Medal Rounds: August 13, 17 (Long Jump); August 14, 16 (Triple Jump); August 15, 19 (Pole Vault); August 16, 20 (High Jump)
Get Out and Play!
Gather:
hula hoop
duct tape
Go:
1. Mark off a starting line.
2. Set the hula hoop in the grass a short distance from the starting line. One at a time, each jumper takes a running start and tries to jump from the starting line into the hula hoop.
3. In the next round, move the hula hoop farther back. About halfway between the hoop and the starting line, mark an X with duct tape. Jumpers must hop on the X and then land in the hula hoop.
4. Set the hula hoop at the opposite end of the yard, with a scattered path of X’s for jumpers to follow.
A Champion’s Heart
Commit your way to the LORD; trust in Him, and He will act. —Psalm 37:5
No athletes jump quite like high jumpers. Their backward, headfirst technique wouldn’t work for triple jumpers, trampoliners or hurdlers (ouch!). But if you want to jump over a 7-foot bar, you need to throw the least flexible body parts over first and then flex your back, hips and legs to accommodate for gravity. It’s a beautiful, terrifying maneuver that lets athletes soar to amazing heights.
As Christians, we’re asked to take a “leap of faith.” We don’t always fully understand what God is doing, but He wants us to follow Him anyway. It can be really scary—God might ask you to talk to people you don’t know or go places that don’t appear safe. But look at the high jumper: He jumps headfirst without fear because he knows he’ll land on soft pads. When you take the leap for God, He’ll handle the landing.
Is God asking you to soar to amazing heights? What’s stopping you?
