dethroned kings

As I talked about top performers of the Olympics on previous posts, I personally really like to follow artistic gymnastics and track and field.

Somehow I got into the women's pole vault jump. Mainly because the Russian "queen" Yelena Isinbayeva is renown for her gold medals on Athens 2004 and Beijing 2008, and she was going for the 3rd straight gold (I don't think any track and field athlete has accomplished it). She is the holder of the world record, the only women to jump more than 5 meters, so I was fascinated and got attracted to follow pole vault jump.

I was watching the women's pole vault jump final which was roughly at the same time as women's soccer semifinal Canada vs USA (which was an exciting game, and 3 of my housemates were streaming in their own rooms) but I was so into pole vault jump. As I watched I realized that it takes great concentration and skills to perform a decent jump, it is a tough sport! So I was all-out cheering for Yelena, but unfortunately she was only able to jump up to 4.7m, 0.05m (5cm) less than her two opponents so she had to conform with the bronze medal.

But when asked whether she was sad about the bronze, she actually said that she was very happy and she wasn't bitter or frustrated but content. She actually thought of retirement, but now she is aiming to participate in Rio 2016 and I look forward to see her compete.

Another great athlete I admired from watching him in Beijing 2008 is the Chinese Chen Yibing, gold medalist on ring apparatus, and double gold medalist in Men's Team in gymnastics.

His dominance in the last 5-6 years in the ring is so intense that he is nicknamed "the lord of the rings". He was favorite to get the gold medal, and actually performed a great routine, but he was surprised by the excellent performance of the Brazilian Zanetti, so Chen got the silver medal.

After the results were announced, he congratulated Zanetti, and smiling showed his thanks to the fans who came. In an interview, he said he was quite happy for his performance and that he did what he could.

These two great athletes have won championships and gold medals so they don't really lose that often. But in London 2012 when many were expecting them to get gold, they actually were dethroned and had to conform with a medal of less value. But the attitude they had in finding satisfaction on their performance, no sense of regrets, admitting defeat and congratulating their opponents is truly admirable. In my eyes Chen Yibing is still the "lord of the rings" and Yelena Isinbayeva is still the "queen of the pole vault".

We don't get to win everyday, and we ought to find satisfaction in doing our best.

Discipline and Hard Work

Back to my thoughts regarding the Olympics, we often remember the great performance of the medalists, and specially those big winners like Usain Bolt and Michael Phelps. They had great  performance on Beijing 2008, and it is natural for everyone to put their attention of them for London 2012 expecting similar performances.

It is easy to get caught up on the winning and achievements that we often forget the long hours of training, hard work, and discipline that these athletes had to endure in order to perform to such levels. To add, there is the dealing with expectations and nervousness. The fact that Olympics athletes are there participating is already a big achievement since they had to go through rounds of elimination in order to get there.

But it is nice to witness the big achievements that some of the athletes can accomplish.

In a similar way, I sometimes dream about accomplishing big things for God in the ministry I am involved with, whether it is CCF committee, cell group leader, ministry leader, bible study leader, etc. There is an earnest desire to do it for the glory of God, but it is easy to get caught up in wanting to achieve the big things and get frustrated when we're not able to get there. Because it is easy to overlook the hard work and discipline that will prepare us for these big things.

A few good brothers gave me as a present (when I was 2nd year) the book "Spirit of the Disciplines" (by Dallas Willard), and in one instance it mentions that many Christians want to see big things happening in their lives, to imitate what Jesus did, and other prophets (like Moses). But one has to realize that it is not an everyday thing when we will witness these big victories, but that it takes also ardent training on our part so that we can be ready when God calls us for such big battles. Jesus waited until he was thirty before His ministry on earth, and Moses spent 40 years training before leading the Israel out of Egypt.

Hence, there should be more motivation on my part to practice spiritual discipline in studying more the Word of God, memorizing Scripture, praying unceasingly, fasting, frugality so that I can be better prepared when God calls me for His Kingdom work.

We see Usain Bolt running the 100m in 9.63s establishing a new Olympic record, and it was one of the most watched event in the Olympics. But there were tons of hours of hard training that he had to endure to get in the podium!

On a separate note, Guatemala never won a medal before. They had a boxer that reached the bronze medal match 20 years ago, but was not able to win. Until London 2012, when a Guatemalan athlete was able to win a silver medal on 20km walk by Erick Barrondo. Fruits of his hard work, and this is the celebration, Enhorabuena!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eOG4t-3XAoA

Tribute to CLASH

This past weekend was  very joyful to witness a dear sister and brother being united as one in the Lord under the covenant of marriage. It was a bit emotional for me since I know both parties for at least 6 years and we have share good times serving together in CCF. I really appreciate the relationship I have with each of them.

Caring - for you genuinely care for your brothers and sisters
Loving - you love the things you do (ministry and school), above all you love God
Ardently hopeful - the hope you have in the Lord is of great worth
Royal - for you are a princess

Admirable - for you pursue what is honorable and noble
Supportive -  your support for the CCF  ministries was invaluable
Heart for God -a man who seeks the Lord's heart in prayer

I am confident that they will continue to glorify our great God. 

Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless. In this same way, husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. After all, no one ever hated his own body, but he feeds and cares for it, just as Christ does the church— for we are members of his body. “For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh.” This is a profound mystery—but I am talking about Christ and the church. However, each one of you also must love his wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband. - Ephesians 5:25-33

Staying as #1

It's been said that it is hard to reach the #1 rank, but it is even harder to remain as #1. Similarly, I have been failing to update this blog regularly, so I am hoping to make a comeback since the recent Olympics has filled me with thoughts and ideas.

Why is staying as #1 so hard? Well, because it is easy to get too relaxed, complacent, and maybe even prideful that will make you forsake training. Also, other competitors will look at you as the person to beat, so they will train with more motivation to surpass you.

Similarly, in my spiritual walk, it is hard to be in tune with God, read His Word, and dwell in prayer consistently. This is a daily battle for me, and when I think I am doing well, it actually opens many opportunities for temptations to pull me down. Living by the Spirit is a challenging thing. That's why "devotionals" are very important to keep my mind and heart align with God's so that my sight will not be blurred from His will.

"But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.  Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires. Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit." - Galatians 5:22-25

We are to live by the Spirit, and also to keep in step with the Spirit so that we will remain living offering ourselves to God. This can only be accomplished by getting to know God more, spending more time with Him, and learning more from Him, It definitely takes our effort and discipline to pursue it, but it is by God's grace that we are able to accomplish it.

In the Olympics, there is an athlete who is able to stay as #1 in his field - Usain Bolt.

What he has done is incredible, to win gold on 100m, 200m, 4x100m relay on both 2008 and 2012 Olympics. Only selective few like the legendary was able to defend gold successfully on more than one event in track and field.

He is considered the best sprinter of all time and currently holding the world record on 100m, 200m, and just recently the 4x100m relax. We'll see if he can keep this pace on 2016, but it will be a lot harder as he is aging and many young competitors are developing.

Another athlete that is worth mentioning who is able to dominate in his specialty is Michael Phelps who is the athlete with most Olympic medals in all history (22). Though his level dropped in this recent Olympics, what he has accomplished will not be easily surpassed.

Outside of the Olympics, it is worth noting that the Spain national soccer team accomplished a feat of winning the Euro 2008, World Cup 2010, and Euro 2012. Definitely, very had to remain as #1, but it is achievable by being focused on the goal and consistent hard work.