NOTE:  This E-votional is dedicated to the lives lost in the recent Oklahoma storms.  As only God can do, He led me to write it last week.  My prayers go out for each family who faced this devastating storm, the injured and those who lost loved ones.



Each year at just the right time we set out the petunias.  When spring rains pour down on them they become bent and bowed from the added weight of the water…not a pretty sight!  However, it only takes a little sun to bring them into glorious splendor again with the flowers open and basking in the warmth and soaking up the heavenly water.

A sport team’s strength comes from the challenges that are encountered and withstood.  A worthy competitor brings out the best in a team. Through the rain of tough play comes the building of their STORM STRENGTH which is added endurance and improved skills.

                                                  STORMS ARE TRANSFORMING

Sometimes rain threatens my plans.  What was an outdoor event must become an indoor event.  What was an opportunity to enjoy the freshly groomed backyard becomes another indoor gathering simply peering out at what could have been. My plans, however, are secondary to God’s purpose.

 (God) causes the sun to rise on good people and on evil people, and he sends rain to those who do right and to those who do wrong.  Matt. 5:45 NCV

When the storms of life hit so hard that we nearly break from the force, we can bounce back with added STORM STENGTH.  Whatever threatens to destroy, God uses to strengthen.

 Our loving God …uses the water that batters us on the outside to build us up on the inside, so we may stand straight and strong. Julie Ackerman Link

QUESTION: What do you do when a cloud-burst is dumped on you? Fret? Cry? Whine? Complain? Run? Sleep? Shop? Eat? Play video games? Get outa town?

JESUS’ ANSWER:  Change the way you view the rainfall!

 “If you open your eyes wide in wonder and belief, your body fills up with light. If you live squinty-eyed in greed and distrust, your body is a dank cellar.”  Matthew 6:22-23 The Message

PRAYER:  Thank you for the rain on my parade and the storms that bring it my way.  I give my past storms, present storms and future storms to you. When the rain of trouble makes its way through my life, help me gain your intended STORM STRENGTH emerging in glorious splendor by your unlimited power within me.  In Jesus Name, Amen.

Blessings…as you allow the storm to make you strong.

©2013 SPORTMOMS & MORE | 11964 Elemar - Portland, OR 97224

As children we spent endless hours searching for HIDDEN TREASURES. Sometimes it was in the sands of the ocean where the tides could carry in shipwrecked treasure as seen in the movies.  Often it was searching for the illusive end of a rainbow for the coveted pot of gold. Longing for these unearned windfalls of wealth and searching for them in places of our imagination was regular childhood play. But deep within our souls were treasures yet unrealized.

Just a 6 foot 7inch dunking center, a 4-minute miler, or a spot-on quarterback with an amazing passing game is all I need to win.  These are the illusive treasures that coaches dream about.  The real treasure, however,  is hidden within their current team and waiting to be discovered.

It has been said that realizing the wealth of sympathy, kindness and generosity hidden in the soul of a child is a treasure to be unlocked.
 
Our children are our treasures, losing them for even a few minutes is heart-wrenching.  Hidden in the storyline of Jesus’ childhood is a situation that no parent wants to face…

When Jesus was twelve years old, his family traveled to Jerusalem for the Festival of the Passover. After the festival was over, his parents left for home with relatives and friends thinking he was in their company.  They traveled for a day but when they looked for him they couldn’t find their treasured son so they went back to Jerusalem to look for him.  After three days of searching they found him and his mother said to him, “Son, why have you treated us like this? Your father and I have been anxiously searching for you.”

 WHEN OUR TREASURES BECOME HIDDEN IT IS TIME FOR PURPOSEFUL SEARCH

Jesus was found sitting in the temple courts among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions – that amazed everyone including his parents.  The HIDDEN TREASURE of who He was, God’s Son, was revealed in his response…

“Why were you searching for me?” he asked. “Didn’t you know I had to be in my Father’s house?”  Luke 2:49 NIV

The response of Mary, Jesus’ mother, shows her perspective and intention…

But his mother treasured all these things in her heart. And Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man. Luke 2:51-52 NIV

Our children, athletes, and those we are in charge of are HIDDEN TREASURES waiting to be discovered.  Putting our time and energy into this search may be heart wrenching at times, but is also the epic heart-warming story.

