Mountains of Change

   Eric Matthews: “There’s going to be a lot of changes in your life, Cory. It’s not the changes that matter, it’s how you react to the changes. I mean, that’s what makes you who you are” (Boy Meets World). (Link to Youtube video here check out 14:44-17:22 in the video)

   There is a season of change coming up for many people. School is about to start for kids and for college students, parents have to get used to their children going back to school or leaving for college, and everyone needs to get out of the summer vacation mindset.

   I do not know what your season of change holds. Maybe you season is not changing as much as some other peoples’. However, at some point in your life things will change. I know for myself, I have a big season of change coming up. I will be teaching, substituting, and coaching this fall. It is a scary/exciting thought. I want to do my best but I am not sure I can handle it. Do you ever feel that way? Do you ever feel like you have a huge mountain in front of you that looks like it is impossible to climb?

   In life we go through a series of mountains and valleys. It feels great when we are going down the mountain and start walking across the valley because we are comfortable. We have been in a specific season for a while and we are used to our schedule. However, then we see the next mountain we need to climb and we get scared. Sometimes, we may even try to go around the mountain. However, if you have ever seen a mountain range, you know that typically mountain ranges are huge. We can try to delay the inevitable but if God is calling us to climb the mountain we will one way or another.

   Change is scary, which is why many people avoid it. However, if we do not change, we do not grow. If we do not change, we are never going to be the best we can be. If we do not change, we are not helping others. If we do not change, we will not learn more about God.

God wants us to be our best. That is why we need to change and grow. We may think the mountain is so high that we will never reach the top. Eric in Boy Meets World makes a great point. He says it is how you react to the changes that make you who you are.

   We can choose to climb the mountain with a negative attitude. We can complain, kick, scream, crawl, etc. As Christians, is that the way we should approach life? Should we kick and scream like a child? No! We should walk with God and trust him. We need to look at the mountain with confidence and say I can do this. I’m not saying that as we are climbing it will be easy. In the hard times, we need to remember that Jesus walks with us. He may have to carry us, or even drag us, sometimes; but, we still need to walk with him and have a good outlook while we are walking. That way other people will look at us and see how different we are. That is how we will spread the Gospel to the lost world.

   So, will you choose to trust God in your season of change? Will you have a good outlook as you are climbing your mountain? Will you walk with Jesus no matter what?

   Joshua 1:9, Proverbs 3:5-6, Philippians 4:6-7, Romans 12:1-2

Pressure All Around

   Imagine you are going throughout your day. Suddenly you see a man. He looks a little shady and you are not sure you should trust him. The man walks up to you and says, "hey, you wanna try this? I'll give you a free sample now." You look down and see a pill in the man's hand. You know taking drugs is wrong so you quickly say "no" and walk away. 
   As you walk away in you mind you suddenly see yourself in battle armor. You are holding a shield and the man hurls a spear at you. Since you are ready for it, you easily block the spear with your shield. 
    You shake your head and the vision disappears. You continue walking down the street and you see a woman. She looks like a business type woman. But, in her eyes you think you see a glint of trickery there. She walks up to you, shows you a magazine, and says, "would you like to buy a magazine? You can take a look to decide which one you like." Just looking at the front page and the title of the magazine you can tell that this is not a Godly magazine. You look at the woman, say "no thank you," and walk away quickly.
   Once again you have a vision. It is relatively the same. You have battle armor on and a shield, the woman throws a spear at you, and you block it. 
   You walk down the street and reach your designated meeting point. Your friend shows up and says, "rather than going for coffee do you want to try out this new place? I hear the food is good, the entertainment is great, and the drinks are to die for." Your friend winks. Since your friend suggested it, you decide that it cannot be that bad of a place. Therefore, you agree.
   This time as you are walking down the street your vision changes. You still have battle armor on and you are still holding a shield. However, this time your shield is down. Your friend has a spear and throws it at you. This time, since your shield is down, you are hit.
   Every day we have choices. We can choose to sin or we can choose to obey God. What we cannot see when we make those choices are the consequences, both physical and spiritual. There are battles going on all around us. 
   We have pressure every day to be like everyone else, choose to do the right thing, excel at our jobs. There is so much pressure. But, even when we have that pressure, we need to stay strong. We need to keep our shield up when we are tempted. Even our friends can tempt us to do the wrong thing and that's when we need to decide that no matter what we are going to obey God. 
   So, have you been tempted at all lately? What did you decide to do? Will you choose to do the right thing even when it's hard and your friends may not be making good choices?  
   Luke 10:27, John 14:15, 2 Corinthians 5:9-10
   This blog is based off of a sermon by my Uncle. Thanks for giving me this idea Uncle R. 

