Seems like everywhere I look these days, there’s some new controversy about sports and prayer. In September of 2014, the ACLU told a Tennessee high school that they were no longer allowed to have a prayer over the PA system before the game. They were allowed a moment of silence.

The two cheer captains from each team, decided to stand up on their own, and lead their teammates in the Lord’s Prayer. When they were obedient to God’s call, the Holy Spirit stepped in. The entire crowd in the stands joined in. They were amazed. It was completely unexpected. But, that’s what happens when we step out in faith.

There wasn’t much the ACLU could do about it.

The latest prayer war is happening in the state of Washington. At Bremerton High School, a football coach named Joseph Kennedy, has been walking to the fifty yard line to kneel in prayer, after each game, since 2008, when he saw the film, “Facing the Giants.”

He always says some form of the following prayer: “Lord I thank you for these kids and the blessing you have given me with them. We believe in the game; we believe in competition and we can come into it as rivals and leave as brothers.”

It’s pretty shocking, I know. Apparently the big issue for the school district was that he used the word, “Lord,” in it.

Well, last Friday night was their homecoming game. The coach was told he could no longer pray in the locker room or on the field after the game, because he was still on the clock for the school. He was told by the school district if he prayed, he would lose his job. He agreed not to pray in the locker room because he did in fact, have a captive audience.

Did I mention that Coach Kennedy was a Marine for twenty years? He served in Dessert Shield and Dessert Storm. Kennedy said, “He spent twenty years defending the Constitution and the freedoms that everybody has.”

After the game was over, as usual, he went to the fifty yard line and took a knee and prayed. He always has players who voluntarily follow him, but last week, the team on the opposing side and their coaches joined him.

Not only that, the word had gotten out about his situation and fellow prayer warriors showed up. One man had never been to a Bremerton football game, but came because he was tired of, “ACLU bullies.” Another man hadn’t been to a high school game in forty years, but came to pray with the coach. A State Representative came and stood by the coach through the entire game.

Who knows how the story will end? Coach Kennedy has kept his eyes focused on the, “things of God, not the things of man.”

But one thing is for sure; this is how revival starts. Christians don’t have to ram our faith down anyone’s throat. We don’t need violence. We don’t need protest signs. We don’t need hate speech or to try to put someone out of business because they don’t believe like we do.

All we have to do is remember that the God we serve called the universe into being. He is all-powerful and in control. Then, we need to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with our fellow prayer warriors in Christ.

The Holy Spirit will do the rest. The only question for us, is are we willing to stand up or in this case, take a knee? Perhaps it’s time to get off of the sidelines and into the game.

Have an awesome day!

Wendy 🙂

My pastor called my two teens into the parking lot on Sunday before church, for a little chat. I’ll have to admit that I was super curious what it was about. My kids adore him. They call him, “Captain,” which they got from the Robin Williams movie, “Dead Poet’s Society.”

I later learned that Captain asked them to take notes during his sermon and jot down anything that they didn’t understand, from vocabulary to concepts. During the sermon he said that John Wesley had done something similar, with a young servant girl. He asked her to raise her hand when he used words that she couldn’t understand. Turns out, her hand was in the air almost constantly.

I find being understandable a fascinating concept because last week, I wrote a post about experiencing God and I had someone comment that, “I had written in a way that all could understand.”

I was floored by the comment simply because I never really thought about it before. Shouldn’t we all communicate in ways that everyone can understand, especially if we are sharing ideas and truths about God? Shouldn’t being understandable always be our goal?

Is, “The Church,” failing in communicating plainly with the world around us? When I say, “The Church,” I mean all of us who follow Jesus. “The Church,” is people not a place or a denomination. We are the Body of Christ. That’s a really big role to play. We should probably take it seriously.

What are we communicating to non-believers? Are we unclear? Are we teaching and preaching one thing at worship service and then acting entirely differently when we exit the building?

Do we preach grace and forgiveness to those who visit, but then change our message entirely after they join? Does church membership become about rules and appearances? Do we preach the importance of loving others, but then do nothing for those who are in need?

There are some highly educated people out there who seem to enjoy using big words whether spoken or written. I personally find essays or books that are written with words that cause me to find a thesaurus, to be tiring. I’m likely to put a piece of writing like that, down. It doesn’t matter how profound the message may have been, if it gets lost in five dollar words and abstract concepts.

The world at large needs to know about Jesus. Christians are called to share the Gospel with the people around us. Perhaps we should take a little time to be sure that we communicate clearly with our words, as well as with our actions, who it is we serve and why.

Perhaps we should follow the lead of Captain and make every effort to be understandable to everyone who God sends across our path. Sometimes I need reminding. Maybe you do too.

Have an awesome day!

Wendy 🙂

Photo courtesy of Red & Black- Mark Richt prays with Nick Chubb.

My Facebook page has been extremely populated with anti-Mark Richt comments the past couple of weeks. The Bulldogs lost to Alabama and then to Tennessee, and a vocal contingent of the Bulldog Nation has been calling for his resignation. It doesn’t matter to them what his record is. All that matters is that they want to beat Alabama and win a national championship.

Who doesn’t? I think that the majority of college football fans are tired of mouthy Alabama fans, and is there a fan out there who doesn’t want their team to win a national championship? That’s a fabulous goal. There’s nothing wrong with wanting to win, unless perhaps it defines you.

When we decide to win at all costs, sacrificing integrity, decency and everything else in the way, winning becomes an idol.

