Let’s have a winning record!
Theme: Let’s have a winning record!
Verse: Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible. (Matthew 19:26)
In August 1977, about 30 members of the Crystal City Hornet football team got the season-opening remarks from coaches Dick Cook and Rodney Mills. It had been a few years since the Hornets had finished the year with a winning record, so the coaches provided a team goal to finish in the upper half of the conference standings. As the smallest school in the county, it seemed like a daunting task.
But Coach Cook and Coach Mills knew what they were doing. They had given the team a challenge that would stretch us beyond our expectations. Sure enough, three months later we finished at 6-4 and in third place (out of 9). Most importantly, we beat the crosstown rival, the Festus Tigers, a year after they stole a victory from us (but that’s a story for another day).
The beauty of this goal was it kept us focused throughout the year. Unlike college football where a single defeat for most teams can ruin any hope of a getting in the playoff for the national championship, we could focus on the whole season. One little setback didn’t derail us.
We need focused goals in our lives. Many times, those can be found in a Mission Statement. Our church has a simple to remember, but POWERFUL, mission statement that applies to everyone in the Christian faith.
MAKE MORE AND BETTER FOLLOWERS OF JESUS. It does not get much simpler than that. If someone is not a believer, let’s bring them into the fold. If they are a believer, help them become more like Jesus.
If you try to do that every day, you will finish with a winning record!
Have a GREAT week!
Adapted from True Competitor by Dan Britton and Jimmy Page
No Pain, No Gain
Theme: No Pain, No Gain
Verse: For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us. (Romans 8:18)
When athletes train one of the common adages heard is “No Pain, No Gain.” It’s great motivation to do an extra set of weights, or run another mile on the trail. But can the same motivational saying be applied to the rest of our lives?
Answer, Sure!
If we want to grow SPIRITUALLY, our faith must be tested. We need to engage in situations in which we must depend on God instead of our own strength. In short, we need to get out of our comfort zone and really dig into His word.
If we want to grow RELATIONALLY, we need to consider others before ourselves. Put aside our selfishness and lay down our pride. We must extend forgiveness when harboring resentment may be the easier path.
If we want to grow MENTALLY, we must seek new learning experiences and engage with others who know more than we do (for me, FINALLY there is something on the list that’s easy to find). Seek out those experts and find out not only what they know but find out how they think.
If we want to grow EMOTIONALLY, we need to experience what others are feeling. That is, “walk in their shoes” before rushing to judgment or to “SOLVE” their problems.
The Apostle Paul did all these things. In Romans he said that no matter what present suffering he endured (and he endured plenty), it was not worth comparing to the glory that all believers will experience because of Christ’s suffering on the cross.
God will walk with us through our pain. We just need to stay in the game. Push beyond your perceived capabilities and let God help you grow to be everything He intended.
Have a GREAT week!
Adapted from True Competitor by Dan Britton and Jimmy Page
Let’s Have a LONG word of Prayer
Theme: Let’s Have a LONG word of Prayer
Verse: Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you (1 Thessalonians 5: 16-18)
We’ve heard it a thousand times. It goes something like this “Let’s have a QUICK word of prayer.” It usually comes at the start of a church meeting, a big sporting event, or before we sit down for a meal. The message is, let’s get this obligatory prayer out of the way so we can get on to the “IMPORTANT” event that is before us.
What is prayer, really? Is it the bowing of our heads and reciting words we barely think about OR is it communication with God?
If prayer is communication with God, then shouldn’t our lives be one continuous prayer? Should it not be the driving force in our lives?
Communication is a two-way street. Part of prayer is our words TO God; but the other part of prayer (and probably the more important part) should be listening to what is coming FROM God; what He is telling us!
Our prayer time should be intentional, patient, and purposeful. It should not be something we rush through to get to the next order of business.
So, the next time you are tempted to have a QUICK word of prayer, know that all you are really doing is changing the form of the communication with God. Quick Prayer or Long Prayer, He hears you either way.
But do you hear Him?
Have a GREAT week!
Adapted from True Competitor by Dan Britton and Jimmy Page
The People in your Neighborhood
Theme: The People in your Neighborhood.
Verse: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself” (Matthew 22:39)
It’s been quite a couple of weeks in Florida. In case you were on a trip to Antarctica or something like that, we’ve had a couple of hurricanes blow through the Tampa area. The recovery from Helene and Milton is on-going as I write this. Hundreds of thousands of homes are still without power and thousands have big recovery efforts in front of them.
