The Tiny Frog and God

From Lucinda Shenkman:

Go Frogs!Once Upon A Time...Once upon a time there was a bunch of tiny frogs.... who arranged a running competition. The goal was to reach the top of a very high tower. A big crowd had gathered around the tower to see the race and cheer on the contestants.... The race began.... Honestly: No one in the crowd really believed that the tiny frogs would reach the top of the tower. You heard statements such as: "Oh, WAY too difficult!!" "They will NEVER make it to the top." 0D or: "Not a chance that they will succeed. The tower is too high!" The tiny frogs began collapsing. One by one.... Except for those, who in a fresh tempo, were climbing higher and higher.. The crowd continued to yell, "It is too difficult!!! No one will make it!"

More tiny frogs got tired and gave up..... But ONE continued higher and higher and higher.... This one wouldn't give up! At the end everyone else had given up climbing the tower. Except for the one tiny frog who, after a big effort, was the only one who reached the top!

THEN all of the other tiny frogs naturally wanted to know how this one frog managed to do it? A contestant asked the tiny frog how he had found the strength to succeed and reach the goal? It turned out.... That the winner was DEAF!!!! The wisdom of this story is: Never listen to other people's tendencies to be negative or pessimistic....because they take your most wonderful dreams and wishes away from you -- the ones you have in your heart! Always think of the power words have.. (There's life and death in the power of the tongue - Proverbs 18:21.) Because everything you hear and read will affect your actions! Therefore: ALWAYS be.... POSITIVE! And above all: Be DEAF when people t ell YOU that you cannot fulfill your dreams! Always think: God and I can do this! Pass this message on to "tiny frogs" you care about. Give them some motivation!!!

Thanks Lucinda!

Team BAD FROG Website Is Live!!

God is good, all the time!! All the time, God is good!! Amen.

Roughly a year an a half after we were inspired by the Holy Spirit to start this athletic ministry of multi-sport and endurance athletes, we have grown in numbers and inspiration. The official Team Bad Frog website is officially up and running!!

Chris has worked tirelessly in the evenings over the last week to put the whole thing together, and it looks great! There are pages that list all of our current training activities, races, race results, even a photo gallery and a page for members to share their race experiences.

Please take a look at the website at http://www.teambadfrog.org/ and tell us what you think. We will be continually updating and revising the site, so we would encourage any and all imput and feedback you might have. While we're at it, if you have anything that you would like to contribute to the website you can submit it to either anngunn@bellsouth.net or teambadfrog@teambadfrog.org.

A few other business notes, we will be having our next organizational meeting on Thursday, February 12th @ 7:30 pm in the Youth Building Coffee House at First Presbyterian Church, NPB. We will be discussing upcoming races, specifically commitments (spiritually, monitarily and physically) to putting our relay team together for the 3rd Annual Sunrise 2 Sunset Relay across Florida. We will hopefully have our running singlets in for distribution by then.

Finally, we want to thank our sponsors First Presbyterian Church, Medtronic and Fleet Feet Sports Stuart for their generosity and willingness to help us in fulfilling our mission to glorify God through our racing, fellowship and outreach.

I just received this email from fellow BAD FROG Robby Drake. It is a great testimony to how we as members of the body of Christ, working through a ministry can effect the world. The creative possibilities are infinite. Thanks Robby for your service to and witness of Christ through all that you do.

Ann

Ann,

I am sponsoring, my U12 girls soccer team, on behalf of our Tri Club. We are currently in first place after 7 games and have allowed only 3 goals all season. What was really cool is this. On our uniforms, being sensitive to other religious affiliations, we printed the silhouette of a frog, and then the words “BADFROG multisport”, with no other explanation. After a practice a couple of mothers came to me and expressed their approval, and knowledge that BADFROG means to beyond all doubt fully rely on God. That moment was really cool; they appreciated our silent witness to them with out shoving it into their faces. As we spoke, and witnessed to each other several other players and parents learned of the meaning and were similarly moved. This is pointed because one of my favorite Christian songs goes “They will know we are Christians by our love”.

Robby

Contributions to this Blog

Good Morning to All of You!!

Now that you have seen the site, we are hoping and praying that you may have things you would like to contribute to this blog. Articles, information, photos, etc. If you would be interested in such a thing, just email us at: anngunn@bellsouth.net.

May the Lord Richly Bless You!

Riviera Beach Triathlon #3 2008

Sunday, September 14, 2008, was the third race in the Riviera Beach Trilogy, sponsored by J-Town Bikes and produced by Multirace, which comprised a ¼ mile ocean swim, 10 mile bike ride and 3.1 mile run.

After a Saturday evening carbo-loading feast of spaghetti, salad, garlic bread and brownies at Don and Ann Pennington’s lovely new Lake Park home, not to mention great fellowship and some good-natured ribbing, the Frogs called it an early night.

On race day, the first members of Team BAD FROG (Beyond all doubt, fully rely on God) began arriving in the pre-dawn hours at the Ocean Mall and started our race-day preparations. Bike tires, equipment, bags and provisions were checked and re-checked before we made our way to the transition area to set up, then to get body-marked. The faithful BAD FROG supporters sacrificed prime snoozing hours to be there to cheer us on: Bruce and the Cole boys, Katie and the Bennett girls, Ann Pennington, Dana McMichael and Jenny Drake.

More than a few nerves were set on edge by the rough seas, thanks to an active week of tropical storms and hurricanes that otherwise spared Southeast Florida. As the sun began to rise, a few of the Frogs who dared a couple warm-up laps were slammed by waves. We were not deterred, but rather, gathered in a prayer huddle, proudly wearing the bright blue and yellow BAD FROG colors and began the race in our usual fashion: asking God for His blessing and protection and thanking Him for our group.

All seven of the participating frogs finished strong, including Brian and Lisa Smith, Chris Gunn, Tom Bennett, Lisa Cole, and Evan and Don Pennington, many even receiving trophies. However, the real reward was the crowd that gathered in the BAD FROG tent after the race. Chiropractor Dr. Damon Moss offered free adjustments to anyone willing to wait, which gave the FROGS a chance to meet and engage new people and to directly or indirectly share with them our purpose: “We exist to Glorify God by being and making disciples.” Those words are printed on our jerseys and we seek through each race to be a witness to His love, not only to those in our group through the great friendships we have formed and through the encouragement we give each other, but to the entire racing community wherever we go.

What's A BAD FROG Any Way?

B.A.D. F.R.O.G. is an acronym for Beyond All Doubt Fully Rely On God.

We are a Multi-sport Athletics Ministry encompassing, but not limited to swimming, running and bicycling. Our members compete in triathlons, adventure races, and running races and participate in multiple training events as a group.

Team Bad Frog welcomes everyone to join no matter what your ability might be. If you have an interest in ministry and athletics, we encourage you to join our team’s journey.

Mission Statement

Through First Presbyterian Church of North Palm Beach, FL – we are an Athletic Ministry dedicated to being a Christ-centered fellowship of athletes for the purposes of athletics training, spiritual growth and Christian outreach.