What does a coach look for most in an athlete? Shari Kuchenbecker and her team of research assistants from Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles interviewed six hundred and fifty-eight coaches representing forty-three sports. The athletes they coached ranged in age from three to twenty-two.
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Christians’ Point of No Return
If you were inside the cockpit of a departing airplane, just as it took off from the runway you would hear the copilot or captain call out, "V1." This phrase represents the "point of no return."
As the airplane accelerates toward the end of the runway, the pilot must
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Church Of God
Contributed by Johnny Creasong on Nov 21, 2006
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Returning Thanks is a LEARNED Trait.
We are not born grateful creatures. Take a baby for just a little while and you’ll probably hold in your arms what could be best described as a schizophrenic! One minute cooing, the next crying; one minute silent, the next screaming; one minute friendly
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Church Of God
Contributed by Johnny Creasong on Nov 21, 2006
The year 1636 was unbelievable for German pastor, Martin Rinkart. Amid the darkness of the Thirty Year War, Pastor Rinkart is said to have buried 5000 of his parishioners, including his wife, in the year 1636, an average of 15 per day. In the heart of that kind of grief and pain, his parish
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Church Of God
Contributed by Johnny Creasong on Nov 21, 2006
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We need to return to returning thanks.
An old man showed up at the back door of the house some college students were renting. Opening the door a few inches, the students saw that the old man’s eyes were glassy and his furrowed face glistened with silver stubble. He clutched a wicker basket
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Church Of God
Contributed by Johnny Creasong on Dec 18, 2006
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Dorothy Rodefeld is known in Madison, Wisconsin, as the "light lady" because of the elaborate Christmas displays she builds each year at her 19th century farmhouse. Last year, however, Dorothy’s nativity scene was robbed.
Among the missing items were a shepherd and a wise man. But it was the loss
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Church Of God
Contributed by Johnny Wilson on Mar 16, 2009
SIN KEYED OUT BY JESUS
What is this idea of "covering" or "hiding" sin? It means that there are circumstances where God will refuse to see our sin. I like to picture that as being like the technique used in video and film. It’s called the chromakey technique and requires filming in front of a blue
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Contributed by Johnny Wilson on Mar 16, 2009
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FORGIVEN, FORGIVEN, FORGIVEN...
I once read a marvelous story about a country doctor in Scotland who had a very poor practice. Although his patients would pay him in eggs, chickens, vegetables at harvest, and meat at slaughtering time, his huge ledger book would contain many names, symptoms,
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Contributed by Johnny Wilson on Mar 23, 2009
THERE'S ALWAYS MOUNTAINS
In the Broadway musical, The Scarlet Pimpernel, the 18th century (fictional) hero encourages his followers by reminding them of David vs. Goliath. The song goes:
"David walked into the valley
With a stone clutched in his hand
He was only a boy
But he knew someone must
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Contributed by Johnny Wilson on Mar 23, 2009
FAITH: REASON AT REST
The late Manley Beasley defined faith as a "reason at rest with God." To me, that's powerful, but it hits me even harder when I remember that he went on to say, "Faith is dependency upon God, and this God-dependency only begins when self-dependency ends." And what do we see
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Contributed by Johnny Wilson on Mar 30, 2009
The tannur (oven) did need to be hot in order to bake the bread, but if there was too much heat when the dough was supposed to be rising, it would kill the yeast and stop the process. I get it. Wailam, my wife, laughed at me when I made a cake and forgot to put any baking powder in it. It ended up
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Contributed by Johnny Wilson on Mar 30, 2009
When we are no longer alert as God’s watchmen, we have a tendency to be insensitive to all the dangers around us.
I can’t help but be reminded of a frightening experience we had when my eldest son was working the late shift at a bakery. He came home dead tired one night and I was already asleep.
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Contributed by Johnny Wilson on Mar 30, 2009
It’s sort of like the fable that evangelist D. L. Moody used to tell. It seems there were two eagles. One of the eagles won every race and the other eagle was jealous. One day, the jealous eagle overheard a hunter say, “I’d bring down that eagle if I had decent fletching on my arrows.” The eagle
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Contributed by Johnny Wilson on Mar 30, 2009
DOVES AND DIRECTION
God’s people in the northern kingdom were acting like a dove, quite senseless and flitting back and forth between Assyria and Egypt as their protector—in spite of the fact that Yahweh, God of Armies ("Lord of Hosts") wanted to be their shield and defender. This is a powerful
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Contributed by Johnny Wilson on Mar 30, 2009
VICTORY HILL
Remember, our plotting is unfinished, but God’s training and strength-conditioning is already there for us. I want to talk about this chastising, sometimes translated as punishing, and which I have translated as "training." I have something in mind. The Hebrew verb means to provide
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Contributed by Johnny Wilson on Apr 19, 2009
TOURNIER ON FAITHFULNESS
Faithfulness means that we admit our sin whenever we are tempted to depend upon something other than God. In this admission, the first step toward authentic repentance, something marvelous takes place. As Swiss psychologist Paul Tournier once shared, "The sense of guilt is
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Contributed by Johnny Creasong on Apr 22, 2009
Some folk must really get into their Sunday School lesson because they are so worn out by the time the sermon rolls around that they just can’t help but fall asleep! Or maybe they have worked up such a sweat during the music that they are plumb tuckered out! Perhaps those taking forty winks
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Contributed by Johnny Creasong on Apr 22, 2009
FALLING ASLEEP IN CHURCH
Please don't think I'm complaining about folks who fall asleep in church. I understand some people can’t help it. I am convinced that some people fall asleep in church during the sermon because their have a physical ailment. Some folk must have a snooze button attached at
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Contributed by Johnny Creasong on Apr 23, 2009
Most of us have never been to Nisswa, Minnesota, but I, for one, would like to go there someday. And when I go, I need to plan to stay over for Wednesday night. Not that I want to go to church there (Sorry about that, Chief!). No, the reason I want to visit Nisswa is for the Turtle Races. Every
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