But in my microcosm of the world, the hurricane aftermath revealed something about the human spirit that inspired this missive.
On Thursday morning, I woke to see what Milton had brought. As the sun rose, people emerged from their homes and began cleaning their yards. But soon I noticed something. After cleaning their own yards some of my neighbors went to the next house and cleaned that lawn as well because they knew the family had evacuated, or the residents were elderly or infirmed. As the phenomenon of “doing of little extra” became evident, it became the norm. Dozens of families were going the extra mile. It became almost a competition between the sides of the street. Who could get their side done faster?
In about 5 hours, the neighborhood looked like nothing had happened (but for the bags of debris neatly piled by the curb). The road and sidewalks were clear! I know it wasn’t the biggest of deals in the recovery effort, but it was inspiring to see neighbors helping neighbors rake debris, cut limbs, sweep paths, and get life back to some sort of normalcy.
That’s all being a neighbor is. Giving a little extra when you are able. Show some kindness to your fellow man. That’s what God asks of us is to “Love our Neighbor as Ourselves. (Matthew 22:39)”
My salute to the Remington neighborhood in Lake St. Charles, Riverview, FL. You may not have known it, but you were putting God’s Love on display by exemplifying what being a neighbor is all about.
Have a GREAT week!
Who’s on your Dream Team?
Theme: Who’s on your Dream Team?
Verse: Therefore encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing. (1 Thessalonians 5:11)
When Coach Herb Brooks, 1980 Olympics U.S. Men’s hockey coach, presented his proposed team to his staff he got a little surprised reaction. His assistant remarked that Coach Brooks had left some of the best players in the country off of the team. Coach Brooks response was, “I’m not looking for the BEST players, I’m looking for the RIGHT ones.” Those players may not have been the best individual players, but as a group, they were the best for the assignment at hand.
Jesus created His team of 12 disciples in a similar fashion. The 12 were not the great religious scholars of the day or those who might otherwise be regarded as “the best players of the day”. No, these were men who worked “regular” jobs; fishermen, a tax collector, and even political activist and certainly not widely regarded as a set of perfect people. But this group of regular Joes, Jesus’s Dream Team if you will, embarked on a journey that would change the world.
If Jesus needed a Dream Team around him, who are we to think we can navigate this world without similar support? We all need our own Dream Team around us. A small, inner circle that can support us in areas where we are lacking, or to be there to pick us up when we fall. We need them at our jobs, in our workout groups, and certainly in our spiritual lives.
It’s probably worth looking around your life and examining what our inner circle looks like. Is it a Dream Team? If not, what changes do you need to get not the BEST people, but the RIGHT people on-board.
Have a GREAT week!
Adapted from True Competitor by Dan Britton and Jimmy Page
Who’s on the Front of your Jersey?
Theme: Who’s on the Front of your Jersey?
Verse: For as in one body, we have many members, and the members do not all have the same function, so we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another. (Romans 12: 4-5)
I’m a big baseball fan. When asked which team I cheer for, I have a standard answer. My top two are the St. Louis Cardinals (as I grew up there) and the Tampa Bay Rays (as that is where I now live). The third team I cheer for consistently is whichever team happens to be playing the New York Yankees that day.
As much as I cheer for the Yankees to lose, I do respect one aspect of their team culture. Did you ever notice the Yankees do not have names on the back of their jerseys? Why, you ask? It’s not because they ran out of thread to stitch the names on the back and I don’t think it is because they can’t spell their own last names. It is because the culture insists they play for the team rather than themselves.
It’s probably not a coincidence, then, the Evil Empire has won 27 World Championships, seven more than the next two teams on the list combined (The Cardinals being #2 with 11 and the Red Sox and A’s tied, each with 9).
Playing for the team means sacrificing our own ego and doing what is right for the group. We represent a group in many things we do. It might be our school, our city, our country, our business, or even religious affiliation.
Yes, when people identify us as Christians, we have put on the jersey that has Jesus’s name on the front. We are doing whatever our activity is in His name. It is often easy to forget this and become prideful trying to take the podium and glory for ourselves.
