Focus

I am always on the lookout or great articles and blogs and recently came across the one below while surfing one of Dave Ramsey’s (financial peace guru) websites. It’s a quick read and full of wisdom for life, I hope you enjoy.- Josh Q

 

NFL draft busts. When most of us hear those words, we think of too many punch lines and not enough plays.

Rashaan Salaam is a case in point.

When Salaam entered the NFL, he had everything going for him. He was an all-everything running back at the University of Colorado. He won the Heisman trophy in 1994. The Chicago Bears selected him in the first round of the 1995 draft. But after a solid rookie season, his numbers dropped. Significantly. He was out of the league by 2000.

He has since found work at a camp in San Diego that mentors kids, so things are looking up for him. When asked why the NFL didn’t work out in a recent interview, Salaam made a great point about focus. He had this to say:

“I didn’t realize coming up how much work you had to put in once you got to the NFL. It’s a whole different lifestyle. You have to change the way you live. You have to change who you hang out with. You have to totally get focused on your game. You have the athletic ability, but if you don’t put the work behind it, nothing will come from it.”

That’s a great way to illustrate how committed you must be in order to get out of debt. It’s not just eating out less or only using your credit card once every couple of months. You have to change the way you live. You have to get totally focused on your game.

On top of that, having a great income is a lot like having athletic ability. If you don’t put it to work, nothing will come from it. Your money situation works as well as you do.

Don’t just make a budget–commit to it. Stop hanging out with American Express and Sallie Mae. Change your whole mindset regarding debt. That dramatic shift will have equally dramatic–and equally rewarding–results.

No debt. Lots of money. Financial peace.

Once you’ve made it, treat yourself. Maybe go to an NFL game.

Coach Petrino and the issue of pride

Over the last couple of weeks the dominating national sports story in the media has been that of Bobby Petrino’s inauspicious motorcycle accident, the revelation of his marital infidelity with a female staff member and his subsequent dismissal as head football coach of the University of Arkansas. While there are numerous lessons that can be gleaned from this sad situation, the most significant to me is the difference between those who choose to walk in pride and those who walk in humility.

In James 4:6 we are reminded that, “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble” No one can argue that from a wins/losses standpoint Bobby Petrino was incredibly successful during his time as a college football coach. Pride can be a tremendously motivating force in realizing desired results and for a season of his life, coach Petrino experienced great success. However, the Word of God tells us where pride ultimately leads us. Proverbs 29:23 says, “pride ends in humiliation… ”. I don’t know if I will ever forget the image of coach Petrino at his press conference following his motorcycle accident, bound in an oversized brace to stabilize his neck and bearing scratches and abrasions upon his face. He looked a broken and humiliated man, realizing in that moment the fruit of continued pride, and at this point still holding secret the truth of his marital infidelity. Unfortunately, coach Petrino’s prideful actions did not simply disgrace him. What humiliation his wife and children must have felt as the details of his unfaithfulness began to emerge. Who knows how destructive his actions will prove to be in his marriage, with his children and in his relationships. One can only hope that in this time of brokenness and shame he would quickly turn to the One, our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, who carried all our shame to the cross and gave Himself for us so we could experience the love of our Heavenly Father. As FCA staff we carry this message of hope and reconciliation to coaches, athletes an all whom they influence.  So while pride ends in humiliation, the bible also tells us in the latter part of Proverbs 29:23, “humility brings honor.”  If we want to experience lasting success and true honor, it begins with making the decision to continually walk in humility.

Eternity is a heartbeat away

This past Saturday Fabrice Muamba’s heart stopped beating for 78 minutes. Who is Fabrice Muamba? He is a 23-year-old midfielder for the English soccer club Bolton and this past weekend he collapsed during an FA Cup match against Tottenham after suffering from cardiac arrest. What makes this story so amazing is that Medics tried unsuccessfully to revive Muamba for 48 minutes on Saturday before he arrived at the hospital, Bolton team doctor Jonathan Tobin said. It then took another 30 minutes, after 15 shocks from a defibrillator, before the player’s heart started beating again. That same doctor this week said ”in effect, he was dead in that time,”. Many of us have been witnesses to untimely and tragic deaths in the sports world over the course of our lifetime and one of the most common reactions or sentiments usually deals with the element of unrealized potential. Many times that potential has been unreached both on and off the field or court of competition. In a literal heartbeat, this young, well conditioned and highly skilled professional soccer player went from playing the game he loved and all the hope of a bright future to the cold realization that it can all be taken in an instant. Miraculously Muamba will likely make a full recovery, but with the knowledge that he was “dead”, I cant help but believe that he will never be able to look at or live life the same. The words of the Psalm 90 rang so loudly in my heart as I read this story.  King David prayed to God“So teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom.” I can’t help but believe that if I knew the number of my days,that my focus, priorities and actions would be much more deliberate and my heart more diligent in seeking to act with wisdom. How would you live today if you knew the number of your days? What would be your number one priority? How would you want people to remember you? I pray that each of us would make the most of today as we consider the brevity of life, the Good news of Jesus Christ and the reality that eternity is but a heartbeat away.

