Born That Man No More May Die

Hark! The Herald Angels Sing

I can't make it through this hymn without crying. 

Okay, okay, you caught me. I can't make it through the first LINE without crying. 

Hark! The Herald Ange- *cue sobs*

Have you ever just read the lyrics and let the words sink in? 

Hark the herald angels sing 

"Glory to the newborn King!

Peace on earth and mercy mild

God and sinners reconciled"

Joyful, all ye nations rise

Join the triumph of the skies

With the angelic host proclaim:

"Christ is born in Bethlehem"

Hark! The herald angels sing

"Glory to the newborn King!"

Christ by highest heav'n adored

Christ the everlasting Lord!

Late in time behold Him come

Offspring of a Virgin's womb

Veiled in flesh the Godhead see

Hail the incarnate Deity

Pleased as man with man to dwell

Jesus, our Emmanuel

Hark! The herald angels sing

"Glory to the newborn King!"

Hail the heav'n-born Prince of Peace!

Hail the Son of Righteousness!

Light and life to all He brings

Ris'n with healing in His wings

Mild He lays His glory by

Born that man no more may die

Born to raise the sons of earth

Born to give them second birth

Hark! The herald angels sing

"Glory to the newborn King!" 

Jesus was born a King...born a KING! Can you imagine!? Angels sang, wise men traveled, and shepherds shouted praises at the birth of a child who would one day rule the nation. I can hardly find the words. 

Christmas is the celebration of Christ's birth, the celebration of a fulfilled prophecy, because "the Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth" (John 1:14). 

As the hymn proclaims, Jesus was "born that man no more may die, born to raise the sons of earth, born to give them second birth." If we choose to believe in Him, if we choose to accept Him as our Lord and Savior and pick up our crosses and follow Him, we will have eternal life. He was born so that we might be born again...not physically, but spiritually! 

He has already chosen us. All He asks is that we choose Him, too.

It's not about gifts. 

It's not about checklists.

It's not about obligatory family gatherings.

It's about making room for Jesus in our hearts.

Hark! The Herald Angels Sing

Stop and listen today. Join the triumph of the skies! December 25th marks the celebration of the birth of Jesus, the Son of God, who was born in a manger over 2,000 years ago.

History revolves around this birth. Because of this baby, everything changed. 

May you never forget that "the magic of Christmas is not in the presents but in His presence." 

He is the King of kings, the Lord of lords, and He shall reign forever and ever! 

HALLELUJAH! 

Here is a video of our Chancel Choir singing the Hallelujah Chorus. Tears immediately fill my eyes as the organ begins to play and the congregation rises, shouting praises to the newborn King! You'll notice there is a stained glass window on the wall behind the choir loft. It's a picture of Jesus with His arms open wide, the ultimate welcome, as angels kneel beside Him. Imagine standing in the congregation with that image of Christ in the background as the Hallelujah Chorus echoes throughout the sanctuary. I have never witnessed anything so powerfully moving.

"For unto us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace." Isaiah 9:6

Consistency is Key

It was my sophomore year of high school.

I can still picture Coach standing on the three-point line with her arms crossed, shaking her head and looking down at her watch as we ran another set of down-and-backs.

I can't tell you how many down-and-backs we ran that day, but I can tell you how many sentences it took for us to realize why we were running:

"Don't be a frontrunner. It's all about consistency! You HAVE to be consistent."

For those of you who are unsure what a "frontrunner" is, it's somebody who gives 100% only when things are going their way. They are inconsistent with their contribution to the game. They play well when their team is ahead but slack off if and when their team falls behind. When facing adversity, they retreat. 

To put it bluntly, you did NOT want to be labeled a frontrunner!

Coach told us it wasn't about winning or losing, it was about being consistent with our efforts, and she made it very clear that consistency was a characteristic we should all strive to possess.

I walked out of practice a different person that day. 

Not because of the running (which we deserved every bit of...and we knew it, too) but because it was in that moment, as I stood motionless on the baseline taking in every word Coach said, that I decided I would NEVER be a frontrunner, not in basketball and not in life. 

