GET YOUR FEET WET

I made a decision quite a while back. It's not really a vow; but almost. When life finds me near the ocean I make an effort to get my feet wet. This pseudo-self-pact has put me ankles deep in the midnight moonlight in Charleston; body-surfing (completely unprepared) in a shrivellingly chilly Pacific; knee deep in the Great White's home turf Indian Ocean off South Africa's Eastern Cape; and the requisite frolics in the Gulf - which really don't count because most were designed beach excursions. (Not to mention an early spring run in, and quickly out of, Lake Michigan - not an ocean, so it only kind of counts. Oh yeah, and an ill-advised winter swim in Old Mill Creek - but that was college, and something we really don't talk about.)

My point is, I have to be reminded from time to time to get my feet wet. Literally doing so drives the point home. LIVE! GET YOUR FEET WET!

I don't necessarily like sand getting into places averse to sand (and abrasion). It is easier most times to simply enjoy the view. It is more comfortable. But when I get my feet wet, it reminds me life is not about seeking the greatest comfort. Life is about passion. Life is about LIVING!

Can't hide selfies from mirrored lenses

So today's cardio was a power-walk on Cocoa Beach in the rain. The guy next to me on the flight home is probably less excited about my wet-dog, sweaty beach smell. But hey, I got my feet wet!

Get your feet wet!

For now...
D

And a little work on the pier

Why I Am Quitting "Working Out"

I am done working out. It is my resolution. I realize this is counter to a seemingly infinite number of resolutions - especially judging by the crowds in my gym the last seven days.

Sadly, we all know the plethora of spandexed gym-goers will suffer drastic reduction. Soon. Many begin their new workout lifestyle with best intentions. Resolutions to
lose weight, get healthy, be active, and so on. Most will quit working out. I am done working out too.

I've worked out most of my life; since most of my life is now the span between being a competitive athlete and today. I've hit the gym. I've lifted hard. I've ellipticalled, and rowed; run and stepped. It's been a pretty good run (pardon that pun). But now I'm done.

I am done working out.

And I begin to train (again).

Training is not the same as working out. There is a focus and purpose inherent in training that is absent in working out. At the very least, these hugely important motivators became stunted (for me).

I have a daughter who plays professional soccer. She trains. Another daughter is a competitive fitness athlete. She trains. My son plays basketball. He trains.

Somewhere along the way, I started working out, and forgot to train... In many areas of life.

So...

I'm done working out in the gym. I will train. 

I'm done working out in my relationships. I will train. 

I am done working out in my spiritual life. I will train.

I am done working out in my career. I will train. 

I am done working out with my purpose. I will train. 

I will train... because working out will not bring me the life for which I am designed. 

I will train...

Sometimes training hurts... Not training kills.

For now...

D

MAKE YOUR BED

What was the first thing you did this morning? Today being the first of a new year, I'll ask, what is the first thing you did in 2017?

Me? Made the bed. I was never a bed-maker in the past. I just figured, why; I'm going to crawl right back in there tonight. Then I saw this:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KgzLzbd-zT4

I feel a strange sense of accomplishment making my bed first thing - shoulder aching from sleeping wrong (it's an old football thing), in desperate need of coffee and the bathroom (it's an old thing).

It's kind of funny: I never really know where a post is headed when I begin to write. This one began as a Back-to-it (more on that in a minute). It started out as a devotional thought on Matthew chapter seven; which I'll get-back-to as soon as this is wrapped.

That said, while I was at the gym I began thinking about resolutions. Studies show that gyms across the country will be overcrowded for about 15 days. That's right, most resolutions last until January 15th. I'm no expert, but I think there are a few reasons for this. First, we make unbending resolutions with no room for self-grace. We say, "I will never...," or "I will always..." And at the first failure we are defeated. Secondly, we don't explore underlying beliefs and behaviors that act as self-made booby-traps lying in wait to blow up our new energy and momentum. And thirdly, we naively think change comes quickly. We miss the joy in the journey toward the goal. (In many ways, the journey is, in fact, the goal.)

So, at risk of running on too long with the post - and in no small part, with the help of the likes of Andy Stanley and Tony Robbins, here are a couple resolution thoughts I am applying:

- First things first. Make your bed! It's more than that actually. First things first means that I need to major on the majors and let the minors take care of themselves. It means having priorities not only through lip-service, but action.
- My direction determines my destination. I cannot change my destination in one day, but I can certainly change my direction NOW. And the direction on which I set out will determine my journey's destination.
- Back-to-its. There are practices in my life that I must get back to. These practices are first things first and directional. And therefore, musts and not shoulds.
- Musts over shoulds. Shoulds last until January 15. Musts drive us. Musts mold us. Musts write our story.
- Offer grace (to me). I am pretty good at extending grace to others. Not always so with self-grace. I'm cutting down on the I will nevers and I will always. Even so, I will fail. I will fall. And I will be gracious to myself. I will get up. I will continue on the journey.
- I hold the pen. My story is over half-written at this point. And though I have been formed by the words penned in the story of me, I am not destined to continue in the same narrative. The rest of my story is blank pages. And I hold the pen. (As a man of faith, I am in no way discounting God's hand. As a matter of fact, I will choose today whether to follow my understanding of his direction.) My point is, the words already written in the story of our lives does not determine the words yet to come. Today I have the opportunity to write with creativity and love what my story will be.

Oh - And I made my bed.

