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October 07, 2005
Set:
When problems come into our lives, we all respond in various ways. A “thinker” chews on the problem and looks at it from every possible angle. A “talker” seeks the wisdom and advice of others. A “doer” goes at the problem head-on and works hard to find a solution. A “reactor” has a negative emotional outburst and explodes in the midst of difficulty.
But I believe that God wants our first response to be prayer, though that isn’t often our first reaction. No matter how big or small our problems are, He wants us to present our requests to Him first. As Psalm 55:22 says, “Cast your burden on the Lord, and He will support you; He will never allow the righteous to be shaken.”
October 10, 2006
Set:
At the start of the 2004-2005 NBA season, Latrell Sprewell made a complaint about not having a contract for the next year. He stirred up controversy by claiming that the Timberwolves' offer of $21 million over the next three years was "insulting." He went on to say, "I have a lot at risk here. I've got my family to feed. Anything could happen."
It appeared that Latrell Sprewell was putting hope in his wealth, but in reality even the $14.6 million he was making that year could have been gone in the blink of an eye. "Cast but a glance at riches, and they are gone, for they will surely sprout wings and fly off to the sky like an eagle" (
Proverbs 23:5, NIV).
February 23, 2011
Set:
One thing I've learned is that there are many ways of handling tough situations. I've gone the route of "putting off" in hopes that the Lord would miraculously take a tough situation away. But since that usually doesn't work, here's what I've learned: God expects us to take the first step in the right direction--the step of faith.
October 10, 2012
Set:
Common interests, passions, experiences, and skills naturally draw people together. We all enjoy partnering with others with whom we can identify. When someone says, “I know how you feel,” and you believe that he really does, a bond is formed. David and Jonathan are examples of two men who experienced that deeper connection; they were, “one in spirit,” drawn together by a shared faith (1 Sm 14; 17). Both men trusted God when no one else did, and as a result, David and Jonathan were key in God’s plan to defeat the dreaded Philistines. Both men trusted God even though the odds were not in their favor.
May 20, 2005
Set:
As athletes we must know what our purpose is on our team. An offensive lineman's purpose is to protect the quarterback and make places for the running back to run. A pitcher's purpose is to not allow the opposing team to get a hit. A setter's purpose on the volleyball court is to set the ball so that another player can spike it.
Just as athletes need to know their purpose, each coach has a specific purpose as well. An assistant coach may be in charge of one aspect of the team (i.e. an offensive coordinator). Or perhaps their job is to lead the team in pre-practice stretches. Head coaches also have a purpose. In FCA, our prayer should be that the head coach would see their purpose as molding and shaping the lives of young people.
June 30, 2010
Set:
Mephibosheth had lived in Lo-debar since the death of his father, Jonathan, and his grandfather, King Saul. He desperately wanted to leave the forsaken town that was a constant reminder of his father and grandfather’s deaths. He was faced with the constant threat that the Philistines would kill him as well. As a cripple, he had trouble traveling and feared returning to Jerusalem, since it was customary for a new king to eliminate all members of the former royal family to prevent retaliation to the throne. Mephibosheth must have yearned for a better life.
March 31, 2005
Set:
The Madness is here for sure. This year's NCAA Tournament had its share of upsets and surprises, one of which was West Virginia's advancement to the Elite Eight. They earned it, though. Cinderella team or not, they played their way in and deserve to be on the dance floor. But let's think about that term "Cinderella team." Do you find it interesting that basketball teams are compared to a lowly girl who got an amazing, some may say, undeserved gift? I'm sure West Virginia didn't mind the term this year. I say if the shoe fits, wear it. Make the most of it!
March 31, 2011
Set:
Every year, in the early part of April, all across America the coming of spring is heralded by a festive celebration extending from Denver to Baltimore, Los Angeles to Boston, Tampa to Seattle, and especially in Cincinnati: MLB Opening Day. This day, which was just over a week ago, marks a fresh start for all Major League Baseball teams—a time when their record is 0-0 and their slate is wiped clean. It marks the beginning of a six-month season for the great American pastime, in which any team can begin a transformation from worst to first.