My junior year of high school, the Ladynecks were playing Elysian Fields AT Elysian Fields, so we already didn't have home-court advantage. At one point during the 3rd quarter, we were down 27 points. That's right, 27. None of our shots were going in, the referees weren't calling the game fairly, we were in foul trouble, the list goes on. 

Although nothing seemed to be going our way, we never eased up. We were relentless in our efforts. The desire to win burned deep within us, and even though our opponents tried to put out the flames, that fire only continued to grow. 

We were determined to take what was ours...and we did. 

The comeback was unreal. They had outscored us every quarter (16-14, 19-13, 17-12) up until the 4th. 

We could've easily thrown in the towel and accepted the loss, but we didn't...because we had been taught otherwise. 

We ended up outscoring Elysian Fields 29-11 in the 4th quarter for a final score of 68-63.

The White Oak Ladynecks may have been a lot of things that night, but there was one thing we weren't: frontrunners.

We didn't need perfect circumstances to give perfect effort...and by "perfect effort" I simply mean giving 100% of ourselves. 

All we needed was a ball and a net. We came to compete, and we weren't going down without a fight. 

Even if we had lost that game, I know Coach would have been proud of us...because throughout those four years of basketball, there was only one thing she asked of us - that we give consistent effort - and that's exactly what we did.

I think about that game every time I find myself facing adversity. I then think about that day in practice where it all began and how different my life would be had I let those words go in one ear and out the other.

Three sentences changed the way I lived the rest of my life.

As you know, life does not always go according to plan. We face one challenge, one disappointment, after another. We spend days, weeks, and even MONTHS preparing for a certain moment only for it to arrive and not go the way we'd hoped. It is in that moment we have a choice to make. Will we retreat, or will we be relentless in our efforts, regardless of our circumstances? 

Even if you fall short, there is satisfaction in knowing you gave it everything you had. 

If we want something bad enough, we must be willing to fight for it. Our actions should prove that the end goal we're chasing means something to us. We should be racing full-speed towards adversity, preparing for a head-on collision, because we know there is something of great value waiting for us on the other side of that crash.

I approach life (specifically my dreams) the same way I approach basketball games, with a desire to compete. I am too passionate, the end goal is too valuable, for me to give anything less than my best effort. I will NEVER not try because, oftentimes, there are no second chances. 

One of my favorite quotes says, "Do it with passion or not at all." 

If we're truly passionate about the goal we're after, we will give the same amount of effort in the valley as we did on the mountaintop. 

The effort we give in the valley determines our success on the mountaintop. In other words, unless we know how to handle adversity in the valley, we will never be able to prosper on the mountaintop...and the climb to the mountaintop is no easy task! 

There is much hard work, persistence, and discipline required of us in the valley. Success is NOT convenient. It's actually inconvenient. We will never achieve our goals unless we're willing to go beyond what is convenient. This means doing what needs to be done in the valley, even when we don't feel like it, even when it's hard, so we can prolong our mountaintop experience. Frontrunners never flourish because they're never willing to go beyond what comes easy. 

Either "break through the obstacles or let the obstacles break you." It's that simple. 

Success doesn't happen overnight. Success happens over time as a result of the day-to-day diligent effort we give. Our energy and our effort must remain consistent throughout the entire journey, whether things are going really, really good or really, really bad. 

DON'T BE A FRONTRUNNER! 

Nothing worth having will ever be spoon-fed to us or handed to us on a silver platter. WE HAVE TO GO GET IT!

Win or lose, there is victory in knowing you gave it everything you had.

Self-Tanner and the Christian Faith

I'm sure I've mentioned this before, but for those of you who don't already know, I love going to the park near my house. I always have. I've been playing basketball there for 14 years. The older I get, the more time I seem to spend there. Of course, it helps that they built a small pond with "sitting rocks" spaced evenly around it. 

I find myself sitting on these rocks quite often.

