strength

because I am an athlete,  i know a lot of strength.  I understand what it takes to gain muscle, working out, and being mentally strong.  i get it, i understand it.  but i admit, that there are times when i feel helpless.  when i feel like i have literally nothing left to give or to lay down.  when i've reached the bottom of my, what seems like a never ending bucket.  at times it is hard to dig deeper, and to find the next handful of strength to create the next play or get back to help my defenders, or to push myself in the last 100m of the 400m race, or to get up after someone did a move on me in wrestling.  it is those times when i feel weak, helpless, and have no idea how to carry on....but during those times in sports or even in the everyday battles of life that is when i call onto the ultimate strength giver.  i know a lot about strength that everyone wants in the sports world, but i also know that my God is stronger than any obstacle.  he is stronger than any athlete i compete against;  stronger than my coaches;  stronger than my mind;  stronger then my lungs;  stronger then my very own muscles.  he is stronger.  and knowing that as a fact is what helps me during those moments when i am literally dead.  all i ask for is his strength to help me carry on, and in that moment it is like i can dig a little deeper and find a little more strength to continue.
my favorite line from soul surfer fits this topic just perfectly. i absolutely love it, because Bethany didn't let anything stop her, and get in her way of achieving her dream. i love that in the tough times she looked to God for strength. she trusted that God would renew all of her strength and help her live the promising future God had in store for her. i love that she declared that over her life ~ i can do all things through him who gives me strength!
i also admit that this happens often. ~ this past weekend i was away at a soccer tournament, and i had to ask my God for strength constantly. i had to ask him to help me carry on and forget about my hip flexor, my huge blister on my foot, exactly where i kick; to ignore how tired i was.  i also had to ask for strength to ignore the horrible calls the ref was calling, and the rugby-like pushes from behind i was getting in the semi-finals from a team who needs to to learn to play real soccer. it takes strength to get over things like that, and it's in those times exactly when i learned that my strength just isn't good enough. no matter how good of shape or strong i am, i can't depend on my own strength - and i am not the one to just settle. i have played soccer for many years, but never have i played soccer like i have been this year - all thanks to a God so strong, who can help me in the midst of my situations when i need him the most!

~amy

perspective

I was looking at the pictures of my friends trip to NYC, and one picture stopped me, and I wrote it down.  It was a saying on a sign, that looked like was on the highway or something. it said:

Every challenge is an opportunity. 

It is hard to see the opportunities that lie right in front of us when we are challenging with something.  Bethany Hamilton inspires me in this case.  she lost an arm, but she still wanted to go surfing, and took 'being famous' as a chance to share her faith.  she used this situation to grow stronger with God.  in the movie, Soul Surfer, one of my favorite parts was the conversation she had with her youth pastor.  Bethany was trying to find the good perspective in the situation she was in, but she explained that she doesn't get how this is a part of God's plan for her life; and the youth pastor (Carrie Underwood) said this.  It's all about your perspective on life, and the situation.  you can take the situation as only a situation and deal with it like a situation, or look at it with a good perspective and take it as a challenge for your life.  no one said it will ever be easy, but also what Carrie Underwood, as the youth leader, said is that if you are dealing with anything that's just to hard to handle or doesn't seem to make much sense, get a new perspective. then she left that scene with a verse. Jeremiah 29:11, For I know the plans I have for you declares the Lord.  Plans to prosper you, and not to harm you; plans to give you hope and a future.

~amy

the accomplishment of a medal

"Gold medals aren't really made of gold. They're made of sweat, determination, and a hard-to-find alloy called guts."

i love this, because nothing is about the gold medal or any medal in that case.  they are just there to show you what you have already accomplished, and to make you try harder - knowing you are working towards something.  Apolo Ohno keeps his gold medals from the Olympics in his sock drawer, to make it look like he hasn't won anything, which makes him work harder.  being an athlete, and having goals is all about the process to achieving your goal.  I once over heard a conversation someone had with Darby Huckle.  he told her that she was going to the Olympics, and she boldly replied that it's not about the Olympics, it's about how I get to the Olympics.  the Olympics is just the biggest tournament she has been to; it's just the accomplishment.  but everything she has done to get to that point makes everything so rewarding.  it makes the accomplishing feeling so much greater.  to prepare for the Olympics she works out a lot, she practices, she trains, she mentally prepares herself.  if Darby qualifies for the Olympics, and if she wins gold, even silver or bronze; she can say that, that medal is made of sweat, determination, and gut, because that girl has put so much into her goal, and so much into winning that medal.
as for the soccer trophies sitting on my shelf, and the huge box of track ribbons sitting under my bed, they are only there to show me what i have accomplished in the past.  i like to look at them, and remember the game that i played, or the race that i ran.  the person i was on the field.  i like to use them to inspire me to give it my all every game and race.  Instead i want to look to this summer and make goals of 'what am i going to accomplish as Amy, as a soccer player' rather than focusing on who i was and what i have done.  i want to focus on setting goals and achieving them, rather than winning. 

