When Effort is not Good Enough

We live in a world today where effort matters in almost everything you do. Effort matters in a relationship and building a solid foundation. Effort matters in the job place to work your way up and achieve success. Effort matters in the classroom to get good grades. Effort matters on the court or field to perform well in a certain sport, Effort matters. God tells us many times in His word that it does. 

“For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.” - James 2:26

“But you, be strong and do not lose courage, for there is reward for your work.”- 2 Chronicles 15:7

If you are reading this, you are only here because God allowed you to. Because of what Jesus did for us on the cross, we are still able to live a life pleasing to God. This is called grace. One thing that people make mistakes in life is, effort brings success. Success in the christian life is defined as living out your role for God’s kingdom. It is not how much money you have, or fame, or even social media followers. One thing effort does is puts us in a better position to succeed. It does not mean we will succeed how we want, but effort and work does increase our odds. 

When you operate out of grace and faith, that means you are doing something not because of what you can get out of it, but because what was already done to give you the opportunity. I am a big believer that to succeed, you must fail. In order to lead, you must learn to follow. God has given us the opportunity to do these things because we are not punished for our mistakes. I am not saying there won’t be consequences to our decisions but I am saying we are still accepted by Christ despite these decisions. 

I recently started playing for a professional team called the Columbus Condors in “The Basketball League,” here in Columbus Ohio. We play teams scattered all over the United States. A couple weeks ago, we traveled to Michigan to play a game. My normal schedule is, I start work as a production supervisor for a packaging and fulfillment company every weekday at 7am. The other things I do throughout my days sometimes vary based on training schedules and such, but I always start at 7am. On the day we traveled to Detroit, the night before I tried to pack and plan out everything so I was prepared for the next day knowing I had a lot to do. I pack all the things I need for work, then I pack my basketball clothes and gear. 

From Columbus, Ohio to Flint, Michigan was about 3.5 hours driving. So as we take the team bus down to Detroit it was only 7 players that traveled due to other people's schedule and prior commitments.Going into this game I knew we were limited on substitutes and it was a game we needed to win to make sure we put ourselves in the best spot for the upcoming playoffs. About 2.5 hours into the drive, something popped in my head and told me to check my bag to make sure I have everything. Which I second guessed myself because I knew I packed the night before. As I went to look into my book bag, I realized I forgot the most important thing I needed to bring. My game shoes. At that moment when looking into my bag and realizing I forgot them, my whole mood changed. Immediately I started to panic and didn’t want to say anything to any of the players or coaches because I knew they would be upset that we would be down another player. 

We just arrived at the arena and I have to tell everyone. Me thinking in my head about how they would react, I said it in a hesitant way of telling them I forgot my shoes. My coach responded with, “Let me look up the closest Foot Locker.” Right there, I felt like a burden was lifted off because instead of making me feel guilty, he wanted to help. Even my teammates joked and made the situation easy to deal with because they supported me. My coach went out and bought me a pair of shoes and we won a close fought game on the road. 

Overall, a situation where I gave great effort to prepare and improve my odds in putting myself in the best position to succeed, I still came up short. Even when I did fail, I was shown grace by my teammates and coaches. In our walk with Christ, we are supposed to give great efforts for Him and His Kingdom. That doesn’t mean we will always succeed how we think we should. It does mean that God will show us enough grace and mercy to still live out his plan! Today, seek to show someone grace that might need it. You never know when it can go a long way. 

“But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved.”- Ephesians 2:4-5

The Proper Pursuit

In sports today, the training aspect has become an important part of the journey to success. Establishing a good plan, working hard at it, and succeeding it is a smart way to achieve the goals you have set out for yourself. One thing that gets confused with training today, is that it isn’t the only component needed to succeed. In all sports, but especially basketball, experience from actually playing vs training helps out a player a lot. It allows them to make live decisions on things they practice. 

Growing up in my playing career I gave more of my success to playing and having to figure stuff out on the fly. I also think training and individually working on your game is a positive. I am a believer that you need a healthy dose of both to maximize your potential. 