There is no room for ego when we compete in the name of Jesus. After all, He did more for others than we can over do. No, when we compete, we need to accept responsibility when we err and give credit to others for their part in helping us win. The world needs to see something different in us when we compete.
If we always think of the front of the jersey instead of the back, it will help us become the “New York Yankees” of whatever competition we are engaged in.
Have a GREAT week!
Adapted from True Competitor by Dan Britton and Jimmy Page
The Triple Threat
Theme: The Triple Threat
Quote: “Run it Up, Herman! Leave no Doubt!” (Coach Bill Yoast in “Remember the Titans”)
Coach Jack Lengyel, while lamenting about the challenges of rebuilding the Marshall University Thundering Herd football team after the tragic November 1970 crash, asks his staff, “What is the simplest offense you have ever run and actually won a football game?” His one holdover coach, Red Dawson, offered the Veer, which is a version of the triple option. This offensive scheme keeps defenses, that otherwise are overwhelming, guessing what is coming next giving the smaller (and probably slower) offenses a fighting chance.
Like the 1971 version of the Thundering Herd, in our spiritual life we face an opponent (Satan) that can be overwhelming. We need a version of the triple option to keep Satan from leveraging his advantages.
What is our Triple Threat? BE, PRAY, GIVE
Option #1 (Handoff to the Fullback): BE Joyful Always. Joy is different than happiness. Happiness can be obtained from external sources, buying new shoes, eating our favorite meal, or watching an entertaining movie. But JOY fills our heart so there is no extra room for external factors that Satan might throw at us to infiltrate. Have you even seen the Fullback after he actually gets to run the ball? Even if he gains only 3-4 yards, he has a grin that goes from ear to ear. That is what pure joy should look like in each one of us.
Option #2 (Quarterback runs the ball): PRAY continuously. Prayer is essentially communication with God. It’s not a wish list of requests or a report on our recent activity. Think of prayer as a time of discovery in which God has the opportunity to reveal things to you because you are paying attention and ready to receive. Just like a quarterback that can run the ball is dangerous to a football defense, prayer makes Satan very nervous. An army of prayer warriors can throw Satan off balance allowing us to gain a lot of yardage.
Option #3 (Toss it to the Tailback): GIVE thanks in all circumstances. This means using our exchanges with people to build them up, not tear them down. Our words (spoken and written) when used for healing is a great threat to Satan. Using positive words is like the quarterback bringing the ball down the line as the tailback shadows him. Eventually the defense runs out of players and the final option, the Tailback, often has a clear path for a huge gain (and many times a touchdown).
Try it! Use the triple option as your playbook to keep Satan off balance and run the score up on him.
Have a GREAT week!
Adapted from True Competitor by Dan Britton and Jimmy Page
Mile 24
Theme: Mile 24
Verse: By faith Noah, being warned by God about things not yet seen, in reverence prepared an ark for the salvation of his household. (Hebrews 11:7)
I’ve run hundreds of races over the years, everything from one milers to full marathons. Each one was the fun part of the running experience as it was the culmination of a training period in which lots of time and miles were dedicated to race day success.
On race day, you can only go with the preparation accomplished to that point. Coaches often refer to this as “Hay is in the Barn” which means the work has been completed.
In our spiritual lives what does “Hay in the Barn” look like?
Proverbs tells us to store up His Commands. Diving into His Word by spending time there regularly is a great way to do just that. Our routine ventures into the Word are to our spiritual journey just as training runs are to marathon (or whatever race) preparation. They are investments in the FUTURE rather than the present.
It might be easy to go through the motions during training, but doing so will show up on race day. When you get to Mile 24 (or 12 on the half marathon), it will become apparent to all if you have put forth the necessary training effort. It’s no fun being on the wrong side of that. Similarly, in our spiritual lives, you don’t want to get to “Mile 24” only to wish you has spent adequate time with Jesus and in the Word.
Examine yourself and assess how you will feel at your “Mile 24”? Will you have energy in the tank to finish the race strong?
Make the investment! Put sufficient “Hay in the Barn.” Your future depends on it.
Adapted from True Competitor by Dan Britton and Jimmy Page
The Right Prize
Theme: The Right Prize
Verse: I have fought the good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith. (2 Timothy 4: 7)
Athletes find themselves in constant pursuit of a trophy, a championship, A RING. These are earthly symbols of accomplishment.
