Jonny Wilkenson's lesson

That famous drop kick that helped England win the World Cup in Rugby in 2004 will remain a sporting high light forever. The Cup is named after Web Ellis, the schoolboy in the little town of Rugby in England that so desperately wanted his team to win the soccer football match, that he picked the ball up and ran through the defenders to place the ball in the back of the net! Little did he know that he had just invented a new game that would be played all over the world for a long time to come!
Back to Jonny Wilkenson. Jonny was an extrememly dedicated and committed player from an early age. He was the first out on the field to practice and the last one to leave. He would kick a thousand balls before a test match just to perfect his art of kicking with both legs. By the way the famous drop kick was done with this 'wrong' leg: he booted it with his right leg and not his usual left foot with which he broke all the records for points scoring in his era.
His mother was so nervous when he played that she used to go grocery shopping while the game was being televised. When he won the cup for England she was in the shopping mall when someone told her: your son has just kicked the winning drop kick for England!
In his book, Playing Rugby My Way, he gives some of the most expertise coaching tips to young boys (and girls) who want to improve their game. He exposes his techniques of kicking, drop-kicking, grubber-kicking and line kicking; he tells how he draws an imaginary line from a specific point on the ball through the posts to a lady sitting in the stand behind the posts and aims to put the ball in her lap!
He reveals the secret of tackling an apponent by aiming to hit him with your shoulder on a spot on his shorts or on his leg; he instructs you how to side step an attacker and how to guide the ball when you pass it to a team member, either to the left or the right. Jonny even encourages young players to eat their vegetables and fresh fruit!
He admits that he was a fanatic, a spartan as far as practicing was concerned. He never allowed himself to rest at all and tried to reach perfection in his skill. He never allowed himself the simple pleasure of wallowing in his success at any time.
But when he turned 30, after multiple serious injuries, he realized that he had not enjoyed his life at all.
Then he wrote another book to tell the young sportsmen to learn how to take time out to go to the beach or play the piano without feeling guility about not practicing...it was a bit late for Jonny whom we all admired as one of the best fly halves the world has ever seen! But it is not too late for our youngsters to take a tip from someone who has been out there and designed the T-shirt for success in sport and worn it for a long time!
The most amazing aspect of his famous drop kick is the fact that he booted it with his wrong foot! He normally kicks left footed, but when the moment came he turned to the other side and slotted it over with his right foot! He obviously practiced this for many years until the moment came to use that acquired skill.
Obviously his opponents did not expect him to kick off the wrong foot so they were compeletely taken by surprise.
There comes a moment when all the hard work and practice pays off - as in rugby, so in life.

Surfing's the key to good batting!

The Indian Professional League (IPL)T/20 competition is currently being held in South Africa due to the unrest and danger in the subcontinent since the Sri Lankan cricket team was attacked in Pakistan by militants. International cricketers no longer felt safe in open stadiums in India and therefore the competition shifted to South Africa where it is drawing full stadiumns. As the competition enters the final few weeks the top run scorer is Matthew Hayden. He has notched up at least 100 more runs than his nearest competitor.
In an interview to ascertain the secret about his top form he mentioned two major aspects: number one: he has retired from the International Test Match scene and has no concerns about being picked or left out of the Australian test squad. Number two: he says he spends more time in the Atlantic ocean than on the cricket field during the competition.
Matthew is a surfer and his present form in surfing has overflowed into his batting. He says he is very relaxed at the crease and simply expresses himself in every innings.
In a long outdrawn series such as the IPL one can think and play cricket all the time, but one needs to have a balance, according to Hayden. Surfing takes his mind of the strenuous demands that top level cricket can make on any batsman. He also has no stress regarding his selection and therefore he can bring all his energy, his experience and his skill to bear on the IPL competition and above all enjoy what he is doing!
It is absolutely a pleasure to watch him cart the ball from all the world's top bowlers to all corners of the field (well, a cricket field is an oval, but the simile would bear up under the present circumstances!).
All of us need to find a way to balance things in our lives: we need to know when it is necessary to take some time out. It has to do with the Sabbath. Unless one has a Sabbath's rest on a regular basis you pay the price in some other way: either through stress or sickness or some other form of repayment for not resting.
Mat Hayden gives us some good advice here and his present form as a batsman is enough proof in the pudding! (Once again a strange simile but it would do the job I think).

