Do you ever find it hard to sleep at night because your mind is racing and dwelling on things that you have absolutely no control over? I think that we are all prone to struggle and deal with worry. It's probably why Jesus told us not to worry in Matthew 6:25-34. My daughter Amber and I recently led a small group seminar at an FCA summer camp in Kentucky. What really impacted me was how practical this was to the students who attended. We began by asking those who attended our seminar to "Write down one to three things that you worry about on an ongoing basis."

After injuries to ligaments in both knees cut his 2001 and 2002 seasons short, Oklahoma quarterback Jason White wanted desperately to get back on the field with his teammates. “For a while, it didn’t seem like it would happen,” White said.

White not only got back on the field in 2003, but he also led the Sooners to a 12-1 record and won the Heisman Trophy, the highest honor in college football. When reflecting on the grueling rehab that he had gone through to get to this point, White said, “I’d go through it all again.”

When I decided to set my goal of being the first person with multiple sclerosis to compete in an NPC bodybuilding competition, I knew I would need help, but I never knew how generous and selfless so many people would be.

The life of a young person today is much different than it was 10-20 years ago. But as our campers share this week with their Huddle Leaders, it is obvious that the same problems are still there and are big as ever. Trying to figure out what life to live proves to be troublesome for many of them.

A few days ago, I went out for a long training run. It wasn't a particularly pretty day, and I wasn't exactly looking forward to the run ahead of me. About four miles in, it started to drizzle. A mile later, it was raining. I found myself looking around realizing that I was the only one around running in the rain. My mind started to harp on how miserable it was, how much longer I had to go, and how I could probably just take a shortcut and go home. Then I felt God speak to me.

Coach Scott was a great offensive line football coach. As a 10-year-old aspiring right guard, I learned from him the basics to being a great blocker: elbows up and out with hands tucked in. It was the “old school” way to block, which didn’t involve the use of hands—just stick your elbows way out so the defensive player couldn’t get by. For me, a good game required making sure no one ever got around me and never got a tackle. Not exactly a simple job. It took an incredible amount of work and effort to keep others from advancing toward the ball.

Hockey Chat:  You’ve seen hockey players try to argue there way out of penalties saying that it was just a little hook or they just slashed at the puck not the opponent.  They try to minimize the offense.  Fact is, when they are called for penalty, it’s a penalty.  If they say they just barely hit the guy with their stick, they still are called for slashing.  If plead that they just nudged the guy head first into the boards, they still get called for boarding just as if they slammed him.  When the ref sees a penalty, regardless of the degree, he calls it.

There had not been an undefeated Kentucky Derby winner since Seattle Slew did it in 1977. Fans watching the 2004 Kentucky Derby saw a Pennsylvania-bred horse named Smarty Jones, with a trainer and a jockey who were both rookies, end the 27-year drought by winning the race, running the horse’s record to 7–0. Jockey Stewart Elliott later said:

"It is just unbelievable. We bunched up a bit on the first turn but things turned out great. It was a good trip. I crossed the wire and I can’t explain it; there aren’t words to describe it. At the three-eighths pole, I knew I had a loaded gun underneath me. I was just going to sit until he straightened up and switched leads. He really went to running."

Jesus continually explained how His Father lavishes love on us! Even though I understand grace, my first impulse is to try to buy my way to heaven. At first glance, I treat the parable of the pearl like I was taught to treat life—to be self-sufficient. In the world of sports, we’re taught that if we have a dream to play for a certain team or run a certain distance, we should set a goal and go for it. We should sell out. So I equate my goal setting to my spiritual life and sell out for God. But if I am brutally honest, I have to admit I don’t have much to sell! I fail too often; I can’t really afford the pearl. We will never be able to afford the pearl. Fortunately, God’s economy is different than ours.