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Worship like you preach

 1 Corinthians 9:22-27 NLT

"When I am with those who are weak, I share their weakness, for I want to bring the weak to Christ. Yes, I try to find common ground with everyone, doing everything I can to save some. I do everything to spread the Good News and share in its blessings. Don’t you realize that in a race everyone runs, but only one person gets the prize? So run to win! All athletes are disciplined in their training. They do it to win a prize that will fade away, but we do it for an eternal prize. So I run with purpose in every step. I am not just shadowboxing. I discipline my body like an athlete, training it to do what it should. Otherwise, I fear that after preaching to others I myself might be disqualified."

   I know all of you heard the phrase 'practice like you play' from a coach,
teammates, and your parents. We need to put in all of our work into God's plans no matter if its practice, training, or learn from the word of God. We are the kingdom of God and we are His soldiers, so we need to be ready and fit for the war on evil when the time comes. it says in 1 Corinthians 9:27 "I discipline my body like an athlete, training it to do what it should. Otherwise, I fear that after preaching to others I myself might be disqualified."
   Last summer, I went up to Minnesota for summer hockey and play with some of the top High School players up there. Many of yall dont know that I'm from Texas, so as you would guess, they put labels on me. Not only the christian boy but now a cowboy with a hockey stick in his hand. Which is true but I didn't like it.  I May talk southern but that doesn't mean I can't skate faster or shoot harder than anyone else. I hold myself to the standards that my dad told me which is proved in the Bible, 'Practice like you play'.
   Minnesotans and northerners may have been born on ice, but I was raised on rugged ice.
   It was never easy to find ice time , to train the right way, and even workout in the hot Texas Sun while being a big brother and a youth leader. To this day, I have no idea how I came to be, I followed no 10 step plan, but God's plan. I wanted to be the best I can be and learn what I need to preach God's Word. So, by the end of every summer, everyone who told me I'm worthless and not good we're the players who I was passing, scoring on, and out muscling.
   I told yall this story so I can put perspective in what we think will bring us down, if we let it. There is always somebody better than you, so train and keep rising the standards. Even though I was labeled, I wore it with pride because I worked. I'm not saying this to be boastful, but to share what you can do through Christ. It says in 1 Corinthians 9:22 "When I am with those who are weak, I share their weakness, for I want to bring the weak to Christ." of course I'm no dangler or an all-star sniper, but I work hard. Like another saying goes,  'hard work beats Tallent when Tallent isn't working hard'. I hold myself to the team and what the team needs to work on, not mainly myself because hockey is a team sport.
   To end, we need to remember that hockey is just a game. We may not win every single championship,  game, or season, but that never expresses the season that just passed over.

God bless,
Ethan Mckinley

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