45 Days of Faith

Like most boys, I didn’t grow up playing with dolls but with action figures. My favorite was GI Joe. Like girls looked to Barbie to act out their futures, so us boys used Joe to go to war, to save the world, and to conquer the dirt mound. But in 1984, the brand took a hit because of the Cold War so Hasbro writer Larry Hama created a groundbreaking comic book.

In Kevin Costner’s 1994 film War, Costner’s young son is beaten up by some bullies at the fair. After they disperse, he sees a couple of them calling out to him poking fun at his inability to find a job after returning from Vietnam. Costner walks over to the young bullies as they back up in fear. He then does something amazing, he reaches out and hands them each a fluffy pink wand of cotton candy.

Have you ever watched the TV gameshow, “Let’s Make a Deal”? The deal is you can have what the host presents to you or you can risk it to take an unknown prize behind a large door. You might forego the initial offer of four hundred dollars and find a tropical vacation behind the door or it could be an actual goat chewing on grass. In this scenario today, I’m going to be the host of the show and I’m offering you a million dollars.

In the 1939 classic The Wizard of Oz, Dorothy sets out to find the wizard who can help her get back home. Along the way she runs into a collection of lost souls who are in desperate need of repair. At each encounter Dorothy is so certain of the wizard’s help that she happily invites the other misfits onto the yellow brick road with her to find the one who can heal them all.

Growing up in my big family, as a kid, I didn’t get much candy. So when halloween would roll around, trick-or-treating was a really big deal! After my sisters and I would get back with our pillow cases full of treats, we would do what most kids would do, we would pour it all out and sort it by size, ingredients, and desirability.

When I was young, every Sunday night my family would gather around the TV and watch Mutual of Omaha’s Wild Kingdom followed by The Wonderful World of Disney. We would wait all week for Sunday night TV, mainly because it was the best family TV we had, but also because it was a great time to get together and enjoy something as a family.

One of the most embarrassing things in the world is to be caught in a lie. When someone finds out about something you lied about, they have seen inside of you and they don’t like what they see. They’ve seen your selfishness, they’ve seen your imperfection and you know they don’t like it because they are mad at you or disappointed in you for it.

Growing up when the power would go out, we didn’t have cell phones and the internet to stay connected to the world let alone track weather radar or get updates on when power would be restored. Though as infrequently as we would lose power, I vividly remember two things: the initial excitement of things going dark and then my mother yelling to my father, “where are the candles?!”

In New Zealand scientists from Duke University studied 1,000 children for eight years, measuring their ability to pay attention and to ignore distractions. 24 years later they took a look at those now 32-year-old subjects to see how well they did in life. What they discovered might surprise you, but the kids who had the ability to concentrate were the most successful of the group.

My daughter used to love story time at the library. It’s where she went to learn, to be entertained but mostly to meet new friends. Actually, it was my wife who was looking for friends, my daughter had no idea how to build friendships, she just wanted to get the most trains on the Thomas the Train table and win the race. But my wife used those story time moments as ways to find other women she clicked with.

As a volleyball coach for many years, I know about coaching, and I know that if an athlete wants to get better at her sport she has to practice, she has to work hard at her game and build upon what she’s already good at. While a few of my athletes would complain about practice time, the majority realized that without practice they wouldn’t be able to win a single game.

I can remember the joy of recess as a kid. It was my favorite thing about school! The games we would play, the bars we would climb, it was a world of adventure within the chainlink fence of my elementary school. One particular game I loved was Red Rover.

If you’ve ever watched one of the more modern iterations of Star Trek then you know about an incredibly powerful enemy of Star Fleet called the Borg. Nerd Alert! The Borg are cybernetic organisms linked together with a hive mind. Which just means they are former humans who have been assimilated into a colony.

When I was little, I wanted a dog really bad, any pet really, but my parents didn’t want any more mouths to feed in our big family, so they bought me a pet rock. Yeah, back in the 70s pets that couldn’t eat were all the rage. Gary Dahl, the rock’s inventor, became a millionaire by selling ordinary rocks in little doggie carrying cases.