-Josh Q

March Madness

When you hear the month March in reference to sports, what do you associate it with? If you’re like me then you automatically think of March Madness, buzzer beaters, bracket busters and Cinderella stories. Like last year, VCU completely busted my bracket from the get- go and who would have expected Butler (again) and UCON to be the championship game last year in the men’s tournament? Crazy I know. But the women’s tournament was a little more predictable with Connecticut 1 Notre Dame 2 and Stanford 1 and Texas A & M 2. With Texas A & M winning the whole thing. So why all the Madness then? Well, if you think about it, it’s because everything is on the line. It’s do or die time, win or go home or as they say in the NBA win or you’re going fishing with Chuck. There are no second chances in March. You have one shot for that year and you have to make the best of it. Now thinking about that, aren’t you glad that in your life you have second chances. I mean, if you’re a student, teachers sometimes allow you to make up test or quizzes. Your parents take your cell phone away and then give it back, after they forget why they took it away. Being parents this is why we have two kids. This way when we mess up raising the first one we can try again on the second one! I’m just kidding, kind of. But really as adults we get second chances all the time; like getting a warning instead of a speeding ticket, or we can just call dominoes when we burn dinner. And spiritually God gives us infinite chances even though we continually mess up. He is always there with arms opened wide, ready and waiting for us to come back. This is called grace and the question I have for you is; do we sometimes take advantage of this grace? Do we think “oh well, God will forgive me even if I do this?” In the NBA I see this type of attitude all the time during the regular season. Teams get down with time winding down and even though there is enough time left you can see that the players are just giving up, because they are thinking “well I have another game tomorrow or I will try harder in my next game.” But James 4:17 says “So it is a sin for the person who knows to do what is good and doesn’t do it.” So basically if we know what we are supposed to do but decide not to do it then we are sinning. My challenge for you is to live each day like its March Madness. We need to take advantage of every opportunity that comes our way and make sure that we are not putting off for tomorrow what we should do today.

Only ONE

In recent weeks as I have observed different sporting events, in particular, the NFL playoffs, I have been drawn to consider the very process of elimination that crowns but one winner each season.  At the heart of competitive sports is a desire to be the best not only at the end of each contest, but also at the end of the competitive season. Whether it is the World Cup or Olympics every four years, BCS, March Madness, Playoffs in the NBA, NFL, NHL or any other number of competitive tournament formats, there is an undeniable desire and drive to determine one clear winner. It is interesting that no matter what one’s team or individual effort has been throughout the season, only one winner will be crowned; all others having fallen short. I believe this reveals something deeper about us as a people, that woven into our very fabric as a people and expressed in the exercises of culture is the truth that only one can be crowned. Our sin as a people, having separated us from God and unable to be overcome through our best efforts, required a champion of historic proportions. The bible records Jesus’ words to us in John 14:6, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me.” In other words, He is the champion of champions, the 2012 time defending champion, the one who defeated sin, death and the grave by way of his resurrection and the only one that has the power to offer us eternal life (a place on his team, his church). At the end of our season of life, we will either find ourselves on his team having become one with him and receiving from the ONE Himself, a crown of glory, or we will find ourselves opposed to him having fallen short of the prize (eternal life) despite our best efforts. I pray that all would receive him and in doing so experience the joy of eternal victory. -Josh Q

Team FCA Volleyball

There are a lot of exciting new things going on in the world of Team FCA Volleyball!  FCA has added three FCA club volleyball teams to our community sports ministry. The teams are based out of Middleburg, Florida and are under the coaching and guidance of Coach Karen Padgett, Deanna Smith, and other coaching staff that are on fire for Christ and leading their athletes to experience volleyball through a Kingdom mindset.

The purpose of FCA Volleyball is to significantly impact the club volleyball community by training athletes and coaches to become Godly role models to those whom they influence.  Our objective is to build an unprecedented athletic environment that:

-Presents programs that shape character and create role models.

-Positively and significantly impact athletes, coaches, parents, families, officials, leagues, tournaments and communities.

