The Meaning of Christmas!

As I (Joe) write this, we are two days away from celebrating the birth of Jesus! Something that I need to be reminded to celebrate everyday! On Saturday, I had the opportunity to ask the basketball team if they wanted to go through the 3rd Athletes in Action Principle today...or tackle the meaning of Christmas. They chose the second.

So...in a few hours I will be digging through the Christmas Story in Luke with them. We will be looking at how Jesus came in humility...his claim of being the way, the truth and the life...and what it means for the world (and them as athletes). Please pray for them as I will be communicating the Gospel. Pray for open hearts and that many would meet Jesus.

I have had such a great time with this team. I have had the opportunity to lead chapel as well as cheer them on during their games. I sit behind the bench and pray for them throughout the games. A few times, a few women looked at me during a rough spot in the game and asked me to pray for them. What an opportunity God has given Jen and I to be involved with this team.

We hope you have a great Christmas! We are so thankful to have you as a part of our team. This will be our last blog entry for 2009! AND...we are less than 3 weeks from the due date of our first child! Jen is feeling well and we are excited!

Merry Christmas!

Audience of One

Audience of One...that was our theme for last weeks women's basketball chapel at UAlbany. We had our first chapel with them last Saturday right before they took on Wagner at their afternoon home game. As we shared earlier, Jen and I are leading chapel times for the UAlbany Women's Basketball Team before every home game. Over the next 5 home games, I will be diving into the first 5 principles of Athletes in Action. Audience of One talked about turning sports from an idol to worshiping God. Keeping in mind that this time is optional for the team, 8 women and 3 coaches decided to show up for the time. I had the opportunity to share a little bit of how I started to live for an Audience of One and then we dove into the Scripture for a while. It was a great time!

We will meet two more times before the women head home for Christmas for their five day break (not much time when you're an NCAA athlete in a winter sport). They have another home game tomorrow afternoon...and on December 23. We meet together a few hours before the start of the game. Please keep these times with them in your prayers.

As for the rest of the ministry, finals are finishing, Christmas parties are done and students are heading home for the break. Please pray for them as they take a much needed rest. Pray that they will keep walking with the Lord and won't let laziness get the best of them.