When I was little we had a 1969 Volkswagen van that we always took on road trips. I remember it being loud and hot and oh so much fun. We would drive for hours without so much as an iPad or cellphone. To pass the time we would count the different state license plates we would see, or hit each other in the shoulder every time we saw a VW bug (Slug Bug!)

What’s your major? That’s a question that’s commonplace for anyone that attends college. It’s like a precursor for the full-on adulting question of “what do you do for a living?” In college, before I knew what I wanted to major in, I told people I was a “So-shh” major.

When I was little I once gave my mom a homemade coupon book for her birthday, many years. Have you ever done that? I put in things like one free back rub, cook a meal, breakfast in bed and doing a load of laundry. This gift was both the easiest and the hardest thing to give.

Have you ever noticed how when you turn the porch light on in the dark, within a short time, the moths and other insects are drawn to it? You couldn’t keep them away if you tried. It’s as if the light yells out to them, “Hey you! Get over here!” They find themselves unable to resist it.

Do you remember the Dr. Suess story about Horton sitting on an egg for Mazie and hatching it? Well, if you don't, I'm going to spoil the story for you; Mazie was devastated to see what came out of her egg.

In the 19th century, French scientist Louis Pasteur discovered sickness was spread through microscopic organisms called germs. Of course, now we know all about germs, just ask any mom who faithfully douses her children with alcohol rub every time before they eat out.

I once knew a woman who had a really great reason for wanting to be rich. She used to say, “I want to marry a rich man, so I can serve the Lord by having all kinds of fun parties!” You might laugh, like I did, but she really thought that serving God would be much more to her liking if she could do what she loved.

When I was little I didn’t have a job, shocker I know. Not having an income makes it really hard to buy gifts for you family at Christmas. So my parents, not having a lot of money to give me to buy gifts for them, taught me to make things.

I have told this parable many times of a delivery driver who loaded up his delivery van for the day and then drove off to his neighborhood, up his driveway, and opened his garage to unload everything for his wife and children. Why does this seem so wrong to everyone who hears it?

I love history. It’s so interesting and teaches us a lot about the present and that’s why I like historical movies. My wife Hayley loves these types of movies too, but she loves historical books even more. In one such book she told me about, The Dragon of Lonely Island, author Rebecca Rupp takes readers on adventures into the past to help them learn about the lives of the people who came before us.

In 1865, Charles Lutwidge Dodgson wrote a book about a girl who is now a household name. Of course you won’t know her until I tell you what name he wrote her book under, Lewis Carroll. Now you know her? Alice’s Adventures are now classic works known by kids all over the globe.

Amy Carmichael is somewhat of a household name in Christian circles. If you don’t know her, you should take some time to learn more about her life. She was in Irish girl who was born in the 1800s. She was always weak and frail and prone to long bouts of illness, but her burning desire was to love God through loving His people in far away lands.

Every Mother’s Day excited kids across the country attempt to serve their moms by doing something they never do on any other day of the year. I bet you know what I’m talking about; serving them breakfast in bed. Mother’s Day is the one day a year where kids find joy mothering their mothers.

Have you ever seen a clown car in the circus. It zooms around honking and spinning until it comes to a stop and the door flies open revealing a parade of clowns, one after the other, after the other. Sometimes fifteen clowns can come out of one little car.

Have you ever heard the expression, “You are what you eat?” Why do people say that? Maybe because what you eat affects how you feel, like have you ever eaten too much sugar and then felt like going crazy, until twenty minutes later when you want to crash?

Some of the most popular TV shows from the 80s and 90s were about families. We used to sit down as a family and watch shows like Family Ties, Full House, Growing Pains, The Wonder Years, and even Alf and laugh with all their crazy TV antics.

If you’ve never read Robinson Crusoe, you should. It’s a classic book filled with all kinds of spiritual lessons. It was written by Scottish sailor Alexander Selkirk, who spent four years on an uninhabited Pacific island after a shipwreck and lived to tell the tale. Shipwrecks often fascinate us don’t they?

