That’s true. Paul wrote in 2 Corinthins 2.14f, “but thanks be to God who
always leads us in His triumph in Christ, and manifests through us the
sweet aroma of the knowledge of Him in every place. For we re a
fragrance of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among
those who are perishing; to the one an aroma from death to death, to the
other an aroma from life to life.”
You stink... either sweet or gross.
In the Roman world at the time of Christ whenever a conquering general
returned in triumph they had a triumph parade. To the eyes of the world
in that day it was the most glorious spectacle which the imagination
could conceive. First came state officials and the senate. Then came the
trumpeters. They were followed by the spoils taken from the conquered
land. There would be pictures of the conquered land and models of
conquered citadels and ships. There would be a white bull for sacrifice,
then the captive princes, leaders and generals in chains. They would
shortly either be flung into prison or executed. Then came the musicians
and priests swinging censers with a sweet smelling incense that was
burning. Finally came the general himself and his army wearing
decorations and shouting in triumph. It was a tremendous day that might
only be witnessed once in a lifetime.
Imagine how the smell of the
incense would be to the captives. It would
be the smell of death. They
marched through the street only to be
derided by the conquering Romans and
would signal that soon you’d either
be executed or sold into slavery.
However, to the victorious throngs
that same smell would signal victory and
triumph. Same way with the
gospel according to this passage. It’s either a
smell of sweet victory
and life saving to some, but to other’s it’s a means
of destruction and
condemnation because of their rejection of the
gospel.
I had this point well taken today as we looked at this passage
with some
of our Christian bobsledders in town for the first world cup of
the
season. A visiting coach, peeked at the paper we were
looking at. He saw “You Stink” and made some silly comments. When Lyndon
Rush, Canada’s #1 bobsled pilot told him we were doing a Bible study the
visiting coach made some snide remarks about his mother and this “sh*t”.
We realized we were seeing a graphic playing out of Paul’s very
principle right before our eyes. To the God seeking athletes, the word
of God is precious, but to this godless coach.... well, it was clear how
it smelled to him.
How about you? How do you smell? We each give off
an aroma. Either life
or death to those around us.
Wednesday, November 27, 2013
Thursday, November 21, 2013
Success and Failure in Sport & Life
Our weekly SportFaith Discussion group at the Canmore Nordic Centre came immediately on the heals of Canada’s first National team biathlon trials race. Of the 5 biathletes in attendance, not a one of them was happy with their result. One of them even exclaimed that he shot, "dirty", meaning that he did the opposite of "shooting clean" -hitting all the targets. In fact on one of the 2 trips into the range failed to hit a single target.
In God’s economy then it was no surprise that He engineered the topic of the day to be "Success/Failure". Does God have a different view of success compared to that of the world? Of course. Jesus Himself told the story of the talents recorded in Mt. 25.14f, where a rich man went off, but before leaving entrusted 5,2 and 1 talents to 3 different servants (according to their abilities). If you’re familiar with the story you know that the first 2 doubled the talents upon their master’s arrival. The last one buried his and only returned what was given. The message is that God has given (not equally) talents, resources, etc. that He expects us to use, invest and maximize. He was very displeased with the non-investing servant, even calling him wicked and lazy. Wow... pretty stern words.
So then, what would success be in God’s eyes? I think this parable tells us that it’s fully using what gifts He’s entrusted to us. To fail to do so brings God’s serious displeasure. Now, God doesn’t expect the 2 talent guy to produce as much as the 5 talent guy. But certainly He is equally happy with each when they do to the best of their abilities.
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Shane Stewart, Canadian 3x Nat'l champion, World champion and bronze medalist.
As we were sharing these thoughts during our SportFaith session, outside the window in the XC ski stadium was a young Special Olympian named Shane skiing back and forth amidst the loud, cold, blasting snow making guns. Shane was meticulously practising the scooter drill. It didn’t look like much fun in those circumstances, but Shane was persistently working it. It may help to understand who Shane is. When he was around 10 he was hit by a car and sustained life changing brain damage. As a young adult Shane now doesn’t have the capabilities that most his age enjoy. Yet he is one of the most loving, gentle, responsible and committed individuals I’ve ever met. He holds down a job at our local Safeway, but his passion is Special Olympics competition in XC skiing.
