Light Your Fire

When I was in high school, I played basketball a few years. I remember playing this team that was really good.  Everybody was pumped up and ready for action. The first half we held our own. Second half started and it was like someone had let the air out of our tire. Needless to say they were whooping us really bad and our team was deflating fast. Have you ever watched a slow motion film and just wanted to help them out so bad? That’s the way I was as I sat on the bench I wanted to get out there and play so bad. Lots of our team members were getting fouled out and, all I of a sudden I heard my name come up. Could you imagine the excitement as I went out to represent the team? My chest felt like it was bullet proof.

Up and down the court we go. The bulldogs were getting beat bad.  All of the team really just gave up because of us being so behind.  I didn’t care what the score was I just wanted to do my best and make the team proud.  The ball was passed by me so many times. Finally, I got the ball passed to me.  I was right at the half court and went up for a shoot. It was a long shot let me tell you. I let the ball go and I could tell that all the players thought the ball would not go in but it did. I scored! Everyone started yelling in excitement.

My team members were astonished and from that point on that one goal lit a fire and our team came together as never before.  We may not have won the game but our team came back with a zeal because I did the impossible. Even though I didn’t get to play much, I had one moment that changed my team’s attitude when all hope seems lost. Have you let the circumstances in your life extinguish your fire? Don’t! Know that God is greater than anything you may face!

~Tammy Sanders

Dropping the Ball

When I was in college at UGA, I played a season of basketball in the girls’ intramural league. Our team wasn’t polished, but we were scrappy. We had all played in high school and, even though we were rough around the edges, we were still pretty good. We won every game we played, landing us in the play-offs and then the semi-finals.

Feeling pretty confident by this round, we didn’t think much when we saw that we were paired up against the UGA Lady Bulldogs Volleyball team for the semi-final match. Well, maybe my team members had enough sense to think twice about that, but I sure didn’t. After all, we had stomped every team we had come up against. The only problem was that the teams we had played against had all consisted of sorority girls who were not quite as tough as we were (or at least that’s my memory of it).

I’ll never forget walking into the gym for the play-offs and looking UP at those ladies on the opposing team. I’m 6 feet tall, and every one of them was several inches taller than me and MUCH bigger. I barely made it off the floor during opening tip-off before the other team took control of that ball and scored.

I don’t remember too much more about that game except for the final few minutes when I snagged a rebound from the top of the key at our goal. I was in MY spot… the spot I could always score from, no matter what. Even though the 6’4″ volleyball player guarding me was a little intimidating, I still took my shot…. and I MISSED. Not only did I miss, but the ball rebounded straight back to me.

“Okay,” I thought, “I can do this! I’m still in my sweet spot! I’ve got it now!” Up I went, up went the ball, and…. it hit the rim and came straight back to me AGAIN. Not only was my guard still intimidating, but now she was laughing at me. I wanted to pass that ball off to someone else, but third time’s a charm, right? I mean, this was my best shot and I surely couldn’t miss it three times in a row, Bulldog Women or not. I took a deep breath, dribbled once, and shot… and as God is my witness, that ball hit the rim and came right back to me AGAIN. Only this time, I was so embarrassed and frustrated that I didn’t even reach out to grab the ball. Instead, the girl guarding me snatched it.

What she did then marked me forever. Even though she was laughing pretty hard because I had missed that danged shot so many times, she looked at me, handed me the ball, stepped up next to me, patted me on the back, and said, “You got it this time!” Everyone on the floor froze. The audience went from laughing at me to cheering for me. I totally didn’t want to take that shot again. As a matter of fact, I would have walked off that floor if I could have, but I didn’t. I took that ball, dribbled a few times, set my feet, and shot again… SWISH! I got cheers from the crowd, cheers from my team, and every girl on that opposing team clapped for me and patted me on the back. You would have thought I had done something miraculous instead of just FINALLY making a stupid easy shot from the top of the key.

The UGA Lady Bulldogs Volleyball team went on to beat us in that game… of course. But we ended up having a great camaraderie with them, and we were the loudest ones cheering for them as they ended up winning the Intramural championship.

When you drop the ball or miss a shot in front of people,  you have to deal with your pride. If you do it once, you can probably find some kind of excuse to get you out of it. Do it again, and you might just get mad enough at yourself to try it over. Do it one more time and you’re more likely to pass the ball to someone else and run right off the court and vow never to try it again. But, hey… it’s only a ball, right?

So… I dropped the ball this last year where the Celebration blog is concerned. I had a goal, and I didn’t make it. I started towards something and didn’t finish. I got tired and I quit… for a while. But, rather than walking off the scene and pretending it never happened, I decided to get back in the game, pick up the ball, and try it again.

So, here we go…

~Linda

Hey, man! Nice shot!!

I spend so little time in church compared to the time I spend with my family, friends, and co-workers. In light of that, my mandate is to influence them for the cause of Christ. Luke 14:34 says “Salt [is] good; but if the salt has lost its flavor, how shall it be seasoned?” One of my challenges is to determine how I can be “salty” enough so that those around me are left thirsty for the gospel of Jesus Christ. Over the years in my Christian walk, I have been more like the blast of a shotgun shell. I would “follow an unction” ( more accurately, an emotional urge) to fire a shot in someone’s  general vicinity from a long range. Collateral damage was inevitable and, frankly, bloody for everyone in the room. The truth is, while I gleamed over my prey’s demise, the seed sown had fallen on ground that wasn’t prepared for sustained growth (Mat. 13:19-22).

I think I will put down my old splatter gun and invest in some focused sharp shooting skills. On exam day, I’ll part a honeybee’s wings on a hound dog’s hiney at a thousand yards. Expert marksmen know how to breathe properly and squeeze the trigger for improved accuracy.  Mastering the call to love my neighbor, well, that’s a bit more complicated. I need to pray for God’s leading when I am determining the best person to try and reach out to.

Study the Word. God’s very nature is wrapped up in His love for His children. Loving my neighbor naturally follows from our Father’s example.  I find His desire for His children within the pages of His Word.  I will saturate my soul with the scriptures and when my mouth is dry and empty, His Words will pour from my born again spirit and satisfy their thirst.

It is so significant to be sure we are “walking the talk”. It’s cliché and it rolls right off the tongue, but it’s not so easy to do.  Real life is lived outside the four walls of the church. That includes real fill in the blank yourself. I mean real pain, fear, anxiety, emotional vomit, selfishness, etc. You’re with me! Don’t deny it.

After I say the things I believe God expects me to, I have to stand in faith knowing they will come to pass in their life, no matter what the circumstances are. One of my bigger shortcomings has been my lack of following up in a systematic and routine way. I am busy, so putting them on my schedule will help me move from the shotgun attack to the eagle eye, super-shooter God wants me to be. Building relationships with potential believers should require me to organize parts of my day so I can control the scenarios I am led into. Let’s face it, if I don’t follow through and show compassionate interest in them, then they know I am nothing more than a double-barreled blowhard and they are the trophy destined to hang on my wall.

What strategies has God given you for focusing in on some of the people you are in contact with outside the walls of your local church? Let us know by posting a response to this article on The Celebration blog. They will benefit all of us. So, let’s make a deal. I promise to work through these on a greater level. Will you?

(first published 08.16.09)