Faith needs training, just like the body. This page is about growing spiritually strong one habit, one Scripture, one tough question at a time. It’s not about perfection; it’s about staying faithful when nobody’s watching.
December 8, 2025
Training in Integrity
Spiritual conditioning is more than belief; it is disciplined practice. Moses learned leadership through years of quiet preparation tending sheep, listening deeply, and learning patience before he ever stood before a nation.
For athletes, this means:
- working with honour when no one is watching
- competing with fairness
- staying disciplined in small habits
- developing self-control even under pressure
Integrity is a muscle that strengthens with repetition.
December 6, 2025
Strength Through Selflessness
Selflessness builds spiritual strength. David’s confidence wasn’t rooted in himself, it was rooted in purpose.
Athletes grow when they:
- help a teammate before helping themselves
- speak up when someone is struggling
- protect the culture of the team
- choose courage over comfort
Selflessness sharpens courage.
December 5, 2025
Disciplined Work Shapes the Soul
Nehemiah refused shortcuts. He embraced diligence, clarity, and intentionality. Spiritual conditioning asks the same of us:
- stay focused on the right things
- reject distractions
- ground yourself in purpose
- honour your commitments
Hard work is not punishment, it is refinement.
December 4, 2025
Strength Through Steady Practice
Spiritual conditioning begins with the discipline of showing up. Joshua returned daily to God’s instruction, shaping a mindset rooted in faith rather than fear.
For athletes, the same principle applies:
- repetition builds muscle
- consistency builds confidence
- intentional practice builds identity
True strength is not explosive; it is steady.
November 22, 2025
Learning to Lead With Heart
Spiritual conditioning teaches us that leadership begins long before we take a position or wear a title. The Good Shepherd leads with compassion, patience, and sacrifice qualities that develop slowly through reflection and humility.
For athletes, this means learning to lift others rather than compare yourself to them. It means taking responsibility without craving credit. It means practicing empathy as intentionally as you practice layups or serving drills.
When you align your leadership with love, you create a culture where people feel safe enough to grow.
November 21, 2025
Training for a Peaceful Heart
Just like your body needs warm-ups, your spirit needs preparation. Peace rarely arrives by accident. It is built through daily habits: moments of prayer before school, a quiet breath before a big shot, a pause before reacting in frustration.
Spiritual conditioning teaches you that peace is not passive, it is a practiced discipline. When you train your heart to slow down, you gain clarity. When you train your mind to listen, you gain wisdom. When you train your spirit to trust, you gain peace that pressure cannot take away.
“Be strong and take heart, all you who hope in the Lord.” — Psalm 31:24
November 13, 2025
Training the Soul’s Endurance
In athletics, endurance training builds resilience. Spiritually, endurance builds faith. Both require consistency showing up even when it’s hard, even when you don’t see results right away.
Spiritual conditioning is learning to remain connected through prayer, gratitude, forgiveness, and humility. It’s about remembering that faith isn’t a sprint but a steady, lifelong marathon. The vine never forces the branches to grow; it nourishes them naturally. Likewise, God doesn’t rush us, He sustains us. The more we trust that connection, the more our inner strength matures quietly and steadily.
November 9, 2025
Training the Inner Compass
In athletics, success depends on direction. No matter how fast or strong you are, running the wrong way leads nowhere. The same is true spiritually: focus determines outcome.
Spiritual conditioning involves re-centering your mind each day through prayer, stillness, or gratitude to ensure your purpose stays anchored in values that last. This practice strengthens not just your focus, but your why.
The disciplined athlete trains the body; the faithful one trains the soul. And when both align toward God’s purpose, pressure turns into peace.
“For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” Matthew 6:21
November 8, 2025
Strength That Doesn’t Fade
Spiritual conditioning means anchoring your emotions and decisions in principles that won’t shift with circumstance. Just as muscles grow from resistance, inner strength develops through challenge. When setbacks come a loss, an injury, a personal trial your foundation determines your recovery.
