Top Milwaukee Brewer Prospects 2013

     After the 2012 minor league season I'm going to pick my most hopeful prospects at each position, a team of 25. Most of these I have never seen play so these picks are based completely on hitting stats.
     1B  Jason Rogers  24y/o R/R     The obvious choice is Hunter Morris, minor league hitter of the year. The problem is he had 27 walks and 117 K's and 2 SB. Jason Rogers had 77BB and 88K. He hit .301 and .405 OBP with 12 SB and 11HR. I just can't help but think if Morris was so great, why didn't we move him up to Nashville and why are we going to sign Corey Hart to a long term deal at 1B? Therefore, I'm not too excited about any of our 1B prospects.

     C  Clint Coulter  19y/o R/R  Our 1st round draft pick hit .301 with a .439 OBP. He had 37 BB and 40K, the best percentage in our system. He also had 5HR in a very short season.  I'm excited about this guy!

    2B  Scooter Gennett  22y/o L/R. Played great in the futures game. Hit .293 but led our minors in hits. At 5'9" it would be nice if he walked more. A very good fielder.

    3B  Michael Garza  22y/o R/R   Hit .282 and moved up quickly

    SS  Jean Segura     Noone else even close

    Utility   Chris McFarland  19y/o  R/R  .301/.358/.433/.791   6HR 15SB

    PH    Hunter Morris  24y/o L/R    .303/.357/.563/.927  28HR 113 RBI   (OK maybe he should be my 1B)

   OF    Khris Davis  24y/o R/R  .350/.451/.604/ 1.055  15HR in abbreviated season. Another exciting guy for the future

            Tyrone Taylor 18 y/o R/R  .387/.434/.667/ 1.1 in abbreviated season

            Mat Gamel   L/R  injured reserve all year. Hopefully taking steroids while healing. Don't give up on him yet.

            PH   Logan Schaefer 26y/o L/L  .278/.332/.438/.770  oft injured and subject to slumps, his window is closing

             Backup Catcher - who cares, OK I'll take Garfield

   Pitchers

      Starters   1. Wily Peralta
                    
                     2. Taylor Jungman

                     3. Tyler Thornburg

                     4. Hiram Burgos

                     5. Mark Rogers - I was at a Huntsville vs. TN game where he threw 5 straight walks to start a game and none of the pitches were close. If he has developed control he is good. I predict a spring DFA.

          Long Relief   1. Nick Bucci

                                 2. Andy Moye

                                3. Gian Rizzo

         Relief   1. Jesus Sanchez - Why wasn't he brought up for our playoff stretch

                      2. Mitch Stetter - ditto

                      3. Santo Manzanillo

                      4. Drew Gagnon

                     5. Eric Marzec

I wrote this up in October and never got around to posting it. Today, I see BA has our top prospects listed. They are
  #1. Wily Peralta
  #2. Tyler Thornburg
  #3. Taylor Jungman
  #4. Hunter Morris - Lyle Overbay at best and that is a stretch
  #5.Jimmy Nelson -
  #6. Johnny Hellwig -
  #7. Victor Roache
  #8. Scooter Gennett
  #9. Clint Coulter
  #10. Mitch Haniger

    Lets see if Burgos, Sanchez, and Davis can prove they belong in this list.

My Top CCM Songs and Albums of 2012

  So here goes my top songs and albums of the year. As usual, I limit it to songs that are clearly Christian (probably wouldn't be played by secular stations because of lyrical content and don't contain concepts lyrics or words contrary to the Bible)

  Top albums of the year
           #10

 

 

     #9

 

 

                                        A tie. I couldn't leave one out!!

    #8   

                   


    #7

#6                                                                                

#5                                                                              

(house of heroes - if you can't tell)

#4                                                                           

#3                                                                           

#2                                                                         

#1                                                                             

My top 33 songs of 2012

My Best Christian Music of 2012  Rather than list them follow this link to Spotify and listen to them. If you don't have Spotify, why not???? Sign up it's free. Preview all your Christian music before you buy it!! How many rotten CDs have you bought in your lifetime? It should never happen again.

Kid's Devotion - What is Love?

