The secret to success is knowing who to blame for your failures.

I didn't post last night and this picture is part of the reason.
Todd, one of our elders at Pathway, called me Friday night and asked if I was interested in filling out a foursome for a golf tourney Saturday morning. Long story short, I said yes and played a round at Palm Valley Country Club with Todd and his Christian friend from Scottsdale, Clay. Two of the original foursome had called and canceled, I filled one spot and the other remained empty.
The trophy is for second place, and you can be sure I will display it prominently. But anybody who sees it will hear the whole story.
This was a scramble, which means everybody in the foursome hits a tee shot, you pick the best one and then everybody hits a ball from there. Continue that until the ball is in the cup. Scrambles are GREAT because a) it takes all the pressure off since your partners can bail you out of a bad shot, and b) the result can be some very low scores for a round.
Note: we weren't the only incomplete group, and the tournament's director told us that for each shot we were to have one of us hit a second ball so that we would always have four shots to choose from. He also instructed all groups that each person in the foursome must have at least two of his drives used at some point during the round.
Now the key to that trophy:
Todd is an amazing golfer who carries a 1 handicap. I don't know Clay's handicap but it can't be much more than that. My ball has rolled to a stop at a point where Todd's ball is still gaining altitude. He's one of those golfers who can "shape" his shot depending on the situation, hitting either a draw or a fade as necessary. Todd and Clay would talk about whether the pin was 90 or 92 yards away when I'm thinking "the green is over there."
I had a BLAST! Two reasons: first I really enjoy watching someone who is very, very good at something that requires considerable skill. Both Todd and Clay fit that category in spades. Second, they are both VERY gracious guys. I told Todd that normally I would be nervous playing with guys that good, figuring that they would grow impatient with my hacking. But not those two. I got lots of encouragement and compliments. "You have really good position at the top of your backswing." "Nice shot!" (I head that at least twice)
So now you know that our trophy came as a result of their excellent play. But forget the trophy; my biggest benefit was the instruction I got through the round. Again, because they're so gracious they hesitated and waited until well into the round to say anything. But Todd, especially, is a good teacher who spotted basic flaws and described the correct approach in terms I could picture and follow.
Wow! I'm all geeked now to get back to the practice range and build muscle memory for the things I learned because it made a huge difference in my results. From the beginning of the round to the end I improved tremendously, just because they pointed out some basic things wrong with my swing.

Please understand I mean this sincerely. This isn't empty God-talk: James 1:17 says, "Every good and perfect gift comes from above...." Before we left I thanked Todd for inviting me. On the way home I thanked God for the fun I had and the two believers who made it so.

P.S. That bit about using two of my drives? The first one was on a par 5 where they could make up for my weenie drive with a monster second shot to the green. The other drive was on our last hole, a par 3. They had purchased some mulligans (you buy a ticket for a buck that allows you an extra swing) and saved them up. It took me four swings and Clay's change to my address but I got that fourth one on the green and we got a par on the hole.

After that round of golf I had lunch with the family, went over and unloaded for church this morning, and got home in time to meet Frosty & Cathy Hansen when they arrived at our house. Frosty and I grew up together in the same church and then went of to the same Bible college back in Michigan. He went on to grad school at Wheaton, I went into the pastorate. He and Cathy ended up in Bolivia as missionaries for 12 years. I went to seminary at Talbot and then taught for 10 years at our alma mater.
I'm now the pastor at Pathway and Frosty is the president of the Grace Gospel Fellowship, an association of ~120 churches that includes the church in which we grew up.
Frosty & Cathy came to Pathway this morning and during the Foundations hour he talked about the Grace Gospel Fellowship and some of the ministries those churches carry out, including foreign missions and that Bible college.
But last night the four of us went out for dinner at Bravi and then sat up talking until way too late for me to write a blog post, especially after playing golf all morning. It was fun to catch up on life and to talk shop. Frosty commented that my enthusiasm for Pathway Bible Church was more than a little obvious and this afternoon, before they left, said that after being there he can understand why.

In closing:
I have a miserable head cold. I made it through the morning on adrenalin and don't expect to sleep well again tonight. (This, too, shall pass.) But the last 36 hours have been very good. The golf tourney, time with Frosty and Cathy, and ... as always ... our time together at church this morning.
T'ank you, Fadder!