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It’s that time again—time for me to dig in and start the countdown to my next competition as a bodybuilder with multiple sclerosis. At 53 years old, I’m a few years older than when I last competed, and it certainly is not getting any easier. But, as He always does, the Lord has stood by me and has allowed me to keep pushing on by encouraging me to battle this disease and win.
It was a week before the big game. Coach knew how to prepare his team. Every day he broke down the opponent’s offense and defense so his team knew them almost better than they knew themselves. For that week, he added one task to the end of every practice, firmly believing it would make a difference.
A game plan is vital for every contest. Throughout Scripture, God’s game plan was instituted among His coaches. Jesus provided the greatest example of preparing for battle. He was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the Devil. Satan thought he had the perfect plan, but Jesus was so prepared that every time Satan tempted Him, He came back with an impenetrable defense: God’s Word.
Prince. It’s not only my name, but also an official title. My family is of Royal Igbo Nigerian descent. My great grandfather was the king, and every first son in the family gets the title of “prince.”
This was not good.
Training camp was less than a month away, and Reed Doughty’s right hand resembled one of those oversized “We’re No. 1” foam fingers.
Last June, the Washington Redskins’ safety arrived as the keynote speaker at the Metro Maryland FCA Power Camp in Gaithersburg, Md., with a heavily bandaged hand that kept his index finger perpetually extended. A day earlier while weightlifting, he had pinched his finger between two dumbbells.
After losing every game during soccer season, I learned a lot about perseverance, or “doing the deal” in the face of great odds. We all like to win, but it becomes harder for a coach and her players to keep going during a losing streak. It’s not easy encouraging players to win when they realistically don’t have a chance. What we needed in our town was a recreational soccer league. Such a league would be instrumental in helping players develop their skills; however, those who could make the league happen didn’t believe it would be successful. Consequently, I wrestled in prayer about whether or not I was really called to coach; it didn’t appear that I was doing the players any good.
When I was at the University of Kentucky, my team was expected to win a National Championship every year—and we did. It was the cheerleading team, and I was the mascot. Regardless of the sport, expectations go a long way in determining wins and losses. What about in faith? What are our expectations for winning and losing spiritual battles?
This is basically a music video format to the song “Home Run” by Geoff Moore and the Distance. Satan is the pitcher and his buddies are the fielders. One person is up to bat and he has friends on base that he has to get home (heaven). The first two pitches are strikes (swing and miss). The song ends with the batter hitting a home run and Satan falling in defeat. This skit stresses the importance of keeping on keeping on for Christ. Lives are in the balance (those on base), depending on us to do the right thing (hitting a home run). Satan is trying to make us stumble (throwing curves, spit balls, cheating to make us strike out). Satan is pitching to the batter, who swings twice and misses.
I spent the past two evenings watching a lot of high school basketball at the annual Vandalia Holiday Tournament. The South Central Cougars won the tourney, and in a most dramatic fashion, I might add. Monday night, one of the Cougars hit a 3-pointer just shy of half court with no time left, banking it in to help his team beat the hosting Vandals by one point. The very next night, the Cougars played in the championship against the No. 1 seed — the defending champions from Pana High School. The game went into overtime. The score was tied with 1.3 seconds left when, for the second night in a row, that same Cougar drained a baseline jumper. They won by two.
Hang around the Syracuse campus long enough, and you’ll likely run into a young lady in Orange athletic gear hanging up fliers, chatting it up with fellow athletes and, if around a big crowd, letting out an occasional shout. “FCA tonight!” A year earlier, Jenna Rickan would have cringed at the thought of sharing her faith so visibly. Back then, the Syracuse soccer player was living out the beginning stages of her Christian walk.
11 Sports discussions from the book of Titus
Topics Include relationships, leadership, overcoming obstacles, and confidence.
Coaching Relationships – Titus 1:1-4
Every time my family goes to a Baltimore Ravens football game we get caught up in signaling and chanting “Move those chains!” every time the Ravens get a first down. At first glance you might think, ‘big deal…they moved the ball ten yards.” But first downs lead to touchdowns.
