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Devotional
February 03, 2010
Set:
This weekend, New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees will lead his team onto the field to take on the Indianapolis Colts in Super Bowl XLIV. In a recent interview with FCA’s Sharing the Victory magazine, Brees talked about faith lessons from the field.
Today, the Daily Impact Play will feature part two of Sharing the Victory’s four-part video study series based on the interview. Click the video link below to watch the clip and then answer the questions. Finish by reading the related Scripture and asking God to work in your heart as a result of what you’ve learned.
Watch the video
Devotional
December 01, 2006
Set:
On Tuesday, November 20, five-time Olympic champion Ian Thorpe retired from competitive swimming at the age of 24. He said that breaking records "wasn't as inspiring as it should have been." As a teenager, Thorpe splashed into the swimming scene and swam to 13 world records between 1999 and 2002, and he became an international star after dominating at the Sydney Olympics.
Devotional
September 10, 2010
Set:
Hockey Lesson: In our recreational games, sometimes we’re on the receiving end of a stinging wack or some harsh words. You have two choices. First forget that you came there to play hockey, let rage overtake reason, and go after the guy. Or second, remember all the wacks and words that you’ve dished out in the past and got away with, and play on. The choice of what to do is totally yours, but the reactions for your actions (fighting, getting hurt much worse, ejected from the game) are not.
Devotional
November 01, 2008
Set:
There had not been an undefeated Kentucky Derby winner since Seattle Slew did it in 1977. Fans watching the 2004 Kentucky Derby saw a Pennsylvania-bred horse named Smarty Jones, with a trainer and a jockey who were both rookies, end the 27-year drought by winning the race, running the horse’s record to 7–0. Jockey Stewart Elliott later said:
"It is just unbelievable. We bunched up a bit on the first turn but things turned out great. It was a good trip. I crossed the wire and I can’t explain it; there aren’t words to describe it. At the three-eighths pole, I knew I had a loaded gun underneath me. I was just going to sit until he straightened up and switched leads. He really went to running."
Devotional
September 16, 2008
Set:
During this past off season NFL quarterback Brett Favre found himself in the middle of a sports controversy. As the events played out regarding Farve and the personnel of the Green Bay Packers, it became apparent that Favre harbored some hurt feelings and resentment toward his former team.
Sometimes we can be offended by what someone asks us to do or by what they say to us. How are we to respond in times like these? Well, as I watched Brett Favre hurl a bomb downfield to a speeding receiver this weekend, I gained a little more understanding of what God wants us to do in these situations.
Devotional
July 16, 2009
Set:
Coach Scott was a great offensive line football coach. As a 10-year-old aspiring right guard, I learned from him the basics to being a great blocker: elbows up and out with hands tucked in. It was the “old school” way to block, which didn’t involve the use of hands—just stick your elbows way out so the defensive player couldn’t get by. For me, a good game required making sure no one ever got around me and never got a tackle. Not exactly a simple job. It took an incredible amount of work and effort to keep others from advancing toward the ball.
Devotional
February 09, 2010
Set:
We all have times when we feel unmotivated to do our work. It’s not that we don’t love coaching, or the athletes, or the sport, but we do get discouraged by what often seems like a fruitless and tedious process. We feel burdened by the monotony of working, and this detracts from the joy that Jesus Christ gave us.
Devotional
July 30, 2009
Set:
The life of a young person today is much different than it was 10-20 years ago. But as our campers share this week with their Huddle Leaders, it is obvious that the same problems are still there and are big as ever. Trying to figure out what life to live proves to be troublesome for many of them.
Devotional
December 07, 2009
Set:
At the beginning of this soccer season, we had a good combination of experienced/inexperienced starters and substitutes. I thought we were right where we needed to be. We jumped out to a 3-0 record. But then we lost a key forward due to a broken leg, and, two weeks later, our leading scorer broke his ankle. Fortunately, my players took it upon themselves to step it up. The bad thing was that each player did what he thought the team needed. They stopped listening to coaching instruction, stopped playing as a team and relied on their own individual talents. The season started to fall apart, and they found themselves at 3-4. It was time to rally the troops!
Devotional
December 31, 2007
Set:
Every new year my wife buys me a running journal. It's a great little book that allows me to log in my weekly mileage, my times and even the weather conditions. If you were to glance through my book you would learn that it tells a story about me.
Three years ago I was in great shape, and the pages of that journal reflected that in all of the entries. Nearly every page was full. Last year's journal, however, told a different story. Many of the pages were empty, and they revealed my decline in fitness.
Devotional
September 10, 2010
Set:
Hockey Chat: There is a term in hockey known as being “back on your heels”. It means to be playing lazily and timidly. Hockey is not a game for the weak hearted because it takes desire to want the puck, strength to work and win board battles, and clear mindedness to know the right plays to make.
Devotional
December 23, 2010
Set:
There are mornings when we awaken with a heavy schedule bearing down upon us. When that happens, we are tempted to skip prayer and Bible reading and head right into our work. However, the very opposite response is really what we need. When we are feeling pressured by our schedules, that is the very time when we ought to pause and pray. The more we have going on in our lives, the more we need God to give us wisdom to accomplish one task at a time. It’s comforting to know that God cares about every aspect of our lives.
