Don't Blow a Gasket

Blowing a gasket is a serious problem for an engine.  What are signs that a gasket might be blown?

·        -- Coolant leak

·         --Smoke from exhaust

·         --Loss of coolant but no visible leaks

·         --Overheating engine

·         --Poor running engine

What is needed to keep this from happening---“Prevention”?

·         --Check engine temperature

·         --Check fluid levels and hoses for leaks

·         --Watch for fluid loss on the ground below the engine

Prevention is key to keeping the engine running correct and avoiding a blown gasket.

What about officials?  How do we keep from “blowing a gasket”—keeping our “cool” on and off the field.  What are signs that we are headed to blowing our gasket?

·         ** Feeling pressure from coaches

·         **Being impatient with crewmates

·         **Grades from game review upset us

·         **Players disrespect officials on the field

If we can identify those things that lead us to possibly blowing a gasket, we can hopefully “prevent” a bad situation.  So, what things can we do to “Prevent” a blown gasket:

·        ** Listen, don’t always think we have to solve a situation. Remember, coaches don’t always want an explanation, they want to be heard.

·         **Explain only after listening and knowing the situation.  This applies to people on our crew as well as coaches, administrators, players.

·         **Compliment and correct players. Don’t just be negative with them.

·         **Accept grades for what they are….learning tool.

One key Prevention for us is this…Find what fuels our anger and frustration.  Anger and frustration are secondary emotions triggered when something is wrong and needs our attention.  It’s important not bury the emotion.  We don’t always have to speak, but we do need to release the emotion. 

"Like a city whose walls are broken down is a man who lacks self-control." Proverbs 25:28 

Self-Control—once we identify our source of anger and frustration, exercising self-control is critical to keeping our gasket from blowing.  In Proverbs 25: 28, the symbol of walls used in this verse is important because in Biblical times, walls protected the city.  Without the walls, the city was vulnerable to any who wanted to attack.  Treat self-control the same—it’s our wall.  My choice is whether to give someone else the power to control my emotions—to enter thru my wall!

Don’t transfer your power to someone, keep your self-control.

Foundation in the Basics

If you observe any practice at any level, each day the team begins with fundamentals—blocking, tackling, handing off, shooting and passing drills, hitting off a tee, etc.  These fundamentals are the basics.  No matter how long a player or coach has been in a sport, the key to success are the fundamentals.  Plus, what does every coach say they will be doing during an off week—getting back to the fundamentals.

In officiating, our foundation in the basics helps us perform at the highest level.  What are the basics?

Mechanics, Communications, Fitness, Rules Knowledge

Mechanics:  get us in the right position (physical mechanics) and looking in the right area (visual mechanics),

Communication:  allows a crew to work more efficiently and helps to know when to talk and know when to listen

Fitness:   our physical condition keeps us mentally strong

Rules Knowledge:  helps to administer the game properly

Over and over, we work on these aspects of officiating.  Each game, we can use the basics to help the game run smoothly.  Then, when those unusual situations arise, hopefully, the crew can handle the situation correctly and confidentially because we have worked on the basics.

For Christians, the basics are growing in scripture, prayer, and fellowship – working on these repeatedly for years builds our relationship with Jesus.

 

Psalm 62:6-7 – He only is my rock and my salvation, my stronghold; I shall not be shaken. On God my salvation and my glory rest; the rock of my strength, my refuge is in God.

The “basic” truth in the Christian faith is our relationship with God through Jesus which is foundational to our faith.  There is a powerful word in that verse when our foundation is on God—“I will not be SHAKEN”.

The basics keep us from being shaken off our foundation.  It doesn’t mean we aren’t faced with trials, temptations, or challenges.  But, it does me our foundation keeps us upright by leaning on what we know—the BASICS.

Going back to the basics strengthens our foundation.

Work Hard

Just think of how much more work a tractor accomplishes now than when farming/ landscaping was done without the nice machines we have today.  Bottom line on tractors:  they work hard.  People have to operate them, but the work is done by the tractor.

Officiating is grueling physically, mentally, and emotionally.  We have to prepare each week and be ready to fully devote ourselves to the game we are assigned.  This was shared with me from www.jongordon.com:

No matter what anyone says, just show up and do the work.

