SOUL CrossTraining

I've been thinking about the word practice today. You see part of my story is being a high school and college athlete. As a result, I am well acquainted with practice. I played volleyball and just like in any other sport or athletic endeavor -- athletes practice in a gym or field without any spectators or fans a whole lot more than they play in a game. Practice is part of practically everyday and is often designed around fine tuning a skill, learning a new technique or strategy, strengthening your core, and building endurance. When an athlete practices, she is either trying to maximize her greatest strengths and/or working to improve in an area of weakness. For team sports, practice includes learning to work together and play together in order to compliment each others strengths and compensate for each others weaknesses. As an athlete you would never think of just showing up for a game. Athletes know you must prepare and practice in order play well. I think this is true in the...

Consider carefully what you hear. Mark 4:24 I want to be a lifelong learner. I want to be open to God's promptings and the movement of the Holy Spirit in my life. I want to listen, hear and respond. -- well, most of the time. Let me explain. Just yesterday one of my friends and team members in ministry left a message with regard to a meeting our team had early that day. I usually love hearing from this friend and co-laborer. The message began with words of encouragement and praise for our time together. The message continued with a word of caution and guidance. In a direct and loving way she told me to trust our team to complete the task at hand and that I needed to really listen to the team's comments and opinions. I listened to the message rather quickly. To be totally honest -- I "skimmed" over her words hoping to capture the key points and move on. I was half listening. Oops! I was doing it again. Then when I paused and considered her words, I realized she was ...