Spiritual

It is very easy to go about our lives not even thinking of how blessed we are. It’s one thing to the next to the next.  Our minds are filled, our lives are filled, our stomachs are filled, and our schedules are filled.  We don’t understand what it really means to be in need. Which I think really affects our ability to be grateful and give thanks. We live in a culture filled with entitlement and survival mode and excess. But… it is the month of thankfulness, so maybe we are paying a little bit more attention to being thankful, but I am almost sure there is some room to grow. So it’s time to take a look…

What were you thankful for today, this past week, this past week? And not just what, but who are you thankful for? How does that thankfulness impact you, and what does it compel you to do? Do you say thanks? Do you return the favor? Do you pay it forward? Do you live blessed?

I received a letter in the mail (REAL MAIL, not email) a few days ago from a friend telling me how thankful she is for me.  She said she is taking the month of November and writing a letter to a different person every day to tell them she is thankful for them. HOW COOL IS THAT!

Let’s not only take November to focus on being thankful.  Let’s change our perspective with hope to change our lives so we are filled with gratitude.  Practice the discipline of being thankful this November, and hopefully it will overflow as habit into the rest of the year. And I call it a discipline, because it may take discipline to change your mindset or perspective.  But disciplines cause lasting change. So not …

And the winner is…

BRIANNA LYDING

Congratulations!
You will receive an email within the next few days to find out how to receive your prize! Thanks for being a part of our Passion Perspective Week!

Didn’t win but want Julie’s devotional book, “Real Life is Like Sports”? You can buy it on Amazon today…

Don’t forget to check out some of Julie’s favorite books which can also all be found on Amazon! Click on each book to see the Amazon price and description!

Favorite books – Fiction: Anything by Joel C. Rosenberg, The Ezekiel Option, The Copper Scroll, Dead Heat, The Twelfth Imam, The Tehran Initiative, Damascus Countdown.

Non-fiction: Delighting in the Trinity by Michael Reeves

THE WEISSER WOMEN…

We asked Julie if we could share one of her parables from her book, “Real Life is Like Sports”. Here is the one she chose to share.

Check back tomorrow to see if you won Julie’s devotional book, “Real Life is Like Sports”!!

…

We continued our interview by asking Julie how her faith has played a part of this journey.

What were your challenges-expected and unexpected?  “As I began this journey, someone shared Luke 1:45 with me: “You are blessed because you believed that the Lord would do what he said.” While writing the content of this booklet took chunks of time throughout a period of several months, the entire process of transitioning from a dream to reality actually took several years. It was my faith that got me through the delays due to other responsibilities and the dry times that come with writing. I kept returning to this scripture and other words God spoke to me about this “dream,” trusting God that He would fulfill that which He placed in my heart in His perfect timing. And as always, He was faithful.”

What were your blessing-expected and unexpected?  “While the original intent of my “dream” was simply to create a booklet in a foreign language, Kerry Weisser challenged me to consider making an English version available as well. So I created an English version with the hope that coaches and athletes here in the States will also be encouraged to live out their faith through their coaching and playing sports life. An additional unexpected blessing occurred when an Athletes in Action staff expressed interest in having “Real Life Is Like Sports” translated into Arabic for those who serve overseas under her leadership. So we’ll see where God takes this.”

We asked Julie what wisdom she has gained through this experience.

What tips would you want to share with others?  “When God gives you a dream, pursue it by faith. Make it a priority, and don’t stop until it becomes a reality! Most likely you will experience spiritual opposition, and it may take …

We asked Julie to take us on the journey of her experiences with CEI and her publishing projects
“Real Life is Like Sports”, “Competition and the Christ-Follower” and “Sports as Worship”.

We asked Julie about her original passion?

“For as long as I can remember, I’ve been passionate about God, His Word and encouraging others in their pursuit of experiencing Life with God. Since sports has played a big part of my life, spiritually motivating and influencing those around me in the world of sports has been a natural overflow.

Romans 12:1 says,

“So here’s what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life–your eating, sleeping, going-to-work and walking-around life and place it before God as an offering” (Message)

Because I interact with many whose everyday, ordinary life includes sports, I like to supplement this verse with:“Take your…coaching or playing-sports life, and place it before God as an offering”

So it is with an intent of encouraging and challenging coaches and athletes in their faith journey that I’ve written sports Bible studies and devotionals such as, “Sports As Worship,” “Is Your Game Secular or Sacred,” “Moving Beyond An Error,” and “Competition and the Christ-Follower.”

So how and when did the passion to write a book begin?

“Several years ago, my missions pastors asked me if I had any “dreams” of which the church could help make a reality. So I shared something that had been on my heart for years: I desired to write a booklet, have it translated into another language, and give it away to the coaches and athletes we reach out to overseas through CEI. The content was to include Biblical illustrations and parables with an athletic twist. Real Life Is Like Sports” is this “dream” becoming reality.”

And what steps …

We have know Julie Caldwell since 2006. Our friendship started on an international softball mission trip to Asia as we served together with Competitive Edge International.

Julie has had an amazing privilege of living her life pursuing three of her greatest passions: God, people, and sports. We asked Julie to give us a little synopsis of her life and she shared a short biographical sketch with us, “Born and raised in Modesto, California, I began following Jesus as a child and discovered in my youth that God had wired me with passion and skills in sports. I was blown away to have received All-American honors as a shortstop at San Joaquin Delta Community College and humbled to have and accept God’s provision of a full-ride softball scholarship to San Diego State University. Several years after graduating with my Bachelor of Science Degree in Physical Education/Kinesiology, I served for more than three years on Athletes in Action softball staff before God called me to step out in faith by co-founding Competitive Edge International (CEI) in 1997. Through CEI, I continue to enjoy impacting and influencing the lives of coaches, athletes and those involved in sports, as I reach the world’s unreached with the good news of Jesus through sports. To Him be all the glory…Psalm 115:1.”

Here are some fun things we learned about Julie……
Life motto – “Your Word is Life to me!”
Favorite food – Almost anything authentic Mexican
Favorite dessert – Boysenberry Cream Cheese Coffee Cake
One thing you can’t live without – (she chose to share a few of her favorite things)…Coffee, College football. DIY Network. Deep friendships. Joy. A heart of worship and thanksgiving. God’s love.
Favorite books – Fiction: anything by Joel C. Rosenberg, The Ezekiel Option, The Copper Scroll, Dead Heat, …

I love celebrating holidays.  It is always a good excuse to throw a party, spend time with people, eat good food, dress up, or do something out of the ordinary. But every year, October rolls around and I am encountered with the same dilemma of how to really feel about halloween.  Growing up, we didn’t place a huge emphasis or celebration on the actual meaning of the holiday of halloween, but moreso getting to go to our church’s “harvest festival”, dress up, play games, and of course eat candy, (and yes we were one of the families to pass out tracks with candy which I always thought was realy cool). Now, as an adult, I wonder how I should really feel about the holiday as a whole. I love dressing up in costume. I love carving pumpkins. I always loved trick or treating and now I love when kids trick or treat at my house. Now I can’t move on without recognizing the materialistic view, many of us may have fallen into the category of spending too much on a costume, eating too much candy, or just enjoying the day a little too much. I am not just trying to make this an argument about whether halloween is good or bad or why or why not to do it. I am placing no judgement on how anyone spends their halloween. I am really just in the middle of it, trying to figure it all out. So if any of you have ever had questions about this, let’s be in this together, because it can be rather tricky.

I did a little research on the origin of halloween. Some people look to Halloween as the eve of All Saint’s Day on November 1 which is a tribute to Martin Luther, the …