Ask yourself: What am I building my confidence on? Is it performance, or purpose? Approval, or faith? The athlete with spiritual grounding competes with peace, not pressure. Their strength comes from something deeper than the scoreboard, it comes from knowing why they play and who they represent.
“The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock.” — Matthew 7:25
October 26, 2025
Preparing to Shine
Spiritual conditioning teaches us that influence requires inner cultivation. You cannot bring light to others if your own heart is clouded by doubt, anger, or fear. Daily reflection, prayer, and intentional action are the “training” of the spirit.
Being salt and light is active work: listening, supporting teammates, and making ethical choices on and off the field. This is the same discipline you apply in physical training preparation creates readiness, so that when the moment comes, you respond with clarity and purpose.
“In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.” — Matthew 5:16
October 19, 2025
The Inner Stillness Workout
When you feel tension, pause. In that moment, you are given a chance to transform pressure into purpose. Spiritual conditioning is learning to shift your focus from the noise around you to the quiet strength within you. It’s training your spirit to respond with faith instead of fear.
In the gym, we lift heavier to grow stronger. In life, we endure pressure to grow deeper. That quiet endurance that “still heart in a storm” is the true mark of a mature athlete and a grounded believer. When the world shouts, grace whispers, “Be still.”
“Be still, and know that I am God.” Psalm 46:10
October 13, 2025
Training the Mind to See Ahead
Foresight is not prediction; it is preparation. Spiritual conditioning involves training your mind to live with both faith and realism to see obstacles clearly without being defeated by them. In sport, we visualize success before stepping onto the field. In faith, we do the same: we picture ourselves walking through trials, emerging refined and steadfast.
Just as athletes prepare muscles through repetition, we prepare our souls through reflection and prayer. Visualizing your goals each day not as fantasies but as commitments helps align your actions with purpose. A vision that is not backed by discipline fades into wishful thinking. But when vision meets perseverance, destiny begins to take shape.
“Write the vision; make it plain on tablets, so he may run who reads it.” Habakkuk 2:2
October 12, 2025
Centering Amid Chaos
Training the body without training the mind can lead to burnout. Spiritual conditioning teaches resilience beyond the scoreboard. When challenges arise, take the same approach you use in sport: break the problem into manageable steps, trust the process, and return to your purpose. Mental repetition builds calm, just as physical repetition builds strength. Over time, the ability to stay centered becomes a muscle itself.
Isaiah 26:3 “You will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are steadfast, because they trust in you.”
Faith helps athletes remain calm and focused when external chaos threatens to distract them.
October 8, 2025
Renewing the Inner Engine
Endurance doesn’t come only from training the body; it begins with shaping the spirit. When frustration replaces motivation, your inner conditioning determines whether you stop or adapt. Like rebuilding cardiovascular capacity, spiritual endurance grows through repetition: small acts of gratitude, consistent discipline, and quiet humility.
Every restart is a spiritual rep, one that expands your resilience and restores your peace.
October 5, 2025
The Discipline of Letting Go
Training your body is visible lifting, running, sweating. But training your spirit often happens in silence. Humility is spiritual strength because it takes courage to let go of your ego. It’s not about thinking less of yourself but thinking of yourself less. In team huddles, after losses, or when your name isn’t called, humility whispers, “Keep showing up. You’re still part of something bigger.”
Today, let your first instinct be to listen instead of speak. In training or at work, pause before responding. Notice what happens when you make space for others.
September 28, 2025
The Weight Room of Faith
Weight training is about resistance. Muscles grow only when pushed against something heavy. Spiritually, it’s no different. Every setback, every disappointment, every failure is resistance an opportunity to strengthen faith.
NFL quarterback Kurt Warner went from stocking shelves at a grocery store to winning a Super Bowl. His faith was built not just on victories, but on years of resisting discouragement and holding on to God’s promise.
