Category: Hang In There

Posted on

What can Those in the 2020s Learn From 1980s Sports Figures?

It’s aggravating to me to see the way people intentionally ratchet up tensions, even stoking violence, toward others that don’t share their same view of the world. Sadly, this is the new norm now, and it seems like it’s intensifying. Sometimes it’s tempting to use this site as a platform to unload on the people doing it. Rather than indulging in that right now, though, I thought I’d share a fun four-minute video I recently came across.

In the early 1980s, before Michael Jordan got hugely famous, some of the most dominant names in professional basketball were Irvin “Magic” Johnson of the Los Angeles Lakers and Larry Bird of the Boston Celtics.

These guys could not stand each other. Both were exceptional talents, but they had a way of getting under each other’s skin and they developed a professional relationship that extended past rivalry and into hatred.

So in 1985 when the athletic shoe company Converse hired the two to shoot a commercial featuring the superstars playing each other one-on-one, nobody quite knew what to expect (least of all Johnson and Bird).

This video, Magic And Bird: A Rivalry Gives Way To Friendship, shows what can happen when some humanity is injected into a hate-filled situation.

There’s a radio station I listen to sometimes that says “the world is full of good people. If you can’t find one, be one.”

Hang in there. Better times are coming.

God, it’s bad out there. People seem like they’ve absolutely lost their minds. Please help us know when we should stand up and push back, and when we should be willing to take it on the chin. Help our pride not get in the way as we try to reflect You in the course of our daily lives, even if it means the other guy/gal walks away thinking they got the better of us. Their eternal destination is far more important than our bruised ego. In all things, may Your name be praised. Amen.

Posted on

Explainer: Supreme Court’s Leak

Greetings all…a quick update on some current events, just in case you haven’t been following recent developments regarding the leak of the Supreme Court’s pending decision on abortion.

I haven’t followed things super closely and I’m not well-versed in all aspects of this, but I’ll toss out some info you’re probably not hearing in the news.

Some quick background. Back in the early 1970s, Texas had a law that banned abortions. In a landmark case, Roe vs. Wade, the then-Supreme Court struck down the law, which effectively legalized abortion at the federal level (making it legally impossible for states to ban the practice in its own legislatures). I’m a little fuzzy on this part, but I believe there was some doubt among the public about the constitutionality of the decision. In other words, since the Constitution doesn’t mention abortion (or anything like it), how can laws about it be ruled unconstitutional?

The result was that this contentious issue, which at that point hadn’t really become the widely discussed issue it is now, was suddenly settled without even really having a national debate. Fast forward almost 50 years to where we are now. The issue has somehow come before the court once again (it’s not totally clear to me how the same issue can come before the court twice), and if this leaked decision is accurate, it looks like Roe vs. Wade will be overturned.

While this is great news for unwanted fetuses in our country that are just trying to make their way in this world, it’s easy to see how this will cause even more division in a country that’s already severely polarized. From a legal standpoint, the Supreme Court looks like it’s restoring the issue to neutral. That is, if there’s no federal stance on the matter, states are free to make their own laws about it. I heard someone describe the court as trying to legislate morality. Actually, it’s quite the opposite; this decision would unlegislate the existing pro-choice morality and enable state legislatures to decide according to the will of the people and representatives of those respective states. I think almost half of the states are set to ban abortion if the leaked decision is accurate.

Just touching very quickly on the leak itself. Decisions like this should not be leaked ahead of time. Whoever did it should be held accountable. With a conservative court, this decision doesn’t come as a shock; I’m inclined to think that whoever leaked it did so with the express intent to fire up the progressive base to the point where society would become so unhinged that the justices’ fear of societal meltdown would make them reconsider their decision. It’s meant to intimidate the court. As far as I know, no Supreme Court Justices read this blog, but if I’m wrong, your honor, I’d just like to remind you that there’s a reason this likeness is associated with the justice system:

If this leak turns out to be accurate, please let me offer one piece of advice. Don’t gloat. Yes, I know the pro-choice crowd would gloat if this decision comes down on their side, but that doesn’t mean pro-lifers should. Access to abortion can still be made law at the federal level if enough Senators and Representatives vote for it and get it to President Biden. It’s not looking likely at this point, but things can certainly change. Elections have consequences. In a cycle where Democrats are poised to take an absolute shellacking in the mid-terms, this is one of the key things they’ll latch onto, so expect to see and hear lots of advertisements about it as we draw nearer to elections in November. (Incidentally, Joe Biden voted to overturn Roe vs. Wade as a senator.)

I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention the pregnant women that consider or undergo abortions. Of course pro-lifers don’t want abortions to occur, but that doesn’t mean you write off someone that’s done it. Many of the women or teens that get abortions are emotionally fragile, scared, and are being pressured by others to just “make the problem go away.” If they terminate the pregnancy, of course it’s a sad thing, but abandoning or shunning someone who’s had one isn’t going to help a shattered would-be mom heal from the grief that follows. If you’re a loved one of someone who recently had an abortion, please help them through this time that’s already very difficult without having someone they trust turn their back on them.

