ESPN interviewed Sheryl Swoopes (pictured below) about her recent decision to step out and announce her homosexual lifestyle. This sin can be hidden from the entire nation and their media for her past eight years, but I’m sure God wasn’t fooled for that long? She stated that, as being such a large public figure as a WNBA (Women’s National Basketball Association) star, it wasn’t easy for her to do this. She was asked what kind of fears she had and replied “Obviously you’re going to have hesitations…….I’ve wanted to let the world know who I really am for a while……I wasn’t sure what the consequences would be”. She responded that this was all about her, but that hopefully she would make and impact on someone else (that is a public figure), so maybe it wouldn’t be as hard for them to do the same thing. At the end of the interview she let ESPN know that there was a feeling that a heavy burden that was lifted off of her shoulders – leading to a time of extreme happiness as a result.

Here’s the pic – and believe me, I wouldn’t have wasted one minute using Photoshop to paint a cross on her neck – it’s legit, lol.

Okay……where do you start with this one? Or do you not speak out against it? I think that’s the problem – people don’t speak out against the sin enough!!! Including myself. So here it is – Gabe’s official “I hate the sin of homosexuality just as God does” blog. I think there are so many things that need pointed out from the interview, some that I didn’t notice until I watched the interview a fifth time on this ESPN page: http://search.espn.go.com/keyword/search?searchString=sheryl%20swoopes&page=multimedia&multimediaCount=15 

Here are my thoughts:
1. Is our nation really so far away from God that we give national television time to a homosexual, letting them inform the world while wearing a CROSS around their neck? How stupid do you really think I am? Am I really going to just fall over and say homosexuality and the cross Christ died on go so well together – great choice of a pendant there Sheryl! Or maybe Sheryl needs to take a look at God’s feelings for the sin her life is wrapped around here – http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Deuteronomy%2029:22-29&version=31 . Doesn’t quite look like God really takes a liking to the stuff that was going on there?

2. The very obvious nervous feeling she has in the interview speaks for itself. Some people I’ve talked to thinks that this is a result of her just being a celebrity and that it is much harder for them to come out like this than it would be for you or I (unless you’re famous, lol). I think that is true, but I’m pretty certain God doesn’t just let you live this lifestyle in a circle of perfect comfort. Even when a person that follows His commandments closely gets involved in something that isn’t in the public arena He gives them a sense of nervousness and discomfort that just shakes their world. I think the thing Sheryl needs to check out might possibly be the May / June newsletter from this ministry – http://www.regenerationministries.org .

3. On a short note – what’s so entertaining about someone being a homosexual than someone that isn’t? I think if you can answer that question with any answer that doesn’t deal with sin you have to be kidding yourself, lol. When was the last time you saw ESPN mention someone getting married for 3-4 days in a row of media attention? I think that shows how deceptive our enemy is…….satan’s drawing so much attention to it these days isn’t he? You think the media isn’t his favorite tool at times……..you better think 20 times. It’s so obvious how immorality and sinfulness have started to arrive all over the front page of our headlines on a daily basis.

Dad, Mom, Tug and I all drove up to the Michigan International Speedway this weekend for the NASCAR race – the Batman Begins 400. We definitely walked our legs off, but all had a great time getting deaf and cheering for our drivers. None of them won of course. They didn’t even come close, lol. The Batmobile running in the front of the field as the pace car doesn’t happen too often. Batman had the privilege of commanding the drivers to start their engines. Livi and Ava love screaming at the top of their lungs – “Gentlmen, start your engines!”, so I recorded Batman for them to watch when we got home. They couldn’t believe the real Batman did that! I was very thankful that God gave us great weather for the entire day! If you don’t think NASCAR is a sport, try picturing yourself driving 200 mph within inches of another car for 3-4 hours every Sunday. I don’t understand how people can be so negative towards a sport they’ve never seen in person.

After my statement about VT possibly being the fourth best team in college football yesterday, this morning I have to admit……..I might have been wrong? I started watching last night’s championship game between USC and Oklahoma, but stopped quite a bit before halftime since the game was already over. USC, the #1 team in the nation (and now champions) beat up on Oklahoma and ended up winning the game 55-29. Some are saying it was the best performance ever in a championship game. That’s not what my first thought is. As a Hokie fan, I look back to August 28th (first game of the year at FedEx Field in Washington DC) and ponder over the great game the Hokies gave USC, only losing by a score of 24-13. From looking at USC’s schedule, that game was obviously their hardest competition throughout the entire year, and definitely a tougher match than they had last night? Should the Hokies be considered the third or second best team in college football? The Hokies should have beaten NC State (but missed a field goal) and possibly should have beaten Auburn in the Sugar Bowl (but dropped a touchdown pass and missed a much easier field goal). College football is definitely the funnest sport to follow throughout a season…..hopefully the BCS changes and makes it even better next year?

Not sure how many of you watched VT play Auburn in the Sugar Bowl last night, but it was an awkward game. Everyone was talking about Auburn since they are undefeated and should have a share of the national championship (but the BCS screwed that up)……..so the Hokies were definitely the underdog. They finally put 13 points on the board in the fourth quarter, after being down 16-0, but that was just a little too late. Thanks to a missed chip-shot field goal, missed catches, a few costly passing mistakes, and a dropped touchdown pass they ended up losing, but made it a much better game that it seemed like it was going to be at halftime. Next year should be exciting with the freshman wide receiver crew returning, a good defensive group coming back, and the return of Marcus Vick to the team to start at the quarterback position (suspended from the team and school for a year due to a few big mistakes off of the field). Now that the season is over, it’s great to look back and see that the team overcame odds of finishing in the middle of the conference and actually being the ACC champions in their conference debut season. You might expect to hear this, but I actually think they are the fourth best team in the nation……..who else would give Auburn a decent matchup besides the higher ranked USC and Oklahoma teams?

We had the privilege of getting to know the White family these past four years, and admire a great family God gave us to follow as examples for each of us. We had the opportunity to spend the night at their home just three months ago and God really used that time for them to impact our lives yet again. After being one of the greatest football players of all time, Reggie was now focused primarily on maturing his relationship with God as much as possible. That happened through his family, through his friends, and through much time spent studying the Hebrew language (an original language of the Bible). When he was on the field you could see the desire to compete at his highest level in his eyes. You could sense that same passion from him recently, but it was at a higher level and towards a higher goal. We are intensely saddened to hear that God has called the “Minister of Defense” home and many prayers are going out for Sara (his wife) and two children (Jeremy and Jecolia). His greater legacy is very apparent in the lives of those three individuals. God obviously made Reggie the example he is by putting him in the family he did. Words can’t express the amount of thankfulness we have towards their unselfishness. Knowing you are listening, we thank you, Reggie, for the example you have given us. This Christmas my brother went the extra mile and got in touch with Reggie. On Christmas morning, the day before Reggie went to be with the Lord, they both gave me a present I will remember for a lifetime……..a personal-autographed Green Bay Packers jersey from Reggie – possibly his last autograph. Thanks so much to both of you!