Staff Devotional 3.19.12

Assurance

I recently drove by a billboard for State Farm Insurance advertising their product with the slogan: “State of Insurance” with the word insurance crossed out and the word assurance written above it.  The idea is that purchasing insurance from them gives you peace of mind through the relationship you get when you choose them.  Insurance is a matter of transaction; it’s something you buy to offset risk of losing money or possessions or in some cases, for legal purposes.  Assurance is more relational; it comes from a person, and conveys trust-it is personal.   Do you have assurance?  That probably depends on the object.  I wanted to address assurance of salvation today.

Track and Field Devotional 3.12.12

Accountability

At the beginning of the season we talked about accountability.  Everyone was asked to choose to give up something for the duration of the season.  So what did you choose?  Do you remember?  Have you been successful in giving it up?  Sometimes accountability is seen as a bad word, but in reality, if the desire to be held accountable comes from yourself, you will get the most out of yourself through this process.  Hopefully the thing you have chosen to give up is something that will legitimately help you.  I want to ask you all, as athletes, are you getting everything out of your ability?

Men’s Basketball Devotional 2.22.12

Don’t Ever Give Up

A team “fighting for their life” can sometimes look like a frantic beetle that has been overturned, struggling to get right side up.  The beetle will battle to turn over quickly knowing that at any moment it could be over.  That will to keep fighting is necessary to stay alive in playoff competition.  Tonight I am going to share with you about a man in scripture who, in a sense, kept us all alive.

Track and Field Devotional 2.13.12

Respect

There is a basic respect that most people assent is to be given in general to all.  Unwritten rules, things like yielding a parking space to a car waiting for a spot with its blinker on, or giving up your bus seat for a pregnant woman, these situations are given respect almost all of the time.  There is another level of respect though that is earned, and this is the kind of respect that athletes seek to obtain.

Staff Devotional 2.13.12

Do You Remember?

This last weekend many people were remembering Whitney Houston, a great singer whose life ended abruptly.  Here at Warner Pacific we also remembered some people who have ended or are ending their college playing days.  On Saturday we had Senior Night to honor our graduating players and we also inducted our first Hall of Honor class in the school’s history.  God knows we have a tendency to forget things, and He warned Israel about that tendency as they prepared to enter the Promised Land through the words of Moses.

Women’s Basketball Devotional 2.11.12

Placement

 Every team seeks to find its place.  For some, it becomes clear sooner rather than later.  A tough start to the year may derail big dreams, or a hot start could increase expectations of what is possible.  Some teams will believe that they are not where they should be and fight to prove it to the rest of the league.  These things always work themselves out as the season comes to a close.  You will always have teams who like attention, teams like the New York Jets in football, or the Yankees in baseball.  Often times it is the team that gets hot at the right time who ends up finishing where they thought they could if things just came together when they needed to.

Many parents fight to get their kids to the best schools for education, or maybe even for athletics, they are willing to go to great lengths to get their children placed in the best possible situation. 

Women’s Basketball Devotional 2.10.12

Live In The Moment

Many people will tell you that women multi-task better than men, while this is a stereotype; experience tends to confirm it true more often than not.  In general, men’s brains compartmentalize things more than women’s brains; everything tends to be connected in some way for women.  Obviously there are benefits to both tendencies given particular circumstances.  On a recent trip with my family, I was busy packing the car up with all of my son’s toys, our clothes, and a cooler all while trying to get the house ready for our departure while my wife took care of our son.  I thought I would try to charge my wife’s electric toothbrush as long as possible while I did everything else, but when we arrived at our destination five hours later, sadly I realized I had forgotten our entire toiletries bag, including that now super charged toothbrush.  Not my best moment for multi-tasking!