Mark Richt is in his fifteenth year of coaching at UGA. His players have an 82% graduation rate, tying with Vanderbilt for number one in the SEC. In a 2014 ESPN article, of the top twenty-five programs in the country, according to the AP and USA Today Coaches Poll, UGA ranked third in the country, in players who graduate, right behind Notre Dame and Stanford. Since less that 4% of players go on to play in the NFL, that’s a big deal.

When the disastrous Tennessee game played out a couple of weeks ago and Nick Chubb was injured, Richt was caught on camera, praying with him. He felt like prayer was that important.

During Saturday night’s game against Missouri, I saw Todd Gurley sitting on the sidelines with Chubb, throughout the game. Gurley is now an NFL star. He certainly had better things he could have done on his week off, yet there he was supporting his injured former teammate. The week before he had tweeted prayers for him.

Praying for each other and supporting one another, isn’t that what those of us who claim to be Christians are called to do? Is there any way we can avoid giving Richt some credit in that friendship?

Richt has been quoted as saying, “My identity is not in being a national championship foot ball coach. My identity is in Christ. Do I want to win one? Yes. Does that define me as a person? No.”

He has also said that he has been asked by moms to help make their son into a man. That’s the sad reality that we live in these days. Richt has tried to rise to the challenge.

So, with all of these thoughts and facts that have swirled in my mind, I have to ask the questions, “As Southerners, who consider ourselves God-fearing Christians, men and women of faith, are we part-time Christians? Are we only Christ-followers on Sundays? Do we put away our faith for Saturday football?”

As Christians, it seems to me that what happens to those young athletes in the years after college should matter to us. Do they deserve to have a productive life after college? Do we pray that they come to know Jesus as their savior? Do we pray that they be able to have a positive impact in their world, (our world), after college?

Are their lives worth more than a national championship? Mark Richt seems to have his eyes focused on the things of God, not the things of man. Can the Bulldog Nation honestly say the same?

Have an awesome day!

Wendy 🙂

 

“Humility is the mother of giants. One sees great things from the valley; only small things from the peak.” GK Chesterton

I read this quote for the first time the other day and I was so struck by its truth, that I wrote it down. Humility is not something that we value in our culture. We like the biggest, and the fastest, and the best. We worship the winners. We strive to be on top at all times.

We want to be first in the race, the boss, the president of the organization. Don’t get me wrong; those are all fine aspirations. There’s absolutely nothing wrong with attaining something that we’ve worked really hard to get.

The journey to get where we want to go, often begins at the bottom and is filled with humility. When we first start to run, we often finish close to last. It’s humbling. When we lose more games than we win, it’s humbling. When we first begin to apply for jobs and don’t get chosen, the rejection is humbling.

When we find ourselves in the valley, we often find ourselves drawing very close to God. When we have very little, every little gift means a lot. When we are humbled by our lack, or by our failures, or simply by the unknown future, we know in our hearts that we need God. Prayer sometimes becomes our constant companion.

Then prayers get answered and our situations change and we are so thankful and grateful for a time. We notice all of the scenery on our way to the top. No detail escapes us.

We’re gearing up for another election cycle soon. Think about how humble candidates are during a campaign. Think about how grateful they are. Think about how their attitudes seem to change after the election. The humility often evaporates.

I’ve witnessed the same phenomenon happen when someone gets a big job promotion as well. Humility gets lost. Pride steps in and when pride steps in, it gets bigger and bigger and the need or rather the acknowledged need, for God gets smaller and smaller.

Pride brought down a certain angel named Lucifer.

It seems when we reach the top of whatever it is we so desperately strive for, we tend to let everything else get small except for our achievement.

Of course we have a choice. We always have a choice. We can choose to keep God close no matter where we are in our journey. We can choose to be thankful in the valleys and the peaks. We can pray for humility once we reach the top. We can choose to know that we need God wherever we are, and that can make all of the difference.

But, if you find yourself in a valley today, take heart, the beauty is in all of the details of the journey and the perseverance comes from the One who always walks with you. You never travel alone.

Have an awesome day!

Wendy 🙂

 

Yesterday, when I mistimed going to run a few errands, I ended up behind a school bus. There are few things that I dislike more than riding for a mile, or less, then stopping, for what seems like forever. I know I’m not alone here. But, alas, that was my lot yesterday.

As I was sending a mental telepathy message to the driver to, “Please turn! Please turn,” he stopped again. Sigh. I drummed my fingers on the steering wheel, as I waited.

Then I watched a little girl get off the bus. She was tiny and couldn’t have been older than kindergarten or first grade. She had a light blue, “Frozen,” backpack on her back that was as almost as big as she was. I found myself smiling at how cute she was and remembered my own daughter carrying a pink, Barbie backpack when she was that age. I remember hers being too big for her too. Where had the time gone?

As the bus waited, I watched the little girl break out into a run right into the arms of her mother. It was so ordinary, but so sweet. She probably saw her mom just that morning, but missed her so much that just walking wasn’t fast enough.

Again, I remembered my own children being that excited to see me at the end of a long day. I also remember that I took as much comfort from them being safely back in my arms as they did.

I think Jesus probably feels the same way when we’ve wandered away, whether it’s a long work day without contact or many years. I think he stands like that mama in the driveway, with his arms outstretched, beckoning us back. It doesn’t really matter where we have been. He just wants us back, safely in his arms, and if we’re wise, we will run, just like that little girl did, because we really can’t get back in his arms fast enough.

I carried that thought around for the rest of the day and I thanked God for the sweet reminder. Maybe you needed one too.

Have an awesome day!

Wendy 🙂