Most of you don't know me at all, so I figured that I would take this first post and let y'all in on who I am.
My name is Blaine Boyer and I grew up in Marietta, GA with two parents that split when I was only three. In no way, shape or form did I grow up in a Christian household. I went back and forth from parent to parent for most of my childhood. I found my self worth and identity in sports and popularity.
Jesus called me in at a lake house in Albany, GA the summer of my sophomore year in high school. In an event that I can't really put to words, He spoke to me at a campfire through my buddy's Grandmother. From that day forward, my life has never been the same. Flash forward three years from that day... I was drafted by the Atlanta Braves, as a pitcher, in 2000. (I had only pitched a couple of times in my life, but I guess they saw fit and the rest is history.)
This season has been pretty wild. I have been with Atlanta, St Louis and the Arizona D-Backs. We are currently in the cellar looking up at the San Diego Padres.
I have been married to Ginsey for close to three years now and we live in Marietta and have two dogs, Goose and Nolan.
Today I had the chance to visit Navy SEAL Team 3 here in San Diego. As we were walking around SEAL headquarters, I saw off in the distance, a group of "hopefuls" on their second of 6 weeks of BUD/S, Basic Underwater Demolition/Seal, training. The fourth being Hell Week, in which they literally push you to the absolute breaking point of what a human body can handle. It's a full week of nonstop torture. Maximum sleep for the whole week, of week four, is four hours. On top of all of that, you have instructors walking around begging you to quit, offering up a warm meal or bed. All you've got to do is quit. When you quit, you go over and ring this bell three times and its over for you! BUD/S training is where they separate the MEN from the BOYS. The fall out rate of BUD/S training is a remarkable 70 percent. I was blown away at the commitment and drive these men have! Which led me to the begging question... Do I have that same drive and commitment somewhere deep down in me?
When I think about the world that we live in as Christians, I can't help but to see the parallels of what I saw today. As "believers", we are a "Special Forces Unit", not for the United States, but for something far greater, the KINGDOM of CHRIST. We don't have instructors walking around offering us up warm food and comfort. No, we have the evil one lurking around every corner, bribing us with temptation. It's incredibly easy for those 70 percent to ring that bell! Just like it's easy for us to fall into satan's temptation. Those guys out there on that beach today were equipped to fight with only their bodies and physical drive they could possibly muster up. As believers in Christ, we live in a sinful world that goes against everything that we stand for. But we are equipped with something far greater than human flesh. We are armored with the Holy Spirit! I'll go to battle with that any day. Piss on that Bell!
Thanks for letting me be apart of this.
~Blaine
3 comments:
Blaine,
Welcome! If there is one thing this group needs its more GA reps bringin heat. Love putting pressure on the west coast hippies to keep up. How's that tofu and spinach omelet this morning, Jules. ha.
Seriously, that navy seals example is B-E-A-utiful. We have the same battles everyday as christians. This reminds me of the book 'Screwtape Letters' that Terry and Nolan talk about at nausium. Blaine is right, we don't have instructors yelling at us, but we do have the devil and his cohorts whispering in our ears all day everyday. "go ahead, do that (insert sin). It won't ruin your witness. You're flesh and blood. You have needs. Nobody cares". Satan is always trying to get us to ring that bell. Cash it in. Give up on the narrow path. It's a grind.
Thanks for the post, Blaine. Maybe I will see you in the Super Target on hwy 92 again soon. ha
p.s. - on a side note. I have a little fun fact on Blaine Boyer at the dish. We played on the same travel team when we were 15. As he said, he was not a pitcher then, but outfield. He had about as much plate discipline as myself which is saying a lot...nope. Anyways, this pitcher was throwing uncle charlies all day. Blaine swings at this ball and hits it so hard off the end of the bat that it hits the corner of the plate and pops up to smash him right in the junk. He had no cup on, and it was one of the funniest things I have ever seen.
Out
Nice word Blaine, glad to have you on this team, I can tell you got a lot to provide. I love the line "Jesus called me in", talking like JC called you in for a hundle or something. Priceless! By the way my buddy Kevin Mulvey has been suiting up for you guys recently, he is an awesome guy and we had some intentional convo's about Jesus, maybe he is part of your ministry there. Just a thought.
HAHAHAHAHAH...I wish I could've seen that!!!
Welcome aboard Blaine!
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