Hopefully at some point in our lives, we have had the blessing of receiving a powerful and lasting message from God when we least expect it. Mine happened over a series of four key events in a single year.

January 3rd - My wonderful wife, Vickie, and I had just returned from a trip with our football team at Northern Illinois University to the International Bowl. By the end of the trip, I felt sluggish and stepped on our bathroom scale to discover I was heavier than I had ever been. It was definitely time to do something about that.

In our culture, patience is becoming less and less common. We’re an instant gratification society, so when things don’t go according to our timetable or plans, we get frustrated and sometimes angry. How many times have coaches lost their tempers when athletes failed to make the right plays or the right decisions?

In ancient times, a soldier was only as good as the equipment he had. His only source of protection was his armor and his sword. In ancient warfare, there wasn’t the option to carry out attacks from miles away like we can today. It was always up-close, in a large crowd with hand-to-hand combat, and you needed armor that could protect you from every side.

Our integrity is revealed when we’re faced with a decision to do what we know is right, even if it conflicts with what we want. We are called to act according to God’s will instead of our own.

It was a beautiful spring day in 1980 in northwestern New York State, a great day for a lacrosse game. The Watertown Cyclones, a powerhouse team, was visiting their cross-town rivals, the General Brown Lions. Though underdogs, the Lions were a gritty blue-collar team, and they had home field advantage. If all their starters played at 100 percent, they had a chance to upset the Cyclones. It was exciting!

Have you ever gone to a restaurant that serves bread before the meal and, when the bread got to your table you just stared at it? Say you have just worked out and you are incredibly hungry.  Everyone in the restaurant can hear your stomach growling, but all you do is just sit and stare at the bread. People around you start talking to each other and asking questions like, “Why are you just staring at the bread? Eat it!” But you just sit and stare, wondering why you aren’t satisfied.