Outside my Comfort Zone

Steve Waugh's autobiography 'Out of my Comfort Zone' has wonderful insights into the life principles of a man that really made it to the top in International Sport and managed to stay there for a very long time.
The writer of Hebrews in the Bible tells us to imitate those who through faith in patience inherit the promises. Both Steve and his brother Mark showed promise as young cricketers and kept on working hard at their game to become one of the few pairs of brothers to play on the International scene at the same time. Steve easily acknowledges that Mark is the better cricketer and he does not hesitate to say he never thought of himself as better than all the other players. He admitted that there were many other better cricketers than him - but there were definite reasons why he not only played for Australia but also captained the national team for so long.
Many guys do not travel well. They always complain about the conditions in the sub-continent when they have to go and play against India or Pakistan or Sri Lanka. They get sick from the food or the water, the hotels are not up to standard and the cricket facilities are not what they are used to. Others miss their wife or family too much. Some just make it misreble for all the team members and they have a negative influence on the team. With the result that they never get picked again...
Steve learned to travel well and his secret was simple: learn to live outside your comfort zone.
As a youngster Steve had bad skin and he was bashful. In school he sat at the back of the class and combed his hair over his forehead to hide his acne. He had not technique with the ladies and admired his brother who had the knack he lacked.
As a batsman he had no great shots but he was willing to take a bouncer on his body instead of trying to hook the ball and be caught at fine leg. He gutsted it out with many painful blows to his body. He had a lot of problems with his physique and often had to take tablets just to stay on the field.
But he learned to play as if he would be the man of the match giving it everything he had all the time - even when he didn't feel up to it. It earned him the respect of his team mates and eventually the captaincy.
He had to overcome his own defiencies in every area of life just by staying out of his comfort zone and in the end that is where he spent most of his life. He married a lovely girl and they have 2 daughters and a son.
When asked what his greatest moment in life was everyone expected him to refer to some specail moment on the cricket field, but instead he said, it was when his first girl was born!
Both brothers hardly ever saw their family for almost 11 years because of the demands of International cricket which kept them busy for almost 11 months per year. This was a great sacrifice - out of their comfort zone.
There is a price to pay for any achievement in life, that is why Jesus said you have to consider the cost of something before you embark on it.
I have spent a lot of my time travelling to other lands and have had to be a man alone most of the time - it was a sacrifice for both Nola and my family as well as a hard thing for me to do: but I can safely say that I have reached over 50 nations now with the Gospel of Jesus Christ! And I am still batting...out of my comfort zone.
Most people just want things the way they like it all the time and never venture outside of their comfort zone. They never taste the adventure that life has to offer. it is all out there - outside your comfort zone.
Think about it!

Steve Waugh's advice

One of the best pieces of advice to any batsman is something Steve Waugh wrote in his autobiography, 'Out of my Comfort Zone': he says the best thing a batsman can do is to watch the next ball! This sounds uninspiring and matter of factly, but any batsman who has been at the crease for a long time will know that sometimes you play and miss, or you attempt to play the wrong stroke and then your mind playes games with you and the opponents will chirp you with all sorts of taunting messages to intimidate you! The best thing you can possibly do at that stage is to forget about the previous ball and about what you did wrong and concentrate on the next ball!

As we step into the New Year, we all know we are going to face new challenges, and as last year proved, we did not do everything perfectly right every time! But we have to learn to forget what is past and to concentrate on the next ball!

Sometimes it is hard for us to forget, because others remind us of our failures and mistakes all the time! Someone once brought up something which happened nine years ago and threw it in my face! I was flabberghasted! That person kept something in their heart for 9 years to use it as a weapon at the right time! Can people be so mischievous? Oh, yes! We need to check our own hearts too! What do we harbour deep within against others that we might not be aware of right now?

