15 GLAD TIDINGS FEBRUARY 2026 ... she continued. "But there was never like, 'Oh, but we can still keep the trophy.' Because why would we do that?" Breaking from precedent, the state governing board for high school athletics granted the team's appeal. Hours after the girls' extraordinary decision, King and his wife stunned the opposing team when they personally delivered the trophy and explained the error. For the Griffins, the decision was about more than good sportsmanship. It was also about staying true to a higher call. "It didn't benefit us in the way that we would have been able to continue," Paradee explained. "But it did benefit us in showing the world that this was really the good thing to do – and the thing that glorifies God most." The experience has even taught them about the importance of finding humor in heartbreak. "I also feel like the trophy wouldn't have been valuable if every time we saw it sitting on the shelf we thought, 'Oh wait. We actually lost that game!'" Cheng mused, drawing laughs from her teammates. The Griffin's decision was covered by CBS News and quickly spread to other outlets like The New York Times and The Guardian, reaching audiences around the world. "It's kind of a running joke around our student body – like another day, another interview," Cheng told CBN News. To understand why the team made that noble call requires looking beyond the basketball court. The Lady Griffins represent the students at The Academy of Classical Christian Studies located in downtown Oklahoma City. The high school campus shares space with a local church. Yet inside – apart from the school uniforms and beginning and ending each day in prayer – it looks like a typical school. But The Academy is part of a growing movement known as Classical Christian Education – a three-stage developmental curriculum rooted in the Bible and the traditions of ancient Greece and Rome. It aims to shape both intellect and character. This year, Forbes put a spotlight on the rise of CCE's methodology and its impact on the educational market. "Parents know what their calling is – and their duty towards their children," said Nathan Carr, headmaster of The Academy of Classical Christian Studies and author of Festive School and the Student Prayer Book. "They see classical and Christian education as among the most effective partnerships – giving [students] memory; helping them be practiced in virtue; and baptizing their imagination into something true, good, beautiful, and eternal." Parents Casey and Sarah Shutt agree. They have two sons currently enrolled at The Academy. Their daughter, Cora – now a college freshman – was part of the Lady Griffins team that voted to challenge last season's championship win. "Our daughter can look back and tell us now that she's in college, like, 'These are the things I really appreciated. I'm thankful for this education,'" explained Sarah Shutt. "That is a blessing as a parent." Educators say the goal of Classical Christian Education at The Academy isn't solely focused on academic success, but shaping students' values and affections in line with the kingdom of God. "It gives them a higher target in life," Casey Shutt explained. "Virtue is something the school speaks of quite a bit." Those lessons and values are applied outside the walls of the classroom and in other arenas – at home and in afterschool clubs and sports. Since the story of the Lady Griffins went viral, the team has gained a growing fan base. "I'm thankful the story is out there, because I hope it's encouraging to other coaches or other teams out there that there's so many bigger life lessons than just wins and losses," said Coach King. "I never thought it would get to this point. Multiple social media messages that have come my way – then the letters started to show up to the school – check donations to the girls' basketball program." Headmaster Carr believes the story also struck a cultural nerve. "A culture whose favorite hashtag is 'winning' needed a new story of what true winning is," he told CBN News. "Such a simple and Godly and straightforward action seems so obvious," Carr continued. "They wanted to tell the truth, and they knew that telling the truth would result in greater joy for them: seeing the joy of another produces deeper joy in me." That selfless act also inspires. "I think it resonates that it's the right thing to do," Casey Shutt added. "If this happens in this little high school setting, maybe there's hope beyond in the political realm or the business world or in all these other spheres of life?" For the seniors on the team, they're not letting the attention get to their heads. Instead, they're thinking about the future and how to incorporate some of the lessons they've learned in school. "Growing up in The Academy has given me almost like a golden standard of community that I want to hold to – like a standard that I will want to always work up to," Cheng said. "Or maybe even improve on." Win or lose, these good sports have become role models, showing how integrity can be the greatest victory of all. u Permission Granted CBN News BASKETBALL - Con’t Teen Died for 1 Hour After Falling Through Icy Water, but Mom’s Prayer Brought Him Back to Life BILLY HALLOWELL/CBN 07-26-2025 The story of a teenager who fell through the ice in 2015, was under water for 15 minutes, and was clinically dead for over an hour before miraculously being brought back to life has captivated audiences. John Smith’s story was so compelling it was made into a feature film, “Breakthrough,” a 2019 drama starring Chrissy Metz of “This Is Us” fame. Jason Noble, the real-life preacher who ministered to Smith’s family during the ordeal, recently reflected on the impact of the story nearly a decade later. “It’s a modern-day Lazarus story when you look back and you see,” he said. “John — he was 15 years old — fell through the ice in St. Louis, was dead, was under for 15 minutes, dead for an hour and 15 [minutes].” But while Smith lay dead in a hospital, his mother turned to the Lord and pleaded for her son’s life. “His mom [Joyce] walked in and she prayed, ‘Holy Spirit, bring my son back to life,'” Noble said. “And a lot more animated and a lot more intense than that, and it was at that moment, every machine came back to life and John was back to life.” The battle persisted from there, as Smith coded three or four more times, but God kept showing up. Even after the miraculous prayer, doctors said there was a 99% chance Smith wouldn’t live through the night — and, if he lived, they said he would be in a vegetative state. But the family, friends, and Noble weren’t willing to give up, despite the teen’s lungs and body being so badly harmed by what unfolded. “We prayed, and there’s so much more to the story than even what was told in the film,” Noble said. “We prayed, we took a group of pastors in the room, we started praying over John, because we were not going to let John go.” The preacher also made another remarkable claim: he said he saw an angel in the room from “floor to ceiling” as the group prayed over Smith. And those prayers paid off. Not only did Smith wake up, but he also fully healed, later got married, and is now a father. Noble said the miracles he witnessed surrounding Smith and the ordeal taught him some powerful lessons about life and the Lord. “One thing I’ve learned is that we have to position ourselves to work with God to see these miracles happen,” he said, noting he wrote about this in his book, “Breakthrough to Your Miracle.” “We’re the conduit.” Noble added, “I think we play a really important part in seeing miracles happen. If you are walking in with doubt, and unbelief, and fear, and all of those things, I think it can literally stop the miracle-working power of God in our lives.” Ultimately, the outcome doesn’t depend on humans, but he believes the Lord partners with believers. In the end, many healings don’t unfold on this side of eternity, but Noble said people can take joy in the fact that “the greatest miracle is salvation.” u Permission Granted/CBN News
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