Sports, Entertainment, Athletes and Games Network: 06/14/21

Monday, June 14, 2021

Therefore, strengthen your feeble arms and weak knees. Make level paths for your feet, so that the lame may not be disabled, but rather healed. Hebrews 12:12-13

William Wordsworth, the English poet, wrote, “The child is the father of the man,” meaning the events of childhood shape your destiny and future as an adult. Another way of putting it is the rather old saying, “The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.”

Looking back over your life, would you tend to admit Wordsworth was right? It’s a fact: we are the product of our genes and chromosomes, our heredity, and our environment. But the question is: “Must your future be determined by your past?”

Many people believe that is the way it is. “I can’t help the way I am,” they say, “It’s what I grew up with.” They use the past to disclaim any personal responsibility for their lives, and at times they strive to justify or explain the difficulty of the present by searching the past for something to hang responsibility on.

I’m thinking of the woman who was told by a counselor that undoubtedly she was abused as a child which, felt the counselor, was the only explanation for the problems which confronted her in her marriage. Looking back she said, “I never remember being abused as a child, but it must have happened.” Actually, her memories of her father and her childhood were all positive. There were no incidents in her memory which bore marks of abuse. Yet a counselor almost convinced her that it had happened. “It’s no wonder I’m the way I am,” people think. “It’s all because of what happened to me as a child.”

One author was driving at this concept when she wrote, “…although you don’t remember all the events of your childhood, who you are today is a reflection of the culmination of events that began in childhood, especially in the parent‑child relationship.”

In life can you get to where you want to go, from where you are right now? Notice that when you are constantly looking backwards, looking for an excuse for problems, you can’t make much forward progress.

The real issue is not where did I come from, or even what happened to me or my parents before me, but where do I want to go? What do I want to become, and how do I reach my objectives? The past may be difficult, but the future is a new page. Dwelling on past failure or difficulty doesn’t help you put together a positive game‑plan for advancement.

Long ago Paul dealt with this very issue, and what he wrote provides guidelines for living as he said, “Forgetting those things which are behind…” such as your background, your parents’ failures in raising you, your own mistakes and past sins. Forget them and refuse to replay them over and over in your mind, justifying your present problems. Paul continued, “reaching forth unto those things which are before….” The real issue is not, “Where have I been?” but “Where do I go from here?”

One question: “How do you get where you want to go?” Paul knew you would be thinking of that as he said, “Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 3:13-14).

As the writer of Hebrews put it, “Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith” (Hebrews 12:2). It’s the upward look, not the backward look, that gives you hope for tomorrow.

Resource reading: Hebrews 12:1-12

https://www.guidelines.org/devotional/how-to-take-on-responsibility-in-your-life/

WATCH: PCSO 9 PM Lotto Draw, June 14, 2021

WATCH: PCSO 5 PM Lotto Draw, June 14, 2021

Football: United City inks partnership with Clark

United City Football Club on Monday announced that it has signed a partnership with the local government of New Clark City, making it their permanent home.

In line with this, the club will change its name to United Clark Football Club after the 2021 season of the Philippines Football League (PFL), where they look to defend their title.

"This is a historic day for all of us within the organization as we are finally able to announce New Clark City as our permanent home," said Eric M. Gottschalk, president and co-founder of the club, in a statement.

"This has been in the works for several months, and we would like to thank Vivencio B. Dizon, president and CEO of BCDA (Base Conversion and Development Authority), and his team for their support in bringing professional football to the province of Pampanga and New Clark City," he added.

Gottschalk noted that UCFC will be the only professional sports franchise in the province, as "the PBA has no foothold in Clark."

"We are very excited to move our entire operation to New Clark City slowly and to start building our local fan base," said Gottschalk.

Aside from playing in New Clark City, the club will also build its football academy there by the end of 2021.

"We continue to finalize the location for our future football stadium," Gottschalk said. "We have already identified a prime location, and we are just waiting to complete the paperwork before the plot will also be announced."

For the meantime, the newly-built athletics stadium in Pampanga, which seats 20,000 people, will be the new home venue for UCFC. An inaugural friendly match is planned for August.

https://news.abs-cbn.com/sports/06/14/21/football-united-city-inks-partnership-with-clark