“Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and do not rely on your own understanding…” – Proverbs 3:5

In the Big Sky Conference, Sacramento State’s Ronald Brookins has a common, household name. Since bursting onto the track scene as a freshman, the senior hurdler and long-jumper has spent his college career rewriting the Sac State record books and garnering All-American accolades, all while leading the campus FCA Huddle and guiding his teammates and competitors closer to the Lord.

The Fellowship of Christian Athletes is the largest Christian campus ministry in the world. It is on more campuses than the next three largest campus ministries combined. In the past year, FCA reached more than 350,000 people on over 7,100 campuses and worked with more than 46,000 coaches and athletes at camps across the globe.

The numbers for this ministry are staggering. Still, even though it's been around since 1954, the Fellowship of Christian Athletes is a mystery to many. Even the late Tom Landry, legendary Dallas Cowboys’ coach and lifetime trustee of FCA, used to call FCA “America’s best-kept secret.”

Most people have at least heard of it, but some of them can’t really say for sure what FCA is all about.

Into the first 10 years of my pro golf career, my spiritual life could be described as “just going through the motions.” I went to church growing up and knew all the right things to say, but I didn’t have a personal relationship with Jesus. That all changed in 1985.

Chosen Attribute: Joy

Dictionary definition: “The emotion of great delight or happiness caused by something exceptionally good or satisfying.”

My definition: “To be genuinely content from the inside out.”

Wildfires aren’t typically associated with Hawaii, but that may be about to change—just don’t expect to see actual flames consuming the palm trees and pineapples. This fire is spiritual, and it’s one that is being used by God to spread His Word across the islands, specifically through FCA and the student-athletes at the University of Hawaii.

"Age is nothing but a number."

This year’s NFL postseason has proven just that. The league’s oldest (Brett Favre, 40) and youngest (Mark Sanchez, 23) quarterbacks competed for the chance to stand toe-to-toe in Miami at Super Bowl XLIV. But even though both the Jets and Vikings lost their respective conference championships, we will still be watching history unfold on February 7, 2010.

A bicycle kick in itself is pretty mystifying, considering the player begins the kick with his back facing the intended target. He then hurls his head and upper body backward toward the ground while his feet and legs whip up into the place his upper body was. All of these acrobatics are an attempt to accurately strike a flying soccer ball.

Imagine executing that kind of kick while your team is trailing 1-0 in the waning seconds of a highly competitive Superliga final match.

The life of Pro Football Hall of Famer Bruce Matthews has been epitomized by resilience and perseverance, stability and strength. The stats he produced as a fixture on the Houston-turned-Tennessee offensive line are legendary, and his name is a consistent example for line coaches who seek to inspire greatness in their athletes. And if those athletes never had the opportunity to see Matthews play, a quick reading of his accomplishments makes their jaws drop in awe.

In August, Sports Illustrated tabbed 16 athletes as their “Stars of Tomorrow.” One of those talented, young competitors was 17-year-old Rocco Grimaldi, who has accumulated a long list of athletic achievements even though he’s still in high school. This month, we discovered that there’s more to this young hockey phenom than great puck-handling skills. One thing? His desire to bring Christ to the world of hockey one teammate at a time.

Growing up in Morgantown, W.Va., Ahna Lewis looked up to the athletes at West Virginia University and dreamed of being a Mountaineer herself one day. Now that her dream is a reality, this redshirt-senior cross-country runner remembers the impact those former athletes had on her, and she embraces her opportunity to influence others. But, for Lewis, it’s about more than just making a positive difference; it’s about making an impact for Christ.

Identity. We all search for it. We all find it — whether we know it or not. And how we choose to define ourselves can and will determine the quality of our lives. If the foundation of our identity is unstable, we will live unstable lives. If, however, our identity is rooted in something constant and unshakable, we will find ourselves the same.