Some days I'll walk over and rock-sit after I play basketball or run. Other days I'll go specifically to sit, think, brainstorm blog topics, practice my talks, read, or write. There's just something about observing God's creation that floods your soul with peace. 

The other day when I was rock-sitting, I was looking down at my legs and suddenly found myself thinking back to my freshman year of high school. 

It was track season and, for whatever reason, I had decided to use self-tanner. Which is fine! There's nothing wrong with that! There is, however, something wrong with only putting it on your legs.

I had no idea how off-balanced my skin appeared until one of my friends pointed it out to me.

Friend: "Dang, Kris! Your legs are DARK! But um...what's going on with the rest of your body? Why is it so uneven?"
Me: "I've been using self-tanner!"
Friend: "Only on your legs???????"
Me: *laughs nervously and uncontrollably* 

I went home that day and looked at myself in the mirror. Sure enough, my legs looked like an oven-roasted turkey while my face and arms were whiter than new-fallen snow. I'm not one to get embarrassed, but if I did, this moment would have made it in the top ten, no doubt. I spent the next few weeks applying self-tanner to only my face and arms. When the top half finally matched the bottom half, I made sure to apply self-tanner to all areas from then on. 

I smiled as I thought about how our faith is a lot like that self-tanner. 

Stay with me, I promise I'm going somewhere with this! 

As Christians, we often treat our faith the same way I treated my self-tanner. We apply it to certain areas of our lives, but not EVERY area. We go to church on Sunday mornings and we attend weekly Bible studies, but the rest of our life is off-balanced because we don't implement what we learn into every aspect of our life. This, of course, results in an uneven faith, an unnatural glow. 

God doesn't want us to apply our faith to the areas of our choosing. 

He wants us to apply it evenly throughout our lives, whether it's going to be seen by others or not.

When we do this, when we implement Christ's teachings 24/7 rather than only when/where we feel like it, we develop a natural glow, radiating His light wherever we go.

Are there certain areas of your faith that need to be evened out? 

Don't get caught picking and choosing where you apply your faith. Apply it every day, in every single way.

My Thoughts on Turning 23

I TURNED MY FAVORITE NUMBER TODAY!

I've favored the #23 ever since my City League "PARD" days. That's right, I proudly sported Michael Jordan's number with my slicked-back ponytail (this was pre-side-ponytail), navy blue scrunchy, and flesh-colored lip bumper. I was quite the sight. For those of you who have seen Little Miss Sunshine, I looked a lot like Olive Hoover minus the glasses. For those of you who haven't, see below:

Little "Kris" Sunshine at your service, sweatband and all.

I would post an actual picture of me in my prime but since I'm trying to build a career in blogging, I'd hate to scare you off so soon in the process. For those of you who knew me at that age, you're welcome. You can thank me later for the picture you have of me in your head. 

Okay, you can quit laughing now.

If you Google "turning 23" you will see headlines that read:

23 Reasons Nobody Likes Turning 23

23 Soul-Crushing Truths About Being 23

23 Things In Your Life That Will End At 23

Apparently 23 is an "unfortunate age" to turn. 

Not to me, though.

To me, turning 23 is anything BUT unfortunate!

This is the age I've been waiting for, as it marks the beginning of the rest of my life, a journey I've been eager to travel for as long as I can remember...not to mention this is the first year of my life that DOESN'T INVOLVE SCHOOL. In the words of Jen Hatmaker, "ALL THE PRAISE HANDS!"

Turning 23 means, from here on out, I will be in a fearless pursuit of my dreams as I seek to discover God's purpose for my life. It's always been school first, dreams later...but now I get to focus SOLELY on what sets my soul on fire! I would fall asleep at night thinking about my dreams, my heart racing, only to have to wake up and go to school the next day. Now I get to spend every minute of every day working towards those dreams.

The 14-time NBA All-Star set high expectations for himself, passionately followed his dreams, and refused to let obstacles or failure keep him from achieving what others deemed impossible. 

I hope to do the same. 

