I was the youngest varsity basketball coach in Indiana. I studied older coaches to gain knowledge, but one area to which I never paid enough attention was when to talk and when to keep quiet. I learned the hard way: by my second year of coaching, I’d received more than ten technical fouls, not for bad language, but for opening my mouth at the wrong time. These failures made me wonder if I’d ever master control over my tongue.

Solomon knew that there is a time for speaking and a time to guard our mouths, and many of us would do well to learn his lesson. All too often our lips keep moving when we should be listening. We fall too easily into traps made by our own speech; we forget that if our mouth doesn’t open, we will not be creating a trap to fall into.

Hockey Chat:  The Stanley Cup is not an award of chance.  It’s not just an award of hard work either (many top goal scorers of the year have ended the year empty handed).  The players give their abilities to the coach of the team who has the earned the title of being the leader.  In 1995, the eight time Stanley Cup winner, Jacques Lemaire, led the New Jersey Devils, and their sophmore goalie Martin Brodeur, to the first NHL finals victory in franchise history.

Dean Karnazes, the ultra marathon runner, lost his sister in a freak accident. Perhaps the pain of this loss gave him great determination. He was a cross-country runner in high school, but afterward he set aside the sport until the age of thirty. His first run, after resuming, left him bruised and beaten, but he had found his sport. Now he does seventy-five-mile training runs once a month and, just for kicks, he runs at night. Karnazes runs in heat in the Desert Valley; he runs in snow on the highest peak in California.

The Apostle Paul reminded his Corinthian friends that athletes run in such a way as to win the prize (1 Co 9:24), but he used this example to illustrate the most

John 3:16 is probably the most recognized verse in the entire Bible. Back in 70s and 80s you would see this verse at large sporting events all over the United States. However, it recently found a home in a different format. College and professional football players now write sayings, area codes, names and other things on their eye black for games. Throughout the past college football season and bowl games, several athletes made it very clear where they stood spiritually based on these marks. Probably most notable, Tim Tebow, from the biggest stage of college football, donned “John” on one side and “3:16” on the other in front of a national and worldwide audience. 

A few weeks ago, my basketball coach asked me to consider playing junior varsity instead of varsity. At that time, I made the decision that if he ultimately decided to put me on JV, I would quit playing basketball and concentrate all my focus on softball and cross-country. Just a few days ago, he asked me to play JV basketball, for my own sake--"To get more playing time." It was a tough choice, but I decided to decline his offer, hang up my sneakers and pick up a softball glove.

My all-time favorite comedian is Brian Regan. He is funny and clean--a hard combination to find these days. In one of his routines, he talks about running into a "Me Monster," a guy he doesn't even know who is doing all the talking for everyone else.

Death is always a difficult topic to grasp. Whenever someone dies we always wonder, where was God when they died, and why did He let it happen to them? From movie stars, professional athletes, and other celebrities to firefighters, police officers, and loved ones; our hearts are filled with grief and for a while everything pales in comparison to our loss.