James 1:3-4 reminds us: “The testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.”
September 27, 2025
The Weight Room of Faith
Weight training is about resistance. Muscles grow only when pushed against something heavy. Spiritually, it’s no different. Every setback, every disappointment, every failure is resistance opportunity to strengthen faith.
NFL quarterback Kurt Warner went from stocking shelves at a grocery store to winning a Super Bowl. His faith was built not just on victories, but on years of resisting discouragement and holding on to God’s promise.
James 1:3-4 reminds us: “The testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.”
September 22, 2025
The Marathon, Not the Sprint
Spiritual life is like endurance training. You don’t build stamina overnight, it takes patience, daily effort, and resilience when it feels like nothing is happening. Kenyan marathoner Eliud Kipchoge, who broke the two hour marathon barrier, often says, “Only the disciplined ones in life are free.” His conditioning wasn’t just physical, it was mental and spiritual, too.
Likewise, Hebrews 12:1 reminds us: “Let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.” The spiritual race is long, and conditioning comes through steady practice, not quick fixes.
September 21, 2025
Learning to Rest
Conditioning doesn’t only mean working harder. It also means learning to stop, to recover, to breathe. Athletes often overlook the truth that spiritual strength grows in the quiet moments as much as in the grind.
Psalm 46:10 says: “Be still, and know that I am God.” Stillness isn’t laziness it’s recognition that our strength isn’t only ours. A rested heart can see further than a restless one.
September 19, 2025
Practicing Gratitude
Conditioning isn’t only about running faster or lifting heavier; it’s also about shaping how we see the world. Gratitude is a discipline too. Athletes who learn to give thanks for health, teammates, coaches, even challenges develop resilience that no opponent can shake.
1 Thessalonians 5:18 says: “Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” Gratitude is like a spiritual warm-up it loosens the heart, keeps pride in check, and reminds us why we love the game in the first place.
September 18,2025
Training the Inner Athlete
Physical training sharpens the body, but spiritual conditioning strengthens the soul. Just like a coach designs practice to develop stamina and resilience, we can discipline our minds and hearts daily. Simple acts prayer, reading Scripture, serving others are like spiritual drills that prepare us for life’s hardest moments.
Paul used this same picture when he wrote: “Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last, but we do it to get a crown that will last forever” (1 Corinthians 9:25). Spiritual conditioning is about building endurance, not just for the game, but for life.
September 14,2025
The Quiet Strength of Patience
Patience is one of the hardest disciplines in athletics. Athletes often want quick results, a stronger body, a starting role, a medal. Coaches want the team to click right away. But patience is where the deepest growth happens.
Think of Steph Curry, who spent years being doubted because of his size, yet kept working quietly until his game changed basketball itself. Leadership is often about enduring seasons of waiting and trusting that small, consistent steps will add up.
September 12, 2025
The Quiet Power of Service
In today’s culture, we often celebrate the star player, the one who scores the most points. But true greatness often hides in small acts of service. Years ago, NBA legend Tim Duncan was known for carrying rookies’ bags on team trips not because he had to, but because he wanted to model humility.
That’s the same lesson Christ taught when He washed His disciples’ feet: “Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet” (John 13:14). Athletes who serve their teammates, even in small ways, show a strength that no stat sheet can capture.
September 9, 2025
Faith Through Tragedy
In 1977, the University of Evansville basketball team faced a devastating tragedy when their plane crashed, killing the entire team. The community was shaken, but the legacy of faith, resilience, and remembrance became part of the school’s identity. Each year, they honor the players and families, showing that tragedy does not erase hope.
Psalm 34:18 says, “The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.” Their ongoing remembrance is a testimony that faith sustains even when life feels irreparably broken.
September 6, 2025
Strength Beyond Muscles
Athletes train their bodies every day, but what about the inner life? True strength is not only measured in the weight room but also in how we respond to failure, setbacks, or even success. Training spiritually means practicing humility, gratitude, and forgiveness.