I'm so thankful to be where I am. There may be a lot of uncertainties that come with turning 23, but there are a lot of opportunities, too! 

SO, LET THE ADVENTURE BEGIN!

Although I could go on and on, I think I want to leave it at that. It's been a good 23 years, y'all. Well, I actually don't remember much from ages 0-7 (I like to refer to those as the "lost" years) but regardless, I turned out okay. 

The bottom line is this: God is good and I'm so, so, so excited to spend the rest of my days learning about Him, using what I'm most passionate about to glorify Him, and living a life devoted to serving Him. 

I know this ending is a little abrupt but it's impossible to squeeze an entire year's worth of life into a single blog post. I think the song Good, Good Father by Big Daddy Weave says it best:

Well I've heard a thousand stories of what they think you're like

And I've heard the tender whispers of love in the dead of night

Well you tell me that you're pleased and that I'm never alone

You're a Good, Good Father

It's who you are, it's who you are, it's who you are

And I'm loved by you

It's who I am, it's who I am, it's who I am

Well I've seen many searching for answers far and wide

But I know we're all searching for answers only you provide

Cause you know just what we need before we say a word

*chorus*

Cause you are perfect in all of your ways

You are perfect in all of your ways

You are perfect in all of your ways to us

Oh Love so undeniable

I, I can hardly speak

And peace so unexplainable

I, I can hardly think

But you call us deeper still

And you call us deeper still

God you call us deeper still into love, love, love

You're a Good, Good Father

It's who you are, it's who you are, it's who you are

And I'm loved by you

It's who I am, it's who I am, it's who I am

Because you are perfect in all of your ways

You are perfect in all of your ways

God you are perfect in all of your ways to us

Yes, you are

God, You truly are a good, good Father, perfect in all of Your ways. Thank You for the past 23 years. Thank You for knowing what I need and for teaching me about Your person, Your will, and Your ways in every situation, both good and bad. Thank You for loving me too much to leave me where I am. As Psalm 63:3 says, "Because Your love is better than life, my lips will glorify You" today and every day. I hope to make You proud. 

The OTHER Thanksgiving

Well, another Thanksgiving has come and gone. 

I tried writing a Thanksgiving post, I really did, but I just could not bring myself to do it. 

Why? Because I didn't want Thanksgiving to be over. Turkey Day? That can be over. It's the other thanksgiving I hope never ends.

According to the online dictionary, "thanksgiving" (yes, I Googled it) has two meanings:

The first is a holiday celebrated in the United States on the fourth Thursday in November.

The second is "the expression of gratitude" (that should be) celebrated in the heart of every Christian, every day of the year. 

I put "that should be" in parenthesis because, and I think I speak for everyone when I say this, we do not thank God near enough...and he deserves every ounce of our thanks and praise. 

1 Thessalonians 5:18 says, "Give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus." It doesn't say to give thanks in some circumstances but in all circumstances - the good, bad, difficult, and easy. Not just Thanksgiving Day but every day. 

God's grace is never-ending; His love is never-failing; His mercies are everlasting. The very least we can do is approach the throne every day with a thankful heart because without His grace, love, and mercy we would have nothing, be nothing.

When we repeatedly express our gratitude, our perspective shifts and we no longer find ourselves bitter about the things we don't have or the circumstances we don't like. Instead, we see our circumstances with new eyes and find ourselves content as we trust God and His purposes for our lives. After all, "It is not joy that makes us grateful. It is gratitude that makes us joyful." 

A heart of thanksgiving is essential to the Christian faith, as it keeps our hearts aligned with His. It may not always be "well with [our] circumstances" but it can be "well with [our] soul." 

Don't wait until the fourth Thursday in November of 2016 to be thankful. Thank Him every day, every time it crosses your mind, and encourage others to do the same. 

After all, there is always, ALWAYS something to be thankful for! 

If you're unfamiliar with the hymn, It Is Well, I've attached Jimmy Needham's version of it. I may or may not have sobbed two Sundays ago when we sang it in church. If you're interested in the story behind the hymn, you can read about it here.

