Donnor Cibble, the 6 foot, 7 inch man-child and captain of Dibble Nation, rocked Urbana with a typical array of rim-shattering dunks that launched Nation to an eventual win.
After tipping the opening jump ball into the net for a quick 3-point lead, he waved teammates away in a 1-man full court press, hawking the inbounds pass, running down a ball handler at half court from behind for a strip, and punctuating it with a 1-on-5 windmill jam.
Cibble called it a night after racking up 48 first-quarter points.
"Now Urbana knows my name," Cibble tweeted after the game.
Saturday, February 8, 2014
Need You Now (Plumb)
This one's been in my head a lot the last week. From our band's playlist, a reminder to be hopeful in tough times.
Wednesday, February 5, 2014
Removing The Label
"I believe we're called to do what is Christlike rather than say, 'I'm a Christian'... I don't really care about labels." - Jim Tressel
Earth's been populated with so much diversity. Beyond that, the universe. Is it a stretch to think that God is pretty open to the approach we take toward the way we gratefully carry out this gift of life? Or is even orchestrating it?
Earth's been populated with so much diversity. Beyond that, the universe. Is it a stretch to think that God is pretty open to the approach we take toward the way we gratefully carry out this gift of life? Or is even orchestrating it?
Faith In Darkness
"Faith is the bird that feels the light and sings when the days is still dark." - Rabindranath Tagore
Today has been a slow day awakening - snow day outside with school cancelled is surely a factor. With spring on the horizon, even as the future is hazy at the moment, faith that things will rise to life is enough to bring a smile to my face.
Today has been a slow day awakening - snow day outside with school cancelled is surely a factor. With spring on the horizon, even as the future is hazy at the moment, faith that things will rise to life is enough to bring a smile to my face.
Winter Dreaming
"The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams." - Eleanor Roosevelt
Sunday, February 2, 2014
What 3 Words Would Others Use To Compliment You?
While attending a speech about self-mastery, the speaker asked us to jot down three words which others would say best describes you from among all the positive ones that might.
Here's what I jotted down quickly without much time to overanalyze:
1. Creative. I am blessed with some intelligence, if not so much quick-thinking or common sense; some musical ability, if not refined; it fuels my love for creating paragraphs, scenes, songs, visions, and plan designs from nothing or chaos, and people repeatedly return that love as a reflection that it's working.
2. Calm. At least externally. It certainly has some root in the slow-thinking, a little bit in the Irish temper; nothing reveals a fool as quickly as an excitable tongue. Thoughtful response, and God's quiet confidence that everything will be all right has served me well as a leader and teacher. Even the shyest students seem to come out of their shell with me; it's a ministry I'm honored to have.
3. Optimistic. Like a heartbeat, this needs exercise in order not to fade. Happy living is my most prized value. Hugs and smiles. Gratefulness.
How about you?
Here's what I jotted down quickly without much time to overanalyze:
1. Creative. I am blessed with some intelligence, if not so much quick-thinking or common sense; some musical ability, if not refined; it fuels my love for creating paragraphs, scenes, songs, visions, and plan designs from nothing or chaos, and people repeatedly return that love as a reflection that it's working.
2. Calm. At least externally. It certainly has some root in the slow-thinking, a little bit in the Irish temper; nothing reveals a fool as quickly as an excitable tongue. Thoughtful response, and God's quiet confidence that everything will be all right has served me well as a leader and teacher. Even the shyest students seem to come out of their shell with me; it's a ministry I'm honored to have.
3. Optimistic. Like a heartbeat, this needs exercise in order not to fade. Happy living is my most prized value. Hugs and smiles. Gratefulness.
How about you?
Glorious Days: The Week In Thanks
I hadn't gone into much of any detail about the end of the road for the trusty Saturn. It's probably worth its own separate blog post, but it's too cold outside for me to be wandering around taking photos of the new Honda Civic. So we'll keep it to a paragraph:
After getting the water pump replaced for $400, the brakes and trunk latch went bad. It was 14.5 years old and I wanted to go for 15, but the trade-in value turned out to be (a surprisingly-high!) $300, and it was time to put it to rest. Thus ends my 20-year run as a Saturn owner; the old girl gave me 8,000 miles a year on terrific gas mileage with very few problems. Her heating/cooling gave out two years ago, but she got the job done. Rest in peace; you outlasted my State Farm career which is a noble and fitting tribute to you since the motivation for my red Saturns was out of allegiance to that red-and-white logo. God was watching out for me: I had no idea when I picked up the Honda that we were less than a week from a savage polar vortex. By comparison I'm in absolute luxury these days. Power windows, locks and seats; cruise control, CD player, working heat/AC. She's been tough against snowy conditions. I'm a fortunate guy.
Speaking of snow, last midnight while Dena and I were watching movies with Cupcake and snuggled up under blankets, we heard our snow plow guy grinding away in the drive. I'm not sure that I've shoveled snow this millenium; haven't mowed a lawn in decades; these are blessings.