Muhammad Ali once said, “Don’t count the days, make the days count.” His career wasn’t just about boxing but about standing up for beliefs, serving others, and showing resilience when the world opposed him. That’s spiritual training: the discipline of shaping character alongside physical skill.
Paul wrote in 1 Timothy 4:8, “For physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come.” It’s a call to balance yes, train the body, but never neglect the soul.
August 31, 2025
Faith Through Injury
When Bethany Hamilton lost her arm in a shark attack at just 13, most of the world assumed her surfing career was over. Surfing requires balance, strength, and precision all things that seemed impossible with only one arm. But only one month later, she returned to the ocean.
Her journey wasn’t just about physical recovery. It was about fighting through doubt, fear, and people’s opinions. The world saw a girl who was “limited,” but Bethany saw herself as unfinished. She kept showing up, wave after wave, and eventually became one of the top professional surfers in the world. Beyond medals and trophies, her story has inspired millions, proving that the body may be broken but the spirit can remain whole.
This mirrors how setbacks in life whether physical, emotional, or spiritual can seem final, but they don’t have to define us. What looks like an ending can be the beginning of something greater.
“My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” — 2 Corinthians 12:9
August 30, 2025
Hardship
Faith is not sustained by inspiration alone. Just as the body demands repetition to build strength, the spirit demands rhythm to remain steady. Silence, prayer, gratitude, forgiveness these are not grand gestures but small disciplines that slowly shape us into people of depth and endurance.
Spiritual conditioning reminds us that moments of hardship are not interruptions to the journey but part of its design. Resistance is what makes strength possible. Without friction, faith would remain soft and untested.
August 29, 2025
Strength
Just as no athlete builds strength from one workout, no one builds faith from a single prayer. Spiritual strength comes from steady, daily repetition. Gratitude, forgiveness, prayer, service these are the “exercises” that shape the soul. Miss too many days, and the spirit weakens, just as the body does when training is neglected.
“Train yourself for godliness” (1 Timothy 4:7). That verse reminds us that spiritual growth is not automatic; it is chosen, practiced, and repeated. Each day we show up not perfectly, but faithfully we add one more rep toward becoming the person God calls us to be.
August 28, 2025
Standing Firm in Conviction
Sprinter Donovan Bailey, Canada’s Olympic legend, wasn’t just fast he was fearless. After winning gold in Atlanta in 1996, he faced critics who doubted him, rivals who underestimated him, and pressure from a divided Canadian track community. Yet he never backed down from who he was or the work he put in. His conditioning wasn’t just physical it was spiritual. He believed in his gift and stayed true to his identity, even when others tried to shake it.
Spiritual conditioning is like this: practicing daily faith, even when no one is watching. James 1:12 says: “Blessed is the one who perseveres under trial because, having stood the test, that person will receive the crown of life.” Conditioning isn’t glamorous, it’s persistence through trials.
August 25, 2025
The Long Road of Faith
Eric Liddell, the Olympic gold medalist featured in Chariots of Fire, is remembered not just for his speed but for his faith. He refused to race on Sunday during the 1924 Olympics because of his beliefs, even though it meant giving up his best event.
He went on to win gold in another race. His story reminds us: real conditioning is not just physical it’s moral and spiritual. Sticking to convictions, even when the world pushes back, is true endurance.
August 24, 2025
Learning to Trust
Faith often deepens in the most uncertain moments. During the 1992 Olympics, Derek Redmond tore his hamstring in the middle of his race. The stadium watched as his father came down from the stands, helped him up, and walked him to the finish line.
That image reminds me of how God meets us in our weakness we’re not meant to run alone. Spiritual conditioning is not about “being strong all the time” but learning to lean on God and others when life knocks us down.
