Alphabetical
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October 13, 2010
Set:
In the arena of sports where score is kept and there are always winners and losers, how do you know whether or not you are successful? While much of the world defines athletic success in terms of wins and losses, legendary coach John Wooden writes in his book, Coach Wooden’s Pyramid of Success that “success is peace of mind that is the direct result of self-satisfaction in knowing you did your best to become the best that you are capable of becoming.Within this framework, each person becomes the only one who can ultimately judge his or her own success.”
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February 21, 2013
Set:
Imagine there is a bank which credits your account each morning with $86,400. It carries over no balance from day to day, and every evening when you lie down to sleep, it cancels whatever part of that amount you had failed to use during the day. And the only variable is that you don’t know when your bank will stop this process. So, what would you do? You would find a way to spend it, right?
In theory, we all have such a bank. It’s called “Time.” Every morning, God credits you with 86,400 seconds. Every night God has to write off as a loss whatever you failed to invest toward a good purpose. This account will not carry a balance over, either.
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April 01, 2014
Set:
One of the most overlooked participants on a competitive cheer squad, especially when a routine is going well, is the athlete called the “base.” As a matter of fact, when a cheer squad is nailing their routine, the base will hardly be noticed at all. However, when a “flier” misses a landing or a base misses a catch, I guarantee the base will be noticed. You see, the base is the foundation; everything must be built upon and supported by a firm base.
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May 19, 2010
Set:
In this passage, Jacob wrestles with God in the person of Jesus. We know this because the man says, “I have seen God face to face” (Gn 32:30). It could not have been God the Father because John 1:18 states, “No man has ever seen God.” Therefore, we know that Jacob wrestled with God the Son, Jesus.
As they wrestled, Jesus dislocated Jacob’s hip. Every coach knows that athletes need strong legs to compete, especially in wrestling. Without his legs an athlete cannot wrestle; he can only hold on. That is exactly what Jacob did. He gripped God!
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December 31, 2007
Set:
Every new year my wife buys me a running journal. It's a great little book that allows me to log in my weekly mileage, my times and even the weather conditions. If you were to glance through my book you would learn that it tells a story about me.
Three years ago I was in great shape, and the pages of that journal reflected that in all of the entries. Nearly every page was full. Last year's journal, however, told a different story. Many of the pages were empty, and they revealed my decline in fitness.
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November 01, 2008
Set:
When the 2004 NBA Western Conference semifinal series between the Minnesota Timberwolves and the Sacramento Kings began heating up, tempers started flaring. Kings guard Anthony Peeler hit former teammate Kevin Garnett in the face with an elbow during the third quarter of Game 6 and was immediately ejected from the game. “It was retaliation after [Garnett] hit me with an elbow,” said Peeler.
Retaliation is a natural response when we feel we have been wronged. If others hurt us, we want to hurt them back so that they know how it feels. We want them to feel the pain we feel. However, as Christians our desire is to live as Jesus did, so we must look at how He handled injustice. The Bible addresses this in several places, one of which is 1 Peter 2:21,23:
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January 17, 2014
Set:
When you’re in the midst of a situation that seems hopeless in sports or in life, how do you respond to your doubts and frustrations? As Christians, we all tend to think that doubt should never come to our minds. I mean, we believe that God can do anything, right?
First, let’s all step back and realize that we will constantly deal with the doubts in our human nature, but it’s how we respond to them that makes the difference. In Luke 5:8, Simon Peter responds to Jesus with a tone of frustration and doubt. Jesus had asked him to let down his fishing nets into deep water, but Peter responded by stating they’d already worked hard all night and hadn’t caught a thing.
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November 25, 2009
Set:
Moses warned the Israelites against failing to serve God. We should take this warning to heart. Jesus tells us, “Whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of Mine, you did for Me” (Matthew 25:40b). When serving God, we cannot help but serve others; and in serving others, we serve God.
Sports like tennis and volleyball require serving the ball. In an article, “Six Steps to a Better Serve,” the author wrote, “Serving is a skill that takes years of practice to master, and something that you can always improve upon. . . . Keep at it, take your time, and practice lots.” This applies to serving others as well.
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May 10, 2010
Set:
Hockey Chat: There are some guys that have used the same gear for years. They suit up in the same old outdated stuff, work hard, practice, and skate great. Then there are others who buy the newest and the best only to struggle when they hit the ice. Even though they have the best gear, they lack the skills and knowledge to be a great hockey player.
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December 13, 2004
Set:
The University of Illinois men's basketball team jumped out of the gate in the 2004-05 season, reeling off nine straight victories, including convincing wins over No. 24 Gonzaga and No. 1 Wake Forest. Impeccable early-season play vaulted the Fighting Illini into the top spot in the country for the first time since 1989. While it would be easy to allow the success and the ranking go to their heads, senior forward Roger Powell says, "I always like to talk about the two H's: We have to stay humble and hungry."
