June notes at Kelly's Retreat, Nova Scotia

Nova Scotia
June notes 2011
Finally made it outside to play. The dogs helped, not as much as the Sporting Our Spirit gang of Jacob, Jeanne, Jim, & Lenny, but still it's a start. I'd throw the ball down the hill, then head up the hill, get as much of a lead as I could on the retriever doing his/her job. Mace & Deacon don't fight much over the ball. MacE dislikes wet grass. So I alternate throws: grassy hill for Deacon and anywhere else for her. I sprint every time....uphill. Somehow, they always catch me. This we did for 35 min. They are crashed out now. I am watching the women's finals French Open in peace. It's 10:30 a.m. and 51 degrees. Of great encouragement was the fact that it felt good to run.

Renew in 42 (days)! Exercises for Body, Mind, and Soul.

A Season of Reflection & Fortification: Six Weeks of Exercises for Resurrecting Body & Soul.

Renew in 42 (days)……….($40.00)

 “Renew in 42” is a great opportunity to transform yourself. It is a mini course in high-quality living that is meant to kick-start life-changing and life-long healthy habits.  This program reveals some of the highlights of living the Sporting Our Spirit life. Exercises for mind, body, and spirit are offered in a condensed form. Your workout notices and reflections will come to you 3 days per week, one every other day, with Sunday off. There is something of value for everyone. The weeks are built around themes of: balance, flexibility, strength, endurance, volume, and intensity. These are not physical exercise assignments presented in isolation. They will be integrated with brief reflections of positive psychology, theology, and/or philosophy. Nutritional suggestions and recommended media to bolster your intention to “renew in forty-two” (days) are all included. Review the credentials of Coach Susan and the SOS Resources page. “Renew in 42” is a wholesome & unique opportunity at a great value. If you want to add meaning to getting "physical" this is the right program for you.

I am ready to Renew in 42 (days)! Investment: $40.00.
If you would like to preview a sample day, please contact Coach Susan and provide your email to:
Susan@SportingOurSpirit.com
Feel free to call with questions: 239-822-6507

Sporting Our Spirit Club Membership Application

     Promoting the spiritual significance of sport as integral to personal well-being, building community, and communing with God.


Club Membership Application- for all ages and abilities


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Each additional family member, add $15. ________. Annual renewal $25.00________(family or indv.)

Dues include: SOS T-Shirt, email notifications of trainings and races, sponsorship discounts, invitations to SOS socials, and the inspiration to get fit together and to build the mission to help others do the same.
                               
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Catch the spirit of sweat!

"God made me for a purpose. But He also made me fast! And when I run I feel His pleasure."
Eric Liddel, 1924 Olympian.


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Mail CHECK and APPLICATION(S) to:
Coach Susan Kelly
Sporting Our Spirit
2301 LaSalle Ave.
Fort Myers, FL 33907

For further info,
Call Coach Susan: Cell #: 239-822-6507 or  Email: Susan@SportingOurSpirit.com
Website: http://sportingourspirit.com/ 

Is Lent about controlling our appetites?

Is Lent about controlling our appetites? Fr. Tugwell offers a different perspective.

"I am the LORD your God, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt. Open your mouth wide, and I will fill it (Ps. 81:10)"

"The ideal is for us not to control our appetites at all, but to allow them full rein in the wake of an uncontrolled appetite for God. We all too easily speak and think as if righteousness resulted chiefly from the curbing of our appetites, as if our appetites were only for sin. But strictly speaking we have no appetite for sin.

"What we experience as an appetite for sin is a sick appetite which has mistaken its object. In moments of despondency we may perhaps look around and think that we should be much happier if we gave up trying to be good, if we could enjoy all the vices of the world around us. But that is only a fantasy. The desire for goodness is really a much more robust desire than any alleged desire for evil...
"We must be content to grow slowly towards goodness, taking, if need be, a long time to convalesce. Most of us, maybe, will still be barely at the beginning of our recovery even when we die. But that is better than killing ourselves pretending to be healthy...

"St. Thomas says desire is the faculty that receives, so that the bigger our desire is, the more we can receive...Our part in this is to learn to want largely and earnestly enough to make us capable of the infinite righteousness of God's kingdom...The more we try to tame and reduce ourselves and our desires and hopes, the more we deceive and distort ourselves.

"We are made for God and nothing less will really satisfy us. We we must allow our innate appetite for infinity to dislodge us whenever we are inclined to settle down and call it a day," or throw down our spiritual toys and quit playing. (The Beatitudes: Soundings in Christian Traditions, Tugwell)

2011 January Birthday Reflections

Birthday notes for January, 2011:

Life is messy! It will always be our charge to sort through the rubble to find the rubies.