When Jesus taught His disicples about faith and prayer, He said they should also learn to forgive as they pray, so that the Heavenly Father can forgive them as well. We sometimes hear people say, 'I'll forgive but not forget!' If God had to do that with us, we'd have no chance at all! Luckily God is not a man and He can forgive and forget: when we confess our sins He forgive us and casts them into the deepest part of the sea of God's forgetfulness and never thinks of them again! he removes it from us as far as the East is from the West! Can't we learn to practice the same kind of forgiveness? Paul says we should become imitators of God who forgave us for Christ's sake. There's the key! We forgive for Christ's sake! We don't forgive because they deserve it; we don't forgive because we feel like it: we forgive because Jesus Christ died for them and their sins as well! It is a step of faith to forgive someone what they did against you.

Children forgive easily. And they forget. That is why Jesus said, we need to become like children again. Kids can cry and then forgive and carry on playing!

We need to forget the previous ball and concentrate on the next one! This helped Steve Waugh in his long test match career. He said that he was often out of his comfort zone as a batsman or a bowler and even as captain: but he learned to concentrate on the next ball and not to allow his mind to mess with him!

Paul encourages us in his epistles to imitate him. He had learned the secret to forget what is past and to concentrate on what lies ahead: the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. Jesus, for the joy set before Him, endured the cross and despised the shame in order to finish what He came to do: to give His life as a ransom for many!

This would be the frist message I needed to hear at the beginning of the New Year, forget what is past and stretch yourself out to that which lies ahead! We have to face the next ball by faith, because we don't know what the bowler is going to bowl at us! We don't know what life is going to dish up, but if we can forget what is behind and concentrate of what lies ahead, we give ourselves the best chance to succeed!

The joy of a batsman is the fact that he is still batting out there in the middle, even though he played a bat shot, or even though he was dropped by one of the fielders! The joy we have is that we are still here, we are still alive, we still have a chance to do something and all that is required of us is to give it our best shot!

Bat on! Concentrate on the next ball! Focus on what lies ahead!

Jesus promised believers that the Holy Spirit would lead and guide us into all things and show us things to come! That is like knowing which shot to play when the next ball is delivered! Once a batsman plays and middles the ball, it breeds confidence to keep on batting!

Life is more important than food or clothing and even more important than failure or success! We have a wonderful opportunity to do some new things in the New Year - let's concentrate on the next ball!

The Ghost of Christmas past

The character of Scrooge that Charles Dickens created has haunted us all ever since his creation! The stingy old man that had to face the Ghosts of Christmasses past before he became compassionate over the Christmas period seems to pervade the entire human condition at this time of year.
Throughout the year people do terrible things to each other and suddenly, just before christmas, they put on the breaks and skid to a halt, to be kind towards each other for a day or two, even if it is only sharing a family meal!
In actual fact Jesus came to show us a completely different life style: He went about doing good (all the time, not only at his birthday!)healing all who were oppressed of the devil for God was with him (all the time!)
My friend Mike Wood in Sydney Australia, who has always stimulated thought and discussion with his sharp wit and questioning mind, sent me an email today on Christmas day to pose the question: what are we really celebrating,the historical or personal event of Christ being born?
With that he obviously refers to the 'born-again' experience of those who accept Jesus Christ as their Lord. When he is born in a life it is the true Christmas, in other words. This is a spiritual birth and not a natural one.
So in effect Mike said, 'happy birthday!' to all the believers who had already accepted Christ and are celebrating their next birthday in Christ, rather than simply remembering the historical event as a religious observance.
Quite reformational, I think.
It is good that all the world celebrates the event - all do not celebrate Easter though! Yet is is good to have moments of high celebration where everything comes to a halt and people observe the goodness that life can offer rather than the dismal, depressing rat race they are involved in.
So let the Chinese, the Russians, the Indians, the Argentinians, the Alaskans, the Americans, the Europeans, the Africans, the Australians all go ahead and celebrate Christmas, but let them not wait for the Ghost of Christmas past to remind them to be compassionate!
The life that Jesus Christ offers those who believe in him, actually celebrates His goodness every day, not just on Christmas day! It is possible to enjoy the spirit of Christmas every day of your life if you have Christ within the hope of glory!
As the earth had to receive a baby wrapped in swaddling clothes, so our hearts can receive the resurrected Christ by faith and His Holy Spirit can begin to change our lives and give us His kind of divine life. This life is called Eternal Life and is freely given to all who will confess their need of Christ's sacrifice for our sins and who believe and confess that God raised Jesus from the dead - in other words, believe in a living Christ not just a dead, historical event.
This could change Christmas experiences forever, for whoever dares to believe!
Don't let the ghosts of Christmasses Past haunt you any longer trying to be a better person, but let Christ change and remould you completely form within - by His Spirit so that you can celebrate Christ's birth in you every year, rather than remember him as a little baby.
Impossible?
Well, everything about Christ Jesus' life is impossible and miraculous: from his immacualte conception, to his virgin birth, to his death and supernatural resurrection from the dead and his divine ascension on high. So we can also expect His promised return - in the same way he went up, in a cloud, as the angels promised his disciples who saw him ascend.
His miraculous life is available to all who would believe. How about you, my friend?