Devotional
November 01, 2008
Set:
A recent study reports that only 6 percent of teens today believe that moral truth is absolute. I knew it wouldn’t be high, but that’s really low. Not good. Young people today are basically saying that life is a sliding scale. Truth has become relative because it all depends on the situation.
In the world of athletics, there are many truths that cannot be relative, such as wins and losses. Imagine if every athlete defined winning differently—one by score, one by hustle, one by the best fans, and so on. It would be chaos! Fortunately—or unfortunately—winning is defined by the scoreboard. Life without truths, absolutes and boundaries leads to chaos.
Devotional
July 22, 2010
Set:
In sixteen years as the coach of the Boston Celtics, Red Auerbach guided his team to nine NBA championships. He retired after the 1966 season as the winningest coach in NBA history with 938 wins. While his teams had some great players, they were characterized more by their team play, which included a new concept of using role players. According to Auerback, a role player is one who “willingly undertakes the thankless job that has to be done in order to make the whole package fly.”
Devotional
February 06, 2008
Set:
As Christians, our ultimate purpose on earth is twofold: to bring honor and glory to our Lord and Savior, and to share His goodness and love with others. So often we forget that people are watching us and that God has commanded that we be a light to a lost and dying world. When I think of “letting my light shine,” I think of three ways that, as a coach and Christian man, I try to do that every day.
Devotional
February 13, 2012
Set:
So much in sports is related to the eyes. A ball is dropped because a player takes her eyes off the ball at the last minute. A batter misses the pitch because he fails to keep his eye on the ball. As a coach you’ve likely cautioned your players, “Keep your head up,” so that an athlete will look at the right thing in order to avoid injury and be most effective.
Devotional
September 10, 2010
Set:
Hockey Chat: Knowing what to count on from your line mates also helps them to know what to count on from you. You’ve probably seen guys that work great together and always seem to be in the right place. That’s because the treat their linemate as an extension of themselves by being where they are needed and making the play happen knowing that others will be there too.
Devotional
September 10, 2010
Set:
Hockey Chat: The game of hockey takes both aggressive work and smooth moves. To be too aggressive all the time will get you in the penalty box. Trying to be too smooth and passive all the time will just plain land you on your backside when you get into a battle. There are plays that call for the moves and plays that take extra hustle. It’s important to be ready for both.
Devotional
September 03, 2010
Set:
Hockey Chat: With each earnest effort on the ice, we get better. Skating gets you down the ice. Stick handling helps you get the puck down the ice. Shooting helps you get the puck in the goal. One builds on the other. A good work ethic in each area will build you up for the next skill to keep you playing good all around.
Devotional
September 04, 2010
Set:
It’s the start of practice. Everyone has high hopes, goals, and expectations for the upcoming season. As Christians, the biggest goals are the ones God has for us as coaches and the athletes He has entrusted to our care.
God has created each one of our team members, the coaching staff, parents, and all those connected with our programs. Twice in the verses above we are reminded of Jesus’ work in creating all things. In fact, today’s passage tells us that all things were created not only by Him, but also for Him. He also promises to hold thing—all things—together. This may not mean victory, or lack of challenges, but things will be held together to accomplish His perfect plan and will in our lives and in the lives of those around us.
Devotional
January 29, 2008
Set:
Team Hoyt has completed 216 triathlons, 65 marathons, 718.6 milers and 81 half marathons. The team consists of a father and a son, Rick and Dick Hoyt. For 25 years, Dick (age 65) has been racing with his son Rick (age 45). People do this stuff all the time though right? What makes their story so amazing?
Rick Hoyt was born with his umbilical cord caught around his neck, causing the oxygen supply to his brain to be blocked. At eight months, Rick was labeled as a quadriplegic with cerebral palsy. Doctors told Mr. and Mrs. Hoyt that their son would never live a normal life; but they were determined to prove them wrong.
Devotional
March 23, 2010
Set:
Is it possible that one man could have changed Mike Tyson’s problem-filled boxing career? Tyson believes his former trainer, mentor, and legal guardian Cus D’Amato, who died before he won the title in 1986, would have changed things. Tyson said, “It would have been totally different. Cus once told me, ‘You’re the kind of person who has to get hurt to learn.’ I didn’t understand he was talking about life…in the fight of life I am a pug, a palooka [a second-rate prize fighter].”
Devotional
October 27, 2009
Set:
Most sports have a playbook or a set of rules to follow for their program. This book tells how things will be done on and off the field for success in the system. A player, if he or she follows these guidelines, should have success in the system. I recently heard one coach refer to his playbook as his “bible.” Obviously, he highly values the book.
Devotional
March 28, 2007
Set:
For the first time ever, NASCAR rolled out its "Car of Tomorrow" in a race, the 2007 Food City 500 in Bristol, Tenn. One of the biggest critics of the car, Kyle Busch, took home the checkered flag thanks to the courteous driving by second-place finisher, Jeff Burton. "My mother always told me to do unto other people the way you want them to do you," Burton said. "I could have used the bumper to move him out of the way and win the race, but I didn't want to. If you can't pass him without knocking him out of the way, do the best you can."
Devotional
September 10, 2010
Set:
Hockey Chat: Have you ever tried to skate with your hockey pants around your ankles. It doesn’t work. It’s happened before to Marc Savard when during a game in Calgary when his belt broke. When your belt fails, the essential protection in your hockey pants doesn’t do much good slipping down your legs will you’re trying to skate. Little strap of fabric has a very important purpose.