Pacing, or 35 in a 55

“You’re walking too fast. Dad, slow down,” she said. She was huffing and puffing and grabbing her side the way kids do in gym class when they’re running laps. ‘Girl, your legs are eight feet long. Keep up,’ I thought. We weren’t running. We weren’t jogging. We need to work on her cardio. Kidding. Kind of.

We were in the grocery store, darting through the traffic of buggies and shoppers like a professional NASCAR driver maneuvers through lazy Sunday traffic. I move with a purpose. I don’t like to be slowed down, even in grabbing a bag of chips and a carton of eggs. When I get slowed down, I get fussy. I get annoyed.

Honest confession time: When I have a goal, I am a mechanism of perpetual motion towards that goal. Be it a carton of eggs, a new hobby, a task at work, a finish line of any sort- when that switch gets flipped to ‘go mode,’ I will not stop until I either collapse, die, or exceed that goal. It’s a dangerous trait to have. And because of that, I was reminded again this morning about pacing.

I have a long commute to work. 40 minutes one way on a two lane country road. 40 minutes on a good day. Timing is everything. Luck helps. It’s a mixed bag. On one hand, I’ve got at least 40 uninterrupted minutes with nothing to do but pray and sing and praise, and honestly, sometimes complain to God. On the other hand, man, sometimes 40 minutes can feel like 40 days in the wilderness. Today was one of those days. 30 mph in a 55 mph zone.

‘A plague on all your houses!!’ I thought to myself. I was two cars behind some dude completely unconcerned with the speed limit. 35 in a 55. I couldn’t pass him. He wouldn’t turn off onto another road. My initial reaction was one of wanting to smite him with an unholy indignation. True story. Me and the 20 cars behind me were locked into his pace, and his pace was as stagnant as a back woods swamp.

As I was praying, and surrendering my anger for this dude to God (hey, I’m shooting straight with you and at least I recognized that I needed to surrender that to God), I said, “35 mph with a 55 mph speed limit. Good grief!” I’ve got places to go, people. I’ve got things to do. 35 mph was not on the itinerary today.

Then something checked in my spirit, and I said, “Lord, help me move at your speed limit.” As soon as I said it, I knew God had set me up. He does that, sometimes. If He doesn’t do that to you, I congratulate you. You are Super Saint- hero among us all. For the mere mortals who read this and get set up by God and some old joker in a pickup truck, you’re not alone. He sets me up, and I fall for it every time.

Galatians 5:25 (NIV) “Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.”

Instead of keeping in step with him, created in His image and walking in harmony with Him and at His pace, I’ll go mechanism-robototron on it. I’ll take off running, and I’ll run myself ragged. In my 20’s, I ran- not metaphorically but literally. One of the first things you have to learn when running for any kind of distance, is pacing. Set a pace; keep your pace. When you feel fast- slow down and stick to your pace. When you’re tired and you feel slow- pick it up and stick to your pace.

In distance runs, the best thing you can do to ensure you get to the finish is to find your pace, and keep it. Ours is a spiritual race, and this race is not a sprint but a distance run. Keep His pace. Keep in step with the Spirit.

I Need Burn Cream For This Vicious Burn, or Pouting

‘Ohhhh, man. Viscious burn, Lord. Ouch,’ I said to myself.
I was sitting at my dining room table, reading my bible. I had a bowl of grits with cheddar cheese melted inside them, and my ever trusty cup of coffee nearby. The cheesy steam from the grits had by this point stopped rising as my bowl descended into a room temperature gelatinous goo of corn and cheddar cheese. My coffee had just reached that perfect temperature: hot, but not hot enough to burn my tongue. This morning was like most mornings, and most mornings you’ll find me reading my bible before I head off to work. I have a pretty reliable morning routine:

Wake in utter disbelief that it can possibly be time to get up
Complain in my mind, as I’m not yet capable of speech, thinking something along the lines of, ‘Oh, God. Please no! It can’t be time already.’ (I’m not a morning person)
Ask for forgiveness for complaining, and thank Him for giving me another day, and then go start my morning shower and such
Make breakfast along with way too much coffee
Read my bible while drinking way too much coffee
Realize I’m running late and then scarf down my food which by this point has grown room temperature cold
Go to work

Matthew 15:25 (NLT) “But she came and worshiped him, pleading again, ‘Lord, help me!'”

