Alphabetical
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June 07, 2010
Set:
As Christians, we are told over and over again that our bodies are the temples of the Lord, meaning that our physical bodies are the dwelling place of the Holy Spirit. First Corinthians 6:19-20 (NIV) says, “Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body.” It’s a truth that we should take seriously, and we should let it motivate us to care for our physical bodies, keeping them in good health. As athletes and coaches, we usually don’t have a problem with this since it’s part of our nature and our daily routine.
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May 18, 2009
Set:
Walking with God can sometimes become a puzzling and frustrating journey…if you let it. There are times when you want to ask God, “Why me?” when you are faced with adversity. But the real question should be: “Lord, what is my purpose in this trial?” If you start to wonder why God has allowed your obstacle, then you need to look back to His Word and find the answer.
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November 28, 2013
Set:
A Christian competitor is a thankful competitor. Every time you step onto the field of competition, your heart is exploding with thankfulness, because you are abundantly grateful for God’s blessings. You have a deep conviction that your gifts, talents and skills to play and to compete come from Him alone. You never take it for granted. Every stride, swing, shot, pass, goal and point is a response to God’s goodness. The way you compete is marked with, Thank you God, because you count all of God’s blessings in your life. You always show gratitude.
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March 19, 2004
Set:
Paul reminds me of a great basketball player of the mid-80's who played for the Atlanta Hawks: Spud Webb. For you young athletes out there, Spud Webb is a 5' 7" man who had dreams of playing in a "Big Man's League." Did he make it? Did he ever! He was quoted as saying, "No one expected or imagined that a person of my size could win a slam dunk contest or make it into the NBA."
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January 21, 2013
Set:
My dad loved to engage God daily and passionately challenged others to do so as well. It had not always been that way. Eighteen years ago he was an overcommitted businessman who would squeeze in a two-minute devotion in his car before running into his office. That changed when Brad Curl saw that my dad, who was on many ministry boards, was skimming with his devotions. To get his attention, Brad grabbed my dad and said, “Ed, stop playing with God. You are a Christian leader. Start diving into God’s Word and get serious! No more giving God leftovers!” That day marked my dad. No more two-minute devos! My dad’s life transformed as he feasted on God’s Word first thing every morning.
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January 01, 2009
Set:
Most historians believe that modern tennis emerged sometime around the mid-1850s and was based on a similar French game that was invented as far back as the twelfth century. Since that time, the sport has evolved at a rapid pace. From a greater emphasis on power to the size and consistency of the racquets—outside of the rules and prevailing etiquette—there isn’t much left today that resembles the original discipline. Maybe that’s why doubles tennis is so intriguing. There’s something about it that makes you wonder if that’s how the game used to look and feel—with a high value placed on serving and volleying, finesse and creativity.
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April 30, 2014
Set:
Have you ever experienced a critical game situation in which your coach said, “We are going to win the game on this possession.” Maybe your basketball coach saw a mismatch in the post or your football coach was confident that a post pattern would score a touchdown. And, sure enough, your team runs the play, and the coach’s call works exactly as planned.
Most likely, your coach knew that the play was going to work for that moment. It wasn’t for later in the game or even later in the season, but for that exact time and situation. Each player left the huddle with the utmost belief that it was going to work. According to the coach, the timing was perfect. They think, “Coach said it’s going to work, so it HAS to work.”
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May 09, 2010
Set:
Hockey Chat: April 22, 2008, four teams played hockey knowing that by the end of the night, only two of those teams would be going on to the next level. It was time to shine and give it all. There is no “next game” to fall back on. Time to show the true spirit. It was two “Game Sevens”. San Jose and Philadelphia advance to the next round and for Calgary and Washington, the season was over.
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January 12, 2012
Set:
I was twenty-one years old, and I had just graduated from The Ohio State University, having majored in education. I arrived as a new teacher and coach at River View high school near Warsaw, Ohio, in 1974. There I met Andy Duda, the varsity football coach. I noticed initially that he was a physically strong man, and I learned very soon that he was also spiritually strong. Any player on Andy’s team knew that we acted like men, we worked hard, and we never used profanity. Andy taught those values to his players and modeled them to everyone.
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January 11, 2011
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.