Cool Hand Paul

News often reach me a bit late, because I'm often away from news - somewhere in Nigeria, or Zimbabwe or in Korea! And when I discover something that actually means something to me, I feel robbed, as if it happened while I wasn't around.
This happened to me when I found out that Paul Newman passed away. He was 84 and his second wife, Joan Woodward held his hand as he stepped over into eternity. She gave up her acting to let him pursue his acting career. She made a few movies but mainly raised the family.
The first movie I saw Paul in was 'Hombre'. He played the part of an Apache scout. Although he did not have many lines to deliver, his piercing blue eyes stare, captivated my attention. It made me feel that I too would like to act one day. Then I saw 'Somebody up there likes me' that told the Rocky Marciano story. Steve McQueen also had a small part in it. And then I tried to see as many of Paul's movies as I could: Cool Hand Luke, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid,The Sting, The Color of Money, Hustler, The Mackintosh Man and several others. His non-chalance way of actor's studio way of acting as the anti-hero really made me like the roles he played. But he liked motor racing most of all. It excited him. He played in a movie about a motor car racing ace, but I can't remember the name of it. All I remember is how he turned around and hit the guy that was messing with his wife. And I remember the way he slept, with his arm over his eyes.
I've read that he doesn't like to watch his own movies and that he shaves in the shower so as not to look into the mirror. His family says he was down to earth and likeable, just like the roles he played.
He had his share of troubles, lost his son through a drug overdose, but he managed to stay married for many years to the same lady. They lived away from the Hollywood glits and glamour.
With his salad dressing he made $200 million and gave it all away to charity!
Robert Redfort that starred with him in probably two of the best ever buddy movies (Butch and Sting)said,'I've lost a friend'. He died because of cancer. The doctors said that he could probably live longer if he used certain medicine, but Paul and his wife Joanne decided together to 'let it go'.
How short this life span is. It is a hand's width. Today you are here and tomorrow you are gone. Paul Newman was definitely one of the actors that inspired me to act and now he is gone. All that remains is a memory and the movies he had made.
It is an era that closed with him. The Steve McQueens and Paul Newmans are now off the center stage and new young actors step forward...but, alas, its only for a while.
Yet, if someone made you feel good, it was a life well lived. Paul always made feel good movies, mostly.
Somebody up there loves me, made you feel taller as you walked out of the cinema.
Cool Hand Luke made you realise you can have fun - even in prison!
Butch Cassidy gave you a sense of the joy of living - even in a Western!
The Sting almost convinced you to bet on horse races because him and Robert Redford had such fun in their wheeling and dealing!
Thanks Paul, God rest your soul, if a movie was ever made about your life I think it should be called Cool Hand Paul!

