"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."-1 Timothy 4:8
The above verse is something I like to remind myself as I try to workout 3-5 days a week at the local "gym" or fitness center in Morris.
I've been trying to keep myself physically in shape as I try to do spiritually (see how?). I started working out for "odd" reason around junior high after I got tired of being "pushed around". Then my motivation and reasons has changes overtime growing up.
However, I've been trained to keep my body healthy physically since I was very little doing exercises to records-music that my Aunt pushed my siblings and I to keep fit!
Love of Sports
Besided working out, I love to watch and play a variety of sports-thanks to recess and influence by peers (including siblings) growing up by a school playfield. As I came to a growing personal relationship with Jesus, my outlook on sports has changed. I'm always waiting for "testimonies" of positive professional athletes that I can share about via websites that I make. With the media "highlighting" many "wrongs" of these popular athletes, I'm looking for the "good" to share about through this website. Please feel free to contact me of any websites to refer that I can linked here.
*Coach Reese was interviewed in January 2004 by N.Y. Times for an article:
NATIONAL | January 31, 2004
Tucked Behind the Home Page, a Call to Worship
By JOHN LELAND (NYT) News http://www.nytimes.com/2004/01/31/national/31EVAN.html
"Tucked Behind the Home Page, a Call to Worship"
By JOHN LELAND
Published: January 31, 2004 http://www.nytimes.com/
When Doug Reese put up his Web site, he felt he was answering a call. A college wrestling coach with a long involvement in Christian youth ministries, he wanted to spread a Christian message to people who were not getting it.
Instead of working through his Methodist church, he created a site with no overtly religious images or affiliation, and articles about weight lifting, nutrition and profiles of athletes. Only after users click a few links do they start to see biblical passages or the religious testimonials of the athletes.
"I wanted it to look like a sports magazine," said Mr. Reese, who coaches at the University of Minnesota at Morris and hopes to turn his three-year-old site into a full-time ministry. "It's a little covert. I know that religion or Christianity is a turn-off with a great part of the population. I didn't want to shove it in people's faces."
Mr. Reese and his Web site, www.tothenextlevel.org, embody an increasingly popular strategy for evangelism in the Internet age. In the segmented realms of the Web, said Tony Whitaker, editor of a guide for online evangelists, sites that use overtly Christian material will reach only people who are already Christians, while everyone else can click by. Unlike Christian radio or television, the new medium calls not for powerful religious symbolism or rhetoric but for the absence of them, he said.
"You're not trying to trick people," Mr. Whitaker said. "You can't appear to be something you're not. But Christians should legitimately appear to be taking a starting point on a subject that doesn't appear to be religious."
A report released in December by the Pew Internet and American Life Project estimated that by December 2002, 35 million Americans had searched for religious or spiritual information online, compared with 36 million who had downloaded music files. Until recently, if someone typed "god" into a search engine, it retrieved as many sites as typing in "sex," said Quentin J. Schultze, a professor of communications at Calvin College who has written about religion and the Web. "So this has been a deeply evangelistic medium. The influence of religious evangelists has been greatly unreported."
Instead of Scripture, the sites come on with information about beauty, diet, fitness, sex and celebrities. Some also have links for donations or offer books or other products for sale. But the sites are not veiled pitches for money, and the approach has elicited little controversy.
Many sites have no church ties and they represent just a fraction of the religious traffic online. "The most creative ones are started by individuals" rather than churches, said Robby Richardson, director of international Internet ministries for Gospel Communications International, a nonprofit umbrella group of 300 ministries based in Muskegon, Mich., whose www.gospelcom.net reaches about two million visitors a month, according to Nielsen//NetRatings. "We're trying to tell church sites, `Don't forget about evangelism.' "
Some sites direct visitors to churches or study groups; others hope readers will convert on the spot, declaring themselves by clicking a button or a link. Bruce Biesenthal, editor of www.thegoal.com, a sports-oriented site in Seattle, said about 300 people in the last two years had clicked a button to say they were making a "decision for Christ" after reading athletes' testimonials on the site. The articles discuss religious themes only after delivering the sports news, he said.
