I was the youngest varsity basketball coach in Indiana. I studied older coaches to gain knowledge, but one area to which I never paid enough attention was when to talk and when to keep quiet. I learned the hard way: by my second year of coaching, I’d received more than ten technical fouls, not for bad language, but for opening my mouth at the wrong time. These failures made me wonder if I’d ever master control over my tongue.

Solomon knew that there is a time for speaking and a time to guard our mouths, and many of us would do well to learn his lesson. All too often our lips keep moving when we should be listening. We fall too easily into traps made by our own speech; we forget that if our mouth doesn’t open, we will not be creating a trap to fall into.

Most would agree that character is vital for success in any organization, team, or family, yet today’s news is filled with examples of bad character. Nehemiah was in the process of building a wall, but he recognized that if some character issues were not addressed, the completion of the wall would be insignificant. Rebuilding a physical wall was not all that God had called Nehemiah to do. God called Nehemiah to a much greater ministry—a ministry to the heart.

Most students often have to answer questions about their future plans. Whether we are asked about our plans for school, the weekend, or even just the afternoon, it generally isn't that hard to answer. "Oh, I'm going to [this university] and participating in [this sport]." Or, "I'm going to chill with some friends." Etc. One day though, I found myself answering a question that was a little more serious: “What are your plans for your life?”
 

The night before a football game, our team has a gathering at the house of one of the seniors. His parents supply the food, and we have had these team dinners since before I can remember.

If we were to count on our hands the number of times someone has let us down or the number of times we’ve disappointed someone else, we’d definitely run out of fingers! Because we are human, we fail all the time, whether in relationships, careers, or daily disciplines. In fact, our life on earth seems full of opportunities to learn from our mistakes. So it’s a good thing we have promises like Psalm 103:12, “As far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us.”

Glen is a high school football coach. He's not much different than other coaches. He's driven, tough, motivated and strong-willed. However, like many coaches, Glen developed two different lifestyles: a good coaching lifestyle and that of a struggling alcoholic. As these two lifestyles ran their courses, they eventually came crashing together. He continued to coach, but the drinking took its toll. Several DWIs mounted up, and eventually the alcoholism caused more issues. Glen came to the end of his rope.