A Life That Requires An "Explanation"

Comment I heard: “If you’re a true Christian, your life should sometimes require an explanation.” In other words, some people won’t understand your life. If we live for Christ with integrity there will be people scratching their heads saying, “What’s going on? What could make a person do such things?” Hey that’s great! A chance to explain kingdom living is just the kind of opportunity an Ambassador is looking for.

Jesus Helps "The Burdened"

You know what’s cool? Alright, I’ll tell you: We can come to God in whatever state we are in: broken, confused, messy, distracted, hurt, whatever. That’s such a comforting truth to know because the longer I live, the more I’m seeing that very few people really “have their act together”. “Come to me all you who are WEARY and BURDENED and I will give you rest.” –Jesus, Matt. 11:28

No Wonder We're Afraid

“Hey mister?”

I heard a voice coming from behind me and I turned to see a complete stranger walking toward me quickly.  In a way, it almost felt menacing.  My hands were full with the food bags I had just picked up from the restaurant. Not having my hands free made me feel even more vulnerable. Some of you know that my hands are registered weapons, so, I like having them in the "ready" position when I’m approached by a stranger. (Okay, they’re registered with the Marvel Comics Jr. Crime Fighter Club but that’s still a form of registration.)

Part of me thought, “Keep walking. Don’t stop. Who knows what this guy is up to? This doesn’t seem good.”

In that split second that is all we’re allowed for certain decisions, my mind considered: “What do I do? Stop? Or, keep walking…and quickly?”  But I turned and waited as he approached me. It turns out—as you may have guessed by now—that he was approaching to ask me for help.

Why did I immediately consider that this person might mean to harm me? Well, obviously, that IS a possibility. People have gotten harmed before by strangers who approach them pretending to ask a question. It’s certainly not outside the realm of possibility.

But I believe that I also immediately considered the possibility of harm because my mind is bombarded with that possibility by the media I consume. I write this very close to the time that two major national news stories involve disturbed gunmen shooting and killing innocent people, one on a military base in Texas and one in an office building in Florida.

Even though we’ve heard these kinds of stories before, there is still something that frightens and unsettles us in a primal way—and rightly so—in the wake of random, violent shooting.

Details of these two stories were poured into my mind as I ate breakfast this morning.  Tony The Tiger’s smiling face faded into oblivion as I listened to statistics on how many were dead and how many were wounded. In a way, it’s surprising that I didn’t drop my bags from the restaurant and run as fast as I can the moment I heard the man from behind calling out to me.

I don’t think we should be reckless and taking safety precautions seems wise and perfectly reasonable. But sometimes I wonder if it’s healthy to expose our minds to these stories too long and too often. I know it’s possible to be uninformed—that wouldn’t be good—but I think it might also be possible to be poisonously overloaded with “bad news” stories. I guess what I might be wondering is this: Can a person be negatively over-informed?

P.S.  I did end up giving the guy a few dollars. I like to help out when I can and…well, ….actually, he took my wallet.

If You Could Do It Over

A group of adults over 65 were asked this question: “If you could live your life over again, what would you do differently?” 3 Main answers: 1) Be more reflective; 2) Be more courageous; and 3) Be clear earlier about purpose [in life]. This is really worth thinking about. In my case “be more courageous” really hits home. I know this may sound silly but you know what? You will be 65 before you know it.

We're Always In Need Of Grace

I’ve had some conversations recently that centered on this question: Can there be too much grace? Can GRACE be overdone? What I’ve noticed is that when we give grace to others we might feel like it can be overdone. But when we are the ones in need of grace, there can’t be too much of it. So perhaps this would be a helpful thought: Do we realize that we are ALWAYS in need of grace?

This Can't Be A Good Sign

Alright, I get it! Does “life” have to rub it in? I know! I eat at certain “fast food” establishments a little too often.

I was at . . . oh, I suppose this is self-evident by now but I’ll say it anyhow, I was at Taco Bell this past week. And I placed my order. That’s when it happened. The young man who was taking my order CORRECTED me. What I mean is, after I placed my order, he said, “You want three side orders of sour cream, don’t you?”

Do you understand what I’m getting at?  The young fella who takes the orders at Taco Bell knows me so well that he knows when I’ve placed my order incorrectly based on my 7,593,456 other visits to the place. Here, I’ll say it another way: He’s slightly more familiar with what I want to order than I am.

That can’t be a good sign, can it?

After he corrected my order and I acknowledged that “yes” he was right—I did want three side orders of sour cream—we looked at each other for a moment and started laughing. We were laughing at the absurdity of it all. That he—the “order taker”—would know what I order better than I do, was odd and mildly amusing. (Although, when I told this story to my doctor he cried for about a minute….And, then, handed me a bill.)

Then, after I paid for my purchase the young man at the check-out said, “Maybe this will help.” Reaching into his shirt pocket he pulled out a card and handed it to me. The card had the address and the meeting times of a 12-step program designed especially for those who need help when it comes to certain eating establishments.

