Stuck in a room full of broken toys.

Last night I sat with a group of wonderful people who were basically, a collection of misfits, walking wounded and broken pieces of humanity.

And I wouldn’t have traded it for the world.

Photo courtesy jennijumble

I’m at the Laity Lodge writer’s retreat and I with some amazing craftsman. On one hand, they are the titans of wordsmithing. On the other, they are one messed up bunch of people.

As we shared our stories, there was a common theme of shattered dreams, hurt and challenges. There was the one with cancer, who had beaten it once, only to be faced with its unmerciful return. And another who at midlife was looking for an entirely different career direction.  And another who’s nephew had been involved in a terrible car crash that forever changed the lives of five teenagers.  And another who lived through divorce and the resulting feeling of abandonment.

Others spoke of addictions, fears, misdirection, and frustration in life. There was loss of life, dignity and hope.

Basically, It was a room full of broken toys.

What a wonderful place to be.

In my life I’ve sat in rooms with important people. I’ve been with politicians, bankers and world changers. I’ve exchanged ideas with leaders who command thousands of employees with billions of dollars in their responsibility. I’ve dined with writers and artists and philosophers. 

I’ve been with righteous people, living under the same roof of those that did no wrong. Every jot and tittle they followed and oh, how I wanted to belong.

I wanted to be like them, and so I faked my way. I was the do-gooder.  I was the important person. I was the man.

Never would I have imagined joining the ranks of the outsiders. I used look down at those who didn’t have their acts together. They were the disobedient, the misguided, the willfully ignorant. They simply needed to follow the Book, or the Law, or just good common sense.

Then my wife left me. My father died. My friends abandoned me.

Little did I know that we never can choose the tornado that will sweep us off our feet.

I think of Jesus, who sat at the table with the malcontents, the despised and the abused. He laughed and dipped his bread in their cups. He smiled at their jokes and mopped their tears with his robe. They sat with eyes alive again. Not because they were suddenly healed, or perfect, or together.  But because of hope.

This is where I belong. With them. With Jesus. 

My people. 

From Starter to Finisher

I’m a great Starter.

I have books with bookmarks carefully marking the last time I opened the book – months ago.

I have a garage full of tiles, all measured with a new tile saw and glue. The kitchen floor still has the old lineoleum, dirty looking, torn on the edges.

I have big ideas for books, articles and studies that fill notebooks. I’ve sold a million copies – in my mind.

At work I have initiatives, projects and enhancements, all scribbled on pieces of paper on the left-hand side of my desk. My boss hired me because I was driven, but I’ve pulled off to the slow lane.

I have a flower garden tilled and fertilized, but barren of any plant life.

I have friendships that I launched with a dinner or an activity. We laughed and shared, connecting in ways that only God instills. But they langish with inattention.

Starters are great at the gun, but they never finish the race

We all know the difference between big talking and big doing and anything in between we find ways to justify.

Thinking creatively is one of God’s gifts that He gave me. I recognize the responsibility that accompanies that, and am just now grasping the need to turn those thoughts into deeds. To be an idea guy is great, but it’s wholly unfair to let others do the hard lifting while I dream another dream.

Anyone can be a Starter. I want to be a Finisher.

The end of poverty

Is it possible that we could see the end of extreme poverty in just a generation?

According to Dr. Scott Todd, of Compassion International, it is entirely possible. 

He listed some amazing trends:

• Currently, 1.4 billion people on earth live in extreme poverty, not having access to medical help, healthy food, clean water and who experience many other issues that plague those caught in poverty. But this is a number that has been cut in half since 1980!
• In 22 countries, the malaria rate has been cut in half.
• Thirty years ago, 40,000 children died each day from preventable causes.

• Twenty years ago, that number dropped to 33,000. Today, it's 21,000. Still too many, but that's a 50 percent reduction in a generation.
• During that period, those living in extreme poverty fell from 52 percent of the world to just 26 percent.
• In the last eight years, children's measles deaths have fallen by 78 percent. 

In this amazing video below, Scott said. “If the generation before ours did this, just imagine what our generation can do.”

At church today, they showed the video and put up 351 Compassion International children for sponsorship. They were snapped up in just about two hours, with a long waiting list of sponsors without children.

Poverty gone, In a generation? 

Could it be .... ours?

What do you think? Possible without government aid or coercion? 

P.S. I sponsored two children. Billy Cher-fils and Fleurette Anna Normil.

According to the Compassion Haiti page, there are 1510 children who need sponsorship at just $39 a month.

Joining with Michele over at Graceful for her "Hear it on Sunday, use it on Monday" community. At her church, they talked about the foreign poor and she asked about compassion fatigue. Read other posts here.

This class clown is laughing again

The gift of laughter is perhaps life’s most precious gift – short of life itself.