To those with unwanted or unplanned pregnancies, here’s a message you probably don’t hear enough: having a child when you’re not ready for it is a terrifying thought, but you can do this. Yes it’s going to be hard, and yes it’s going to be scary, but you know what? You can do it. The time in which we live is the most empowered that women have ever been, and you will be strong enough to make it through the hard times. Society doesn’t associate strong women with pro-life, but that’s a mistake. Even in the face of all the pressure you may be facing to just end it…there’s a child whose life depends on your decision. As a former fetus myself, I’m rootin’ for you, and for the lil’ guy/gal you’re carrying. You can do it, but you have to believe you can do it.

Lord, this country feels like it’s on fire, and society won’t get any more calm if abortions start getting banned. Please help the justices to focus only on the legal considerations of the question before them, and if the leak turns out to be accurate, help our nation as it adjusts to overturning nearly 50 years of norms. Finally, please encourage and strengthen the girls and women that are considering or have had abortions. Help them have hope, help them find support, and bless them in a special way. I ask in Jesus’ name, Amen.

Posted on

Is Anyone Asking These Questions?

Antibacterial soap…is it good or bad?

On the one hand, it kills 99.9% of bacteria. On the other hand, it means that only the strongest…the bacterial equivalent of gold medalists…are left alive to reproduce.

It’s easy to see how this can be a double-edged sword. If you’re about to put in your contact lenses, sure, wash your hands with antibacterial soap. If you just came in from mowing the lawn or working on the car, regular soap will be just fine.

We’ve got sort of a similar case brewing with COVID. We currently have a couple of different shots geared to fight the virus. I don’t know that “vaccine” is the best term to use; a vaccine normally prevents you from contracting the disease it was made to combat. (Think Polio, Smallpox, etc.) Today’s shots are just supposed to make sure that if you catch Coronavirus, the symptoms aren’t as bad as they otherwise would be. It’s true that as the shots became widespread, the number of COVID hospitalizations declined, but they don’t do anything to prevent you from contracting the virus. Reduced hospitalizations aren’t proof that the virus stopped spreading, it could just mean that there were fewer severe cases (which is still a positive!).

These shots have limited efficacy. That is, the shots’ symptom-reduction effectiveness wears off over time. We’re still learning about exactly how long it’s effective, but for this discussion let’s say it lasts somewhere between 6 and 10 months. There’s a growing movement to get a booster shot available to the public. Once that’s available, I don’t know for sure, but I would think it would only provide relief for a similar timeframe, meaning that another booster shot is required every 6 to 10 months beyond that point.

So where are we right now? Well, here in the US, we have a growing percentage of adults that have been fully vaccinated. I imagine that means we have a shrinking percentage of adults that have either never received “the jab” or only got a partial dose. I’m a firm believer that we’ll always have some certain percentage of the population that opts not to get stuck. Realistically, I think 100% participation is very far out of reach, especially if you have to convince people to get on board with a solution that apparently only provides a limited-time reduction of symptoms.

Let’s get real here. The virus is going to continue mutating and evolving. It’s a living thing that will try to survive. We have these shots that are temporarily effective, but we will likely someday have a variant of Coronavirus that can overcome our current shots. If a shot is to be effective at stopping the spread of COVID, there are a couple of things we’ll need that we don’t yet have.

The first is a more effective shot. Protection that lasts for only 6-10 months is simply not sustainable. Some people will be very diligent for the rest of their lives in making sure they get a booster every time they hit their window. Others may get one or two, but will stop going after that. My guess is that most people will fall somewhere in the middle. If big numbers of people start skipping the boosters, the overall effort will be rendered less effective.

Second, there needs to be a massive campaign that synchronizes global dosing. Giving everyone the same shot at the same time means global “Coronahealth” is predictable and we could make more definite plans. The problem with that is that it’s a logistical nightmare of epic proportions. Let’s say that every 8 months or so, international organizations administer effective dosages for 7.5-8 billion people. That might someday be possible in countries with well-developed transportation infrastructure, but it would be a herculean lift in more remote areas of the globe where travel is much more difficult or is only possible at certain times of the year. It would certainly be an impressive feat, but even if we do it for a round or two, we’re eventually going to start asking “is this really worth all the effort?”

How about we skip ahead to that point right now? Is today’s madness really worth all the effort? Yes, COVID-19 can be deadly, but in most cases, it’s not. It’s unpleasant and inconvenient, certainly, with many people losing their sense of taste or smell for months, but it’s not as deadly as originally feared.

I’m certainly not an avid consumer of news programs, so I may not be completely accurate about this next part. It seems, though, that all you ever hear about is numbers of new infections. “There were X number of positive COVID tests last week, bringing the cumulative total to doom and gloom.” Well…sure, but then they never follow up after that; they make it seem like that’s the end of the story…all those people are the walking dead and it’s just a matter of time before the virus claims them. My question is: why don’t we hear more data on people that have overcome the virus? How long does their protection typically last? Do average people gain more protection from a low-efficacy shot or from their bodies actually overcoming the virus? To be honest, I don’t know the answer, but it seems like nobody’s asking the question. At a time where “breakthrough cases” are spiking, shouldn’t we be asking some basic questions? Considering all the regular news reports that show thousands of new cases…wouldn’t it be a fantastic development if we learned that only 60% of them had long-lasting immunity after that?