January 23. For Jimmy (my uncle). He was and still is a flashy, dashing, & funny character. But after the losses of our Mom, his sister, then my husband & best friend David, and then Jake, he stepped up and into our lives in wonderful ways of comfort. Opening his heart, his home, his wallet, he reached out to lend us support.  Happy Birthday, Jimmy. You have made a huge difference in my life and Josh’s. I know the others in heaven thank you too. 

January 24, Jacqui. My sister. Ten years younger than I am. We have lots in common. She always looked up to me. We now look up to each other. It’s a wonderful, soulful,  camaraderie. She has just added the finishing touches to her doctoral dissertation. Too many talents to list, this 50^th birthday surely is only the beginning chapters of her contributions and celebrations of life. Love & blessings my sister. Happy Birthday, Jacqui.

January 25, David A. Shadle. Here’s story I remember. We were students at Kent State University. Dave and I were talking on the phone. He was on break as “ref”at a basketball game in Ravena. Two armed robbers entered my bedroom from behind me while Dave & I spoke. Dave heard the commotion & the command the criminals gave me to “hang up the phone.” He was thirty minutes away. He called the police, left the game, drove to his house, grabbed his knife, and headed for my house. He beat the local police to my house. I was never so relieved to hear anyone’s voice from the bottom of the stairs, “Biddle” he called out. My stereo was stolen. Afraid to move, but unharmed, I was terrified I might be shot. I always knew he would give his life for one of us if it came to it. Happy Birthday, Dave (Pop). We miss you. I expect that you are still keeping watch.

Extra credit: January 25- often co-celebrated b-days with Dave is Richard Mahaffey. Thanks for helping Lisa and I in our agonizing task of clean up. 

Think on these things: Philippians 4:8 (New International Version, ©2010)

 ⁸ Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. 

Athletes: Give BELIEF as in God A Try!

Athletes: Give BELIEF as in God, a try! 

Why not add faith into your training regimen? There are lots of gimmicks out there that promise performance enhancement. Give me a minute to challenge your sport and spirit connections.

Let me start with the weakest reason I ever heard for faith. It has been said, I would rather live my life believing there is a God, then die and find out that I was wrong, then to have lived my life believing there was no God, then die and find out I was wrong. While that thinking deserves some credit, surely you can see where it is lacking in passion, right? It is basically, a cover your “behind” way to think. The faith that I am talking about requires a more courageous stance. Let me ask you this: Do you race because if you didn’t you might not win, or is your motivation something more than that? Most of us pit ourselves against the competition at races because it keeps us honest. How hard would you train if you knew you would never be tested? Faith is training for life. Believe me, you will be tested…at the race and throughout your life. Both take a mammoth amount of conditioning. Part of your sports’ training is soldiering you for life. Plenty of others will look to you for the courage contained within your heart. Ever wonder why the words of some of the best coaches sound an awful lot like a sermon? Consider this quote by Vince Lombardi (great football coach) about mental toughness. "Mental toughness is spartanism with qualities of sacrifice, self-denial, dedication. It is fearlessness and it is love."  Hey readers, what could be more God-like than fearless love? Is that in your training plan?

Second, I invite you to read the Athletes Prayer . It concludes with this wonderful line:  “With Thee as coach and trainer, Lord, real victory must be mine."

In conclusion, I am going to challenge you to stretch yourself. Life is not an equal opportunity provider. That means this may be one of the few times you think about the relationship between your talent as an athlete and your relationship with God. So for now, start with two simple strategies for integrating faith into your training: (1) Be open and aware. Listen for God, (2) Say “thank-you” every time you feel grateful. Doing step one is bound to open up many more moments for doing step 2. Try it! Guaranteed.

Follow this “Sportuality” blog and share your thoughts. I welcome them. 

Coach Susan Kelly http://www.sportingourspirit.com/index.html

Gratitude in Sports.

Lately, I have been thinking about gratitude in sports. When I was in high school, my parents were unable to attend school events. Had it not been for a loyal sister who made it her intention to always attend all my sporting events, I might have gotten discouraged. Gratitude, though, for this sisterly support came to me late in life. Many years after high school it occurred to me that this same sister quit track, her athletic strength, when I went off to college. When I asked why, the truth stung…. “No one ever came to see me, to call out my name.” Gulp. I had a chance to coach her through a triathlon challenge a few years back. When she was afraid on the swim, I treaded water beside her until calmness returned. As we both neared the finish chute on the run leg, there was no doubt in my mind that I would step in behind her so that she would finish first. This was her moment, and I was overwhelmed with joy to be behind her in celebration of it. Now, more than ever, the sports playing field looks different to me. I notice all the supportive family and friends on the scene.  For all of you, who have rung cowbells, held up signs, cut oranges, handed out water, darted across fields with toddler in a stroller, driven at 5:00 a.m. carried coolers and a change of clothes, pumped up bike tires, wrapped a cold towel around overheated shoulders, snapped pictures endlessly, and listened to the replays over and over again… thank-you, thank-you. You are special, very special and your love shows.

“Love never fails.” 1Cor 13:8.