Weak vs Strong

WEAK VS STRONG

 

LOCATION:

Joshua 1:9  "Have I not commanded you?  Be strong and courageous.  Do not be terrified, do not be discouraged, for The Lord your God will be with you wherever you go."

 

HEADLINE:

"Its the struggle to overcome that helps you to recognize that true strength is built during the hardest times." Leah O'Brien-Amico

3-Time Woman's Softball Olympic Gold Medalist

GAME SUMMARY:

The words weak and strong are seen as total opposites, but the Bible says they actually work together.  A Christian needs to be weak in order to be strong.
Joshua 1:9 says "Have I not commanded you?  Be strong and courageous.  Do not be terrified, do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go." Right before this verse, God tells Joshua that he will be the one who leads the Israelites into the land that God had promised to their forefathers.  God also told Joshua that to be successful he needed to obey God's law and to meditate upon it day and night.  God told Joshua he would lead them into the promise land, but it was clear it wasn't going to be an easy road.  If it was, he wouldn't need the strength and courage that God commanded him about many times.
As Christians, we know that Jesus Christ has won the victory over death & through his resurrection made a way to heaven for all who surrender to Him as the Lord of their lives.  Even though we know we are promised heaven, we still have to go through trials in life.  As Christian athletes, we need to be strong and courageous as well.
There will be times when our opponent is better than us and times we make mistakes or go through slumps.  One of the biggest trials I went through while competing for the USA Softball team was in the summer prior to trying out for the Olympic team.  I was struggling in my hitting and I knew this could affect my chance to be named to the Olympic team.  I was frustrated and upset. As I stood in the outfield during our games, I meditated upon Joshua 1:9 and prayed often.  I told God I knew He was with me and had a plan even in my struggling.  I chose to battle with all I had on the field and find strength in God's Word and leave the results up to God.  Eventually I started hitting better and later that year I was named to the Olympic team.
The following year I stood on the podium in Sydney, Australia and received the gold medal with my teammates.  I couldn't help but reflect on what I went through a year earlier.  It's the trials that make the victory so much more special.  It's the struggle to overcome that helps you recognize that true strength is built during the hardest times.  I am thankful God reminds me His power is made perfect in our weakness and His grace is sufficient for us (2 Corinthians 12:9).  God is with us wherever we go and is near whenever we call out to Him.  Be strong and courageous on and off the field.  God chose Joshua to lead His people into the promised land.  God's Word also encourages us to lead others by meditating upon the Bible, obeying His Word, and sharing His love and truth with others.

MVP:

   Leah O'Brien,

Christian athlete and speaker

 

 

RECAP:

1.  When you are struggling in a sport, school activity, etc., what verse helps you?  Make a note of the verse, memorize it and recite it to yourself often.

2.  Have you ever had a time where you experienced God's power in your weakness?  When did you notice it?

3.  Do you turn to God during your struggles and do you praise Him during your successes?  Why or why not?

PRACTICE:

Checkout the song "Fighter" by Jamie Grace

Contributed by Leah O'Brien and dedicated to the 2014 Lucky Ladies 10 & under softball team.  (Leah played softball for the University of Arizona, a three-time Woman's Softball Olympic Gold medalist, and now conducts softball clinics, a speaker ... faith-based and motivational ... and ESPN commentator.  This devotional was contributed by Leah for Athletes Church.  You can learn more about Leah at her website.  www.leah20.com )

Christian vs The World

CHRISTIAN VS THE WORLD

 

LOCATION:

John 15:28  "But this is to fulfill what is written in their Law: 'They hated me without reason.'"

 

HEADLINE:

"I am not going to shove my faith down your throat, but when the opportunity presents itself, don't expect me to walk away.  This is who I am, and Jesus Christ is at the center of my life.  It's al that I am, every day, every decision that I make.  I'm going to stand up and tell you what I believe is true." - Mike Matheny

Mike Matheny, St. Louis Cardinals Manager

GAME SUMMARY:

As the Head Coach for my daughter's 10 & Under travel softball team, Lucky Ladies, I am often faced with making coaching decisions that might upset fans, coaches, and even my players.  However they feel, in the end the decision made is the decision followed.

For example in a heated game against a very talented opponent, with the other team's best hitter up, they had runners on 2nd and 3rd and 2 outs.  I talked to my assistant coaches and decided to intentionally walk the girl to create a force at any base and in my opinion help our team win the game.  The rules we were playing under allowed me to walk her without pitching 4 balls.  But most people watching didn't know this as it was a special rule in this tournament.  Boy was I surprised what came next from the fans of the other team. 