In our sports entertainment dominated world, there are several symbols of championships: the Gold Medal in Olympic competition, the Green Jacket as the Masters golf champion, the Lombardi Trophy for the NFL champion, and the Commissioner’s Cup for the in-season WNBA tournament are all symbol of sports accomplishments. While these are great in the moment, in each case another season comes along and these championship symbols, at some point, move on to another team or individual.
So what trophies are we pursuing? Are they trophies that have everlasting value?
In the Bible, Paul was a competitor, just like each of us. When he came to understand the sacrifice of Christ, he knew THAT PRIZE was better than any he could earn himself. He had discovered the right prize, one that had everlasting impact.
Knowing Jesus and being on a life-long pursuit of becoming more like Him is only prize worth pursuing with our whole heart. When we know Him and experience His love, we are truly satisfied.
And that is a trophy that can never be taken away!
Have an AWESOME Week!
Adapted from True Competitor by Dan Britton and Jimmy Page
Perfection or Excellence
Theme: Perfection or Excellence
Thought for the week: Integrity First, Service before Self, and Excellence in all we do! (US Air Force Core Values)
Practice makes Perfect! Those of us that are pushing (or past) Social Security eligibility age, have heard it a million times. Seems like solid advice. But what if you are practicing something wrong? All practice does, in that case, is make things permanently wrong instead of perfect.
Maybe it’s better to do things right. That is, whatever we do, do it with excellence instead of seeking perfection.
Perfection is an impossible standard. It can be frustrating and, in the end, a tremendous waste of time. Excellence, however, is an achievable standard that can be gratifying and healthy.
Excellence is doing the best we can within our own God given abilities. That allows for each of us to attain the standard regardless of our role in life. Excellence is always attainable.
That does not imply we get a pass from working hard. We can’t simply say that’s good enough because that’s all God has allowed me to do. Excellence always involves some level of sacrifice to reach the level God put within our grasp.
Legendary basketball coach John Wooden, winner of 7 straight and 10 of 12 national championship said, “There is no substitute for hard work. If you’re looking for the easy way, if you’re looking for the trick, you might get by for a while, but you will not be developing the talents that lie within you. There is simply no substitute for work.”
There you have it. There is no substitute for hard work when it comes to achieving excellence. The good news is it is always within our grasp!
Have an AWESOME Week!
Adapted from True Competitor by Dan Britton and Jimmy Page
No Risk, no Reward! Know Risk, Know Reward!
Theme: No Risk, no Reward! Know Risk, Know Reward!
Verse: So, He said, ‘Come.’ And when Peter had come down out of the boat, he walked on the water to go to Jesus. (Matthew 14:29)
In sports we often see teams and individuals “playing not to lose” vs. “playing to win.” (Yes, there is a difference!)
Playing “not to lose” is where you take no risk what-so-ever whereas playing “to win” leads to the occasional mistake while playing with total confidence in the eventual outcome. I don’t know what the actual stats are, but it seems like when a team or person plays “not to lose” they often do just that, LOSE. The opponent senses fear or apprehension which in turn provides the opponent with extra confidence to post the victory.
The best coaches do not punish players for making hustle mistakes. They know that taking some risk will expand the players’ abilities allowing them to reach their full potential. God acts in the same way.
So, when it comes to our faith walk, let’s not be afraid to step out boldly. “Playing to win” is how God wired us. As Christians, He wants us to boldly take risks as He fills and leads us. He will do GREAT things in and through us.
Have an AWESOME Week!
Adapted from True Competitor by Dan Britton and Jimmy Page
If you want to be GREAT …
Theme: If you want to be GREAT …
Verse: Whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant (Matthew 20:26)
Metrics are sweeping the American sports world. There seems to be a stat for everything. All have their place helping sports executives evaluate talent, but if we are going to be honest the average baseball fan can’t distinguish between an OPS and WHIP. (Go ahead, I’ll wait while you look those up on your favorite search engine.)
The movie “Trouble with the Curve” has a character that is a high-level MLB prospect who is pretty full of himself. With that status, he falls into all the traps that stardom offers. Meanwhile, there are others in the star’s orbit that take a different path just to be around the baseball diamond. One is the person portrayed by Clint Eastwood. He is an old-time baseball scout that, let’s just say, has lost his fastball over the years. He must rely on his experience to serve the ball clubs he scouts for AND convince the baseball executives that he knows what he is talking about even though the newfangled metrics indicate otherwise. But he loves the game and is willing to serve in this role to help make the game better.