So let’s ask the question: “how do pandemics end?” In order for a disease to die out, it has to run out of new hosts to infect. That can happen in a couple of different ways. 1. Isolate people so that the virus cannot spread from host to host. In the process, every infected person that does not spread the virus becomes a dead end for it. This is why it’s so important to quarantine at the beginning of an outbreak, when it’s still possible to contain it, but it has obvious negative mental health effects that most of us have experienced at some point over the last 18 months. 2. Enough people possess immunity (either natural or synthetic) from the disease that the virus has a hard time finding new, vulnerable hosts to infect. Our current shots don’t provide immunity, so we should be looking down the line to the next generation of medical solutions to provide actual protection from COVID, rather than merely preventing potent symptoms.

I’m inclined to think that a population who received the existing shots is actually prolonging the pandemic. If we could develop a shot that were a true vaccine…something that permanently blocked the virus from infecting the person who received it…that would hasten the end of the pandemic. Biology is funny, though; by introducing a hybrid injection that makes symptoms much more bearable without actually preventing the infection, all we’ve done is give the virus a challenge…something interesting to tackle and overcome. Think Jeff Goldblum from Jurassic Park. “Life finds a way.” I suspect that this course of action will only extend the outbreak by creating a larger number of COVID variants than we otherwise would have had.

In short, you know best what your situation is. If you want to get the shot, I say go for it. If, for whatever reason, you don’t want to, I don’t think anybody should be able to force you to get it, but you really do need to be respectful and responsible with your social behavior in all aspects of life. At all times, assume you’re carrying the virus and that not everyone around you has as hearty an immune system as you do.

Today’s shots are not going to end COVID. This pandemic is still going to be around until it runs out of new people to infect, and infection rates (including breakthrough cases) will probably rise as the cold months approach. Don’t be surprised if the numbers get worse before they get better, but don’t shut the door on the possibility that the rising number of infections may be what eventually causes the drop in new infections.

Keep your head up. It may take some time, but we’ll get through this!

Posted on

When Your Tank is Empty but There are Still Miles To Go

During my Junior year in college, our men’s dorm held its own version of the Olympics.

The games consisted of a variety of events. There were some conventional events, some less-conventional events, and some downright nutty events (I was thankful to be one of the referees, rather than one of the participants, in the event where you had to reach into a bag and eat whatever you pulled out). The games were memorable and went late into the night.

For some events the scoring system was straightforward. There were four floors represented, so in an event where all four floors participated simultaneously (a relay race, for example), the first-place finisher got 400 points, the second-place finisher got 300, then 200 for third place, and the last-place finisher got 100 points.

For bracket-style events, the scoring system was a little more controversial. We had two very good chess players in the dorm, and chess was one of the events. Events like this were split into two matches for round one, and then the winners from both matches would meet in the finals, and both losers from round one would also go head-to-head. The winners’ bracket would place first and second overall, and thus be awarded either 400 or 300 points. When these two talented competitors faced off in the first round, one of them had to lose. That guy was then forced into the loser’s bracket, where he could earn no higher than third place overall.

Well somehow I found myself representing my floor in the arm wrestling event. I was no slouch, but in this event I was definitely outgunned. It would be an understatement to say that I was not favored to win the event.

Due to the scoring system, the strategy I settled on was to use up everything I had in the tank to try to win the first match. That way if I could pull off a win, I’d avoid the loser’s bracket and be guaranteed a minimum of 300 points for our team even if I lost round two in an embarrassing fashion.

For the first match I got paired up with a guy named Tyrone. Tyrone was a buddy of mine, and we regularly lifted weights together a few times a week. We each had our strengths when it came to different exercises in the weight room, but trust me when I tell you that he had the advantage when it came to the explosive power and brute force required for arm wrestling.

I developed a new strategy…just try to last longer than 10 seconds!

We both sat down and established our grips, and the judge started the match. For about a second and a half, our hands went nowhere, a perfect balance of strength. Then Tyrone’s muscle simply overpowered mine. My fist steadily descended toward the table. A few seconds into it, this one was already just about over. My knuckles were so close to the table, but he couldn’t seem to close the deal. He didn’t quite have the leverage to bring his power to bear on my barely alive wrist.

I think at that point Tyrone changed strategies. It seemed like he took his foot off the gas and just waited for me to get tired. Since his advantage lay with his power though, he should have gone for the kill.

Surprised that I was still in it and that I wasn’t yet headed for the lower bracket, I resolved to give it everything I had. The problem was that the force I could generate using “everything I had” became less and less as time went on.

The seconds ticked by. A match that should have been over in 5 or 10 seconds was still going at 30 seconds. Then it passed 60 seconds. Those watching started out enjoying the match with shouts and yelling. Some of those spectators got bored and walked away, only mildly curious about the outcome.

Anybody watching could see that I was in pain, wincing and just barely hanging on. The whole time, Tyrone sat there, cool as a cucumber, just waiting for my strength to give out. He tried a few more times to go for the kill, but it didn’t work. Nobody was more surprised than me when he just gave up and stopped trying. He let me push his hand to the table surface. I can’t say I beat him, but I advanced to the winner’s bracket!