For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.  Matthew 6:21 KJV

Blessings…as your God-given HIDDEN TREASURES hidden in your soul become realized.

©2013 SPORTMOMS & MORE | 11964 Elemar - Portland, OR 97224

Choosing what to GIVE AWAY is part of each day.  We regularly give away things like gifts to friends and family for special occasions, items we don’t want anymore, our time helping others, our energy and enthusiasm to support a common goal etc.

"Unless we give part of ourselves away, unless we can live with other people and understand them and help them, we are missing the most essential part of our own lives." 
Harold Taylor, Canadian Politician

To coach is to GIVE AWAY a part of yourself to each athlete. Whether by transferring skill knowledge, imparting the art of cooperation, modeling toughness and tenderness, or instilling their expectation, a successful coach lives a life of giving.

CHRIST’S GREAT GIVEAWAY:  As our ultimate example, Christ’s life was a total GIVEAWAY!  Since we all need to be rescued from our sin-filled nature, Christ’s purpose was to give his life so we could get life.

He came …to GIVE AWAY his life in exchange for the many who are held hostage (by sin).  Matthew 20:28 The Message


OUR GREAT GIVEAWAY:  To give is an essential part of the Christian lifestyle

Give away your life; you’ll find life given back, but not merely given back—given back with bonus and blessing. Giving, not getting, is the way. Generosity begets generosity.  Luke 6:38 TM

A recent advertisement announced a company’s latest promotion as A “SHARE IT TO WIN IT” GIVEAWAY!  It is a fitting goal for us as well.  Sharing what God has given us brings worthwhile meaning to what we have.

Regularly giving our money to God through tithes is an honorable act of worship.  God’s Word also tells us that our giving to Him is worthless if we fail to supply the needs of those closest to us. The religious leaders in Jesus time ignored those needs demanding that certain monies be given at the temple no matter the need surrounding the giver. Jesus addressed this issue with these words…

In this way, you let them disregard their needy parents.  And so you cancel the word of God in order to hand down your own tradition.” Mark 7: 12-13 NLT

                            CHOOSING NOT TO GIVE IS CHOOSING DEFEAT.

Blessings…as you choose to GIVEAWAY in Jesus Name.

©2013 SPORTMOMS & MORE | 11964 Elemar - Portland, OR 97224

Ever had to “eat your own words”?  It's a difficult spoonful to swallow. Announcing an opinion as fact or questioning a promise and being proven wrong is the antithesis of embarrassment. We’re usually left having to take it all back.

Athletes and teams sometimes promote themselves by announcing how great they are going to be. If it turns out to be true they don’t have to eat their words.  If, however, things don’t go so well, any future announcements will be questioned at the least and most likely not believed…a bad “eating” habit.  Descriptive words will follow a proven performance.

                                    LET THE PERFORMANCE DO THE TALKING

We can find ourselves announcing what we feel as if it is true and end up having to eat our own words.  The prophet Jeremiah, a mouthpiece for God, found himself having to take it all back.  In the 15th chapter of his writings, he opens by whining about his situation after believing God's Word...

When your words came, I ate them; they were my joy and my heart’s delight, for I bear your name, Lord God Almighty.  Jeremiah 15:16  (NIV)

By verse 18 Jeremiah is questioning whether the Lord is even there for him…

I don’t understand why my injury is not cured or healed.  Will you be like a brook that goes dry?  Will you be like a spring that stops flowing?  (NCV)

In another version of the Bible Jeremiah boldly announces what God looks like to him…

You are to me like a deceptive brook, like a spring that fails. (NIV)

Verse 19 brings a response from the Lord answering Jeremiah’s cruel accusation …

“Take back those words, and I’ll take you back.  Then you’ll stand tall before me. Use words truly and well. Don’t stoop to cheap whining. Then, but only then, you’ll speak for me.  Let your words change them. Don’t change your words to suit them.”  (The Message)

PRAYER:  Lord, let my words be those that I won’t have to eat.  I will eat of Your Word daily so my words and thoughts can be Your words and thoughts.   In Jesus Name, Amen.

             FEASTING ON GOD’S WORD SAVES US FROM HAVING TO EAT OUR OWN.