If you're a hymn-lover like me, you should also check out his version of Holy Holy Holy, Come Thou Fount, Great Is Thy Faithfulness, and Joyful Joyful. While you're at it, you should also listen to The Reason I Sing, Being Small, and Firefly. Actually, just set aside the next few hours and listen to all his songs and download them as you please. Did I mention he's an Aggie?

Your Interests Don't Define Your Intelligence

I came across an article the other day written by a Journalism major. Paige DiFiore was fighting to remind society, "Every major has value and requires some form of intelligence - never let anyone make you think otherwise. Nothing says smart like fighting for your dreams and following your passions." 

I absolutely love that.

Having graduated with a degree in Communication and minor in English, this is not foreign to me. I've carefully observed the expressions on people's faces change to a subtle look of disappointment after announcing that I was a Communication major.

"Oh, so you talk for a living? Doesn't everybody do that?"

The sarcastic side of me wanted to say, "ACTUALLY, NOW THAT I THINK ABOUT IT, I DON'T KNOW WHY I'M EVEN IN COLLEGE. WHAT A WASTE OF TIME! You'll have to excuse me, I need to go make an appointment with Dean of Admissions. I NEED MY TUITION BACK!"

Instead, I tried to smile and take the comment as lightly as possible...but to be honest, it hurt knowing that others saw my major and passion as a waste of time and not worth dedicating four years of my life to.

And you know what else?

I'm guilty of believing them.

I've made "digs" at my own intelligence because time and time again, others have given the impression that "talking for a living" is not enough...that my passions are not enough, my dreams are not enough, my gifts and talents are not enough, I am not enough.

And I know I'm not the only one who has ever felt this way.

DiFiore reminds us, "[Our] major says nothing about [our] intelligence - it says something about [our] passions."

There is a famous quote by Howard Thurman that says, "Don't ask yourself what the world needs. Ask yourself what makes you come alive, and then go do that. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive."

Never allow yourself to feel inferior to others because you're following your dreams and pursuing what you're most passionate about. 

Your passions ARE enough. Your dreams ARE enough. The gifts and talents you have ARE enough.

YOU ARE ENOUGH.

Don't belittle the person God made you to be.

You were intricately made.

God spent the same amount of time dousing you with a passion for writing, speaking, teaching, etc. as he did dousing others with a passion for healing, building, and problem-solving.

All are important. All are needed.

If you are using the gifts God has given you for the benefit of others, that, to me, makes you a raving success.

Bicycles, Headlights, and Having Faith

I went running the other night (No, nobody hacked my computer and the blog bandits aren't out to get me. I really did run, okay? MIRACLES HAPPEN EVERY DAY, PEOPLE!) and passed two kids riding their bikes home as their parents followed behind them in a suburban, headlights beaming. 

I made like Bob Seger and reminisced about the days of old.

Oh, the memories. 

It seems like just yesterday my parents were trailing behind me as I biked home because I had, once again, stayed too late at a friend's house (ordering surprise pizzas for the neighbors across the street, of course). 

Looking back, I can't help but wonder...
COULDN'T MY PARENTS HAVE PUT MY BIKE IN THE BACK OF THEIR VEHICLE SO I DIDN'T HAVE TO RIDE IT HOME IN THE DARK????????????? 

I would say I'm stronger because of it, but I still have to walk my bike up hills...

Anyway, I watched as their bikes flirted with the shadows and then swiveled back into the soft glow of light that stretched before them. 

The suburban's headlights guided the two kids around the corner and out of sight.

As I continued running (dying) I imagined God driving the suburban. I envisioned Him behind the wheel, shining the headlights on His children as they pedaled quickly in front of Him, unsure of what lies ahead but moving forward nonetheless.

That, my friends, is what it means to have faith.

Walking through life with God is a lot like a bike ride home through the dark with your parents following closely behind. We can't see what lies ahead. We don't know which path to take or what will be around the corner.