Over the past couple of weeks I’ve been talking about finding and pursuing the thing that God put you here on Earth to do. It’s your “I have to;” it’s your God-given purpose. For those of you trying to ignore it or push it to the back of your mind, consider this: everyone that’s ever existed either already has, or someday will, experience two “rounds:” this one on Earth that we’re living right now, and the one that comes after this one. You may not think of it in these terms, but this current round is the one that determines where we experience the second round.

If you’re a Christian, please don’t misunderstand me, it’s fantastic that you’ve accepted Christ as your Savior…but for almost everyone other than those who experience deathbed conversions, your Christian walk is probably meant to go deeper. The Holy Spirit has a way of prompting you to move in directions you don’t want to go, of pushing you to do things you don’t want to do. And you know the crazy part? Many times it’s for the sake of making an eternal impact on someone else, but it’s not something you could have (or would have) planned on your own.

Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love Him. –James 1:12

So even if you’re wincing in pain while barely holding on, surprised that you’re even still hanging in there, let me encourage you to give everything you’ve got despite the pain so that this round has a bigger impact for those on your team (and those that will join your team in the future)! The opposition may look like they’re fresh and powerful, but you never know what’s going on behind the scenes. Do not give up! Save nothing for round two; put everything you’ve got into round one, and let round two figure itself out.

For those seeking closure, even if I were fresh and didn’t have an exhausted arm, I wouldn’t have been able to beat Dave, the guy I met in round two. I think that round ended with my hand on the table less than 3 seconds after the match started.

Tyrone, if you’re reading this…I still can’t claim victory, because I didn’t actually beat you; you just let me win. I have no doubt you should’ve won! You were an animal in the weight room. As a testament to how strongly I believe this, I’ll admit that I’m kind of afraid you’re going to read this and come find me and demand a rematch!

PS – The answer’s no, unless you’re really weak now.

Posted on

You Want To See Pandemonium?

Things are about to get a little crazy with the court battle over the election, and I just want to try to explain ahead of time what’s going on. This isn’t the type of post you’d normally find from me, but this information doesn’t seem to be getting a whole lot of news coverage, so I wanted to write something up to help give you a better idea of how you can be praying for the nation.

As we all know, Donald Trump has instigated numerous lawsuits to protest the election results. He hasn’t been very successful in the lawsuits alleging fraud, which constitute the bulk of the lawsuits that have been filed. Ultimately it’s easy to point out a lot of things that don’t quite make sense with the numbers, but it’s very hard to conclusively prove those abnormalities should result in a different election result.

Let me help illustrate what I mean. Any time there’s a national election, people go digging into the data to see what they should capitalize on for the next election. In this past election, Trump gained voters from just about every demographic compared to 2016. Nationwide, Joe Biden performed worse with minority voters than Hillary Clinton did in 2016 in every area except in the counties that contain Milwaukee Wisconsin, Detroit Michigan, Atlanta Georgia, and Philadelphia Pennsylvania. Okay, well that’s odd, even suspicious, but unless there’s some corresponding proof of illicit activity, it’s probably not going to be something that changes anything. Then you add in the fact that Joe Biden, a candidate that did almost no campaigning, got more votes than Barack Obama did in either of his presidential elections, even at the height of Obama-mania. Again, that’s something that raises eyebrows, but without more proof, it’s near impossible to overturn any results.

Well, now there’s something new afoot, and it’s something that has nothing to do with fraud. First we need some context. The U.S. Constitution lays out how the Electoral College system works. Interestingly, it doesn’t mandate elections as we know them. The Constitution says that each state will be allotted a certain amount of electoral votes based on its population, but the only real guidance it gives is to have the individual state legislatures write laws to determine how their respective states will award their electoral votes. (Think of a state legislature as that particular state’s version of Congress.)

Okay, well that sounds like a footnote we’ve probably forgotten from our high school Civics class. I think at this point all the states award their electoral votes based on the voting that takes place in their state, which keeps things simple enough. It’s one Federal election made up of 50+ smaller individual elections, and whoever gets to 270 electoral votes wins.

Now here’s where it gets interesting. Keep in mind that the U.S. Constitution grants the power to write election laws to the individual state legislatures. There are four states (Georgia, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, and Michigan) which had late adjustments to their election law…but the laws were not changed by their states’ legislatures. They were changed by one of the executives (Governors, Secretaries of State, etc.) or by the state Supreme Courts. In other words, the election laws were changed illegally, and the elections in those states were carried out using the illegal instructions (the changes were mostly things that made it easier to cast votes without having to prove you’re eligible to vote, something that no party should endorse).

Now the state of Texas (later joined by over 15 additional states) brought a suit to the U.S. Supreme Court. That suit more or less points at those states and says “we want a ruling on what just happened, because if this is allowed to take place in any of our nation’s states, every election from here on out could have its rules changed by anyone and be a murky free-for-all.”