~amy

the first soccer game of the year

first soccer game of the year = great start to the year.  it was an awesome turn out.  i played great.  sore calves, the lovely feeling of wanting to throw up and a sore thigh and sprained finger afterwards made that game as thrilling as it was.  sure it was tough at some points when pain took over but it was all about what happened in those 90 minutes that I wanted to focus on.  my coach always asks us who we are going to be when we step onto the field.  he explains that we can't be the same person as we are when were off the field.  some say an animal proving that they are hungry and want it, others don't reply, and I say Amy Rodriguez - the girl from this blog post who i am trying to be like this soccer season.  I changed my number to #8 this season, to remind me to play like her.  i could have cried ( i didn't!! ) from the text my coach texted me after the game. my coach told me that I wore that jersey and number proud and that Amy would have been proud of me.  reading that text while I was icing my thigh and taping my fingers left me proud that i did my part as a soccer player, and did it well, just like Amy.  i was determined, and left everything on the field.

Our soccer shirts really are true when it says: sweat + sacrifice = success.

~ amy

the anthem of my life

1 week ago I was at Overflow ~ the best youth convention that I have ever been to, and the most life-changing.  Saturday morning was the best service I have ever attended.  The sermon this man spoke was right. up. my. alley.  I felt like it was specifically for me.  it was as if we were having a one-on-one conversation.  he was just hitting the spot.  the sermon was like a repeat of this blog post.  It was called 'take a risk'.  here are the notes i took ( i literally never stopped typing.  thank-you ipod touch notepad!)  while listening to this amazing sermon:
~95 year old people were asked if they could re-due one thing in their life, what would it be?  and  they all came back and said that they would have taken more risks. 
~if you want to see success in your life, then you are going to have to take risks
~ be happy that you at least gave it go and tried!
~the path that leads to destruction seems like the easy way; the more comfortable path that everyone is taking
~In Genesis 12 God was calling Moses to leave everything and follow him
~ obedience is better than sacrifice and regret
~ When God leads us, sometimes it doesn't make any sense...but it is impossible to serve God without some faith
~ God has an epic journey for you
~ God has such good promises for your life, that people would start to laugh, but God always gets the last laugh
~ I want to have a dream that is not just hard, but it near to impossible so that when I accomplish it, it must have been God. 
~ If it doesn't scare you then it's not big enough
~You need to have a dream that is so hard you have  to run to God.
~I want to run to the scary things.  I want to be courageous.  I will keep fighting through it and face it. 
~ I don't want to waste my life doing thing's that are easy.  I want to take a risk.  dare to be different. 
~ learn to fail forward.  If you’re not failing, then you’re not succeeding. 
~ Use your failures be the fuel for your future.  Use the failures as fuel to drive forward and succeed.
~ The righteous man falls 7 times, but he gets back up.
~You need to live as if God bought you. He is satisfied. No refunds or exchanges. Allow God to use you.

That short weekend, I learned a lot.  My life was changed and I was inspired to take these notes into action in my own life.  At the beginning of this sermon I quickly realized that there was a purpose why I was there that weekend,  and there was a reason why everything worked out with my mom driving me down Friday night, after my soccer game, as she head off to TO for her meetings scheduled that Saturday.  That sermon was made for me to hear. 
This sermon reinforced my blog posts on me in a whole new perspective.  Living my life regretful - not being those 95 year old people who looked back on their life and wished they took more risks; using my failures as learning experiences to become successful,  running to things  that scare me - allowing me to lean on God for help, being courageous, and dreaming dreams that are hard enabling me to turn to God is all a part of my plan.

"Hi, I'm Amy Bennett.  I am known as a risk-taker, big dreamer, courageous, and sometimes a failure, but succeeding.  Welcome to my life - regretful, successful, and accomplishment with my coach (make that a capital C), bigger than any situation, guiding me."

just as 'Oh Canada' is the anthem for our country,  this sermon/ life lesson is the anthem for my life that i gladly get to live every day.

the impact of athletes

i think this video is super cute.  it clearly explains that athletes have a huge impact on young kids and teens.  one phone call inspired Kristina to work and train extra hard in her skiing, to be just like Lindsey Vonn who was only a phone call away.  I'm not the only one who is madly in love with athletes and print pictures of them - Kristina is just like me, and if I got a call from Lindsey Vonn, I am sure I would act the same way.  you know...can barley breathe, don't know what to say, and screaming at the top of your lungs as soon as the phone call ends...ya....
if only every athlete could call their biggest fan to hear their reaction, i think they would be amazed, and inspired themselves to know that they are being watched by a young one who wants to be just like them one day.  and if only us fans can hear the voice of our favourite athletes that we know everything about.  some call it creepy....i call it love - and so would Kristina :)

~ amy

a saying from: Mahammad Ali

"Champions aren't made in the gyms.  Champions are made from something they have deep inside them - a desire, a dream, a vision."

-- Mahammad Ali

SO true.  I must add, that, that doesn't mean that you don't work out or go to the gym, because that is all apart of the winning process.  But a true champion is made from a dream, a vision and/or a desire.  that's the first step, and that is what pushes you.  that's what gives you motivation, determination, mental strength, and something i like to call gut.  that's where the journey of becoming a champion begins...

~ amy