What Upward Basketball is All About

It has been a while since I have been on the ole' blog...The busy-ness of life has just seemed to get the best of me...We have all had a bit of sickness around the Allen house..Just seems that we can't get well....I was up all night last night with Cade, and after our visit to the doctor today-we found out that Cade is positive for the flu....So, I am going to be stuck here in the house for the next few days, I guess...so maybe I will blog a little bit...Bless his little heart, he feels horrible, and has been in the bed for most of the afternoon....Remember him in your prayers today.

This post is one that I have been wanting to write since Saturday, but just haven't had the time to sit down and write it out...

Upward basketball is a program that our church has. I am sure many of you have heard of it, but if you haven't, it is a church basketball league that emphasizes that each child is a winner, and teaches children about the importance of character and integrity, instead of the "winning is all that matters" attitude....This past Saturday Ian's game was such a blessing to me. His team played an awesome game. They were ahead by 8-10 points or so...and there was a little boy on Ian's team that hadn't scored yet. He is a little slower than the other boys, and not nearly as coordinated. Ian and his team passed the ball to him over and over, to try and help him get a goal. I was so proud of them. Ian especially. Obviously because he is mine. But Ian is very competitive and he loves to win, so to see him give up winning to make sure this little boy got to experience the feeling of scoring a goal, was such a blessing to me....Over and over, Ian and his team kept passing the ball to this little boy, until finally he scored a goal....I was so proud of them...They ended up losing the game according to the scoreboard....but in the big picture...they didn't lose at all...They won, Big Time.....We meet after the game for awards, ect. and Ian's coach was overwhelmed. He stood in front of those boys in tears. I was so glad to be a part of this moment. The awards that are given out are stars, one for best effort, best offense, best defense, ect. But the most important star that is given out is the white star for most Christlike.....In silence, with tears flowing down his face, Ian's coach handed out white stars to each team member. They all deserved it, because they ALL showed God's love today.

Have a blessed week.