The ability to turn the edges of the mouth up with a twinkle in the eye starts at the first congnitive stages of a baby’s life. She looks into your faces and waits for a sign of joy, and then she lights up.

Throughout life we pay people to entertain us, we gravitate toward those who make us happy, and we find ways to sharpen our sense of humor. We love to laugh, yet so few do, burdened by the seriousness of this world.

Here’s a secret. I was voted both Most Likely to Succeed AND the Class Clown in high school. My mother was proud of me, then not. That kind of mixed message has dogged me my whole life.

At one point last year, I realized it had been months since I had a good belly laugh. Relationship difficulties, work pressure and financial issues had robbed my life of joy.

So I began to embrace those who really did love me without condemnation. I learned how to love books and fishing, quiet mornings and talks with God.

Photo by cxg231

I found great joy in being around those who love laughter. They remind me to loosen up ... and laugh.

Recently I saw a home movie at church. Some people had gone into the dark, grim reality of a South African slum with a camera. They came out with images of poverty -- and children everywhere, laughing, hollering and smiling. The lesson I learned was that laughter is totally independent of your circumstances. In fact, the worse off you are, the more you need to laugh.

Once again, I'm living the life as the successful clown.

Writing in community with Deidra @ Jumping Tandem as part of The High Calling writing project on laughter.

Great Expectations: When is Good Not Good Enough?

I have a busy life.
Church. Writing. Teaching. Fellowship.
Much of it centers around what I think are righteous, moral things.


I've been a good neighbor. I mow my yard. I painted my peeling trim. I pull my trash cans in at night.
I've been a good husband, kind and gracious, patient and loving.
I've been a good father, listening and instructional, not exasperating my children.
I've been a good worker, listening to my boss and helping my company with its goals.


But the truth is that all that activity isn't enough.

Photo by tokiipictures via Flikr

"Belief is not enough
Personal morality is not enough
Worship is not enough
Christian community is not enough
God has always demanded more"
* Rich Stearns, The Hole in Our Gospel


I am in the lifelong chase of great expectations. I have my list, and you probably have your's too. Many of those items are forged by some modern concept of Christianity. Some of our expectations we have include a moment of personal salvation, regular church attendance, moral living and right thinking, among other things.

But all of that stuff really pales when I read this verse.

"Take up your cross and follow Me” (Matthew 16:24)


He wants my faith to not be a separate experience from my work, school home or community. He wants my faith to be lived out in real life. He wants it to infuse my thoughts, my motives, and my actions. He wants it to spice my language and thoughts. He wants it visible, lived out in those around me.

He wants faith that goes beyond mere words, simple faith or easy talk.

He wants all of me. 


And still I resist.


Care to comment?


Thanks to Bonnie over at Grace Barista who prompted this post. Read some of the others who were similiarly prompted here. 

Warning signs everywhere, but do I read them?

We live in a society that needs to warn us about every danger out there. If every contingency isn't covered, and you do something stupid, you can always sue.

The Michigan Lawsuit Abuse Watch monitors how silly this can become with its Annual Wacky Warning Label Contest. The competition reveals how the lawsuits have created a need for warnings that really should be just common sense. Here are some of the winners over the years:

• A label on a baby stroller warns: “Remove child before folding.”
• A brass fishing lure with a three-pronged hook on the end warns: “Harmful if swallowed.”
• A flushable toilet brush warns: “Do not use for personal hygiene.”
• The label on an electric blender warns: “Never remove food or other items from the blades while the product is operating.”
• The label on a bottle of drain cleaner warns: “If you do not understand, or cannot read, all directions, cautions and warnings, do not use this product.”
• A cardboard car sunshield that keeps sun off the dashboard warns, “Do not drive with sunshield in place.”
• A 13-inch wheel on a wheelbarrow warns: “Not intended for highway use.”
• A can of self-defense pepper spray warns users: “May irritate eyes.”

While these are silly, there are many warnings in the Red Letters --Warnings against sin, disobedience, greed and lust. There are signs that I miss, labels that i don't read, warnings that I ignore.

And I do so at my own peril.

What about you? What other holy warning signs have you ignored. Do they go in one ear, and out the other?

It's not brain surgery

Who needs the party pooper?

"One man's theology is another man's belly laugh."-Robert A. Heinlein

I was recently reminded by an old friend of some old sins of mine -- some things that I did a long time ago. In my past I've lied, stolen, cheated and by association, committed adultry and murder.  I have lived out the consequences of those failures, admitted them and taken action to prevent a reoccurence. This is what God calls 'repentance.'

But all of that wasn't enough for this person. For them, true penitence is a lifetime of failure, of regret and shame -- for everyone else of course.

