Pam Woodson
minister, writer, wife, mom
"Out of the abundance [OVERFLOW] of the HEART, the mouth speaks [the blogger blogs!]" (Luke 6:45).
"Watch over your HEART with all diligence, for from it FLOW the springs of life" (Prov. 4:23).
"Watch over your HEART with all diligence, for from it FLOW the springs of life" (Prov. 4:23).
Woodson Ministries
Solid
Bible Teachers I Like
Joyce Meyer
Kate McVeigh
Bob Yandian
Willie George
Myles Munroe
Woody Woodson!
Radio Favorites
KXOJ
Sunday mornings, contemporary worship songs
Books that Have Helped Me
The Bible!
Beyond Ourselves, by Catherine
Marshall (I received Christ while reading this in 9th grade)
Cooks Collage, Tulsa Jr. Women's League cooking
Prescriptions
for a Miracle, by Mark Brazee (devotionals on healing)
Sparkling Gems, by Rick Renner (devotionals)
The Pulpit Commentaries
Vine's
Expository Dictionary of Old and New Testament Words
You Are Special (Max Lucado -- children's book with a wonderful message
even for adults)
Totally Frivolous Why-would-anyone-else-care? Trivia:
I Like...
Christmastime
Mexican food
Italian
food
chocolate!!!
praying in the afternoon
writing
playing the guitar
looking at the stars
playing baseball
putting (golf)
classic cars
longtime friends
giving
the Word
helping needy kids
Butterfingers
flowers
the color blue
my son's brain and humor
cooking (not every day)
staying up on the news
going
to Branson
barbecued ribeyes
love songs
reading my Bible in the morning
being with Woody and our son
getting flowers
and cards from Woody
Reruns: I Love Lucy, Mary Tyler Moore, Dick Van Dyke, Andy Griffith
listening to praise and worship
music
seeing fireworks on the 4th
my birthday, July 5th -- so one reason they shoot off fireworks the night before?
chocolate
doughnuts and orange juice for breakfast
wearing jeans and sneakers
being me -- the unique person God made
Date: 8/17/09
Trip,
Tackle, Touchdown!
by Pam Woodson
"He's at the 60...the 40...the 20...the 10...TOUCHDOWN! And
the crowd goes wild!!!" Are you ready? Chili Frito Pies, throw blankets, hot chocolate, painted faces, bands, cheerleaders, National
Anthem singers, high-impact tackles, head-on collisions, thunderous shouts, show-no-mercy scores, instant-replay videos,
and end zone victory dances. It's time for FOOTBALL!
With the baseball World Series still on the agenda,
maybe I'm jumping the gun just a hair towards fall's sport, but not by much. Teams are raring to go -- all kinds, from the NFL to
school to church flag teams. Plays have been memorized and practiced a zillion times, and a lot of radical pigskin-sports
enthusiasts are biting at the bit to see their favorite athletes put those plays into motion. Women
fans, as well as men. It seems they have warmed up to the sport over the years, unlike their predecessors. "Football widow" used
to be a term floating around right and left nonstop to describe the majority of married females in regards
to the football experience. The husband watched games alone on the couch, "dead" to the world around him and oblivious
to his spouse, clenching the remote, hogging the TV all day, and chowing down on every kind of junk food imaginable. Good-bye,
husband; R.I.P. for a few hours while the wife solitudinous-ly grieved in another room -- or recouped amazingly fast as she jumped
into the car and headed to where "life is happening" (in other words, she happily went out shopping). Today, however, it
seems as though many women have grown to like the sport, for some reason, and plop down on the TV couch to root for a team. I know
I do. Now, I don't watch every football game aired, of course; there'd be no time for living. I don't even watch as much
as Woody does. And with his busy preaching schedule, he doesn't even get to it as much as a lot of other guys, either. But
I do like a good game now and then.
No wonder -- it's part of my heritage, my culture, maybe my blood.Oklahomans as a whole are HUGE football fans. OU, TU, and OSU rank tops around here. Tulsa is colored with cars and houses decorated
in some way with red, orange, or blue. OU/OSU Bedlam is traditionally a big deal here. And Friday night lights high school football
is just as addictive with some people as college ball. It is aired on a couple of local channels every Friday. Two schools
in particular have a well-known, long-standing rivalry that is so extensive, their games against each other are held in TU's
football stadium. Over 25,000 people show up each year to see the high-ranking Jenks and Union teams play. They are ALWAYS
exciting games; almost without fail every year, the very last seconds of each game bring a shocking, turn-around upheaval on the scoreboard.