Without ruining the movie, I’ll just say there are several other stories of servant behavior that provide good lessons for each of us.
Jesus was the ultimate servant leader. Time after time, the Bible cites instances where He humbles himself to the role of servant shunning the spotlight a KING rightly deserves. Check out Mark 10: 43-45 (Jesus did not come to BE served, but to serve) or John 13: 4-15 (Jesus washing the disciples’ feet). They are two really good ones to read.
Serving out of humility produces greatness! There is no other road. If you want to be great, be a servant!
Have an AWESOME Week!
Adapted from True Competitor by Dan Britton and Jimmy Page
Strive Together
Theme: Strive Together
Verse: Do nothing from rivalry or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. (Philippians 2: 3-4)
Around Labor Day baseball fans in cities with teams still in contention for the playoffs will spend a good amount of their baseball viewing time watching the out-of-town scoreboard. (Note: Those of you on the South Side of Chicago, Denver, or Miami, that would NOT be you this year.) Fans, and sometimes players, will be looking to see what the teams in contention with them are doing. It’s an interesting time of the season and according to my friend, Alfonso, when the MLB season should start. (Alfonso’s lament: “Come on, man! There are too many games.”)
Competition is healthy. It motivates those involved to perform better than they would if left to themselves. It’s how world records are achieved, new inventions are developed, and breakthroughs in medicine are discovered.
There are two types of competition. The first is the most commonly thought of; that is to defeat an opponent in score, skill, or combat. If this is the only way we look at competition, that can lead to an unhealthy attitude towards others. It assumes a finite pie, a “We-Win, You-Lose” view of the world.
The other way is to go to the origin of the word. In Latin, the word “competere” means "to walk along side of, for two or more to work together to bring another along OR to strive together”. Using that view, we elevate each other to higher levels of participation, skill development, and effectiveness. (If that sounds like Small Groups at church or workout partners at the gym, I don’t think that is a coincidence.)
There are some classic movie scenes in which characters play Ping-Pong by themselves (Forrest Gump and The Longest Yard (2005 version) come to mind). The scenes are funny, but they make a good point. Life done without healthy competition can be a very boring existence where nothing ever changes or improves. That is not what God intended for us.
Let’s take the second view of competition (TO STRIVE TOGETHER) and use our skills and talents to elevate others. That may mean we elevate them beyond our achievement level and that is ok. When we come along side others and raise them up, the whole community wins.
Have a GREAT Week!
Adapted from True Competitor by Dan Britton and Jimmy Page
Are you a Sponge or a Mirror?
Theme: Are you a Sponge or a Mirror?
“Let the competition begin. Let the glory be God’s.” (From the Fellowship of Christian Athletes creed)
When we compete, there is plenty of opportunity to take glory in our accomplishments. Fans, teammates, family are always there to heap praise on us for our achievements. It becomes easy for us to get caught up in grabbing for glory in all the things we do, trying to soak it up as if we were a sponge.
The truth is God transacts His glory through each one of us every day. Just like in sports, it becomes easy to soak in God’s glory as our own as those around us are quick to praise us. It doesn’t take long to forget that God works through us and start to believe the narrative the world writes for us. The sponge seems able to absorb a little bit more each day.
But what if we acted more like a mirror instead of sponge? As a mirror we would reflect the glory back at the source, God and His son, Jesus. By doing that, we would keep things in proper alignment, preventing us from absorbing too much glory and believing that WE are responsible for the remarkable things God does THROUGH us.
So, as we proceed through this life when people heap praise on us for whatever we have done, remember the source of our strength and be mirror instead of a sponge. Reflect the praise straight back at the source and give God all the Glory!
Have a GREAT Week!
Adapted from True Competitor by Dan Britton and Jimmy Page
Make Positive Margin
Theme: Make Positive Margin
Verse: “But the Lord answered her, ‘Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things, but one thing is necessary. Mary has chosen the good portion, which will not be taken away from her.’” (Luke 10: 41-42)
Most people have heard of the “Miracle on Ice”, the U.S. Men’s hockey team’s victory over the Soviet Union in the 1980 Winter Olympics. At the time the Soviets were the world’s dominant hockey team having won the four previous Olympic gold medals and 13 of the previous 16 World Championships. In the 1980 game, Team USA scored to take a 4-3 lead with exactly 10:00 remaining in the game. The Soviets had rarely been in this position. After a potential game-tying goal rang off of the post, the Soviets appeared to panic. The margin they were accustomed to playing with was no longer there. Over the final minutes the Soviets shot the puck wildly and failed to pull their goaltender to gain an extra attacker as the seconds ticked away.