To the New LBC WSO Goalie; and All Other Soccer Players

   Soccer players have a hard life. Whether they are in middle school, high school, college, or even pro they have challenges. Those challenges may be family, friends, life, school, certain aspects of soccer, or something else. However, soccer players need to push past all of those problems and just play the game to the best of their ability. I do not know what is going on in your life right now; therefore, I cannot give you advice about that (unless I already wrote a blog about it). But, I can give you some advice about soccer.

   The first piece of advice is: never assume. Don’t assume you will be starting, don’t assume you know what to do and when to do it, and don’t assume you can’t do it. The biggest part of soccer that many players do not think about is the mental aspect. We come to soccer with all of these problems; and if you do not push past them you will not play your best. You are your own worst enemy. Most players cannot find the happy medium where they know they are good but they do not brag about it. You can NEVER assume you are that good or you are not that good, because as soon as you do another player will come along and beat you.

   The second piece of advice goes along with the first: you need to know that effort always beats skill. There are players out there who have natural abilities for soccer. It is great if you have those abilities. The problem is a lot of players who have those abilities just rely on them. If you are just sitting on the couch thinking that your natural ability will get you that starting position, you are in for a rude awakening. There are players out there, who do not have the natural ability, who are working their butts off in order to be better and to even beat you out for your position. If you want to keep your position you need to work hard too. You need to lead by example. You need to push yourself to be your best.

   The third piece of advice is: learn from your mistakes. I know this better than anyone because I am a goalie. Goalies make the most obvious mistakes on the field because, if they make a mistake, it gets noticed by everyone. I tell my players and keepers that I coach to have a goalie mind. They need to think about their mistakes for 10 seconds during games and practices then let it go. After the game or practice they can go back and think about what they did wrong. However, you cannot just think about what you did wrong. You also need to think about how you can fix it. If you do not reflect on how you can change you will not grow. This is what separates the good players from the great players. Great players don’t dwell on their mistakes. They think about them, figure out what they did wrong, think about how to fix them, and they fix it.

   The final piece of advice is probably the one that hits closest to home for me: never take it for granted. For so many years I have played soccer. I had natural ability but I worked hard to get better. However, I had other circumstances that almost made me decide not to play soccer during college. I can say that I am so thankful that I decided to play. If I did not I would not have met so many amazing people, impacted others whom I did not even know, and I would not have grown as much as I did. However, during my soccer years I think I took that time for granted. Don’t get me wrong playing soccer and having 19 credits was hard, and sometimes I wished my load was a little lighter. But, it was so worth it just to get to have those 4 years on LBC Women’s Soccer Team. Please, if you are playing soccer at this point, remember that it is a gift. Sure, you will have times where you wonder if it is worth it. But, when you look back I know there will be times where you had a great time and you realized you were growing.

   So, will you choose to have a proper mental outlook on soccer? Will you work hard to be better and grow? Will you learn from your mistakes and not dwell on them? Will you enjoy your time you have to play soccer?

   Ecclesiastes 7:1-14, Colossians 3:23-24, Proverbs 24:16

Have You Found the Key?

   One day I was out with a friend and her children. We had a good time but it was soon time for her to leave. She gathered up the children and their things. They were about to leave when she realized she lost her keys. She asked me to watch the kids while she searched high and low for the keys.

