Category: Family

Closing and Opening Doors To God

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On July 11, 2021, I was asked to deliver the sermon at Grace United Methodist Church in Wyckoff, New Jersey.

The following is the transcript of my sermon.

***

God asks a lot of us.  All the time.  He wants us to be reverent.

He wants us to love him.

He loves us…

He asks us to pray.  He even had Jesus teach us how to pray.

God wants us to follow the Golden Rule.

He wants us to be kind, to be generous, to love… to love one another as he loves us. 

He asks us to honor our mothers and fathers, to not lust, or want, or use his name in vain.

Or take false idols.

Or to kill.

He asks a lot of us.

Because he loves us.

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Semmendinger Camera Progress

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My son Ryan is restoring a Semmendinger Camera from the 1870s. He and I traveled to Maine a few years ago to pick up this great camera.

You can learn more about August Semmendinger and his cameras here: www.semmendinger-camera.com

This video documents Ryan’s latest progress:

One Last Shot – Season 3, Post 1: This Time It’s For Real

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(This post can also be found on my Yankees blog Start Spreading the News.)

January 2021

***

This time it’s for real!

…or so I tell myself.

Yes. For goodness sake, this time it is for real.

This coming season, the 2021 season, will be mine. This will be my chance to shine. To pitch well. To win. Often.

And I have a plan to make sure it happens.

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Setting A Place At The Table

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Thanksgiving 2020

***

This Thanksgiving will be different from ones in the past.  This Thanksgiving might be the first one that includes the complete absence of friends, family… loved ones.

There will be smaller gatherings and many empty seats.  

There will be empty homes.  And empty hearts.

The turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, and the rest may taste less rich and be less fulfilling because they cannot replace the void that will be continually present on this day.

There will be an absence of voices and of laughter.  

It will be a Thanksgiving with seemingly little to give thanks for – a Thanksgiving of emptiness.  

But, it doesn’t have to be that way.  Not entirely.  

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Teachers Affect Eternity…

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I have told this story before, but it is one I love to tell.  It needs telling, as well. 

Especially in these times.

One of the most wonderful ministers of all-time, a pastor who preached from the heart, made church interesting, and even made God accessible, had moved on from our church.

There was an emptiness.  I felt it deeply.  The minister who had left was a man I admired greatly.  I was thrilled that he had been the man who married my wife and I.  We all missed him greatly…

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The Road Back To 26.2 Began Today…

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Twelve weeks ago I arrived at the surgery center, walking in, knowing that I wouldn’t be walking out, and, in fact, that I wouldn’t be walking at all for quite some time.  

When I checked into the surgery center, I told the receptionist that I was there to begin my training for the 2020 New York City Marathon.  She smiled and said, “You must be Mr. Semendinger.”

Indeed I am.  

I hobbled out of the surgery center on crutches my foot wrapped and in a heavy boot.  The surgery was a success.  

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The End of My 2019 Marathon Dream

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…and with that long run, my 2019 marathon dream is over.

Today was supposed to be my last long run, a final effort, to prove to myself that I could actually do the marathon.  The truth, the reality I must face, is that I can’t.  Not this year.

I gave it everything I had.

And then some.

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12 Miles Closer…

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Today I bit off way more than I could chew.

I was fortunate, all three of my sons were home to celebrate a birthday, and two of them, Ryan and Ethan, are training for some upcoming long races.  Because of that, they were both willing to slog along on a twelve mile “run” with me.

Our goal was to complete the entire Saddle River Bike Path, from Ridgewood to Rochelle Park, and then back again…a twelve mile jaunt.

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One Last Shot… A Real Life Baseball Story (Part 14): Making It Back To The Mound

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It had been over a month since I last pitched.

On June 23, I enjoyed pitching against Jersey City. Then, on June 25, I had my first visit with an orthopedist who did as I feared he would… he shut me down.

On June 25, my baseball season ended. On June 25, my softball seasons ended. And, on June 25, my hopes for running the 2019 New York City Marathon also ended.

The orthopedist looked at my swollen right ankle, the MRI that showed tears in the Achilles tendon, and his own X-Rays. He said, “This isn’t good, Paul.” The word “surgery” came up, but he also said, “I’m not ready to go there yet.” I think the thing that made him shut me down totally was when I could perform a simple exercise in his office – standing on just my right foot and going to “tippy toes.” When I couldn’t do that, it cinched the deal.

I was given a night brace, an anti-inflammatory prescription, and little hope.

I left the office with the brace, a discouraged countenance, and a follow-up appointment.

But all of that is old news.

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One Last Shot… A Real Life Baseball Story (Part 13) – The Doctor, The Bench, and an All-Star

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This is the story I didn’t want to write…

***

Two days after I pitched on June 23, I had my first appointment with the orthopedist.  This doctor is very well known and very respected.  He took X-Rays, put me through a battery of small tests, he examined my legs, took careful note of my right Achilles, and, after all of that, said that my baseball season, my softball season, and my running season are all over.

I knew this was coming.

We all knew this was coming.

I just didn’t want to hear it.

I still don’t.

Continue reading “One Last Shot… A Real Life Baseball Story (Part 13) – The Doctor, The Bench, and an All-Star” →