I am excited to have my tween daughter Sunshine as my special guest on my blog today. She has written her very first devotional, and has graciously allowed me to share it with you. She also provided the beautiful artwork.
I’m excited to hear what you think of Sunshine’s devotional, so please feel free to leave her an encouraging comment. (I’m hoping she’ll write more of these for me. As an author, nothing is more exciting to me than seeing my daughter share that same love!)
Sunshine is an athlete who loves soccer, swimming, and volleyball, so it came as no surprise that she wanted to write about sports. 🙂
Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. In all of your ways, acknowledge Him; and He will make your paths straight. ~ Proverbs 3:5
That verse is hard to live by, isn’t it? Being a sports fan, as well as, a participant, I thought of some sports to go with this verse.
Volleyball: You can’t set, bump, serve, and spike without the other five players.
Soccer: In soccer, you can’t play sweeper, defense, mid-field, and offense all by yourself. Too hard, right? You can’t try to be making a goal and defending your goal all at once. Playing all eight positions by yourself all at once is not only hard, but it’s impossible.
Baseball: You can’t pitch, play outfield, be a baseman, and bat all at once. Impossible.
The point I am trying to make is this: you can’t be a one-man team. Think of it like this…you can’t play the game of life without God. Just like you can’t play offense and defense all at once. You need a team. Don’t know where to get a team?
Here’s your answer: God is your team. With God’s help, you can make goals in life instead of just kicking and missing it. Let God be your referee, your team, and your coach. Let Him help you in all things.
Great Job Honey!! I was so ministered to by this today! Thank you Bunches, and please keep up the great work!!!
Dolores
Sunshine here.
Thank you Dolores for your nice comment. It is very encouraging
Thank You Sunshine! Keep up the great work sweetie! You did a wonderful job!!! I am so proud of you!!!
Dolores
Wow! This is great!! I am very blessed by it and also by seeing God working through you. You rock! Keep up the great work!
Hi Gailya,
This is Sunshine. I am glad that you are blessed by it.Thanks for the encouragement.
I love it! I love how you are making spiritual analogies to life at such a young age. Wow! With these insights, you have a bright future ahead, Sunshine!
Theresa,
I am glad you love it. Doing analogies are fun.
Sunshine
Budding writers give me such hope for the future. Great job, Sunshine! Thank you for encouraging her and for sharing, Penny!
Hi Tracy,
Thank you for stopping by.It is cool to have a publisher read my work.
Sunshine
Thank you, Sunshine, for putting the focus on God and what He can do when we are on His team. We are nothing without Him! We are winners with Him, Even if we have an earthly losing season, we are eternal winners.
Keep up the good work and listen to the good advice of your mother and father. So glad to know you love the Lord. You’ve been published here on the web, read by many and appreciated! Sweet beginnings….
Blessings,
Janice
Thank you Janice
I came to know God when I was four.Thank you for all that you said .
Sunshine
Very nice! Really like it a lot! Congrats!
Hi Dawn.
I am glad you like it. My mom says “hi” to a fellow homeschooler.
Sunshine
That was really nice, Sunshine! And I love the smile on the girl’s face in your illustration!
Hi Sparksofember
I am glad you like the illustration.
Sunshine
P.S. Can you tell Alora I say “hi”?
I will! Hopefully, we’ll bump into you in a couple weeks!
Nice job, Sunshine (and great name, btw!). You have some real talent in writing. You’d think your mom was an author, or something 🙂
Hi Mrs.Chwierut
Thank you. Yea… you would think mom is an author 🙂
Sunshine
P.S. you did a great job on mom’s Facebook page.
WONDERFUL JOB! It’s nice to see how our youth can visualize God’s power in all they do. I found this devotional very encouraging.
Hi Laura
I am glad you found it encouraging. You are a great author yourself. I really liked your book.
Sunshine
Sunshine, you said it well. What a great job! Very interesting too and I loved the picture that you included. Perhaps we will hear from you again soon!
Blessings!
Judy
P.S. My husband always called me Sunshine! (He is in Heaven with Jesus now)
Hi Judy
I am glad you found it interesting.It is cool that we share the same nickname.
Sunshine
As a former baseball player and pitcher, the communication between a pitcher and a catcher is paramount. It even can become a relationship over time.
You TEAM concept was right on! But without your participation on God’s team (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit), you become just a by-stander. If someone asked your coach, “Aren’t you going to play that girl/boy this year?” And the coach answers, “No, I’m saving her for the Senior Prom!” God wants you to participate; every game, every play on every day!
Keep writing Sunshine and reading God’s Word for that’s how the Coach gives you the instructions on how to play, how to communicate your thoughts and His thoughts on paper. GREAT JOB and never be discouraged. EVER.
Hi theworlddetective,
It is cool that you are a former baseball participant.I will keep reading the Bible.
Sunshine
That is just beautiful Sunshine, thank you so much, your so talented 🙂
God bless you.
Ingrid,
Thank you. I get my talent from God ( and also from my mom ) 😉
Sunshine
Such a great post, Sunshine! May the Lord bless you! Thanks so much, Penny, for sharing this.
Lynn,
The Lord bless you to. Mom says your welcome.
Sunshine
Great insights, Sunshine! I needed this post today! Keep making a difference in people’s lives with your words and let God use you fro His glory! 🙂
Stephani,
I’m glad the post helped you. Mom says the same thing you do: let God use you for His glory.
Sunshine
🙂
Very well said and much needed truth for everyone, Sunshine. We have to fight the urge to go it alone. Satan wants us to be loners and not part of the team. Keep learning and sharing!
Jim,
Thank you.I’ll keep learning and sharing.
Sunshine
I love your devotional, Sunshine! I’m past the age of sports, but when younger, I loved softball and basketball. You’re right — one cannot play these sports alone. They are TEAM sports. And life is also a team “sport.” It’s not meant to be lived alone, but with God. No matter how old we are, this is something we all need to keep in mind. I hope you write a lot more devotionals!
Pastor Sherry,
Thank you for your encouragement. My favorite sport is soccer.
Sunshine
Sunshine, I really liked your devotional showing how we can’t try to do things ourselves, but need to let God be our helper, leader, and Lord. Good job!
In Jesus, Marriott Cole
I just loved this Sunshine. It is so good to see a tween connect what they do and enjoy with God. With God as our coach, referee and team mate we will make it to the goal!! I look forward to reading more from you. I hope this will inspire one of my daughters to do my blog. Thanks and isn’t volleyball starting soon? Enjoy and stay active and connected!
Eva