The player or team that practices, prepares, and performs with the most consistency generally outplays their opponent. And when we “move the chains”, we create and sustain momentum. Consistency leads to excellence and is fueled by self-discipline.
How do athletes prepare themselves? They train, eat right, rest and then do it all over again. They must constantly watch what they do with their bodies, what they take in to them, how they work them and how often they rest them. That preparation makes a huge difference in how they compete.
Staying hydrated is a perfect example. Athletes know that without proper amounts of water or sports drinks, they will not be able to compete at their highest level. It’s the same with training. If an athlete’s body is not fit for competition, chances are, he or she isn’t going to compete as well as if they had trained harder.
One of my favorite urban legends is about a young man who was training to become an Olympic diver. He wasn’t a Christian man, and really, the only religious influence in his life came from one of his outspoken Christian friends. The young diver never really paid much attention to his friend’s “frequent sermons” and preferred not to think about the matter.
One night, however, the diver was feeling very troubled by the cares of the world so he went to the indoor pool at his college thinking that making a few dives would help him relax. The lights were off, but as the pool had big skylights and the moon was bright, there was enough natural light for him to practice.
New Year's resolutions. I have made a thousand over the years. Some have worked, others have not gone so well. Every January we have the chance to start a brand new year. As athletes, we set goals to become bigger, faster and stronger and to improve our personal performance. As coaches, we strive to learn more, listen more and win more. But a new year brings us much, much more. What makes this year different?
Susie and Sally were twins. Both were great athletes, both went to church, and both had a choice to make. After a game, the girls went to a party where “everyone” was there. The party got pretty crazy, and throughout the night Susie and Sally were offered many things.
The story of how God is using Alex Hagler and the Memphis FCA staff to reach a new generation of female athletes.
1 – Competitions like this one require tremendous team unity. Each one must bring his/her best to make the team all it can be.
2 – Think for a moment about how diverse your team is:
3 – Think about how the team is diminished if any one of you is at less than 100%.
4 – Think about how the team’s personality on the floor changes with each substitution. You are not interchangeable parts in a machine.
5 – Think about the factors which unify such a diverse set of people. These are most important.
Texas soccer player Sharis Lachappelle is mature beyond her junior class status. A broken leg and school transfer strengthened the San Antonio native’s reliance on her Creator and helped her understand the true purpose of playing—to bring God the glory and share His light with those around her.
Have different people stand up and say “I’m in/at a _____________, so I must be a _____________. This will make it obvious that just because we live in America, we aren’t automatically Christians.
Number of Characters:
As many as you like! Examples are as follows to fill in the blanks:
garage, car; Nebraska, cornhusker; football field, football player; barn, chicken;
White House, president; microphone, singer; watch, time; zoo, monkey; church,
Christian; FCA Camp, Christian
Read 1 John 5:11.
As a dynamite athlete growing up in Lake City, Fla., Pat Summerall would glance at the Bible from time to time, but it was really more of an afterthought than a priority. Other options were much more appealing.
Years later, at the Betty Ford Center in 1992, as a struggling alcoholic whose drinking problems had damaged his relationships with his family and friends, the Bible was Summerall's only choice.
We say it all the time. It has become part of our lingo, and we don’t realize we are saying it. Most church meetings begin with these words: Let’s have a quick word of prayer. I believe these seven words grieve God’s heart, because He desires a lasting conversation—not lip service.
The underlying message is, “Before we get to the important stuff, let’s rush through the God stuff.” It becomes a rote habit that bypasses our heart. It helps us look spiritual, but lacks power. Connecting with God can't be rushed. God must think, “There they go again! I wish they wouldn’t think of Me as a ritual or a rabbit’s foot that they can rub for good luck before they start their meeting.”
He didn’t even know what he’d said. He hadn’t prepared for it, and, truthfully, the whole thing was just a blur. He’d had enough on his plate at the moment without trying to recall what he’d said in front of the cameras.
As University of Texas quarterback Colt McCoy sat in his hotel room after losing to Alabama in the Jan. 7, 2010, BCS National Championship game, he thought long and hard about what had happened. The loss itself was painful enough, but it was just one battle he was fighting inside. The other was why he’d not even had the chance to compete in the game.
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