As we watched Shane live out those words of Jesus we realized that though he was only a "1 talent" guy, he has, and continues to absolutely fully develop what abilities he does have. A true inspiration. And a true success.
For the rest of the guys in the study that day, they each went home and prepared for day #2 of the trials, except now with a new version of success....fully releasing every bit of talent God has gifted us with. With a mind set like that you can focus on the task at hand and how to bring out all you’re capable of. The distractions of worrying about the other competitors and how you’ll fare on the result sheet fade to irrelevancy.
The guy that shot "dirty"? He’s a 19 year old Jr that the next day went on to finish 2nd overall beating several Olympians, most years older with tonnes of experience. The other guys moved up the results sheet as well. But that wasn’t the focus any longer. Funny though, when you learn God’s version of success, the other often does seem to eventually follow.
Jeremiah 9.23 "Let not a wise man boast of his wisdom and let not the mighty man boast of his might, let not a rich man boast of his riches, but let him who boasts boast of this, that he understands and knows Me, that I am the LORD who exercises loving kindness, justice, and righteousness on earth, for I delight in these things," declares the LORD.
In God’s economy then it was no surprise that He engineered the topic of the day to be "Success/Failure". Does God have a different view of success compared to that of the world? Of course. Jesus Himself told the story of the talents recorded in Mt. 25.14f, where a rich man went off, but before leaving entrusted 5,2 and 1 talents to 3 different servants (according to their abilities). If you’re familiar with the story you know that the first 2 doubled the talents upon their master’s arrival. The last one buried his and only returned what was given. The message is that God has given (not equally) talents, resources, etc. that He expects us to use, invest and maximize. He was very displeased with the non-investing servant, even calling him wicked and lazy. Wow... pretty stern words.
So then, what would success be in God’s eyes? I think this parable tells us that it’s fully using what gifts He’s entrusted to us. To fail to do so brings God’s serious displeasure. Now, God doesn’t expect the 2 talent guy to produce as much as the 5 talent guy. But certainly He is equally happy with each when they do to the best of their abilities.
Shane Stewart, Canadian 3x Nat'l champion, World champion and bronze medalist.
As we were sharing these thoughts during our SportFaith session, outside the window in the XC ski stadium was a young Special Olympian named Shane skiing back and forth amidst the loud, cold, blasting snow making guns. Shane was meticulously practising the scooter drill. It didn’t look like much fun in those circumstances, but Shane was persistently working it. It may help to understand who Shane is. When he was around 10 he was hit by a car and sustained life changing brain damage. As a young adult Shane now doesn’t have the capabilities that most his age enjoy. Yet he is one of the most loving, gentle, responsible and committed individuals I’ve ever met. He holds down a job at our local Safeway, but his passion is Special Olympics competition in XC skiing.
As we watched Shane live out those words of Jesus we realized that though he was only a "1 talent" guy, he has, and continues to absolutely fully develop what abilities he does have. A true inspiration. And a true success.
For the rest of the guys in the study that day, they each went home and prepared for day #2 of the trials, except now with a new version of success....fully releasing every bit of talent God has gifted us with. With a mind set like that you can focus on the task at hand and how to bring out all you’re capable of. The distractions of worrying about the other competitors and how you’ll fare on the result sheet fade to irrelevancy.
The guy that shot "dirty"? He’s a 19 year old Jr that the next day went on to finish 2nd overall beating several Olympians, most years older with tonnes of experience. The other guys moved up the results sheet as well. But that wasn’t the focus any longer. Funny though, when you learn God’s version of success, the other often does seem to eventually follow.
Jeremiah 9.23 "Let not a wise man boast of his wisdom and let not the mighty man boast of his might, let not a rich man boast of his riches, but let him who boasts boast of this, that he understands and knows Me, that I am the LORD who exercises loving kindness, justice, and righteousness on earth, for I delight in these things," declares the LORD.
Thursday, September 5, 2013
TAKING A PERSONAL RETREAT
Ever think of doing a personal retreat? The wisest among us advocate doing this often. Taking time to reflect, examine your priorities and make sure you're maximizing your gifts and affirming God's calling in your life.
Through the years I've loved doing this in the back country. No, it's not just an excuse to go camping, though I really enjoy this dimension. To me there's just something about really escaping into the wild, leaving technology behind with all its distractions, that frees one's mind & heart. If I go in the winter I'll often ski into an Alpine Club Canada hut (usually Mon. to avoid people) for a warm dry place. In the summer I'll access via hiking or sea kayak as my preferred method.