Have you ever pouted before the Lord with all your might? Man, I have. Recently. It’s not just a new baby Christian thing.
‘Oh, Your answer is no? Ok, I’ll go over here and pout for a while, Lord. Just let me know when you change Your mind.’

And then this lady. This lady in the extended passage from Matthew 15 was outright ignored by Jesus when she cried out to Him. Did she pout like I would have…eh, let’s be honest, like I have? Nope. She worshiped. She worships; then she begs. Again. When He tells her no again, does she huff away and talk about how unfair He is? Nope. She responds, not in anger or pain or pouting, but in faith.

Takeaway for the day: When you’re presented with the option to pout, or to respond in faith, don’t pout.

Food Sharer, or Babies Are the Human Equivalent of Unicorns

“I’m not a very good food sharer,” she said.
“Uh, yeah,” I replied. “I know.”
Folks, this was not, I repeat Not, news to me. At all. That ‘revelation’ was the equivalent of my wife telling me that the sky is blue and that water is wet. Nachos? No way sucker, not ‘cho cheese. Spaghetti? Better spaghet’ out of here ’cause she will cut you. Pizza? Slice. Macaroni? You’ll get an elbow to the throat, joker. And then one day, sudden change.

You may be wondering: What could possibly happen to make a woman, who previously would have elbowed you in the throat over macaroni and cheese, to suddenly change? What could cause her to become the Lenin of food sharing socialism- all for one and one for all? A baby. When our daughter was born, all of a sudden there were baby fingers in momma’s plate, food was being passed back and forth, and momma was a happy camper.

Donnie’s Law of Baby Power: Babies are magical creatures. Their power can not and should not ever be underestimated. They can make grouchy men smile, smiling women cry, and non-food sharers share their food. They are the human equivalent of unicorns.

Matthew 14:19 (NLT) “…Then, breaking the loaves into pieces, He gave the bread to the disciples, who distributed it to the people.”

In our scripture text, Jesus gave to his disciples so that they could give to others. Jesus is a food sharer. He certainly could have fed the people and just had the disciples sit back and watch, but that’s not what He’s after. He’s after us participating with Him. He wants us to take what we’ve been given, in faith, and share that with others.

As this week comes to an end, I want to encourage you to reflect on what you’ve been given this week. Look for opportunities to share the good things that have come your way. The best you could ever share with someone is Jesus. But let’s also be honest folks, don’t be stingy with those nachos. Spread the love around.

Have a great weekend.

Spotlight Tag, or Bought

When I was a kid, my friend Jeff had a sleepover party, and I got invited to it. I was so pumped. Staying up late, playing spotlight tag. I loved playing spotlight tag. I still love playing spotlight tag.

I arrived at Jeff’s house and there was pizza, and movies, and a lot of guys from our class were there. When it got dark enough, Jeff’s dad rounded us all up to go outside and play spotlight tag in the woods behind their house. Looking back on it, man, Jeff’s parents were saints. Can you imagine a dozen little boys all pumped up on Mountain Dew running around your house?

Matthew 13:44 (NKJV) “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and hid; and for joy over it he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.”

Most of the time playing spotlight tag, you did everything you could to not get caught. But if you were the last person on the team…well, sitting out in the woods alone, in the dark, gets boring after a while. It can get creepy. Then you’re praying that someone finds you. You’ll start whistling or humming or just walk right out into the open just to get it over with so everyone could start a new round. Sometimes you want to get found; sometimes you don’t.

I think I’ve always read verse 44 backwards. All this time, I saw myself as the man finding the treasure and selling all to gain it. That may very well be an accurate application, and to some degree, I think that’s right on. To possess the kingdom, you have to sell all from your old life (figuratively) so that you can rightfully possess this new life.