"The site is for people coming because they want to learn about the athlete or the sport," he said. "It's subversive. We want to use the celebrity of the athletes as a platform."
Even as President Bush, in an apparent nod to conservative Christians in his State of the Union address, urged Americans to "work together to counter the negative influence of the culture," many online evangelists are using the R-rated culture to attract visitors.
(Page 2 of 2)
Some sites discuss gangsta rap or movies like "American Pie" in relatively neutral language. For example, an article on www.damaris.org, a nondenominational Christian ministry based in England, advises, "Eminem and his rap entourage could be described as radical preachers, speaking frankly about the broken communities they come from."
David Bruce, an evangelical Christian who runs a movie review site called www.hollywoodjesus.com, said he liked covering racy films, as long as they were popular, because they had the attention of "pre-Christians." Parts of his site refer people to religious groups, and Mr. Bruce, a former pastor, said he has continuing telephone or e-mail conversations with 100 users at any time.
Mr. Bruce distinguished himself from fundamentalists who protest or boycott the Harry Potter books and movies as occultist.
"I would say I'm part of a new thinking within evangelicals," he said, adding that he receives angry e-mail messages for promoting sexual or violent movies. "I get so tired of Christians that bash Hollywood."
"It isn't content that interests me," he said, continuing that even exploitation movies provide "common ground" for biblical discussion.
"I was so disappointed `Showgirls' wasn't a hit because I would have loved to discuss it," Mr. Bruce said.
Ted Haggard, president of the National Association of Evangelicals, which represents 43,000 congregations, said that the Internet lent itself to all kinds of approaches, both direct and indirect, because different users were ready for different levels of information. A site that did not declare its intentions was the best way to reach some, just as an evangelist in a public square might begin by talking about secular concerns. "You have a moral obligation not to be deceitful," he said. "But you don't have a moral obligation to tell everything you know upfront."
Yet Mr. Haggard worried that on the Internet, anyone could come on as a religious authority � "even a crazy person." He added that because there was so much pornography on the Internet, online evangelism might prove a mixed benefit. "We have more people corrupted on the Internet than we have arrive at the church by the Net," he said.
In Vancouver, British Columbia, Karen Schenk works both direct and indirect approaches to evangelism. She is the director of Web site strategies for TruthMedia, an organization of 20 sites affiliated with Campus Crusade for Christ, an evangelical group. Two sites she oversees are www.womentodayonline.com and www.christianwomentoday.com.
The latter assumes visitors are already involved in churches, she said, and offers articles like "Dive Deeper Into God" and "True Spiritual Change." The former is for women who might not be Christians, and features articles like "I Am Jealous of His Very Attractive Ex-Wife."
It is the secular-looking site that is evangelistic, Mrs. Schenk said. "We're just being sensitive to where people are at and inviting them in. We don't have spinning crosses on Women Today."
To illustrate how beauty tips might be used to spread the gospel, Mrs. Schenk noted that the most popular article on Women Today Online has been an advice column about frizzy hair. Before reading advertisements for L'Oreal, readers see a link that reads, "Are you happy with your body?" If they click on that, they get the life story of a model who battled bulimia but then found success after becoming a born-again Christian. "You can receive Christ right now by faith through prayer," she writes.
Mrs. Schenk said that about 70 percent of the site's traffic was in the secular areas, but that visitors wanting more could receive prayers, Bible passages or Christian mentoring.
The Web site www.mops.org, whose initials stand for Mothers of Preschoolers, offers mothers advice and chat rooms for topics like playdates, money, sexuality and medical needs, and organizes more than 3,000 groups that meet in churches around the country and abroad. The group has 115,000 members, said Karen Parks, the director of ministry networks. Articles are mostly secular, but the site also has areas for religious testimonials and outreach.
The site avoids discussion of political topics or abortion. "We never hide that we're a Christian organization, but we don't want to build any walls or barriers," Ms. Parks said. "We consider a success anything that leads a mom one step closer to Jesus, whatever that step is. Hopefully she goes all the way to meet Jesus, but that might be through another group, and that's fine."
