This past weekend Tony "smoke" Stewart won the NASCAR race and the points championship. What an awesome year this has been for my favorite sport that kicked off back in February with Trevor Bayne's win of the Daytona 500 (Trevor is an outspoken Christian), yet Stewart is not my favorite driver. I was pulling for Carl Edwards to win the points championship. Great job, Tony and your team!
It is important to learn how to celebrate with others. Maybe you are simply not a good sport. Maybe like me you are a little competitive and hate to lose. If you've played sports with me in the past, you may know what I am talking about, but I have learned that it is important to celebrate the victories that other people and organizations experience.
We need to celebrate with the guy or girl we work with who gets the promotion. We need to celebrate with the person in our class who got the great grade. We need to celebrate with the team who wins the championship or the bowl game. Celebrating is a part are life. Celebrating is also a way of encouraging others to greater heights and to even greater victories. We need to celebrate with other churches when great things happen.
But celebrating isn't easy. It is hard to celebrate when we are depressed or have a low self-image. It is tough to celebrate when you can't look past the competition or when you think that we are in competition with other churches. We are not. Games are important, but people are more important.
Chose to celebrate with others. Chose to let others know you are proud of them and grateful for them. Tell people about their big break or their accomplishment. Brag on someone beside yourself. Celebrating with others says a lot about who we are and what we believe.
Let someone else praise you, not your own mouth— a stranger, not your own lips.
for this son of mine was dead and has now returned to life. He was lost, but now he is found.' So the party began.
So encourage each other and build each other up, just as you are already doing.
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