1 QUOTE

“You can have all this world, but give me Jesus.”

- Fernando Ortega

1 NOTE

My mother, Yung Soon Teter, loved playing tennis in grad school in New York City. When I was a boy, she encouraged me to play tennis. But baseball was my true love. Go Dodgers! When I battled grass allergies in little league, I tried tennis. And I loved it. Mom made sure I had a weekly lesson at the Industry Hills Tennis Center in Hacienda Heights. When I was 12, I won the local, regional level and qualified for the national tournament. The USTA flew me (and Mom) to NYC. Mom and I loved being at the 1982 U.S. Open. When Mom’s memory failed her, she still  talked about our trip to New York. As an adult, I now realize the pain she carried in her heart from being a recent widow after my Dad’s plane accident. It must have been wonderful for her to return to NYC.

Becky loves tennis as well so it has been very natural to teach our children to love the fuzzy yellow ball. This summer, Kara and Luke worked hard on the court. The kids signed up for a tennis tournament to end the summer.

In Luke’s third match, he played a boy from the host club. A group of the boy’s friends sat behind us wondering why Luke’s universal tennis ranking (UTR) was so low. One kid said he looked Luke up on-line and declared ‘his parents held him back for two years.’ (Becky really laughed at that one). Luke ended up saving 2 match points in the final. He won the tournament. Bravo, Luke!

In round 2, Kara could have humiliated her opponent, but instead she encouraged her. They even exchanged Instas. In the final, Kara played a girl who was really troubled. During warm-up, she only hit moon-ball lobs. Kara asked to have a normal rally. But she snarled. And hit more moon balls. The match was full of time delays, petty tactics and blatant cheating. When Kara went to get the umpire, Becky, Mom and I joked how little we miss youth tennis tournaments.

The girl’s mother sat on the opposite side of the court. She was loud and cheered to intentionally frustrate Kara. I was reading The Making of a Leader and writing chapter notes on my clipboard . She saw my clipboard and accused me of coaching. (Coaching is illegal in youth tennis). After Kara won the first set, the Mom got more aggressive. She was convinced I was coaching Kara (I really wasn’t). She began to videotape me. She told us she was ‘getting evidence’ that I was coaching. Kara won the match and the tournament. As we left the courts, I felt so sad for mom and daughter. At the trophy presentation Kara wanted to ask the mother, “Did you get some good footage of my Dad?” But Kara was faithful, wise and held her tongue.

The following Sunday, the Lord was in his temple at our church plant, Holy Faith Fellowship. Worship was rich. The Word was alive. The Holy Spirit convicted. One young woman, Jadeleen, said she wanted to become a disciple. She asked Becky and me to pray for her commitment. As Becky lead Jadeleen in prayer to become a disciple, I saw her mother, Maria, pull out her phone. She began to videotape.

I smiled up at God. What a comparison and contrast in one week: 2 mothers, 2 daughters, 2 cameras, 2 Kingdoms.  May we all seek first the Kingdom of God!

1 QUESTION

What can you do this week to choose more Kingdom of God and less kingdom of the world?

Until Next Tuesday,

John