Sport Spiritual

Had anyone told Ben Malcolmson that he'd someday be a wide receiver on the national champion USC football team - after not playing football since an unfortunate fifth-grade Pop Warner experience - he would have called them crazy. As a reporter for The Daily Trojan, in the spirit of George Plimpton, he participated in walk-on tryouts for the team and was dumbfounded to find himself listed on the roster. His position on the team never amounted to much in a game-time contribution, but Ben felt strongly that his faith was inextricably linked to his purpose.

Trees have much to offer as soul friends, and their millennia of growth and loss provide deep wisdom, if we know how to pay attention. The Spiritual Wisdom of Trees encourages us to revel in the beauty and wonder of trees as they increase our capacity to bear witness to loss and grief. Integrating science and spirituality, coauthors Beth Norcross and Leah Rampy explore the knowledge held within the living world of trees and planted within each of us.

Many of us would say it takes guts and a little bit of crazy to step toe-to-toe with a powerful, 1700-pound bull. For hall-of-fame bullfighter, Jeremy Sparks, it took faith. Sparks' remarkable and illustrious journey began at a young age when he received a God-given calling to become a professional bullfighter.

Abiding deep within every golfer's spirit is a unique swing. Whether a beginner or advanced player, all golfers can dramatically improve their shot-making skills by taking an exciting and revealing journey inside The Spiritual Golfer. This intriguing pause resister unravels the mystery and confusion surrounding playing great golf!

It's never too late to do the impossible. Meet Ida Keeling, a 104-year-old mother, activist, and world record-holding runner. Her fierce independence and deep faith carried her through the Depression and the civil rights movement--but her greatest trials were yet to come.

Ethan Bryan played and wrote about baseball for years. Then his daughters challenged him to set out on a yearlong experiment: to play catch with someone every day. This experience led him across 10 states and 12,000 miles on a quest both quixotic and inspiring. Taking you from Sioux Falls, South Dakota, to the home of the Daytona Tortugas in Florida, Bryan played ball and swapped stories with public school teachers, veterans, journalists, nurses, musicians, entertainers, entrepreneurs, athletes from every level, and members of the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League.

Fishermen don’t rely on luck in order to catch fish—they put their skills, knowledge, and experience into play every time they cast their line. Likewise, righteous and godly living doesn’t come naturally but requires study, commitment, and a lot of practice. In Catch of the Day, Jimmy Houston combines his love of fishing and his love of God in this unique fisherman’s 365-day devotional.

After a successful career on Wall Street, the Catskill Mountains beckoned. In Chasing the Grid, author Kenneth Posner, a seasoned corporate worker and intrepid but non-elite runner, sets out after an ultra-distance mountain-running record which nearly destroys him. Along the way, he stumbles upon an obscure peak-bagging tradition known as the "Grid,” which becomes his new obsession.

George Harrison met Muhammad Ali in 1964, when both men were on the cusp of worldwide fame. We Shook Up the World is the story of these two larger-than-life figures at a momentous time. A unique blend of biography and cultural history, this book goes to the very heart of the zeitgeist that each man inhabited and reinvented in profound and enduring ways.

For 25 years, millions of Americans watched Jack Perkins on NBC News as a correspondent, commentator, and anchorman. People were familiar with his face, his bearing, and his rich, reassuring bass. Yet at the age of 52 and at the height of his career, Jack Perkins disappeared from the public eye and moved with his wife, Mary Jo, to a bare-necessities cabin on an uninhabited island off the coast of Maine. This isolated home they came to call Moosewood was the setting for Jack and Mary Jo’s spiritual awakening.

Andy Schoening is a Christian race-car driver from Southern California. He and his brother, Jim, have built and raced stock cars for over 20 years. Please join them on a journey that includes racing train cars (three cars tied together), boat trailer racing, roll-over contests, skid-plate racing, enduros, and of course…The Outlaw Figure-Eight. In this book, Andy will also give you a behind-the-scenes look at Saturday night racing. On top of all that car stuff, Andy will also share with you his views on life.

In our Christian faith, we're either drawing closer to God and to his purposes for our lives or drawing further away. Like an athlete in training, there can be no middle ground.

Case Keenum has traveled one of the most unique paths in the NFL. Recruited by just one college, undrafted, and released three times, Case has overcome every obstacle to become a successful starting quarterback. Keenum shares stories from every stage of his life, starting out as a ball boy for his father’s college team in West Texas, going on to win a state title in high school, and rewriting the NCAA record book at the University of Houston. A devastating knee injury almost derailed his football career, but helped him get closer to the woman who would soon become his wife.

Released tells the remarkable story of the birth, growth, and development of a unique Christian outreach to the world of pro baseball - Unlimited Potential Inc. Beginning with a phone call from Hank Aaron, the fledgling work has grown to a world-wide ministry that has impacted thousands with the Gospel message through baseball clinics and instruction.

The Mentoring Project’s flagship mentoring resource is its field guides. These long-form pieces provide practical guidance on various aspects of life as a Christian, like finances, purity, technology, work, and more.

Have you ever felt like you still had more to offer your team? Many athletes struggle, thinking that God only wants to be part of their lives when they are at church. In this book, I will show you how God wants to be part of every area of your life, including sports. This book will challenge your thinking and teach you how to combine your spiritual life with your physical life to achieve success in your everyday sports life. You can start each of the next 30 days filled with inspiration and enlightenment, to get you to the next level of success.

At the age of eight, Chad Gibbs attended his first Southeastern Conference football game. Since then he has been in a constant battle to not let his love of all things pigskin consume him. As a Christian, Gibbs knows he cannot serve two masters, but at times his faith is overwhelmed by his fanaticism. He is not alone. In 2008 over six million people attended an SEC football game.

Drawing from his leadership and ministry experience as president of Alpha USA and Vineyard Churches USA and from his own life experiences as an ordinary Christian, Hunter calls us to reframe our salvation and discipleship. He believes that God intends us to become cooperative friends of Jesus, living in creative goodness for the sake of others through the power of the Holy Spirit.

For as long as she can remember, Olympic gold medalist Sanya Richards-Ross's life has been measured in seconds. The fewer, the better. But when the race is over, how do you know what to run towards next? In Chasing Grace, join Sanya as she helps you see your own experiences through God's eyes.

Everyone deserves a second chance on the course--and in life. Join golf pro Wally Armstrong and author Ken Blanchard as they condense decades of practical know-how into a simple book with an incredible, inspiring message: sometimes we all need a mulligan.