FCA puts out a daily email called the Impact Play. This one is studly. Hope it challenges you like it did me.
(If you wanna subscribe to the daily email, click here)
READY:
“But He gives a greater grace. Therefore it says, God is opposed to the proud, but gives grace to the humble.”
-James 4:6 (NASB)
SET:
Watching the Super Bowl is always an exciting event, and, with the whole world looking on, this year’s game was one of the highest-rated programs in history. With that many people watching, players are really put under a microscope. Millions of people are watching their every move, and opinions can be formed about the players in the blink of an eye.
This year, something pretty special caught my eye during, and it definitely left an impression on me. Early in the fourth quarter the Colts stalled and were forced to attempt a pretty long field goal that would have added to their lead. There was a great snap, a good hold and what looked like a good kick from Matt Stover. Unfortunately for Stover and the Colts, the kick ended up just left of the upright.
Now, missed 50-yard field goals are not uncommon, but what Stover did after he missed the field goal was very uncommon. When they showed the replay of Stover’s reaction to the missed the kick, the world saw him pointing to the sky. When I saw that I thought that he must have thought it went through the goalposts. I thought, “How embarrassing. The guy was celebrating too early and didn’t realize he missed the kick.” Turns out I was wrong. The announcer then commented about how Matt points to the sky after every kick of his, good or bad.
When I heard that I was absolutely floored. How many times have we seen athletes point to the sky after something good happens? This man was pointing to the sky after something BAD happened, and that really struck me as unique.
The Lord has blessed so many of us with great minds to go to school, great families, and great abilities to play sports, but how many of us constantly think about where those abilities come from? How many of us give credit to God when we do something good on the field? I know that I don’t do that often enough, and it is a shame. God has graciously blessed us with so many gifts. Who are we to think that we deserve any credit for them? God could take them away in a minute, and, if He did, would we be okay with that? Would we feel embarrassed because we are no longer “good” at something, or would we humbly accept what God has done and continue serving Him?
I say this because in the midst of the biggest game in football, Matt Stover showed such a great example of humility. God encourages us to not be boastful or cocky, but instead remain humble in all that we do. It is encouraging to see a professional athlete step back and recognize what is truly important in life, and I hope that each and every one of us can do the same.
GO:
1. How often do you give yourself credit for something that you have done?
2. What have we done do deserve any of God’s blessings?
3. Why, then, do we boast like they are ours?
WORKOUT:
Galatians 6:3-4
James 4:10
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Jordan Rennicke, student-athlete
It’s the little things that make me smile sometimes…
Today?
1- I got to laugh with a friend I had been dearly missing…it’s like putting a dislocated joint back in place.
2- got to catch up with my sister too!
3- I made a fancy breakfast all by myself and for myself (i normally reserve that for when friends come over).
4- I’m gonna go play flag football with a bunch of girls, and halfway thinking it would be fun to get grease paint and make my team put their “game face” on
5- My MOM and I will have a skype date for the first time later today. Yay technology.
6- maybe not so little, but really REALLY cool to me: I’m a word nerd. Add that to a chill morning with fancy breakfast, some caffiene and a Bible dictionary, and you get a new love for Jeremiah 31:3- “I have loved (desire, delight- implying ardent and vehement inclination of the mind and a tenderness of affection at the same time) you with an everlasting (from time past, to eternity) love.” Makes me kinda thankful.
ok…football time…BRING IT!
Love this guy! And dang…challenging me today. How now shall we live?
It’s not hard. I excite easy. I have had people tell me that the first time they met me, they were scared of me. that could be a problem. But it’s generally because I’m really excited about something. Probably TOO excited in many people’s estimation. And for some reason, God found it funny to give me really close friends who DON’T excite easy. Yeah, that’s NEVER led to miscommunication (sarcastic finger is raised right now for those who care or need to know). I even have a couple friends who have assigned bird names to various individuals: one is a goose, another is a duck…they call me an egret. Yeah, because that’s the only bird name they could think of that starts with an “E”.
So this excitable egret over here wanted to share something that pumped me up yesterday. Frankly, it’s been a tough week. I NEEDED something to excite me. I guess another personality trait/desire is an excitement about introducing friends to each other…particularly if it’s gonna be beneficial to them both. Honestly, I have a whole slew of friends who are only friends with each other because I introduced them (and it’s really turned into a fun game of “who do I have the most mutual friends on Facebook with” contest for a few). Here’s my favorite recent one, for your enjoyment and awe of a God who knows what He’s doing.