But today it struck me that maybe that’s not the full story. You see, I wasn’t looking for God. Quite the opposite. I wasn’t trying to get found; I was trying to stay hidden. I was getting adjusted to the dark, and I was quite content to sit there a while. I was the one lost, and I was the one who got found. He gave up all to buy me.

Thinking of the verse that way, it means He thinks that I’m a treasure. Not just a treasure but valuable enough to sell all and buy me. He had to shed glory and majesty to buy me out. He gave up the riches of heaven to come buy me out of my bondage. It took that much.

Thinking of the verse in these terms also means that He was glad to do it. For joy He sold all. It pleased Him to find me. It pleased Him to find you. He thinks you’re a treasure. He thinks you’re worth it. I hope that truth shines a little light on your week.

It Takes Time, or Delicious Carb Machine 5000

The Delicious Carb Machine 5000- The most amazing invention known to modern man. Ok, that’s not its real name, but it should be. This is why they don’t let me name things or work in marketing, because I would name things ‘The Delicious Carb Machine 5000’.

I really like our bread maker. It makes bread. It makes pizza crust. A recipe book came with it that says you can make other things, but in real life, do you need anything other than bread or pizza crust? I guess I don’t, because I’ve only ever used it to make bread or pizza crust. True story.

Matthew 13:33 (NLT) “Jesus also used this illustration: ‘The Kingdom of Heaven is like the yeast a woman used in making bread. Even though she put only a little yeast in three measures of flour, it permeated every part of the dough.'”

A bread machine is amazing. You put in the ingredients, poke a little hole in the flour, spoon in a couple teaspoons of yeast, and your work is done. Measure, pour, press a button. The machine spins stuff around a bit, but it’s actually the yeast that does the hard work.

Just a little yeast eventually works through all the dough, making all of it rise. It takes patience and time. It takes a lot of time. A bread machine is great for a sandwich tomorrow. If you want a sandwich now, you need to go to the grocery store.

After the dough rises, you have to wait again for it to bake. Waiting for the dough to rise and bake feels like it takes forever. I’m not good at waiting. But if you rush it, if you shortcut the process, it won’t rise to it’s full potential, or it won’t bake through and it’ll be a doughy mess. It takes time.

Maybe you haven’t risen to the point you thought you would by now. Give it time. Be patient. In yesterday’s scripture, we saw that God sows seeds, and seeds take time to grow and produce. Yeast takes time to work, but it works thoroughly. God is doing a thorough work in you. That work just takes time. Don’t shortcut it.

Maybe you’ve risen and now the heat is on. Stick it out. You weren’t meant to be dough. God’s making you into bread, and bread doesn’t bake without some heat. Don’t shortcut it. It takes time.

The Worst Farmers Ever, or Sowing Seeds

“We’re pretty much the worst farmers ever,” she proclaimed on the video she was taking.
“What the world? It’s winter time. Nothing grows in the winter time,” my wife and I replied.
“Still, we’re pretty bad at it,” my daughter said.
Folks: It. Was. Winter. My daughter has a very high bar for what successful gardening looks like. For her, if it’s not growing and producing, even in winter, it’s an epic failure.

We started a garden the first spring after we moved in our home. We went from having zero land in the city to having acres and acres of land in the country. Our garden was our way of dipping our toe back into the American dream: a yard with a garden, kids playing, animals frolicking. Our country hearts had been bustling in the city for too long. Our new home would be our own little dirty-hippie-commune of plants and animals and Jesus and eternal sunshine. Adam and Eve in the garden once again.

I could see it all so clearly. It would be glorious. It would be like that scene in Gladiator where he’s walking through the wheat field, but without being gladiated and murdered to death. Our little heaven on earth.

We didn’t have a tiller, but that’s ok. Real dirty hippies don’t use tillers. That’s right folks. We’re those kind of dirty hippies. So we broke up the ground with hand tools. There were some blisters, but no biggie. Part of doing business, and brother, business was a’ booming. We bought seeds and plants. We sprouted, and planted, and tended, and watered, and fertilized. We worked, and we were reaping.