So, if you're thinking about taking one of these personal retreats, be it 1 day or several, you can maximize your experience by asking yourself a series of questions, compiled below. I gleaned these from Bob Biehl.
QUESTIONS FOR A PERSONAL PLANNING RETREAT
1- what have been major milestones in my life so far?
(encourages, but also provides a foundation for future goals)
2-what is a single word focus for my life?
3-what is my greatest strength?
(Choose only one, focus on this for the future; maximize it)
4-if I could do anything, w/ unlimited resources, talent and time... & knew I couldn’t fail, what would I do?
5-what are the 3 greatest roadblocks keeping me from turning my dreams into reality?
6-what are my 3 greatest resources in life?
(Apply these to the 3 greatest roadblocks)
7-what are the 3 greatest decisions facing me before I move into the future?
(Much stress is caused by indecision; id clearly & wisely)
8-what great ideas do I have that I would like to see accomplished in the future?
(Move fwd only on the best ones)
9-if I could reach only 3 realistic, measurable goals or solve 3 major problems, what 3 would I reach or solve in the next 12 months? (Concentrate on the big 3)
10-what 3 things could I do in the next ninety days to get me 50%of the way to my 1-year goals?
Others:
-before I die, what are the 3-10 realistically measurable things I would most like to do?
-before I die what 3-10 things would I like to do for my children?
-before I die what 3-10 things would I like to do for my wife?
-before I die what 3-10 things would I like to do for God?
Through the years I've loved doing this in the back country. No, it's not just an excuse to go camping, though I really enjoy this dimension. To me there's just something about really escaping into the wild, leaving technology behind with all its distractions, that frees one's mind & heart. If I go in the winter I'll often ski into an Alpine Club Canada hut (usually Mon. to avoid people) for a warm dry place. In the summer I'll access via hiking or sea kayak as my preferred method.
So, if you're thinking about taking one of these personal retreats, be it 1 day or several, you can maximize your experience by asking yourself a series of questions, compiled below. I gleaned these from Bob Biehl.
QUESTIONS FOR A PERSONAL PLANNING RETREAT
1- what have been major milestones in my life so far?
(encourages, but also provides a foundation for future goals)
2-what is a single word focus for my life?
3-what is my greatest strength?
(Choose only one, focus on this for the future; maximize it)
4-if I could do anything, w/ unlimited resources, talent and time... & knew I couldn’t fail, what would I do?
5-what are the 3 greatest roadblocks keeping me from turning my dreams into reality?
6-what are my 3 greatest resources in life?
(Apply these to the 3 greatest roadblocks)
7-what are the 3 greatest decisions facing me before I move into the future?
(Much stress is caused by indecision; id clearly & wisely)
8-what great ideas do I have that I would like to see accomplished in the future?
(Move fwd only on the best ones)
9-if I could reach only 3 realistic, measurable goals or solve 3 major problems, what 3 would I reach or solve in the next 12 months? (Concentrate on the big 3)
10-what 3 things could I do in the next ninety days to get me 50%of the way to my 1-year goals?
Others:
-before I die, what are the 3-10 realistically measurable things I would most like to do?
-before I die what 3-10 things would I like to do for my children?
-before I die what 3-10 things would I like to do for my wife?
-before I die what 3-10 things would I like to do for God?
Thursday, June 13, 2013
Spiritual Suicide
Being a top level athlete in one sense is one of the hardest places to be a Christian. Here’s why... it seems everywhere in N. America we breath the air of self. Everything around us seems to cater to our own individualism and promoting our independence. Satisfying our every desire with stuff is the accepted way of living. For the athlete who’s recognized for their sporting prowess it all gets bumped up a notch. It’s so easy for an aspiring athlete to get a sort of tunnel vision with the only thing in sight the goal to be better, faster, stronger, etc. you embark on a quest to do everything in your life to achieve personal success. This quest can be intensely self focussed. You can easily lose the ability to think about anything other than yourself and your own improvement.