When Peter Pan came to the Darling house it was to find his shadow which he had apparently lost last time he was there. But when the kids wake up and discover his presence, he decides to take them back to Neverland with him. But in order to fly, the kids have to do two things.

When we were first married my wife Hayley bought us tickets to Nashville Predators hockey for my birthday. Though she had never been to a game before she wanted to participate in something I love, so we went. Before the game started I explained a few key rules to her so she wouldn’t be clueless when the puck dropped. During the game, she would often sit there while the rest of the crowd was on their feet screaming.

The Velveteen Rabbit was always a favorite read for my daughter. It’s kind of a tear jerker about a stuffed bunny who becomes real because of the love of his boy. It’s a tough journey though, and his life is almost lost when the boy gets scarlet fever and the doctor says to burn all his toys to stop the contagion. Through all the trials the bunny learns that being real means being hurt, and he learns an amazing lesson.

We can learn a lot about the world by studying it. We call the study of the physical world science. I used to love science as a kid, especially the experiments. My favorite was building a volcano; really anything that could safely blow up! But there is more to science than messy experiments, there is also the study of the things we cannot see, like atoms.

Back on Day 19, I talked about Dr. Seuss’s book Horton Hatches the Egg, where Mazie picks the best egg-sitter around when she asks Horton to sit in her nest while she takes a rest. What makes Horton so trustworthy is not his elephant memory, or his impressive size but his faithful commitment to do what he says he will do. Though times were trying, though storms raged, though danger was all around, Horton continued to live by the words:

I didn’t grow up on a farm, but we did have three acres of land behind our house and, at different times, we had a goat and some rabbits in addition to our usual population of dogs and cats (along with my brother and four sisters.) One time when I was very young, my mother cooked a chicken dinner at my dad’s request. According to legend, my sisters ate up and finished the feast at which point my father told them it was rabbit; our rabbit! Needless to say my sisters were traumatized!

Halloween costumes have come a long way in the past 30 years. When I was a kid all we could choose from was a handful of plastic masks of characters like Casper the Ghost, Batman, King Kong, an astronaut, a witch, and maybe a clown. They would sometimes come with a screen-printed trash bag of sorts and, if you were lucky, a cape to complete the look. And that’s how it was every Halloween; lots of stiff-faced, cape wearing midgets running around with empty pillowcases or round plastic pumpkins.

In the first novel of the children’s series, A Series of Unfortunate Events by Lemony Snicket, we hear about the story of three children, Violet, Klaus, and Sunny Baudelaire, who are orphaned after a fire and are sent off to live with Count Olaf, who tries to steal their inheritance. As the series title suggests the world around the three kids is not great but somehow they survive because they are together.

Located in Yellowstone National Park is one of the great wonders of the world; a geyser. This particular geyser that I’m talking about was most likely first found by the native tribes long before any settlers moved west following Lewis and Clark. But it was some 150 years ago when one westward expedition led by Henry Washburn gave the geyser its now famous name.

Stanislav Petrov isn’t a name you probably recognize, but he is one of the greatest decision-makers of the 20th century. Back in 1983, he was serving as a lieutenant for the Soviet Union Air Defense Forces during the Cold War between the US and the Soviet Union. During his overnight shift, his computer showed that five U.S. missiles were heading toward his homeland.

Growing up as a kid my family always had at least one dog. I still have a great love of dogs. We currently have four now! So it makes sense that one of my favorite books growing up was about a dog; a big red dog named Clifford. Clifford was different from other dogs because he was so big, sometimes he appeared around 25 feet tall!

Out of all the classic children’s stories that have made it into Disney movies, there’s one particular home furnishing in one of those stories that is unforgettable to me: the talking mirror in Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. You know the one; the evil queen keeps asking the mirror who’s the fairest one of all and faster than she can say Siri or Alexa, she gets her answer.

When I was young, there was a story about a handsome and athletic astronaut who was seriously injured when his spaceship crashed. Barely alive, the government rushes him into a top secret and experimental surgery where the doctors and scientists give him two new legs, one arm, and one eye; all mechanical but with enhanced and super human strength, speed, and telescopic sight.

