Studying Film #3

I give a lot of my success that I have had in sports to being a good student, learner and listener. I competed to win in the classroom just like I wanted to in sports. My motivation in the classroom was still to figure out every single problem and compete to be the best, (I still remember the timed multiplication test that you had to flip over when finished) but I knew there was a reward at the end of the road as well. That reward was graduating and crossing the finish line. 

Growing up I was fortunate that school was pretty easy for me. It wasn’t until I got to Kent State my freshman year in college to really have to concentrate and focus on my studies. The time I spent at Kent State changed my life forever in a positive way. Being a student athlete is not easy and takes a lot of work, but with the right support system it makes it a lot more manageable. Kent State provided me with that. 

From day 1, I had coaches that were committed to their players. Because of that, they spent much time talking, critiquing and helping them try to become better on the court. One way they did this, is by watching film. They would tape majority of the preseason workouts and practices and the coaching staff would watch them back with the players either in small groups or individually. This is something I was totally new to but I loved it. It allowed you to actually see the things you did well and the things you did not do so well, and not just based on how your mind remembers. The famous quote our coaches would say was, “The eye in the sky, don’t lie.” 

I’ve taken that trait of watching film with my coaching staff and started doing it on my own. I found great success in my playing career by remembering certain plays, knowing which areas I could improve my individual game and it also allowed the game of basketball to slow down in my mind to help me make better decisions. Needless to say, I love analyzing basketball and looking at it from a different perspective. Rather it be someone’s footwork, body positioning or their form on how they shoot the ball, I love breaking down the details of it. 

Not too long ago I applied “film study” to my spiritual life as well. Not sure what made me look at it from that angle but I realized if I want to know God and what His plan is, I have to study Him to improve my spiritual knowledge. Just as if I were studying film on myself or someone else to help my basketball knowledge. This was a little more difficult than just turning on YouTube clips or watching old games, because the Bible is filled with an infinite amount of information so it can be overwhelming where to start. 

One thing that helped me, is reading full books in the Bible and not just one or two verses. If you understand the back story more and what is happening, then you can understand why God allowed or did certain things that are listed in the Bible. A famous verse that i see used a lot is, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.”- Phillipians 4:13. This is true, however if you do not know the will of God and where He gives strength then it can be discouraging when you ask for something and your prayers don’t get answered because it did not align with His will. 

In order for God to enter your life and your situations personally, you have to know His word and be committed to it. Just like in school, you can’t study and do homework one week and then take a whole week off and expect to succeed during the test. The Word of God lays out all the information you need to know but you have to want to study and get close to God to hear what He is saying. I recommend doing your own film study with the Lord and allow it to take your faith deeper and get closer with Him!

Also, I know it can be hard to consistently want to read day in and day out. There are many great pastors who do daily devotionals that teach from the word of God every day that allows you to be consistent and not just once a week. 

Building Your Foundation #2

The goal of any base or foundation is to be strong and solid. A house or building needs to be built on a solid foundation and have a strong base otherwise it would collapse. This applies in life as well. Be grounded. Grounded in your faith, your work and your efforts. 

One of the worst things I ever had to experience in my playing career was a timed mile during college. This was a conditioning test in the preseason my coaches made the team do before official practice started. I had to make a time of 5 minutes and 30 seconds. For me this was extremely hard and struggled with it my whole career. 

While in high school, I worked hard in the weight room and on the court. However, not much in conditioning. During my time in high school I didn’t like running long distances and didn’t see a point in it. It wasn’t until I got to college and realized I was out of shape. I worked really hard to get in shape, but even then it was a big adjustment because it was something I was never used to doing. 

My base and foundation in highschool wasn’t solid enough, and I paid the price later. However, that doesn’t mean it was the end of the world. My base collapsed but the good thing was, I was able to build it back up and rebuild it the correct way. God sometimes breaks us down and allows us to go through certain circumstances to build us back up the correct way. 

Someone very close to me sent me a list of what means the most to them in their life right now. This list included: 

• God 

• Friends 

• Family 

• Love 

• Trust 

• Laughter 

• Happiness 

• Health 

This list is a great example of being grounded and having a good foundation. With knowing this person, there is no doubt in why they are such a positive and great role model for anyone. 

Sometimes as people we look at our external circumstances and focus on that rather than internal. We can get caught up in the world with wanting more of earthly things rather than spiritual. God will allow us to be broken to bring us closer to Him and His agenda. 

This can be challenging trying to build your base back together, because it requires faith + works. You must act on the word of God, even if your circumstance hasn’t changed yet. If you do this, then when you experience another tough time, temptation or decision your base will be built in a way that will not fall over nor be destroyed.  

Matthew 7:24-27

 “Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. 25 And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock. 26 And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. 27 And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell, and great was the fall of it.”

Kellon’s First Thought #1

What’s up everyone, I want to introduce myself. My name is Kellon Thomas and I am a follower of Christ. That is actually the reason I’m writing this journal series/blog that I plan to release one time a week.

I have experienced many things in my life, and most of it is because of sports (mainly basketball). My goal with this blog is to speak and talk about the word of God and circumstances through sports and life in general. Also, I want to help apply, guide and minister anyone reading it. If nothing else, I just want to share the gospel and speak about things I’ve thought about with my walk. I am not looking for shares, likes or retweets. This is just something that’s been on my heart for awhile so I decided to stop running from it. 

So let’s get to it! If you know me or follow any of my social media, you know I love the pastor Tony Evans. Kingdom Man by him is my favorite and men I highly suggest you read the book and watch the movie. So, I want to talk about what being a Kingdom individual/ athlete means to me. First things first, it means having a heavenly perspective. As I grew up, I was always a believer of God and Jesus Christ, but did not always put the kingdom first. I truly believe actions (good and bad) happen based on this principle. 

I have always strived to be the best. Always strived to work hard because I wanted to be known as a winner. I am currently the all time leading scorer at my highschool in Indiana, played division 1 college basketball and have played 2 professional seasons in Germany. Many would say that’s a pretty solid career so far, but as I think and look at my career, I would say I didn’t achieve it the right way. 

It took me until after I graduated college to realize if I stopped competing with everyone else and focused on doing what was important to God and His Kingdom I could be more spiritually successful. God has blessed me with reaching many goals some only dream of, but that was based off of His grace alone. A topic for another day. 

As an athlete it’s easy falling into the temptation of chasing to be #1 as well as wanting to be part of the popular crowd and events. In college, I was a good student, hard worker but I also liked to have fun and enjoy my free time away from home. Nothing is wrong with any of those things...except for the fact that I didn’t put God and my walk with Him first above all. So my point is, we can all achieve everything we want plus much more by prioritizing our thoughts and changing how we look at our circumstances. 

“Whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.” - 
1 Corinthians 10:31