A Slower Pace

A dear friend of mine shared this with me and I thought I would pass it on.

Heavenly Father, Help us remember that the jerk who cut us off in traffic last night is a single mother who worked nine hours that day and is rushing home to cook dinner, help with homework, do the laundry and spend a few precious moments with her children.

Help us to remember that the pierced, tattooed, disinterested young man who can’t make change correctly is a worried 19-year-old college student, balancing his apprehension over final exams with his fear of not getting his student loans for next semester.

Remind us, Lord, that the scary looking bum, begging for money in the same spot every day (“who really ought to get a job”) is a slave to addictions that we can only imagine in our worst nightmares.

Help us to remember that the old couple walking annoyingly slow through the store aisles and blocking our shopping progress are savoring this moment, knowing that based on the biopsy report she got back last week, this will be the last year that they go shopping together.

Heavenly Father, remind us each day That of all the gifts you give us Lord, the greatest gift is love. It is not enough to share that love with those we hold dear. Open our hearts not to just those that are close to us, but to all humanity.

Let us be slow to judge and quick to forgive, show patience, empathy and love.

Working for God on earth doesn’t pay much……but His retirement plan is out of this world.

…..Dan at aslowerpace dot net

I am way off on my blogging. Sorry. Stuff going on too but not enough hours in the day to get it written down.

Last night I attended the closing for Chrysalis Flight 45. One of the kids’ statements really hit me and I wanted to share it with you.

“YOU are God’s favorite!”

So simple, yet so powerful. And yes, I am God’s favorite too. Pretty cool if you ask me.

…..Dan at aslowerpace dot net

NOTE: If you do not know what Chrysalis is, it is like an Emmaus walk on jet fuel for high schoolers. Both Emmaus walks and Chrysalis flights are designed to deepen and further your walk with Christ. More can be found here — http://www.upperroom.org/emmaus/whatis/about.asp. I would highly encourage you to explore attending a walk if you would like to develop your personal walk with your Savior Jesus, not just “check the box” by attending church and being a good person. It will change your life — here on earth and for eternity.

I woke up very early this morning so I could leave the house at 5:30am and serve breakfast down at Wayside Christian Mission as I have been doing every Friday lately (see this previous funny post on an earlier incident). My son put a small whiteboard outside of his door with the message for me on it.

“Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverence.” — James 1:2-3

Bye Dad – have a good day at work – love you

I am touched and know this will be a great Friday. I wish the readers of this the same.

…..Dan at aslowerpace dot net

Did you make any New Year’s resolutions this year? I didn’t necessarily make any resolutions specifically. However, I believe in the turning of the page especially when it comes to dates and eras. Consequently, I have incorporated many small changes across several different aspects of my life. Now I understand that, technically, this last weekend was not much different than many weekends preceding it. And that Saturday (2011) was not different than Friday (2010). But we are in a new year and that is always a good opportunity to change for the better.

There is a conventional wisdom at this time of year that is beginning to gain momentum — that resolutions shouldn’t even be made. Most resolutions fail so why jump on the resolution feel-good bandwagon when most people fall off before MLK day. And the arguments seem to hold some merit on the outside. One, don’t make resolutions and set yourself up for failure. Instead, just sneak the change in privately so if and when you fail it is no real big deal. You didn’t really commit to the change so you didn’t really fail. Two, why do you have to wait until the beginning of the year to make a change you want to make.

I agree with both these premises at face value. However, where I have a problem is that people are buying into the “not make resolutions” wisdom and equating it to not making any changes at all. There is no attempt to change; no effort to better oneself; no positive adjustments to be made. And while I can be as swept away as the next guy at the speed of change in our lives today, we must face the inevitable fact that change is the status quo. And we, as God’s creatures, are meant to change. Meant to be born, be supported, be raised, to learn, to grow, to break away, to be independent, to prosper, to help others, to lead, to give back, to slow down, to rely upon others, to share our wisdom, to forgive, to mentor, to sage, to die.

And if you don’t make any resolutions to change and better yourself from the dawn of your life to the sunset of your death, you aren’t doing what God has designed us to do. So get out there and resolve to better yourself. And when you fail, learn the lesson, and resolve again. Even if it is April.

…..Dan at aslowerpace dot net

In my previous post, I wrote about sitting down to watch the Rose Bowl game. However, I ended up recording the last 8 minutes (which can last 30 in football time) because I was having family movie night with the kids. The movie to be cued was “Facing The Giants”. The internet movie database sums it up like this — A losing coach with an underdog football team faces their giants of fear and failure on and off the field to surprising results.

