Okay, before we get into the book let me give a few quick facts about why I wanted to read this book, total honesty. A. I love Tim Tebow. There are a few reasons, but leading those are his dedication, drive, and personality. He is a great guy, plain and simple, and argue if you want, but he is an amazing athlete. I don't care if his NFL career didn't go as planned, or if he may never see the MLB, he is still a tremendous athlete to even be competing for a spot. - Ok, I'm off my Tim Tebow as an athlete soap box now. But last reason, he's real cute.. B. He, and his family, do a lot for others & I wanted to learn more about it. C. I follow his social media, and saw a lot of his posts and quotes from Shaken. It drew me toward the book. What I expected from Shaken vs. what I got:1. Expected: I expected stories and experiences. I wasn't sure what style they would be written in, but I thought there would be stories related to his playing days and to his charity and missionary work. Like I said, I think Tim Tebow is great so I don't mean this in any disrespect, but I assumed they would be the highlight reel type of stories. What I Got: In a sense it was a highlight reel, but in a totally different way. Yes, he referenced playing at Florida, playing with the Broncos, and some of his mission trips, but it was in absolutely no way a "Look how amazing I am" kind of way. Former athletes could easily capture, and keep, people's attention by talking about their high points, but the lows were also mentioned in this book. If he wasn't explaining how he got through lows, he was tying a success story to hospital patients or children with his foundation. He wouldn't be Tim Tebow without mentioning Florida, his Night to Shine events, or days in the NFL, but he definitely didn't use those experiences to promote himself, he used them as encouragement, and to relate to other people. 2. Expected: Another thing I expected, and I hope this doesn't come across in a terrible light, was religious connections that were either deeper than my understanding or very direct. We all know that Tebow is strong in his faith and has probably lost fans, contracts, and opportunities because of it. I see nothing wrong with his faith and the messages he tries to get across, but I expected the book to be more direct than it was. Keep reading, I'll explain.. What I Got: This book had a lot of important messages about pressure, expectations, life plans, family and friends, and being a better person. All of which I found incredibly encouraging. At no point was I uncomfortable with the message and faith showing through in Shaken. The way it is written is very easy to relate to and so simply discussed that I instantly wanted to practice these methods and learn more. The theme of God's plan and seeing the things He puts in front of you instead of having to see them for yourself, really stuck out to me. Favorite Takeaways:Circle of Trust - Not every person wants to see you succeed. As much as any of us wish this weren't true, it is. Then there are also some times people might have the best of intentions, but don't understand what you're trying to do or what you need to do to get there. Both of these situations can cause issues and negativity. In Shaken, Tebow references his Circle of Trust frequently and states that they are his immediate conference call when something good or bad happens in his life. I think this is important, and something that I've definitely thought about recently. John 3:16 - In Chapter 8 of Shaken, the section title "What God Can Do" will really makes you stop and say "wow". I'm sure we all remember Tebow wearing Bible versus on his eye black through college. In this section he references wearing John 3:16 during the National Championship game in 2009 and the 94 million people that Googled that verse during the game. What stuck out to me though was that three years, to the day, after the National Championship he was playing for the Broncos, threw for 316 yards, 31.6 yards per completion, time of possession was 31:06, ratings were 31.6 million, and during the game 90 million people Googled John 3:16. Amazing. God's Plan - A big message throughout Shaken, included realizing that your plan may not always be the best plan, or the one meant for you. It may be obvious if you're trying to become an NFL quarterback and get cut from a team, but if you're applying for jobs or taking an entrance exam, it may be more unclear and frustrating. From Shaken I really want to keep the idea that God's plan may not be the same as my own plan, but it is what's meant to be. Quotes & Verses: "'Our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.' Trophies don't last. Awards come and go. Impressive titles move form one person to the next. But how we live can make an eternal impact." "If we open our eyes, each day presents us with opportunities to do something kind or nice for someone else." - Tim Tebow, Shaken "Oftentimes we don't dream big enough and oftentimes we don't start small enough.