In our lives, God doesn't just want soul management, He wants soul transformation. Transformation comes from the expansion of the spirit. As a believer in Christ, God implants a new spirit inside of you. In order for you to get to the point of transformation, you must first develop your spirit. So the question comes, How do you develop the new spirit Christ has given you? The answer is to live a lifestyle consistent with the character of God. But also understand we are human, so not perfect but consistent. 

In life’s journey, our focus should be to become as much like God as possible. This requires:

1. Disciplining yourself 

2. Developing your soul 

3. Actually doing something vs just intending to do it

4. Align with whatever God says about an issue, not the world 

It is important for us to know the truth that God has set. It is also important for us to abide in the truth. A lot like my training vs live play example from earlier, it is important to have both to live out what God wants you to be. 

Social media is blowing up a heartfelt message NBA player Bradley Beal gave to his AAU team. Brad is arguably one of the top scorers in today’s game, so he knows the commitment, grind and skill it takes to make it at the highest level. For me, the most powerful thing he said to these teenagers was that God can give you a gift and talent but if you don't work on it and develop it, and use it the right way then God can take it away and it can be a waste. 

No matter small or large, everything good comes from God. It is to be received with thanksgiving. So, in our pursuit we must acknowledge that there are decisions and choices we have to make. God’s way vs the world's way. Focus on the right path to Godliness and strive to be more and more like God each and every day. Also, the good thing about God is, He is loving, so He is always waiting for you when you make the decision to pursue the right path. 

Impactful Confidence

Over the past weekend, I came across a picture of Kobe Bryant. As a fan, I was surprised because I never saw this picture before. After looking at it a little longer and sharing it with my friends in our group chat, two things stuck out to me about this picture:

1. Kobe shooting a ridiculous, impossible looking shot with confidence.

2. The defense is still contesting it, just as if it were a regular shot.

Kobe shooting difficult shots was very common in his career. Being able to make tough shots is why he is considered one of the best scorers of all time. Even knowing all of that, looking at him attempt to shoot behind the backboard with so much focus on his face lets me know that a big part of him thought the shot was going in. Now that's confidence. 

In your spiritual life knowing who Jesus is, accepting him as your savior gets you into heaven. Your faith + works and obedience builds confidence in trusting God to be in control over your life on earth. Confidence comes with knowing who God really is. Even when things look impossible, you know you have a God that can make things possible. To experience that, you must align within His will. 

"and receive from him anything we ask, because we keep his commands and do what pleases him." 

- 1 John 3:22

When you go back and look at the picture of Kobe, notice how well the defense is trying to contest and block a shot from a player that is behind the backboard. Kobe was that much of a threat to the defense behind the backboard just as if he were standing right in front of the rim.

This makes me think about our personal lives. The devil will not stop. He will trick and try to deceive you into thinking he can play good defense on you. He wants to attack you where you are most vulnerable. That is why sometimes in our life it feels like one bad thing comes after another nonstop. Biggest key and fact you must remember however, is the game is already won with Jesus. He is the ultimate teammate, coach, and player. Following Him guarantees victory. 

So even knowing Kobe didn't make that shot, it's impressive how much impact he still had from every spot on the court with the ball. We all need to be more like Kobe and build our confidence up through the Lord so we can be an impact in all aspects of life!

Be Thankful!

Happy Thanksgiving! All around the world today, people are celebrating and gathering with their families and loved ones. One tradition my family does every Thanksgiving is after we pray, we go around the room and say what we are thankful for. Normally, I will say I’m thankful for my family or health, something really general. But over this past year, one thing I am truly thankful for that goes overlooked is God’s grace that is given each day. Many times we take no notice of how we survive and get through each day and are blessed with every little thing we receive specifically for that day. 

Not everyone is as fortunate to share a memorable and pleasant Thanksgiving that is portrayed throughout the media and what we see in some people’s lives. When I was in college, one thing my coaches made a staple of was us serving the less fortunate around this time of the year. It humbled us, gave us the opportunity to help someone else in need, but also let us see different types of reality based on whose eyes it’s coming from. Big meals, sharing laughs and enjoying the company of people you care about are some of the best parts of Thanksgiving but for some people it is just another day here on earth. 