Add to this the reinforcement elite athletes receive from people around them. I still remember a pro football chaplain telling me he’s seen it time and time again where he’ll bring in an older, seasoned pastor to deliver the pre-game chapel message in the locker room, and the minute they enter that supposed hallowed ground they become a 12 year old fan again. Acting in ways that quickly end any influence and credibility they might have had. At a recent Olympics where I was a chaplain we had a situation.... each night we had a Bible discussion meeting for the athletes. A couple of the inexperienced chaplains wanted to open it up to all the volunteers in the athlete village. Now, our roles as chaplains did include ministering to volunteers and even families of athletes, etc., but this ½ hour nightly meeting was the one place these athletes could come and be with their peers without fans, hangers on and others wanting to be around them paying them special attention. The athletes weren’t elitists in their attitudes, it’s just that as Christians they didn’t need that temptation to feel more important or more special than others around them. But so often, for the elite athlete that’s how people treat them and then one can easily fall into the trap of believing that you’re just a little better and more exceptional than others.
Christian athletes...make sure you’re "soaked in scripture". Everyday get into the Bible read things like Is. 43.7 "everyone who is called by My name, & whom I have created for My glory..." Or Ps. 115.1 "Not to us O Lord, but to Your name be glory". Read and realize how absolutely dependant we are on God. Every breath you take (& long distance athletes take a LOT of them!) is a gift from God. Make sure you’re grateful for every unique gift you’ve been given and allow your heart to respond in love. This will change everything about your training and competition. It’s not even thinking about yourself and how "awesome" you’re going to do and be. It’s all about that Creator you love so much. It’s all about making HIM look good, not yourself.
Granted, this isn’t easy. Everything around you will be going in the other self seeking direction, but with Holy Spirit empowerment, right Bible thinking and true heart engagement (loving Jesus) you’ll be training and competing on a whole different plane.
Add to this the reinforcement elite athletes receive from people around them. I still remember a pro football chaplain telling me he’s seen it time and time again where he’ll bring in an older, seasoned pastor to deliver the pre-game chapel message in the locker room, and the minute they enter that supposed hallowed ground they become a 12 year old fan again. Acting in ways that quickly end any influence and credibility they might have had. At a recent Olympics where I was a chaplain we had a situation.... each night we had a Bible discussion meeting for the athletes. A couple of the inexperienced chaplains wanted to open it up to all the volunteers in the athlete village. Now, our roles as chaplains did include ministering to volunteers and even families of athletes, etc., but this ½ hour nightly meeting was the one place these athletes could come and be with their peers without fans, hangers on and others wanting to be around them paying them special attention. The athletes weren’t elitists in their attitudes, it’s just that as Christians they didn’t need that temptation to feel more important or more special than others around them. But so often, for the elite athlete that’s how people treat them and then one can easily fall into the trap of believing that you’re just a little better and more exceptional than others.
Christian athletes...make sure you’re "soaked in scripture". Everyday get into the Bible read things like Is. 43.7 "everyone who is called by My name, & whom I have created for My glory..." Or Ps. 115.1 "Not to us O Lord, but to Your name be glory". Read and realize how absolutely dependant we are on God. Every breath you take (& long distance athletes take a LOT of them!) is a gift from God. Make sure you’re grateful for every unique gift you’ve been given and allow your heart to respond in love. This will change everything about your training and competition. It’s not even thinking about yourself and how "awesome" you’re going to do and be. It’s all about that Creator you love so much. It’s all about making HIM look good, not yourself.
Granted, this isn’t easy. Everything around you will be going in the other self seeking direction, but with Holy Spirit empowerment, right Bible thinking and true heart engagement (loving Jesus) you’ll be training and competing on a whole different plane.
Tuesday, June 4, 2013
BARRIERS TO WORSHIP
In my previous blog entry I looked at the desire to worship. Today I want to share some thoughts from one of our recent Olympic athlete SportFaith discussion groups.
Worship can take many forms. We tend to think that singing praises is the only way to worship, but we have many ways. In Rom. 12. Paul says that offering up our bodies as a living, holy sacrifice is an act of worship. Sounds like training & competition could certainly fall under Paul’s definition. We can look at the specifics of this in a future blog, but for now I want to discuss 4 barriers to worship that will be taken away once we arrive in Heaven. Four barriers that we can seek to minimize during our time here on Earth so we can maximize our worship here.