I’m not exactly sure of the legal terms here, but the Supreme Court is curious enough about this that it told the four states to respond with some additional information, and to do it by 3 pm today, December 10. The court is not obligated to take the case, but the information those four states provide will probably determine whether or not the court decides to hear it.

Where could this end up? That’s anybody’s guess. What you’ll likely hear on TV is that this is a waste of time, a publicity stunt, and is doomed to be a colossal failure. It’s always disconcerting to me when people describe complaints of unconstitutionality as a waste of time.

So here’s the deal. The Supreme Court, if it takes the case, will be willing to rule on the Constitutionality of the case, but it doesn’t want to be perceived as choosing sides in an election. What they will probably do instead is say “yeah, that’s definitely not how things should have gone.” Then the question will come up: “So…what happens to those four states’ electoral votes?” And the answer will come back: “Let the four states’ legislatures decide.”

Then it’s absolute panic time for like, everybody. There will be behind-the-scenes arm twisting for whoever controls those legislative bodies. There will be threats, bribes, and blackmail for many of the state representatives in those legislatures. Pray for them, because they’ll feel like the weight of the world is coming down on their shoulders. I have no idea what they’ll decide to do. If it was a close election in that state (most of them were), they might say “let’s split our electoral votes 50/50 and give half to each candidate.” Some might say “we’re giving all our votes to this guy” (meaning either Biden or Trump). If one candidate got 60% of the votes, maybe they’ll give him 60% of their electoral votes. They may totally pass the buck and say “You know what? We’re going to cobble together a do-over election.” I simply don’t know what will happen. Those are 62 electoral votes that will be dangling in an unprecedented situation, and everyone (lawyers, academics, talk show pundits, news anchors, Uncle Billy) is going to try to exert some kind of moral authority about what should happen when in reality, it’s completely up to the people in charge of those state legislatures, and nobody else.

During that whole time, the Trump team is going to try making a better case about the fraud they have evidence of. They’ll figure that they’ll be more successful at getting favorable decisions from the state legislatures if they make a compelling case in the court of public opinion. Since they don’t trust the major networks to provide coverage of their evidence, I’d look for a full-court press using any means possible to tilt public opinion in their favor.

If the Supreme Court takes this case, that scenario is where we’re likely headed. Is this crazy or what?!

Well, with that explanation, I ask that you spend continued time in prayer for our nation, because this could easily turn violent (not that I view the threat of violence as a reason to shy away, but by definition, when there’s violence, people get hurt or killed).

Stay safe, wash your hands, watch out for one another, and get on your knees!

Posted on

Is It the End or the Beginning of the Fight?

Hey everybody, quick post this morning.

With respect to the election, I ask that you all pray for our nation. Although Joe Biden appears to be on the cusp of reaching 270 electoral votes and winning the election, the Trump campaign has filed legal challenges to the elections in some of the states.

I’ll admit that I’m not very knowledgeable about the particulars of the legal challenges, but it brings up a scenario that could be very dangerous for our country. Let’s assume for a moment (this is just a “what if” scenario, I’m not saying that this will happen) that the Trump campaign’s legal challenges find fault in the way at least a few races were counted. Under this assumption, the wrongs would presumably be set right and the Trump campaign would rightfully benefit, and could conceivably result in Donald Trump raising his right hand on the next inauguration day.

The part that’s scary would be cause for concern regardless of who you voted for. If the Trump campaign’s legal challenges help uncover some sort of cheating or wrongdoing that ultimately lead to Trump reaching 270 votes, it’s easy to see that the legal system, headed by a Supreme Court that just recently had a controversial appointment, could be seen as a kangaroo court, even if it did everything properly. To the ill-informed observer, this would have the appearance of a crooked or corrupt system that can only be fought with violence. From there it’s easy to see how rioting would quickly spread across the country in a way we haven’t seen before, even though everything was done according to our Constitution and legal proceedings.

And so, even though the race appears to be near its completion, there is still the potential for a very tumultuous time ahead.

I ask again, please pray for our nation in the days and weeks ahead, because we’re going to need it.

Posted on

If You Just Need a Smile

You know, considering everything that’s going on in our nation right now, I just kind of feel like it would be a good idea to try to help you smile.

I’ve got three kids, and they’ve each got their own distinct personality. When they were little and they did something cute or funny, we’d write it down in what we now refer to as “the quote book.” It’s full of little stories or fun quotes that came from the kids or the sleep-deprived things that we did as parents of young kiddos. Now that it’s at least a few years after some of the quotes, our kids enjoy when I pull out the book and relay some stories we’ve written down.

Lately I’ve been taking a look through the book, and thought I’d share a few entries with you. Just for context, I’ve got a daughter, then a son, then another daughter.

My older daughter used to pick the most inopportune times to tell us about her day. When you have multiple young kids in the house, life is a blur. There’s not a whole lot of conscious thought that extends out past the next meal or bedtime. The minutes leading up to dinner were a mad rush of “go potty,” “okay, who still needs to wash their hands?” all while getting hot food on the table and scooping out some of the hot food early so it can cool off enough for the kids. Right as we sat down and things got quiet enough to pray, our daughter would pick that moment to start telling all of us about some event from earlier that day that was memorable in her mind. We’d all sit around the table, holding hands, about to pray but unable to begin. We could’ve shushed her, but…that just didn’t seem right. Then, just as she finished recounting her tale, but before we could jump in and start praying, her spellbound little brother would ask a question about her epic yarn. (“Nooooo!!!”) This happened at bedtime on a regular basis, too.