The indirect, or bridge strategy in online evangelizing continues a broader trend among Christian evangelicals, said Randall Balmer, chairman of the religion department at Barnard College and author of "The Encyclopedia of Evangelicalism." In 1975, the Willow Creek Community Church in South Barrington, Ill., after surveying local residents to see why many did not go to church, dispensed with all Christian iconography, crosses or stained glass windows to appeal to people who were turned off by these. In the 1990's, many evangelical churches dropped the denomination from their names, switching to names like Oak Chapel.
Alan Wolfe, director of the Boisi Center for Religion and American Public Life at Boston College, questioned the long-term value of online religious conversions, no matter how many hits the sites got. He pointed to the Internet outreach in Howard Dean's presidential campaign, which generated furious activity online but so far has not translated into first-place finishes in the primaries. "The Dean camp suggests that meeting through the Internet didn't work," Mr. Wolfe said. "I wonder if a similar Christian strategy is going to work either."
Focus on 'To the Next Level'
A powerful sports-based web outreach, from gospelcom.net ""I was directed by the Lord to start a web-based sports ministry. I was on along trip home after a wrestling tournament when the Lord clearly spoke tome. He told me to call it To The Next Level and showed me rather clearly the layout of the site. I argued with Him about that I could not do this. I had really no knowledge of websites. He told me that 'not too long ago you did not know anything about the sport of wrestling.' (I am a college and national coach in the US.) There was no arguing with Him. I knew I had to do this, but I did not know where to start. I put it off for two months, then I felt like Jonah, so I thought I better get going. I started surfing the web and found the Web Evangelism Guide. I read everything I could, I checked hundreds of links from the site. I then sought some students from our college who were in studying computer science. I wore them down with numerous questions. Slowly but surely, within three months of part-time work, our website was on-line and growing. I felt I was not qualified or skilled to do this kind of work. But, what I learned was: if you are called by God, He qualifies you to do His work. And that is a tremendous blessing!"
Update Report from Coach Doug Reese
Date: Thu, 20 May 2004 15:18:09 -0500
From: Doug Reese
"I just got done with an hour interview with CBN (Christian Broadcasting
Network). All I can say is Wow!
They love the book (Take It To The Next Level) and they will be promoting
it hard. In fact they want to put up 20 chapters on their website with
links to the TTNL site. We should see an increase in web activity and in
internet book sales as a result.
They love the nitch we have in sport ministry and are willing to help us
in any way they can. We will be certainly developing a tight
partnership.
They will give us streaming audio to put up our TTNL radio devotionals on
our site and will help us in marketing to Christian radio and to
They will give us streaming audio to put up our TTNL radio devotionals on
our site and will help us in marketing to Christian radio and to
potential sponsors. They will do the streaming video we want to do with
technique and testimonies of professional and Olympic athletes. We
couldn't even think of paying for that stuff right now.
CBN is going to launch a video/website called "the Outdoor channel" in
July. This article that I was interviewed for will be featured there,
but I was told they want to pre-launch the site with this interview on
the CBN.com site in June.
The Outdoor channel will have streaming video of events and competitions
from around the world. The goal is to reach men for the gospel.
I will let you know when the interview is up and running. It looks like
God has some big plans in store
God bless,
Coach Doug Reese
From: Doug Reese
To: reesedc@tothenextlevel.org
Subject: CBN.com
It looks like I am becoming a feature writer on the Christian
Broadcasting Network website. For the second straight week they posted
an article with a link on the front page. www.cbn.com
The article is under the banner "More Inside" under "Outdoor Life".
Related Sites: Doug Reese
Webmaster: To the Next Level, from gospel.com "But, what I learned was: if you are called by God, He qualifies you to do His work. And that is a tremendous blessing!"
"..Drink a minimum of eight glasses (64 oz.) of water daily - more if you're active - to hydrate your body... "..#
4
Compresses soaked in apple cider vinegar should be applied to the sore muscle for 20 minutes. Again, drawing out the lactic acid is a great way to alleviate soreness.
