Baseball Shorts

The Sunday Night Check-In for February 22, 2026

Feb 23, 2026

Photo by Clark Van Der Beken on Unsplash

It’s time for the Sunday night check-in, and I’m glad you are spending a few minutes with me. In North Louisiana, we are having a little cold snap for a few nights, but then it will be back to the early Spring we have been experiencing lately. I’ll take that over an ice storm any day, of course!

I’ve been working on some writing that I am excited about. I have a book about the preaching life called PREACHEROLOGY. And I’m rewriting and revising my first foray into fiction with a murder mystery called Stillwell Crossing, with investigative reporter Mason McClain at center stage. The second and third Afternoon Break books are ahead as well. I wanted to keep them shorter, so they are divided into a trilogy. I’ll keep you posted on these. I’m sure you’re as excited as I am (ha!). This is my current cover for Stillwell Crossing:

Even with the warmth, I have not been wearing shorts, and I do not have any “baseball shorts.” But at a store on antique alley this weekend, I did buy a book called Baseball Shorts by Glenn Liebman. Apparently, looking at his Amazon page, he likes writing about shorts - funny one-liners.

“My autograph may not be worth much now, but five years from now it will be worth even less.”— Tommy Lasorda

Oh yes, there are more. I don’t know if these are “shorts” or “groaners.” Don’t let me fool you - I don’t know anything about baseball. But I like humor!

“The home run is sort of like a dunk in basketball. When you do it, everyone notices. And when you don’t, everyone notices.”—Cal Ripken

FORSYTHE

At Forsythe Church of Christ on this last Sunday of February, the sermon was from John 10 and focused on the idea that Jesus is our Great Shepherd. (Notes & Audio are HERE.) We continued with GriefShare and also had a wedding shower. It was a busy day and good day. Next week, we will look at John 11, the raising of Lazarus.

“Baseball is the only field of endeavor in which a man can succeed three times out of ten and be considered a good performer.”—Ted Williams

READING

As usual, I’ve got several books going, but have not finished any this week. You’ve heard of food trucks. In our area, we have a book truck! Hatten & Hayes Mobile Book Store is a great little business created by a mother-daughter team, selling used and new books. They had some tables up this weekend to meet authors, and we enjoyed doing that. We met Carole Lehr Johnson, Crystal Tanner Dillard, and Katie Zeliger. That was a lot of fun. I picked up Crystal’s book, “Real Hope for the Road Ahead.” Maggy got a couple of Carole’s books. In our Bible reading program, we are in Leviticus, and I’m already behind.

Although many Substacks have paid subscriptions, my posts are always free! I do have a Hope Remains Gift Registry if you’d like to show some love! Check it out HERE if you are interested. If not, I still love ya!

LISTENING

Jeremy Rosado encourages us to Keep Holding On. Amen.

“I was thinking about making a comeback until I pulled a muscle vacuuming.” —Johnny Bench

SUBSTACKERY

Brian Causer shares a Divine Appointment at 30,000 Feet.
Les Ferguson, Jr. gives An Honest Word About Grief.
Intercessor Todd gives us some instruction on Praying From Peter.

“If you don’t catch the ball, you catch the bus home.”—Yogi Berra

If you are still reading, God bless you! Thanks! The night owl has done his work. I hope you have a fantastic week as we wind down the month of February. Already. Yes. Take care, friends. Work hard, smile often, rest well, and stay connected. The world needs you now more than ever!