August 20, 2025
Healing Through Sport
NBA Hall of Famer Dikembe Mutombo is remembered not only for his shot blocking but for his heart. After retiring, he poured his time and resources into building hospitals in his native Democratic Republic of Congo. Thousands of lives have been saved through his vision. For Mutombo, basketball was the platform, but healing was the mission.
True impact often happens off the court. Mutombo teaches us that what we do with our influence is more important than the influence itself.
August 19, 2025
Choosing Integrity
Baseball legend Roberto Clemente was not just known for his play but for his compassion. In 1972, during the Nicaraguan earthquake, he insisted on delivering aid himself because previous relief shipments were being stolen. Tragically, his plane crashed, and he lost his life. His legacy lives on as an athlete who valued integrity and service over personal gain.
Integrity often comes at a cost. Clemente’s story shows us that leadership is about responsibility, about doing what’s right even when it’s risky.
August 17, 2025
Generosity as Legacy
Before the Beijing Olympics, speed skater Erin Jackson ranked No. 1 in the world slipped in the U.S. trials and missed qualifying. For most athletes, that would have been the end. But her teammate and friend, Brittany Bowe, decided otherwise. Bowe gave up her spot so Jackson could compete, saying, “She earned it, she deserves it.”
Jackson went on to win Olympic gold, becoming the first Black woman to medal in Olympic speed skating. And while her victory was historic, what made it possible was Bowe’s act of generosity. She gave away her own chance for glory to make room for someone else’s dream.
Leadership is often about sacrifice. True character is revealed when we are willing to step aside for others to succeed. That’s the kind of leadership that lasts long after medals are forgotten.
August 16, 2025
Faith Through Struggles
Injuries are some of the hardest struggles athletes face. Derrick Rose, once the youngest MVP in NBA history, suffered repeated knee injuries that nearly ended his career. Many wrote him off, but he fought back not just physically, but mentally and spiritually.
His perseverance shows us that faith doesn’t remove struggle it gives us a reason to rise again. James 1:12 reminds us, “Blessed is the one who perseveres under trial because, having stood the test, that person will receive the crown of life.”
Like Rose, we may not come back the same but if we come back with resilience and wisdom, we’re stronger in ways that matter more.
August 15, 2025
The Power of Forward Steps
When Michael Jordan retired from basketball in 1993 to play baseball, the world was stunned. Many saw it as a mistake, and the criticism was relentless. But for Jordan, it wasn’t about public opinion it was about honoring his late father’s dream for him to try professional baseball.
He wasn’t chasing perfection; he was chasing closure. In James 5, there’s a call to live in community, to make peace, and to keep moving forward. Jordan’s baseball stint wasn’t a failure it was a forward step in his personal journey. And when he returned to basketball, he came back with renewed focus and eventually led the Chicago Bulls to three more championships.
Sometimes the next step isn’t about winning immediately it’s about clearing the path for future victories.
August 12, 2025
The Quiet Strength of Daily Commitment
Faith isn’t always about grand moments it’s about the quiet, consistent steps we take every day. I think of a former athlete who told me, she read one page of the Bible each morning before practice, not because it made the day perfect, but because it reminded her who she wanted to be.
That small daily act grounded her in a world of noise. In my own journey, I’ve learned that the fuel for tomorrow’s challenges often comes from today’s small, unseen commitments.
As Galatians 6:9 says, “Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.”
August 10, 2025
Faith in Seasons of Uncertainty
Eric Liddell, the Scottish Olympic sprinter portrayed in Chariots of Fire, refused to run his best event in the 1924 Paris Olympics because it was held on a Sunday. Instead, he competed in a different race the 400 meters where he wasn’t favored to win. He ran with faith and freedom, winning gold and setting a world record.
Faith is not about controlling outcomes it’s about trusting the process when the outcome is unknown.
“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding.” — Proverbs 3:5
Sometimes the path we didn’t plan is the one that leads to our greatest victories.
