{"id":15553,"date":"2022-02-04T04:58:28","date_gmt":"2022-02-04T10:58:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mypeacezone.com\/?p=15553"},"modified":"2022-02-04T04:58:35","modified_gmt":"2022-02-04T10:58:35","slug":"and-let-the-games-begin","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mypeacezone.com\/?p=15553","title":{"rendered":"And Let the Games Begin"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics competitions are already underway in curling, women’s ice hockey and freestyle skiing. And, if we want to see the Opening Ceremonies (the official start of the Games) we can get our ring-side seat in our homes this morning at 6 am (in China, it is 8 pm).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This year\u2019s Winter Olympics is unlike the norm where broadcasters and government officials from the U.S. are seated with a birds-eye view of it. To blame is Covid and more importantly is that President Biden\u2019s administration imposed a diplomatic boycott citing the Chinese government\u2019s ongoing genocide, other abuses and crimes against humanity. There are many underlying reasons for us to boycott the games even when it comes to watching from the comfort of our homes.

But, I can\u2019t help myself. I want to watch the athletes who have given their lives to their sport from early ages, who set out to be their best in their talents and abilities. I\u2019m always excited for the Olympics; I find the entire experience exciting\u2026.and comfortable from my cozy chair. I am offered a glimpse into remote cultures I wouldn\u2019t otherwise know about, and they offer the chance to watch talented people score points in their skills. I also enjoy hearing the touching stories of the agonies and joys of athletes just making it to the games.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 1986, we moved to Canada on a ministry mission. It was a 100% faith-venture for all of us, including my mom. We had no idea what the future would hold, but we knew Who held our future. \u201cFor I know the plans I have for you,\u201d says the LORD. \u201cThey are plans for good and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.\u201d Jeremiah 29:11<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019ll admit the Winter Olympics are near and dear to my heart \u2013 not because of a particular athlete. I\u2019ll cheer for my U.S. and Canadian teams to do well. We lived in Canada when our daughter, Staci, at age 18 was selected out of 8,500 Canadian vocalists to represent Canada as she sang a solo with David Foster\u2019s Coca Cola World Chorus at the 1988 Calgary Winter Olympics. Yikes \u2013 talk about holding onto the past! That\u2019s 36 years ago, and I\u2019m still living there a bit as I watch this year\u2019s Olympics. I think it\u2019s okay to hold onto the past when we realize how God uses every step of our lives as an ingredient for our hope and future.

That Olympics experience meant we were there. My husband and I were two of many who loved their country with pride and joy for their athletes and entertainers. Being in the 13 degrees weather didn\u2019t faze us because we were so taken with the camaraderie of the athletes as well as the fans that were there to root for their athletes. Yes, there were language and culture barriers, but we were one in spirit!

Fast forward to 2022 and I\u2019m a homie \u2013 eating my popcorn and cheering our athletes on from my ring-side television seat. Is it okay to have a competitive spirit? I believe it\u2019s absolutely OK to not just run a race or ski a slope, but it\u2019s also OK to win it! God called us not to be mice, but to be warriors in the battle. In fact, He put it in our hearts to want to win \u2013 particularly when it comes to knowing our competition \u2013 the enemy of our souls!

\u201cLet us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before Him, He endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider Him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.” – Hebrews 12:2-3

God gave us gifts, abilities, perseverance, strong wills, and a desire for excellence and to represent our Divine Coach well. Now let’s fix our eyes on Jesus, and WIN!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

GO Team USA and Team Canada!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics competitions are already underway in curling, women’s ice hockey and freestyle skiing. And, if we want to see the Opening Ceremonies (the official start of the Games) we can get our ring-side seat in our homes this morning at 6 am (in China, it is 8 pm). This year\u2019s Winter…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":15554,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_coblocks_attr":"","_coblocks_dimensions":"","_coblocks_responsive_height":"","_coblocks_accordion_ie_support":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[22772,22774,22773],"tags":[10981,22765,4415,13013,1210,15341,1769,15350,16192,10983,4721,22768,40,271,22767,3701,22766,3970,22771,22770,22769,3744],"class_list":["post-15553","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-2022-beijing-winter-olympics","category-athletes","category-winter-olympics","tag-1988-calgary-winter-olympics","tag-2022-beijing-winter-olympics","tag-abilities","tag-athletes","tag-blog","tag-canada","tag-christian","tag-coca-cola-world-chorus","tag-competitions","tag-david-foster","tag-excellence","tag-figure-skating","tag-inspiration","tag-jeremiah-2911","tag-nbc","tag-olympics","tag-opening-ceremonies","tag-perseverance","tag-run-to-win","tag-ski-jumping","tag-slope-skating","tag-winter-olympics"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mypeacezone.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15553","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mypeacezone.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mypeacezone.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mypeacezone.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mypeacezone.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=15553"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/mypeacezone.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15553\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":15557,"href":"https:\/\/mypeacezone.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15553\/revisions\/15557"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mypeacezone.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/15554"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mypeacezone.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=15553"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mypeacezone.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=15553"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mypeacezone.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=15553"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}