Many of you are aware of my passion and vice…football. Having been maybe the worst halfback to ever carry a ball in high school, known as a triple-threat halfback…slow, small, and scared, I, nevertheless, never lost my love for the game. I had the privilege of working with placekickers on the high school level for over twenty years and am currently working with a kicker on my grandson’s eighth grade team.
I mentioned that football was my passion. It is my passion because I love the game and all aspects of it. I love the camaraderie of the team and coaches, the shared struggle, the intensity of emotion, the atmosphere surrounding game day and pre-game, ‘the thrill of victory, the agony of defeat”, to borrow a phrase. I love having a chance to be a positive male role model for young men who otherwise would not have one. I feel that coaching can be a noble profession in that respect, teaching life-long lessons.
I also said it was also my vice. At times, football has been too important in my life. I have let it become a determiner of my mood long after the final whistle has blown. It has been an attractive mistress luring me away from my family and becoming a source of my identity. I have let it take priority in determining my schedule at the expense of other things that were far more important. Someone illustrated the point in the negative by stating, “Football is not life…It’s more important than that!”
Over the past couple of years, God has been working on me in this area of my life. He is teaching me about perspective. Having a favorite college team that is not as successful as it once was, and having a grandson that is playing the game right now, while another grandson has found a sport he enjoys more than football, and yet another that has no interest in the sport, has taught me about perspective. I certainly enjoy watching each of them more than I do watching my college and pro teams play. I also have granddaughters who are involved in extra-curricular activities that I enjoy. Their success in these activities is a great source of enjoyment but the joy they derive from participation is a real source of satisfaction for me. More important to me is what kind of men and women they are becoming. As I have told my kickers over the years, “A hundred years from now, it will not matter whether you made or missed a particular field goal or extra point. No one will care. What does matter is being a person of great integrity and character.” I tell them to be excellent in preparation, be focused when they are called on, but do not let kicking determine their identity as a person.
What am I learning? I do not take defeat as badly as I have in the past. I understand that success can be fleeting. I celebrate and enjoy victories, but let neither victory nor defeat color my moods for too long. I can put football in its proper perspective as something enjoyable, but not as important as family, friends, and my relationship with Christ.
What is my real passion? It is that the men who I encounter on a daily basis would somehow, by God’s grace, come into a personal relationship with the God of the Universe, who knows and loves them and cares for them individually and personally. I also desire to help men who have this personal relationship with Christ to not take their relationship for granted but to keep growing in knowledge and love of Him.
What is your real passion in life? Is it as unbalanced as mine has been? Perhaps, together, we can work to place things in their proper perspective in our lives.
MINISTRY NEWS:
The Friday Morning men’s group is going very well with great discussions. Currently, we are studying Tim Keller’s book, “The Reason For God”. We have also enjoyed our once a month lunch meeting at Johnny Gaskin’s home. We would invite you to join us for either meeting. The Friday morning Meeting starts at 7:00 a.m. at Marshall Dye’s office on Marble Mill Court in Marietta.
Many of us go to breakfast after the meeting for a time of fellowship. Contact me if you would like to join us.
We are making plans for our annual Christmas Party. We are also planning a January Golf and Tennis retreat at Wild Dunes in Charleston, South Carolina.
I continue to meet daily with men for counseling and encouragement in such areas as marriage and career issues.
I would love to facilitate another men’s group during the week. Call me at 678-986-4814 if you are interested.
There was unpaid salary for August and September.
NET WORK MINISTRIES, INC. STATEMENT OF PURPOSE
NET WORK MINISTRIES, INC. EXISTS FOR THE PURPOSE OF BRINGING TOGETHER GOD’S PEOPLE AND HIS RESOURCES TO PRESENT THE HEALING MESSAGE OF CHRIST’S UNCONDITIONAL LOVE, THROUGH WORD AND DEED, TO A HURTING AND LOST WORLD.
NET WORK MINISTRIES, INC.
2671 OLD HICKORY DRIVE, N.W.
MARIETTA, GA., 30064-1833
770-422-8638(office) 678-986-4814 (cell)
E-mail address – peggyandbuck@yahoo.com
Website: www.networkministries.blogspot.com
Christ - The ReeseSource - The Newsletter of Net Work Ministries, Inc.