August 7, 2025
A Seed of Faith in Darkness
In the early 2000s, Manchester United legend Eric Cantona retired abruptly and disappeared from football. Years later, he shared that he’d felt spiritually empty despite all the fame. He began reading Scripture, meditating, and serving people in silence. He said, “The field was loud, but my soul was quiet.”
Spiritual conditioning, like physical training, is invisible until it’s tested. We don’t often realize how fragile we are until the crowd fades. If you’re rebuilding your faith, it’s okay to start small. Even a whisper can move mountains.
August 5,2025
Silence as Spiritual Training
We’re conditioned to fill every silence with noise podcasts, music, scrolling. But some of the deepest spiritual growth happens when we’re still. In Psalm 46:10, we’re invited: “Be still and know that I am God.”
When you’re between jobs, seasons, relationships, or roles don’t rush to fill the void. Instead, learn to listen in the silence. Some of the most meaningful growth in your spiritual journey won’t come with fireworks it will come with quiet clarity when you slow down.
Consider this a part of your training. Not every workout is a sprint. Some are walks of reflection.
August 4, 2025
Fuel That Doesn’t Burn Out
It’s hard to train your soul when your heart is still healing. But that’s the kind of spiritual discipline that lasts.
What I’ve learned especially in this season of personal rebuilding is that God shows up when you commit to showing up for yourself. I don’t always have perfect prayers or unshakable beliefs, but I do have a promise I made to myself: “I won’t let bitterness win. I’ll rise not in pride, but in peace.”
This daily decision to fuel your soul not with revenge, but with resolve is the spiritual weight room. It’s where real strength is built.
August 3, 2025
Training Beyond the Podium
Olympic snowboarder Maëlle Ricker was the favorite for a medal in 2006 but fell and lost her chance. Instead of walking away, she dedicated four more years to training. At the 2010 Vancouver Games, she won gold on home soil.
She later reflected that the training between losses and wins built her deeper than victory itself. That echoes the spiritual life: maturity is formed in obscurity not on the mountaintop, but in the wilderness of preparation.
“But he knows the way that I take; when he has tested me, I will come forth as gold.” — Job 23:10
Spiritual strength is often forged when no one is watching.
August 2, 2025
Discipline Without Distraction
In 1 Corinthians 9, Paul uses the athletic metaphor of discipline:
“I discipline my body and bring it under subjection…” – 1 Corinthians 9:27
Christian life and sport share this rhythm. To grow spiritually, you must regularly exercise discipline surrendering habits and desires that divert you from your calling.
It’s not about denial it’s about direction. When spiritual discipline is practiced consistently, it creates resilience not just in the field, but in character.
August 1, 2025
Strength Beyond the Gym
Chloe Ruse, a CrossFit athlete from British Columbia, said after surviving an eating disorder and severe anxiety:
“The strongest I’ve ever been wasn’t in a competition, it was when I finally asked for help.”
Spiritual conditioning means building your inner resilience not just your muscles. Daily prayer, vulnerability, reading Scripture, asking for help, and surrounding yourself with truth. That’s where strength really builds.
Don’t wait for breakdowns to start your inner training. Begin now. Lift your spirit as much as you lift weights.
July 30, 2025
Discipline That No One Sees
There’s a story of Canadian Olympic wrestler Erica Wiebe, who trained in obscurity for years early mornings, lonely gym sessions, endless drills. No crowds, no cameras. Just faith that it would pay off.
In Rio 2016, she shocked the world and took gold.
That’s what spiritual conditioning looks like too, quiet, consistent, often unseen. You pray when no one’s listening. You choose integrity when it won’t be rewarded. You show up even when no one thanks you.
“But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen.” – Matthew 6:6
Behind every public victory is a hundred private sacrifices. Your faith journey is no different.
July 28, 2025
The Unseen Work
Faith training often happens off the court. It’s like recovery days in sports where you don’t feel productive, but your body and mind are being rebuilt.
