A good deal of our time in the last few weeks before Christmas is been spent in the selecting and the giving of gifts to one another. Now in some instances we just try to find something, no matter what, that we can give to another person. But so very often we try to look for what we think would be the perfect gift for them.
Everything that requires action to some degree in one way or another involves faith. So that means that faith is about the most important thing in the world. Almost every second of every minute of every day of our lives, we exercise faith in some way. Without faith there could be no business because we have to trust one anoth...
Historians are at one point in solemn agreement: nothing that we see can last. There is no permanence in the physical or the material. The earth changes her garb, nations rise and fall, governments come and go. The dust of yesterday’s civilization is hardly settled before we begin to see the rubble of today.
James Reston, a columnist for the New York Times, once gave an evaluation of the small caliber of men that he thought occupied governor’s chairs...“Maybe states can go on handling bigger problems with smaller and smaller men, but it is risky business ... most of the state capitals are over their head...
Knute Rockne was one of the greatest football coaches ever. In his 13 years at Notre Dame, his teams won 105 games, lost 12, and tied 5. He never had a secret practice. In fact, he sometimes put up a sign for visitors that said, “Secret practice. Come and bring your notebooks.”
On one occasion when an Army scout missed a train connection and didn’t get to the Notre Dame game he was to cover, Rockne obligingly sent him the plays he planned to use against the West Point men. He explained his actions by saying, “It isn’t the play that wins; it’s the execution.”
All great coaches agree: champions are made by majoring on the fundamentals – blocking and tackling. They execute well. Teams seldom win by trick plays or gimmicks.
The same is true of life. Tricks and gimmicks will seldom get you to the top in any endeavor and can never keep you there. Major on the basics in all of life – work hard, honor God, be honest, kind and helpful to others, and go to church regularly.