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{HeartTouchers.com}   *A Lesson in Priorities* 

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Michael's updated book Heart Touchers "Life-Changing Stories of Faith, Love, and Laughter," is finally here! ($13.95)

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A Lesson on Priorities

by Rubel Shelly


Pat Dyer must not be too bad a high school football coach. He is the head coach for Macon County High School. His MCHS team was a Class 3A state semifinalist last year. He was selected to coach the defensive secondary in the Tennessee East/West All-Star game this year. As he pointed out at the time, being selected to help coach an all-star team is a "big honor."

This hasn't been one of Coach Dyer's best seasons. His MCHS Tigers didn't make the playoffs. They didn't even have a winning record for the season. You know how testy that can make diehard sports fans -- at pro or pee wee level.

Maybe Coach Dyer didn't do his best job this year. Maybe he made some bad personnel decisions. Maybe he called some bonehead plays. Criticize him for those things if you are a Tigers fan, but not for his priorities.

Dyer missed two games his team played this year -- on Week 7 and Week 10 of the schedule -- for the sake of his son. Matt Dyer is a high school senior at Smith County High School. He is a fullback for that school's football team. And he is working through those once-in-a-lifetime events that go with being a senior.

Coach Dyer didn't skip his own team's games to see his son play football for the past three years. He didn't send his team onto the field without their head coach to see Matt's senior games. But he did elect to be there for his son's Homecoming and Senior Night games. He put being a father over being a coach.

Oh, he didn't just fail to show up. He agonized over the conflict. He talked with his principal. "Coach Dyer came to me and talked to me about it before the season," said Principal Cindy Gammons. "I had no problem with it. I told him that's what he should do, and he didn't need to be anywhere else."

An angry contingent of MCHS parents has come down hard on the coach. They started calling school board members to tell them what should happen to him. They are parents! And they want their kids put first!

On two nights over four seasons of high school sports, Pat Dyer put his son first. "It was a tough call as a coach. It was an easy call as a father," sportswriter Jeff Lockridge said of the flap. "When a player's name is announced over the speakers and he walks to midfield on Senior Night, his dad belongs by his side."

Coach, most of your team and its fans likely admire your decision. The ones who don't will get over it. But Matt will never forget the choice you made because you love him. Thanks for reminding the rest of us to get our priorities right.

Rubel Shelly
whcoc@edge.net

Write Rubel and let him know what you thought of his story!

(c) 2004 Rubel Shelly. Used by permission.

Visit: http://www.faithmatters.com to read more of Rubel's writing or to sign up for his weekly column: FAX of Life.


Rubel Shelly has preached for the Woodmont Hills Church of Christ in Nashville since 1978. During that time, he has also taught at David Lipscomb University and Vanderbilt University School of Medicine. He is the author of more than 20 books, including several which have been translated into languages such as Korean, Japanese, Portuguese, Italian, French, and Russian. He is married to the former Myra Shappley, and they are the parents of three children: Mrs. David (Michelle) Arms, Tim, and Tom.

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Thought For The Day:

"The man who sings his own praises always gets the wrong pitch."


Verse for the Day:

"Let another man praise thee, and not thine own mouth; a stranger, and not thine own lips."--Proverbs 27:2


Kid's Thought For The Day:

"Squeeze the tube slowly, because once the toothpaste is out it's hard to get it back in."


Parent's Thought For The Day

No need to worry about your teenagers when they're not at home. A national survey revealed that they all go to the same place -'out'- and they all do the same thing -'nothing'."--Bruce Lansky


Coach's Thought For The Day

Too often we forget it is the players who do the competing. You never heard the word "I" so much as when coaches get together. Our challenge is to keep the focus off ourselves and work towards developing a cohesive team. We're all important to the overall effort, but none of us is irreplaceable.--Denny Raarup


Writer's Thought For The Day:

"Once I got started I wanted the life of a writer so fiercely that nothing
could stop me. I wanted the intensity, the sense of aliveness, that came from
writing fiction. I'm still that way. My life is worth living when I've
completed a good paragraph." --Lynne Sharon Schwartz


Deep Thought For The Day:

"Do not walk behind me, for I may not lead. Do not walk ahead of me, for I may not follow. Do not walk beside me, either. Just leave me alone."

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Video Imagery --Michael's Video Production Business

Dear Michael,

I just wanted to take a minute to thank you for the beautiful video you made for me! It was so special to see both of my parents in tears as they watched their children grow up in pictures before their eyes! I loved the way you made Estania's part set aside from the rest--that was the part that really got them! The music was beautiful. My mom kept blubbering, "What song is that?" I don't know how you did such a beautiful job with the video in such a short time. I really appreciate your doing it so quickly. You have a wonderful gift, and I thank God that you are using it to create such sentimental memories. I hope that I can find my niche like that in an area that I love. Your video gave us one of our most lasting Christmas memories! I hope yours was filled with moments to be treasured forever!
Love,
Trisha
Silverhill, AL

Let me make you a video from your photos!
Check out my video production business
by visiting: http://www.hearttouchers.com/video_imagery

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Do you feel as if life has no meaning for you?
http://www.greatcom.org/english/four.htm

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A number of people have written to us asking what an EBook is, since our book is being offered in both print and EBook versions.  An EBook is a book that can be downloaded and read right on your computer. The advantage of ordering the EBook is that is costs less, $6.95 (No other charges), as compared to $13.95 for the print book. Plus your EBook will arrive the same day you order it and you can begin reading the stories right away!

EBooks are read via Acrobat Reader, which is software that is already on your computer. So for those of you who don't want to wait for the print book to be delivered, check out this link to order the EBook version of Heart Touchers "Life-Changing Stories of Faith, Love, and Laughter."

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