ESPN has recognized the quality of these high-energy Midwest games and broadcast them on national TV. Yes, college and Friday
night lights football is part of what defines the state where I was born and raised.
Woody was
a New Yorker, so we're talking pro in his football background: the Jets and the Giants. And I married a jock -- not
professional, but he had played football in high school. My son reminded me the other day of a story from his dad's past
glory days in the sport that got me laughing and just seemed too good to pass up for my blog. Woody's team had been trained in
how to do a "breakdown." In a breakdown, the players would run downfield after punting the ball to the other team, stop about
five yards from the front receiver who was going to catch the punted ball, get their feet planted, and be ready to go in either direction
to tackle the opponent when he caught the ball and took off running. (Shorter version: After kicking the ball, they would run and
stop close to the guy catching it.) During a football game one day, Woody's team punted the ball and was running downfield for punt
coverage as usual. They reached the five-yard-or-so limit and stopped for a breakdown. Woody was running so fast, he tripped when
he tried to stop. When he tripped, it launched him into the air. At the exact split second Woody went airborne, the receiver's hands
touched the ball -- but Woody's helmet stabbed it like a spear, and the high-impact contact from that hard head of his (I have
proof now) knocked the ball out of the guy's hands. Woody flew into him and splattered him onto the ground, in what appeared to be
a beautiful tackle. One of Woody's teammates caught the fumbled ball in the air, took off running, and made a touchdown.
My husband-to-be walked away a hero. What he had done looked awesome: leaping into the air, knocking the ball away
to a teammate for a touchdown, and tackling the receiver! "Congratulations!" "Way to go!" Everybody said what a great play it was.
The coach later created a video for incoming football players to view each year at the start of the season, and this play Woody
made was even in it...to show them how to defend a punt! "You TOO can be like this!" Woody didn't tell anyone that
he had tripped. It was his little secret -- until now.
Woody tripped, but things still came out fine,
even great, for him. Something that seemed so bad somehow turned out so good. There are times in our lives when the devil sticks his
foot out and makes us trip over it. It looks like we should go down...but God can cause us to go up. Just like Woody ended up sailing
through the air, God can cause us to rise up on wings like eagles and sail above our problems. And then when we do go down, it is
only to fall on top of the enemy and flatten him to the ground. God gets the victory, or the touchdown!
Corny-sounding or not, this sports illustration makes a spiritual point. Woody's football experience depicts that
God can work things together for our good. The Bible says, "God causes all things to work together for good to those who love
God, to those who are called according to His purpose" (Rom. 8:28, NASV). When we think we're going down and nothing good could happen
out of it, God can turn things around for us. It's not over 'til it's over...and with God on our side, it's not over 'til He steps
in on our behalf.
Giving:
Bible insights,
Personal trivia,
Christian world perspectives
Personal trivia,
Christian world perspectives
Copyright 2009, by Pam Woodson. All rights reserved.
Living:
Jesus-Is-Lord Christianity,
Grass roots conservativism,
Red-white-and-blue patriotism
Grass roots conservativism,
Red-white-and-blue patriotism
Audio: Finding God's Will for Your Life
RECIPE
Archives
Praise & Worship CD's
Hello Love (Chris Tomlin)
Beautiful Name (Church On The Move)
Hillsong CD's
Beautiful Name (Church On The Move)
Hillsong CD's
Michael
W. Smith CD's
WOW Worship CD's
Top-Ten I Play On My iPod
Over My Head, Brian Littrell
I Know You're
There, Casting Crowns
Today Is the Day, Lincoln Brewster
With You, Mark Willard
God With Us, MercyMe
You're Not Alone, Meredith Andrews
Only
You, David Crowder Band
Your Grace Is Enough, Matt Maher
What You Give Away, Vince Gill
Blessings, Martina McBride
Movies
with a Message
The Note, Hallmark movie
A zillion Christmas movies
Hallmark Channel movies
Fireproof (good for
marriages)
Facing the Giants (like the strong Christian message, but not so much the acting)
Scriptures I Cling to
Repeatedly
Luke 6:38 (finances)
Prov. 4:18 (hope for better days ahead)
Phil 4:6, 7 (peace)
1 Cor. 15:10;
Phil. 4:13 (ability to do what I just can't do)
Matthew 28:20 (assurance God is with me)
1 John 5:14,15 (assurance
God answers my prayers)
1 Peter 2:24 (healing)
Matt. 11:28 (rest)
1 Peter 5:7 (assurance God loves me)
Pam's Blog
HeartFlow
Pam Woodson