#
Step 5
Eat some bananas to boost your potassium levels. Muscles stiffen and cramp up when your body is low in potassium. Bananas are a great source of potassium. Make sure to drink plenty of water too!
#
Step 6
Massage helps stimulate the blood flow in and around the affected muscle. There’s no need to pay for an expensive masseuse. Use your own hands and gently rub the affected area after applying an ice pack, soaking in the tub, or applying the vinegar compress.
..
Home Remedies & General Health FAQ : How to Get Rid of Sore Muscles
"...Chill out. If you know you've overworked your muscles, immediately take a cold shower or a cold bath to reduce the trauma to them. World-class Australian runner Jack Foster used to hose off his legs with cold water after a hard run. He told skeptics if it was good enough for racehorses, it was good enough for him! Several Olympic runners are known for taking icy plunges after a tough workout, insisting that it prevents muscle soreness and stiffness. If an icy dip seems too much for you, ice packs work well, too. Apply cold packs for 20 to 30 minutes at a time every hour for the first 24 to 72 hours after the activity. Cold helps prevent muscle soreness by constricting the blood vessels, which reduces blood flow and thus inflammation in the area.
Avoid heat. Using a heating pad or hot water bottle may feel good, but it's the worst thing for sore muscles because it dilates blood vessels and increases circulation to the area, which in turn leads to more swelling. Heat can actually increase muscle soreness and stiffness, especially if applied during the first 24 hours after the strenuous activity. If you absolutely can't resist using heat on those sore muscles, don't use it for more than 20 minutes every hour. Or, better yet, try contrast therapy -- apply a hot pad for four minutes and an ice pack for one minute. After three or four days, when the swelling and soreness have subsided, you can resume hot baths to help relax the muscles.
Take an anti-inflammatory. Taking aspirin, ibuprofen, or naproxen can help reduce muscle inflammation ...
Avoid "hot" or "cold" creams. The pharmacy and supermarket shelves are loaded with topical "sports" creams designed to ease sore, stiff muscles. Unfortunately, they don't do much beyond causing a chemical reaction that leaves your skin (but not the underlying muscles) feeling warm or cold. If you do use the topical sports creams, test a small patch of skin first to make sure you're not allergic, and never use these topicals with hot pads, because they can cause serious burns...
"
omega3-reduce inflamation..
fracture finger=>
*found out the other day (Thursday, June 3rd of 2010) that I did this after my co-worker/nurse recommended me to see a doctor as my swolen finger was still "blue" after 5+ days!
"...Broken finger necessitates immediate attention. Fingers help us to stroke, grasp, and sense and relate with the environment. Hence they are more prone to injuries and are the most frequently injured part of the hand. The fingers are made up of ligaments, tendons and 3 bones called phalanges. They have no muscles and they move with the help of the pull of muscles that are located in the forearm on the tendons. There are a number of home remedies for broken finger..
Finger Fracture
By Elizabeth Quinn, About.com Guide sportsmedicine.about.com
Created: December 01, 2003
"Treating Finger Fracture
See a physician. The finger will need to be put back into place. Typically, a splint or cast will suffice to hold the finger straight and protect it from further injury while it heals. Sometimes the fingers next to the fractured one will be splinted together for support. The splint remains in place usually for about three weeks. X-rays may be needed as healing occurs to check progress. Begin using your hand again according to your physician or therapist's recommendations. Simple rehabilitation exercises should be done every day to help reduce the finger’s stiffness and swelling."
"..A fracture is a break or a crack in a bone. If the skin over the bone remains intact, a fracture is referred to as a closed or simple fracture; if the bone breaks the skin, it is termed an open or compound fracture. A fracture may cause extreme pain and tenderness in the injured area; swelling; a protruding bone or blood under the skin; and numbness, tingling, or paralysis below the fracture. A major fracture, such as of ar arm or leg, may also cause a loss of the pulse below the fracture, as well as weakness and an inability to bear weight Broken arms, fingers, or legs may be bent out of alignment...
