Native Americans, after inventing lacrosse centuries ago, called it “the medicine game.” They said it was a supernatural gift, possessing the power to bond and heal communities.

“People from the tribe hoped if they played hard enough and the ‘Creator’ was pleased with the game, he would take energy from those who played and transfer it to someone sick in the tribe,” said Christian Zwickert, the fifth-year men’s lacrosse coach at Wesley College, a small United Methodist school in Dover, Del.

On this day, you left nothing behind. Your sweat-soaked uniform provides the proof. As you stand alongside your teammates you can hear the sound of the exuberant crowd cheering. In time, your body will ache, but not now. Not just yet. It will be tomorrow before the cuts and bruises remind you of the painful, hard-fought game. For right now, posters wave and arms remain outstretched in celebration. These are the sights and sounds of victory. Unfortunately, they are not for you. Your supporters are silent and still; they are rocks among the waves of fans who have crashed the field to celebrate with the victors.
 

In 2004, Hoosiers was voted the greatest sports movie of all time. Somewhere, Luke Ridnour was cheering.

Maybe it was because he had grown up longing for the chance to be like Jimmy Chitwood. Maybe it was because he’d lived a Hickory-like experience growing up in smalltown Blaine, Wash. Either way, Ridnour agreed with the critics.

“Expectations from last season ... coaching and playing in the NBA are so demanding ... the worst performance ... flashy clothes, the expensive cars and piles of money ... worst player in the game ... obviously fallen on hard times ... very inconsistent in their shooting...”

You don’t have to search to find remarks like these on the web or in the sports section of the newspaper the morning after any NBA game. They’re easy to find.

It was the winter of 2003. Outside the temperature was cold, but Dr. Steve Lucey’s spirit felt even colder. He was at a loss. Sitting in his Greensboro, N.C., home, he believed God had anointed him to use his sports medicine training on the national level, and he could no longer ignore the burden within. It had consumed him for too long, and now he was certain of its meaning: there was something more that God wanted him to accomplish.

The Cambridge Dictionary defines a role model as an admired person who inspires others to copy his or her behavior. Based on this definition, there is no question that athletes, especially in America’s sports-crazy culture, are role models. Unfortunately, those who look up to an athlete for his performance on the field don’t just imitate what he does in his profession. The watching eyes are often influenced to imitate the athlete’s off-the-field behavior, too—in words, clothes, actions, and attitude.

It should come as no surprise that Jesus knows how important water is to life; that’s the way He designed it. And in this Scripture, Jesus tells the Samaritan woman everything she needs to find salvation. Living water represents eternal life. Jesus has it, you must ask Him for it, and it is a gift to be received.

If you are not eating breakfast, you are missing the most important meal of the day! When Jesus appeared to His disciples after His resurrection, He said, “Come and have breakfast.” It was a time of nourishment—physical,  relational and spiritual. Too bad most of us just rush into the day, undernourished physically and unprepared spiritually.

Breakfast is essential for consistent energy, focus and concentration, easier weight loss and more consistent moods. But just eating breakfast isn’t necessarily going to get you started on the right foot.

In sports, as coaches and athletes, we know that we have to take one game at a time. When a game is over, win or lose, we have to put it behind us, learn what we can and move on. The same is true in all aspects of life. In Philippians 3, Paul tells us to forget the past and press on toward what is ahead. In Matthew 6:34, Jesus flat-out tells us, “Don’t worry about tomorrow.” From these two passages I believe we can take three important lessons—ones that will help us to walk in victory and “win” each day of our lives

Solomon knew the importance of taking care of the heart. It is not only the most important muscle in the body for physical life, but also for spiritual life. Have you ever considered that your behavior is really a reflection of your heart? We are encouraged to guard our hearts because our attitudes, our thoughts, our emotions, our words and our actions all flow from the condition of the heart. Anger, jealousy, pride, conflict — all of these reveal the state of your heart.

I’ve heard it said that the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result. Well, I don’t know about you, but I can definitely identify with that. It’s like we know we’ve taken a wrong turn or are on the wrong road, but we keep going anyway. And, worse yet, we somehow think that we’ll still get to our destination.

Next month, 51-year-old triathlete Gary Brasher will complete back-to-back-to-back Iron-distance triathlons in order to raise funds for FCA. Yep, you read that right. A triple Iron! Right now, he's in the middle of training for the big event, which will take place Nov. 20-22.

Going in, Brasher knew that the sacrifice would be intense. I mean, can you even imagine completing 7.4 miles of swimming, 336 miles of biking and 79.2 miles of running in three days? For most of us, that is unthinkable. But that is exactly what he is willing to do for what he feels is an important cause.