The first word I heard from opposing fans was a lady scream "you're a monster" and then another "you are taking the game out of the girls hands".  Moving ahead we got out of the inning without allowing a run and won by 1 run.  At the handshake one of their assistant coaches, as he was shaking my hand and my assistant coach's hand called us "cheaters."  I am thinking "cheaters because we played by the rules", that was a new one to me.  I did however pop off a sarcastic remark (not a very Christian thing to do), but for the most part ignored it and helped my other coaches do the same.

Christians are often put in similar situations where they seem weird or even evil for doing something that is actually Biblical.  This challenges one's faith but also when handled correctly will open you to grow in your walk with Jesus.

The Bible says some of our biggest enemies may be from our own household.  Jesus brothers made fun of him for what he did.  Some closest to us may make the most rude comments sometimes.  Has that ever happened to you?

JOHN 7:3-5, "and Jesus' brothers said to him, "Leave here and go to Judea, where our followers can see your miracles! You can't become famous if you hide like this! If you can do such wonderful things, show yourself to the world!" For even his brothers didn't believe in him."

MVP:

   All the Christians out there that follow Jesus and do so regardless of how the world will treat them or think of them.

 

 

RECAP:

Have you ever known someone who tries to act religious but it seems they are always trying to make you feel bad?  Many times it was a very small thing, that made you feel really bad.  How did you handle this? 

PRACTICE:

Checkout Lecrae's song "Identity" and the book "Intentional Walk" for a little inspiration to this story.

Losers vs Winners

 

 

 

LOSERS VS WINNERS

 

LOCATION:

Colossians 3:23  Whatever you do, do it enthusiastically, as something done for the Lord and not for men.

HEADLINE:

“You are never a loser until you quit trying”  Mike Ditka, Super Bowl winning coach

 

 

GAME SUMMARY:

We can always feel like winners, when we know we have tried our hardest.

My team, the Byng Lady Pirates went into the 4A Oklahoma Fastpitch District Playoffs, feeling pretty good about how we were playing.  However, I don't think most people thought we had it in us to make any kind of run in the playoffs. After all we had lost a bunch of games and we were unranked. We were one of the smallest schools in our class but boy were they wrong!  After winning the first two games of a three game series against our rival Ada, we were District Champs, and on our way to Regionals.

As a sophomore during playoffs, I was a little nervous.  The first game of Regionals was against the mighty Cache team that had won state the previous year. We played hard but Cache got the best of us and handed us our 1st loss in a double elimination format.  It was time for our second round of regionals, nerves were kicking in and all I could think about was pitching strikes.

It was the bottom of the seventh inning, we were down two runs and up to bat. There was a full count and two outs on one of our seniors, Layna Abbott.  There were two runners on base and from the dugout I sensed the tension. I was standing there nervous and all I could do was hope. The next thing you know, Layna was standing on third base giving the Coach a high-five. I remember hugging our 2nd baseman, Alexis, and thinking “yeah, we’re about to win this.”  When the inning ended the score was 5-5.

After shutting them out in the eighth we were ready to finish. They scored one and it was our last turn to bat. We were all nervous hoping someone would do something big, but it just didn‘t happen. That game was full of web jems, clutch hits, and a lot of cheering.  We weren’t meant to win that day. The ending score was 6-5 after nine innings, but everyone watching that day left knowing there wasn't a loser on the field.
 

Sometimes after a loss like that, you still feel like you won because you gave it your all and were beat by a better team.  As a Christian in life and sports you will go through many hard times and even feel like a "loser", but remember God created all of us to be winners in the good and the bad times.  Stay strong in your faith and ask forgiveness for your sins and you will be a winner for Jesus!!

 

 

 

 

 MVP:

2013 Byng Lady Pirates fastpitch softball team

 

 

 

 

 

 

RECAP:

Have you ever done well at something when no one was expecting you to (class project, a game, etc.)?

  If so, what was it and how did you feel at the time?   Did that cause you to raise your personal expectations?

 Did you feel disappointed the next time when you didn’t do as well?

The Scriptures say to rejoice in all things. Does this mean we should rejoice, win or lose? When we trust Jesus, even when we are weak, the Holy Spirit makes us strong. Where in your life do you feel you need to rely on the Holy Spirit for your strength?

Knowing it’s about doing your best is what counts.

 

 

PRACTICE:

 

Checkout the song "Overcomer" by Mandisa

 

 

 

Contributed by Rachel Benes, Byng, Oklahoma High School fastpitch pitcher