad!

The block party at the field ended with fireworks!  

What an exciting season!  What a ride for our Seniors! 

 They've gone to State four years in a row and come home with a silver ball, a GOLD BALL, a silver ball, AND ANOTHER GOLD BALL!  They will always have special memories of their HS career!  And we, the fans, look forward to more!

Congratulations, Tipton Tigers! We're proud of you!

Football and Prayers

Last night it was early in the 2nd quarter. Our boys were already way ahead and the game was sure to end at halftime under the mercy rule that is granted in 8-man football in the state of Oklahoma.  We were playing a private school's team.

The pile of boys didn't look any different than any other tackle, but when most of them got up, one was left lying on the field. No one was sure what had happened.  The players took a knee out of respect and the crowd kept quite.  It seemed like a long time - and in injury terms - it probably was.  The paramedic came at the motion of the coaches. Eventually the player was put onto the flat cart and onto the stretcher.  His family, teammates, everyone, I imagine....prayed for the young man.

The ambulance drove off and we haven't heard this morning how he is doing.  Our coach supposes that he has a deep muscle bruise in his back or something like that - as he was able to move without pain before he left.

Seeing that young man down brought fear in the hearts of all who were there.  Moms and Dads don't ever want to face that.  Players don't want to.  Coaches don't want to see it.

This morning I saw another story about a football player from Louisiana who passed away yesterday. He received a head injury last Friday night during his game.  My heart aches for his family and friends.

There is danger and risk in playing football. Everyone knows that.  But the danger and risk, to many, is worth it, and the players who play don't play the game with fear.  Parents know the risks, and while they don't ever want to face it, they know that it can happen - and sadly, will happen again.

Pray for the players of any sport.  Sports are physical and much "harder" than they used to be.  Injuries happen all of the time and some are really serious.  But we mustn't live life in fear. That's not what God wants. He wants us to live for Him and a life lived in fear that something bad might happen isn't living for Him.

So pray that your players and our players will be safe.  Pray for those who have been hurt - especially for Sam who was hurt here last night.  May his injury be quick to heal so that he can be with his teammates once again.   And pray for the Flowers family - who are mourning the loss of their son. He was a Senior.

Don't forget to pray.

Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. Philippians 4:6

Neutral

I'm sharing part of an article written by a friend. The beginning of the article tells how this friend now preaches in a town that will be playing their first playoff football game here in Tipton Friday night.  This is his hometown - where he graduated from in 1973 and moved from .  So, he has a dilemma.  

Some are asking, "Who will you root for?"

My friend and his wife will sit on the opponents' side, so that they can visit with friends they haven't seen in a while. He said he would wear his hometown team's cap and his shirt will be the team from where he lives now. He'll support both and cheer for both.

But, my friend will tell you about how that doesn't work in our Christian walk. God doesn't want us to remain neutral.  Here's that part of his story:

            As I pondered my attempt to explain my neutrality, I thought about my Christian walk.  Can I remain neutral and be pleasing to God? 

            Isaiah wrote, “but your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God, and your sins have hidden his face from you so that he does not hear” (Isaiah 59:1-2).   And Jesus stated, “Whoever is not with me is against me” (Matthew12:30).

            Just these two passages alone tell me that God doesn’t care for neutral—no fence-straddlers allowed.

            During my 58 years of living, I have been guilty of not always making the wisest of choices, but then again I’m just a stupid human—which, by the way, is a scriptural term.  Read Jeremiah 51:17 in the English Standard Version where he penned, “Every man is stupid and without knowledge.”

            I’ve never had problems with the commands like "Don’t kill; "Don’t steal";  "Remain faithful to your spouse," etc., but James surely gets my goat by penning, “So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin” (James 4:17).

            How many times have we broken that command?

            If I truly want to be Christ’s friend, not only must I obey His commandments (John 15:14), but also I have to study His word to know what those commandments are (2 Timothy 2:15; 2 Timothy 3:16-17).

            I can do all I can to remain neutral at this week’s playoff game, but I can’t be neutral when it comes to the Word of God.  I have to be either for Him or I’m against Him. 

            Luke wrote, “And now I say to you, keep away from these men and let them alone; for if this plan or this work is of men, it will come to nothing;  but if it is of God, you cannot overthrow it—lest you even be found to fight against God” (Acts5:38-39).

Senior Leadership

Yesterday was the day we had hoped for, dream for, and even expected, all year long.  Our high school team made it to the Class C State Championship for Oklahoma High School 8-Man Football!  It was the second year in a row our boys had made that appearance, last year coming up short at the end of the game - taking home the silver ball instead of the much-wanted gold ball.

But this year had been different.  This year our team hadn't lost even one game.  They had only been scored on one time during the regular season, and that was only allowed with the third string players in the game.  They did a good job, too, but just allowed one touchdown.  Still not bad!  

This year there were four Seniors on the team.  Four guys with great talent and skill, but also with great leadership and examples on the field and during practice, for their team.  One of the coaches even said that their leadership, as well as the attitude of the whole team, got them to where the were - at the game they had been working towards their whole season - and in fact, since last season.

