When I was 8 years old, I did a lot of dreaming. My dad would take me to college lacrosse games, and I would stand by the field saying, “One day I want to play on that field!”

Sacrifice is something most people never even consider, let alone complete. Let’s consider what it is to be a living sacrifice.

At the time of this writing by Paul, sacrifices were usually killed and laid upon an altar to be burned. The problem with “living sacrifices” is that they tend to crawl off the altar when it gets a little hot. We start with good intentions of making a sacrifice for our teammates, our family, or career, but when it gets uncomfortable we often snatch the sacrifice from the altar and lose the reward that comes from faithfulness.

For Lorenzo Romar, integrity is one of the simplest concepts he’s ever learned—so simple, it only takes a brief, pondering pause followed by a concisely spoken sentence for him to explain.

“A person with integrity consistently does the right thing,” he matter-of-factly states.

As the University of Washington men’s basketball coach, Romar has provided a walking, talking example of integrity to the young athletes that don the Huskies’ uniform year in and year out.

When President Thomas Jefferson was traveling with companions across the country on horseback in the early 1800’s, he approached a large river that needed to be carefully crossed. A stranger appeared and wondered how he was going to get across. He looked at the President and asked if he could get a ride across the river. Thomas Jefferson said, “Sure, hop on!” As the stranger slid off the horse on the other side, one of the companions questioned why he asked the President for a ride. The stranger replied, “I didn’t know he was the President. All I know is that his face said yes, and all your faces said no!”

In sports, the term “maxing out” is commonplace and usually refers to some type of physical activity. This could occur in the weight room, track, court, or anywhere else that an athletic event takes place. When maxing out, an athlete gives his best performance to show that his preparation has paid off. These preparations could include weight training, running sprints, agility drills, practicing sport skills, and so on. Only through proper preparation will an athlete be successful at maxing out.

Staying humble is one of the most difficult things to do. Whether it's doing good on a test in school, landing a job interview, or succeeding in sports, our first instinct is to praise ourselves. In most scenarios, it is very acceptable to be proud of yourself.

For example, if you hit a homerun in baseball, you will reflect on all of the training and hard work you put in. Because you took the time, you had the ability to hit your homerun; and that is great. You should always be proud of yourself and have a great self-esteem, but should you gloat to all of your teammates and friends about your accomplishment? Probably not.