Bless.

Throughout the past two years, we've developed our themes of our walk with God. The one that involves the most change in our actions and behaviors is blessing. It is an attitude that we take, but it also comes out in how we treat others. Because it is about others.

It is not about us.

If there's one thing that has impacted my life more than anything, it is realizing that carrying out the will of God is not about me, it is about how I respond to others. I remember being shocked when my church was walking through a book called "The Purpose Driven Life." The very first chapter ended by making the point that life is not about us. Period.

So as we come to the last week of the season, it's a good reminder that we need to be a blessing. We're going to have a huge amount of opportunities over the next few days. Opportunities to bless teammates by sharing in their success. Opportunities to bless opponents by giving them their credit, applauding good shots, and giving them the best matches we can muster. Opportunities to bless parents, friends and teammates that come to watch us with thanks and appreciation. Opportunities to forget about ourselves and just enjoy the team.

I think about what Luke Hostetter wrote last year in a book the seniors gave me. He said, "Even though I was struggling... the mindset about being a blessing helped carry me through the season and have fun with the rest of the team." And you know what, it carried him through the end of the season as well. With his thoughts focused on the rest of the team, I can clearly see Luke raising his arms in a team victory as Johnny and Jeremy captured the 3rd point to give us a Sectional crown. He was down big to Preston Swain of NorthWood at the time, but was playing incredibly well. He went on to be blessed with a tiebreak win in the 2nd set, a result of his loose play.

But that mindset of blessing others is something I want us to take away from the season. Whether it be today, tomorrow at the Sectional, during the offseason while we work to improve for next year, during the summer when we head back to camp, or in the dog days of August two-a-days. Let blessing define our team's actions.

It is our "new" tradition.