Here's a picture of the scoreboard at the end of the game.  We're the Home team - the one on the left!  We won!!! 30 to 12!  We won the GOLD BALL!  As our spirit playoff shirts said - we turned "SILVER INTO GOLD"!

Here's the team after the win....

And here are my kiddos after the game....

And here are many of the Senior class members gathered around the gold ball and celebrating their classmates' big win....

And this is one of my nephews, who is the defensive coach for the team, his wife, and little one.  He is such a great Christian example to the team and to all who know him! (And so is she!)

Since last nights' win, I've been thinking about "Senior Leadership".  It is very important for the oldest members of a team, organization, or group to be leaders.  As adults, yes....sometimes leaders can be younger, and even in school students can be leaders to older people, BUT for the most part, on a team, the teammates look up to the older members of the team.  They EXPECT them to be leaders.  Sometimes they are.  Sometimes they are not.  Sometimes they set good examples.  Sometimes they set bad examples.  Leadership should always be good and positive - not bad and negative.

Several scriptures talk about how older Christians should teach and train the younger members.  They are to set an example.  Middle aged people, like me, are in the middle.....still learning from the older ones, but also teaching and setting an example for the younger ones.  The example we show to others matters.  How we "lead" others matters.  

Whether it is a sports team, a business group, a student club, or a family, it matters. And in the instance of our football team, it mattered.  In fact, "Senior Leadership" led the team to the state championship - and ultimately prize - the GOLD BALL!  Congratulations, Tigers!  We're extremely proud of you for your success and for your attitude and examples on the way to that success!

No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.

Hebrews 12:11

What if God was Praised Like Football?

This article came via email yesterday from Elm & Hudson church in Altus.  It makes a GREAT point and could also be used towards other sports, activities, hobbies, etc.  The article was written by Phil Robertson.  Not sure who he is, but I thank him for writing these thoughts. 

For me, I would have to put the Texas Rangers in place of football.....the Rangers and my own children's sporting activities, which includes some football.  It's really hard to not get caught up in something to the point where it takes over too much time, money, and importance in our life.  I'm thankful for this reminder that anything can become an idol when it is put above the Lord

Lori

********

A friend of mine recently made this comment, “Around here football is a religion!” At first, his words sounded like an innocent declaration of the passion and allegiance many of us have for our favorite teams. But after a little reflection, his words seemed to burn a hole in my conscience. Is football our religion?

God adamantly warned His people of the dangers of idolatry (Ex. 20:3-6). Their passion for false gods eventually led to their earthly captivity as well as separation from God (Ezek. 20:1-32). We may not have wooden figurines on the mantels of our homes, but that does not mean we may not have our idols.

So, how do we know when we may have crossed the line from sport to idolatry? Please consider the following “what if” scenarios:

 What if we gave as much money to evangelism and charity as we so to tickets, travel and team merchandise? Jesus said, “Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also” (Matt. 6:25).

 What if we could name the apostles, judges, and great heroes of faith like we can name our team’s starting lineup, reserves, and even recruits?” “Whatever things were written before were written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the Scriptures might have hope.” (Rom 15:4)

 What if fathers taught their children about the Lord and His works as much as they do about de- fensive formations or strategies of an offensive? “Fathers bring your children up in the training and admonition of the Lord.” (Eph. 6:4)

 What if we proudly displayed our love for the Lord as we do our team’s logos from our homes and cars? “Praise the Lord all you Gentiles and let all the peoples extol Him” (Rom. 15:11)

 What if we arrived early and participated in a worship service with the same dedication we have for crowded football stadiums with limited parking, little legroom and no protection from inclement weather?” “For I was glad when they said to me, ‘Let us go to the house of the Lord” (Psalm 122:1) (*Note from Lori:  Of course the church is the people, not the building, but we are commanded to come together and worship - to not forsake that meeting together. Interestingly, and sadly, we'll arrive an hour early to a game to get a good seat or even to find a reserved seat, but make it in to worship just in the nick of time.....to get the back row or our "favorite" pew.  Not sure that's how it should be!)

 What if we hated Satan and His schemes to conquer souls as much as we do a rival who is threat- ening to take a game from us? “Be sober because your adversary the devil walks about as a roar- ing lion seeking whom he may devour” (1 Pet. 5:8).

 What if the joy of winning souls and the pain of losing souls matched our passion for winning and losing a football game of which we are not even a participant? “There is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents” (Lk. 15:10).

The only victory that truly counts has already been won. Jesus conquered death so that we may live in Him (Rom 5:8 and 6:3-7)

—Phil Robertson

Underdogs

Do you enjoy rooting for the underdog?  Many people do.  It's fun seeing someone not expected to excel or win, excelling or winning.

Friday night our high school football team traveled almost four hours north to compete in the quest for the gold ball in Class C 8-man football.  We were playing Deer Creek/Lamont Academy (DCLA), the number one ranked team, who hadn't been beat in 23 straight games and who was last year's Class C State Champs.