   I sat with the kids and talked with them. Then I looked around the grass as I was sitting there. I saw a blue thing in the grass but I thought it was just a bottle cap to a drink. I took the girls over to the pavilion because it started to rain. My friend came back to look around the pavilion.

   Finally, it stopped raining. My friend took one of the older children back out to look for the keys again. I decided that I should take the other kids out to look as well. I asked the older child, that was with me, what the keys looked like. She said they were blue on the top and black on the bottom. I walked over to the blue thing I saw earlier. Sure enough it was the keys.I called my friend over and she started praising God because we found the keys.

   You may be wondering why I told you this story, but I always have a point to my stories don’t I? ;) The point is that if we don’t know what we are looking for then we probably won’t find it. People in the world are looking for ways to fill the hole they have in their hearts. They are looking for peace and they cannot find it in anything here on earth.

   Christians know how to fill that hole and they know how to have true peace. We need to spread the Gospel and tell others how to be saved. If we do not, then those people may never know how to be saved. They will be looking for the key that is right in front of them but they cannot find it because they do not know what they are looking for.

   So, are you spreading the Gospel so that others may know how to be saved? Are you looking for a way to fill that hole in your heart? If you are, I urge you to talk with someone about how you can be saved. Or, if you are unsure if you should accept Christ check out this blog. Then, if you feel you need to accept Christ either talk with someone you know is Christian, ask someone at a church, or check out this website.

   John 3:16, John 14:6, Matthew 28:16-20

Are You a Lifeguard or a Pool Monitor?

   Imagine you see a pool where children are splashing, playing, and having fun. You smell sunscreen and chlorine. There is laughter all around. You lie down and just as you begin to relax you hear screams and splashing. You get up quickly and look at the pool. There is a child splashing in the deep end. The child is screaming when it comes up out of the water. And, when the child goes under the water, you see bubbles. You realize the child is drowning.

   Frantically you look around and locate the lifeguard. You run over to the lifeguard and ask the lifeguard why he isn’t helping the child. The lifeguard looks down at you and says “oh, I’m not a lifeguard I am just a pool monitor. I’m supposed to let a person who is drowning know that he or she is drowning.” The lifeguard looks down at the child and says “hey, you are drowning.”

   Your mouth drops and you cannot believe what you are hearing. You grab the life saver from the pool monitor and throw it to the child. You are hoping that she would have the sense to grab it and save her life.This situation is a metaphor. Obviously if you see someone drowning you are going to try and do whatever you can to save that person. But, if you see someone who does not know Christ and is going down the wrong path are you going to be willing to say to them “you are not saved?” That’s all well and good if you are willing to do that but you need to take another step too.

   The pool monitor just sat there and told the girl she was drowning but that was not enough. Christians can walk around looking at the world and say “you are not saved.” But, if we do not tell them how to be saved are we actually saving them? Are we following the great commission?

   In the story you throw the life saver to the child. Thus, you are telling the child how to save herself. At that point you hope that the child will grab onto the only thing that can save her. When witnessing to the lost we can tell them how to save themselves but then we just need to hop that they will choose to accept that salvation. That’s not where our job stops though.

   Let’s say that child decided to grab onto the life saver. Would you just walk away from that child after she grabbed that? No, you would make sure she was okay. You would find her parents and make sure they understood what happened. As Christians, after someone accepts Christ, we need to come alongside that person and help her in her walk with God. This may mean we stay in contact, make sure she is alright, answer questions, and help her find someone who she can trust to help her in her walk with God.

   Our job does not end when that person accepts Christ; in fact that is only the beginning. If we are willing to help that person accept Christ we should be willing to help that person in her walk with Christ too.

   So are you willing to save the lost? After those people accept Christ are you willing to come alongside them and help them in their walk with Christ?

   Romans 10:9, Mark 16:15-16, Hebrews 10:24-25

When Insecurities Come Up...