We're simply riding by His headlights, trusting that He will lead us down the path He sees best fit.

We may swing a left here, jump a curb there, stop and walk our bike uphill (or for the next block or two...BIKE-WALKERS UNITE!) or worse...get our shoelaces stuck in the pedals (the mother of all bike accidents)...but because God has been faithful in the past, we can be confident He will be faithful in the future!

I REPEAT: BECAUSE GOD HAS BEEN FAITHFUL IN THE PAST, WE CAN BE CONFIDENT HE WILL BE FAITHFUL IN THE FUTURE!

For example, right now I'm watching webinars, taking notes from Michael Hyatt, and trying to plan speaking engagements. I don't know what will happen next or what the end result will be...but what I DO know is that God has always come through. He has always made my paths straight. I've always ended up right where He intended me to be. 

I may not be able to see what lies ahead, but I have faith God will get me wherever it is I'm going, just as He always has. 

We need to trust God the same way we trusted our parents when we were just little kids biking home after dark...because it's through the darkness we learn to trust His guidance, His vision!

I realize now why my parents didn't let me ride shotgun and take the easy way out. It wasn't because they saw potential in my cycling skills and thought I'd race the Tour de France one day. It was because they wanted to prove their faithfulness to me. Every time they led me home through the dark, they gained more of my trust. 

As darkness falls and the fog rises, may we ride by God's "headlights" today the same way we rode by our parents' headlights back then. 

God, transform our hearts. Show us what it looks like to have a childlike faith. May we stop hesitating and start moving. There are times we forget Your faithfulness. Remind us. Remind us every single day...and let us never stop trusting You and the plan You have for our lives. Amen.

Two Things I'd Forgotten

One of the speakers for The Influence and Impact Summit I participated in last week was Glennon Doyle Melton. During her interview, she mentioned something that really caught my attention: "Whatever you need in that moment of the day is what everyone needs...the most personal stuff is the most universal."

Since reading that, I've been asking myself, "What do I need to hear right now? What is something we ALL need to hear?" Two things came to mind. I tried to put it off but I know I won't be able to go to sleep until I write this...so if it's not my best work, forgive me because it's 2:30AM while I'm writing this and my eyes burn. 

The things I need to hear are often the same things I've heard a thousand times. I just forget and need to be reminded. 

I figured you did, too, so here are two things I needed to hear this weekend, two things we all need to be reminded of every once in a while:

1) You are not your past. 

The person you were 8 months ago, 8 weeks ago, or 8 days ago is not the person you are today. Your mistakes don't define you because you have redemption through Jesus Christ and that redemption frees you from guilt. It frees you from your past. It frees you from your sin. 

You are forgiven.

You are loved.

You are saved.

He is faithful and just, and when we confess our "mess-ups" and sins to Him, He cleanses us from all unrighteousness. HE BLOTS OUT OUR TRANSGRESSIONS! 

We may not always be forgiven by others here on earth, but we are ALREADY forgiven by our Father in Heaven because of the blood Jesus shed for us on the cross. 

2) "You can be the ripest, juiciest peach in the world and there's still going to be somebody who hates peaches." 

You will not be liked by everyone. In fact, you will be hated by some. Did you "recovering people-pleasers" cringe when I said that? 

It's true, though. 

Peach-haters are just a big ol' fact of life...and how do we handle those big ol' facts of life? By making peach pie, drinking peach tea, and eating peach cobbler. 

Hopefully you've caught on by now and know I'm not actually talking about peaches. 

I'm talking about cranberries. 

I'm kidding again. Don't sign me up for a comedy tour just yet.

Basically what I'm trying to say is...don't ever stop being the person you are. Even if you're called fake, even if people try to make you feel you're not good enough, even if people seem to go out of their way to hurt you. Don't change for anybody. Unless we're talking about clothes and you "got the hummus" like Phoebe did on Friends. 

In that case, by all means, change your clothes.

Never stop smiling. 
Keep being kind. 
Stay true to yourself. 
Be confident in the person you are. 