-Establishes and sustains a venue to develop and demonstrate FCA’s four values: integrity, service, teamwork and excellence.

Team FCA Volleyball offers what no other club in Jacksonville can – the foundation of Jesus Christ. If you know someone who would be interested in coaching or playing on Team FCA, please contact Christina Hovestadt at christinah@fca.org.  Northeast Florida FCA is expecting for God to do only great things to happen to and through the FCA Teams. We look forward to sharing the testimonies of coaches and athletes with you all this season as they go play for their number one fan, Jesus Christ!

FCA St. Augustine High School Softball Team Retreat

NE Florida FCA hosted the St. Augustine High School Girls’ Softball teams at Camp Blanding for and FCA team building retreat.  The camps focus was developing a culture of encouragement and support for each other and ensuring the girls use positive words that build their team mate. The team retreat served as the teams’ opportunity to develop this year’s theme and commitment to each other.   During chapel 3 girls indicated their desire to follow Christ.

TEAM FCA Team Retreat

On January 20th-21st FCA hosted five teams for our 3-Dimensional Athlete Team Retreat, including four our own FCA Volleyball and FCA Baseball teams.  The theme of the weekend was committing to FCA’s core values of integrity, serving, teamwork and excellence and how these are expressed on and off the field/court. 

One of the most enjoyable and memorable times of any FCA 3DA retreat is the experience on the air assault obstacle course where we place athletes in situations that reveal what is under the surface and not normally visible in their behavior. Fear, joy, frustration and numerous other emotions are always on display.  Our staff and coaches observe these teams/athletes actions and provide feedback that reinforces those four core values and covenants.

Finally, the most significant moments of any FCA retreat/camp are the times of spiritual devotion, our chapel times. More than 20 student-athletes indicated their desire to follow Christ during our chapel times as evidence that God is moving in the heart of student-athletes. What an awesome experience it was for all the teams and staff involved, a big thank you to all the FCA partners and supporters that continue to make ministry like this possible.

The greater truth in the Tim Tebow debate

There have been several times over the last few months where I wanted to share my perspectives on the media darling/villain that is Tim Tebow. To say that people love or hate Tim Tebow is an absolute understatement. He is as polarizing a sports figure as we have seen in our generation, perhaps in any generation. The reason I have resisted to share my thoughts has been a desire to genuinely listen to the criticism and analysis of fans, peers in the league, and of course, the members of the over-analyzing and ratings driven media.  As I listened, what I heard was quite revealing and in my estimation highlights something much more significant and deeply rooted in the souls of all men and women.

What has been incredibly apparent in all the discussion of Tim Tebow is the inability of anyone to come to a consensus or present a definitive objective standard by which to judge him. Skill wise he is an average NFL quarterback at best. However, it is unquestionable that he is the reason that the team is thriving after a 1-4 start under a different QB when one considers his numerous clutch performances or listens to the respect his teammates have for him and his leadership. In short, I believe all the debate illustrates a more significant and spiritual truth; the inability of man apart from God to clearly define the difference between good and evil or in other words, absolute truth. If man is unable to conclusively agree on what makes a QB good or bad, how can we even begin to entertain the thought of defining ourselves as good or bad people with regard to our spiritual condition. In 1 Samuel 16:7 God instructs the prophet Samuel when seeking the one God has selected to be king, “Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him. For the LORD sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the LORD looks on the heart.”  Sometimes those who look the best on the outside, like the religious leaders of Jesus’s time on Earth are indeed the worst of sinners. Conversely, there are those that appear to be bad on the surface level, much like the woman caught in adultery, but are the very people whom Jesus forgives and declares righteous.

In conclusion, Tim Tebow has enjoyed the favor of God (not everything going his way, but the sustaining strength of God in all situations) because his heart is right with God, having freely received the love and peace of God through death burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ. John 1:14 states, the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth. Apart from receiving the truth of God’s word we are wholly incapable of judging correctly and objectively, whether that is something as critical as our spiritual condition or as entertaining as the merits of a certain mile high quarterback.

Flagler College Women’s Basketball Team Retreat

On December 27th & 28th NE Florida FCA hosted Flagler College Women’s Basketball for team camp. The retreat was intended to be a team building experience and proved to be just that as the team worked on team building activities that challenged the student-athletes to see that each was a valuable asset and has a key role to play in the team. FCA staff Justin Black serves as the Chaplain for Flagler basketball and continues to sow into the spiritual development on the Flagler College coaches and athletes.  Thank you to Good News Church of the World Golf Village for leading chapel and feeding the team.