January 4, 2021 - The Guy Is Still A "Cupcake"!

Happy New Year Team… I had the privilege of sharing yesterday at Beach House Church in Daytona Beach Shores, FL; and I think I’ve been able to share there at least (3) 1^st-Sundays-of-the-year. I really believe that New Year’s is a perfect set-up for old coaches to share… 

The month of January is believed to be named after the god Janus… this is the two-headed statue or picture one sees that represents looking back and looking forward… From a New Year’s perspective, it allows for evaluation and for resolution; very similar to the purpose of why a coach goes through game film with a team… to evaluate and resolve/plan to improve. (This is something I have admitted many times that I hated as a player… it was much easier to just forget a bad game, or assume I was good in the game… much harder to face where I fell short… PRIDE IS THE ENEMY OF IMPROVEMENT!)

Romans 12:2 tells us to be “transformed by the renewing of your mind…” And therein lies the battle, it is not easy, or quick, changing one’s mind. That takes meditation on, hiding in the heart, studying, etc. (see Psalm 119… see 2 Timothy 2:15… etc.)

Yet, along with this Scriptural admonition for the mind to change, there are also challenges to change how one EATSs… you know the old phrase, “You are what you EAT!”

I have often quoted Bobby Knight who said, “everyone has the will to win, but few have the will to prepare to win.” And he was right, we mean well but change can be hard… it takes time!

There are many variables that are fairly easy to control in our resolutions…

Another old adage in basketball is that the legs are the first thing to go when a player is tired… this is not true, the mind is the first thing to go… when fatigue sets in, it begins by players getting stupid. Therefore, part of successfully carrying out a game plan (resolutions) is found in smart living beforehand…

As I was planning for this devo, the thing that popped in my mind was times as a player, or coach, when we had away games that required a stay at a hotel… inevitably some on the team would decide that being at a hotel meant the night should be spent laughing, playing games (or pranks), or whatever… everything but sleeping right… and the consequences would be dumb play the next day.

I thought of the guy that starts working out at the gym but maintains his cupcake diet… or the guy that gives up his cupcakes but fail to go the gym… the result is the same, the guy is still a “cupcake”!

Anyway, for sake of time, let me get to the New Year’s / New Game challenge: “It is hard to change how one thinks, but not hard to change how one EATs!”

·         Environment: it is easy to make choices on environment… some need the hardcore gym to be encouraged to workout… others need Planet Fitness and their “lunk alarm” to feel more at ease… but bottom line is to put ourselves in places for success.

·         Attractions/Attention: it is easy to change what you are watching/listening to… “junk food” is not just physical stuff but also mental junk! The old adage “GIGO” is a computer phrase that states if you put in Garbage In… you get Garbage Out!

·         Training (for transformation): it takes time to see gains… to transform the mind. We must commit to a steady diet of the Word of God!

Hebrews 12:1: “…let us lay aside every weight (“junk food”) and the sin (‘wrong technique”) that so easily ensnares us….”

This week I encourage you to prioritize how you EAT!