Brushing up on my soccer skills...

A couple weeks ago in my Bible Study group at church, our teacher asked us to talk about a goal we had set and accomplished. I thought back to how I spent many years playing and practicing soccer and training to do well. It became one of my favorite activities in high school, and was very important to me. I still love to kick the ball around every once in a while.

Well, our church here has Upwards Soccer, which is a soccer league for children (the rules are a little different) that is used as an outreach tool for the community. Each practice and game also ends with a devotional time for the children (and parents). The focus is to have fun, not to keep score and be competitive. My bible study leader asked me if I'd be interested in helping out. I had just told them how I was staying another year and wanted to be more involved in the community, so how could I say no?

So I've been helping with a 4-6 grade girls team. I've missed a few practices and games, but I really enjoy it! Although today our team did not win, the girls always have fun, and I've been giving them pointers during the game...and most of the time they actually listen (their actually doing it on the field is another challenge!). The coaches on both sides work together to make it an even game (this is still an adjustment for me as I've always played to win). This morning I also led the devotion for our teams...our point was to be a "thermostat" instead of a "thermometer" based on Matthew 5 (credit to Pastor Steven from one of his sermon illustrations). All in all, it's nice to be back on the soccer field!