If they praise you, show up and do the work.

If they criticize you, show up and do the work.

If no one even notices you, just show up and do the work.

Just keep showing up, doing the work, and leading the way.

Lead with passion.

Fuel up with optimism.

Have faith.

Power up with love.

Maintain hope.

Be stubborn.

Fight the good fight.

Refuse to give up.

Ignore the critics.

Believe in the impossible.

Show up.

Do the work.

As officials, we are rarely praised by the public.  Even behind the scenes, most of the feedback we receive is negative--what we missed or did wrong.  We have to be motivated to perform at a high level of officiating.  Review the list from Jon Gordon, do any of the items on the list keep us from working hard?  Does negativity get us down, do critics get in our head, do grades make us lose faith in our ability to officiate?

Here is the challenge—pick out the item(s) from the list above that keep you from focusing and working hard.  Concentrate on over-coming that item(s) this week to show up and do the work without regard from something that bothers us or gets in our way.

Ecclesiastes 11:4 If you wait for perfect conditions, you will never get anything done. 6 Be sure to stay busy and plant a variety of crops, for you never know which will grow — perhaps they all will.

Working hard means no excuses.  Whether we never get recognized or we are honored for our performance, we have a job to do and to work hard at it.

“He who waits until circumstances completely favor his undertaking, will never accomplish anything.”—Martin Luther

Pull Your Weight

We continue on with Advice from a Tractor...PULL YOUR WEIGHT

Tractors are designed and made to pull trailers and different attachments that allow it to perform the job(s) it was designed to do.  When plowing a field, a disc is used to prepare the field. Before taking it to the field, the farmer makes sure it is fit for service—well oiled, blades sharpened and attached correctly.

Being a great crew mate means pulling your own weight in the crew.  We have responsibilities on and off the field, during meetings, and during the week.  During games, be ultimately responsible for your position and realize sometimes you may have to help, or be helped, but get back to pulling your weight in your position.  

2 Peter 1:10 Therefore, my brothers, be all the more eager to make your calling and election sure. For if you do these things, you will never fall.

This verse teaches those whose salvation/belief is in Jesus will show evidence of their salvation by continuing to believe in Christ and manifesting good works.  These works are evidence of our faith.

In officiating, we show our devotion to our crew in the way we handle our business. On and off the field, we need to take care of our responsibilities.  Even though we make mistakes as officials, the chances of falling (or failing) is greatly decreased by pulling our weight.

Our success in life is measured in what we do after we do what we are suppose to do.

Plow Ahead

Last week, we introduced the Advice from a Tractor.  This week we will concentrate on one of the seven: “Plow Ahead”

When mowing, plowing, or driving, as long as we look straight ahead, we can keep a straight line.  Basically, cars (or whatever we are driving) tend to go the direction we are looking.  At times, it’s ok to look back quickly, especially if something unusual happens.  But, we need to keep our focus ahead of us to get the job done right.

Now, put in the perspective of officiating.  During games, we have to plow ahead.  Our focus needs to be ahead of us, the next play.  We can find opportunities to take a quick look back to make sure how the game “looks”.  But, for the end-result to look right, we need to keep our focus in front of us.

Once we have prepared during the week (completed pregame meetings and our pregame responsibilities), we are to put our hand to the plow and plow ahead.  During the game, don’t second-guess decisions and look back too long which can lead to paralysis (i.e. did we get the call right?, should we have made a call?).  Looking back too long can mess up the whole game.

Jesus replied, “No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God.”
—Luke 9:62, NIV

In this verse, Jesus explains that once you commit to him, looking back does no good when  serving him. Jesus wants our full devotion to Him.  Much is the same when we are preparing and working as officials.  If our thoughts and minds are other places, we’re not “fit for service.”  We owe it to our crew, teams, coaches, and supervisors to put our hand to the plow when it’s time to perform.

Whether we have success, failure or disappointment, put our head down and plow ahead!