Think about muscle growth. You tear it during workouts, but it grows during rest and recovery. The same is true for the soul. You may not always see the results immediately. But trusting God in silence, obedience, and stillness is part of the process.
“But they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength…” – Isaiah 40:31
Waiting doesn’t mean doing nothing. It means being faithful, even when results aren’t visible.
July 27, 2025
More Than a Mentor
Rodd Sawatzky, chaplain for the Calgary Stampeders, holds a pivotal role few notice. He describes himself not as a friend, but as a father figure creating safe space for players to talk, reflect, and grow throughout the season.
He leads chapel services, mid week Bible study, and private conversations often before major games when the pressure is highest. It’s not just care it’s constancy in the storm.
July 24, 2025
The Chaplain Who Sees the Whole Team
Lorne Korol, chaplain to the Winnipeg Jets and Blue Bombers, offers more than pregame chapel he offers stability, care, and authenticity. He describes his role like being a parent watching over his children, rather than a friend.
He’s led Bible studies, supported players through grief, officiated funerals, and guided them through personal crises. One player shared that a single Bible verse Korol once shared, Romans 10:9, planted a seed that changed his life.
July 23, 2025
Chaplaincy in the CFL
In Saskatchewan, Jared LaCoste serves as chaplain for the Roughriders, hosting Bible studies, game-day chapels, and one on one life coaching. It’s not about performance it’s about availability, showing up when athletes face their hardest moments, ethically and emotionally.
Philosophically, it’s the difference between winning a game and building lifelong trust. It reminds me of James 5:16, healing comes through honest presence in a community.
July 21, 2025
Hope Isn’t Weak – It Is Strategic
Olympic champion Damian Warner, a decathlete from Canada, trained alone in an empty hockey rink during COVID lockdowns. No coaches. No fans. Just belief.
He spoke later about his mindset: “When everything’s stripped away, what do you have left? You have to believe. You have to see the end even when you’re at the start.”
That’s what spiritual conditioning is training your heart to hold on to hope when circumstances look empty. Hope is not fluffy positivity. It’s the most strategic response to adversity.
“Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful.” Hebrews 10:23
July 20, 2025
Strength in the Shadows
In the world of professional sports, spiritual life often happens quietly, away from center court. Herbie Kuhn, longtime announcer and chaplain for the Toronto Raptors and Argonauts, runs a weekly Bible study for team members some veterans, some rookies, all searching .
Team members call it their “God Squad.” It’s not mandatory, and there’s no judgment. Just a circle where players sit with faith questions, life pressures, and spiritual curiosity. Kuhn says it’s a reminder: “Football is a great sport, but it makes a terrible God.”
This community isn’t about preaching perfection. It’s about belonging in vulnerability. It shows that spirituality isn’t just Sunday sermons—it’s weekly reminders that you are more than what you do.
July 19, 2025
From Pressure to Purpose
Imagine stepping onto the Olympic field during the women’s soccer tournament not just representing Canada, but carrying something larger than yourself. That was the reality for Janine Beckie, a Canadian national team player, as she entered the gold medal match in Tokyo.
Janine grew up in Christ centered environments, but it wasn’t until the pressure of elite sport settled on her shoulders that her faith came alive in a new way ([turn0search1]).
During her time with the Canadian Women’s National Team, Janine made a simple yet radical shift: she stopped playing for self validation and started playing to reflect something greater. She shared in an interview:
“I believe a big role of every Christ-follower is to look as much like Jesus as we can… I’m not responsible to do everything out of my own strength. I can find my strength in Jesus.”
That mindset shift changed everything for her teammates and for the atmosphere in Orlando’s locker room, where she led by example in Bible study circles. What started as a personal routine became shared space for team connection, hope, and unity behind the scenes
July 18, 2025
My Daily Fuel is a Promise
These days, I live on something deeper than routine or motivation. I live on a promise. A quiet one. One between me and God. After what I’ve walked through, I no longer rely on the highs of success or the approval of others to feel grounded.
