AED vs Life

“Everything is possible for the one who believes.” (Mark 9:23)

 

Herb Brooks ( the coach of the US Hockey team that won the gold and shocked the world…also known as the Miracle on Ice. ) said:

 “If I’d have went on the ice when this thing happened, someone would have speared me or something. It’s a great feeling of accomplishment and pride. They had to do it; it was their moment.”

Game summary:

For Dakota Bear, a 16 year old basketball player, from Allen, Oklahoma…was this a miracle?

It was a normal day of basketball practice for the Allen High School Girl’s Basketball team as they were preparing for their opening game.  The coach had just given Dakotah some pointers on shooting free throws. As the coach walked away Dakotah collapsed. A teammate yelled for the coach that Dakotah had fallen down for no apparent reason. Dakotah seemed life less.

Immediately the coaching staff performed CPR, until the ambulance arrived. The city had just purchased a special machine that performs CPR for those who had cardiac arrest. The ambulance emergency team used the machine on Dakotah because she was not showing a heartbeat. They rushed her to the hospital and paramedics said that the new machine keeps the blood flowing when the heart is not pumping blood. That it never gets tired like people do performing CPR, and that without this new machine, Dakotah may have not stayed alive long enough to get her to the hospital.

Dakotah was put into a medically induced coma remaining on life support for three days until she came to. In less than three weeks Dakotah was back home and returned to school. Nobody knows what caused this, but since she had cardiac arrest they did not allow her return to basketball right away. Although, they felt she could very possibly return before the end of the season.

The medical team who took Dakotah to the hospital definitely planned to attend the next game she played in. She was special as they saw something very unusual happen to her. They and others felt it was a miracle that Dakotah survived and didn’t have any physical impairments. Was this a miracle? Everyone who was praying for her knew so. To lose consciousness, be in a coma for three days, a person just doesn’t come out of it and not have some brain damage, or need physical rehab therapy.

Amazingly, Dakotah had no limitations on what she could do… which is very rare! During this time, her teachers, classmates, family and friends were all praying for her. Knowing God answered their prayers. Dakota is a living miracle. Jesus in the Bible restored many who appeared to have died. Like in Luke 7, a boy seemed to have died. Jesus approached the funeral procession, touched the boy who had died, and he sat up and was perfectly normal. Could God have touched Dakotah in response to all who were praying? They think so.

The Scriptures say… “If you had faith even as small as a mustard seed, you could say to this mulberry tree, ‘May you be uprooted and be planted in the sea,’ and it would obey you! (Luke 17:6)

“Everything is possible for the one who believes.” (Mark 9:23)
MVP: Dakota Bear (high school student athlete at Allen, Ok)

 

 

Recap:

Have you​ ever had a miracle, or seen a miracle?

Can we believe in God’s ability to do a miracle in all parts of our lives. In what ways?

Practice: Link below is the article in a local newspaper and TV story about Dakota

http://kfor.com/2016/11/25/it-was-a-miracle-that-16-year-old-basketball-player-survives-heart-attack/

http://www.theadanews.com/news/local_news/allen-schools-staffers-resuscitate-student-after-collapse/article_775359a3-1ca8-55df-bf3c-64db55a4f511.html

 

 

Contact vs Power

The Matchup:

CONTACT VS POWER

Location:

Luke 16:10: “If you are faithful in the little things, you will be faithful in the larger ones.”

Headline:

“You can have an impact anywhere you are”  Tony Dungy, strong man of Faith and former Head Coach of the Super Bowl Champions Indianapolis Colts.

 

Game Summary:

Life is not always about being the power hitter in what we do. To hit a home run is great, but more important is being counted on to be able to get on base.  If you are consistently faithful in small things, you will then be put in charge of bigger ones. Making contact with the ball in softball, and getting on base rates high in a person’s value to the team.

When my daughter, Dalyn played softball she was not the best player. Because she struck out a lot, I worked with her on just making contact with the ball. This taught us both a lesson. Although we may not be home run hitters, just making contact with the ball can sometimes win the big game.

During one game for a league championship, Dayln’s team was behind 2 runs in the last inning. On the way to the plate, Dayln looked at me.  I motioned to her to just make contact, as we had practiced during the previous week.  I knew she could run fast and would likely outrun the throw.  With the pitch, she made contact with the ball and ran hard to first base.  The fielder threw wildly, enabling Dayln to advance to second base.  There followed another base hit, and Dayln made it home, scoring the first of three runs that her team eventually made.  She had squeezed out a hit, and the team had followed with a championship win.

Just making contact was enough. Dayln had not hit a home run, but her small hit, with a mighty effort, had opened the door to bigger things. Life is so much about that. We may not be the super star, but just doing something can be enough.  I saw this in her eyes. She felt like a hero… for doing what she could do.  And she didn’t let the team down as they came back to win. Great teams have to do the little things before they accomplish the bigger ones.  Getting good leads, knowing your plays, sliding, getting down on grounders, etc. Take Nehemiah in the Bible for example, he went from holding a cup for the king, to being in charge of rebuilding the wall in Jerusalem.  We are all equally important in the eyes of Christ, and without the contact people, the power people would never survive.

MVP:

Dalyn Huveldt, little league contact hitter.

Recap:

The Bible says the first will be last and the last will be first. When do you recall that what you did, even though it seemed like a small thing, meant a great deal to someone else?  Where do the little things count that over time can add up to bigger ones?  Showing up to class or practice, being faithful in the small things, matters many times more than the home run. Where do you see this mattering in your life?

Practice:

Checkout Lecrae’s song “Background”

and a song by Jamie Grace  “You Lead”

Contributed by Dale Shumaker, sports parent