My favorite holiday growing up had to be Christmas. What's not to like? School was always out, there was lots of candy and baked goods lying around, and let's not forget about the presents! And even though we were a family of eight and my parents didn't have much money, they always made sure we had a lot of presents to open even if they we're very impressive or extravagant.

Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever!Let the redeemed of the Lord say so, whom he has redeemed from trouble and gathered in from the lands, from the east and from the west, from the north and from the south. Psalm 107:1-3 In the children’s book, […]

Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.  1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 In college, I paid much of my way through school waiting tables in a restaurant. Being a food server meant I made very little money per hour from my employer […]

All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness,  that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work. 2 Timothy 3:16-17 Have you ever received a gift or made a purchase of something that you couldn’t wait to use, only to discover you had […]

Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths. Proverbs 3:5-6 Have you ever played with dominoes? I’m not talking about the game where you get tiles and match them with your opponent’s tiles to see […]

Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good!     Blessed is the man who takes refuge in him! Oh, fear the Lord, you his saints,     for those who fear him have no lack! The young lions suffer want and hunger;     but those who seek the Lord lack no good thing. Psalm 34:8-10 I like to […]

Give ear to my words, O Lord; consider my groaning.  Give attention to the sound of my cry, my King and my God, for to you do I pray.  O Lord, in the morning you hear my voice; in the morning I prepare a sacrifice for you and watch.  Psalm 5:1-3 When you were born, […]

For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. Working together with him, then, we appeal to you not to receive the grace of God in vain. 2 Corinthians 5:21–6:1 Growing up and going to public schools, we had two […]

But when you are invited, go and sit in the lowest place, so that when your host comes he may say to you, ‘Friend, move up higher.’ Then you will be honored in the presence of all who sit at table with you. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be […]

So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen […]

There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love. We love because he first loved us. 1 John 4:18-19 I will forever be grateful to my old softball buddy Dan for showing me a trick that provided a major […]

For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you, but if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses. Matthew 6:14–15 In the 1980s sci-fi classic movie, Back to the Future, teen Marty McFly is thrown back in time to the 1950s when an […]

And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up. So then, as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone, and especially to those who are of the household of faith. Galatians 6:9-10 My daughter’s favorite (okay, it’s really my favorite) knock-knock joke when she was little […]

No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it. 1 Cor. 10:13 I’d like to introduce you to one […]

I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Romans 12:1 One of my favorite restaurants close to home is a Mexican place called Cinco de Mayo. I love their endless chips, salsa, and a […]

Then Peter came up and said to him, “Lord, how often will my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? As many as seven times?” Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you seven times, but seventy times seven.  Matthew 18:21–22 Before streaming services on smart phones, before iPods and MP3 players, […]

Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. What you have learned and received and heard and seen in me—practice these things, and the God of peace […]

And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful. Colossians 3:15 Do you remember the first time you had a crush? I certainly do. It was in the late 70s, she was a redhead with a streak of white which was unusual for her age. […]

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.  John 3:16-17 Do you ever watch fail videos online? If you’re […]

On the last day of the feast, the great day, Jesus stood up and cried out, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.’“ John 7:37-38 Did you know that the Egyptians were the first people to record methods for […]

If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 1 John 1:8-9 Meet Rosey– she’s a golden doodle which means she’s half golden retriever and half poodle. […]

I thank my God in all my remembrance of you, always in every prayer of mine for you all making my prayer with joy, because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now. And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at […]

Having purified your souls by your obedience to the truth for a sincere brotherly love, love one another earnestly from a pure heart. 1 Peter 1:22 How many friends do you have? When I was in high school, I would’ve probably answered that I had around 15 good friends and 100 acquaintances. Sure I knew a […]

Thomas said to him, “Lord, we do not know where you are going. How can we know the way?” Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” John 14:5-6 Not too long ago, people would use the phrase, “keeping it […]

