Alphabetical
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April 05, 2014
Set:
As an amateur cyclist (very amateur), I just love the Tour de France. For 21 Stages in just 23 days, 180 of the most highly conditioned athletes ride 2,200 miles through some of the most beautiful countryside and grueling mountains in the world. It’s considered the “Super Bowl” of cycling, and it’s arguably one of the most physically, mentally and spiritually demanding events in all of sports. The riders average over 100 miles each day and burn over 130,000 calories! And while most of us would find it hard to drive a car thru the Alps, just imagine trying to do it on a bike.
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December 14, 2011
Set:
I play fantasy football with my friends. Although it’s not technically a sport, it is fun. Recently, a person offered to trade me two of his players for one of mine. His players were good, but I didn’t see them as great, so I battled about this trade, I looked at player stats, future projections and schedules to analyze this trade. In the end, I didn’t make it. Why? Because I was afraid! I was afraid that the players were not going to be as good as the one I had and that the two players would let me down. I had fear that my team wouldn’t be as good, and that if I traded that player I would lose the championship.
The next week the players he offered me scored a combined 40 points. My player scored 7. In hindsight it would have been a good trade.
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December 30, 2012
Set:
After hearing of the hardships and personal tragedies I’ve experienced, people often ask what made the difference in me. I faced many of the same temptations, distractions, and attractions that most teenagers face. I remember clearly my attempts to fit in and my struggle to process the hurt from the disappointments at home. But how? How did I survive those crucial years in which each day was saturated with decisions that could make or break me?
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August 09, 2010
Set:
To kick off the summer vacation, my youngest daughter and I went on a 20-mile, three-day back-packing trip. I have been on several trips, but this was her first. We were hiking a section of the Monadnock-Sunapee Trail and followed their guidebook and trail markers for the three days of hiking. By following their book, we found shelters or platforms on which to spend the night and we found plenty of water to pump into our water bottles.
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February 06, 2013
Set:
How could God be both human and divine at the same time? This is an impossible question to answer from a purely human perspective, but the Bible provides us with all the answers we need as the Holy Spirit applies it to our hearts and minds. Understanding great truths like the incarnation and the Trinity is impossible for us. We often try to find ways to explain what God is like, but our explanations are never complete since our minds cannot grasp how amazing God is.
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October 31, 2006
Set:
Things did not appear to be going in the right direction for the St. Louis Cardinals at the end of the 2006 regular season. They had lost nine of their last 12 games and had squeaked past the Astros to make the playoffs. "We might have limped a little," said infielder Aaron Miles, "but once we got into the playoffs we started sprinting." When no one gave them a chance, they turned things around at just the right time and "sprinted" past the Padres, Mets and Tigers to win their first World Series championship in 24 years.
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March 15, 2011
Set:
Are you busy? I bet you are! Games, practices, work, meetings and other important things consume our days. We get so busy we sometimes forget what is truly essential. Recently I have been reminded that there are two things I have been neglecting or forgetting to do for my family. And while I can build a great plan to succeed in life, if I'm not leading and caring for my family, emptiness will surely follow.
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March 07, 2008
Set:
While I sat by my computer on Wednesday, the FCA Daily Impact Play popped up. Every once in awhile FCA will rerun a devotion from the past if it still relates to the present. To my surprise, a devotion I had written two years ago resurfaced. And as I read what I had written, I immediately started to weep.
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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.
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April 24, 2010
Set:
Coaches challenge players to set goals, both for themselves and for the team. One way to reinforce this practice is by maintaining a written journal or list of expectations. The great Apostle Paul had goals, too, one of which appears in his letter to the church at Philippi. Paul’s goal was to know Jesus more. If we made Paul’s goal one for ourselves and our players, what would be the result? Would the daily challenges of our jobs, the pains of failed relationships, or the sorrows of daily tragedies seem as unendurable if we knew “the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings”?
