January 30, 2017 - How Good Could I Have Been?

We live in a culture that loves the phrase “no regrets”; yet with much of culture it is an excuse to do things that unfortunately they may end up regretting when older… Yet I do think it is important to live life with a proper “no regrets” attitude.

As a washed up old athlete I have many. As I look back to my younger days I wish I would have worked harder and smarter on my basketball game. I had a decent amount of success going on natural ability (motor skills and athleticism) and simply playing a ton of pick-up ball… but a very small window of my development was committed to serious skills and physical training. It makes me still question how good I could have been? It makes me realize I wasn’t near as committed as I thought I was at the time… I look back and realize I blew it… I was a stupid, arrogant kid! (Does that sound harsh?)

As a believer, I want to live without regrets as well. I know there are times when I slack on my quiet time or prayer time… or maybe miss (or even skip) an opportunity to serve someone. Those things lead to regret!

Proverbs 30 shares about another who had regrets, Agur the son of Jakeh. He had apparently realized as he got older that he had ignored the things of the Lord that were being taught to him. And in verse 2 he claims, “Surely I am more stupid than any many, and do not have the understanding of a man.” (Does that sound harsh?) He goes on to share that he was starting to get a grasp of how incredible God is, but he definitely had regrets.

All of this to challenge us this week to make sure we are getting to know the Lord more (gaining wisdom) and looking for opportunities to serve Him more by serving others. It is time to truly look at our commitment levels! Are we difference-makers? Let’s not be stupid…

January 23, 2017 - Looking Up!

Watching a 5^th and 6^th grade girls’ basketball game is exciting (especially when you have a girl on the team!) The reason I say it is exciting is because from a coach/parent perspective it is great to see the improvement from game to game and the absolute joy of playing on their faces… (and I must admit I love watching my 6^th grader get after it! She has a lot of work to do on her skill sets but no one could ever fault her effort in getting after the ball… a true difference maker!)

In tonight’s game our girls won primarily because of a discipline Coach Jon is instilling in them… looking up! Learning to get one’s eyes off of one’s own feet and the immediate surroundings and look ahead to see one’s teammates. It was amazing how many of our points/opportunities came out of this discipline. And it may sound like an obvious thing but if you have watched very much kids’ hoops you would know that most dribble looking down at the ball and seldom see in front of themselves.

Our Christian walk should be the same way… we need to get our eyes off of ourselves and look for our teammates to give them an assist! I know I write about this often but it is truly the core of Christian living… intentional serving… looking up!

Paul was so  serious about it that in 1 Corinthians 13 he devotes time to describe those that can seemingly do great Christian things but explains that if they don’t have love/charity they are NOTHING!

Take time to read the love chapter today!

Take time to intentionally serve someone today… get after it… be a difference maker!

Looking Up!

Go MAD!

January 16, 2017 - I Love My Team!

Whenever I am reading Paul’s epistles I can’t help but notice how connected he was to the church; he absolutely adored them and seems to find himself constantly longing to see them and minister to them. I know for me it has been coming out while facing this sickness and finding myself having days that I don’t even feel the strength to go outside…

I’m missing my students… missing our Arena family… missing my “greedy girls” basketball teams… etc. To be honest I am going stir crazy and desperately could use more prayer for strength to get back in the saddle teaching.

Bottom line is, are you truly a part of something bigger than yourself? (1 Thessalonians 2:17-20) We are shown throughout Scripture that we are called to part of a team… be a member of a family… part of a body… on mission with others.

 I love my team and can’t wait to get back into the mix! Do you love your team? If you are missing out on the bonds of community found in the church, it is time to prioritize…

 

 

January 9, 2017 - Coachable.... Simple

As I spent some time in Proverbs 9 today something jumped out at me like it never has before… the attitude of a coachable player. Proverbs 9 deals with the value and importance of gaining wisdom and her call.

In sports I have encountered players at times that thought they knew it all… and came to practice without a coachable attitude. In fact, I even had a player at one point tell me he didn’t want to do what I was asking as a coach because he didn’t think it would help… Can you imagine a high school player with the kind of hutzpah?

What God ask of is to realize that compared to Him (wisdom) we are simple… we need to hear from Him on a regular basis. Some of you do not spend daily time with God (and to be honest I am not as faithful as I should be.) But we are a simple peole that needs regular “coaching” in order to grow as players in the game of life. A coachable mind is a simple mind…

“Whoever is simple let him turn in here.!... Forsake foolishness and live.” Proverbs 9:4a and 6

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Enjoying some football this evening and again realized, like last week, that my days are all messed up… it helps to know it is Monday when one writes weekly Monday devotions. (But I’m just saying a day full of college football doesn’t feel like football,)

Part of the process of staying on task in the midst of hectic times is to not forget the basics (fundamentals.) I write often about the importance of fundamentals (“the anchor that holds in the midst of the storm.”)

Right now I get to watch a lot of early-season basketball and the earlier parts of the games can be quite fun to watch, at least until someone finds a little success; then as the season goes on the teams that can maintain fundamental discipline begin rising to the top of the standings.

So simple devotional resolution for you this week… get back to the basics (reading the Word and obeying it, prayer, serving others, etc.)

Proverbs 2:1-11 reminds one to “incline your ear to wisdom”; “seek (understanding) as silver”; “apply you heart to understanding”; etc.

Yet from vs 12 on it also mingles the truths of those that find a little “success” and start forgetting the basic truths of life.

Stay wise my friends!