For now...
D

Why this god?

There are many gods: gods of fame, gods of fortune, gods of war, gods of love. There are football gods - there must be, I heard commentators refer to them and players point up to them. There are gods of vengeance and gods of... you get the point.

So the day after we celebrate the birth of Christ I'm led to ask a question: WHY THIS GOD?

It is my nature to question. My DNA leads me to wonder (as I wander). I am skeptical and sometimes critical. My four-year-old why? has grown into middle-age with me.

On the point of this question however, I am not left with only speculation. There are a multitude of things I doubt in this life - most have to do with me - but on this one, I'm settled.

WHY THIS GOD?

If you'll allow, I will answer another question first: Why not the other gods? 

First, they are little gods; and thus, the little g in gods. Secondly, they are limited gods. Thirdly, they are not God. As a matter of fact, they are not even gods, except that we give them the power to be.

But here is the most important reason; and the one that is particularly relevant and beautiful during this season. Gods - as in little-g gods (unfortunately the word begins this sentence and is therefore, captialized) - require from us. They require either power from us so they can be gods, or they require performance from us, that we might please them. Every fake god of our making fits into the former category, and every known god of religion, with the exception of ONE, fits into the latter.

So... WHY THIS GOD? 

...and he will be called Immanuel...

-- Isaiah 7:14

It is more than a nickname; it's his nature. And his mission. Immanuel (Emmanuel in the language of the New Testament) simply and powerfully means: GOD WITH US. 

This God doesn't need anything from us to be (or be more) God. He IS. This God doesn't even say to us, "Jump through this hoop, and this one, and this one... to please me enough to give you some sort of hope." This God is Immanuel, the God who came to us. And that is the difference. 

I'm not sure if you caught it. God came to us. He didn't ask us to climb to heaven via some moral rope ladder to prove ourselves worthy. Little-g gods demand we ascend to prove ourselves. This God condescended (and condescends) because, as stained as we are, he knows our worth. 

WHY THIS GOD? Because ...the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost - Luke 19:10. Immanuel came to us with a mission. He came to us with open arms and a smile. 

HE... CAME... TO... US. 

And that is WHY THIS GOD?

For now...

D

Purpose through pain...

"I don't think I'd ever been of service to anyone in my life... ever." 

As a former (and wanna-be) QB, this guy had everything I dreamt of. He was the number two overall pick in the 1998 draft - behind only Payton Manning.

He is living proof that fame and fortune can crumble. The only thing that really matters is the impact we have on others.

He learned the lesson through pain. It seems all the really important lessons in life are learned through pain.

We all go through the fires of life. The flames either burn us up or forge our character. And purpose, birthed out of the furnace of pain, is a powerful thing.

Watch it here:
http://www.newsbinge.com/ryan-leaf-finds-purpose-in-helping-recovering-addicts/

For now...
D

Have you ever wondered...?

Wonder how God sees you?

Wonder what he thinks of you?
Although this kid can sing...
It doesn't matter what the judges say.
We worry too much about what our judges say.
It really doesn't matter how the audience reacts.
Our audiences won't always love us.
But...
Watch his mother's response.
"Can I hug him?"
"I love him. That's my baby!"
Now multiply it by infinity and bathe it in the blood of a Savior...
Now you get just a glimpse.

See what great love the Father has lavished on us, 

that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are!

-- 1 John 3:1

For now...
D

The Sermon: INSIDE-OUT...

It seems we often get it upside-down. Maybe inside-out is a better description.

Beware practicing your righteousness... to be seen...

-- Matthew 6:1

The English word hypocrite comes from a compound Greek word used for actors in a play. It literally meant, "one who interprets from underneath." Ancient Greek actors wore large masks depicting their respective characters and hiding their true identities. They acted out their parts in the story according to the masks they wore.

The good thing about literal masks is they are easy to remove. Not so with the very real, but more subtle, masks most of us wear. It would be simpler if they were masks of paper mache, plastic or cloth. But these are masks of the heart. And often, having played the part to rave reviews, we eventually forget they exist. Or the masks become so comfortably worn, we choose to overlook them.

The SERMON ON THE MOUNT is incredibly deep. Yet it is simple. It is profound. Yet it is relatable. In these words spoken on an obscure hill two millennia ago, Jesus addresses the prevailing hypocrisy (acting) of religion, and in its place he promotes the beauty of of a better way.

The same masks exist today; the same parts being played out. We often find ourselves acting out a part for others to see. All the while, feeling empty or broken under the mask. It is not that we are truly living inside-out - that what is on the inside is being honestly displayed. Instead, we often portray on the outside what should be on the inside, what should be real... but isn't. And this is the ironic thing about inside-out spirituality: If we feel a compulsion to make a show on the outside of what is on the inside, what we really demonstrate is a lack on the inside... a void.

And there is a better way.

We (you and I) need to remove the (any and all) masks. Jesus see them anyway. (And frankly, the people that know us best do also.)

I've thought hard about how to phrase the core truth of the SERMON ON THE MOUNT in a few sentences. So here goes (and I may revise this if I get an inkling of inspiration).

I see you, I know you; 

I know your heart, it's joys and pain. 

And I love you... right now... who you are and where you are.

So stop pretending. 

You are worth so much more to me than you know.

Come to me... come with me. I have a better way...

A way of life, love and purpose.

Come on!   -- Jesus

God, show me my masks. I will lay them down.

For now...
D