What’s the point? The Soviets had lost their margin and it affected how they executed in those final 10 minutes.
With margin in our lives, we make better decisions and reduce our risk of burnout or breakdown. But what kind of margin are we talking about?
First, there is time margin. We often fall into the trap of believing “activity equals achievement”. We schedule our days until there is really no more effective room. Then, when something or someone tries to put another “important” thing on our schedule, our life starts to unravel. We need to learn to say no to some good things to ensure we have time for the best things. With time margin we have more energy and enthusiasm for life.
Then, there is moral margin. That is the space between how we live and a sinful action. It’s not uncommon to see how close we can get to the line without crossing it. It’s kind of human nature. God, however, wants us to put a lot of distance from temptation (The Lord’s Prayer: “Lead us not into Temptation, but deliver us from Evil). With no moral margin, one small mistake can lead to disaster. To use a baseball analogy, He wants us up 12-0 in the bottom of the 9th inning, rather than leading 1-0 where a walk followed by a hanging curveball ends the game on a sour note for our team. With moral margin, we reduce the risk of emotional meltdown.
The challenge for the week (and the rest of our lives) is to examine the margin in our lives. Take action to create the proper space for life to happen to us without it unraveling our world.
Have a GREAT Week!
Adapted from True Competitor by Dan Britton and Jimmy Page
Call Timeout
Theme: Call Timeout
Verse: “Let’s go off by ourselves to a quiet place and rest awhile.” (Mark 6:31)
Have you ever been part of a basketball game that is getting out of control? A couple of bad passes here, a few missed shots there, then the opponent knocks down some long range three balls, and the next thing you know in about 90 seconds of gametime a 1-2 point game has become a double-digit deficit.
If you watch basketball a lot, you know what is about to happen at that moment. The coach is going to call a timeout. Why? He/She needs to settle the team down, get them focused and hopefully right the ship.
This same principle can apply to our lives. There are many of us that try to fight God’s design by trying to pack 200 hours of action into each 168-hour week. Unfortunately, it does not take long after following this pattern that you will find yourself out of control and in need of the emergency timeout.
While it may seem counter-cultural in the 24/7 world in which we live, try this instead. Take regular rest on a weekly Sabbath. Studies show this pattern will improve performance so much it actually makes you more valuable to the team/work force than those who always are in the action.
The Sabbath was so important that it made #4 on God’s commandment list. If it is that important to God, it should be important to us.
Have a GREAT Week!
Adapted from True Competitor by Dan Britton and Jimmy Page
Be G-K-O
Theme: Be G-K-O
Thought for the week: Empathy is the cornerstone of kindness, allowing us to understand and connect with others on a deeper level. (Gabriel Wilensky)
I had breakfast the other day with my workout friend from the Y, Joe. Aside from the misguidedness of being a Boston area sports team fan, he’s a really good guy.
During breakfast we discussed quite a few things including his new hour-long walking regime, sports, the state of the nation, our families, and some of the new-fangled inventions associated with Artificial Intelligence.
AI has a lot of great applications for us. Among other things it can help us optimize our exercise so we can balance it with the rest of our life activities.
But as smart as AI is there is one element of life I doubt it will ever replace; how we interact with our fellow humans. Just like last week when my Uncle Bob had some words of life wisdom, Joe offered some great advice for how we live our lives.
Be G-K-O; Generous, Kind and Optimistic
Be Generous: Be thankful for all that God has provided to each of us and approach life with an open hand. Be lavish with your praise of other’s accomplishments, and if you have the means, financially support those who serve us in so many ways. Encouraging verses: Acts 20:35 and Luke 6:38
Be Kind: This one is often the probably the hardest of all. Take the default position of compassion; you do not know the other person’s circumstance. Encouraging verses: Matthew 8:1-4, Luke 19:1-10, Luke 6: 35-36
Be Optimistic: As we grow older, we long for a time when things didn’t seem so difficult. We often wonder if the world will be the same for our children and grandchildren. I’m fairly certain our grandparents said the same thing when they were our age. Encouraging verses are Joshua 1:9, John 14:27.