Barrier #1 is not seeing God sufficientlyWhen you see something amazing it’s natural to praise it. Great sport moments such as Sidney Crosby’s 2010 gold medal goal, or Bob Beamon’s world record long jump in the ‘68 Olympics that took over 23 years to finally be broken...mandate praise! You can’t help yourself. Same with God. When you really see Him for who He is, you can’t help but praise Him. Paul tells us in 1 Cor. 13.12 that on Earth we see God dimly, but in Heaven we’ll be face to face and see Him clearly. We won’t be able to keep from praising Him up there.
We can reduce this barrier by seeing more of Him now. Knowing God, understanding His ways, observing what He’s made...the more we know, the more we’ll want to worship Him now.
Barrier #2 is failing to clearly see God’s grace to us and his many good gifts. "The highest angel to the lowest insect are dependant upon and maintained by the goodness of God. Those in Heaven see this with perfect clarity." (J. Edwards)
Those in Heaven rightfully understand the greatness and dignity of Jesus and how incredible it was for Him to become a man and lay down His life, enduring the shame and gruesomeness of the cross. We have a small sense of this now, but when we see Christ in His full glory, the reality of what He did for us will be astounding.
Comprehending and intentionally enjoying God’s gifts will automatically draw our hearts to worship.
Barrier #3 is imperfect humility. High level sport is precarious for faith. Here’s why... the more you attain, the more glorification the world gives you. This is suicide for the soul. A Christian athlete must constantly be on guard against self elevation and assigning praise to themself.
Because of the first 2 barriers being removed in Heaven (all these solutions flow into one another), it will be automatic to say as the Psalmist did in Ps. 115.1 "not to us o Lord, not unto us, but to thy name be the glory". Humility will be perfected in Heaven, we’ll see God for who He truly is and ourselves for who we are.
The Christian athlete cannot afford to neglect one day of drawing deeply into God’s word enjoy seeing Him rightly and understand what He’s done for us and comprehend clearly where we stand in His divine Kingdom
Barrier #4 is that love for God isn’t perfect. But it will be in Heaven. On Earth it’s possible to be thankful, but not genuine... a counterfeit thankfulness devoid of love. Sincere thankfulness is full of love and it can’t help itself. The greater a person’s love is, the more disposed to praise they will be. When your love for God is strong you will proportionally seek His glory and love to see Him glorified.
"Where is your heart at?" I know longer ask Christians how their walk with God is going, because where their heart is at is much more important. Do you purposefully aim to grow deeper in love with God? Make it a priority.
Can you imagine how joyful such unhindered praise would be? Joy is a great ingredient in praise and your spirit is elevated to eminent heights when you are participating in the greatest, most honouring thing we were created to do!
Worship can take many forms. We tend to think that singing praises is the only way to worship, but we have many ways. In Rom. 12. Paul says that offering up our bodies as a living, holy sacrifice is an act of worship. Sounds like training & competition could certainly fall under Paul’s definition. We can look at the specifics of this in a future blog, but for now I want to discuss 4 barriers to worship that will be taken away once we arrive in Heaven. Four barriers that we can seek to minimize during our time here on Earth so we can maximize our worship here.
Barrier #1 is not seeing God sufficientlyWhen you see something amazing it’s natural to praise it. Great sport moments such as Sidney Crosby’s 2010 gold medal goal, or Bob Beamon’s world record long jump in the ‘68 Olympics that took over 23 years to finally be broken...mandate praise! You can’t help yourself. Same with God. When you really see Him for who He is, you can’t help but praise Him. Paul tells us in 1 Cor. 13.12 that on Earth we see God dimly, but in Heaven we’ll be face to face and see Him clearly. We won’t be able to keep from praising Him up there.
We can reduce this barrier by seeing more of Him now. Knowing God, understanding His ways, observing what He’s made...the more we know, the more we’ll want to worship Him now.
Barrier #2 is failing to clearly see God’s grace to us and his many good gifts. "The highest angel to the lowest insect are dependant upon and maintained by the goodness of God. Those in Heaven see this with perfect clarity." (J. Edwards)
Those in Heaven rightfully understand the greatness and dignity of Jesus and how incredible it was for Him to become a man and lay down His life, enduring the shame and gruesomeness of the cross. We have a small sense of this now, but when we see Christ in His full glory, the reality of what He did for us will be astounding.
