Crushing Satan Step by Step

"The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet" - Romans 16:20.

This verse is a powerful reminder to persevere through trial and trust in God's promise.  His promise is that we will always overcome what the devil throws at us.  We will overcome because Jesus overcame. God also ensures that not only will He deliver us from evil; but, He will do it soon.

One of our off-ice tests is the rear foot elevated split squats.  We hold kettlebells (or dumbbells) in each hand, elevate one leg on a bench behind us, and do as many squats as possible with our leg that’s on the ground.  We did a “practice” test set last week so that we could gauge our actual test numbers.  I knew the weight I would hold in each hand; however, I wasn't 100% certain how many reps I hit last week.  This uncertainty led me to search for my workout sheet to quiet my doubts.  I couldn’t find my sheet anywhere and therefore continued being in a state of frustration, fear, and insecurity.  What a blessing that my workout sheet was missing!  If I'm looking to a workout sheet for comfort then I'm looking in the wrong place.  The source of our strength, peace, and identity comes from God alone.  After recognizing this, I prayed that God remove these negative thoughts and fill me with peace about the situation.  Instantly God transformed my heart by laying this promise on it:  "The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet" (Romans 16:20).  How awesome that not only did He calm my heart instantly; but, He gave me a verse that specifically applied to my situation!  God provided me a verse where I literally got to act it out:  every time I squatted down, I drove my heel into the ground and crushed the frustration, fear, and insecurity.

After getting a heart transformation, I was now prepared to take the test.  My heart grew stronger with every crushing step as I repeated this verse over and over and over.  Like God always does, He blew the test right out of the water.  Yes, the reps were more than doubled from last week’s practice test; but that’s not even the greatest part.  The greatest part is witnessing God at work.  I called to Him in prayer and he answered.  He provided the peace I asked for and supplied a verse that perfectly applied to my needs.  What a blessing that He cares, answers, and delivers us!

Initially I was focused on my strength, my abilities, my numbers…myself.  Well that kind of game plan is always going to result in failure.  Let's revisit Romans 16:20, "The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet."  Who will crush Satan?  Gigi?  Nope, not a chance.  God will.   Instead of looking to myself; I need to look to Jesus and what he already did for us:  died so that we might have life through Him.  

Through Him we overcome our struggles.  
Through Him we have the strength to absolutely refuse to give up.  
Through Him we crush Satan.

Strength in Christ.

G.I.G.I.

Play To Win Hockey New Testament

Need a new bible?  Order the Hockey Ministries International "Play To Win Hockey New Testament."  This bible is filled with hockey players who share their thoughts about faith, the bible, and the game of hockey.  Players such as Jarome Iginla, Eric Staal, Ryan Smyth, and Mike Fisher provide testimonies.  My coach, Laura Halldorson, and teammates Anne Schleper and Whitney Naslund also share how God has transformed their lives.

Click on the link below and it will direct you to my page in "Play To Win Hockey New Testament."  You will then be able to purchase the book off that website.

http://www.christianbook.com/Christian/Books/product_slideshow?sku=701434&actual_sku=701434&slide=11&action=Previous

Enjoy reading the Word!

Just Keep Running

“Let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us” - Hebrews 12:1.

In the first verses that I blogged about (1 Corinthians 9:24-25), Paul explains that this life is the equivalent to running a race.  Everyone competes in the race and will receive one of two prizes at the finish line:  one “that will not last” and one “that will last forever” (1 Cor 9:25).   Through Jesus, we can receive the everlasting crown of life.  As I mentioned, I have already received this amazing prize; however, every day I get to continue sprinting toward this crown of life. 

The Hebrews verse calls us to not only run with our eyes on the eternal prize, but to run with “perseverance.”  Simply because we have Jesus doesn’t mean the devil isn’t going to stop attempting to wreck havoc on our lives.  The devil is constantly trying to bring us down through lies, deceit, addiction, doubt, worry, temptation, and a whole slew of other methods.  No matter what roadblock, obstacle, or pothole is on our road, Jesus instructs us to keep the faith.  My bible defines perseverance as “standing firm in the faith.”  When a seemingly insurmountable obstacle is put in our path, we are called to press through by leaning on Christ’s strength, power, and hope.