So, Joe, here’s to your outstanding take on how to live our lives. When in doubt, be G-K-O!
Have a GREAT Week!
Assume Positive Intent
Theme: Assume Positive Intent
Verse: A fool takes no pleasure in understanding, but only in expressing his opinion. (Proverbs 18:2)
Running is a great activity to bring people together irrespective of each person’s fitness level. In any given running group (including ours) you will find a person training for a marathon, others readying for the next 5K and others that are happy to participate without training for any race whatsoever. But that difference in experience level does not preclude them from being a support group for each other.
Not all our social groups are nearly as supportive. We have become a very polarized society and that is working to our detriment. How do we fix that? Great question. Here’s an idea I’m borrowing from my Uncle Bob that I learned from his son, my cousin, Eric.
A few years ago, Eric shared life lessons he learned from his father, and this is one that has stuck with me. He said one of his dad’s philosophies is when a person does something you should “Assume Positive Intent, (until proven otherwise).”
What does that mean? Well, once you stop blocking the validity of a person’s point of view just because of certain pre-conditions you will find that most people are acting in good faith. That is when they say something, do something, answer questions etc. they are not trying to offend or hurt someone.
So how do we apply this philosophy?
By not blocking them we can listen to others with an open mind with the intent to UNDERSTAND what the person is saying. This is easier said than done. This is in complete contrast to our normal process of listening with the intent on how to respond. There is a big difference.
There is plenty of Biblical guidance on this as well. James 1:19, Proverbs 18:13, Proverbs 12:15 are but a few verses to check out.
Just as Rome was not built in a day, this will NOT be an immediate transformation. But give it a try. Assume Positive Intent in others and Seek to First to Understand (borrowed from Steven Covey). These two practices will go a long way to making our communities more cohesive just like most running groups I have ever experienced.
Have a GREAT Week!
What is Freedom?
Theme: What is Freedom?
Verse: You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh; rather, serve one another humbly in love. (Galatians 5:13)
If my timing is right, you are reading this on July 4th, the day we celebrate the independence of the nation. I thought this might be a good time to reflect on what it means to be free.
Freedom is a journey not a destination. The journey continues each day and allows us to make choices about our best next step. What criteria should we use to make that decision? While our instinct might be to always look inwards when making those decisions, what would happen if we occasionally looked outward?
As our verse says we were all called to be free. There is great opportunity in that freedom but also tremendous responsibility. As we go through our free lives let’s consider how each decision affects not only ourselves, but also the greater community. When we choose wisely, freedom grows!
So, let’s use our freedom to be humble servants of one another! If we do, our nation and our world will be a better, freer place.
Happy Birthday, America!
Have a GREAT Week!
Just Be Nice
Theme: Just Be Nice
Verse: For They Will Know We are Christians by Our Love (song lyrics adapted from John 13:35)
I just had a rite of old age passage that not everyone has the “pleasure” of experiencing, and my prayer is that you never do. I just had knee replacement surgery, my second one in exactly 6 months.
I am grateful for my medical team at the MacDill AFB Orthopedic Clinic and the HCA South Hospital in Tampa, for not once, but twice demonstrating the tremendous professionals they are as they took care of my operations and recovery. Each step of the way they all genuinely cared about my particular situation, even though they only knew me for this brief moment in time.
Each day we encounter someone that we will have only that brief moment with. Maybe it is at an intersection while driving, or a store clerk, or while participating in a sporting event or exercise. If things in that encounter don’t go perfectly, what vibe do we send out? How close have we come to exhibiting the care and compassion of my medical team?
The solution? My wife has a saying that if applied would transform your community, your state, the nation, the world. I call it the “Holly Principle” It’s simply, “Just Be Nice” a version the Biblical Golden Rule, “Do to others as you would have them do to you.” Found In Matthew 7:12 and Luke 6:31
You have no idea the circumstances of the person with whom you have a chance encounter. Maybe they need to pick up their child before getting charged an extra fee at the day care, so letting them go first at the intersection was just what they needed. Maybe your smile was just what they needed to get them through a very rough day.
This week’s challenge is to try the “Holly Principle” and see if your world does not become a better place.
Have a GREAT Week!