1. Watch the following episode of "Doug"

2. Doug Trivia. What is the name of the bowling alley in Bluffington?
3. Does Doug love Patti?
    Why do you think he does?
4. Does Patti love Doug?
    Why do you think she doesn't?
5.  Read the following verse.
         "Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends."  John 15:13

       What does this tell you about love?
6. Read the following verse.
      "Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Honor one another above yourselves."  Rom. 12:10

       What does this tell you about love?
7. Read the following verse.
    "  Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn."  Rom. 12:15

     What does this tell you about love?
 8. After reading those verses, how did Doug show love and how did Patti not show love?

Here is a song by Family Force 5 (if you like loud music) on the subject.
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1GTMVNftdiA

Note to parents.

"Love" , according to Andrew Murray is  - the deep desire to give oneself up for the beloved. Paul says in Ephesians, husbands love your wives as Christ loved the Church and gave Himself up for her. This, along with the other verses implies that love is more than a romantic feeling but it is actually a verb (just thought of another song - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WRfFuhrdGKM ) where you are honoring others above yourself. Patti had issues with this - all was great between her and Doug until he beat her. She couldn't be happy for him, or rejoice with him, because she was selfish. See how selfishness is the opposite of love rather than hate. Doug on the other hand was willing to step on a rake, have a bike wreck, be coated with mud if it would help Patti succeed over him. He was honoring her above himself. Teach your kids that Jesus loved us so much He left Heaven and died for us so we could go to Heaven. If we are truly Christians and Jesus is living inside us, we need to sacrifice for others and honor them above ourselves.

Kid's Devotion - Living For Eternity

 Watch the following episode of "Doug".

  


      1. Doug Trivia - What was the name of Doug and Skeeter's car?
      2, What were the three prizes to be awarded?
      3. How did the thought of winning the secret grand prize change everyone's behavior?
      4. What did Doug and Skeeter do that caused them to lose out on the grand prize?
      5. Was the grand prize worth all the trouble?
      6. Read the following passages:

          

1 Corinthians 9:24-25

New International Version 1984 (NIV1984)

²⁴ Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. ²⁵ Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last; but we do it to get a crown that will last forever.

Matthew 6:19-20

New International Version 1984 (NIV1984)

¹⁹ “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. ²⁰ But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal.


         What prizes should we be striving for?
          What is the difference between earthly prizes and heavenly?
          What are some things you can do this week that will store you up treasures in Heaven?
 

How Can Mit Romney Be Intelligent Enough to Run the Country When He Believes Mormonism is True?

   After studying what Mormons believe and watching the below episodes of South Park, I find myself, an evangelical Christian, and a conservative, wondering how could I trust someone who believes in Mormonism to be intelligent enough to run the country?

    A brief intro to these episodes: Stan is told to go beat up the new kid in town from Utah because he was weird. Stan ends up going to his house and learning about Joseph Smith. When Stan goes home and tells his dad, his dad comes over to beat up the Mormons but ends up becoming one. After Stan hears the whole story of how Mormonism began, he is amazed that anyone would believe it.

 

 

 

 

 

 

I wrestled with this dilema until I came across a passage in the Bible about Solomon. As you probably know, in response to a humble wish for wisdom to rule God's people instead of self centered wishes, God rewards Solomon with wisdom far above anyone that ever lived. Unfortunately, here is what happens;

 

 ⁴ As Solomon grew old, his wives turned his heart after other gods, and his heart was not fully devoted to the Lord his God, as the heart of David his father had been. ⁵ He followed Ashtoreth the goddess of the Sidonians, and Molech^[a] the detestable god of the Ammonites. ⁶ So Solomon did evil in the eyes of the Lord; he did not follow the Lord completely, as David his father had done.

⁷ On a hill east of Jerusalem, Solomon built a high place for Chemosh the detestable god of Moab, and for Molech the detestable god of the Ammonites. ⁸ He did the same for all his foreign wives, who burned incense and offered sacrifices to their gods.