So the kids and I head down to our almost finished basement (which only needs a ceiling) to watch “movie style”. For all you parents out there, this is a good movie for your kids and family. There is no language to worry about and no challenging or compromising scenes. Unfortunately the MPAA gave it a PG rating due to what they called football violence and “adult” situations of infertility. Ugh! Give me a break. Which means every Sunday the NFL would get a PG rating — maybe more due to the cheerleader close ups (which I am not opposed to, by the way). But I digress. It seems the MPAA might have been intimidated by the heavy spiritual overtones of the movie.

For believers, the movie is a great reminder of where we need to place our faith, what our role is, and what we are called to do. For those of you on the fence about Jesus or do not believe, you might think this is just a warm, fuzzy feel good story, but don’t dismiss it so quickly. You see, when I finished watching the movie I sat down to finish watching the TCU/Wisconsin Rose Bowl game and noticed a few parallels. I noticed a smaller, private, Christian school battling with a much larger, repeat Rose Bowl attendee. TCU has never been to the Rose Bowl; Wisconsin has been 6 times with 3 victories (not counting yesterday’s game). This truly was a David vs. Goliath match up.

And yet, TCU was able to compete, survive, and win! I watched the last half of the game and it was exciting and entertaining. And to hear TCU quarterback Andy Dalton quote a Bible verse in his after game victory interview on mainstream TV was awesome. The verse quoted by Andy Dalton was:

“Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time” – 1 Peter 5:6

So if you missed yesterday’s Rose Bowl, you can get a similar story by watching the movie “Facing The Giants”. Even if you saw the Rose Bowl, I suggest putting the movie on your “to watch” list. And make sure to share it with your kids.

…..Dan at aslowerpace dot net

I sit here after this evening’s church service catching up on the gridiron battle going on at the Rose Bowl between the Horned Toads of Texas Christian University and the U of Wisconsin Badgers. 19 years ago I was at that same venue rooting for purple as the U of Washington Huskees road victoriously to a win. I still have my ticket stub signed by winning coach Don James. It was also my debute on ESPN as they interviewed Coach James in his victory suite afterwards and I happened to be over his shoulder.

I am again rooting for purple, this time for TCU, for a few very good reasons. One, I’m Texan and they have Texas in their name. Two, I’m Christian and they have Christian in their name. Enough reasons there but then watching the broadcast I find out that TCU head coach Gary Patterson spent time as an assistant coach at Cal Lutheran where I played one year of college football. How cool is that?

Go Horned Frogs!!!!!

…..Dan at aslowerpace dot net

11:11am on 1/1/11.

We have another shot in 10 days on Jan 11. And two more on Nov 1 and Nov 11.

…..Dan at aslowerpace dot net

For a while now I have been listening to my local Christian radio station, WJIE. Their positive, spiritual music has changed my attitude, my perspective and my demeanor. They have a wonderful mission of spreading the Gospel through music and I am a huge fan and supporter. Their Christmas card is even on our refrigerator. And they are not only a radio station but have also been involved in the community putting on such events at the Slugger Field Baseball and Concert Day, the annual Sweetheart dinner, multiple Christian concerts, and fundraisers for worthy charities such as Edge Outreach and missions to Haiti.

Well, today is their 23rd birthday! HAPPY BIRTHDAY, WJIE!!!!!

If you are in the greater Louisville, tune your radio to 88.5 FM for a positive change to your day. And for those of you who aren’t in Kentucky, you can stream them over the internet and listen on your computer at http://wjie.org/listen_live/wjie.asx.

FYI — WJIE stands for Where Jesus Is Exalted.

…..Dan at aslowerpace dot net

Not only did we ring in the New Year, but I also made it to 1:11am on 1/1/11. That’s 1:11 1/1/11! And just this week, my wife’s truck also hit 111,111.

Wishing you and yours a very blessed 2011.

…..Dan at aslowerpace dot net

My Dad sent me the link below about how the Swedish government, in its infinite wisdom, has taken a child from his parents for a year and a half because they are Christians homeschooling him. This issue completely blows my mind in today’s modern age because of the freedoms I enjoy here in the United States. However, any time you get people in control who want to control others, it can be dangerous.

—— TANGEANT ——
While working on the basement, I put in the Star Wars II (Attack of the Clones) DVD as periodic entertainment. I caught one part where Anakin and Padme are having a picnic conversation in a meadow. They are discussing politics and civilization and you can begin to see Anakin’s dictatorship philosophies. It is interesting how you see hints like that in politicians too — it is not just for movies.
—— TANGEANT OFF ——

So the Swedish government has proven to me that they are a nanny state incapable of values and providing freedoms to their citizens. I expect the downward spiral of that country within my lifetime. Until then, I will boycott ABBA and Volvos. (No need to boycott Saabs because, being the ugliest cars on the road, no one buys them anyway.)

Please keep this family in your prayers. They have been through so much and there isn’t much light in the tunnel for them right now.

…..Dan at aslowerpace dot net