Monday, December 31, 2007

The Road to Recovery


After returning home from the Eufaula trip, Liz finally had a chance to lay down and get some much-needed rest. It happened just in the nick of time, because her pain pump finally ran out last night. When I left her room at about 11:00 PM she was watching TV and feeling fine. I woke up at 2:17 AM this morning to a strange sound coming from her room. Upon opening her door, I found her crying and in considerable pain. So much so that she couldn’t even move her leg to get out of bed to get her pain medication. She said she had tried for over an hour to get our attention by calling out for someone to help her but she had her door closed and we couldn’t hear her calling.

She is about to enter the most difficult part of her recovery...the physical therapy (i.e., torture sessions). Please keep her in your prayers for a pain-free recovery.

Sunday, December 30, 2007

When does 413 become 4:13?


On my way out of the gym last night, a woman sitting near the door motioned me over and asked me “what does 413 mean?” As I gave her a brief explanation, she smiled and fired back “I knew it!” With that, the brief conversation was over and I strolled off. It wasn’t until I was replaying the game through my mind on the long drive home that I started wondering what she meant by “I knew it!” Maybe she knew the verse and just wanted to confirm her suspicion. Maybe the design on the back of our shirt made her wonder, or maybe it was the chant “4:13” as we broke each huddle? Although I’ll never really know, I’d like to imagine that she noticed something distinctly different about our team. Something so unique that it made us stand apart from the other teams at the tournament. And although she couldn’t quite put her finger on what it was that made us different, she recognized that 413, whatever that meant, was at the heart of it.

4:13 is not just a reminder to us, but to all those watching in the stands and on the court, that regardless of the circumstances, regardless of our opponent and regardless of the outcome that we have nothing to fear because Christ is there to strengthen us. It does not mean that we will always win, but when we do, we should win with grace. And if we are to lose, then we should lose with grace.

I am so proud of the way each of you handled yourselves last night not only during the game, but immediately afterward. You showed all those watching what 4:13 is really all about.

HOORA!

Monday, December 24, 2007

Merry Christmas!

hey ladies! i just wanted to wish you all a very MERRY CHRISTMAS! i love you all so much and im thankful for each one of you. i hope you all get everything you asked for and remember the most important thing about Christmas. . . Jesus. everybody stay well and have a good time with family. love you girls! 4:13...
~Liv #42

Wednesday, December 19, 2007

In His Name We Play

Hey chikas! =)
It's Sheff...thank you all for your prayers and for being so sweet
and concerned with my sprained ankle at Friday's game. I've not actually had any pain (besides that awful ice-bath...WHEW! If you have a random urge for pain, do that! just kidding!) So, the swelling has gone down a lot and I put the crutches down today! Yay! However, the swelling isn't completely gone and it's a beautiful shade of purple (doesn't quite match our uniforms yet...!) So we will have to see how it is by the Christmas Tournament. If I have my way (since I'm already walking on it) I will definitely want to play, but if it puts my ankle in jeopardy for our regular season, it may be wiser for me to allow it longer to heal.

This is not bad news for the team! We have a wonderful team filled with amazing talent! Every single one of our team members is vital to the team and the performance of the game! I absolutely LOVE our team- each one of you girls are my sister in Christ. And I have to say- I'm sure you'll agree- that not only do we have the BEST basketball team ever, but our Coach is awesome! He's not JUST a coach, but he really makes an effort to relate to us and is more like a team-dad! Thanks Coach Ty!

So whether or not I will be able to play in the Cmas Tourney, each one of you has the capability to play to the best of your ability and I pray that God will give you all the strength to play your hardest and to encourage your teammates, building them up spiritually and mentally! Keep that in mind at the practices preceding the tournament and as the Christmas Tournament comes closer. We have the power of Philippians 4:13! =D

I love you all so much- hope you have a WONDERFUL Christmas!

♥ Merry Christmas Ladies!! ♥









Saturday, December 15, 2007

The Perfect Ending


If I were to imagine a storybook ending for Liz' final game at Covenant, I don't think I could have scripted it any better than what she experienced last night.

As if three 3-pointers, 4 assists and 1 steal in a nine minute span (with a torn ACL) wasn't enough, the crowd chanting "..we want Liz.." was the icing on the cake for her. Thank you for that memory that Liz (and mom & dad) will remember for quite awhile.

Thursday, December 13, 2007

The Last Minute


There is a saying in basketball that a few coaches have used as motivation over the years. It goes “…if you knew that this game would be the last game you would ever play, how would you play?…”. It kind of makes you stop and think about how you usually play versus how you would play if it were indeed your last game. Tomorrow night, Liz will play the final game of her high school basketball career in front of our home crowd. Against my better judgement, I am going to allow her to play for one minute just to be able to say goodbye to the game that she loves so much.

Wednesday, December 12, 2007

Slaying the Giant


Before I get started, let me be clear about one thing…I HATE TO LOSE MORE THAN I LOVE TO WIN. However, there is on occasion a loss that isn’t necessarily a bad thing and last night’s 6-point loss to Bethlehem was just such a game.

In the eight-year history of the Covenant basketball program, the Lady Lions have never beaten Bethlehem. To give you an idea of how good Bethlehem usually is…last season they lost most of their games and they still beat Covenant by 33-points. Call them our Goliath if you will, but I felt pretty good at the end of last night’s game because we are getting closer to slaying the giant. I saw some good things from our team. From a scoring standpoint, we had four girls with 6-points each, which is an indicator of a well-balanced scoring attack which we have been missing since the season started (meaning that we are starting to find our identity on offense).

I can feel the ‘Mo (momentum for you younger girls) building up and I think we will be primed to unleash some fury against Emmanuel on Friday.

HOORA!

Thursday, December 6, 2007

God is REALLY-REALLY in Control - Pt. III


I received a most unexpected e-mail this morning from Coach Jackson at Montreat Christian College in North Carolina. Back in August, he and I had traded a few e-mails back & forth regarding Liz and he had watched some game film on her. His assessment of her game was brutally honest and to the point: She didn’t look exceptionally quick and her size would likely be a detriment. He said she needed to have something that set her apart from the others competing for the same scholarship.

Needless to say, Montreat was no longer interested.

Okay…back to my unexpected e-mail this morning….Coach Jackson wanted to know if Liz had decided on a school or committed to play anywhere yet. Hearing that he was interested made me feel good, but it was too little too late. I reluctantly wrote him back informing him about her injury and fully expecting to receive the “sorry about that” response. But instead, he said they were still interested in her and that he wanted me to forward some additional info to him.

More updates soon!