There are far too many dour – yet sincere – Christians, who only know the life of sorrow. They are permanently prostate –– repenting of unknown sins, confessing long-forgiven attitudes and humbled because their own humanity.

Jesus says to them, "Get up! I have come to give you joy. I have come to give life -- in abundance."

Photo by Seb !

God didn’t save a wretch like me just to keep me a wretch. He took me, wiped the crud from my eyes, scraped the ugly crust from my heart and put my smile on my face. He put me in a seat next to him at the table and told me to eat up.

He gave me this world and told to relish its wonders. He put people in my life and told me to influence them with his power and his grace. He put other people who fail in my path so I could love them and show them a better way.

"Therefore you now have sorrow; but I will see you again and your heart will rejoice, and your joy no one will take from you."
-- Jesus Christ, John 16.22

The Grace Party is a raucous party. It’s full of people who have begun to live again. It’s a party other sinners are drawn to, because they too want to live. If you aren’t sure you’re a legalist, just look at your face? Look at your friends faces? Look at your parties. If there is no joy, no life in them, then its time to put away your rule book and find the authentic Jesus.

Don't be a party pooper.

Care to comment?

How Slinkys Could Have Changed the World

(You can read this full post today over at The High Calling. What follows is an abbreviated version)

When I was a kid, I loved Slinkys. I still do. So I was intrigued to read about the inventor, Richard James.

It was the waning months of World War II and he was working on a power monitor meter for a naval battleship. One of the tension springs he was fitting accidentally fell to the ground. It bounced, righted itself, and then began to walk across the floor. With a little more tinkering, the Slinky was born. Since that day, more than 250 million have been sold around the world.


James was serious with his faith and began to turn his life - and his fortune - over to God. Eventually, he cleaned out his bank accounts and liquidated his stocks and bonds.

Image by Rachel Knickmeyer.
Used with permission.
Sourced via Flickr.

He surprised many when he announced that he was walking away from the company and moving to South America to serve the mission full time.

While in Bolivia, he was committed to living a life of poverty. Refusing to raise support, he trusted God for every nickel.

The story is told that he still held on to a metal die of his famous invention, thinking that if things didn’t work out, he could manufacture and market the toy to a South American audience. Eventually, he threw the die into the sea, wanting no escape clause.

In a letter to a friend he wrote, “The more I am in this world, the more I can see that there is nothing - familys, money, education, factories, position, reputation - that amounts to a piece of dust, outside of Christ. I want Him and only Him.”

At first, I was struck by the selflessness of this man, giving up everything. What devotion! But then I read the rest of the story. He was so enamored with his mission call, that he abandoned his wife and six children – a dark mark on any “righteous act.” I’ve seen first-hand such misguided fervency and there’s little honor in that.

He also left the company, its employees and supplies to his wife’s control, totally unconcerned with its fate.

So my question is as simple – and complex -- as the Slinky design: what if Richard James had stuck with Slinky, using his business smarts, fortune and passion for Jesus? Could he have developed people – both at home and abroad? Could he have found ways to make a difference in Bolivia, South America and the globe?

And what if he had been as devoted to his family as he was to God?

No doubt he influenced some Bolivians, and I would never disparage those serving on the mission field. But in this case, he really only changed himself. If he had stayed at Slinky, he might have changed the world.


What do you think? Comment here.

Tomorrow. Maybe.

I’ve got big plans – places to be, things to do.

But they can wait for  tomorrow.

I’ve got dishes to do, laundry to fold and a bathroom to clean.

Tomorrow.

I have a friend to call, a relationship to patch up, a letter to write.

Tomorrow.

I have a brother in need, a sister in sorrow. Sure, I’ll see them.

Tomorrow.

I have a book to write, a fence post to set, a yard to  mulch.

Tomorrow.

I can talk about all the things I’ll do later – and really, I’m just fooling myself. Because later – including tomorrow, next week, next month or next year - are not really promised. They're on the printed calendar, but who really knows? 

What arrogance that I would presume that these important things can be done later.

 Photo by karissa_lynne

The future is a thief, stealing all the creativity and innovation from today. It steals the passion and the pleasure, the motivation and compassion, and the grand ideals of the moment. It rips all the good out of the right now.

Maybe tomorrow. But today makes far more sense.


Care to comment?

10 Years Later: What did you hear from the pulpit?

The ten-year anniversary of the terrorist attacks falls on a Sunday this year.

I wasn't sure I wanted the church to to say anything from the pulpit.

But terrorism strikes at the core of our beings. It's fear that causes us to respond with fight or flight. It's fear that causes us to run, to feel and and lash out in anger.

Seeing airplanes crash into buildings caused me to think about my own selfish mortality first, then my thoughts turned toward revenge. Hardly godly thinking.

