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Over the past few years, the technology for swim gear has improved drastically. During the Olympics in the 70s, the average male swimmer probably had swim trunks bought from a local department store, and he didn’t bother wearing a swim cap or shaving. Today, we have technology that makes swimsuits resemble shark skin for less resistance, which shaves the important hundredths of seconds off one’s time.
If you were to list the qualities of the people you most admire, a thankful attitude would probably be at the top of the list. Attitude will make or break a person. In his book Attitude 101, John Maxwell says this concerning attitude:
One of the most exciting times for an athlete is when their team gets new gear to wear — a new uniform, team sweats, team shoes or pre-game warm-up outfit. In new gear, the step seems quicker, the jumps a little higher. For some reason, it makes you feel better as an athlete. I remember those days as a player, and even when I ordered new things as a coach it was always fun. Outerwear, however, does not make the player different. It is what is on the inside that counts.
Across from the headquarters of FCA, atop a hill, is a tall communications tower. In the almost three years that I’ve worked here, I’ve glanced at this tower hundreds of times and never given it a second look. But yesterday morning I caught myself daydreaming. It was in this daydream that God taught me a beautiful lesson--one He’s been teaching me over and over again for the last several weeks.
At the top of this tower is a flashing light. It guides air traffic and prevents aircrafts from flying into it. No matter the time, day or season, this light continues to flash, and communication continues to be broadcast.
Chosen Attribute: Motivation
Dictionary definition: "Something that causes one to act."
My definition: "What compels you, what drives you, and what your life is plugged into in order to truly live."
“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord. “Plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” – Jeremiah 29:11 (NIV)
Grand Island, N.Y., is a small community where everyone knows each other. It’s on an island between Buffalo and Niagara Falls, and it’s where I grew up. My parents still live in New York and my dad, Cal, actually serves as FCA’s state director, and my mom, Sherrie, is his administrative assistant.
Perhaps more than any other sport, Major League Baseball often becomes a family business. It’s not unusual for sons to follow in the footsteps of Major League dads or for brothers to pursue similar dreams on the diamond. What is rare, however, is for those Big League dreams to be realized by all of the sons in one family. The story of the three Drew boys from Hahira, Ga., is one of baseball’s current legends in the making. J.D., Tim and Stephen, who grew up playing front-yard baseball games in southern Georgia, all pursued that risky career path of baseball. And all three made it.
Six years to the day after his father won his first Daytona 500, Dale Earnhardt Jr. won NASCAR's most prestigious race for the first time. It was also the same race which claimed the life of his father on a last-lap crash three short years ago. "In a way, it feels like I'm closer to my dad," Junior said. "At the same time, this is a reminder of losing him all over again."
I need You, Jesus...To come to my rescue...Where else can I go... From the streets you could hear their song. The collection of voices grew louder as the sound of worship drifted down the newly cemented driveway and floated into the humid summer night breeze. Within the walls of the recently erected Gulf Coast home gathered a group of young adults from Church of the Good Shepherd — a group whose lives one year earlier had changed as quickly as the flood waters rose on August 29, 2005, the day Hurricane Katrina hit.
For as long as I can remember, I wanted to play soccer for Baylor University. We moved to Waco, Texas, when I was in sixth grade, but I had heard stories of the Green and Gold’s glory way before then.
Each year, FCA recognizes servant-leaders who have faithfully served Christ through FCA by inducting a select few into the ministry's Hall of Champions. This year's class is as outstanding as ever.
Mike Minter and Mike Rucker, two longstanding pillars in the Carolina Panthers’ defense, are the best of friends. But there’s one thing Minter, a safety, just can’t understand about his chum, a hulking defensive end.
It took all of four days for the spiritual inquest of Allison Whitworth to begin.
On March 5, Whitworth, a goalkeeper in the first-year Women’s Professional Soccer League, was riding in the car with some of her FC Gold Pride teammates. The players were just getting acquainted, having started preseason camp on March 1, but it was already evident that Whitworth was different. She was handling the pressure of rapid-fire roster cuts with remarkable poise. Her demeanor was kind. Her language was clean.
When NASCAR drivers head to Bristol Motor Speedway in Tennessee, they know that they will need an extra dose of patience. Going into the 2004 Food City 500, Kurt Busch, looking to win his third consecutive race at Bristol, said, "There's no real reason to get in a hurry at all." Easy to say until you find yourself going 140 mph on the short half-mile track with forty-two other cars. Busch seems to know a little about winning there, holding off Rusty Wallace for his third win in a row and fourth of the last five races at Bristol.
Mike is one of my best friends. What you need to know about Mike is that he is a natural-born athlete. I, on the other hand, am a natural-born glutton for punishment. When Mike and I were in college and graduate school, we spent a lot of time working at our neighborhood pool during the summers. When there was a break in the action, we'd play some basketball on one of the hoops that was set up adjacent to the pool's tennis courts. I never beat him head-to-head. Let's just say that he was the Kevin McHale of our neighborhood, while I played basketball like the swimmer I was. Sometimes, though, one of Mike's best friends from college, Jeff, would stop by for a visit.
We have all coached them – the players who push us to the limit. Those players who drive you crazy (bless their hearts) as a coach because they either don't listen or don't do what you have asked them to do countless times. Just when you think you are about to pull out your last hair, a ray of light beams down, and something changes. Slowly, but surely, they start to change and conform to your coaching. Next thing you know, they get it. They actually get it. Sound familiar? Well, I know someone who has coached more people than any of us, and who deals with that exact situation on a daily basis.
Oh, to be Lawrence Frank. Yes, old Larry Boy. Oh, you don't know who he is? He is the current coach of the New Jersey Nets. Why do I say current? Well, in the coaching profession, there are two kinds of coaches: those who have been fired, and others who will be. However, for now, Coach Frank is enjoying the limelight of a winning team. What has made the difference for this team? I am not sure, but I am sure the players are buying into what he is teaching team on a day-to-day basis. Keep up the great work, Coach Frank!
Three-time Super Bowl Champion and Air Force pilot Chad Hennings, Susan Bumpas, Vietnam War Veteran Clebe McClary & FCA President Les Steckel
When I set out to be the first person with Multiple Sclerosis to compete in National Physique Committee bodybuilding contests, I knew that I was going into battle. In my case the “enemy” was the disease I was diagnosed with in 2006 at the age of 47. My competitions would start when I was 50 years old, which is usually a time in life to begin relaxing and looking back on your accomplishments. For me, my 50th birthday was the beginning of my road to victory.
The NBA … it's fantastic. Well, maybe not. But at playoff time it does get pretty exciting. The Indiana Pacers are once again making a push for the coveted title. The Pacers are not being led by the deadly sharp shooting of Reggie Miller this season, but the powerful play of two younger players — Ron Artest and Jermaine O’Neal. Reggie's days are ending, and he is passing the torch to his teammates. He knows he cannot carry the load like in years past. It is time for the younger, more youthful players on his team to step up, take on the responsibility, and lead their team to a championship. Reggie no doubt will do his job, but his best days are behind him now.
"Sexual temptation and purity is a man's issue, not mine."
If you're like millions of women, that thought probably crossed your mind when you read the subhead of this article. And no wonder. On the surface, the evidence is pretty convincing.
In today's world, physical temptations aren't often geared toward women. Strip clubs, X-rated magazines and Internet pornography mainly target men. So, it is justifiable to assume that men are the only ones who deal with sexual impurity, right?
Wrong.
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