Which Do You Love More?

“Lord, don’t let my gifts take me farther than my character can sustain me.”

— Mark Batterson

DREAMERS ARE EVERYWHERE.

No matter what career you are invested in or what goals you envision yourself accomplishing in the future, you are probably the type of person that is passionate about the process required to realize your dream.  You are a gifted individual with unique talents that separate you from the rest of the pack.  

But if you're anything like me, sometimes the dream God gave you takes precedent over the God who gave you the dream.  You get so wrapped up in the work and excitement of pursuing it you forget to acknowledge the reason you're able to pursue your dream in the first place.  

In his book, All In, Mark Batterson writes a brilliant excerpt about the Gift Giver.  

"If the gift ever becomes more important than the Gift Giver, then the very thing God gave you to serve His purposes is undermining His plan for your life.  God is no longer the End All and Be All.  And when God becomes the means to some other end, it's the beginning of the end spiritually because you have inverted the gospel.

God-given gifts are wonderful things and dangerous things.  One of my recurrent prayers is this: 'Lord, don't let my gifts take me farther than my character can sustain me.'  As we cultivate the gifts God has given us, we can begin to rely on those gifts instead of relying on God.  That's when our greatest strength becomes our greatest weakness."

I know in the game of basketball it can be very easy to rely on our gifts rather than on the One who gave us those gifts.  Sport is one of the easiest places for people to become prideful and believe they are accomplishing their dreams because of their talents.  I want to challenge you to love the God who gave you your dream and know the gifts allowing you to be successful were given to you by Him.  When the tests come into our life we are given the opportunity to rely on God and put an awesome testimony on display.  Keep taking action to acknowledge the Gift Giver and you will be amazed how your dreams will begin to come true as you pursue the process!

Bootcamp Week

“It’s a week that requires our players to grow as leaders and develop character. A championship mentality needs to be established by the end of this week. ”

— Andrew Wingreen (@CoachWingreen)

We officially begin every season with a week of bootcamp.  This is a week of grueling workouts that not only challenge our players physically, but more-so it challenges them mentally.  We want to finish the duration with a better focus and more awareness in the face of fatigue and adversity.  Most guys come into this week ready to show the coaches and their teammates how prepared they are physically, but they soon realize that they can't do it alone.

EVERYONE QUICKLY REALIZES THAT THEY MUST LEAN ON THEIR TEAMMATES FOR ENDURANCE AND ENCOURAGEMENT TO OVERCOME EVERY CHALLENGE.

By the end of this week something amazing happens.  Leaders step up and their teammates follow.  They slowly begin to realize that the pain their bodies feel is actually the fuel that is bringing them closer together as a group.  They can no longer rely on themselves and they must continue to strengthen their relationships with their teammates.  The more they struggle, the more they cry, and the more they overcome - the more they become a family.  

“As freshman, they simply try to survive. As seniors, they make sure everyone else survives.”

— Tony Miller (@tonywmiller)

During the season when challenges arise and adversity strikes, the week of bootcamp will be in the forefront of our minds.  We will remember the lessons we learned and the importance of relying on each other for strength.  There will come a time when someone wants to throw in the towel, but his teammate won't let him.  We've been through too much together to give up.  Teams come and go, but families are forever.

#CHAMPIONSTODAY

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