ECHBC - rewind

Thanks to everyone who made the East Coast Homeschool Basketball Championships so successful.  Here's a look back at some of the many moments that made the week so memorable!

Congratulations to both teams for a week of hard fought competition....You played like the champions that you are! 

Verse of the Week

Week of March 13th:

Philippians 1:27 – “Whatever happens, conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ.”

As we head to Liberty, there are many unknowns both on and off the court.  Win or lose, how will you conduct yourself?  Conduct includes your words, your actions, your attitudes, and your expressions.  What impact do your words and attitudes have on your teammates?  The other team?  The spectators?  Paul is commanding the Philippians to determine their behavior in advance, before they knew what was going to happen.  Why is this important? 

How do Christians conduct themselves?  The answer is found in John -

John 13:35 – “By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”

Consider how you can show genuine love to one another this week.  Real love is other-focused and not given to bring glory to yourself.  The effect of this love is that you, as the giver, “disappear”, and people see Christ instead.  How can you show this kind of love this week?

Congratulations to the MJAC Champions!

The Middle School Girls finished their conference season undefeated.  They went into the MJAC playoffs seeded #1.  Because of their #1 seeding, they received a bye for the first round.  In the second round/semi-finals, they took on Trinity. 

After a slow start, the Force came on strong in the second quarter and the rest of the game was history.  With a 25-6 win, they advanced to the finals.

  In the final round the Force met the Bobcats from Banner.  The Banner Bobcats kept pace with the Force and at halftime, the score was the Force 6, Banner 3.  The crowd was on the edge of their seats as the girls headed into the locker room. 

 Whatever it was that Coach John and Coach Charity told the girls at halftime worked, because the Force girls came out and scored 14 points in the third quarter and held Banner to 2 points.

  The Force won with a final score of 26 to 17.  Mckenzie Quick and Jackie Lamont were named to the All Tournament team and Joanna Hughes was named the MVP of the tournament. 

 Every girl played minutes in the tournament and every girl contributed to the win that was merely the icing on a season that was sweet from the start.  Congratulations goes out to our Middle School Girls! 

Verse of the Week

Verse of the Week for February 28:
Philippians 3:14
" I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus".


Discussion.....(taken from notes from the NIV Study Bible)
We have all done things for which we are ashamed, and we live in the tension of what we have been and what we want to be.  Because our hope is in Christ, however, we can let go of the past guilt and look forward to what God will help us become.  Don't dwell on your mistakes.  Instead, grow in the knowledge of God by concentrating on your relationship with him now.

Verse of the Week

Verse of the Week for February 21:

Galations 1:10
    Am I now trying to win the approval of men, or of God? Or am I trying to please man? If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a servant of Christ.

The question we need to ask ourselves is do we want to be a servant of Christ or of ourselves? If we serve Christ then the following passage is true.

Proverbs 29:25
    Fear of man will prove to be a snare, but whoever trusts in the Lord is kept safe.

The Lord certainly kept us safe Monday night as the varsity boys and girls traveled home from Fulton County.

Who do we live and play for? Is it Christ or the praise of man?

Senior:: Emily Pritt

Q. How long have you been playing basketball?

Since I was two feet fall and Mom promised me a dollar for the first basket I scored!  I first played on a rec team in middle school.   

Q. How did you get interested in basketball?

When I was little, we used to go down to the basketball court to play ‘A.P.’s (Aged Parents) versus the Squirts (me and my big siblings).  I’ve always loved basketball, but especially since I started playing with you!  Because you are awesome!

Q. Do you participate in any other sports?....tell us about them

You bet!  Soccer!  I play with Krista (big surprise there) on an MSI club team in Middletown.  Our coach is pretty awesome and so are the girls, and it’s been an all around great experience!  I swim in the summertime too, which has been a little less thrilling (let’s just say….I am NOT fast).

Q. How long have you been home schooled?

For ever and ever…I’ve never been on a school bus!!  How upsetting…though my friends insist that I am missing out on NOTHING.  Haha

Q. What's your favorite thing about being homeschooled (other than getting to play for the Force, of course)?

Making my own schedule and working at my own pace.  Homeschooling has given me the chance to be a part of all kinds of extracurricular activities, even with a kind of heavy school load.

Q.  What are some of your hobbies?

I love to read, bake, and do almost any craft.   Do playing with my favorite toddlers count?  Cause that’s at the top!

Q. Where's your favorite place to eat out?

At Mrs. Duke’s.  No restaurant can compete with my mom and Mrs. Duke’s cooking.  Just sayin!

Q. What's your favorite movie?

Inception!!  At least in my dreams it is….

Q. What are your plans after high school graduation?

College!  I applied to Geneva, Grove City, Vanderbilt, Tufts, Emory, Johns Hopkins, Dartmouth, Harvard, Princeton, and Yale.  I should hear back from them by the end of March.

Q.  Would you rather drink coffee or tea?

Coffee is nasty.  I’m a teaholic.

Q. Who's your favorite musical artist/group?

Uh, let’s go with favorite songs instead.  “Jar of Hearts” (Christina Perri) and “Just a dream” (Nelly).  Most songs by Taio Cruz and Bruno Mars are at the top too!

Q. What would you do if you had an entire day to yourself and could do anything? 

Grab friends, dinner, and a movie!

Q. What's your favorite book?

Excluding the Bible, probably The Road by Cormac McCarthy.  Anything by Travis Thrasher is great for a fun read!

Q. If you could live anywhere in the world, where would you live?

Next door to all my favorite people! 

Q. What college team do you cheer for?

Blahh I have no idea 

Q. What's your favorite scripture verse?

Isaiah 43: 1-7:   

¹ But now, O Jacob, listen to the Lord who created you.
      O Israel, the one who formed you says,
   “Do not be afraid, for I have ransomed you.
      I have called you by name; you are mine.
 ² When you go through deep waters,
      I will be with you.
   When you go through rivers of difficulty,
      you will not drown.
   When you walk through the fire of oppression,
      you will not be burned up;
      the flames will not consume you.
 ³ For I am the Lord, your God,
      the Holy One of Israel, your Savior.
   I gave Egypt as a ransom for your freedom;
      I gave Ethiopia and Seba in your place.
 ⁴ Others were given in exchange for you.
      I traded their lives for yours
   because you are precious to me.
      You are honored, and I love you.

 ⁵ “Do not be afraid, for I am with you.
      I will gather you and your children from east and west.
 ⁶ I will say to the north and south,
      ‘Bring my sons and daughters back to Israel
      from the distant corners of the earth.
 ⁷ Bring all who claim me as their God,
      for I have made them for my glory.
      It was I who created them.’”

Q. When it snows, how do you spend your day?

Inside with some hot chocolate, homemade donuts, a book/movie, and (unfortunately) all the homework I haven’t done yet. 

Verse of the Week

Verse for the week of February 14:

"Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves.  Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others.  Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant."  Philippians 2:3-7

Discussion points:

This passage doesn’t ask us to belittle ourselves, but rather to understand who God made us to be.  Christ understood and accepted his identity.  This freed him from having to prove who he was to others, as well as from having to grasp and cling to his rights as Creator of the world.  Understanding who he was enabled him to fulfill God’s plan by taking on a servant nature and dying for us, even though he was “in very nature God.”  Who has God made you?  Have you embraced who God created you to be, or are you trying to be someone else?  Are there rights that you are grasping or holding on to?  Is this preventing you from looking to the interests of others?