Faith, Family And Football ChallengeSample

PUT ME IN, COACH!

I played a lot of sports growing up.  I eventually landed on soccer just because of the immigrant community I grew up in.  So what that meant was that there were lots of players way better than me. Because their fathers played soccer, and their father’s fathers played soccer, back generations upon generations.  I was the first one to play in my family so I was kinda on my own for a very long time.  It took hard work and dedication to finally become a starting player in high school.  That payed off with me getting a scholarship to play in college.  And that allowed me to play on some high level teams under some amazing coaches (literally the guy who made youth soccer what it is in the USA today!).  

I fell in love with this silly game.  From my experience, I even got to try out as a field goal kicker for the USFL pro football team starting in Philadelphia. And I had all intentions of playing soccer professionally.  Out of nowhere, that didn’t work out. I was crushed. It was absolutely out of my control.  But what I found was that I still loved this silly game where you chase a ball around a field and aren’t allowed to touch it with your hands.  My media work starting taking me around the world, and while I am good at picking up languages, I found something else that ingrained me into the culture immediately - SOCCER!  If I pulled out a ball, the language no longer was an issue.  We played our hearts out together, and then hung out together after the games and became friends.

This walk with God may feel a bit of the same for you.  It’s a new thing, and you may not be completely sure of what to do or how to do it. The words are even new - Christians tend to have their own language which sometimes we can understand and sometimes we can’t.  Someone in your family may have had a strong faith, maybe you’re the first.  IT’S ALL OKAY!  You can do this! We all want to be engaged in life, and sometimes it goes the way we want it and sometimes it doesn’t.  Following God allows you to see things from a new perspective, giving you the ability to trust Him with your plans and goals.  Welcome to the team!

ASK: Invite God to join you in this time.

READ: PSA.37.1-9    PHP.4.6-7

WRITE: Take some notes from your thoughts on today’s reading.  What are some things you are anxious about in life?  

MEDITATE: Present your “fret” list that you wrote down to God now.  Ask for His help in dealing with these things. Pray for Him to show up in your daily life so you can see Him at work in your work and life.  

VIDEO: https://vimeo.com/129383512 Michael Irvin, Super Bowl winning player, NFL Network Analyst