She could also open “childproof” caps before she could put together a complete sentence. We kept them away from her for awhile, and she lost the knack for it, but it still kept us on our toes.

She could also open “childproof” caps before she could put together a complete sentence. We kept them away from her for awhile, and she lost the knack for it, but it still kept us on our toes.

My little guy was the craziest blend of sweet and sour. He had heart-melting moments when you just couldn’t believe how compassionate or kind he was, and he’d have moments that make you want to pull out your hair. When he was little enough that he still slept in a crib, there was a time when my wife and I were laying him down and he saw his favorite little stuffed dog laying in the crib waiting for him, and my little guy let out a giggle. It made me appreciate how wonderful it must be to laugh simply because you’re happy.

On the flip side of his personality, there were other times he’d just utter blatant, unprompted lies. If he said “I don’t have anything in my mouth,” it’s a solid bet he just got into some snacks that he knew he wasn’t supposed to touch. He also knew that naptimes were for napping, but he loved to get up and look out the window. As he got big enough to come downstairs on his own after a nap, he’d reassure us by seeing us and saying right away “I wasn’t looking out my window.” The stool near the disheveled curtains suggested otherwise.

It’s also fun to look through the book and find little exchanges like when he and I were watching the winter Olympics on TV together when he was probably about 3. During a ski-jumping event, I told him “That guy’s from Norway.” He looked at the screen, interested, and said “Oh, is that his home planet?”

There are some slapstick memories, too. Parenting is a full-contact sport. All of our kids enjoyed when my wife and I read books to them. My younger daughter, when she was a toddler, had no concept of causing pain in other people. If I was laying on the floor and said to her “do you want me to read a book?”…man, I’d better watch out. She’d take off and find a book to read, which was great, but on her return trip, I needed to keep my gloves up. She’d come bouncing back at me in a full-speed toddler waddle, holding the book out in front of her. In the beginning, I figured she’d slow down as she got close. Nope. She came running with her arms stretched out in front of her, and she didn’t stop until she slammed me in the head with the book. (It didn’t take me long to learn to pay attention when she came running with a book, though I think it took me longer than it should have.)

This is the same little one who, when I held her in church during the live music, would watch intently everything going on up on stage. One time everything was quiet as the worship leader prayed, but my little girl kept her eyes open and was mesmerized by all the light reflecting off the shiny instruments. During the prayer, when her face was about six inches away from mine, she let slip a little burp that smelled like Cheerios.

Also, as our third child, she’s the only one I’ve used a dust-buster on.

And finally, to cap it off, here’s a story with all three. There was a phase (at least, I hope it’s a phase) where my older daughter liked to over-dramatize things, so she’d pretend to cry at certain things. The problem was that anytime my younger daughter saw someone cry, she thought it was her cue to start apologizing, even if it wasn’t her fault or she didn’t know what was happening. She’d keep doing it until someone acknowledged her, too, and would get louder as she went. Making it more fun was the fact that she couldn’t pronounce an “r” sound very well at that age. There was one instance where I sat in the living room and my wife and all three kids were in the kitchen. My wife and older daughter started acting silly, and began pretending to cry about something. Right around then my son, who needed to hear the same thing three times before it started sinking in, got hyper and did something he shouldn’t have, which distracted my wife. Imagine the sound of fake crying from one daughter, my wife talking firmly to my little guy, and an ever-more-persistent little voice saying “sowwy. Sowwy! SOWWY!”

You know, despite what you see on TV, there’s still some good stuff going on out there. Despite what you may see and hear, there are some good people in the world. Keep your chin up and keep smiling, because like I’ve said before, your joy and positive attitude in Christ is one of the things that will make people take notice, especially in times like this.

Need some encouragement? Pass along this post and subscribe today for a once-a-week email.

Posted on

Is It Worth That?

Imagine if someone offered you the chance to live for two weeks with two other people in an area about the size of three or four phone booths.

Before you answer, hold on a minute. It gets worse.

Courtesy of OhioMemory.org

It’s a closed environment, so nothing extra comes in, and no garbage goes out. All the food you’ll be eating during that time needs to be freeze-dried and packed inside. It’s not modern day freeze-dried food, either; it’s like, 1960s freeze-dried food. Add water, stir, and eat. Want to eat it hot? Add hot water.

On top of that, there’s no bathroom. You’ve got a little suction tube for liquid waste and you’ve got some bags for solid waste. Not a great deal of privacy, either.

What do you think, are you in?

Of course not. Why would anyone in their right mind sign up for that?

Now what if I told you that if you can endure these conditions, you get to walk on the moon?

From 1968 to 1972, the American space program sent a series of missions into space that resulted in 12 men walking on the moon and returning safely to earth. Would you be willing to endure the cramped quarters and terrible conditions if you could look forward to setting foot on the lunar surface?