I think about my playing career now that I have played at all levels, and often I tell myself that one factor can change so many things down the line. I have seen many players become successful based on just a short amount of time of dedicating themselves or focusing. Also, I have seen many scenarios where players did not become as successful as projected just by doing the opposite or making just one bad choice to take away those chances of being successful. This also is true in our everyday lives. One choice or decision we make can have a positive or negative impact on our future. All it takes is one choice. The good thing that comes from this is, God gives you the opportunity to change whatever situation or scenario you're in around. If you know me, I love a good comeback story, but what people often miss is the route or help that caused that comeback to take place. 

So as we go on about our Thanksgiving, I encourage you to either be the light in someone else’s life that might need that comeback story or make the decision to get back on the right path to make your comeback a possibility for God to handle! 

“I always thank my God for you because of His grace given you in Christ Jesus.”

 - 1 Corinthians 1:4

Look Up, Not Out

 When you are face to face with your circumstance, you have a couple options: run from the truth and find excuses, or make a divine change of direction. Overall in life, everyone faces something. Rather it be financial issues, loneliness, relationship problems or even addictions, there is always something to complain about that isn’t going our way. God allows trials we don't control and consequences to sinful behaviors to teach us a lesson. Biggest truth that we must first understand is that we are not perfect. So, there will always be something that happens to us or that we cause because of that. 

Not too long ago my friends and I did a bible study lesson on encouragement. How to stay encouraged through issues we face and how to encourage someone else through their problems. My biggest takeaways were:

• Do what’s right without wanting a reward. Your reward is your relationship with Christ.

• Stay rooted and grounded in God’s word so you know exactly how to handle issues when they arise. 

• Be someone else's support system even when they aren't asking for it. 

• Have a community/ group of people or friends you can talk to openly about problems. 

• Give effort and intentionally make time to be present with Christ. 

“But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.” - Matthew 6:33

When I think about the playbook (bible) that Christ has laid out for us, it makes me think about my sports career. I played for a number of coaches, basketball and football and what they all had in common was how set they were on following that playbook. They spent countless hours developing it, tweaking it, adjusting it to fit their team’s personnel and teams we played against. I can honestly say, the most successful teams I've been on and the teams where I had the most fun, we followed the coaches playbook. No, every play didn't work out perfectly. And no, we didn't win every game. But we stayed true to the plan because we trusted not only the playbook, but the coach that created it. 

When we face tough times in our life, God is telling us to trust and follow His playbook (His word), So, I encourage you today to look up and follow what God is saying on how to handle whatever issue that needs handled in your life and do not look out in the world and into your own understanding to find the answer. God is the perfect coach, so if we are willing to trust human coaches, bosses, and teachers then we should surely put Christ in the head of our lives.

BIGGER THAN BASKETBALL - Ashley Evans

Hey guys! My name is Ashley Evans. I am so grateful for this opportunity to share on Kellon’s blog. First, I’ll start with a quick intro about myself. I am from Ohio. Basketball has been a big part of my life. My father played basketball for Michigan State and my older siblings played during grade school. So basketball has been a passion of mine at a young age. In grade school I was always asked to play up a level. My senior year of high school I hit a milestone of scoring 1,400 points to join my father in the 1,000 point club. After high school, I had many mid major Division I college offers, but I had hopes to live down south. With that being said I started my college career playing at a junior college in Texas. After my freshman year I transferred to another junior college located in Kansas. I finished my college career at Kent State. I received many accolades throughout my college career such as offensive player, defensive player, team captain, and  academic All- American to name a few. After graduating from Kent I was blessed with the opportunity to play professionally for two seasons. I played my rookie season in Forssa, Finland and my second season in Morocco, Africa. 

Let’s take a walk into ‘Ashley’s Thoughts’ as a professional athlete. Prior to departing from the states to go play in Morocco there was a lot spoken over me to encourage me. A few words that stuck out were “Morocco will be the best experience” and “It’s Bigger than basketball.” First off let’s look at my experience in a natural sense. Before signing my contract I had some fears and doubts. How could a Christian be truly accepted in a Muslim dominated country? I didn’t put into account the huge culture shock I would face. The living conditions were much different than I was used to. The gym wasn’t heated and believe it or not it was an arctic bliss trying to practice and play. I literally warmed up with layers of clothing and gloves. Also, I had no idea of the language barrier. There were so many issues that I faced in that place from playing time, to having a plethora of coaches coming in and out within a span of weeks.