However, the squash bugs didn’t get the memo that this was our own personal piece of dirty-hippie-living-off-the-land heaven. It took some bit of Googling before my wife figured out what all those bugs were. It took some more Googling to find a solution to our pest problem. We lost a lot of squash plants, but not all of them. We kept seeing a harvest come in every week.

And then winter rolled around. Everything in the garden went dormant or died off. Year one of gardening, according to my wife and me, was a success. We planted; we harvested. This is how gardening works. But our daughter saw winter as conclusive proof of our epic failure at gardening.

Not to be discouraged by bugs or sayers of nay, come spring, we were back at it again. This time we were prepared for squash bugs. I was ready to go Hippie-Roman-Legion on those jokers. The bugs we were prepared for. But we weren’t prepared for health issues that took us away from our garden. At some point it became a choice of taking care of my wife, or tending our garden. So the garden took a back seat. Added to that, the deer also didn’t get the memo. We weren’t prepared for the deer using our garden as their morning breakfast buffet. We weren’t prepared.

Matthew 13:8,23 (NLT) “Still other seeds fell on fertile soil, and they produced a crop that was thirty, sixty, and even a hundred times as much as had been planted!…The seed that fell on good soil represents those who truly hear and understand God’s word and produce a harvest of thirty, sixty, or even a hundred times as much as had been planted!”

There was a direct cause/effect relationship in the amount of time we invested into our garden in terms of how much vegetables came out of it. The less we weeded, the less we got. The less we watered, the more plants withered. What wasn’t protected from the deer was consumed. But even last year’s garden, I don’t believe, was an epic failure. We still pulled some cucumbers out. Squash. Purple potatoes. A couple sweet potatoes. A few raspberries. Sunflowers bloomed and traced the sun’s track across the sky. Compared to the number of seeds planted, we still raked in good profit. We had planted a good bit, so even through the toll of bugs, deer and neglect, we saw some veggies out of it. It was short lived, sure. But had health and deer not conspired against us, we’d probably still be eating squash.

There’s a couple takeaways from the extended passage in Matthew and from gardening in general:

We still saw a harvest even though some harvest was stolen or choked out
- Some seed always falls on good soil and produces for you.
- When faced with the decision to plant or not to plant, plant.
- More seeds planted gives you better odds of weathering disaster.
  - If we would have planted 3 plants, we would have been sunk. By planting more, we put the odds more in our favor.
God is a planter
- Very rarely do we see God operating in the realm of instant gratification. That’s what makes miracles miraculous. They don’t happen that often, but they do happen. Some would say the fact that we pulled anything good out of our garden last year is miraculous. They wouldn’t be wrong, but by planting a lot of seeds, we were still able to see a harvest.
- Though miracles by their nature are rare, the nature of seeds is not rare at all. God sows seeds all the time: in your yard, in the forest, in the fields- seeds abound. Plant seeds.
It takes time and time is cyclical
- Related to above, from seed to harvest takes time. If you try to rush it, you’ll just end up frustrated.
- There are seasons. Contrary to what my daughter thinks, most things won’t grow in winter time. That doesn’t mean that your ground is stricken and that all hope is lost.

I was reminded again this morning that last week is done. Last year is way done. Today is another start. Spring is on its way. This week you have an incredible opportunity to plant more seeds. Today, you have an incredible opportunity for God to plant more seeds in you. Even one seed or one plant can produce a big harvest, but the more you plant the better your odds. Get out there and plant good things. Get in the word and let Him plant good things in you. Plant seeds this week, good seeds, and trust Him to bring in the harvest. Let Him plant lots of good seeds in you through frequently reading the bible, through prayer, and through spending time with Him.

Monopoly, or What’s the Score

“How did you even beat me?” I asked.
“I got all your money and all your properties.”
That was that.