⁹ The Lord became angry with Solomon because his heart had turned away from the Lord, the God of Israel, who had appeared to him twice. ¹⁰ Although he had forbidden Solomon to follow other gods, Solomon did not keep the Lord’s command. 2 Kings 11

 

Despite the fact that he was the wisest man that ever lived, he was raised by the Godliest father ever, his mentor was Nathan the prophet, he had been visited by God twice, he succombed to idol worship! Do you realize how "dumb" this is? Look how Isaiah describes it;

 

¹² The blacksmith takes a tool
and works with it in the coals;
he shapes an idol with hammers,
he forges it with the might of his arm.
He gets hungry and loses his strength;
he drinks no water and grows faint.
¹³ The carpenter measures with a line
and makes an outline with a marker;
he roughs it out with chisels
and marks it with compasses.
He shapes it in the form of man,
of man in all his glory,
that it may dwell in a shrine.
¹⁴ He cut down cedars,
or perhaps took a cypress or oak.
He let it grow among the trees of the forest,
or planted a pine, and the rain made it grow.
¹⁵ It is man’s fuel for burning;
some of it he takes and warms himself,
he kindles a fire and bakes bread.
But he also fashions a god and worships it;
he makes an idol and bows down to it.
¹⁶ Half of the wood he burns in the fire;
over it he prepares his meal,
he roasts his meat and eats his fill.
He also warms himself and says,
“Ah! I am warm; I see the fire.”
¹⁷ From the rest he makes a god, his idol;
he bows down to it and worships.
He prays to it and says,
“Save me; you are my god.”
¹⁸ They know nothing, they understand nothing;
their eyes are plastered over so they cannot see,
and their minds closed so they cannot understand.
¹⁹ No one stops to think,
no one has the knowledge or understanding to say,
“Half of it I used for fuel;
I even baked bread over its coals,
I roasted meat and I ate.
Shall I make a detestable thing from what is left?
Shall I bow down to a block of wood?”
²⁰ He feeds on ashes, a deluded heart misleads him;
he cannot save himself, or say,
“Is not this thing in my right hand a lie?” Isa.44

 

       In other words, blacksmiths, carvers, carpenters work up a sweat to form something that has no eyes, ears, brain, life, etc. and they carry it everywhere it goes and they worship it saying, "Oh idol you are so great - you made me". How can anyone be so stupid? Well, the smartest, wisest person ever did.

        Then, there is evolution. How can an intelligent person actually believe that we are grown up germs when they see the complexity of even the most primitive single celled organism and think that in a world where things go from order to disorder - this single cell evolved into a complex human being and at the same time the opposite gender was forming without any of these transitional forms currently existing? Yet intelligent people like Matt Damon state that if you believe the Biblical account of creation you are unqualified to run for public office because you are the idiot.

 

 

 

Then you have people like Tom Cruise and John Travolta , who you know aren't stupid, believing an incredibly irrational belief like Scientology!

 (sorry about the poor quality)

 

 

I could go on and on but we have to ask "where is the disconnect between what we believe in the spiritual realm and rationality"? In other words, how can a smart person be so dumb when it comes to the supernatural?

 

The Bible does address this and if you are an unbeliever you will probably mock this explanation, too. Paul says in Romans 1;

 

For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse.

²¹ For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened. ²² Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools ²³ and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like mortal man and birds and animals and reptiles. (Idols)

²⁴ Therefore God gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts to sexual impurity for the degrading of their bodies with one another. ²⁵ They exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator—who is forever praised. Amen.

²⁶ Because of this, God gave them over to shameful lusts. Even their women exchanged natural relations for unnatural ones. ²⁷ In the same way the men also abandoned natural relations with women and were inflamed with lust for one another. Men committed indecent acts with other men, and received in themselves the due penalty for their perversion.

²⁸ Furthermore, since they did not think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God, he gave them over to a depraved mind...

Paul says that when we decided to supress the truth we all know that there is a God and He is our master so that we can be our own masters, our minds became darkened, depraved, futile, and foolish in areas having to do with the supernatural and morality. He even lists homosexuality in this passage because frankly common sense tells you homosexuality isn't logical.

 

Paul also discusses this in 2 Corinthians 3 and 4;

 

 But their minds were made dull, for to this day the same veil remains when the old covenant is read. It has not been removed, because only in Christ is it taken away. ¹⁵ Even to this day when Moses is read, a veil covers their hearts. ¹⁶ But whenever anyone turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away... And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing. ⁴ The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God...

