When no one's watching...

When no one is watching, what will you do? In the heat of battle, how are you going to respond? When times are tough and your flesh is weak, how will handle yourself? Will you give in or compromise when you feel like the world is against you?

These are the questions we all ask ourselves from time to time, but perhaps not often enough. Every day we are confronted with little decisions that affect those around us, our friendships, our marriage and most importantly our walk with God. If you think about it deeper, we should all be more concerned with those decisions we make every day that might seem small, but essentially make up who we are. These actions and or responses to life can come and go without us ever knowing they were there. Why are we not more focused and aware of these things?

I think we would all agree that life comes at us fast, and sometimes, in the whirlwind, we have comprised something that is important to us before we even realize it. Just as the Bible says that our mouths speak from the overflow of our hearts, I believe many of our actions stem from the same place. What are our hearts overflowing with? Are we seeking our own personal gain or that which God might desire from our lives? Is living your life according to God's will important or not? If it is, then these small decisions and choices we make every day will be a priority as we make sure we represent Christ to the fullest. Time spent with God and in His word causes the overflow of our mouth and actions to stem from a holy place and not a worldly place.

Below is a letter I recently received from a buddy I have known on the basketball court for over 20 years. We have played both against each other and together. Although we never hung out much off the court, we spent countless hours together playing ball together and as rivals. Recently my old friend found me on facebook and sent me this letter. I don't often get emotional put this letter showed me proof of God working in and through me. I haven't seen this guy in probably five or six years, so what he is referring to is the first two to three years of my walk with Jesus Christ. The point is, we never know who is watching or is being affected by the way we lead our life.

I pray all of our actions and decisions would be based on His eternal Kingdom and not our own earthly desires or pleasures.

A letter from a long lost friend

What’s up man! Wow! You have been on my mind for the longest time and I'll try to make this short! Well first things are great: I’m getting my Masters in Sports Science, I'm the assistant coach at a college, and doing some non-profit stuff for kids, got married in August of this last year, so things are good.

Ok, let me get to the meat…I remember way back when, when people would tell me Josh has changed; he is all into the Lord. It was strange to me at the time I truly didn’t understand. I had different friends that so called changed because God came into their lives but I didn’t get it.

The last time I saw you we were playing on the same basketball team…I had asked you to play in this men’s league and all I can remember was my hot temper...everyone knows I get heated playing hoops and I was cussing and fussing. lol Well, I have been working on that :)

What I am trying to say is I didn’t get it until it happened to me! I didn’t get how you changed your life around and how you felt about God until it happened to me. It was 2006 at the ________ Church when I gave myself to Christ and it's been the best thing that’s happened to me.You know me!

You have played with and against me and Josh, I finally get it and I am glad God gave me the time to get it. My wife now runs the ____________ ministry at the ________ Church and after she started attending church with me. Now she is working with the Pastor on this huge ministry and she is touching so many women’s lives; yep, God is good I have so many great stories since He saved me.

My friend, what I want to say to you is “I get it”! I respect you so much and you are not crazy! People use to tell me something was wrong with you! Yeah, imagine that! You have done a great job by leading by example and I appreciate that. I bet we both have our struggles and trust me I am far from perfect but now it’s not about me! It’s about God! Brotha, you have been on my mind and I just had to find you and tell you thank you! When I didn’t understand it, it was because I was lost...but now I do :) keep in touch! If you are ever here in _______ and want to shoot some hoops or go to church let me know.

Whoops my bad, longer then I intended…I hope all is well with you and the family…how are you doing?

Baltimore

Baltimore's Inner Harbor

Sitting third base side at the Baltimore/Tampa Bay game

A self portrait with my cell phone

I just returned from a short trip to Baltimore where I met with some of the country's biggest sport's pastor's. What a blessings these guys are...to hear their hearts and see there vision is inspiring and re-assuring that Shepherd Sports is heading in a path that not only glorifies God but reaches out to this lost community we live in. It is exciting to see sports used as a tool to bring people closer to a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.

Although it was a short trip it was a long flight but for the first time ever i was able to log onto the Internet while flying at 30,000 ft. It was a good time to get some work done...except for the lady that insisted on talking to me although I had my head-phones on. What's up with that?

I attended a Baltimore Orioles game while i was there and it was a blast exploring a new stadium. Had I stayed put in the first inning when I got to the game i would have snagged a home run ball that ended up hitting only a few rows from me after i got up to walk around 15 seconds earlier...so close. I love attending ball parks and exploring them and sitting in all the different sections. As a kid my dad and I would fly around the country to visit different ball-parks together. They are some of my fondest memories I have as a kid with my dad. I think it might be time for me to know take my dad to some ball-parks...I can't wait for my boy to be old enough for us to get out and explore the world together.

Opening Doors...

Me & Fransisco Garcia
Hanging with the kids for some photos after the game
G.O. Ministries main guys...Will & Pedro

While on our trip to the Dominican Republic this past August, I was fortunate enough to play against the D.R. National Team. Through a connection with the mission organization in the D.R. they some how got this white boy on the court with the locals. It was a fun experience although not a good one basketball wise. The team I played with was the second string to the D.R. Olympic Team that we played against and we had no team chemistry and got beat by a ton. It was so bad, that at one point as one of my three pointers was literately falling through the hoop my own player knocked it out. (legal in international rules, but still cold in any country)

Through it all; it was a good time and in the end we hopefully got Fransisco Garcia an NBA starter for the Sacramento Kings connected with G.O. Ministries. (The organization that we worked with in the D.R.) God sure work's in mysterious way's.