Recently I was in a rough part of the world leading girls basketball clinics. I traveled by myself to work with some local believers. The word spread about the clinics and soon there was a lot of media coverage, including the national television station. I began to worry, as I did not want the whole country to know I was there. The next day a suicide bomb killed 20 people in the city where I was. Then my picture showed up on the cover of their newspaper for the work I was doing. I received a phone call from staff in the States advising that I get on the next flight out, but first to talk with my hosts and pray.

When I played football as an 8 year old, I remember parents pulling their cars up and shining their lights on the field when practice ran late. As players, we saw the light.

As athletes we need to SEE the light. SEE stands for Sleep, Eat, and Exercise. This kind  of light deals with our God-created bodies. Many competitors train hard on the field, but not off it. As true  competitors, we need to get enough sleep, eat right, and exercise properly. These three physical anchors are extremely important.

When trying to SEE the light, we need to ask:

“How much sleep do I need?” Since the physical affects the spiritual and emotional, if we do not sleep, other areas of life will suffer. When we are tired, we cannot be the athletes God desires.

Trouble often seems to be waiting around every corner of daily life, especially for coaches. Whether it’s a troubled player, an unfair referee, a nagging parent, or an unreasonable principal, coaches can count on difficulties. Trouble comes with the territory!

Jesus never pretended that life would be a vacation cruise. “You will have suffering,” He told His disciples. In fact, difficulties are guaranteed, an inevitable part of living in a fallen world. Jesus didn’t deliver the trouble; He just knew it was coming.

Hockey Chat: There is only one true Stanley Cup.  It is authenticated by the seal of the Hockey Hall of Fame in the bottom of the Cup which can be seen when winning players lift the Cup over their heads.

How many times do you make a promise and really keep it? Every day, my 7-year-old comes to me with my baseball glove and asks me to play catch. I sometimes catch myself saying, “I promise, in a few minutes.” Then he walks away, and time goes by without me keeping my word. He gets disappointed, and I feel bad for forgetting. I never intend to go back on my word, but it does happen from time to time.

One thing we know from God and His Word is that when He makes a promise, He always follows through. Here is a great definition of a promise: an assurance that God gives His people so that they can walk by faith while they wait for Him to work. Here are four promises that God has given us:

Rulon Gardner and Dremiel Byers were both vying for one spot on the 2004 U.S. Olympic wrestling team. Gardner was the 2000 Olympic gold medalist and 2001 World Champion and Byers the 2002 World Champion. Gardner won a pair of 2-1 overtime matches at the Olympic Trials and Byers laid down his pride and went to Athens to help prepare his friend for another gold-medal run by serving as his training partner. Gardner came home with the bronze medal and a gold-medal friend. Would he have done the same for Byers? No doubt about it!