In the days after the attack on our nation, churches were stuffed full. People reached inside and found gaping holes for God. They made connections with family and friends. They made resolutions to be better people, to give back to the community, to exist with purpose.

And then we forgot. So has the church.

To their credit, my church spoke about fear today. And how fear causes us to do so many things. A  controlling spouse has at her core fear. A controlling parent is motivated by fear.  A self-righteous Christian is a fearful one.

What did you hear today?? Comment here. 

(Hooking up with Michelle Derusha, Hear it on Sunday)

So What If It's Old? In Praise Of Things Worn Out.

I held it in my hands. The checkered blue pattern was familiar, but the lines were blending into each other. There were holes in the elbows and another near the tail.   I pushed my face into the soft fabric and smelled the faded memories.

I can't get rid of this shirt.

It was one of those medium-weight shirts, the kind you wear on a cool autumn evening or a spring day when the beats down on the streets steaming from the melted snow. 

In that shirt I had run to the store - a dozen times, probably more -- to get a gallon of milk, or flour or diapers. In that shirt I had shoveled the walk after a dusting of snow and brought in another load of wood.

In that shirt I had held my son close after he fell off his scooter. Wrapped in it's soft folds I did chores and sat around the fire trying to warm the living room. In it, I held a sad face, tears soaking into its seams. Another stupid thing I said or did, trying to make it all better.

I can’t get rid of this shirt.

It can’t be repaired. But it’s loved. So what if it’s old.

And as I look around, there are other things. A table with nicks from the kids, crashing trucks into the spindles. And I have a car with more miles than it would take to  drive to the moon.  There’s a worn-out hammer, the same one my dad swung for all those years.

So what if they’re old

I look in the mirror. Wrinkles formed around my eyes. I could blame the weather, or stress, or the angry stares of those who know no grace. I feel my knees, scraping together sinew on sinew. Things aren’t the way they were.

So what.

Thank goodness I have a God who loves me, and when I offer all my excuses of why he should just move on, he says, "So what!"


It's Bragging on God Friday. See others here.

Stunts for God

If you are like me, you're ready to dump this hum-drum life and really start making a difference. There are so many needs out there -- real hurts. I imagine what I could do if I were really fulfilling my potential. There is so much change that needs to occur in my workplace, my family, and my neighborhood -- and I could do something about it. Why stop there? Why not the world?

Would it mean a change in profession, even mission work or full-time ministry? How about some great ideas or leadership?

Photo by rod lewis

Would it require intensive study, deep mediation, or lessons in theology?

I wish I was really gifted to speak or write, influencing others. Even just a few tricks, some amazing stunts that would help God out.

Bonnie Gray wrote how God moves our understanding, "Just as I slipped into winter, I stumbled onto spring." It's this way for me too, finding answers without even looking.

The answer to this moving in my soul is simple.

"So here's what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life—and place if before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him."
—Romans 12:1, The Message

The deep Christian walk is less about a life of great deeds, rather it is more about a thousand little acts of obedience, lived out in the everyday, ordinary life.

And that starts by ingesting the Red Letters of Christ, living them out in your school, your home, your work and your neighborhood. One ...Moment....At a time.

You can comment here.

Read others who are writing about season of life over at Faith Barista.

Labor Day Reflections: Power to the People!

On this Labor Day, I'm thinking about work. My job has been unusually stressful, and shows no abatement. It has cut into my relationship, my pleasure, and my sleep. Still I am grateful. I'm employed and I think I'm making a difference. 

But I must admit, I often relegate my work to duty -- punch the clock, do what's expected, and go home. And that's sad, because it could be so much more.

The Reformation brought about many things in the sixteenth century, including a destruction of aristocracy, an unprededented equality and the closure of the gulf between the laity and the priesthood

The established church was ensconced in power – considering their ministry sacred and despising all else as secular.

But the New Testament teaches something altogether different

“But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God's special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.”

--- I Peter 2:9

"Power to the People,” as the masses read the Bible for themselves – and it changed their lives.

Suddenly, the sacred found itself in music, in art, in expressions of kind. Men built bridges to God and erected buildings for His glory. Farmers plowed the sacred ground of the Almighty and blacksmith banged their awls as unto the Lord.

Today, many of us have retreated to the Middle Ages of the workplace. Our work is sadly, just work. It’s a penance because we are not independently wealthy. It’s punishment for some undetermined sin. We labor. We sweat. We toil for nothing.

We have forgotten the power of the Reformer, the ushering in of the wonderful day-to-day ministry of the sacred.We all can appreciate the daily inward dwelling of God and can recognize that it should make a difference in what you do, “into His wonderful light."

The serene beauty of a holy life is the most powerful influence in the world next to the power of God. -- Blaise Pascal

How is your work going? Are you making a difference? Comment below so we all share in this union of reformers.