 

Bottom line - don't think that Mit Romney being a mormon means he can't be a brilliant and effective leader of our country. I believe scripture and experience tells us that when trying to eliminate the truth of the gospel as a possibilty for one's life that person will fall for anything in the spiritual realm.

Kid's Devotion - Selfishness

  Read Philipians 2:19-21. ¹⁹ I hope in the Lord Jesus to send Timothy to you soon, that I also may be cheered when I receive news about you. ²⁰ I have no one else like him, who takes a genuine interest in your welfare. ²¹ For everyone looks out for his own interests...

  According to this, what does everyone do?

  What does that mean in your own words?

   Does "everyone" include you?

   Give an illustration of when you "looked out for your own interests" recently.

   Now read Phil. 2:3-8   ³ Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. ⁴ Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others.
⁵ Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus:

⁶ Who, being in very nature^[a] God,
did not consider equality with God something to be grasped,
⁷ but made himself nothing,
taking the very nature^[b] of a servant,
being made in human likeness.
⁸ And being found in appearance as a man,
he humbled himself
and became obedient to death —
even death on a cross!

 

 

       According to these verses, whose interests should we be looking out for (vs. 3,4)?

 

        Why?

 

        Watch the following iCarly video (if you let your kids watch this - at times it seems to be pushing the limits of innocence) PBS also has a show Word Girl episode Eileen the Birthday Girl which would illustrate the same concept if you can find it.

 

 

How did Nevel illustrate selfishness?

 

Why was he sorry for what he did?

 

Did he change?

 

Why not? Read 1John 3:14-18.   ^14-15The way we know we've been transferred from death to life is that we love our brothers and sisters. 

^16-17This is how we've come to understand and experience love: Christ sacrificed his life for us. This is why we ought to live sacrificially for our fellow believers, and not just be out for ourselves. If you see some brother or sister in need and have the means to do something about it but turn a cold shoulder and do nothing, what happens to God's love? It disappears. And you made it disappear.

     Really, the only way we can truly become unselfish is if we change on the inside - Jesus makes us brand new . Otherwise we are doomed to be selfish like Nevel because that is just the way we are

  Watch this video by King and Country. According to them , what is the proof of God's love?

.

     Here are some challenges for this week

        Monday - let someone cut in front of you in line

        Tuesday - share some of your lunch with someone

        Wednesday - Congratulate someone for beating you in something

        Thursday - compliment someone on their looks, clothes, smarts, etc

        Friday - Let someone beat you at something

        Saturday - Offer to clean up a room in the house

        Sunday - invite someone over to your house that you normally wouldn't

Kids video devotion - Worship

We all worship something. Worship is our response to what we value most.

1. Look at the following videos of people "worshipping"

Who or what were these people "worshipping"?

Describe their worship.

2. Look at Nehemiah 9:5,6.  “Stand up and praise the Lord your God, who is from everlasting to everlasting.”

“Blessed be your glorious name, and may it be exalted above all blessing and praise. ⁶ You alone are the Lord. You made the heavens, even the highest heavens, and all their starry host, the earth and all that is on it, the seas and all that is in them. You give life to everything, and the multitudes of heaven worship you.

     Watch the following TobyMac song.
     Who were we designed to worship?

   3. In the above videos, Michael Jackson died of a drug overdose and certainly wasn't worthy of worship. Justin Bieber and Miley Cyrus, etc. are showing they aren't worthy of our worship. LSU Tigers ended up losing the national championship and Matthieu (#7) got kicked off the team for drugs.

       Watch one or both of the following cartoons. They will both illustrate people who were unworthy of worship.

 Spongebob

Johnny Bravo

 At the Robert Thomas fundraiser 8/12, someone paid $139,000 to eat dinner and breakfast with Dolly Parton!!! Who or what do you worship? Who is your hero? Who would you most want to meet? What do you daydream about?

   Colossians 1:16 says "all things were created by him and for him." That "him" is Jesus! We were created to worship Him but instead we substitute unworthy things and people that will let us down.

    Make Jesus your hero!! Then tell people about your hero. Go crazy over Him!