PRACTICE

When Polish pianist Ignace Jan Paderewsky played before Queen Victoria, he won her enthusiastic approval. "Mr. Paderewsky," she exclaimed, "you are a genius."

Paderewsky shook his head. "Perhaps, Your Majesty, but before that I was a drudge," he replied, alluding to the number of hours he spent practicing every day.

Today in the Word, August 3, 1993.

Rubenstien, the great musician said, "If I omit practice one day, I notice it, if two days, my friends notice it, if three days, the public notices it."

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Mary Lou Retton: "Here's what it takes to be a complete gymnast. Someone should be able to sneak up and drag you out at midnight, push you out on some strange floor -- and you should be able to do your entire routine sound asleep in your pajamas. Without one mistake. That's the secret. It's got to be a natural reaction."

Best Sports Quote, 1985.

Ted Williams, baseball superstar of 40's & 50's was known as a "natural hitter." Once was asked about this natural ability and replied, "There is no such thing as a natural born hitter. I became a good hitter because I paid the price of constant practice, constant practice." 

Ted Engstrom, The Making of a Christian Leader, p. 95.

If you aren't practicing, someone else is.

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Quarterback Tony Rice led Notre Dame's football team to a national championship in 1988. Before the season, sportswriters wondered whether Notre Dame could beat the tough teams with a quarterback like Rice, whose passing often was inaccurate.

They didn't know that coach Lou Holtz had brought Rice a dart board and told him to practice throwing darts an hour a day. Rice didn't see how that would help his passing, but he did as his coach said. Soon he began to throw passes with more accuracy and confidence--both of which were evidenced in a banner season.

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Christians likewise find the practice of sharing a sentence or two of testimony or prayer on a regular basis can sharpen those skills. Any activity will improve with practice.

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Plato wrote the first sentence of his famous Republic nine different ways before he was satisfied. Cicero practiced speaking before friends every day for thirty years to perfect his elocution. Noah Webster labored 36 years writing his dictionary, crossing the Atlantic twice to gather material. Milton rose at 4:00 a.m. every day in order to have enough hours for his Paradise Lost. Gibbon spent 26 years on his Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire. Bryant rewrote one of his poetic masterpieces 99 times before publication, and it became a classic.

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