Advice from a Tractor

To begin the 2019 season, let’s take advice from a Tractor as our guiding principles…

1)      Plow ahead                                       5)   Don’t blow a gasket

2)      Pull your weight                               6)   Be outstanding in your field

3)      Cultivate lasting friendships            7)   Get your rear in gear

4)      Work hard                                  

Plow Ahead:  Keep looking forward.  There is a time and place to review, but we need to plow ahead.  When farmers look back while plowing, the rows they plow get crooked.  If we find our minds looking back during a game, think “Plow ahead”.

Pull your weight:  Be a great crewmate.  Don’t let someone else do your responsibility off or on the field, during meetings, or during the week.  During games, be responsible for your position and realize sometimes you may have to help but get back to pulling your weight.

Cultivate lasting friendships:  Officials have a unique bond.  Some crews are together every week while some are different every week.  No matter who’s on your crew, develop friendships that you can carry on the field and off the field.

Work hard:  Officiating is grueling physically, mentally, and emotionally.  We have to prepare each week and be ready to fully devote ourselves to the game we are assigned.

Don’t blow a gasket:  Keep our cool!  Be cool under fire! Many different ways to say it, but the message is the same—whether we are communicating with our crew, coaches, administrators, and/or supervisor, stay calm.

Be outstanding in your field:  First, work to be the best at your position—your part of the field.  Then, be the best on the field—be a crew-saver when needed.

Get your rear in gear:  Simply—Be ready! Right here, right now!  Prepare during the week, take care of our jobs, family and households.  It’s a not a game day only responsibility, we have to daily prepare ourselves for the next game.

Proverbs 24:27:  Prepare your work outside; get everything ready for yourself in the field, and after that build your house.

The basic premise of this verse is this…..we must work hard if we want results.  Prepare ourselves physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually.  For officials, are we ready to hit the field each game?  Are we ready for our next assignment?  If so, how well is our house built?  Our game is our house—how well is or was it built?

Take the advice from the Tractor and build our house well!

Power of Thanks

How do you put Thanks into action?  One coach shared that after every practice and game, one of his players told him one small sentence—“Thank you coach.”  For two years, this player never missed an opportunity to say those three words.  You see, the player had an attitude of gratitude and thankfulness as well as putting it into action.

If we have an attitude of Thankfulness, does it show?  Hopefully, it shows in all that we do—in our Faith, marriage, family, friends, co-workers, church, and our officiating.  But, what about the tough times?  The Bible says we can “rejoice” in our tough times because of what will be produced….

Romans 5:3 states, “we also rejoice in our afflictions, because we know afflictions produce endurance.”

Put Thankfulness into action. If there is one short-coming of Thankfulness is we think about it but don’t put it into action.  Whether it’s by words, deeds, or actions, let’s show Thankfulness more than just thinking about it.

In Luke 17, the story is told of 10 lepers being healed by Jesus.   Leprosy was a deadly and awful disease in Biblical times and people who had leprosy were outcasts.  But, Jesus, went to them and healed 10 in this instance.  But, out of the ten, only one ran to Jesus to thank Him…..,

"But one of them, seeing that he was healed, returned and, with a loud voice, gave glory to God. He fell facedown at His feet, thanking Him. And he was a Samaritan." - Luke 17:15-16

Today, answer these three questions….

1)  Am I thankful and would people around me say I have a heart of thankfulness?

2)  Name three officials you are thankful for and why?

3)    What prevents you from expressing thankfulness—putting it into action?

“Do not withhold good from those to whom it is due, when it is in your power to act.”

- Proverbs 3:27

No Doubt

A simple definition of DOUBT is “to feel uncertain about”.  Our human nature constantly battles with doubt.  As officials, where does doubt come from?

--Our own minds

--Other officials

--Coaches

--Administrators

--Supervisors

--Fans

Because it’s in our human nature to create or feel doubt, how we respond to doubt makes the difference.  So, what ways do we respond to doubt?

--Do nothing and say we’ve done all that can be done

--Create more doubt in our minds

--Listen to what others say or recommend

--Change our course/direction

--Obey what we are told or asked to do

A mind troubled by doubt cannot focus on the course to victory.

Doubt often leads to frustration.  Peter experienced this first hand after fishing all night.

