Most mornings, I start the day with a nice, long bike ride. I usually go anywhere from 25 to 30-plus miles. My knees are shot from years of playing sports, so cycling is my workout of choice. I enjoy biking on the winding, narrow country roads in southern New Hampshire, and my daily ride always leads me to the same place.

The saying goes that “all roads lead to Rome,” but, for me, all roads lead up the Route 13 hill going into Mont Vernon. This hill is over a mile long and has a couple very steep spots on the ride up. Most mornings, I tackle “Hill-Zilla” (as in Godzilla) twice a bike ride, and I throw another mile-long hill in between. Like I said, I really enjoy cycling and, after taking a few too many hockey pucks to the head, I find cycling up big hills to be fun.

The other day I had the morning off from work, so I headed out to my "quiet place." It’s a place about a half mile away from my house and is right near a pond with a beautiful landscape. I go there as often as I can because it gives me a chance to get away from the world and its distractions. No matter how many times I go there, I still can't help but marvel at how beautiful it is.

I’m a big believer that God is in charge of your life. I believe this because I’ve seen how God has directed my path, even though I might not have been aware at the time.

So many times I was in a certain place, like when I played for the Chicago Cubs, and I thought that I was going to play there the rest of my career. Then I went to Colorado and I thought I’d be there the rest of my career. And then I went to New York. In the beginning, New York was very difficult. I didn’t understand why God put me there. But I realized over time that there was reason for everything He does, and ultimately, He’s in charge.

After I finished up my preseason football camp, I reflected heavily on how the mental aspects of sports take a toll on us all during any kind of camp or season; whether it be learning technique, understanding key team concepts, memorizing plays, you name it.

Everybody wants the glory. Why shouldn’t we? It feels good to have someone say we played a good game. It feels good when someone compliments our athleticism or coaching skills. It feels good to hear our name over the loud speaker after a good play. The problem is, we didn’t do anything to deserve it.

Paul told the church at Corinth that they didn’t have anything they didn’t receive. That means they didn’t have anything at all that God did not give to them. Most of our society today has forgotten this.