God Bless the Vols Devotionals for the Die Hard Tennessee Fan

DAY 1 In the Beginning Read Genesis 1, 2:1-3 "God saw everything that he had made, and indeed, it was very good" (v. 1:31).Sack races, wheelbarrow races, and high kicks rather than football andbasketball. Suspenders and shaving mugs rather than championship rings. In thebeginning that was athletics at the University of Tennessee. The driving force behind the fi rst athletic contests at UT was a pair ofprofessors. According to Russ Bebb inThe Big Orange, in the late 1880sCharles Plumb and Charles Summers organized the first intramural field days atTennessee. In January 1889 the events included "a potato race, sack race,fifty-yard dash, high kick contest, and standing long jump" plus a wheelbarrowrace. The last event was the highlight of the day because there were severalwrecks, some precipitated by Professor Summers himself, who insisted on racing. In the spring of that same year, Bebb said, Professor Plumb was at it again,organizing a fi eld day that included prizes for the winners. The athlete withthe greatest number of points for the day won a silver shaving mug and asilver-handled brush. Other prizes included a gold-headed cane, a pair of suspenders (satin, noless), a set of Charles Dickens's novels, and a straw hat. In the beginning, this was the athletic program at the University of Tennessee. Beginnings are important, but what we make of them -- what follows -- is even moreimportant. Every morning, you get an important gift from God: a new beginning.The day lies before you expectant and pristine. You can use it to pay a debt,start a new relationship, replace a burned-out light bulb, tell your family youlove them, chase a dream, solve a nagging problem, right old wrongs...ornot. God simply provides the gift. How you use it is up to you. People often talkwistfully about starting over or making a new beginning. God gives you thechance with the dawning of every new day. The most important key to achieving great success is to decide upon your goaland launch, get started, take action, move. -- Basketball coach John Wooden Every day is not just a dawn; it is a precious chance to start over or beginanew.God Bless the Vols (c); 2007 Ed McMinnMcMinn, Edward is the author of 'God Bless the Vols Devotionals for the Die Hard Tennessee Fan', published 2007 under ISBN 9781416541899 and ISBN 1416541896.