On top of all of that we were playing for free. We were months into our contract without any form of payment. It was a mental battle that everyday I had to pep talk myself to overcome. After four months I made the hard decision to break my contract to go home. It was the hardest thing for me to do. I felt like I gave up. I felt like I lost the fight. When I came home I learned my mother was fighting silent health battles. She had tumors that were possibly cancerous in her body. In a sense I felt like I was right where I needed to be. I stuck by her side through her process of surgery. But as she started to recover something started happening in me. The feelings of depression, disappointment, and anger began to come to the surface. I couldn’t understand why God didn’t fight for me to stay or win against adversity in Morocco. Why did my professional career stop suddenly without any explanation. After all, my intentions were always to glorify God’s name through my playing.

I essentially went through an identity crisis. For so long basketball had been a big part of me. That’s all I knew. That’s really what people identified me as “you’re the basketball player.” After a long season of lashing out at people, playing with anger and bitterness in open gyms, God began to deal with me. In the process of exchanging my identity in basketball for an identity in Christ He revealed to me purpose. That’s what the phrase ‘Bigger than basketball’ meant. Basketball was a vehicle God used to get me to purpose. Basketball was never meant to be the final destination. Today I identify as a follower of Jesus, a nurturer, a creative, a lover of people, a purpose driven person, and much more. I share all of this to say that God has taught me a valuable lesson that we can not make careers, talents, or even desires our god’s. Identity in Christ will never fade. Basketball was what I did, but not who I was or am today. 

It is my desire to see people walking into purpose and being who God called you to be. God inspired me to write a book to help coach you through the process. It is called Bigger than Basketball. It is a 31 day mind renewal devotional for athletes or anyone that can identify with my experience. It is jammed packed with real life experiences to help encourage individuals in the areas of confidence, work ethic, trusting God, working with a team, and purpose to name a few. Bigger Than Basketball is releasing October 7, 2020 exclusively on Amazon. I thank you all for sharing your time with me, the pleasure was all mine. 

Be encouraged,

Ashley Evans

1% Better #16

Just Hoops, the basketball training facility I train at has taught me so much about life. One of my favorite things I love to teach and tell people is to get 1 percent better each day. This is part of our mission statement and something we take pride in each day. I like this teaching because it is a reminder that doing something productive each day is more beneficial than to try to cram more in over a smaller amount of time. We put “1% better” on T-shirts, flyers and on posters around the gym. This is to remind the athletes that come train and workout there that they have the decision to get better or worse. More times than not, it's either one or the other, nowhere in between. So for us to preach getting better each day, coming up with workout plans to help players see their progress and to make that a habit in our facility has been something that has stood out to a big part of our progress in my eyes. 

One of my coworkers, and my personal basketball trainer said something to me a long time ago that always stuck with me. He said it’s about making daily deposits to your game like a piggy bank. One dime or even penny you put in your bank each day for months and even years will eventually add up to a significant amount compared to where you started. In the bible, it talks about sowing and reaping. Pretty much, you get what you put in. Whatever you plant is what will grow. 

6 But this I say, He which soweth sparingly shall reap also sparingly; and he which soweth bountifully shall reap also bountifully.- 2 Corinthians 9:6

If we are called to serve the purposes of God, then if we are planting that seed and actively watering it, then that is what will grow. If we do not put in the work to make this a priority in our life then we are not doing what is in God’s will for our lives. I’ve realized in my spiritual walk that I can get very impatient when I pray or want something to happen in a certain way and not seeing the results. One thing about a flower or crop, is that it doesn’t grow abundantly overnight. It takes that everyday grind of waterting and taking care of it for it to be everything you want it to be.

My basketball career was very similar. Each year I got better at something. During that year, I didn’t see the results right away, but eventually when I looked back and watched game films of the previous year, I could see some sort of progress. Getting 1 percent better isn’t just a saying, it is what is called of us by God. He is not saying we have to be perfect or even close to perfect, but He is asking us to continually strive to be better because of the grace and mercy He gives us each day. So remember, each day is an opportunity, and you have the ultimate decision to decide what you want to do with that opportunity.