Comprehending and intentionally enjoying God’s gifts will automatically draw our hearts to worship.
Barrier #3 is imperfect humility. High level sport is precarious for faith. Here’s why... the more you attain, the more glorification the world gives you. This is suicide for the soul. A Christian athlete must constantly be on guard against self elevation and assigning praise to themself.
Because of the first 2 barriers being removed in Heaven (all these solutions flow into one another), it will be automatic to say as the Psalmist did in Ps. 115.1 "not to us o Lord, not unto us, but to thy name be the glory". Humility will be perfected in Heaven, we’ll see God for who He truly is and ourselves for who we are.
The Christian athlete cannot afford to neglect one day of drawing deeply into God’s word enjoy seeing Him rightly and understand what He’s done for us and comprehend clearly where we stand in His divine Kingdom
Barrier #4 is that love for God isn’t perfect. But it will be in Heaven. On Earth it’s possible to be thankful, but not genuine... a counterfeit thankfulness devoid of love. Sincere thankfulness is full of love and it can’t help itself. The greater a person’s love is, the more disposed to praise they will be. When your love for God is strong you will proportionally seek His glory and love to see Him glorified.
"Where is your heart at?" I know longer ask Christians how their walk with God is going, because where their heart is at is much more important. Do you purposefully aim to grow deeper in love with God? Make it a priority.
Can you imagine how joyful such unhindered praise would be? Joy is a great ingredient in praise and your spirit is elevated to eminent heights when you are participating in the greatest, most honouring thing we were created to do!
WILL YOU BE BORED IN HEAVEN?
Will you be bored in Heaven? Almost anyone you know would say they want to go to Heaven (though many seem to be unsure of how to actually get there). But do they really want to go to Heaven? Most people rarely go to church these days (in my town it’s probably less than 2% on any given Sunday). The past several years I’ve seen an interesting trend in Christians that don’t go to any church. But I’ve wondered if you can be a Christian and not DESIRE to go to church. Here’s why... the main occupation of Heaven is going to be worship. Worship of Jesus. Look at the descriptions in Revelation. God gave visions to John of the eternal Heavenly worship service. It’s awesome! Rev. 5.8-9; 7.9-12; 15.2f; 14.2: these all describe amazing scenes of numbers too vast to count making a loud, beautifully melodious song of praise to Jesus.
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Granted, some of our churches are sorely lacking in superlative musical experiences, but in the end it’s the heart’s desire. Do you really have a heart to worship? If so, it won’t matter completely if the music is perfect or not, or even if the style is your favourite. What matters is that the King of all Kings, Jesus, is worshipped, praised, honoured and made the absolute centerpiece of what’s going on.
Occasionally I’ve pondered whether or not many of my semi-religious friends would actually really want to go to Heaven. Imagine knowing someone that even though they’re the most morally pure, beautiful persons ever, they just for some reason rub you the wrong way. Who knows why...maybe they just remind you of your own shortcomings, but for whatever reason you just don’t like them. Now imagine that you’re locked up in a room with that person for all eternity.....yuck! If you’ve never had any interest in praising Jesus, making much of him and singing to him, do you really think you’re going to want to do that for all eternity? Heaven is the place where everything revolves around Jesus and worshipping him.
For me, when I think about these things it challenges me to make sure that when I get to Heaven and I get to finally see Jesus face to face I don’t want Him to be a stranger. I want to carry on what I’ve been pursuing on Earth, only in a much more intense, personal and unspoiled way.
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Granted, some of our churches are sorely lacking in superlative musical experiences, but in the end it’s the heart’s desire. Do you really have a heart to worship? If so, it won’t matter completely if the music is perfect or not, or even if the style is your favourite. What matters is that the King of all Kings, Jesus, is worshipped, praised, honoured and made the absolute centerpiece of what’s going on.
Occasionally I’ve pondered whether or not many of my semi-religious friends would actually really want to go to Heaven. Imagine knowing someone that even though they’re the most morally pure, beautiful persons ever, they just for some reason rub you the wrong way. Who knows why...maybe they just remind you of your own shortcomings, but for whatever reason you just don’t like them. Now imagine that you’re locked up in a room with that person for all eternity.....yuck! If you’ve never had any interest in praising Jesus, making much of him and singing to him, do you really think you’re going to want to do that for all eternity? Heaven is the place where everything revolves around Jesus and worshipping him.