Above all, keep loving one another earnestly, since love covers a multitude of sins. Show hospitality to one another without grumbling. 1 Peter 4:8-9 Since we’re 25 days into our 45 Days of Thankfulness, we might as well talk about the holiday that is all about giving thanks: Arbor Day. That’s right, it’s when we go up […]

For why should my liberty be determined by someone else’s conscience? If I partake with thankfulness, why am I denounced because of that for which I give thanks? So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God. 1 Corinthians 10:31-33 The first big risk I took (according […]

But godliness with contentment is great gain, for we brought nothing into the world, and we cannot take anything out of the world. But if we have food and clothing, with these we will be content. 1 Timothy 6:6-8 Have you ever seen the TV show “Hoarders?” It’s an uncomfortable watch for me. I don’t mind clutter; if you could only see […]

But the Lord said to her, “My dear Martha, you are worried and upset over all these details! There is only one thing worth being concerned about. Mary has discovered it, and it will not be taken away from her.” Luke 10:40-42 NLT Have you ever heard of the term “workaholic?” The term workaholism was […]

Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened. Matthew 7:7-8 When I was in elementary school, long before the Internet and back when phones were […]

Oh come, let us sing to the Lord; let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation! Let us come into his presence with thanksgiving; let us make a joyful noise to him with songs of praise! For the Lord is a great God, and a great King above all gods. Psalm 95:1-3 Growing up watching a lot of TV during a […]

And the whole congregation of the people of Israel grumbled against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness, and the people of Israel said to them, “Would that we had died by the hand of the Lord in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the meat pots and ate bread to the full, for you have brought us out into […]

But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire. Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death. JAMES 1:14-15 Based on a story by famed science fiction writer Philip K. Dick, “Minority Report” is an action-detective thriller set in Washington […]

Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy to bear, and the […]

Continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving. At the same time, pray also for us, that God may open to us a door for the word, to declare the mystery of Christ, on account of which I am in prison— that I may make it clear, which is how I ought to […]

For godly grief produces a repentance that leads to salvation without regret, whereas worldly grief produces death. 2 Corinthians 7:10 What if I told you you could live a guilt-free life? Would you do it? Wanting to live a guilt-free life is wanting Heaven on Earth when we are still sinning, still far less from […]

As you come to him, a living stone rejected by men but in the sight of God chosen and precious, you yourselves like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. 1 Peter 2:4-5 A friend of mine wrote a business book with short […]

We were promised sufferings. They were part of the program. We were even told, ‘Blessed are they that mourn,’ and I accept it. I’ve got nothing that I hadn’t bargained for. Of course it is different when the thing happens to oneself, not to others, and in reality, not imagination. C.S. Lewis, A Grief Observed […]

But ask the beasts, and they will teach you; the birds of the heavens, and they will tell you; or the bushes of the earth, and they will teach you; and the fish of the sea will declare to you. Who among all these does not know that the hand of the Lord has done this? In […]

For this is the will of God, that by doing good you should put to silence the ignorance of foolish people. Live as people who are free, not using your freedom as a cover-up for evil, but living as servants of God.  1 Peter 2:15-16 In the movie Braveheart, William Wallace gave his ragtag group of Scotsmen a […]

If you really fulfill the royal law according to the Scripture, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself,” you are doing well. But if you show partiality, you are committing sin and are convicted by the law as transgressors. For whoever keeps the whole law but fails in one point has become guilty of all of it. James 2:8-10 A […]

Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy. For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing. James 1:2-4 NLT In […]

Pride cannot trust God. The posture of trust is too weak. Too dependent. It calls too much attention to the strength and wisdom of another. Trusting God is the heartbeat of humility, the opposite of pride. John Piper There are few greater luxuries than misery. Does that sound right? Indulging in the luxury of misery, […]

Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one receives the prize? So run that you may obtain it. Every athlete exercises self-control in all things. They do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable. So I do not run aimlessly; I do not box as […]

But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the fruit you get leads to sanctification and its end, eternal life. For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 6:22-23 When I was a kid, I would make a […]

For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. Ephesians 2:8-9 Well, this is it; the 45th day of thankfulness! If you’ve held on this long, you’re probably the type of […]