John Gunter

Thoughts on Life and Living

The transcendent values of BASEBALL

by

My friends Troy Coons, Phil Autry, Julian Krevere, and I at a Braves game two years ago
My friends Troy Coons, Phil Autry, Julian Krevere, and I at a Braves game two years ago

As I sit here in a local coffeehouse, I am thinking about baseball.  We are on the cusp of one on the greatest weeks of each year; Opening Week of the Baseball season.

I love the sport and always have.  I don’t remember a time in life where baseball wasn’t important to me.

Baseball is different than any of the other American sports.  I’m not necessarily saying better, I’m just saying different.  No other sport is called our “National Pastime” like baseball.  As I think about it, I do believe there are transcendent values to the game of baseball which are unique to the sport.

So, in honor of opening week, here are four (plus one bonus) of the more “transcendent values” of the game of baseball which have kept me engaged with the sport well beyond my playing days.

1 – The generational aspect of baseball [Read more…]

3 great Easter memories (both fun & significant)

by

(left) Betsy, Becky, and I with Dad; just prior to THE Easter Bunny incident; (right) Nathan with my camera two years later
(left) Betsy, Becky, and I with Dad; just prior to THE Easter Bunny incident; (right) Nathan with my camera two years later

Thise week, I have enjoyed thinking about the Easter holiday and the significance in my life. In the process, three great memories have come to mind.

First, I remember being young, really young. I was in Glenville, Georgia at my Grandmother’s (Meme) house. I don’t remember how young I was, but I was young enough to still believe in the Easter bunny.

Glenville, Georgia, as you might guess, is a small town. It has produced the Great Kay Gunter and several NFL players. I love Kay (also known as “Mom” to me) and I really like the NFL, so I think the town is pretty cool.

Anyway, Meme had a large field behind her house. My sisters convinced me THE Easter Bunny had been seen jumping around back there. I completely believed them and went out in search of this holiday titian, second only to Santa in importance. To this day, I can picture “THE Easter Bunny” that I really thought I saw.

He was huge (maybe six feet tall), as white as untouched snow, and his ears were tall and pointy. I was CONVINCED I saw him, so much so that to this day I can remember the image I saw of him jumping in the back of the field and disappearing into the trees.

Of course, I didn’t see him. However, it was so real at the time that I can still remember the mirage my mind concocted on that Easter weekend. My sisters were pretty believable in fooling me at the time.

Second, I remember Easter Day 2005. My sister Betsy was pregnant with her 4th. “Big as a house” pregnant is probably a better, more apt

[Read more…]

I am grateful for a much needed vacation (the superficial)

by

This is Ryan Sweeney and I diving in the Andaman Sea. . .
This is Ryan Sweeney and I diving in the Andaman Sea. . .

Do you ever find yourself in desperate need of a vacation?  Well, I found myself in that position a few weeks ago.  The stresses of the year, all the transition, travel, and challenges of work and life had just piled up.  I’m grateful that the Lord provided an exceptional break from which I returned from this past weekend.

Thailand is a weird and wonderful place.  I have had the fortune of going there many times since moving to Asia over 10 years ago.  Somewhere between 10-12 times, to be semi-exact.  Most of these times have been for work.  This time it was both work and a vacation which I tacked on to the end.

On this blog, I have tried to stay away from simply reporting on life.  Not that there is anything wrong with this, just not something I have chosen to do on this forum.  However, my time in Thailand was so great that I want to write 2-3 posts on it.

My next post will be more of the serious things I have taken away from this vacation.  However, here are some of the superficial highlights of my last 10 days of some much needed rest and recuperation. . .

I am grateful for the SUN of Thailand. . .  You see, we don’t get the sun much in this city of which I call home.  Even “sunny days” are overcast at best, with a grayish-brown hew which the sun fights its way through from time to time.  During the winter months, we will go weeks on end without seeing the sun at all.  Therefore, my favorite part of Thailand is always simply being in the sun.

Sounds strange, but it is true.  You don’t know what you have until it is taken from you.  Growing up in Atlanta, I took sunny, blue skies for granted.  Not so anymore.  As I sit here back in my East Asian apartment right now [Read more…]

Times when I hate being single!

by

This post is from my series called “My thoughts on singleness (a series. . .)“. To read an overview and previous posts from the series, please click here.

Inviting another guy to movies like "Nottinghill" is never acceptable. . .
Inviting another guy to movies like “Nottinghill” is never acceptable. . .

As I type this, I have 4 hours and 50 minutes to go on this flight (according to the flight tracker). Not too bad, except for the fact that I have already been in this airplane for over nine hours. Unconscious bodies are strewn everywhere, with only the flicker of seat back movie screens cutting through the darkness. It is 3:29am where I took off from. Yet, I am not asleep, as I almost never sleep on planes.

Here is what is on my mind right now. . . during times like this, I hate being single. I travel a good bit and I’m often on long flights like this one. Always traveling alone makes trips like this that much more brutal than they already are.

So, in honor of this LONG flight and being single, here are a few of the times when I really, really don’t like being single. [Read more…]

My thoughts on singleness (a series…)

by

Me (with Craig Clarke) at the Sunken Road from the Battle of Fredericksburg. . .
Me (with Craig Clarke last summer) at the Sunken Road from the Battle of Fredericksburg. . .

Table of Contents for this series on singleness:

(Explanation and overview of this series follows this list of contents)

Recently, Ruthie Dean asked me to write an article for her blog on the subject of singleness. I was honored, as her blog is exceptional. Additionally, it is a subject I have thought about often. This is probably obvious from the simple truth that I AM single and have been for quite a while. As a result, I had been meaning to write on the subject of singleness since I started this blog 9 months ago. However, it took Ruthie’s request to write for her blog to finally get me started.

So, what began as an article for Ruthie Dean and now evolved into an entire, ongoing series on singleness.  I don’t proclaim to be an expert on the subject, just a guy who has had a LOT of practice at being single.

I know that many people who read my blog are married. Actually, most people who read this blog are married. If that is the case, I hope marrieds can benefit from this series in three ways.

  1. Life and laughter – I hope that whether you are single or married, much of what I talk about will be equally applicable. To say it will be about singleness is a bit of a misnomer. This series will be about life. Given that I am an old bachelor, my angle will be from that of the vantage point of singleness. Also, I hope that some of it will be funny for all of us, if nothing else, humorously awkward.
  2. Understanding and ministry – Singles are increasing in number around the world. Did you know that for the first time in America history there are more single adults than marrieds? People are getting married older than ever in America. Divorce is a norm in society. Never marrieds are also increasing. Your churches, neighborhoods, places of work, and even your families will be increasingly populated with single adults. Hopefully reading this series will help you understand and relate to this growing population.
  3. Your future family – If you don’t already, you most likely will have children one day. Eventually, they will be single, at one time or another, in their adult lives. Hopefully, this series will be helpful for you in this way.

Subscribe to Blog by Email

Follow Me