If you know who you are, whose you are, and where you stand, nothing and nobody can you knock you down. 

God will provide the people you need if He hasn't already...people who will love you, support you, guide you, listen to you, encourage you, etc. no matter what comes your way. Together, you will weather life's toughest storms. These are the only people you need in your close-knit circle. They are your "tribe" (as Jen Hatmaker calls it) or your "squad" (as Taylor Swift calls it). 

You may lose a few and add a few throughout the years, and that's okay. That, too, is a big ol' fact of life. People will try to make you feel guilty about it. Don't let them. You may find yourself questioning the decision down the road. Trust yourself and know that you did it for a reason, even if it's hard to remember that reason at times...even if nobody else understands that reasoning.  

I don't have a cool name for my team/tribe/squad/gang/crew, but I love them and I am so very thankful for them. You know who you are! 

The weekend was good to me. I had a lot of time to think and reflect. 

Life is hard and it's easy to forget what's important to remember. I had forgotten. I honestly had...and I know I'm not alone. I don't know who else besides me needed to hear this today but I pray you find yourself encouraged. 

Enjoy your Monday, friends! 

Finding Your "Sweet Spot" in Life

As you know, I'm participating in The Influence and Impact Summit. 

During his interview, Michael Hyatt bluntly states, "I have a stewardship obligation to use [my talents] for the benefit of other people." 

We all do. 

As a result of his increased influence, Hyatt has received emails and letters telling him that he has changed their life and made it better in some way. To him, that is what he finds most rewarding. It makes him feel as if he's fulfilling his purpose, that he's in his "sweet spot" and doing the thing he was created to do.

If you haven't noticed already, I absolutely love using basketball as a metaphor to describe life, so when he used "sweet spot" to describe his purpose, I couldn't help but want to add to that. 

In basketball, your "sweet spot" is the spot on the court you love to shoot from because you know you'll make it. It's often your go-to during a game of Horse because you know the odds of you missing are very slim. You can shoot from that spot all day long. The biggest mistake your opponent can make while playing defense is sagging off of you when you're standing in your spot on the floor. 

My "sweet spot" is the 15-footer. I can vividly remember standing in my "sweet spot" during a playoff game against Harleton when my opponent suddenly sagged off me. 

"OOPS!" is right.

I looked her in the eye, took a step back, and let it rip.

Nothing is more satisfying!

Everyone's "sweet spot" is different. Some may be at the top of the key, some may be a baseline shot. It varies according to each player but the sense of satisfaction one feels after shooting from their "sweet spot" is one in the same.

As mentioned earlier, I would like to take what Michael said about having found his "sweet spot" in life and discuss it further because my faith was heavily influenced by basketball and I will jump at the opportunity to compare the two.

Just as we each have a "sweet spot" on the basketball court, we each have a "sweet spot" in life. 

It's different for every individual, but the purpose is the same: to point others towards Him. 

Your "sweet spot" in life is the gifts and talents God has given you to help advance His Kingdom here on earth. When you are a good steward of your gifts and talents, when you use them for the benefit of other people, nothing is more satisfying. Your "sweet spot" gives your life meaning. It's part of your calling. It's why God created you and it's how He will fulfill His purposes through you. 

For example, one of my spiritual gifts is exhortation, or encouragement. I feel the most alive when I am encouraging others to have faith, trust God's plan and timing, follow their biggest dreams, reach their highest potential, etc. - this is my "sweet spot" in life.

Finding your "sweet spot" takes time. Yours may be leadership, teaching, administration, discernment, wisdom, evangelism - the list goes on! No gift or talent is better than another. You may have one, you may have many. Regardless, they are all important, they are all needed. 

If you're not sure what your "sweet spot" is, here is a Spiritual Gifts Test you can take that names your top three. Be honest and be confident. God wants to use you just as you are. 

You will know your "sweet spot" by the satisfaction it brings when used for the benefit of others. It's how God is going to use you to glorify Him and make disciples of Jesus Christ!

Find your "sweet spot" and then let it rip!