"By working faithfully eight hours a day you may eventually get to be boss and work 12 hours a day." - Robert Frost

I checked the weather in Grand Rapids during my morning rounds of  internet news sites.
-4.
Checked a couple of hours ago and it had soared to 7 above. But they'll be at -7 overnight, lest they think spring might be in sight.
(We were in the mid-80's today.)

I've been watching the PBS series "Shakespeare Uncovered" for the last few weeks. I didn't read Shakespeare in H.S. like I was supposed to and am grossly ignorant about his plays, but this series, which discusses one play in each one-hour episode, is engaging and informative. I recommend it! And if you can't find it on your local station you can watch full episodes here.

And I just programmed the DVR to record the Westminster Dog Show, which is on tomorrow and Tuesday evening...when Pam will be at work. That's annual must-see TV at our house. CNBC tomorrow night and USA-TV Tuesday night.

Deep within the world of pro golf is the long drive championship. These guys have everything dialed in to hit a standard golf ball crazy distances, and this year's winner drove it 365 yards. Three and a half football fields.
But you won't see any of them playing in a PGA tourney.
You also won't see any of the winners from the Putt-Putt World Championship. Yeah, they have an annual competition too, with big bucks at stake.

The long drive champs and the Putt-Putt superstars are both very good at one part of the game. The first can hit it half again as far as the best drivers on the tour, and the latter can get a ball to roll over all kinds of irregular terrain, and between arms of a miniature windmill to boot. But to compete successfully on the tour you have to be able to play all parts of the game in all kinds of settings. Shape a drive right or left. Hit a middle iron with amazing accuracy. Use a wedge so the ball goes almost straight up, drops straight down, and sticks like a dart. Putt on different kinds of grass in different environments.

Anyone who makes it to the tour is very, very good at all aspects of the game - and there are a lot of those aspects. Some of them are known more for their power (the old Tiger Woods), or maybe their chipping (Phil Michelson), but they're all good at all of it.

Some pastors can preach like champs. Others exude compassion so strongly that people open up to them almost immediately with their deepest hurts. Some guys are leaders who can motivate and mobilize like pied pipers.

But the really good guys are the ones who can put it all together, do it all well. A power preacher may wow 'em for 35 minutes on a Sunday morning, but in the long run his inability to putt worth beans will be his undoing. The guy who is a fair-to-middling preacher may have a long and strong ministry because his game is balanced; he can do it all.

Sunday night thoughts.