   I am a person who enjoys joking around and picking on my friends. It is one way that I show my love and show I care about people. I also enjoy picking on my sister’s friends. 
   One day we were at my sister’s soccer game. We were waiting for the game to start. My sister was with her friends and I was with the coaches. I knew that one of my sister’s friends did not like it when I stared at her. I started staring to see how long it would take her to notice that I was staring at her. My sister’s friend finally noticed.
   My sister’s  friend looked at me then looked away. I chuckled and my sister’s friend decided to whisper something to my sister. Now, I know teenage girls because I was one at some point in my life. And I knew this girl didn’t actually say anything to my sister. She was just pretending that she did say something so that I would freak out or stop looking at her.
I looked over at my sister and I said, “she didn’t actually say anything, did she?” My sister laughed and so did her friend. Then my sister confirmed that her friend did not actually say anything. 
   This whole situation got me thinking, “why exactly did my sister’s friend pretend to say something?” She did it because she wanted me to stop looking at her. But, she also did it because she was insecure. She was insecure because I was looking at her and she thought that I was making judgements about her. That’s how girls are. They/We assume that we are not good enough and every one is judging us.
   Then, if we feel insecure, we want to take the insecurity, or attention, off of us. My sister’s  friend did this by pretending to whisper about me. I knew this was all a game because we have played it before. But, there was a time in my life where I would have thought about what my sister’s friend said about me. I would have let that insecurity fester until all I thought about was what my sister’s friend said.
   But, I did not do that because I have changed.  I know that it does not matter what others think about me because I have God with me. All that matters is that I know my identity is in God. If I have peace in him then no matter what people say about me, think about me, or do to me doesn’t matter. I have confidence in myself through God. 
   No matter what age you are you will face people who do not like you, have opinions about you, and will do mean things to you. But, if you have faith and trust in God then it doesn’t matter what they say or do. The things of this world are temporary. We can choose to forgive those who hurt us because we have been forgiven much.
   So, do you care too much about what others think about you? Do you know your identity is in Christ? Will you choose to trust in God and forgive others?
   John 1:12 and 2 Timothy 12:7 

The Best of Both Worlds: God's Plan For Me

   I’ve written a lot about God’s plans in the past (link to blog here). However, it isn’t always easy to trust in his plan. It is especially difficult to trust when you are in a time of change, but I can attest that he always has a plan for you.

   I have been in a time of change since February. That is when I completed my student teaching. Since that time, I have been substituting in various districts and applying to different schools for a teaching position. Meanwhile, I was also offered a position as the goalie coach for the Girl’s Soccer Program at Donegal High school, which was a volunteer position.

   This summer I have been waiting and praying for a teaching position. But, while I was waiting and praying, another opportunity popped up. I was offered the Junior Varsity coaching position for Women’s Soccer at Donegal High School. It was hard for me to decide what to do because I was looking for a full-time teaching position and I wasn’t sure I would be able to handle both.

   I prayed a lot about what I should do and this last week I talked with the coach again. He said that he is willing to work with me. I decided to take the position on Tuesday and the coach announced that I was the JV coach Thursday.

   I came home Thursday evening and I had a call from Mount Calvary Christian School. They had decided to offer me a part-time, 3 days a week, Kindergarten position. This position worked out really well with my coaching job because I will not be as busy as if I would have a full-time teaching position. Also, this school is really close to home and Donegal.

   I officially accepted the Mount Calvary position today. God really does have a plan for everyone’s life. He knows how important teaching, coaching/playing soccer, and helping others are to me. What is amazing is that a lot of the different parts of my life is coming together, so I really get the best of both worlds (soccer and teaching). I trust that this is his plan for me. And, I hope you believe/know that he also has a plan for you.

   So, will you trust that God has a plan for you? Will you follow his plan for you when it becomes clear that you are meant to follow it?

   Proverbs 19:21, Matthew 6:25-34, Philippians 4:6-7

   P.S. I believe that this is God’s plan for me, but I still think that this will be a challenging year because of how busy I may be. If you could all be praying that I am able to work my hardest in all I do, encourage others to be their best, and get the rest I need in order to do all of that.