September 10, 2010
Set:
Hockey Chat: When a hockey player pulls that jersey over his head, he takes on a different identity. He may be a great guy and friend to all, but to the opponent he is now the enemy and they have to stop him. He can’t be in the game, play on his team, and be loved by the other team. He has an identity with the team he is on and that stirs adversity with the opposition.
September 01, 2010
Set:
I will never forget watching Reggie Miller score eight points in the last thirty-two seconds of a 1995 Eastern Conference NBA playoff game in Madison Square Garden. Miller’s “never say die” heroics in the closing seconds gave the Indiana Pacers a thrilling two-point victory over the New York Knicks. Throughout his eighteen-year career with the Pacers, Miller was the picture of persistence. He didn’t make every clutch shot he took, but he never stopped shooting them. In an interview following his final NBA game, he summed up his career by saying, “I tried. I showed up for every game and I tried.”
October 07, 2005
Set:
When I was a kid, our neighborhood basketball court—the kind with the chain nets—was the place where everybody went to play the best basketball. During the summers, top college and high school players packed the court.
November 01, 2008
Set:
It doesn’t matter how good or how bad you are at sports. God is love. It doesn’t matter whether you have all A’s or all F’s on your report card. God is love. But what exactly is love?
"Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails" (1 Corinthians 13:4-8, NIV).
April 11, 2012
Set:
In our daily lives and our athletic venues we face many giants. Maybe it is an opposing team that you are playing, and the critics give you no chance of competing with the “giants,” much less beating them. Or maybe it is your job, your finances, your past or even raising your kids. Regardless, the giants in our lives are there to do one thing: intimidate us and steal the hope that God has given us through His Son, Jesus Christ.
David told Saul in 1 Samuel 17:32 (NIV), “Let no one lose heart on account of this Philistine…” but still, many people ran from the giant, Goliath. It says in 1 Samuel 17:24, “When the Israelites saw the man, they all ran from him in great fear.”
February 21, 2005
Set:
Colin Falls of Notre Dame had his day in the limelight. Not only did he score 23 points by hitting seven 3's, but he saved the game by taking a charge in the last 20 seconds of the game. Falls understood his role for the game against Boston College and helped to knock them from the ranks of the undefeated.
Paul was one believer who knew his role with Christ. Though he could have boasted about the great things he was doing for Christ, he understood his place. He knew it was by grace that he was saved and that it wasn't anything that he did to bring glory to himself. He was honored to do his part in building God's kingdom. Paul did what it took to get God's word to the people who needed to hear the message. He knew his role.
December 07, 2007
Set:
As coaches, we spend long hours watching film--film of our practices or film of our opponent. We spend countless hours on the telephone talking to recruits or high school coaches. Our day starts before the sun comes up, and sometimes we don't get home until our children are sound asleep.
The Lord has appointed us to become coaches, and how honored we are! And now with the season nearing its end, the "silly season" begins. Yes, the silly season. When, for the next month or so, there will be many firings and hirings. Numerous coaches will be removed from their jobs or snatched up to take others, and thousands of coaches will be left wondering if they even have a job or where the next paycheck might come from.
February 15, 2011
Set:
As an athlete, I get hungry after a workout. We all do! If we don't eat, it affects everything we do. We get lazy and don't want to do anything. An average human needs to eat at least every four to five hours.
The same mindset we have for eating actual food should also be the mindset we have for taking in God's Word. His Word has to be honey to our lips and water to our souls. If we go too long without eating spiritual food we will turn to desires of the flesh to satisfy those internal needs.