That paints things in a different light, doesn’t it? Life is largely the same for a Christian; the main difference is that instead of two weeks, we’re looking at 80 or maybe 90 years or so.

This life has some fun times, and it has some miserable times. The older you get, the more you understand the temporary nature of things on this earth, and the more you realize that everything around you will one day turn to dust or otherwise become worthless. The joy, however, comes in knowing that you’re on your way to a destination of unspeakable happiness, where you come face to face with God Himself and can ask Him everything you’ve ever wondered about, you can praise Him with no distractions, and you can rejoice in the fact that nobody who’s there will suffer pain, heartache, or loss ever again.

The longest time of any Apollo mission that astronauts spent on the surface of the moon was during the final mission, Apollo 17. Two astronauts spent about 75 hours…a little over three days…either in the Lunar Module or out on the surface of the moon. That whole mission lasted about twelve and a half days from start to finish. Twelve and a half days in cramped quarters eating nasty food in exchange for 75 hours and three moonwalks on the moon.

In a Christian’s case, unspeakable joy that doesn’t end alongside your Savior in a body that doesn’t decay. That’s worth 80 or 90 years, even if a good percentage of them get rough.

Better times are coming. Hang in there.

Enjoying DareGreatlyNow’s posts? Let me know what you think. Email me at tim@daregreatlynow.com.

Posted on

Someone Call Security

Consider this paragraph a brief public service announcement: The major news outlets seem to have perfected the art of presenting lots of material that evokes powerful emotions without giving many facts. That being the case, I’d encourage you to limit the amount of time you spend watching the news (if it’s important enough, you’ll find out about it). I’m not encouraging ignorance, I’m simply noting that when there are few facts to present, you don’t need all the conjecture that gets you amped up in the process. If anxiety is a problem for you, I can just about guarantee this will help you out. Anyway, I thought I’d take this opportunity to share something a little more lighthearted.

My wife is one of four sisters, all of whom are married. At one point three of those sisters were married to men in the Air Force. As you might imagine, Uncle Sam has a way of scattering military folks around the country (and sometimes the globe). As a result, it’s not easy to arrange family get-togethers where everyone is present, and sometimes we can go for years without seeing certain family members in person.

When we found out one of my far-flung brothers-in-law was going to be flying through our area on his way to a deployment overseas, we decided to go meet him on his last layover before leaving the states. The logistics weren’t going to work out to bring him back to our place, so we collectively decided we’d go hang out at a mall near the airport and go out to eat while we were together. Some malls are great for sitting around and relaxing while others aren’t. We weren’t familiar with this mall, so after we picked him up from the airport we just sort of showed up at the mall and started walking around.

At the time we had two young kiddos who were generally well-behaved, but they would only stay happy for so long unless we found something to keep them occupied. We figured there had to be a play place around somewhere nearby, but for some reason the mall directory in this particular mall was very difficult to find. We found a spot with games and flashing lights that would keep the kids occupied for a little while, then my brother-in-law and I parted ways with my wife and kids and set out looking either for a playground or a mall directory.

We turned past a few corners and walked down a few hallways, but still couldn’t find anything helpful. Mindful that the clock was ticking and that walking around a mall like this was probably not going to make the start of a deployment any less stressful, I decided to go against the male instinct and ask for directions.

I spotted a mall cop standing on one of those motorized Segues. I didn’t think about it until after the words came out of my mouth, but I probably got us onto mall security’s radar screen. If you were a mall cop, what would you think if two thirty-something dudes with military haircuts and generally humorless demeanors walk up to you and say “hey man, where do the kids hang out in this mall?”

I haven’t been back to that mall since then, but if I did, I wouldn’t be surprised if I were tailed by my own personal mall cop soon after being identified.

Strange story, I know. Just meant to give you a chuckle. Anyway, it’s rough out there these days, but don’t let that steal your joy in Christ. Your joy in Christ is one of the things that will attract nonbelievers to the light you have inside you, especially during difficult times. Don’t let stuff get you down, because in times like this, your joy shines bright, and people need that right now.

Take care of yourselves and take care of each other.

Posted on

To the Class of 2020

Graduations look a little different these days

It’s difficult to overstate the level of disruption the Coronavirus has brought into our daily lives. A few years from now we’ll likely view this period as a lost six months, year, whatever. For many of us, we’ll probably be able to shake off this experience and view it as no more than a strange blip that we lived through. There are simply some things, however, that will be permanently lost. One of the first that comes to mind is the opportunity to walk with your peers at an in-person graduation ceremony.

Whether we’re talking high school or college, your senior year is special. After all the waiting, you’re now in the class that’s at the top of the heap. After graduation, you’ll probably keep in touch with some of your friends, but it’s never quite going to be the same again. In that sense, graduation ceremonies are bittersweet mixes of celebrations and goodbyes. In my mind the lack of an opportunity to partake in a traditional ceremony robs students of closure both in triumphing over the academic struggles and in parting ways with classmates.

To all the Seniors out there, I’m sorry the virus robbed you of this memorable experience. There’s nothing I can do to restore that for you, but this week’s post is in honor of you, and hopefully you can live vicariously through the experiences shared here. It’s nothing major, but hopefully it’s at least fun to read.

