I Love Cincinnati

Today is Wednesday, December 11th. We are only two weeks away from Christmas and believe it or not, this 39 year old man has his fingers crossed for a White Christmas. I love snow! As a child, one of my favorite things to do was to play in it. I loved to go sledding with friends. I loved to build snowmen with my dad. I loved to throw snowballs at my sister and I loved to make snow angels and other fun creations in the freshly fallen white stuff. In fact, one of the things I love most about snow is that even if only for a few short hours, it creates a blank landscape. No blemishes, it hides all the ugly. It erases the "less than". It makes one giant canvas for any artist, big or small to create his or her masterpiece. Lately, I feel like thats how it is with FCA in Cincinnati. We have been provided with a blank landscape; a giant canvas with which to create something truly glorious. I can imagine us looking back 3-5 years from now in awe of all that God has done in and through this ministry. I have no doubt there will be dozens of huddles: multi-sport huddles, team huddles, coaches huddles, etc.. There will be camps (plural) in Cincinnati and through these camps, athletes will come to know Christ as their Lord and Savior. There will be programs and events taking place around the city that are helping to grow and disciple coaches and athletes alike. Most importantly, there will be hundreds of men and women serving in the ministry. They will be paid staff: directors, reps, ambassadors. They will be board members, character coaches, camp staff, huddle leaders, etc. TEAM FCA will have grown exponentially and more importantly, the KINGDOM OF HEAVEN will have grown exponentially. How? By coaches and athletes, staff and volunteers telling others about Christ. Christ, the One who like a fresh fallen snow makes us pure; without blemish. The One who covers our imperfections; hides all the ugly and erases the "less than". Praise be to God in advance for all that He is going to do through FCA in the days, weeks, months and years to come!

Tuesday, December 3rd is #GivingTuesday. It's just another day, another Tuesday to be more precise, but it does serve as a good reminder. It reminds us that this season of Thanksgiving is about way more than turkey, stuffing and pumpkin pie (although I do love me some pumpkin pie). It's also about way more than Black Friday and Cyber Monday and getting the best deals at the best stores. Thanksgiving is a day and really, a time of year when we give thanks. I am thankful for my family; my lovely wife of 17 years and my four beautiful children! I am thankful for my friends, my church, my home, my baseball memorabilia collection and Krispy Kreme Donuts, but the thing that I am most thankful for is my relationship with Jesus Christ! Jesus saved me at an FCA Huddle meeting in college and I never would have guessed that 20 years later I would be serving as the FCA Metro Director in Cincinnati. So now, my prayer is that God would use this ministry of FCA to reach many more coaches and athletes in the city of Cincinnati and around the world! FCA does this by distributing bibles to coaches and athletes, launching huddles in middle schools, high schools and colleges around the city (like the one pictured above), hosting events like FIELDS OF FAITH, week long sports camps and much, much more. But none of these things would be possible without Godly men and women who are willing to support the ministry financially, and that brings us back to #GivingTuesday. For one day in December; one 24-hour period, we have the chance to give back to a charitable organization or non-profit of our choice. My prayer is that you will give, whether it be to FCA or any one of Cincinnati's wonderful non-profits, just give. Why? Because HE has given HIS one and only Son to us! His name is Wonderful Counselor, Prince of Peace. His name is Jesus! Amen!

Thanks to our board chairman, John Meeker, my son Benjamin and I got to go down to the UC Bearcats Men's Basketball Game last night at 5/3 Arena. The picture above is the view from our seats (pretty nice huh?). The game was awesome! This team is energized and a lot of fun to watch! They played their hearts out from the first whistle to the final buzzer. Coach John Brannen and his staff certainly have this team playing an exciting brand of basketball! The bearcats won the game easily, but it wasn't the final score (or the free food...YUM!) that got me most excited. It was something that happened before the game; actually is was several things that happened before the game that got me the most excited and filled me with hope. It was the coaches, who I happen to know because they attend our Monday morning bible study, saying hello and giving my son and I high fives and hugs. It was the player who came and sat with us during warm-ups to share what God was doing in his life. It was the UC Athletics Executive, who is also an FCA board member, that came and sat next to my son and talked "basketball" with him for 15 minutes. These were the things that got me the most excited! You see (UC), I am just crazy enough to believe that God is MOVING on the campus of the University of Cincinnati. I am even crazier to believe that the work that God is wanting to do may just be starting through this basketball team. After all, it is the Men's Basketball Conference Room where a dozen coaches, UC Athletics employees and campus ministry workers meet every Monday to study God's Word together and to pray for one another! I have served in the local church for 17 years, but the thing I love most about the FCA is that we meet people where they are at: on the field, on the court, and in the classroom. I can't wait to see what God is going to do on the campus of UC. The other night at dinner, my kids were talking about how 'Friday' is their favorite day of the week. One of my children asked me, "Dad, what's your favorite day of the week?" To which I responded, "My favorite day of the week is Monday!" My prayer is that Mondays will continue to be the launch pad for ALL that God is wanting to do in the hearts of coaches and athletes at UC and around this city!