October 07, 2005
Set:
Those of us who watch a lot of sports programs on television have probably seen the St. Louis Cardinals’ “blanket” commercial. It begins with a man who wraps a red St. Louis Cardinals’ blanket around himself. As it turns out, the blanket is the one constant in his life as he grows up. As a child, he uses it as a cape when he runs up the steps, and he drapes it over his bed when he studies. It is on the seat when he learns to play the drums as a teenager, in the trunk when he moves out of the house, and around his girlfriend while they watch a movie. The commercial ends with the man wrapping the blanket around his child as these words come on the screen: “Without sports, what would we hold on to?”
September 20, 2010
Set:
The 11-player basketball drill is a fun way of learning how to run a fast break. The point of the game is to box out, rebound, hit the outlet pass, and sprint to the offensive end. Three players start off with the ball and head down the court to take on two players. Once a shot goes up, all five players look for the rebound so they can hit the outlet player halfway up the court and stay in the game. It is the player who continues to get the rebound on both sides of the court that gets to stay in the game.
April 19, 2012
Set:
This is the last week of regular season play for my college softball career as Saturday is Senior Day. It is easy to get caught up in the memories, emotions, and everyday battles that consume a softball player, and a Christian for that matter, on a daily basis. I can choose to look at the hard times, the practices that made me cry out in frustration, the blood, sweat, and tears of the game, or the victories that I have experienced over the years.
April 07, 2011
Set:
Their comes a point in life where nothing just seems to go right. We get bad grades, we have to deal with injuries while we play a sport, we're not fitting in with the right crowd, or something just as simple like "I don't belong here." Trust me. I've been through my fair shares of these plenty of times. But no matter how dull life may seem, or how unlikely your luck is to turn around, you can't lose your Faith. Even when you think that everything seems impossible, it's not. Luke 1:37 states that NOTHING is impossible with God. More people need to believe this saying, because with all of the difficulties we face in the world everyday, I don't see how any of us could get through life without Christ.
April 19, 2009
Set:
In college, my computer teacher taught me the acronym GIGO. It stands for “Garbage In, Garbage Out.” As athletes, we know that this phrase can relate to our bodies. If we fill ourselves with junk, junk will come out in the form of poor performance.
The GIGO acronym is even more powerful when we apply it to our hearts. If we put garbage in our hearts, garbage comes out. Think about this: if a tube of toothpaste is squeezed, what comes out? Mustard? No, toothpaste comes out, because that is what was put in the tube.
May 25, 2005
Set:
In working with a college Huddle, I hear many struggles and things that the athletes are going through. The pressures of athletic competition are tough, and many athletes turn to the wrong things. They hide their struggles in various places--the internet, a bottle or other things much worse. But they need to know that there is hope!
February 29, 2012
Set:
Today we get to experience an event that only comes around once every four years. We are receiving one precious extra day in honor of Leap Year. A few days ago, I found myself talking with co-workers about what I would do with the extra day. They all know me pretty well and assumed I would fill it with triathlon training. Either that or take a day and let my body rest from all the abuse I put it through with swimming, cycling and running.
March 29, 2012
Set:
I am always amazed at how disciplined wrestlers are. They say no to the goodies brought to class for birthdays and only eat a small portion of huge holiday meals. Wrestlers watch every item that goes into their mouth and weigh the pros and cons of each bite when cutting weight to qualify for their weight class. Then, after the season ends, they go back to a less regimented lifestyle.
July 09, 2010
Set:
When I run, I really like to run through the woods as opposed to on the streets. I just like being with nature and running over and around tree roots instead of flat pavement. There was a 3.5-mile route I had learned that went around my school. I usually ran the same loop, sometimes backwards to mix it up. Every time I would run, though, I would pass another path I’d never tried that branched off into the woods. For a long time I would just run the same route, over and over again, always feeling an inner tug toward the other trail. I would always think to myself, “I like where I’m at. I know where I’m going; I’m comfortable with it. If I take that path, I could get lost. That other trail could be longer or more difficult.”
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