Romans 10:10 For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.As Joel states in Chapter 15, it is not enough just avoiding negative talk....you must get on the offense in order to score points and win!
Torrance "Tank" Daniels is my hero of the week. He is living the All American dream of playing in the Super Bowl this Sunday. How Blessed! Of course, as Paul Harvey would say, now is the rest of the story!
He was an undrafted player in the spring of 2006, meaning nobody thought enough of him to draft him because he played for a small college in Northern Arkansas. Didn't matter to Tank; he was going to play professional football anyway! He tried out for several teams and went to the NFL combine where he performed quite well and was able to attract the attention of the Philadelphia Eagles who invited him to training camp. Tank was now playing professional football, but he still had a long ways to go to make the team. He performed admirably in training camp and survived until the final cuts where he was cut by the team for the active roster. However, living in God's favor, Tank was picked up by the Eagles on their practice squad, meaning he could practice with the team but he was not officially a member of the team's roster. That meant getting the heck beat out of him during the week by the veterans as they prepared for the week's game. He did that for about 10 weeks playing his tail off in hopes of someday making the team. His time came when the QB for the team got hurt opening up a roster position for Tank! He had made it to the big time. He was now playing in the NFL and not just in the exhibition season. He had his chance and on his very first play against the Indianapolis Colts he made a tackle that was noticeable enough to be mentioned by John Madden, TV commentator. He continued to play well for the remainder of the season which consisted of five more games.
You would have thought the rest of the story is history, but Tank was cut by the Eagles the following season at the final cuts of the training camp, and this time he wasn't picked up on the practice squad. His short lived NFL career appeared to be over. However, God wasn't done working his miracles for Tank. Steve Spagnuolo, linebacker coach for the Eagles, was named defensive coordinator for the New York Giants in 2007. Coach Spags knew about Tank's heart and abilities, and Tank hooked on with the NY Giants on their practice squad in the fall of 2007 after being cut by the Eagles. He was again assigned to the practice squad until about 10 weeks into the season when he was called up on the active roster. Tank was again playing special teams in the NFL. Most players would have given up multiple times by now, but Tank is a man of God and faith. The Giants are having one of those miracle years in their own right, but in the first playoff game against Tampa Bay, where the Giants were the wildcard team, it looked like the Giants were not going to advance and that would have been pretty much expected. However, Tank forced a fumble on a punt return, and the Giants recovered and scored a TD. It turned the team around and they won the game. Definitely, a turning point in their season. They turned around and won games at heavily favored Dallas and Green Baby to advance to the Super Bowl. That player from that small college in Arkansas will tomorrow be playing in the biggest football game known to man.
Tank verbalized all the while that he was going to play NFL football! He went on the offense and is living his dream. We all need to use words to go on the offense and word toward our Super Bowl. God wants us to succeed, but we have to use the tools he gives us and words are a big part of our tool box.
Thanks for the memories, Tank, and good luck tomorrow. I have a good feeling!!!
8 comments:
Thanks for that post about Tank, Frank. His life has been such an inspiration to us. He met and married my niece Courtney in college and ever since, we've followed his football career. We watched him play for his small college, Harding University, never dreaming that someday we would would him in the Super Bowl!! Tank is strong in the Lord and the power of His might, just like Joel's mom is portrayed in chapter 15. We keep in touch with him on facebook, and Tank is always quoting scriptures and giving glory to God for his success. Tank is a big football star to Frank and me, but to the Lord, he remains a humble servant. That's why I say....Go, Giants! Go, Tank, tomorrow at the Super Bowl!
Only four hours to the Super Bowl! I think the article below shows how God blesses those who seek His favor. Tank gives honor and glory to His Lord as he continues giving interviews to the media.
http://www.arkansasleader.com/2008/01/sports-storytanks-latest-dream-come.html
http://www.nwanews.com/adg/Sports/215626/
http://www.todaysthv.com/video/news/player.aspx?aid=59944&sid=59994&bw=
Talk about your blessings! How would taking home a Super Bowl ring feel? That's what Tank will do after last night's win over the Patriots. We are so excited! What a high note with which to start chapter 16, "Speaking a Blessing"!