My daughter will take all your money. She’ll make you mortgage all your properties. She’ll do it without trying. She’ll be sweet. She won’t pressure you or play dirty. She’ll come from behind, and make it look easy to beat you. It’s unbelievable. She has the Monopoly gift.

The weird thing with Monopoly is that having a lot of money or property early in the game doesn’t really mean that you’ll end up winning. Monopoly is a weird game like that. You can have more money and more property than anyone, and then ‘poof’; you’re done. All it takes are a few good rolls, or a few bad ones, and the score changes completely.

Matthew 12:20 (NASB) “He who is not with Me is against Me; and he who does not gather with Me scatters.”

There’s been a ton of times playing Monopoly where I thought I had it in the bag. “Hang it up folks, cause this is what winning looks like.” And then my sweet little baby girl would ruthlessly pick me apart without even trying. Savage. Scattering savage.

There’s also been times in real life, and unfortunately there have been more than a couple, where I thought I was winning. I thought I was winning personally and socially. I thought I was winning at work. I ended up picked apart and scattered.

So, as we close out the week, we have to ask: What is the score? Were you working with Jesus, or would a good wind scatter you? If you worked with Him: boom. You win. Congratulations. Pass go. Collect $200. If you weren’t working with Him, don’t despair. This is your chance to take another roll, and hit that sweet sweet Free Parking.

Just like in Monopoly, the score can change at the drop of a hat. To change direction today and to work with Him is to win. Have a great weekend.

Weird Math, or Getting In The Game

Jesus does math weird. I don’t mean that disrespectfully, and I say that as someone who isn’t that great at math; it’s just weird how things add up for Him. Remember the parable about the vineyard owner who paid the folks who worked an hour the same as the folks who worked all day? I mean, that’s weird math.

He does that over and over in scripture. 5,000 grown men standing around hungry (not counting the women and kids)? ‘Yep, a few biscuits and a couple fish should do just fine.’ And then He gets 12 baskets of leftovers out of it. That’s some weird math.

Need to pay the temple tax? ‘Cool, no problem. Peter, you go fishing, and the fish will have the money we need.’ I’ve been fishing plenty, and I’ve never fished out a coin from a fish’s mouth. Weird math.

‘Hey, I’m going to send you 70 guys out on a huge ministry trip to every city you can possibly visit, so make sure you don’t even take a change of clothes or absolutely any money at all.’ That is some weird math. That’s dangerous math.

The way God balances the books is weird. It doesn’t look the way it would look if I did it. It doesn’t add up when I do the math, and yet everything still balances out right.

Matthew 10:40-32 (NLT) “Anyone who receives you receives me, and anyone who receives me receives the Father who sent me. If you receive a prophet as one who speaks for God, you will be given the same reward as a prophet. And if you receive righteous people because of their righteousness, you will be given a reward like theirs. And if you give even a cup of cold water to one of the least of my followers, you will surely be rewarded.”

The math of God’s rewards works in similar odd fashion. A facilitator of ministry, in the eyes of God, shares equally with the one actually doing the work. It’s odd, and amazing all at once when you really stare at the implications of it.

Show up to that ministry event: boom, rewarded. Give financially so someone can fulfill their calling: boom, equal share. If worse comes to worse, a cup of cold water will do: boom, rewarded.

When you receive an ambassador from a country, you in effect receive the country that ambassador represents. That’s the kind of math that God operates on. It’s a math involving authority much more than numbers or dollars. When you receive Jesus, You receive the one He represents. When you receive or support one of Jesus’ laborers, you receive the One they represent. It’s (a = b = c) style math.

I could be wrong, so grain of salt, but I believe that results belong to God. He’s in control of results. I don’t think He sits up at night worrying about the results of our labor. I think what He’s really interested in is folks getting in the game at any and every level. I think He’s really interested in seed planters. ‘Have one seed? Cool, sow it. Have a thousand seeds? Cool, sow them.’
I think He purposefully called fishermen to speak to a greater truth. ‘Have one line to throw out? Cool, throw it out there. Have ten? Cool, throw them out there.’ He seems to be much more interested in folks getting in the game, than He is about what they bring to the game. He’s a rewarder of those who get in the game.