I promised myself and I promised God that I would show up every day. Not just for others, but for myself. That I’d rebuild what was broken, not with bitterness, but with belief that I wasn’t alone in this journey.
Faith doesn’t always shout. Sometimes it just whispers: “Keep going. I’ve got you.”
That promise fuels my workouts. It fuels my work. It fuels how I parent. And on the hard days, it fuels the quiet voice inside that says, “You’re still becoming who I made you to be.”
July 17, 2025
Hidden Injuries, Hidden Faith
I came across a true reflection from a young athlete who tore their ACL and felt spiritually abandoned on crutches. That moment hit home. Injuries aren’t just physical, they can shake your identity and your relationship with God.
What struck me most was this: healing doesn’t just happen with rehab. It happens when someone leans in, listens, and offers prayer or presence. It reminded me to show up for others not with answers, but with care and empathy.
July 16, 2025
A Faith That Follows Me Back
My relationship with God hasn’t been steady. It’s been more like waves, pulling back and rushing in. When life was easy, I drifted. When things got hard, I reached for Him. Again and again.
That kind of pattern used to make me feel guilty, like I was using God as a last resort. But now, I look at it differently. Maybe it’s not about me always holding on perfectly. Maybe it’s about God always being willing to hold me when I come back.
In this chapter of my life, after the kind of pain that breaks something open in you, I’ve tried to walk with more intention. Not perfection. Not loud declarations. Just daily steps, sometimes shaky, sometimes quiet, but forward. I’m learning that real faith isn’t about getting it right, it’s about returning.
July 15, 2025
Faith on a See-Saw
I’ve never been the guy who had it all together spiritually. Truthfully, my faith life was more like a see-saw—strong when things were falling apart, distant when things were going well. That pattern repeated itself more times than I can count. It felt easier to believe when I was in pain. But when life smoothed out, I often forgot where my help came from.
Divorce changed that.
There’s something about going through that kind of loss that forces a new level of honesty. It stripped away the ego, the plans, the illusion of control. And for the first time, I didn’t just run back to God because I was desperate I started walking forward because I wanted to know Him. Slowly. Unevenly. But with real intention.
I’m still not a perfect man of faith. Some days I forget to pray. Some days I don’t read. But I’m showing up. Not to impress anyone, but because I’ve seen who I am without God, and I don’t want to go back there.
July 14, 2025
Progress, not perfection!
I’ve messed up more times than I can count.
In sport. In life. In faith. I’ve said the wrong thing, doubted myself, avoided the hard work, or let people down including myself. For a long time, I thought faith was supposed to fix all that. Like, once you start following God, you stop messing up. But I’ve learned faith isn’t perfection. It’s progress.
Just like in sports, growth in faith comes from repetition, failure, learning, and trying again. No one masters the jump shot the first time. No one figures out prayer or peace or forgiveness in one day either.
There were seasons in my life when I didn’t even know how to pray. I wasn’t even sure if God was listening. But I started small. One sentence. A breath. Some honesty. And slowly, I started to see growth not because I was strong, but because God meets us where we are and helps us take the next step.
If you’re someone who feels like they don’t know enough about faith… or like you’re not “Christian enough” to be spiritual I get it. And you’re not alone.
Start where you are. Be honest. Keep walking. Your journey is sacred.
July 13, 2025
Discipline in the Dark
Champions are built when no one is watching, early mornings, silent reps, unseen sacrifices. But there’s a deeper training ground where spiritual strength is forged: when God feels silent.
I’ve had days where I was showing up to prayer, to Scripture but felt… nothing. I thought maybe God had stepped away. But now I realize: those were the training grounds for faith.
Because discipline doesn’t always feel good. But it’s always forming something in you.
“No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace.” —Hebrews 12:11
This page is for the inner work the reps in the Word, the mental grind, the spiritual habits that no one sees but Heaven does.
Let’s train together.
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