Tying Shoelaces

One of the most frustrating things to me was tying shoelaces, three, four times a day! Until at the impressionable age of 19 I saw my uncle tie his Barker English leather round point shoes and make a double knot! That discovery saved me a lot of time and lot of wasted emotional energy - about shoelaces!
Remember the first time you tied your own shoelaces? It took all the concentration you could muster, while chewing your tongue on the side of your mouth and hoping you will not get your fingers caught in the knot.
Then it happened: your shoes were tied! And you could walk off, proudly, knowing you accomplished a seemingly impossible task, all by yourself. Only to discover, a few hours later, that you had to redo everything. The whole process had to be repeated, labouriously.
Well, a double knot is the key.
I saw how my uncle enjoyed tying his shoes properly.
'Shoes must fit tightly to keep your feet in shape. Its no use to have your foot move about in your shoes. You will develop all sorts of problems. So if you tie the laces properly it keeps your feet in the right position in the shoes and you can walk around town without having to check if your shoe laces are still tied.'
I've often thought about that...if you know what to do, it is a pleasure doing it.
And obviously vice versa: if you don't know how to do something, it is a pain!
This applies on all levels, really!
If you don't know how to bake a cake, you hate it. If you don't know how to do book keeping or administration, you hate it. The same with budgeting, with paying accounts, with making a bed, with tidying a cupboard, with stacking things in the garage, with keeping your school notes, with filing your correspondence and bank statements...the list is endless. Think about it.
The things you like doing are things you were trained to do properly - and you saw someone actually enjoy doing it.
That is how I discovered cricket: Andre le Roux taught me and showed me how to enjoy it. He always had a smile on his face when he coached me in their back yard. And even though he was much older than I, he never made me feel 'small'. He invited me to come and watch where he played for Florida Park High's 1st XI. I would pack my sandwiches and ride on my BSC three-speed bike to spend the whole day in the sun, watching them play. I drank water from a tap on the school grounds. Cold drinks were too expensive in those days!
And I saw how my mother enjoyed praying, how my father enjoyed pastoring a church, how a prophet enjoyed prophesying and how a preacher enjoyed preaching, how someone enjoyed working with a computer, how my father enjoyed driving a car, how a cook enjoyed making spaghetti and how an old black man relished making porridge!
The first one to teach me to play the piano was our gardener...I was 5 years old in Benoni, 2nd avenue, Northmead. When my parents went out in the morning he would come into the house, wash his hands and tell me to never tell my parents that he played the piano. He would jam for an hour and I would stand next to him and watch how he played, 'In the Mood' and other favourites. No wonder that when I play in other countries they say,'you play like a black man even though you are white!' The same with my Hammond Organ playing, because African Americans taught me in Miracle Valley, Arizone.
Think about the things you can't do or do not like doing: you have not been taught or trained by someone who actually enjoyed doing it. It is the art of the tutor to instill the love of the subject into the pupil.
Think of the subjects at school...which ones you liked and ones you hated...
Well, Jesus Christ, came to teach us how to love one another and He showed us how to enjoy it! For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son so that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life.
The thing you love is easy to do, isn't it? You feed the cat because you love the cat.You put up with things in people that you love. You care for a babay because you love the baby. If it is not your baby you won't last three days!
Something birthed in your own heart is something you will stick to and never give up, because it is part of you. If someone else tells you what to do you soon get tired of it.
Your treasure lies where your heart it.
But today's sneakers and running type shoes have no laces. They use velcro and take away the joy of tying laces! But the lesson still remains the same!
It is the little things in life that makes life worth living. The art is to find enjoyment in doing the little chores of daily living. Washing dishes, making a bed, ironing...clean the pool. You don't have to study Bhuddism before you fix your motorcycle with concentration - just learn from someone who loves what they are doing and receive impartation that will change your life.
Jesus said,'I have come to give you life and life more abundantly!' He knew how to live. Its the best to learn from someone who knows what he is doing. He later on said, 'I am the Way, the Truth and the Life - no man comes to the Father, but by Me.' Either He spoke the truth or He was the greatest conman that ever lived!
My experience so far, as a believer, is that He knew exactly what He was talking about. So I became a follower of the Man from Galilee...and I'm enjoying it!
John the Baptist said of Him,'I am not worthy to tie His shoelaces...' Think about that for a while!