Krista is one of my little sisters from my time at Auburn. She played softball and we dug into the Bible together during my time there and we’ve kept in touch ever since. She just got a job with Teach for America in Memphis. WAY TO GO, KRISTA!!! Julie is another little sister graciously given to me during my time at Clemson. She’s a stud who wears cardigans in her aspirations to be a counselor someday and help people be godly (she gets plenty of practice helping me for now..haha). She’s on leadership with Clemson FCA…who goes on a spring break missions trip every year, connecting with the local church, FCA, and other service organizations. Guess where they’re going this year? Yeah you guessed it…Memphis! So I get to introduce Krista to a Julie, who will be able to help Krista know what church to check in Memphis, facilitate meeting the Memphis FCA staff, and who knows??? If schedules work out, Krista might get to even join them for the Spring Break Trip! Yay for introducing my friends to each other and God using it for good!
Lecrae’s “Don’t wanna waste my life”
If you wanna check the lyrics (he’s fast!!!), visit:
http://www.lyricsbay.com/dont_waste_your_life_lyrics-lecrae_f_cam_dwayne_tryumf.html
High School Girls. Coaches. Soccer. Teambuilding. Campfires. High Ropes Course. Silly Games. INTENSE competition. Amazing Food and Scenery.
Really…what more could you ask for? I totally got to speak for this camp. 50 coaches and athletes representing 3 HS girls’ soccer teams descended upon the beauty that is Hume Lake a couple weekends ago. My job? To speak both mornings after breakfast in the optional chapel time. So a girls’ gotta earn a right to be heard, right? So the rest of my job? To play with them all weekend! Ropes course it up, participate in their soccer practices, do marshmallow’s over their campfires and help the coach’s team hold the campers’ team scoreless in indoor soccer! (click on any picture to see it larger)
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- crazy game i don’t remember the name of :)
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- Bumper Tubes
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- Deer on the soccer field!!!
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- One of our high schools
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- Climbing the wall!
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- The Screamer!
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- Me getting to speak to the girls
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- Get your grub on
As for the speaking, every last one of them stayed to hear me talk about the trust and team and friendship they were experiencing all weekend…and to speak about my BEST friend who has ALWAYS been deserving of my trust…Jesus. I got to remind them of the harness they wore on the high ropes course. If you haven’t ever done high ropes, put that on your bucket list!! You’ll do things like climb a wall, and the harness is there as a fail-safe, just in case you fall. But then, you perform other elements like the girls’ favorite, the ”screamer”, where the harness is intended to hold your full weight as you trust it and the Belay Guide truly with your life (well, the solidarity of your bones and joints at the very least). And THAT is the picture when the writer of Proverbs says, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart” (3:5-6).
So that was my challenge to them and to you to…is Jesus your fail-safe just-in-case kinda Savior? Or have you placed your entire weight on Him? Why would you really? I mean entirely turn over the shot-calling rights to YOUR life? Only if that Person is Good, trustworthy, and reliable. The best I can do by myself is SO not worth even camparing next to the best God can do with me as I entrust myself to Him. Are you “all in”?
Ps- It blew my mind as I had real talk with some of the girls/caoches and I told them it doesn’t promise that life will be better, definitely not easier, just that Jesus said He’d never leave you and never forsake you…and 20 of them said, I still want Him! Kind cool.
Hey guys…I wanna hear from you…
What’s the best thing about being a part of a team?
The worst part?
Soooo cool! For all you music nerds out there…or those who just enjoy a sweet spin on a classic song.
Ever come cross a book that you KNOW you’ll read multiple times? Yeah, I hardly ever do. But my co-workers and I just started reading “Wild Goose Chase” together. When you flip a book over to read the back, if it’s good, It’ll grab you. Here’s the back of this book:
Celtic Christians had a name for the Holy Spirit–An Geadh-Glas, or ‘the Wild Goose.’ The name hints at mystery. Much like a wild goose, the Spirit of God cannot be tracked or tamed. An element of danger, an air of unpredictability surround Him. And while the name may sound a little sacrilegious, I cannot think of a better description of what it’s like to follow the Spirit through life. I think the Celtic Christians were on to something…Most of us will have no idea where we are going most of the time. And I know that is unsettling. But circumstantial uncertainty also goes by another name: Adventure.
It’s my second time…and it WON’T be my last. Chapter 1’s take-away? “You cannot simultaneously live by faith and be bored.” So here’s the adventure that chasing the Wild Goose brought me to last week.