I said “thanks” and—admittedly, feeling a little embarrassed—walked to the beverage dispenser. I thought he wasn’t looking while I poured myself a refreshing Mountain Dew. It turns out he was looking, so, now I have another card with a meeting place for that, as well. (Is there really such a thing as Dew-aholics Anonymous, or was he joking with me?)

Rather than all the meetings, though, I’ve determined that it’s probably just going to be easier for me to go to a different Taco Bell.

The Antidote To Fear Is God's Love

I guess I shouldn’t be surprised anymore at this point, at the pervasiveness of “fear” in people’s lives. But I am. Fear is a powerful negative force for many of us, maybe most of us. This is why it is so important for us to believe—to KNOW—that God loves us and cares about us. But we have to know this as more than words, we have to realize the truth of God’s love as an absolute conviction at the core of our being.

Knowing God and Knowing Ourselves

John Calvin wrote: “True and substantial wisdom principally consists of two parts, the knowledge of God, and the knowledge of ourselves.” For those of us who follow Christ, this is one of the constant and on-going pursuits of our lives: knowing God more and more and knowing ourselves more and more. Rightly understood, these two pursuits complement and encourage each other.

When Do You Perceive The Reality of God Most Clearly?

After many years of walking with Christ and trying—with His help and His power—to live for Him, I’ve noticed that I perceive the REALITY of God most clearly and most tangibly when I am really in need and facing issues that are, obviously, beyond my capabilities. Is this how it works for everyone?

Of course, the truth is that I am always REALLY in need and always facing issues that are beyond my capabilities, but there are times when life happens in such a way that, that truth is more pressing and more urgent and more obvious. Times like, oh…I don’t know, like…this week, for example.

I know it’s early, but this week, as I attempt to serve others, I’m already acutely aware of my need for God’s help and my own insufficiency. (And all it took was a few phone calls to bring that into sharp focus.) But, on the up side, I am also sensing His REALITY and His presence.

The World Needs You and I Fully Alive

“Don’t worry about what the world needs. Ask what makes you come alive and do that. Because what the world needs are people who have come alive.”—Howard Thurman.

It’s important to move through life FULLY ALIVE. In other words, fully engaged, making the contribution that we’re really capable of, connected to God, and responsive to what God wants to do in us and through us. The world needs us fully ALIVE!

I Can't Stay Awake Any Longer. I'm Sorry, Goodnight!

Last night I stayed up until later than 2:30 am. That’s WAY, WAY past my usual bedtime. It’s WAY past!

Rachel was having a medical test this morning that requires her to stay up all night, as part of the preparation for the test. So, she and Nadia pulled an all-nighter and somehow I got caught up in the excitement of it all and stayed up late. At various points chocolate was being served.

It was weird because at 11:30 pm I was very tired and wanted to go to bed but Nadia was taking a nap and so I was forcing myself to stay up, to make sure Rachel didn’t fall asleep.  And then, later on, I got the “second wind” and didn’t feel tired—I was watching guitar instructional videos on YouTube—that’s when I noticed that it was 2:30 am! I’m reminded that chocolate has caffeine. And honesty compels me to admit that chocolate wasn’t actually being “served”, it would be more accurate to say that I was eating some chocolate.

I mention all that to say that I got about 4 hours of sleep last night and so today I have felt strange all day.

Someone is saying, “Dan, if you think you FEEL strange, you should see how strange you LOOK!”

There’s always a wise guy in the crowd.

The strange feelings started when I got up this morning and was scrolling through some text on the computer and as the text was scrolling I felt like I was falling down. I’m not kidding. As the text was scrolling I felt like I was moving. Is that normal? I’ve never felt that before. Actually, I’m getting a little bit dizzy looking at the screen right now, as I’m typing.

You know what? I’m going to be surprised tomorrow morning when I wake up, to see if I’ve really written this post, or not.

Wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww

Sorry, I fell asleep for a moment there and my head hit the “w” key.

You know what’s stranger still? When I’m really crazy tired, I often have trouble falling asleep. So, it’s going to be a sad twist of fate when I go to bed in a few moments—that’s assuming that I’m not sleeping right now and this is a dream—if I can’t fall asleep.

I mentioned this sleep issue to a friend and asked for suggestions and he said, “Hey, if you’re having trouble falling asleep, put your laptop by your bed, go on-line, and listen to one of your sermons, that always works for me! Ha! Ha!”

There’s always a wise guy in the crowd.

Prayer:  “Lord, are you interested in the minor details of our lives? The Bible indicates that you are. Help me fall asleep tonight….Oh, and by the way, help keep people awake at 9am and 11am on Sundays. Amen.”

Goodnight.

Being People of Integrity

The word “integrity” is derived from the word “integer” which means complete or whole. To be a person of integrity is not just to live according to the morals and values which God has given us, it also involves a way of life in which all the aspects of our lives hold together consistently and are coherent with our true identity as a follower of Christ. If this sounds challenging, it is, that’s why we see so few people of integrity.

I pray that you and I will be counted among those "rare" ones--the people of integrity.