Blessings...as you speak truly and well with words that reflect our God.

 
©2013 SPORTMOMS & MORE | 11964 Elemar - Portland, OR 97224

Sport teams and individual athletes also emerge.  After the difficult and wearing days of training,  they REACH for the goal set before them displaying their abilities through competition.  They are ready to rise to the heights.

"Reach high, for stars lie hidden in your soul. Dream deep, for every dream precedes the goal."  Pamela Vaull Starr

Our scripture for the year calls us to triumphant explosion…an exclamation of what is and can be.

Reach out and experience the breadth!  Test its length! Plumb the depths!  Rise to the heights!  Live full lives…full in the fullness of God.  Ephesians 3:19b The Message

To REACH for what God has intended is both a promise and a pronouncement. 

#PROMISE- WHAT IS! 
Hidden in the passage of scripture above are these descriptions of our Creator:  He is far beyond what our eye can see, He has no end, His knowledge is deeper and His love is limitless…He is above all, in all,  through all…and He REACHES for us.

#PRONOUNCEMENT – WHAT WILL BE! 
We will experience the fullness of God Himself as we REACH FOR Him…take advantage of the vast opportunities He puts before us, push ourselves to go further relying on His power,  probe the depths of His faithfulness, go to the highest possible reach with His strength…and live complete and fulfilling lives …REACH for Him.

All this and more is available to us as followers of Christ.  A college classmate of mine put it this way…

“I don't want to get to Heaven and have God show me all he made available to me here on earth that I didn't REACH FOR.”  Joy Liedtke

PRAYER:  Thank you for your tender reach…I reach for You today.  May my life bloom in triumphant explosion as I live in Your fullness.  In Jesus Name, Amen.

Blessings…as you REACH for all that God is and all that He has for you.

©2013 SPORTMOMS & MORE | 11964 Elemar - Portland, OR 97224

Another new dress, another new place to eat, another new house, another new vacation spot, another new iPhone…there always seems to be an “another” of something that we cannot live without.  The quest for something more and better seems to attack our senses regularly through friends, television, radio, internet, movies, etc.  It comes upon us while shopping, exercising, riding in the car, watching commercials… wherever we are it seems to catch up with us.

Coaches and golfers are notorious for constantly looking for ANOTHER way to win.  Whether it is a new play, new practice scheme or a new golf club, the insatiable desire to find the secret weapon is in their DNA.

It’s easy to find ourselves longing for better way out of life’s circumstances.  The feeling of despair comes over us and we long for more direction, a clearer answer, another voice to satisfy our decision…ANOTHER way to learn and grow.

                     IT’S NOT ABOUT GETTING “YET ANOTHER” …                                                 BUT ABOUT POSSESSING THE “RIGHT ANOTHER”!

Jesus, our advocate before the Father, opened the door for ANOTHER advocate to walk with us as He left this earth…

I will ask the Father, and he will give you ANOTHER advocate to help you and be with you forever— the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you...But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you.  John 14:16.17 & 26

We do need ANOTHER to guide us in the right direction, to answer our heartfelt questions, to assist us in our decision making and to comfort us in our time of need.  Since the role of the Holy Spirit includes teaching and reminding, we can set aside our self-reliant quest to find yet another way. 

Dwelling with and within us the Holy Spirit opens the door of our hearts to the mind of Christ. Walking through this open door is our choice.
                                                                                                           
When one door closes, ANOTHER opens; but often we look so long at the closed door that we do not see the one which has been opened for us.
                                                                                                                         Helen Keller

Blessings…as you choose the open door by relying on who Jesus promised us ANOTHER Advocate.

©2013 SPORTMOMS & MORE | 11964 Elemar - Portland, OR 97224

START     In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths. Proverbs 3:6
        This firm truth sends us on our way with the right people in our life car.        
         Depending on God to lead us is a non-negotiable as we begin our travel                 to GET THERE

PROCEED  “I am the Way, the Truth and the Life…no one comes to the Father except through me."  John 14:6
         Following Jesus leads to an eternal relationship with his Father – our
          Creator!

FOLLOW    “…the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to
           you.”  John 14:26
           The Divine GPS is ours applauding our progress and warning us to “re-rout”
           when we get off track.

