The World Cup and Our Thousand Dollars a Day Car Rental

Timestamped June 8, 2014: Sitting in a bar in the south of France in the middle of seemingly nowhere, watching the World Cup with the locals. What a great afternoon relaxing with a glass of wine and doing something very, very different than our normal travel routine. But that's exactly how this trip was- anything but normal and going as planned. 

We started in Geneva, Switzerland before ending up in France. Then the unexpected (why was I surprised?) happened when the French air traffic controllers decided to strike, leaving us stranded and unable to fly back to Geneva for our return home. What could we do? Only one thing. Rent the last car at the airport for $1000- yes, one thousand dollars- and drive to Geneva to catch our flight. How is that for price gauging? Now, we laugh, but back then...

Gotta love all those World Cup athletes and the way they train so hard. I used to be more in shape than I am, but now I take solace in these words: "For physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come" (1 Timothy 4:8). Honestly though, that's no excuse for my laziness!
 

Playing for Purpose

From the always excellent blog, CrossTraining:

"I Speak Soccer

Our last CoreTraining session with the team included the viewing of the soccer documentary “I Speak Soccer” (http://www.ispeaksoccer.com) and a discussion about the themes and issues raised by this look at the world’s game. Our journey went from Brazil to Thailand to Africa and interesting to all was a common theme that seemed to arise in that there is a token sense of spirituality that accompanies the “most beautiful game.”

For the Brazilians, there was much language which included “God” – how thankful they were to God for the game, the passion to play, the ability to play, etc. – and one almost felt invited into a family and welcomed even as a stranger into a home. For the Thai people, the expression was very different – as if the social, religious, and cultural values prevented certain formations of community and friendship – the “language” of football (soccer) felt more distant and cold with the Thai people than the warm, smiling Brazilians. In Nigeria, soccer and faith were again more tied together as soccer was a hopeful way out of the poverty, desperation, and suffering of the people.

If you have ever traveled across the borders of your own country or even the invisible boundaries that separate us culturally and ethnically within our cities, you know that there is a growing shift in the communities of the world. While technology claims to bring us closer together there is seemingly more that separates and divides and it is harder and harder to find common language and common ground... "

Go here for the rest.