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August 26, 2013
Set:
Endurance means putting one foot in front of the other no matter how things are going. At the London Marathon, a lot of the hard parts of that race were talking myself through the rough patches. The marathon is a good analogy for life in general. You’re going to go through those rough patches where you don’t feel good. You can either get down on yourself and cave in and start doing poorly, or you can tell yourself you’re doing great and you’re going to do your best no matter how you’re feeling or how slow you start. I really had to mentally coach myself through some rough patches in that race, and I think that’s the big part of endurance. Tough times are inevitable. They’re going to come.
December 19, 2013
Set:
What should we do when our friends repeatedly make the same sinful mistakes? Some would say, “I cannot change them.” Others would say, “That’s just who they are,” and even, “They will never listen to me.” However, if these friends are followers of Christ, we need to hold them to the commitments they made in Christ. They need to hold us to the same standard as well. We all need accountability. When someone feels he/she does not need it, that is the beginning of great trials ahead.
October 11, 2012
Set:
I was in the gym training for a competition when I heard a few guys talking about how they were going to compete in a bodybuilding contest one day. “Hmmm,” I thought to myself. “How many times have I heard people TALK about what they were going to do ‘one day’?”
How often do we talk about things we are going to do, want to do or dream of doing and then never do? All too often. I personally have made it a goal not to fall into that category. In my life, I have learned that, when I talk about accomplishing a task, the Lord expects me to follow through.
February 28, 2013
Set:
One of my favorite childhood memories came on my eleventh birthday, March 15, 1972. I received a gift that would set me head and shoulders above everyone else in the neighborhood. It was something that would make me the envy of all my friends. I received the coolest bicycle in the world—a real “big boy” bike. I’m telling you, it was so shiny and bright! It had a white frame with a blue glitter banana seat, blue glitter handles, and tassels. It was indeed the envy of all my friends. To top it off, it had blue tires. That bike made me the coolest kid in the neighborhood.
April 02, 2014
Set:
Many times as athletes we get caught up in the competition and forget the reason as to why we are actually competing. Many of the role models today are looked up too because they are full of pride and want to exalt themselves. However, God calls us to a higher standard and demands that we exalt Him and humble ourselves. Just as talked about in John 3:30, “He must become greater; I must become less.”
November 12, 2012
Set:
Growing up, sports were my life. No matter what the season, I had a ball in my hand. When I got to high school, I realized that I had to train with more focus and intensity. I needed to get bigger, stronger, and faster.
Over 95% of an athlete’s time is spent training and less than 5% competing. Training prepares us for game time. We make sacrifices to get better. Tim Tebow says “hard work always beats talent when talent doesn’t work hard.” Some athletes want the results without the work, but that’s not the way it works. Our desire needs to be matched by our do.
July 30, 2013
Set:
The world’s definition of excellence is just based on performance. As soon as you’re not performing, no one in the media wants to talk to you anymore, and it’s easy to get down on yourself. It’s all wrapped up in performance. It’s like building your house on the sand. It’s very changing and fleeting, and eventually it’s going to be gone because no one is always on top of his or her game. When you find your identity in Christ and in what He’s done for you, it’s the unchanging, sturdy rock that you can always stand on. You can have a much healthier perspective on yourself and in life in general and in where your hope lies. When I’m not performing well, I lose my hope. I lose my joy. I get down. I get depressed.
October 23, 2012
Set:
The runners slipped past me one by one. When I looked behind me, I didn’t see anyone left. Denial set in. I couldn’t possibly be in last place, could I? It had felt like I was running right on pace!
I cranked my neck around—something our coach had told us never to do—and, in a panic, again, I saw no one. I couldn’t reconcile myself to the thought of finishing in last place. No runner who competes at state their freshman year could possibly finish last at the district meet in their sophomore year.
I knew I had to make the decision whether or not to finish the race. The thought crossed my mind that if I dropped out, I wouldn’t finish last, but something in my heart told me that that’s not what was supposed to happen.
January 19, 2014
Set:
I love coaching. I love it so much that I could spend all of my waking hours at it. This all-consuming nature of my sport means that most coaches’ spouses are basically single parents. Too many end up divorced. My wife, Kim, would probably have left me if I had been a coach before now.
October 27, 2009
Set:
One mission, one focus, one man carrying out a plan for one purpose: Gary Brasher is that man! On November 20-22, 2009, Gary will do what is seemingly unthinkable by completing back-to-back-to-back Iron-distance triathlons to raise funds for student-athletes to go to FCA Camps. During those three grueling days, he will cover 422.6 miles. So, why would he do this? Why would he put his body through such suffering and pain? Because he is a man on a mission.
July 02, 2012
Set:
If you think about it, the idea of lifting weights seems like an odd concept. “You want me to do what to my body? Why would I intentionally hurt myself? That doesn’t make any sense.” But we all know that even though our bodies are initially torn up they rebuild themselves to become much stronger and tougher.
September 27, 2013
Set:
We have all had bad days—days when we wondered what we were doing with our lives. For me, a bad day is when I feel I don’t want to be principal any more…a day when I say to God, “Remember me? I’m one of your boys—the coach. I’m the guy who wrote the books—the devotionals. Lord, is this supposed to be happening?” We’ve all wondered why Christians have to go through the storms of life. If we’re honest, we have a tendency to think that maybe some other folks in the world deserve tough times more than we do.
