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Devotional

  • Pain

    February 09, 2011

    devotional
    Set: 

    I'm sure you can remember some part of your physical training program that you thought was surely designed to kill you. Maybe it was a set of "gassers," or running the lines on the court, or a 10-minute run. These torturous drills were always at the end of a hard practice. My least favorite was a timed quarter-mile run at the end of a season-starting football practice. Coming around the last turn my legs would burn like they were on fire, and it would feel like someone had stabbed me in the side with a knife. I was certain the coach's goal was to kill us. But those coaches weren't overly interested in how much we hurt that day. They were looking ahead to the season and were getting us ready for not just our first game, but our last game, as well.

  • A Lesson from the Big Game

    February 07, 2011

    A Lesson from the Big Game
    Set: 

    Congratulations to Packers fans! You all certainly have reason to celebrate this morning after the great victory in last night’s Super Bowl. Wear the cheeseheads all day and enjoy the moment!

    As I watched the post-game coverage on SportsCenter this morning, I saw tons of highlights from the winning team, but there was one thing in the bottom ticker that caught my attention. It was a comment from Steelers’ quarterback Ben Roethlisberger who said, “I feel like I let the city of Pittsburgh down and the fans and my coaches and my teammates, and it’s not a good feeling.”

    Man, I feel for Big Ben. That has to be a tough spot. But, honestly, I can’t think of an athlete or coach who hasn’t experienced this feeling.

  • Where do we go from here?

    January 25, 2011

    devotional
    Set: 

    Leach, Leavitt, Mangino…Arenas, McGwire, Woods...These are just a few of the last names that have been in the sports pages recently for unbecoming conduct. Coaches who have reportedly lost their control both verbally and physically, and players who have reportedly lost their judgment, integrity and character. All of these men have fallen short of the standards set by their schools and teams and short of the vows by which they agreed they would live and coach.

  • Get Your Game Face On

    January 23, 2011

    devotional
    Set: 

    I was blessed to be able to baptize my daughter in our church a couple of years ago, and since that time I have paid close attention to her spiritual walk. I am a coach, and am used to observing commitment in sports being followed by an intense and disciplined approach to attaining goals. A side effect of my chosen profession is that I tend to view most things in life through the grid of a coach. Spiritual disciplines are no different to me than some others. No excuses! Get to it!

  • Let It Go

    January 21, 2011

    devotional
    Set: 

    Coming out of high school, Jeremy had a promising pitching career ahead of him. He went to a school close to his home and figured he would become their ace on the mound. But things didn’t happen quite so easily. As Jeremy explained, “I lost it. I couldn’t find the plate. I thought I was done.”

    They were tough words to swallow for a rising star. He was afraid his career as a pitcher was over. Jeremy had only one place to turn.

    In the Bible, we find that David knew this situation all too well. Many times in his life, David had to let go of his fears, let go of his pride, and let go of his sin in order to let God do a healing process. In these situations, David did what we all should do: He cried out to God for help.

  • Be Thankful

    January 20, 2011

    devotional
    Set: 

    In today’s world many people seem to have forgotten about this wonderful word "thankful." Some of us are thankful when times are good, but as soon as anything bad creeps into our lives, this word tends to be thrown to the curb.

    There are many things in life that just do not go the way we think they will, but we must remember that this is God’s path for us. I know that when the going gets tough it’s hard to be thankful, but God says to give thanks in all circumstances.

  • The Power of Prayer

    January 18, 2011

    devotional
    Set: 

    Nate is as strong as a bull. While playing superback in college in the Big Ten Conference, he battled some of the toughest players in the game of football. Right before Christmas this year, however, he found out that he was battling an even tougher opponent: Stage 3 cancer. On Christmas Eve, he had a tumor removed, but the doctors were still concerned that more cancer might have spread. No amount of physical strength alone would be able to tackle this issue.

  • Expect

    January 13, 2011

    devotional
    Set: 

    This year, the UConn Huskies played the Oklahoma Sooners in the Fiesta Bowl. Going into the game, they were massive underdogs. While they’d been 8-4 and won the Big East Conference, many considered their conference and schedule weak. Thus, the Sooners were highly favored to win the game.

  • Tracking the Training

    January 12, 2011

    Tracking the Training
    Set: 

    Many athletes, myself included, keep a journal or log of their workouts. This allows us to set goals and track our times, distances, results, resting heart rate, etc. From this journal, we can see how we’re progressing (or not) and adjust accordingly. It is a valuable tool for training, race preparation, or other goals we’re trying to achieve.

  • The Toughest Sport on Dirt

    January 11, 2011

    devotional
    Set: 

    The sport of bull riding is what some call “the toughest sport on dirt.” It involves riding a twisting, bucking, angry bull for what every rider hopes will be eight seconds—a virtual eternity when seated on 1,800 pounds of raging power.

    One common denominator among bull riders is fear. The Lord says in Isaiah that we have nothing to fear because, by the glory of God, He will help us through anything we face. And that means anything from the possibility of missing clutch free-throws to the potential of getting trampled by a bull.

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