It's been sort of a techie week for me. I solved a glitch in the Leadership McLean County blog that had been obscuring text, and developed a fill-in form using Microsoft Word for my LMC Alumni Association role. Google provided just what I needed to figure this stuff out. Meanwhile, some recent trauma to Dena's e-mail account reminds me how good I have it with my own... free from spam, hacking, and in her case complete shutdown with nightmarish customer service rep experiences to boot.
I've surged to second place in the fantasy basketball standings (thank you very much Kevin Durant). And with the turn of the calendar to February come oodles of fantasy baseball magazines to kick off the juicy research preseason.
With each passing winter day I'm more thankful that I've been cold/flu free the entire school year. An arsenal of exercise, Zicam and diligent hand-washing are surely contributing. Of course, it might also be that I love my tutoring business and so have more natural energy and resilience than a year ago.
The basketball team rebounded (pun intended) well in their last hoops game after losing two consecutive heartbreakers. A 14-6 record would be welcomed by almost any team in the state. We still have 9 more games to cram into the next 30 days, so there's plenty of time to get onto a roll.
Random thank-you for the invention of razors. My Neanderthal unshaven look would not have been a good one. The other tribesmen would probably have fed me right to the Tyrannosaurs.
I'm really enjoying the water bottle that Jack and Kate got me for Christmas. 24 ouncer with sippy straw for spill-prone adults, helping me chug 80+ cleansing ounces a day. And after leaving it at the gym twice this week, I'm thankful to have had just enough presence of mind to remember when I got home, call the gym, and recover it. I now have a mini back-up bottle for gym use, so the gift should be safely nested at home going forward.
When you don't have cable T.V., you feel comforted by the fact that the Super Bowl was a blowout!
Finally, on a musical note (more intended pun), I continue to be amazed at the warm, occasionally borderline rowdy reception of applause that the Catholics give us in the band at the end of our contemporary service on Sundays. The Protestants got nothing on them; it's a reaffirmation that the mission is making a difference.
This song has been on my mind all week, so I share it once again with you all while wishing the warmest of weeks, whether it's 70s in L.A. or 30s in Illinois.
After getting the water pump replaced for $400, the brakes and trunk latch went bad. It was 14.5 years old and I wanted to go for 15, but the trade-in value turned out to be (a surprisingly-high!) $300, and it was time to put it to rest. Thus ends my 20-year run as a Saturn owner; the old girl gave me 8,000 miles a year on terrific gas mileage with very few problems. Her heating/cooling gave out two years ago, but she got the job done. Rest in peace; you outlasted my State Farm career which is a noble and fitting tribute to you since the motivation for my red Saturns was out of allegiance to that red-and-white logo. God was watching out for me: I had no idea when I picked up the Honda that we were less than a week from a savage polar vortex. By comparison I'm in absolute luxury these days. Power windows, locks and seats; cruise control, CD player, working heat/AC. She's been tough against snowy conditions. I'm a fortunate guy.
Speaking of snow, last midnight while Dena and I were watching movies with Cupcake and snuggled up under blankets, we heard our snow plow guy grinding away in the drive. I'm not sure that I've shoveled snow this millenium; haven't mowed a lawn in decades; these are blessings.
It's been sort of a techie week for me. I solved a glitch in the Leadership McLean County blog that had been obscuring text, and developed a fill-in form using Microsoft Word for my LMC Alumni Association role. Google provided just what I needed to figure this stuff out. Meanwhile, some recent trauma to Dena's e-mail account reminds me how good I have it with my own... free from spam, hacking, and in her case complete shutdown with nightmarish customer service rep experiences to boot.
I've surged to second place in the fantasy basketball standings (thank you very much Kevin Durant). And with the turn of the calendar to February come oodles of fantasy baseball magazines to kick off the juicy research preseason.
With each passing winter day I'm more thankful that I've been cold/flu free the entire school year. An arsenal of exercise, Zicam and diligent hand-washing are surely contributing. Of course, it might also be that I love my tutoring business and so have more natural energy and resilience than a year ago.
The basketball team rebounded (pun intended) well in their last hoops game after losing two consecutive heartbreakers. A 14-6 record would be welcomed by almost any team in the state. We still have 9 more games to cram into the next 30 days, so there's plenty of time to get onto a roll.
Random thank-you for the invention of razors. My Neanderthal unshaven look would not have been a good one. The other tribesmen would probably have fed me right to the Tyrannosaurs.
I'm really enjoying the water bottle that Jack and Kate got me for Christmas. 24 ouncer with sippy straw for spill-prone adults, helping me chug 80+ cleansing ounces a day. And after leaving it at the gym twice this week, I'm thankful to have had just enough presence of mind to remember when I got home, call the gym, and recover it. I now have a mini back-up bottle for gym use, so the gift should be safely nested at home going forward.
When you don't have cable T.V., you feel comforted by the fact that the Super Bowl was a blowout!
Finally, on a musical note (more intended pun), I continue to be amazed at the warm, occasionally borderline rowdy reception of applause that the Catholics give us in the band at the end of our contemporary service on Sundays. The Protestants got nothing on them; it's a reaffirmation that the mission is making a difference.
This song has been on my mind all week, so I share it once again with you all while wishing the warmest of weeks, whether it's 70s in L.A. or 30s in Illinois.
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