This morning we began our off-ice testing with the shuttle test.  The shuttle test is designed to simulate our on-ice conditioning test and there’s no question it’s also designed to cause our body a ridiculous amount of pain.  The pain, fear of failure, and comparing ourselves to others are a few of the thoughts that can cripple us.  Even though we ran this exact test last Monday, I still felt these thoughts creeping in my mind as we walked in the gym.  But as we began our testing, I witnessed God’s strength shine through and was reminded, once again, of how we are free to run our race.

It was powerful witnessing my teammates “throw off everything that hinders” (Heb 12:1) and just run.   An awesome example of this was Kate.  As she stood on the line, her eyes were absolutely locked in on the task at hand.  It literally looked like an eagle’s eyes as it hunts its prey.  It was evident that she let go of everything that could hold her back and she was focused on sprinting full steam ahead.  And you know what?  She crushed it.  I felt Christ’s power by watching her sprint, push through the pain, and refuse to quit moving her feet.  The relentless determination that flooded from her was exactly what the Hebrews verse is talking about.  Persevere.  Keep the faith.  Just keep running.

That last sentence reminds me of Dory’s hilarious Finding Nemo quote, so I edited it for this message:  "Hey there, Mr. Grumpy Gills.  When life gets you down do you wanna know what you've gotta do?  [singing] Just keep running.  Just keep running.  Just keep running, running, running.  What do we do?  We run, run."

:)

My heart grew stronger today by practicing the skill of persevering.  The skill of letting go of negative thoughts and letting God free my heart to run towards Him. 

Let go, let God, and just keep running!

G.I.G.I.

Fuel the Fire

"Fan into flame the gift of God" - 2 Timothy 1:6.

Yesterday we learned that "the Lord your God is a consuming fire" (Deut. 4:24).  Each day we are keepers of the flame by either neglecting or tending to it.  Bible studies, verse memorization, and prayer are ways to fuel the flame.  Another awesome way to ignite our spiritual fire is through the Body of Christ:  people.  We have the gift of God within our heart so when we allow this gift to burn, the flames reach out and set everyone's heart on fire. 

The first lift in our morning workout was the bench press.  My first set frustrated me because it should've been a piece of cake; but instead it was a struggle.  The frustration only grew when set two ended in the same brutal result.  Thankfully, my spiritual muscles woke up and reminded me to let go of what happened and get my heart focused on the prize.  I needed to stop staring at my failure and instead look at God's gifts around me.  Instantly I locked in on Joce absolutely crushing her last set of bench.  My entire focus was now transfixed on this amazing display of strength, power, and endurance.  Rep 9, 10, and 11 looked like she was bench pressing a tooth pick!  Suddenly my heart caught fire and I began cheering her on during the final three reps.  When she racked the bar, my heart exploded with joy.  In the span of 20 seconds, God used His fan to blow Joce's flames onto mine so that my embers would erupt into a raging bonfire of strength, power, and endurance.  Awesome.  Thank you God for your power.  Thank you Joce for sharing it.

Wow, this is a testament to how great God is.  I'm in the process of writing this entry and Whit (roomie) busts in my room and declares, "Nice blog yesterday, well today, well you wrote it yesterday but I read it today.  I need to catch fire.  My heart is worried, and thinking all these ridiculous things and I just want them to go away and be ignited in Christ."  What?!?!  I literally just typed those words and five seconds later they were brought to life.  Love it.

Tonight's sky is burning up with God's gifts on full display.  I'm thankful that this Holy fire is contagious, never dies out, and grows our tiny light into a consuming wildfire.

Feel the fire.
Fuel the fire.
Fan the fire.

G.I.G.I.

The Holy Fire

"The Lord your God is a consuming fire" - Deuteronomy 4:24.

