Olympics, Lessons, and Church Trips

This is my first blog from the Student Ministry at Ebenezer Baptist Church in West Union, SC. We're small enough that we shouldn't have our own website, but I don't like stereotypes, so we have one. I'm the Minister of Students, so that should explain the title of this blog. We have had some insane experiences in the last year or so, and I thought I'd chronicle them here.

Well, right now the Olympics are in full swing. Micheal Phelps has so far collected 5 or 6 gold medals, and at the same time broken 7 or 8 world records. The US men's gymnastics team took home a hard won bronze, and the women took silver. The women's sabre team just won the bronze, and as I watch this I'm in complete awe of how one man or woman can completley dominate a sport. They represent their country, and are leaving a lasting impact on the face of the world of sports, and just the world. I was thinking, what lessons are there to glean from these titans? What can we learn in our own lives from these people? Simply, that through hard work, we accomplish great things. Also, what we do in our lives, will impact the lives of those around us. The two are honestly joined. Through hard work and discipline, we can do amazing things, God can work through us to make incredible things happen, and if we slack off, accept mediocrity, then the impact we leave is not only small, but it tells those around us that it's ok to live a life of mediocrity. I refuse to let myself fail. I refuse to hide when things get hard! God has not created me with a spirit of fear and timidity, but given me a Spirit of boldness, love, and power! I was created for the glory of the Master, and so were you! Why do we settle with "good enough"? We should strive to accomplish nothing less than God's perfect will for us! God loves you too much for you to throw it all away because of any kind of crown that will fade, even a gold medal or a world record. We strive for a greater reward, we strive for a crown that will not fade.