So, at our mid week check in, I want to encourage you to get in the game. Everyone can do something to support the work of Christ. No contribution is too small. No act of faith goes unnoticed. Get in the game. Get involved. Get your rewards.

I Stabbed My Cousin With A Ka-Bar Fighting Knife…on accident, or Cut

Honest Sharing Time: I stabbed my cousin with a Ka-Bar Fighting Knife, once. Easy, tiger- It was accidental. I love said cousin like a brother, so forth and etc. It was an accident. How do you accidentally stab someone with a Ka-Bar Fighting Knife, you ask? Two words. Catlike reflexes.

“Ahhh! You stabbed me. I can’t believe you just stabbed me,” he said.
He more screamed-whined it, but you get the idea. We were in my mother’s kitchen. It was Christmastime. The scream of pain and disbelief was sharply contrasted by the comforting smell of ham, and gravy, and rolls, and banana pudding.
“What did you expect? You shouldn’t have tried to take it from me,” I replied.
Let’s get real for a second. It’s simple math.

Donnie’s Rule of Knife Math: If you have a knife, and another person doesn’t, and if said other person thinks it’s a good idea to issue a challenge of any sort, there’s a better than 60% chance said other person will bleed his or her own blood. It’s not personal, or even purposeful. It’s just math.
There is a simple formula for the math inclined:
Person A has knife + Person B issues challenge = Person B gets bloody

Then again, empathy is not my strong suit when it comes to blade combat. We all have our flaws, folks, and I guess that is one of mine. Kidding. Eh, kind of.

This toy of death was a Christmas gift my cousin received mere hours earlier. Somehow him showing it to me and letting me get my grubbies on it morphed into him proclaiming, “I bet I could take that from you.”

Grain of salt, this is how I remember it. He issues the challenge, then goes to reach for the knife, and grabs it by the blade. True story. I would also like to point out that the factually correct thing for him to have scream-whined would be ‘Ah, you cut me. I can’t believe you cut me.’ Moral of the story: Donnie may cut you. Again, kidding. Mostly.

Matthew 10:34 (NKJV) “Do not think that I came to bring peace on earth. I did not come to bring peace but a sword.”

You never think it’s going to be someone you know. I guess that works both ways. You never think someone you know would stab you with a Ka-Bar Fighting Knife, and you never think you’ll stab someone you know and love with a Ka-Bar Fighting Knife. Weird how life works. Life is sometimes bloody.

Takeaway: Don’t despair if you get cut. It’ll happen. Rub some mud on it and move on as best you can. I hope that you’re having peace this week, but if not, if you’re in a battle, take heart. You have a Savior who carries a big sword. You’re not in the battle alone. You can make it with Him fighting at your side.

Three Wishes, or This

If you were suddenly in a genie in a bottle type situation and you got three wishes, what would they be?

One working fully functional Iron Man suit
1.3 billion dollars (US Currency)
Three more wishes

Kidding. Mostly. But in real life, if Jesus showed up and said, ‘Anything you want, whatever it is, you name it; you can have it right now,” what would you really say? Money? Healing? A family member’s salvation? Before you dismiss the question as foolish, I will add that several people in the Bible did receive this very offer:

Solomon
The Disciples James and John
Bartimaeus

Mark 10:51 (NKJV) “So Jesus answered and said to him, ‘What do you want Me to do for you?‘ The blind man said to Him, ‘Rabboni, that I may receive my sight.'”

I want to encourage you again to take a leap of faith, and to ask. Ask Him for what you need. Ask for big things. Ask. There’s no need too great; there’s no request too small. Have courage this week to ask.

Matthew 9:18 (NKJV) “And when He had come into the house, the blind men came to Him. And Jesus said to them, ‘Do you believe that I am able to do this?‘”

Whatever your ‘this’ is, He is able. Whatever your need is, He is greater. Do you believe? Ask and believe courageously this week.