"You can always tell when a man is a great way from God - he is always talking about himself, how good he is. - D. L. Moody
Well it has been a LONG DARK school year for myself. The light however is being shown by God Himself and I know that HE is my rock. The Kansas FCA State Conference was this past weekend at Rock Springs. As always it was a time of renewal and encouragment. Today I would like to challenge each of you, as well as myself, to compare our lives to the quote from D. L. Moody above. How far are you from God? Do what you need to do to get closer and finish the school year out fighting the good fight of faith. If I can help in ANY way please just ask.
Monday, April 12, 2010
Monday, October 12, 2009
Truly Winning
Be satisfied not with producing a good record but with producing good athletes.
I have had a lot of time to think about this line. You get a lot of time to think when you are a cross country coach and a runner yourself. This past week was a hard one for me as a coach. I had to tell one of our athletes they were suspended from our league meet. We have a grade policy on our team. If you carry an F for more than two weeks in a class, you are still on the team, but you can't compete. This runner just happens to be our #2 Varsity Boy runner. Now that being said, our chances of winning a league title just got a lot worse. When I became the head cross country coach, it was my very first head coaching job after over a decade of assistant jobs. I always said that as a staff we should care more about our athletes' lives than winning. Now that I am a head coach, I get to put my theories into practice. Lets take a look at what God says.
Col 3:23 Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men,
When I read this verse, if doesn't seem to matter much in the grand scheme of things whether or not I ever win a league title or a state title or even one meet. What seems to matter is if I worked and coached as if God were right there next to me.
I know that in today's world of win at all cost some of you may not be able to suspend one of your top athletes. I hate to see this young man not race Saturday, but he will be a man for a lot longer than he will be a runner in our program. My prayer is that some where down the line he will pick up some nugget of Godly wisdom from me that he can cling to when his life gets rough.
I have had a lot of time to think about this line. You get a lot of time to think when you are a cross country coach and a runner yourself. This past week was a hard one for me as a coach. I had to tell one of our athletes they were suspended from our league meet. We have a grade policy on our team. If you carry an F for more than two weeks in a class, you are still on the team, but you can't compete. This runner just happens to be our #2 Varsity Boy runner. Now that being said, our chances of winning a league title just got a lot worse. When I became the head cross country coach, it was my very first head coaching job after over a decade of assistant jobs. I always said that as a staff we should care more about our athletes' lives than winning. Now that I am a head coach, I get to put my theories into practice. Lets take a look at what God says.
Col 3:23 Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men,
When I read this verse, if doesn't seem to matter much in the grand scheme of things whether or not I ever win a league title or a state title or even one meet. What seems to matter is if I worked and coached as if God were right there next to me.
I know that in today's world of win at all cost some of you may not be able to suspend one of your top athletes. I hate to see this young man not race Saturday, but he will be a man for a lot longer than he will be a runner in our program. My prayer is that some where down the line he will pick up some nugget of Godly wisdom from me that he can cling to when his life gets rough.
Monday, October 5, 2009
His Utmost
Prepare each practice and game as giving your "utmost for His highest."
Colossians 3:23 Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men,
Why do you do what you do? The biggest challenge I have as a coach, staying in the field for a long time at least is, I miss my kids. I am blessed I get to drop off two of our four at their schools in the mornings, but I miss them at practice. When I stop and think why don't I just get out of coaching I get a little tug on my heart. How many of my runners parents are showing them Jesus? Where do they hear or see Jesus in their lives? I get wrapped up in the times and medals, when I coached football it was wins and losses. Writing this now, I am getting a refocus on why I coach, why I spend time away from my family. I want my children to have Christian Coaches some day. If I get out, I might be blowing it for some one else's child to see the love of Jesus Christ. Don't blow it for a child. Show them the love of Jesus.
Colossians 3:23 Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men,
Why do you do what you do? The biggest challenge I have as a coach, staying in the field for a long time at least is, I miss my kids. I am blessed I get to drop off two of our four at their schools in the mornings, but I miss them at practice. When I stop and think why don't I just get out of coaching I get a little tug on my heart. How many of my runners parents are showing them Jesus? Where do they hear or see Jesus in their lives? I get wrapped up in the times and medals, when I coached football it was wins and losses. Writing this now, I am getting a refocus on why I coach, why I spend time away from my family. I want my children to have Christian Coaches some day. If I get out, I might be blowing it for some one else's child to see the love of Jesus Christ. Don't blow it for a child. Show them the love of Jesus.
