I love football! I went to two games this weekend and managed to sneak in another during the commercial breaks of a Lifetime movie and once the movie was over. Friday night's game was arguably one of the most important regular season games for the football team of my alma mater where I also teach and have two nephews on the team. The first half was miserable. Our team looked like a completely different team than the one that had rolled over all, but one team in the preceding weeks. Then, just before halftime, the ball was thrown to my oldest nephew and he got a much-needed first down that led to a touchdown before the half.

After our team got within two points of the opposing team in the fourth quarter and blocked a field goal to give themselves a chance for the win, my nephew made two more spectacular catches to get the team within field goal range with 18 seconds on the clock. However, the kicker had missed two field goals that night, so the offense decided to go for the touchdown. The offensive line did their best blocking of the night, the quarterback dropped back, my nephew waited for the ball to go in for the winning score, but the QB threw the ball towards a receiver that wasn't expecting the ball and the defense intercepted it. They lost a district game, making the road to the playoffs more difficult, but not impossible.

Saturday night, I saw that my team was winning, so I watched my movie and then turned back to the game to watch the fourth quarter. The opposing team gave a slight scare, but once they were off of the field with little time remaining, I figrure the game was over and my team had won, so I turned the TV off and went to bed. I woke up the next morning to find out that they lost by one point. Yesterday, I went to an NFL game. My team seemed to be on the right track for the first half, but they got killed in the second half and suffered an embarassing loss. It was not a great football weekend for my teams.

Last year, while actor Charlie Sheen was doing some really odd and self-destructive acts, he was known to say the phrase, "Winning!" which was a contradiction to what he was actually doing. After seeing these games, I began to think today, is there any way that an apparent loss could be a win? Then, as I was reading this morning I saw several verses that assured me that losing down here is not what matters; what matters is what we gain when we lose.

Romans 8:8-9 (MSG) says, "Anyone completely absorbed in self ignores God, ends up thinking more about self than God. That person ignores who God is and what he is doing. And God isn’t pleased at being ignored. But if God himself has taken up residence in your life, you can hardly be thinking more of yourself than of him."  When we lose ourselves and focus on God, although the world might not see the powerful acts of God that are going on, our lives will be infinitely better. When we fully surrender and submit, giving complete control to God, that is a win! We can see life change for the better, whichis not to say that there will not be challenges, but in the end, we win!

Last year, our high school was defeated in the regular season by the same team they lost to on Friday, but when they got to the playoffs, they beat that same team to advance to the state final four. Life on earth is the regular season. We are going to take some losses. Some days, those losses are not our fault; they are caused by others not giving us the chances to win. Other losses are near misses because we were so close to the win, but we did not play through the end. Sometimes we lose because we just plain stink at life. But, this life on earth is the regular season and heaven is our championship. If we can make it through the tough times down here with our focus on God and His Spirit in our hearts, confessing Jesus Christ as our Lord and Saviour, we can turn losing into winning! Ms. EV

In tomorrow's blog, I will continue this subject with more wisdom from Romans 8

I don’t think I’ve ever been more excited for the last day of school! (Not even when I was graduating). This year has been rough! For those of you who don’t know, I am a teacher. Anyway, as I was clearing out my inboxes, I realized that at the beginning of this year, I was so unhappy that I was trying to find another job. Then, the tragedies started and seemed to come one right after another. The year was just marred with disappointment and sadness. And through it all, I held on to the fact that God still sits on the throne and is in control, but that doesn’t mean that it was not hard.

The result of the valley was that it caused me to look within and to cling ever closer to God. I had been in a relationship rut so to speak where I had lost the freshness of my intimacy with Christ and our time together had become more routine than real. As I drew closer to Him, things started to turn around. It was not all mountain tops, but, in the valleys, I knew to look to the hills where from which my help would come. Now, I am renewed, refreshed, revived and ready for what God has in store for my life. He has literally put new songs on my heart, given me new insight and new focus. And, I made it with Him. We made it! Sometimes, it seems as if the struggle will never end, but if you can just be still, you can come through the other side with Jesus as your Friend and Guide. Ms. EV

I walked into a room to speak with a colleague and before I knew it, the room was filled with people venting about our job. They talked about changes that are in progress. They talked about changes that are being considered. They talked about changes that aren’t even being considered yet. It was very depressing, especially considering that I was finally starting to feel comfortable about my career decision. I was finally confident that God had reassured me that I am right where He directed me and where He placed me. But, everything around me looks so grim, so uncertain, so scary….

I imagine that this is what Joseph felt like when he was in a pit being sold off by his brothers. Or, when he had finally earned his spot in Potiphar’s house, only to be accused of rape by Potiphar’s wife, and thrown in jail. These are the times, the grim, uncertain, scary times, when the devil wants us to doubt that God placed us where we are. He whispers, “A loving God wouldn’t put you in a situation where you’re uncomfortable and frightened.” He preys on our vulnerabilities. But, GOD… God will lead us right back to His Word and in that Word, we can see that God was with Joseph and the darkest of circumstances worked out for Joseph’s good.

What’s more is that God promised that He will work everything out for the good of those who love Him. So, if I love Him and I trust Him, there is no need to fear. No, the situations and circumstances are not fun and can be unnerving, but the God I serve is my source, not my employer, not my family, not my friends, but God. Because God [is] with [me]; whatever [I do] God [will make] sure it work[s] out for the best. (Genesis 39:23). Ms. EV