"Master," Simon replied, "we've worked hard all night long and caught nothing! But at Your word, I'll let down the nets." - Luke 5:5  

Peter was an expert fisherman.  It was his lively-hood.  After fishing all night, he had caught nothing.  Jesus came to Peter and tells him to cast his nets on the other side of the boat.  Although Peter DOUBTED, he obeyed, reluctantly, and caught so many fish that the nets were breaking and the boat was sinking.

In life, we have to battle doubts and frustrations.  The key is how we respond.  Sometimes we just need to listen, sometimes change what we are doing, and sometimes just obey and trust the process we are going thru.

Kill the snake of doubt in your soul, crush the worms of fear in your heart and mountains will move out of your way.

Minor is Major

As an official, our body is our livelihood. It’s vital to care for it like precious and valuable cargo. Our health is critical to perform at a high level.

Medical research shows a small injury to one part of the body can cause bigger injuries in other parts of the body. Therefore, it’s important to take care of small injuries.  This helps you both physically and mentally.  Nagging injuries can often be as mentally frustrating as they are physically limiting us.  In officiating, taking care of ourselves physically and mentally is very important.  Now that we are nearing the end of the season, we tend to get worn down physically from travel and the demands of the game.  Mentally we are tested each week during the game as well as from the review and grading of our games.

So, what do we do?  Discipline ourselves to take care of our whole body. We often think of the physical part of our body by strength and conditioning, eating, and medicines that keep us going.  But, what about mentally? Do we take time each week mentally to get refreshed and stay in good mental condition? Mentally preparing for a game is just as important as physical preparation. How do we prepare mentally?  Here are a few things to consider….(1) Take care of our homes and families before leaving for a game, (2) finish as much work as possible and remove ourselves from our “ day job” as much as we can, (3) review grading and comments and determine the application of the grades and comments and move on to the next game.

"He makes the whole body fit together perfectly. As each part does its own special work, it helps the other parts grow, so that the whole body is healthy and growing and full of love." - Ephesians 4:16

Before our next game, prepare by reading scripture.  Pray and ask God to use us for His honor and glory.  As Ephesians 4: 16 states, let’s do a special work to grow, to be healthy and to be a positive influence on those around us.

Put your heart, mind, and soul into even your smallest acts. This is the secret of success.

FOCUS

Colonel G.W. Goethals, responsible for completion of the Panama Canal, had major problems with the climate and the geography as it was being built. But, he had an even bigger problem. It was the growing criticism back home from those who predicted he'd never finish the project and had opinions about how to do it better.

One day, a colleague asked him, "Aren't you going to answer all these critics?" "In time," answered Goethals.  "When?" his partner asked.  "When the canal is finished.”

In 1869, President Ulysses S. Grant explored possibility of Panama Canal.  In 1914, 45 years later, it officially opened.

Some of the hardships/distractions:

·        Yellow fever epidemic-400 workers died after only 126 the year before.

·        In 1904, US doctor discovered 70% of local Panama population has Malaria

·        Mosquitoes found to be carrying Malaria and yellow fever

·        In 1906, President Roosevelt visited Panama-1^st sitting President to leave U.S.

·        Numerous U.S. troops were sent to the Panama area along with Naval ships to protect workers and keep peace in the area

·        In the end, 27,000 people died building the canal

The climate and geography may not be ideal and people around us might be critical, but we must remain focused! We will come across some obstacles along the way but we cannot let them distract us from our calling!

Psalm 25: 15--My eyes are ever on the Lord, for only he will release my feet from the snare.

Focus does not keep us out of trouble or experiencing difficult times.  Focus does help us stay or see the right path so we do not drown in trouble or the difficult times.

In dog obedience training, they put a dog at one end of a room and its master at the other end of the room, with a plate of food in the middle. And then the master calls the dog. If the dog eyes the food, he’s a goner; he’ll go straight for it. So they teach the dog to focus his eyes on the master. If the dog keeps his eyes on the master, he won’t be tempted. Instead of heading for the food, he’ll head straight to the master.

Keep our eyes on our master or we’ll get distracted. Get our minds off our circumstances and our problems and focus on God’s goodness to us in our past, his closeness to us in our present and his power to help us in our future.

The successful man is the average man, focused.