A couple of weeks ago Holly came over, and we had a little impromptu bible study and prayer. She spoke the blessings at the end of this chapter over both of us as we prayed over all of you, the blog, and some of our concerns. It was such a blessing that I want to share God's blessings with you:
"I declare that you are blessed with God's supernatural wisdom, and you have clear direction for your life.
I declare that you are blessed with creativity, with courage, with ability, and with abundance.
I declare that you are blessed with a strong will and with self-control and self-discipline.
I declare that you are blessed with a great family, with good friends, with good health, and with faith, favor, and fulfillment.
I declare that you are blessed with success, with supernatural strength, with promotion, and with divine protection.
I declare that you are blessed with an obedient heart and with a positive outlook on life.
I declare that any curse that has ever been spoken over you, any negative evil word that has ever come against you, is broken now.
I declare that you are blessed in the city. You are blessed in the country. You are blessed when you go in. You are blessed when you come out.
I declare that everything you put your hands to do is going to prosper and succeed.
I declare that you are blessed!"
We can claim God's blessings over our life and live victoriously. Thank you, Lord. I am so happy and grateful now that I know that I'm living in Your favor and that You have nothing but good planned for my life and the lives of my family and friends.
This came at a great time. I accidently said something to my son I thought was just teasing him about his volume of food consumption but he thought I was criticizing him for being overweight. To be honest I did notice that he might be putting on some weight so it was at the top of mind. But somethings just don't need to be said, at least not as a joke. It's funny that this post was in my inbox this morning. It just reminded me that I need to spend more time and effort speaking words of encouragment and blessing into his life instead of all the bother I take letting him know what I think he should improve on. As a parent it is a difficult balance, you can't overlook their weaknesses and ignore the fact that they have challenging areas to overcome but harping on the negative is not the answer and can do more damage. This post reminded me of something I could have been doing all along-- speaking praise for the successes and helping them grow because if success grows it overcomes weakness and you don't have to say anything. It actually works!! (works with husbands too!) But we are tricked and tempted into thinking we have to point out weaknesses to change people and generally that logic is flawed and just severs and weakens relationships.
Thanks for encouraing blessings-- they are very uplifting.
I liked what you pointed out about "praise for the successes and helping them grow because if success grows it overcomes weakness and you don't have to say anything." I use that at school. I find the student who is on task and praise him/her instead of harping at the student who is wasting time. I agree that it is a delicate balance, though, because eventually I usually have to tell the student who is wasting time to get busy.....not always, though, especially with the younger kids. Sometimes they are so hungry for praise that if they see someone else receiving it, they start emulating that person. Thanks for the insight, Kim. We all make mistakes, but when we recognize them, we grow. I appreciate your honesty on the blog. I think it helps others, especially me. I made plenty of mistakes with my daughters, and now I'm trying to rectify my mistakes by praising my granddaughters and helping them build healthy self-esteem.
I wrote a blessing for Kaya after she was born because I was so touched that God brought her into this world.
"Kaya, you are a miracle baby.
You resided as a princess in your mommy's belly.
I worried and worried about how you would come out,
But you knew all along the way you would come into this world
And take your place as my youngest grandchild.
You had a plan, and you didn't mean maybe.
You chose your own birthday
because you knew the way.
Bless your heart;
you did your part.
Kaya, your smile brightens my day,
and I love you more than I can say."
(Written for Kaya when she was only a few months old. She was born after her mother had a serious motorcycle accident and was told she couldn't have any more children. Kaya came into the world anyway. She is a miracle!!! She was born about a month after her due date. We all waited and waited and worried about her. Finally, Tori went into labor and had a C-section on April 14, 2006. Now we have our beautiful and wonderful Kaya Nixi.)
Joel says, "We need to speak loving words of approval and acceptance, words that encourage, inspire, and motivate." Sometimes it's easier for me to write words. I started with this blessing to Kaya and then decided to write blessings for all my granddaughters. After that, I wrote blessings for my daughters. Then I decided to write blessings for Frank and his kids. It was actually fun. I scrapbooked some of the blessings with pictures.
Hey - thanks for the blog link. Enjoyed this post :)
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