Sunday, September 20, 2009
Do you pray for your players?
Pray as though nothing of eternal value is going to happen in my athlete’s lives unless God does it.
Psalm 17:6 I call on you, O God, for you will answer me; give ear to me and hear my prayer.
The thought process is an easy one. God hears our prayers. When we pray for His will to be done, His light to be shown, His glory to come through, He hears our prayers and He WILL answer them. Now let me ask you a few qestions. Do you spend a lot of time with your family? Do you pray for your family? Next to your family, who do you spend the most time with? For me the answer to the last question is my cross country kiddos. I pray for my family. So why shouldn't I pray for my athletes. In today's world, there is a better than higher average that some of the athletes God has blessed us with do not have anybody praying over them. If we don't pray for those children, who will?
Psalm 17:6 I call on you, O God, for you will answer me; give ear to me and hear my prayer.
The thought process is an easy one. God hears our prayers. When we pray for His will to be done, His light to be shown, His glory to come through, He hears our prayers and He WILL answer them. Now let me ask you a few qestions. Do you spend a lot of time with your family? Do you pray for your family? Next to your family, who do you spend the most time with? For me the answer to the last question is my cross country kiddos. I pray for my family. So why shouldn't I pray for my athletes. In today's world, there is a better than higher average that some of the athletes God has blessed us with do not have anybody praying over them. If we don't pray for those children, who will?
Wednesday, July 15, 2009
Why do we coach?
The Greatest Commandment
Matthew 22:34 Hearing that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees, the Pharisees got together. 35 One of them, an expert in the law, tested him with this question:
36 "Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?" 37 Jesus replied: " 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' 38 This is the first and greatest commandment. 39 And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' 40 All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments."
At different times over my coaching career I have asked myself this question, "Why do I coach?" It seems to when I am in the valley. All us love to win. We all love to have those seasons where things seem to go just right. None of us get excited to go through the low times. You know the ones I am talking about. You look at your family and miss them. You have an athlete that seems to do everything you tell them not to do and nothing you do tell them to do. The wins are few and far inbetween. The list goes on and on. It is during these times we must cling to the word of God. In Matthew 22:34-40 we see exactly why we do what we do. Jesus tells the most important thing we are told to do is love the Lord with everything we have and then to love others as we love ourselves. Take a moment and think about the athletes on your team. How many of them come from "rough" backgrounds? How many of them hang out withe the "wrong crowd" in and out of school? Lets be honest, how many of them would go to hell if something unspeakable happened on their way home from practice? In the world of today's coaching we must not only think but speak about the unspeakable. God has you exactly where you are for a specific purpose. You are not only called but TOLD from the Creator of EVERYTHING to love each and every child on your team as you love your very self. How many of you have made sure you are going to Heaven when you pass away? In the upcoming seasons, when you ask, "Why am I coaching," remember you very well maybe the only example of Jesus the children on your team see.
Matthew 22:34 Hearing that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees, the Pharisees got together. 35 One of them, an expert in the law, tested him with this question:
36 "Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?" 37 Jesus replied: " 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' 38 This is the first and greatest commandment. 39 And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' 40 All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments."
At different times over my coaching career I have asked myself this question, "Why do I coach?" It seems to when I am in the valley. All us love to win. We all love to have those seasons where things seem to go just right. None of us get excited to go through the low times. You know the ones I am talking about. You look at your family and miss them. You have an athlete that seems to do everything you tell them not to do and nothing you do tell them to do. The wins are few and far inbetween. The list goes on and on. It is during these times we must cling to the word of God. In Matthew 22:34-40 we see exactly why we do what we do. Jesus tells the most important thing we are told to do is love the Lord with everything we have and then to love others as we love ourselves. Take a moment and think about the athletes on your team. How many of them come from "rough" backgrounds? How many of them hang out withe the "wrong crowd" in and out of school? Lets be honest, how many of them would go to hell if something unspeakable happened on their way home from practice? In the world of today's coaching we must not only think but speak about the unspeakable. God has you exactly where you are for a specific purpose. You are not only called but TOLD from the Creator of EVERYTHING to love each and every child on your team as you love your very self. How many of you have made sure you are going to Heaven when you pass away? In the upcoming seasons, when you ask, "Why am I coaching," remember you very well maybe the only example of Jesus the children on your team see.
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