COACH Toby Schwarz - Daily Coaches Prayer

COACH Toby Schwarz

fIRST tHINGS fIRST!

9/16/2024

“Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, he got up, went out, and made his way to a deserted place; and there he was praying.” Mark 1:35

Tip #1: If you want to be successful at anything in life, 8am is NOT early. 7am not really early either. 5am is early, but it is better to be early than late.

Tip#2: If you require someone else or something else (external motivation) to make you do things that you know you should do or even worse, WHAT YOU WANT TO DO, then you are not doing what you need to do to be successful. We all need motivation but we all MUST HAVE internal motivation.

Tip #3: Before anything, PRAY!

Lord, help me to Pray first and Do things first, if I want to be FIRST!

It is already Done and Done Better!

9/13/2024

“For no one can lay any foundation other than what has been laid down. That foundation is Jesus Christ.” – 1 Corinthians 3:11

Humans tend to make life much more difficult than it already is. Life is extremely hard and challenging and we make it more so by attempting to "be perfect" and "do more" and "solve everything" to insure our salvation. Jesus has already done that for us. Instead, we should be taking all of that energy to Love God and to help and Love Others instead of wasting time doing something that has already been done and done at a much better level than we would ever do it.

Lord, thank You for saving me and now help me to direct all of my attention toward loving You and loving others.

RISAW

9/12/2024

"Run In Such A Way to win!" 1 Corinthians 9:24b

We spend a ton of time thinking about winning. We love winning. We all want to win. Winning matters. God even cares about winning. But God cares about winning because he knows that the desire to win will motivate us to DO the right things in order to win. God care much more about "Running In Such A Way" (RISAW) than the actual result. God cares about our process much more than the product.

Lord, help me to be process oriented and not product obsessed and give me the strength to do what I need to do to receive the THE PRIZE.

Pass It On ...

9/11/2024

“He comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any kind of affliction, through the comfort we ourselves receive from God.” 2 Corinthians 1:4

I recently witnessed a mom hand a treat to her daughter to hand to her son. The daughter ate the treat. The result, the daughter received a punishment and the son received nothing. If only the daughter had passed on the treat, she would have blessed her little brother and probably received a blessing herself.

Lord, thank you for the many blessings that You provide me in many ways and help me to pass those blessings on to others so that I may have the opportunity for more blessings.

I'm So Stupid!

9/10/2024

“I will praise you because I have been remarkably and wondrously made.” Psalm 139:14a

"I suck". "What an idiot". We have all said these things under our breath to OURSELVES or even outload about OURSELVES. I have a habit of doing it when I do something I know I shouldn't have (like carrying too much of something and dropping it all and breaking half of it). My two daughters love to remind me "No you aren't Daddy. You are awesome". The interesting thing is that I know I don't suck and I know I am not stupid. I am just frustrated at the time. Unfortunately, many humans aren't as confident as me and believe what they say. And the more they say it, the more they believe it. They may not have daughters like mine, but we all have a God who reminds us that we are not only awesome but remarkable and made wonderfully.

Lord, help me to remember that although I am not perfect, I am special and valuable and wonderful.

We Have Emotions!

9/9/2024

“My heart shudders within me… Fear and trembling grip me; horror has overwhelmed me.”
Psalm 55:4-5

God has given us emotions for a reason. They make us "feel" and not simply "be". However, emotions have their "time and place" in our lives. God has also given us answers to the emotions that may rule our lives, when they shouldn't.

"For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline" 2 Timothy 1:7

Amen!

Not Complicated!

9/6/2024

“I sought the Lord, and he answered me and rescued me from all my fears. Those who look to him are radiant with joy; their faces will never be ashamed.” Psalm 34:4-5

Life is hard. This is a scientific fact. However, we make it harder and more complicated than it needs to be. We get too caught up in trying to figure life out on our own terms when God is pretty clear about what life is truly about and how we can maneuver through it without making it more challenging than it already is.

Lord, help me to seek You as You have promised to help me and give me peace and joy and comfort.

Train for the Race of Life!

9/5/2024

“I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.” 2 Timothy 4:7

"Life is a Marathon, not a sprint!" (Philip McGraw) is a famous quote meant to convey the idea that "things take time" and we must "endure" or have "endurance and persevere" as we maneuver through life. It is true. However, what also is true is that life is a series of practices or training sessions, that include doing multiple reps and sets that require brief moments of focus and effort that are followed by a short rest or recovery to allow adaptation and growth and then soon comes another bout of stress that is meant to make us better. Life is a marathon but is is also a very long practice that not only requires a lot of effort resilience but it will soon provide rest once that "rep" or "set" is completed.

Lord, give me the strength to endure the long practice ahead of me and help me to realize that You are always there to be my Coach and my Training Partner.

EAT!!!!

9/4/2024

“Tie them to your fingers; write them on the tablet of your heart.” Proverbs 7:3

When I was an athlete and in college and even the first part of my career, I had a planner to keep all of my appointments. In that planner I actually wrote down "eat" at three different points in my schedule. I was extremely busy so if I didn't plan ahead and if I didn't remind myself, I would go all day without eating. Life has changed. Now I have to remind myself not to eat. The fact is EVERYONE needs reminders. Our memories have limited capacity. Setting reminders is crucial for our growth, including spiritually.

Lord, help me to remember to set reminders to "eat" or feed myself: read the Bible, to pray, to serve, to be kind to others, to ask for wisdom from wise people and to seek fellowship.

Get Started and Start Well!

9/3/2024

“…we will reap at the proper time if we don’t give up.” – Galatians 6:9b

"Finishing Well!" is always great advice. However, in order to finish well, we need to "Start". And to give us the best opportunity to "Finish Great" and minimize digging ourselves out of a hole, we need to "Start Well". There is no better time to start well than at the beginning.

Lord, help me to not only start but to start well and give me the strength to be persistent when it gets more difficult than I want it to be.