For me, when I think about these things it challenges me to make sure that when I get to Heaven and I get to finally see Jesus face to face I don’t want Him to be a stranger. I want to carry on what I’ve been pursuing on Earth, only in a much more intense, personal and unspoiled way.
Tuesday, March 19, 2013
Dealing with Disappointment
Ok....time to start doing something with this blog. My "skitrainingcentral.blogspot.com" has been getting a lot of hits... this one hardly any. I wonder where my heart is truly at sometimes. Ski racing and training or God’s Kingdom. No reason why they can’t come together.
Every athlete faces disappointment in their competitive lives. I think my personal experience is that for every "wonder race" (the ones you truly revel in with your success-when it all seems to come together), there’s probably about five races that were generally forgettable. My recent ski blog shares my disappointment at my final int’l race. But is it about results anyway?
I love what Stu McMillan (popular Calgary based coach) has to say about this. (His blog: www.mcmillanspeed.com)
"Possibly cliche number one in the Great Book of Cliches states that life is about the journey - not the destination....And it is in this process that success lies.
It is the same with sport. If you are waiting until the end-product of your work for your satisfaction, then you will be disappointed. Revel in the training. In your experiences. The challenges. In the friendships you make. The relationships you build. With others. With yourself. In the strength you possess. Your will. Your commitment. Learn from your failures. For there will be many.
Don't be proud of your perfectionism. It is a flaw. The struggle to avoid failure is a fear-driven, exhausting, stressful way to live. Perfectionism will not lead to high-performance.
High performance comes from embracing your fears. From confronting failure. From be-friending your imperfection."
I’ll even notch things up a bit.
As a Christian athlete, we’ve got even more purpose and reason for triumphantly persevering. Check out Romans 5.3f:
"And not only this, but we also exult in our tribulations, knowing that tribulation brings about perseverance; and perseverance proven character, and proven character, hope; and hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us."
What’s more important than good results? Character. God is way more concerned about our character.... about becoming like Jesus, than He is about results (though I think He does care, because we care-but in a different way). Another cliche (maybe #2 Stu) is, "there's Joy in the Journey". Really living is when you take each setback and roadblock and go about striving to solve the puzzle. Romans 5 tells us there is a great outcome in doing this... hope. Character. Experiencing God along the way (via the Holy Spirit).
I’ve got way more to say on this, but I’m keeping my bposts short. More later! Thanks for reading!
Every athlete faces disappointment in their competitive lives. I think my personal experience is that for every "wonder race" (the ones you truly revel in with your success-when it all seems to come together), there’s probably about five races that were generally forgettable. My recent ski blog shares my disappointment at my final int’l race. But is it about results anyway?
I love what Stu McMillan (popular Calgary based coach) has to say about this. (His blog: www.mcmillanspeed.com)"Possibly cliche number one in the Great Book of Cliches states that life is about the journey - not the destination....And it is in this process that success lies.
It is the same with sport. If you are waiting until the end-product of your work for your satisfaction, then you will be disappointed. Revel in the training. In your experiences. The challenges. In the friendships you make. The relationships you build. With others. With yourself. In the strength you possess. Your will. Your commitment. Learn from your failures. For there will be many.
Don't be proud of your perfectionism. It is a flaw. The struggle to avoid failure is a fear-driven, exhausting, stressful way to live. Perfectionism will not lead to high-performance.
High performance comes from embracing your fears. From confronting failure. From be-friending your imperfection."
I’ll even notch things up a bit.
As a Christian athlete, we’ve got even more purpose and reason for triumphantly persevering. Check out Romans 5.3f:
"And not only this, but we also exult in our tribulations, knowing that tribulation brings about perseverance; and perseverance proven character, and proven character, hope; and hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us."
What’s more important than good results? Character. God is way more concerned about our character.... about becoming like Jesus, than He is about results (though I think He does care, because we care-but in a different way). Another cliche (maybe #2 Stu) is, "there's Joy in the Journey". Really living is when you take each setback and roadblock and go about striving to solve the puzzle. Romans 5 tells us there is a great outcome in doing this... hope. Character. Experiencing God along the way (via the Holy Spirit).
I’ve got way more to say on this, but I’m keeping my bposts short. More later! Thanks for reading!
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