Diet and Prevention tips for fracture
* Eat half of a fresh pineapple every day until the fracture is healed. Pineapple contains bromelain, an enzyme that acts to reduce swelling and inflammation. Use only fresh pineapple, not canned or processed. If you don't like pineapple, the food supplement bromelain will provide the same benefits. Bromelain should be taken on an empty stomach.
* Wear protective gear while skiing, biking, roller blading, and participating in contact sports. This includes helmets, elbow pads, knee pads, and shin pads.
* Avoid red meat, as well as colas and any other products containing caffeine. Foods with preservatives should also be avoided due to their phosphorus content. Phosphorus can lead to bone loss. How Does a Fractured Finger Heal?
ds_roseki12344 Contributor
By Rose Kivi, eHow Contributing Writer ehow.com How to tell if broken finger is healing, goftp.com
"..The image makers have carefully packaged Obama as the worlds savior; he is the Trojan Horse manufactured to pacify the people just long enough for the globalists to complete their master plan. ..
Social Issues
"17 Do not let your heart envy sinners,
but always be zealous for the fear of the LORD.
18 There is surely a future hope for you,
and your hope will not be cut off. "-Proverbs 23
"
Chicago White Sox general manager Kenny Williams questioned the "culture of sports" after his son Kyle received death threats on social media outlets following Sunday's NFC Championship Game.
Williams' son is the San Francisco 49ers wide receiver and kick returner who made two glaring miscues late in Sunday's game that helped the New York Giants advance to the Super Bowl.
Kenny Williams also said that his son was playing with an injured left shoulder Sunday, an injury that happened in the third quarter. Kenny Williams added that his family does not make excuses and did not blame his son's miscues on the injury.
Injury or not, some people were apparently outraged enough to wish harm to Kyle Williams after his two turnovers, the second of which led directly to the Giants' game-winning field goal.
One early threat, via Twitter, wished harm on Kyle Williams' wife and child. He is single with no children.
"I'm used to the years of criticism and threats on my life from time to time, but I have to hear about threats on your son's life while you're watching TV and it certainly makes you question our culture of sports as it stands," Kenny Williams said.
For his part, Kyle Williams said Monday he takes full responsibility for the fumble, calling the moment "painful." And Williams' teammates are on his side, too, along with others from around the NFL who have called in support after San Francisco's season ended.
He insisted it's part of his job to face the criticism in the aftermath of his mistakes and not hide out in a difficult time. Perhaps that will go a little way in calming down the angry fans, some of whom wished harm on Williams and his family after the gaffes.
"It's one of those things you have to take accountability for," Williams said. "Everybody is responsible for what they do on the field. It's something that I was responsible for and I made a mistake and it's time to own up to it and move forward."
Kicker David Akers took to Twitter on Monday asking people to stop with the harsh remarks directed toward his teammate, saying "ppl need to get a grip! Leave Kyle alone!" He also reminded everybody the NFC West-champion 49ers (14-4) win and lose together, so there would be no finger-pointing in the locker room.
"I'm irritated with the way people are treating him, absolutely," Akers said. "I think it's ridiculous. You know, get a grip on what life's about. He went out and he put his soul out there. That's what he does. He was not trying to do anything other than make an incredible play for this team. He had a great kickoff return. Mistakes happen. We all make mistakes. But when you're out there truly battling to do the best you can, my hat goes off to him, to anybody that does that."
49ers president and CEO Jed York also chose Twitter to support Williams, writing: "Keep your head up, @KyleWilliams_10. We win and lose as a team. With Class."
A year ago with the Eagles, Akers missed a pair of field goals in the NFC divisional playoffs as Philadelphia lost 21-16 to the eventual Super Bowl champion Green Bay Packers.
"I was that guy last year," Akers said. "It's tough because we're all competitors and we all give it everything we have. Kyle's made a lot of big plays for us. He's just trying to make plays out there. The weather conditions were horrible. I know he'd never give any excuses for any of that. I say this and I say it in the truest way: We win as a team, we lose as a team."
Kenny Williams broached the subject of the death threats on his own after he was asked if Sunday was the toughest day he had ever experienced in sports. He said it was by a long shot.