Thursday
I was supposed to go to one of my High Schools, but it didn’t work out. Seeing as how I get to drive all over the East Bay, I figured I might as well drive on up to Cal-Berkeley and hang with the coach I was supposed to meet for afternoon coffee. I’ve had so many names at Cal dropped on me since I got here, so I said, “Ok God…gonna go try and find these people…order my steps?” The result? A head coach who is “in” for helping with an FCA clinic, the opportunity to speak to her team, and a knowledge of how to pray for her. An asst coach who shared some big decisions with me and walked me all over campus and helped me find the other two people I was looking for. A office visit with a support staffperson who has several multiple friends as me (what? a girl who only moved to cali 3 months ago??) and is armpit deep in ministering to their athletes (plus he has a wife who played college soccer…I’m a fan!). Crazy.
Friday
Rigo and I went to Santa Clara University intending to find two coaches. They weren’t available. (sound familiar?) Well, since spending time with my new friends at Cal the day before, one had told me to go say hi to one of the AD’s…a friend of his. So Rigo and I roll up to this guy’s office, unannounced and unknown and get the chance to sit down with him, explain FCA, and hopefully encourage him some. What?!? While we were waiting to see him, Rigo’s phone rings and we both start laughing. It’s an SCU athlete we’ve both been trying to connect with for several weeks. And we hear back from him while sitting in SCU’s AD office? The only day we BOTH have been on that campus together? Totally gotta to connect up with this athlete 10 minutes later and try to hook him up with other FCA college athletes, and maybe even get something started on SCU’s campus before this year is out.
Otro dia, otra aventura- another day, another adventure…a day in the life of chasing the Wild Goose.
Yeah, I’ve recently had a few conversations that made me wanna give a shout out to my guy friends out there. Live in the 4th location in an many years and you’re just thankful you still actually have friends. God’s been good in blessing me with a few guys and girls…even in the midst of all the moving…that are lifers for sure.
As for girls…We’re complicated. I consider myself to be pretty chill…but when asked the other day by a guy friend to speak for my entire gender…and I started giving it some thought…MAN, we must be aliens to you guys! That’s one thing I appreciate about guys. Warning…impending Generalization: Their simplicity drives girls nuts. But, lately to me, it has become quite refreshing! I’m not gonna speak for all women…and I’m not talking about all guys. But for the ones I’ve had the pleasure to meet the past 3 years, I want to brag on them. In a world where fathers are many times absent (physically or at least emotionally)…how is a boy supposed to learn how to be a man? Here’s a few that have done it well. They are warriors, yet gentle. They walk with a holy swaggar. And they’re fun. 
Randy, Sean, and Wayne- my BROTHERS in the true sense…3 big black footballers…yeah, I loved being sandwiched in between 2 of them at church one day. Nothing like being hugged by the guy who sacked Brodie…laughing hysterically with a “tough guy” who names his plants and has more friends than I know what to do with…or having a guy who grew up in ghettos and gangs yet is never without a smile now speak peace to your greatest insecurities and affirm the joy you have. And i don’t know where you come from…but in many places, there’s a stereotype of the angry black man. Let me tell you, these guys are rewriting the books. Tearing down the walls. Breaking all the stereotypes. True heros.
Wes, Chette, Scott- Older guy friends who have been fathers to me in the faith. Chette and Wes have given their lives to work for FCA as chaplains on the college campus. Scott speaks at FCA camps all the time, filetting himself as he honestly shares from his past and present to inspire us. All have taught me how to live a life of influence that I hope comes close to matching theirs and their patience, godliness and wisdom.
Evan and Brad- William Wallace. Need I say more? No more Mr Nice Guy…Bold, on Fire, and Contagious…and encouragers.
Spencer, Justin, Bryan, Parker, David- My younger bro’s. All these guys holding it down at Clemson…making more of their college years than many of us could’ve dreamed of making ours. They understand their influence. And they’re using it! At times their wisdom has humbled me. It has been an honor to serve them.
Rigo and Clay- The guys I work with now. The sacrifices they have made…nope you won’t ever understand it. Hmm, is that what it looks like to give yourself up as Christ did?
Josh A, Josh B, and Nick- my most recent additions. They have welcomed me SO WELL to California…they’ve made it start to feel like home. From the youngest who has been the best little brother I always wanted but never had…to the middle one who has reminded some of us girls that we’re special…to the oldest who has gained it all to lose it all to find it all, be broken, and give it all away. All 3 really do desire to be a man after God’s own heart and live a life of influence. None of them have told me that…but they don’t have to. It’s obvious.
Yeah they’re human and still have things to work on…don’t we all? But thanks, guys, for showing us glimpses of what REAL LIFE looks like. I’m a blessed girl for knowing you. Thank you from the rest of us.