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So, I've decided to do my own twist on the popular bucket list, sports edition! Throughout the series there will be different topics. For example this edition features Sporting Events. - What can I say, I was inspired by the Super Bowl ;) - Still brainstorming other topics, but I can tell you to be on the lookout for a few others: Sporting Venues (Read MLB Here!) Rivalry Games College Towns & More to come! For now, I hope y'all enjoy my bucket list of sporting events! Let's start with the obvious1. Super Bowl By now you all probably know that I prefer college football over the NFL, but every year for the past three or four years I've paid more and more attention to the NFL. The Super Bowl is just one of those unique events that, I think, most sports fans would agree is a dream event to attend. I guess the only down fall is that you miss Super Bowl commercials if you're actually in the stadium.. I think I could live with that though. 2. World Series Hello, if you don't know by now, I have an obsession with baseball and have been known to watch MLB playoff games during class, work, family dinners, or to skip stuff all together and watch the game instead.. Yeah, don't count on me being anywhere in October if my team is in the playoffs.. Anyways, the World Series, what a dream come true to be sitting in the stadium, game 7, bottom of the 9th, down a run, two outs. Sure you could see your team win or lose, but it would be LIVE! The environment inside a sporting venue cannot be topped by a family home, local bar, or following along on Twitter. To be in the seats for the World Series would just make the excitement of the MLB Playoffs that much sweeter. Side Note: If I could rewind time I'd spend all of my college tuition money on a ticket to Game 6 of the 2011 World Series. #Amazing #DavidFreeseIsStillMyHero 3. College Football Championship There are few things in this world I enjoy more than watching a college football game in a stadium. Add tailgating to that and it's REALLY hard for me to think of things that top it. - I've been a Mizzou fan through good and bad. Heck just the years I was a student at Mizzou were a roller coaster! 2012 = bad, 2013 & 2014 = SEC East Champs, 2015 = Painful, 2016 = Better? But still painful. With all things considered, I've been there to rush the field after beating A&M in 2013 and I've been there when we lost a heartbreaker to Georgia this year and an embarrassing loss to Middle Tennessee. Ya know what? I was right back at Faurot for the next home game either way! If that next game were a National Championship I can't even imagine the experience that would be! -- Now, I'm a realist and even though I have high hopes for my alma mater, I don't expect to be heading to the Natty to watch them in the next couple years. - As long as the National Championship I'm watching isn't Kansas vs Baylor or Tennessee vs Florida State, I'd still be ecstatic about being there! Now, the not so obvious.. (I think..)4. Summer Olympics Because they aren't a yearly occurrence, I think a lot of people want to attend the Olympics, but that's not my reason. The Olympics are so special because most of these athletes aren't going back to play one of the major American sports and most aren't coming back to million dollar yearly salaries. They've trained, sometimes, their entire lives for this one chance that may or may not ever happen again. Gymnasts are the ones that really stick out in my mind. One bad routine could ruin their Olympic hopes that they've trained 15+ years for. That's insane! - It's also telling to hear people like Keri Walsh-Jennings talk about her Olympic runs and what the Olympics mean to her. The passion and love for their sport is amazing. It's not just Team USA's stories that make me want to attend an Olympics, all countries have these stories and this passion. It would be really cool to see that live. 5. College GameDay Okay, okay y'all probably can tell how much I like College GameDay (and Sam Ponder), so it might not be that surprising.. but watch College GameDay and tell me that doesn't look like one of the most fun environments you've ever seen! I want to attend so bad! Unfortunately it never made it to Columbia, MO while I was here, but here's to hoping they'll make it to my graduate school during my two years with them! 6. ESPYs I used to think the ESPYs were just a night for elite athletes to continue to get praised (& hey I'm not dissing that because I praise athletes, no shame), so I didn't pay much attention to them. I could just watch SportsCenter every now and then and hear the same stuff right? Wrong. - There are athlete and team awards, yes, but the people they honor and award who have faced adversity and difficult times are what have drawn me to watch the ESPYs the last couple years. Sure it's a great place to see your favorite stars, but it would be really inspiring to see and hear the speeches after they honor people like Leah and Devon Stills, Stuart Scott, Craig Sager, and many more. 7. College World Series - Baseball We all know my love for baseball and when I remember it, I watch college baseball as much as I can. It's not the big names, but if you watch some of those names in college will be in the Big Leagues shortly (hey, hey Dansby Swanson!). Plus, it's another chance for that Cinderella to show up and win it all. What Coastal Carolina did last year was fun to watch! That left fielder became my favorite human for a couple days.. - I've heard Omaha is a great place to be during the CWS, so I'd like to experience it at least once! 8. College World Series - Softball As for softball, well I played softball for 12 years, it had, has, and will always have a special place in my heart. As much as I love baseball, I like watching college softball more. It's so fast paced, amazing defense, dominate pitching. Ah, I'm getting excited for the season to start just talking about it! The CWS has the best of the best and it seems like every May, every game played at the CWS is a good game. I watch as much as I can on tv, but I'd love to just head down to Ofor the week. Maybe some day! 9. Either Olympic Gymnastics Trials or College Gymnastics Championships Gymnasts are amazing, end of story. The athleticism and strength they have is unreal. I can just watch an entire meet and be in awe. Some may not agree, but I think watching a full day of championship gymnastics is something I want to do (at least) once in my life. 10. MLB All-Star Game.. & Home-Run Derby.. & Celebrity All-Star Game.. The MLB has a good thing going with the All-Star Game, and I pray it stays good with the, now non-existing, home field advantage rule. People actually get excited for All-Star Weekend, fans and players! The events are a great chance to see the best against the best and to see players take the game a little less seriously than they do during the regular season. I love watching the Homerun Derby and see all the players with their kids hanging out, it's a side of those guys you don't see a lot. Unfortunately I didn't make it to All-Star Festivities in St. Louis OR Kansas City so I guess I'll be traveling to a new part of the country to partake in these events! Is your bucket list of sporting events the same? What ones would you add?
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