Our Tipton team was ranked seventh, after loosing two games in regular season play.  They played well in the first playoff game, advancing to the second round.  All sports websites and reports predicted Tipton would lose badly, but they didn't know what was about to happen.  They didn't know that our football team was determined to win and didn't care if they were predicted to lose.  They didn't know that our team didn't feel intimidated by playing the number one ranked team and defending state champions.

But now they do.  Now they know because our boys BEAT DCLA - 13 to 12!!!  In the first quarter, Tipton scored a touchdown, making the score 6 to 0 early on.  At that point, DCLA was at a place where they hadn't been in two seasons of play.  They were down!  And they stayed behind the whole game.  The Tipton Tigers have advanced to the state semi-finals and our town is extremely proud of the boys for their hard work, dedication, and determination.  We'll be cheering for them Saturday night!

Underdogs.  Not any more!

As I thought about the Tipton Tigers being the underdogs in Friday's game and what they were up against going into that game, my thoughts turned to another underdog.  An underdog in the Bible.  I thought about David (1 Samuel 17).  Young David was a shepherd and didn't have experience fighting, except for killing some animals that had threatened the sheep, but he was willing to fight the over nine feet tall Goliath.  His faith to win the battle over Goliath wasn't because of what he thought he could do, but in what God could do through him.  Yes, David was an underdog, but he relied on the power and strength of a mighty God!  And, he won!  He defeated Goliath!!  With the help and power of the Lord!

So, best wishes to the Tipton Tiger football team as you play Saturday night!  We can't wait to cheer for you!! Interestingly, in the David and Goliath story, David cut off Goliath's head and he took it to Jerusalem.  The Bible doesn't say what happened to the head after that, but it seems it was kind of like a trophy (an odd trophy, but a trophy!).  Tigers, we want you to bring home a GOLD BALL!  (No heads, please!)

CRUSH!

Today was our son, Jacob's first football game.  He was so excited and played quarterback for his elementary (5th & 6th) team.  I haven't ever really liked football, myself.  I grew up in a smaller town than Tipton  and we didn't have football.  When I  go to the games, I can't ever even find the football!  I did keep up with Jacob because of the number on his jersey....well, most of the time, anyway!

When the football practices first began last week, Jacob was looking forward to getting to "crush" people.  Just that word and the thought of football - with the boys all smashing and hitting each other - isn't something that's appealing to me and I don't get it! But, it is, always has been, and most likely always will be appealing to Jacob.  He's been a rough-and-tumble kind of boy since he was born!  The thought of him "crushing" someone isn't something I like.  But, the idea of him being "crushed" by someone else.....well, I like that even less!

When our first two children (a girl then a boy) were born and in their toddler years, my husband, Joe and I thought we could have written a book on child rearing.  It was that easy.  Really.  No problems.  Not too tough to discipline.  But, then along came number three (this post isn't even going to talk about #4 :)!!!) and we would have had to throw that "book" away!  Everything that had worked with #1 and #2, suddenly didn't work with #3!  It was really strange to me, but my husband understood it more.  He grew up with five brothers and sisters and so there were more differences with them.  I had one sister and we were six years apart, so it was harder for me to understand.  Joe knew Jacob was more like him in many ways, so he understood him.  He gave me some good advice on dealing with Jacob.  He would say, "Don't crush his spirit".  There's that word again - "CRUSH"!

Well, I realized (eventually) what my husband meant.  Jacob wasn't going to be like #1 and #2.  No.  He was different.  But, those differences weren't "bad"....they just made Jacob, "Jacob".  I didn't need to waste time trying to make him something he wasn't going to be, but I could still help to mold him, teach him, and discipline him.  I just had to do it in more creative ways!  Jacob and I worked together on a lot of those things and it made a special bond between us that is still there today.

Jacob decided to become a Christian about a year ago.  He came to the decision by realizing that when he did wrong it was sin.  He realized that not only did his wrong-doing disappoint us or maybe get him in trouble, but that his sin was offending God.  Jacob realized that he needed Jesus in his life to get rid of that sin (see verse below).  My husband baptized Jacob.  I cried!  It was a special moment for all of us.

Or don't you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.

If we have been united with him like this in his death, we will certainly also be united with him in his resurrection. For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body of sin might be done away with,that we should no longer be slaves to sin - because anyone who has died has been freed from sin.

Romans 6:3-7

So, through Jacob, I learned to "mother" in a different way.  I learned not to "crush" his spirit, but discipline and nurture him in different ways that I had with the others.  I actually became more protective of him because of that spirit and also because he's always been smaller than friends his age (something he thinks is neat!).  And now, Jacob is on the elementary football team and HE'S CRUSHING PEOPLE AND THEY'RE CRUSHING HIM AND HE THINKS IT'S FUN!!!!  I worked all those years so as not to "crush" him and that's what football is all about! 

I still don't get football!