Against All Odds

Rudy Ruettiger grew up in a lower income family of 14 children. He loved football, and even more, he loved Notre Dame. He was denied transfer to Notre Dame three times but never gave up on becoming part of his beloved alma mater. He kept his studies going in spite of a learning disability and worked on the side to fund his education and his eventual acceptance and transfer into Notre Dame. His love for both Notre Dame and football grew. It wasn’t easy for him, but he wasn’t going to give up.

Faith Forward

During her presentation, Christian author and speaker Glenna Salsbury impressed truths about the importance of letting go of the past. To help us get where we need to go (and are called to be), positive faith-filled words must precede and follow our actions. Letting go means let it go completely. Choose to say “oh well,” shrug it off and simply move on. What an awesome response.

Radically Bold But Wisely Controlled

So, there we were, strapped to our seats. Our legs, swinging back and forth, hanging in mid-air. I could hear the nervous chatter of those behind me. I glanced over at my daughters. Both looked back with wide-eyed stares. They held onto the bar in front of them with white-knuckled death grips. Wait, that was me... They were unusually calm.

With a plunge forward that sucked the breath out of me, we started out on our two minute journey. It was too late to change my mind. Roller coaster is an understatement. Twists. Turns. Spins. Straight up. Nose dive. Backward. Forward. Upside down, but never right side up for too long. Any direction seemingly humanly impossible. That was just my stomach. And the screams? I couldn’t utter a sound, something about G-forces. But my daughter managed to reach decibels I never knew existed. The man behind me put some women opera singers to shame.