This verse explains that "God is a consuming fire" (Deut. 4:24).   God's fire provides warmth, light, laughter, and love to everyone.  Since God gave us His Holy Spirit, we have this awesome fire within our heart.  Everyone loves bonfires right?  Well, let me share what comes to mind whenever reading this verse:

In my family, almost every summer night ends with a bonfire at the boat house.  We absolutely love being on the lake and refuse to leave its waters when the stars come out at night.  Therefore, when it becomes too dark to ski, swim, or kayak; someone starts a fire and texts "bonfire at the boat house!" to all who aren't already present.  Soon enough the s'more stuff comes out and the marshie roasting competition begins.  Everyone's a winner because everyone has their own marshie making style:  Connie Lou (burnt to a crisp), Robin (golden brown), Randi (fall off the stick gooey and golden), Kathy (hmm she loaded up on chocolate but forgot the marshie) and Esso (straight out of the bag and into her mouth).  As we sit around the bonfire, we are filled with joy from the blessings that surround us.

The boathouse bonfire will eventually go out; however, God's fire will never stop burning.  Every day we choose whether our fire for Christ is a raging bonfire or smoldering embers.  How does our flame burn brighter?  By adding fuel to it.  At the boat house we use newspapers, cardboard boxes, and freshly cut wood to keep our s'more maker blazing.  A spiritual fire requires fuel such as verse memorization, praying, bible studies, worship, and fellowshipping with others. 

Every day I train by adding spiritual fuel to my Holy fire.  Let us all be consumed by this raging fire of love, joy, and hope today.

G.I.G.I.

Training for the Prize

"Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize?  Run in such a way as to get the prize.  Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training.  They do it to get a crown that will not last, but we do it to get a crown that will last forever" - 1 Corinthians 9:24-25.

Hello and welcome to my blog!  My name is Gigi Marvin and I'm training for the everlasting crown mentioned in 1 Corinthians.  This crown, or prize, is the gift that God has given to all:  "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life" (John 3:16).  Jesus came to Earth, died for our sins, and then conquered death by rising to life.  He did this so that we can have everlasting life through Him.  Therefore, the prize that we all can have is this God given gift of a new life, free from sin and filled with love, joy, and peace.  

Why would I need to train daily for this prize if I already accepted Christ into my life and therefore received the prize?  Well, lets draw an example from my life in athletics:  Say today I was told that I'm guaranteed a spot on the 2014 U.S. Olympic Women's Hockey Team.  I'm on the team regardless of what happens in the next 5 months.  I'm a certified, 100% lock.  Does having my ticket stamped to Sochi mean that I should pick and choose when/how often I workout?  Does making the team give me the breathing room to neglect my teammates and staff by skipping team meetings?  Does a non-reversable, 100% guarantee, mean it's okay for me to do the least possible amount in every area of our Team First mantra?

Knowing that I'm going to compete in the Olympics shouldn't result in this self-righteous/complacent/menu-picking/under-reaching attitude.  This same concept holds true with my faith.  Just because I'm promised salvation doesn't mean I should go without reading the Bible, praying, or fellowshipping with others.  Someone once told me, "Just because you're going to heaven doesn't mean you should live like hell to get there."  

One of our team's favorite quotes is "The Olympics aren't every four years, they're every day."  Every day we look to become better in all areas of our game; whether it's nutrition, strength and conditioning, mental training, or team systems.  We don't expect to show up in Sochi and have a gold medal handed to us.  We know that there is work to be done.  We embrace it.  We attack every day with our eyes focused on the prize. 

Every day I will be training "to get a crown that will last forever" (1 Cor 9:25).  My goal is to know Christ more and be more like Him.  Through daily spiritual workouts (studying the Bible, praying, fellowshipping with others, etc), I pray that my spiritual muscles grow stronger.  I pray that my heart develops the characteristics like those of Jesus' heart:  kind, compassionate, selfless, serving, humble, forgiving, encouraging, generous, faithful, loving, the list goes on and on.  As it says in the Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA) Competitor's Creed:

"Let the competition begin,

Let the glory be God's."

G.I.G.I.