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(Just wanted to share this story)
By Joel Osteen
A while back, I was playing basketball with our son, Jonathan. For years we've played one on one, and that day for the first time, he beat me fair and square, 15 to 14. But at one point during the game, he got around me and went up for a shot. I stumbled and lost my footing, but I regained it, and he didn't see me. I came in from behind him, jumped as high as I could, timed it just right, and blocked his shot. I mean, I swatted that ball out of the air. I felt like I was Shaquille O'Neal! I was so proud of myself!
A couple of days later we were at the gym playing with some friends. Jonathan said, "Hey, Dad! Tell everybody what happened the other night." My mind immediately went to the blocked shot. I said, "Oh, yeah. Jonathan went up, and he didn't see me. I timed it perfectly…" He said, "No, Dad. I meant tell them how I beat you for the first time."
I had to laugh because at that moment, I didn't remember my defeat. I remembered my victory. The first thing that came to my mind was not that I lost the game, but it was the fact that I had done something good. A lot of people today do just the opposite. Even though they win the game, they remember all the mistakes they made. They never feel good about themselves because they're too busy pushing themselves down.
We have to decide that we are not going to go through life being against ourselves. We need to be our own biggest fan! Instead of staying focused on your defeats, failures, or shortcomings, focus on your good qualities. Of course, God is always at work in our lives to help us improve. We need to cooperate with Him, but let's remember our victories and downplay our defeats. Let's stay focused in the right direction and keep an attitude of faith which opens the door for God to do great things in our lives!
By Joel Osteen
A while back, I was playing basketball with our son, Jonathan. For years we've played one on one, and that day for the first time, he beat me fair and square, 15 to 14. But at one point during the game, he got around me and went up for a shot. I stumbled and lost my footing, but I regained it, and he didn't see me. I came in from behind him, jumped as high as I could, timed it just right, and blocked his shot. I mean, I swatted that ball out of the air. I felt like I was Shaquille O'Neal! I was so proud of myself!
A couple of days later we were at the gym playing with some friends. Jonathan said, "Hey, Dad! Tell everybody what happened the other night." My mind immediately went to the blocked shot. I said, "Oh, yeah. Jonathan went up, and he didn't see me. I timed it perfectly…" He said, "No, Dad. I meant tell them how I beat you for the first time."
I had to laugh because at that moment, I didn't remember my defeat. I remembered my victory. The first thing that came to my mind was not that I lost the game, but it was the fact that I had done something good. A lot of people today do just the opposite. Even though they win the game, they remember all the mistakes they made. They never feel good about themselves because they're too busy pushing themselves down.
We have to decide that we are not going to go through life being against ourselves. We need to be our own biggest fan! Instead of staying focused on your defeats, failures, or shortcomings, focus on your good qualities. Of course, God is always at work in our lives to help us improve. We need to cooperate with Him, but let's remember our victories and downplay our defeats. Let's stay focused in the right direction and keep an attitude of faith which opens the door for God to do great things in our lives!
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