Thank You Copperas Cove!

I would like to say thank you to so many people. Thanks to our players and coaches! Thank you to our administration and school board. Thank you to the community for the support of our students. Thank you to all my former teachers and coaches. Thank you to my mentors. Most importantly, thank you to my family.

 

I am so thankful God has bestowed so many blessings on me. As I reflect on this last year, it is amazing of how many things I am thankful for. I am thankful for my health. I have an awesome job and work side by side with a great group of people.

 

This time of season reminds me of the great coaching staff I get to work with everyday. Being able to work in a “team” environment with a group of dedicated individuals makes work seem like a game. It is fun to go to work. It is enjoyable to strive for excellence.

 

Productive teams usually share many characteristics. They have team members committed to a common purpose. Coaches and players stay involved until the objective is completed. They care about each other and understand their actions and attitudes affect each other. They listen and respect each other. I am thankful our “team” works together for the good of a common goal. In my opinion, a team caring and helping one another is a team willing to go the extra mile (demonstrating championship character).

 

The Bible teaches us that it is better to give than to receive. The joy is in giving. This reminds of a story of a begging blind boy and a kind man that was passing by. Not only did the man passing by give the blind boy money, he stopped and helped the young man with his cause.

 

The blind boy sat on the steps of a building. He had a sign in front of him that read, “I am blind, please help.” There were only a few coins in the hat. A man was walking by and he took a few coins from his pocket and dropped them into the hat. He then took the sign, turned it around, and wrote some words on it. He put the sign back in front of the boy so that everyone who walked by would see the new words.

 

Soon the hat began to fill up with lots of money. A lot more people were giving money to the blind boy with the new wording on the sign. That after noon the man who had changed the wording on the sign came to see how things were going for the boy. The boy recognized his footsteps and asked, “Were you the one who changed my sign this morning? What did you write?” The man said, “Yes, I am the one who changed the wording on your sign. I only wrote the truth. I said what you said but in a different way.” He continued, “I wrote: Today is a beautiful day but I cannot see it.” Both signs told people that the boy was blind. However, the first sign simply said the boy was blind. The second sign told people that they were so lucky that they were not blind.

 

Should we be surprised that the second sign was more effective? We need to be thankful for what we have. Be creative. Be innovative. We should be willing to think differently and positively. When life gives you a 100 reasons to cry, show life that you have 1000 reasons to smile. Face your past without regret. Handle your present with confidence. Prepare for the future without fear. Keep the faith and drop the fear. It is a beautiful thing is to see a person smiling. I have included these helpful quotes in the past but will use them again:

 

If you have a bad day at work, be thankful. Appreciate that you have a job. Some people do not.

 

When you pay your bills, be thankful. You can pay them.

 

If you see a gray hair, be thankful. Think of the cancer patient in chemotherapy who only wishes for any hair.

 

When you find yourself waiting in line or the recipient of poor service, be thankful. Think about the people who have no food to eat at all.

 

When you realize how much work it is to take care of a house, be thankful you have a house. Think about those who only wish they had a house to take care of.

 

When you feel like complaining because you have to walk a long distance from your car, be thankful. Think of what it would be like not to be able to walk!

 

If other people’s anger, apathy, ignorance, bitterness, or insecurities irritate you, be thankful. Things could be worse. You could be one of them!

 

When you think everything in your world is terrible, and you want to give up, think of the people who only have a certain amount of time to live. They do not want to give up.

 

Thought for the week, “Gratitude means to recognize the good in your life, be thankful for whatever you have, some people may not even have one of those things you consider precious to you (love, family, friends etc). Each day give thanks for the gift of life. You are blessed.” Pablo