September 26, 2013
Set:
I will never forget playing basketball my freshman year of college. I had just graduated from a Christian high school and was ready to impact all of my fellow teammates. While on road trips, I would have to stay in a room with two other teammates. During every trip, I would deliberately take out my Bible at night and do a quiet time, thinking that if my teammates saw me reading the Bible, they would ask questions. I thought by doing this, I was being a leader.
At the same time I was doing quiet times, I was struggling with sinful language. During practices, games, or just walking around campus with my teammates, profanity was always coming out of my mouth. I felt I had to be that way to get respect from my teammates and to be taken seriously.
October 16, 2013
Set:
A Christian athlete speaks throughout the community about his faith and then gets arrested for drug use. A Christian coach prays with his team before every game and then it is discovered that he has been illegally recruiting players for years. A pastor builds a church from 200 to 2,000 members and then leaves his wife and children to run off with the church secretary.
September 18, 2012
Set:
There’s a scene in the Disney movie “Aladdin” in which Jasmine is out on the balcony of her palace and Aladdin is on his magic carpet trying to get her to come with him and go explore “A Whole New World.” The key line in the scene is when Aladdin says to Jasmine, “Do you trust me?” Jasmine agrees to trust Aladdin and is taken on the ride of her life!
That same type of trust is required from us as Christians when we decide to follow God. With God, belief alone is not enough; we must trust Him with our lives. Just believing in God is no good to us. We need to have faith in Him, and trust is the next step from faith.
January 06, 2004
Set:
The 2003-04 college football season has ended. So who is the best team in the country? USC and LSU both ended the season with only one loss and ranked No. 1 in the AP and coaches polls, respectively. Should there be a playoff system for Division I college football? Because these two teams will not get a shot to decide the national championship on the field, these debates will go on for a long, long time.
October 17, 2013
Set:
Marquette’s football team was 10–0 heading into the final game of the season, facing the possibility of the program’s first championship. But a few days before the game, the coach received a call: sixteen of his starters had been arrested for underage drinking! Team rules dictated alcohol use as punishable by suspension. The next week the coach watched his team’s hopes evaporate into a 63–0 loss while sixteen regular starters stood on the sidelines.
March 23, 2013
Set:
Every time I hear about a coach who has been fired after a year or two at a school, it breaks my heart. I once told an athletic director that it would take four years to turn a program around to contend for a league championship. That was not what he wanted to hear, so I did not get the job.
In our society we want everything right now. Actually, we wanted it yesterday. A great example is in the fact that we actually drive through places to get our food. At most fast food places they don’t even hold the cup to fill your drink anymore; they put it on a belt, it goes under a fountain, they push a button, and the drink comes out. I suppose it’s faster. I’m not sure it’s better, but it’s faster.
December 26, 2013
Set:
Each contest we’re involved in as coaches is filled with missed opportunities, errors, and mistakes. In some games, like volleyball, basketball, softball, and baseball, we have only a few seconds to respond to shortcomings or errors. In other sports like football, golf, and track and field, response time may be longer. Regardless of the seconds or minutes that tick away, our reactions to our players’ mistakes are critical, not only for their confidence but often for the outcome of the game.
October 24, 2013
Set:
In sports, you hear a lot about two very different kinds of athlete. One is labeled an “underachiever”—an athlete who has a ton of talent but gets by putting out the minimal effort. The other is referred to as an “overachiever”— someone who makes up for a lack of physical giftedness and athletic prowess with an abundance of hard work, determination, and drive.
April 17, 2013
Set:
It’s that time again—time for me to dig in and start the countdown to my next competition as a bodybuilder with multiple sclerosis. At 53 years old, I’m a few years older than when I last competed, and it certainly is not getting any easier. But, as He always does, the Lord has stood by me and has allowed me to keep pushing on by encouraging me to battle this disease and win.
November 27, 2013
Set:
It was a week before the big game. Coach knew how to prepare his team. Every day he broke down the opponent’s offense and defense so his team knew them almost better than they knew themselves. For that week, he added one task to the end of every practice, firmly believing it would make a difference.
A game plan is vital for every contest. Throughout Scripture, God’s game plan was instituted among His coaches. Jesus provided the greatest example of preparing for battle. He was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the Devil. Satan thought he had the perfect plan, but Jesus was so prepared that every time Satan tempted Him, He came back with an impenetrable defense: God’s Word.
October 19, 2012
Set:
On a brisk Saturday morning a while ago, I hit the running trail with my FCA Endurance teammates for an 18-mile training run. The trail was desolate, and over time my fatigued mind began to drift back to my warm car waiting in the parking lot. We were more than 15 miles into the run, and the thought of less than a 5K left begged me to push harder and finish strong, but still I just didn’t feel like giving it my all.
It was about that time that I heard a sound—one that meant more to me than it did to my running buddies. It was the sound of an approaching train, and its noise drowned out the heavy breathing of our tiring pack.
December 31, 2003
Set:
I spent the past two evenings watching a lot of high school basketball at the annual Vandalia Holiday Tournament. The South Central Cougars won the tourney, and in a most dramatic fashion, I might add. Monday night, one of the Cougars hit a 3-pointer just shy of half court with no time left, banking it in to help his team beat the hosting Vandals by one point. The very next night, the Cougars played in the championship against the No. 1 seed — the defending champions from Pana High School. The game went into overtime. The score was tied with 1.3 seconds left when, for the second night in a row, that same Cougar drained a baseline jumper. They won by two.
