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When Keisha and Kara Cornelius were growing up in the dusty West Texas town of Denver City, all Kara wanted was to be with the sister who was four years her senior.
For many years, Keisha didn’t understand the depth of Kara’s desire. She’d go out to ride her bicycle with her friends, and Kara — who still hadn’t learned how to ride — would run as fast as her feet could propel her in a futile bid to catch up.
"Sexual temptation and purity is a man's issue, not mine."
If you're like millions of women, that thought probably crossed your mind when you read the subhead of this article. And no wonder. On the surface, the evidence is pretty convincing.
In today's world, physical temptations aren't often geared toward women. Strip clubs, X-rated magazines and Internet pornography mainly target men. So, it is justifiable to assume that men are the only ones who deal with sexual impurity, right?
Wrong.
Bryan Clay knows there are skeptics. As the gold medalist in the decathlon at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, Clay took over the title of "World's Greatest Athlete." But he realizes a title that bold only invites arguments, particularly in today's debate-driven sports culture.
There is a plot: Mike Sanford, in his second season as head football coach at UNLV, is working long hours in an attempt to stop a streak four straight losing seasons and transform the program into a Mountain West Conference power.
And there is a subplot: He will do it his way. He will do it the only way that will mesh with his beliefs. He will do it by offering his players a pipeline to God.
On this day, you left nothing behind. Your sweat-soaked uniform provides the proof. As you stand alongside your teammates you can hear the sound of the exuberant crowd cheering. In time, your body will ache, but not now. Not just yet. It will be tomorrow before the cuts and bruises remind you of the painful, hard-fought game. For right now, posters wave and arms remain outstretched in celebration. These are the sights and sounds of victory. Unfortunately, they are not for you. Your supporters are silent and still; they are rocks among the waves of fans who have crashed the field to celebrate with the victors.
To this day, Leah O’Brien-Amico remembers the phone call. It came a decade ago, but it seems like yesterday. It was in the morning. O’Brien-Amico, who was at the time still in the process of building her softball-legend status as part of the U.S. National Team, was standing in the lobby of a hotel chatting with some teammates.
She was in a good mood; it was a joyful time. An Olympic gold medal-winning athlete, O’Brien-Amico had just wrapped up her final season at the University of Arizona, where her team had won the College World Series about a month earlier. It was the third national title Arizona had won while she was there.
In 2005 Francie Ekwerekwu was a three-sport star at Arlington High School in Texas. She was a homegrown talent with a passion for track and some All-District hardware that displayed her volleyball and basketball skills as well. It took much prayerful consideration, but the 5'11" honor student decided to accept a volleyball scholarship to the University of Oklahoma—the equivalent of a Montague turning Capulet.
Why? According to Ekwerekwu, the reason was simple.
This summer, FCA partnered with Korean Central Presbyterian Church and Global Christian School in Seoul to host a first-ever sports camp in South Korea. Our host, Jacob Hong, whom I’d met when we were both living in Northern Virginia, had been talking with me, praying and planning, for nine months to see FCA come to South Korea. And on July 24 that prayer materialized as an FCA team of 21 people crossed the Pacific to serve 175 South Korean campers through language, sports and spiritual education.
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