October 16 / God at Work

Welcome to the Jungle

unnamed What can I say about work? It stinks, but hey, it’s part of life. I love what Red Foreman told his son Eric in That Seventies Show while discussing their jobs. “If work wasn’t work, they wouldn’t call it ‘work.’ They’d call it something else—like super-wonderful, crazy-fun time.”

It didn’t used to be this way, and God didn’t intend for the majority of our lives to be toil. The curse of toil is the result of the Fall. God intended the Garden of Eden, paradise. Work wasn’t work—it was meaningful and joyous. After all, Adam tended the Garden and named the animals.

As Long As It Is Today

As Americans, our culture tells us to live in the moment. Although it’s difficult to tell amongst the incoherent ramblings of spokesperson Matthew McConaughay as he drives, this has become Lincoln’s motto.

Typically, our Hollywood-laden ideals and work ethic combine to form the cliché “work hard, play hard.” To live in the moment continually, every day has to be special. For every day to be special, every today has to be special. These ideals are unattainable. No matter how inspired we are, the relentless grind at work grates against these ideals, causing a lot of frustration.

Ok, Daddy

“O.K., Daw.Ddy,” was all my sobbing two year old daughter could muster between sniffles and tears. She was a sad little wreck, hunched over, somehow sobbing while simultaneously inhaling in a fitful pattern. It was morning, I had woken her from her princess dreams, her face was scrunched in grumpiness. She firmly rubbed her eyes with her tiny fists as if doing so would transport her back to peaceful dreams. Read MoreOk, Daddy

October 14 / God at Home

Daddy’s Here

Now that I am a father, I take note of what I tell my infant son. One of the most interesting things is how I try to calm him when he is upset and throwing a fit. “It’s ok, Daddy’s here. Daddy has you, Tommy.” I want that to be sufficient for him. I believe that if he understood, he’d calm down and be at peace. I have his best intentions at heart and am protecting him. He doesn’t need to take on all the stress he’s causing himself. Read MoreDaddy’s Here

October 14 / God at Play

Redemption

Years ago, in the pre-kids era, I spent several weekends re-finishing a crib. The crib was not special in any notable way, except that it was left in my house from the previous owners. I held onto it for years, hoping to someday fix it up … Read MoreRedemption

October 14 / God at Play

The Great iCloud of Witnesses

Has the song in your heart ever stopped? A few years ago, I didn’t have a fresh song in my heart, and it was kind of sad when I realized it had disappeared. My wife and I had just received some great news—a major prayer request had been answered– and we showed up to church really ready to worship. I was grateful to God and excited. I wanted to sing for joy with all my heart. Funny thing was, I couldn’t sing. My voice literally wasn’t used to it, all scratchy. My singing voice had atrophied, it had been so long since I’d actually sang out loud.

Spiritual Fitness

I can’t remember what the advertisement was selling– I probably was supposed to open a new 401K. Regardless of what product the commercial was all about, it was hilarious. An overweight guy, all dressed up in new athletic apparel, is at the gym for the first time to fulfill his New Year’s resolution of losing weight. He steps on the scale to weigh himself, runs around the gym for a couple seconds, then steps back on the scale. He looks disappointed when the scale says he still weighs the same. The message was well crafted– we have unrealistic expectations and demand results too quickly. Read MoreSpiritual Fitness

October 14 / God at Work

Don’t Forget to Say “Thanks”

I was engaged to the girl of my dreams. Life was good. But my career in real estate was anything but solid, and that made the prospect of marriage a little unnerving. I was walking through a building I was in the process of listing, and across the street was the jewelry store where I had bought the engagement ring.

The ring was a hit with my fiancé. I literally was marrying the girl next door, and the jeweler was our neighbor, too. So the jeweler knew my wife, and he went the extra mile to help craft the perfect ring. And that’s what it was– a perfect ring for the perfect the girl.

Read MoreDon’t Forget to Say “Thanks”

October 14 / God at Work

Selling Reconciliation

I’m reading a book about sales, and it is really, really boring. Full of flow charts, acronyms, and points beginning with the same alphabetical letter, it is the stereotypical business book. But what really tops off the business book stereotype is how impersonal it makes business– it’s a bunch of meaningless words that dehumanizes the marketplace—the real world marketplace is very human.

City on a Hill

One of the best bits I’ve seen lately was a Daily Show clip montage poking fun at how Obama seems to be working on everything, including reading Pakistani Urdu poetry, except the economy. It concluded with a punch line from the cable business anchor receiving breaking news. “This just in: the job market still sucks.” Read MoreCity on a Hill