"I told his mother on the way out exactly what was coming," Kenny Williams said about the threats. "That's the nature of the beast."
Kenny Williams said that NFL security swiftly moved into action and that all threats were being taken seriously.
He was asked if he was disappointed that sports fans would go to the extreme of making such threats.
"It doesn't matter what I think, I can't change it," Kenny Williams said. "The only way to change it is to go into another occupation if you can't deal with it."
Kenny Williams said that he not only thinks his son can handle the adversity from Sunday's game, but that it will help him to thrive in the long run. First things first, though, is to address the injury.
Kenny Williams confirmed that Kyle Williams was undergoing treatment Monday with the 49ers training staff for an unspecified shoulder injury.
"He thinks he may have separated his shoulder in the third quarter so he is in the training room," said Kenny Williams. "That information he has not said anything about publicly and will not because he felt strongly that he could get the job done. There are no excuses; we don't do that. I don't want that misconstrued."
In his season-ending news conference Monday, 49ers coach Jim Harbaugh confirmed that Kyle Williams was examined for a shoulder injury.
"There's no separations, but he's very sore," Harbaugh said. "He told me that today. He was soldiering through it. I wasn't aware of it during the game."
Kyle Williams, a second-year player out of Arizona State, not only had the fumble in overtime, but early in the fourth quarter a rolling punt glanced off his knee. The Giants recovered that at the 49ers' 29-yard line and scored a go-ahead touchdown less than three minutes later.
Asked if the shoulder injury played a role in either of his son's miscues, Kenny Williams was blunt.
"He felt he could get the job done. He didn't. End of story," Kenny Williams said.
Doug Padilla covers the White Sox for ESPNChicago.com and ESPN 1000. Information from The Associated Press contributed to this report."
"There wasn't a fight in the 2012 NHL Winter Classic at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia; and even though there were over 45,000 New York and Philadelphia sports fans crammed into the stadium for a rivalry game, there were no significant incidents in the stands, either.
But at 7:15 p.m. at the iconic Geno's Steaks located at 1200 South 9th St., violence broke out between hockey fans. Three unknown males wearing Philadelphia Flyers jerseys paid a homeless man to spray two New York Rangers fans with some kind of cleaning substance, according to MyFoxPhilly.com. After an altercation, they then began sucker-punching them and pummeling them as they lay on the ground.
According to NBC's New York affiliate, one of the injured Rangers fans was an off-duty New Jersey police officer and former Marine who was awarded a Purple Heart in Iraq..."
RANGERS fan beaten by FLYERS fans WARNING!!! OVER 18 ONLY!!! philly FLASHMOB WILDING genos
""We do not dare to classify or compare ourselves with some who commend themselves. When they measure themselves by themselves and compare themselves with themselves, they are not wise."-2 Corinthians 10:12
"... is a weekly 15-minute programme that gives you the opportunity to comment on news and stories from the world of sport. The show is produced every Wednesday and broadcast on radio stations around the world from Thursday to Saturday (see below)..."
Missions
*using your athletic skills and passion of sports on other places of the world!
-Moments
Olympic Games Highlights - Welcome Beijing'08
"Olympic Games Highlights - More videos at www.megamotorolo.es"
-Music
Whitney Houston - One Moment In Time (Grammy Awards Live)
-Summer
2008-Beijing CHINA
FCA Ryan Hall Summer Games Bible Study
"Video Segment 1 of the Ryan Hall Bible Study"
=>Ceremonies
1996 Atlanta Opening Ceremonies - Lighting of the Cauldron
"(12:17am) This is the entrance of the Olympic Flame into the Olympic Stadium and the Lighting of the Cauldron by Muhammad Ali hosted by Bob Costas & Dick Enberg to the music of Beetoven's "Ode to Joy". Athletes hand-off include:
Al Oerter, Evander Holyfield, Voula Patoulidou, & Janet Evans. Others include Shaquille O'Neal & Michael Johnson. July 20th, 1996 Atlanta, Georgia USA"