Book Review

I read a book over this Christmas holiday that I really enjoyed, so I thought I'd share. It's Quiet Strength by Tony Dungy. Tony loves football and God, so I should have know I would like it! There IS a lot of football in it, but don't let that scare you away if it's not a passion of yours. Because as passionate as Tony is about football, he is 100 times more passionate about serving God.
Tony has a lot in the book about Pittsburgh and the Steelers, since he played for and coached our beloved team back in the '70s and '80's. He is very respectful and appreciative to Coach Noll, the Rooneys, and the Steelers. Much of what he learned while with the Steelers translated over to his philosophy of coaching the Colts today. He had coaching positions with other teams that showed him what he DIDN'T want to do when he became a head coach. Probably the biggest lesson he learned from Coach Noll is that there is more to life than football; that time with family is paramount. A good lesson for us all.
If you don't like football, you probably know Tony Dungy for two reasons: his team, the Indianapolis Colts, won the Super Bowl; and his son committed suicide when he was only 21 years old.
Tony has been to the heights and the depths. And through it all, he has trusted a great God who does all things well.
Here is a snipet from the book that inspired me: "That's what this [life] is all about. Touching lives. Building a legacy-not neccessarily on the field but in those places that most people will never see......My purpose in life is simply to glorify God. We have to be careful that we don't let the pursuit of our life's goals, no matter how important they seem, cause us to lose sight of our purpose....We are all role models to someone in this world, and we can all have an impact--for good. God has placed each of us where we are for a reason:within our spheres of influence at work, in our neighborhoods, in our families. He wants us to touch lives wherever He leads us.....we can all change the course of our nation and world, one life at a time, for the rest of our lives."
May I live these words in 2009!