ARRIVE   "I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith."  2 Timothy 4:7
         When we GET THERE it will be a road worth traveling…forever with our
         God.

Blessings…and have a great trip!

©2013 SPORTMOMS & MORE | 11964 Elemar - Portland, OR 97224

  


“Faith grows best in the winter of trial.” Rutherford




As spring comes into full bloom, we sometimes see remnants of winter and flowers that persevere despite the cold with endurance and staying power. The strength of spring is tested by a WINTER OF TRIAL. 

The staying power of any athlete is the willingness to persevere.  This quality alone puts them in a category all by themselves.  It takes them through the winter of grueling workouts, rigorous practices, and challenging games.  At the culmination of competition is the reward of spring - conquering at their highest ability.

About a year ago I wrote about a young mother who had been recently diagnosed with stage 3 breast cancer in one breast.  As a Christian she immediately asked for prayer and purposed to find God’s plan in all of this. Her WINTER OF TRIAL included unexpectedly finding out it was stage 4 and in both breasts, dealing with many severe set-backs following a radical double-mastectomy, and withstanding months of chemo and radiation.  Today, a year and 3 month later, she is recovering following her final scheduled surgery for her permanent implants.  A joyful season of spring is upon her as she faithfully and patiently trusted God during those cold "winter" months of her life. 

The above account is severe, but in reality all of us live in a society today that perpetuates winter.  Our unstable economic and social environment causes our collective stress level to rise. Whether it is an individual or a national WINTER OF TRIAL, peace and soothing calm can be ours.

“Learn to calmly endure the stress (or as the Bible expresses it, “trials and tribulations”) with genuine patience and faith instead of anger and frustration, and an amazing thing happens: The stress, rather than making us sick and debilitated, actually serves to make us stronger, more at peace and more whole.” 
(from a commentary by David Kupelian,  April 2013 issue of WND’s Whistleblower magazine)

Having staying power or the ability to endure is the definition of patience.  In our WINTER OF TRIAL it is faith in the One who made us that results in a staying power that is sure to bring spring.

Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces patience.  Let patience finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. James 1:2-4 NIV

Blessings…as your winter becomes a perfectly complete spring.

©2013 SPORTMOMS & MORE | 11964 Elemar - Portland, OR 97224

Many years ago I stayed with a family in Michigan while attending a Women’s Ministry conference.  During those few days I was amused by the use of the word “once”.  Their sentences consistently ended with this word such as:  we went to visit- once!  Go borrow some sugar – once!  The word “once” was not being used to indicate the number one or that the task was to be done once, but rather as an exclamation point at the end of a sentence. 

Today we will use the word “once” as a number meaning “one time”.

When a team or athlete faces an opponent at the scheduled time, they have only once to prove their current superiority.  During that short time-span one or the other will be the victor…the final score is posted with no possibility of changing it.  Win or lose, that particular game is history - no re-play or do-over…the score forever on the books.

Each day of our lives is like that game…

“Once. That's all we get. No dry runs. No do-overs. This day you're living now is not a dress rehearsal or a practice lap. You're on the stage. You're in the game. Start playing.” Coach Joe Gibbs

We speak of once-in-a-lifetime experiences – highlights of our lives that cannot be duplicated.  But each day, no matter how mundane, is ours to be lived once.  What will the final score be?

"Teach us to number our days aright, that we may gain a heart of wisdom…" 
Psalm 90:12

May we realize how short our lives really are so that we may be wise in how we use each day. 

Let the whole earth sing to the Lord! Each day proclaim the good news that he saves.   I Chronicles 16:23 NLT

   AS OUR DAYS ACCUMULATE THEY SOON BECOME A ONCE-IS-ENOUGH LIFETIME!

Ninety-year-old, Winston Churchill gives us this wise perspective…

"Life has been a grand journey—well worth making once."

ONCE IS ENOUGH to live on this earth and once was enough for our sins to be covered on the cross - our bridge to eternal life.

“…it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment:  So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many.”  Hebrews 9:27-28 KJV

Blessings…as you live each day knowing that ONCE IS ENOUGH!

©2013 SPORTMOMS & MORE | 11964 Elemar - Portland, OR 97224