One other major thing that distinguishes your senior year from all others is that, as upperclassmen, you’ve got dibs on pulling pranks. It’s important to understand that pranks are usually pretty pointless in terms of what they achieve, but they can be a thrill to plan and execute. The journey is the destination. Very seldom does a prank result in something that alters the course of history, but history is full of memorable “what was the point of that?” pranks.

As a senior in college, I was super busy my senior year (see this post for more background about how I brought this on myself). Some of my friends and other people from my class took part in some antics around the campus, but I just didn’t have the time to participate. A group of my friends snuck into the cafeteria one evening under the noses of the cafeteria workers and swiped a few stacks of the trays students used during meal times. They then brought them to the gym after hours, where one of the participants had “accidentally” neglected to secure a certain door upon locking up for the night. The next morning a whole bunch of meal trays were discovered floating in the pool, and I’m not sure how the cafeteria supplied trays for breakfast.

To our college’s credit (and to our dismay as student delinquents), they had a fantastic prank clean-up crew. I was on my way to class one winter morning, at least a few days after it had snowed, and as I walked along one of the main routes that included a tunnel through one of the buildings, it was odd to see one of the maintenance staff using a snow blower to remove a huge pile of snow near the tunnel entrance. I didn’t think too much of it until later, when I learned that someone I knew and a group of his buddies had filled up the bed of a pickup truck with snow multiple times, and then proceeded to dump the loads of snow in front of this tunnel. (And I know at least one of you is reading this…it was a great attempt, thanks for filling me in on it later!)

We eventually figured out that the diligence of the “clean-up crew” was the largest barrier to the “epic-ness” of whatever prank we would attempt. How frustrating it was to undertake these endeavors only for them to be covered up or countered by the college staff. We had to come up with something more diabolical. (These days I use my creative powers for good. Mostly. I am a dad of three kids, so there’s still some mischief.)

In our last month of senior year, a group of us decided that in order to have a bigger impact, we had to do something that would overwhelm the ability of the cleanup crew to quickly return things to normal. We decided that to get the largest percentage of the student body to see our handiwork, we would target the campus chapel on one of the nights before a chapel session would be held the next morning.

Coincidentally, all of us had work/study jobs as a way to pick up a little money. One of us had a job as a janitor somewhere on the campus. I don’t remember if it was a little at a time or if it was all at once, but one guy snuck a garbage bag full of toilet paper rolls that would be used to TP the chapel. Considering how precious a commodity toilet paper has been over the past few months, this seems like it could be considered a felony today. It also lends some insight into the truth behind why tuition prices keep going up so much.

I didn’t have an appreciation for how wasteful this was until recently

I was still very busy with things to do, but on this occasion I figured out a way to get stuff done while being a part of this prank. We had recently returned from an eventful club whitewater rafting trip, and I wanted to record many of the details in a journal before I forgot them. (You can read about some of those adventures here and here.) Between classwork, activities, studying for finals, and winding down my final college semester, I didn’t have time to effectively capture those memories. I even recorded more of those trip details while sitting onstage during Baccalaureate and graduation.

For this prank, I was going to be the lookout, with a walkie-talkie, who journaled during the dull parts. This was a unique situation, because although two of us had walkie-talkies (the lookout and one of the TPers), I would be the only one talking. I ended up using different voices to pretend to be a couple of different people on the radio who were playing some kind of game nearby, and we had established certain words ahead of time to indicate how safe it was to participate in the hooliganism. The guy on the other radio would listen to my babblings, keeping an ear out for these code words.

I sat at a spot where I could see most of the entrances to the chapel, and saw the pranksters moving one or two at a time toward the door they’d arranged to enter. A few of them carried garbage bags. They got inside and got to work. I think someone else heard my radio’s transmissions though, because a few people showed up in the area looking like they expected to find someone. A security guard eventually made his rounds, and even stopped to chat with me. I’m sure it was unusual, though probably not the weirdest thing he’s seen, to find a college student writing in a book in the dark. He probably put two and two together the next day, but we didn’t get caught that night. I gave the TPers as much time as I could to do their thing, but little things kept adding up, and I eventually gave the signal to scram.

We all met back up afterwards, and the TPers were very enthusiastic about the feat they’d accomplished. I didn’t get to see the final results of their work, but they told me they’d been running around up in the catwalks and loft, tossing TP through the chandeliers and other hard-to-reach places for all they were worth. “Man, they won’t have it all cleaned up for a week!”

I don’t know if I ever looked forward to a chapel session so much. The next day as I walked into the chapel, there was no sign whatsoever that Team TP had even been there.

Thwarted again.

Class of 2020, pranks may not have been at the top of your to-do list, but you probably didn’t get to do all the things you wanted to do before your last day of in-person class. That’s not the end for you, though. As you move into your next phase of life you’ll have setbacks and you’ll have triumphs, but the most important thing will be for you to keep plugging away, even…no…especially if there’s more “rough” than “smooth.” I believe you can do it, and that this will shape your outlook even after things pick back up again. Good luck, God bless, and best wishes as you make the most of the opportunities you encounter.