May 13, 2024 - SUCCESS (Opportune Time)

In my Total Player Academy basketball clinics, I often share a thought for the day. One of those thoughts centered on the number 86,400 and the player’s PBA… Personal Basketball Account. This is used as a reminder that time and effort are investments that you can draw from when game time comes. The more you put in, the more you have in the account.

I often talk of those that don’t have the will to prepare to win… those that want the destination (winner’s podium) without the journey (the blood sweat and tears.) I just saved a meme yesterday that read: “don’t be upset with the results you didn’t get with the work you didn’t do.” And recently saw one that quoted South Carolina women’s hoops coach Dawn Staley: “Problem is, ya’ll got Big League dreams with backyard work ethic. And your parents applaud it.”

So, it sounds like I am getting ready to talk all about investing more time in your game… and that very well may be needed. There are many natural athletes that are applauded by their parents and others for results in games instead of in the life lessons of investing in the future… and eventually those athletes will meet others that are as naturally talented BUT also had the right work ethic.

But the other concern is that there are some that take this to the wrong point of spending too much time. The reality is that IF YOU SACRIFICE YOUR STEWARDSHIP OF TIME… YOU WILL ALSO SACRIFICE YOUR RELATIONSHIP WITH WHOEVER OR WHATEVER YOU STOLE THAT TIME FROM!!!

I think of the corporate dad spending excessive time at work to close deals; stating is to provide the best for his family… only to lose said family because in order to make the extra money he stole time from them!

I remember many years ago talking to a pastor that was bragging about the amount of hours he spent with the church… he even bragged about the extra hours he put in driving the charter bus the church had for groups… he mentioned how he easily spent at time 75 hours a week there. And the whole time he told me this, I knew his family was in shambles.

The Scriptures are clear that being in ministry should be for guys that have a time agenda that allows for their houses to be in order. We often applaud folks that invest in programs and ignore people.

Just a few minutes ago I talked to a gentleman taking care of me at the hospital and we celebrated thart he was takin g off in time to get to his granddaughters dance. I applauded him and encouraged him t always invest his time wisely by giving hi best effort in the time set aside for the job… but not to sacrifice other areas of importance in doing so.

In the morning sow your seed. And in the evening do not withhold your hand. For you do not know which will prosper, either this or that. Or whether both alike will be good. Ecclesiastes 11:6

To everything there is a season, a time for every purpose under heaven. Ecclesiastes 3:1

I love the way The Message paraphrase this: There’s an opportune time to do things, a right time for everything on the earth.

SUCCESSFUL STEWARDING OF  YOUR TIME: MAXIMUM EFFORT AND ATTENTION DURING A PRESCRIBED TIME FRAME THAT DOESN’T STEAL FROM OTHER PRIORITIES.

May 6, 2024 - Final Few Frenetic Minutes

Got back to the house tonight and turned on a game that was in its final few frenetic minutes… the game had the teams exchanging leads… it was fitting as I had just typed myself a note yesterday for an  idea for this week’s Game Plan for Life… the note simply reads: Play like the team behind.

I was thinking about how games tend to look in their waning moments… where the team that is behind plays with a newfound urgency… (and at times the team ahead can flatten out to kill time and play with complacency.)

When playing with a sense of urgency there has to be an intensity on both offense and defense… yet there must also be good decisions being made. (I love sharing the old John Wooden quote to “be quick but don’t hurry.” Hurried is a frenetic state of mind…)

Well I could spend a lot of time discussing this but the point is to get to the mental mandate I found in The Playbook about urgency.

1 Peter 4:7 begins with a statement of certainty and of urgency: But the end of things is at hand;

The next word is “therefore”; this word is a word that simply means “these things being so…” and then gives the logical response.

The verse goes on to tell us what our mental state should be in these urgent end times: Be serious and watchful in your prayers.

In times of urgency we are not called to be frenetic but instead “serious and watchful”… or the idea of being of sound mind and sober or calm in spirit as we go to prayer!

Right now the call is to not panic but to pray!