Free Range Devotions

Smile

noreply@blogger.com (Sean) — Tue, 23 Sep 2014 04:39:00 +0000

Can you predict a person’s future based on their smile? In a 2011 TED Talk, Ron Gutman summarized the results of some smile research. For example, one study looked at pre-1950 baseball cards, and measured a player’s smile. The average lifespan of a player with no smile turned out to be 72.2 years, but if a player was beaming, he had lived to a ripe ol’ 79.9 years. The bigger the smile, the longer the player had lived.

In another study cited by Gutman, smiles in yearbook pictures were compared to the success and well-being of those students throughout their lives. The researchers were able to predict how fulfilling and long-lasting their marriages were, how well a student performed on tests of well-being, and how inspiring a student was to others. The bigger the smile, the higher the student’s level of success had turned out to be.

Looking back at my high school yearbook picture above, I think Mr. Gutman would say I am doomed. And you would probably agree, if this was the only picture of me you ever saw. However, it is only one snapshot of one second during what had to be one very bad day for me. After all, I was forced to wear (gasp!) a tie.

Since the picture is of me, I know more about the subject than anyone else, and can definitely say the picture is not indicative of the rest of my story. The truth is, I actually enjoyed high school, and nearly every other picture in the yearbook with me in it demonstrates that somehow. Horsing around with teammates, goofing around with friends, and yes, even cracking the occasional smile. Yet, if that picture was the only thing you knew about me, you’d probably say I was destined to be the grumpy, miserable failure I appeared to be at that moment.

The good news is God already knows the rest of my story, and the rest of your story, too. “‘For I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.’“ (Jeremiah 29:11, NIV).

The future looks good, regardless of whether you’re smiling at any given instant or not.

Is this the Best You've got?

noreply@blogger.com (Sean) — Tue, 12 Aug 2014 12:57:00 +0000

How do you relate potty-training, lousy sale offers, and Godzilla to the story of Cain and Abel? Better have a listen to sort this all out.

Thanks to Life Covenant Church for letting me speak this past weekend.

Lou Swanson

noreply@blogger.com (Sean) — Tue, 04 Feb 2014 14:04:00 +0000

“I can see your name is Lou,” the TV reporter confidently stated as he approached my grandfather outside of his beach cottage. The reporter looked up at the “Lou’s Haven” sign over the cottage door, and continued, “Can I get your last name, too, and then ask you a few questions?” He had come to do a story about some recent happenings at the beach, and had seen my grandfather puttering around outside.

All the beach cottages had names. Lou’s Haven sat next to the Patricia Lee and the Silver Sands, just down from the Pilot and the Open Deck, near the Summer Place and the Sandbox. In my grandfather’s case, Lou built the cottage. Lou named the cottage. Lou sold the cottage to my grandparents. But my grandfather was not Lou.

So with a mischievous gleam in his eye, my grandfather – Joe Connolly – responded, “Swanson. With an ‘O’. Lou Swanson,” and then proceeded to answer the reporter’s questions.

That night, after the segment aired with Joe Connolly’s face and “Lou Swanson” emblazoned across the bottom of the screen, the calls flooded in to my grandparents. Lou Swanson? Everyone wanted to know, why Lou Swanson? My grandfather’s response: “Well, the reporter didn’t seem interested in my real name, so I said ‘OK. Have it your way.’”

And my way is typically right on par with that reporter – making snap judgments and inferring things before gathering all the facts, before asking questions, and without taking time to listen. We are supposed to be quick to listen and slow to speak (James 1:19), but we tend to reverse the two so we are quick to speak and slow to listen.

I mean, who’s got time to be patient these days while someone drones on and on and on about their situation or what they are going through. Can’t we can make a few quick assumptions after they’ve said a couple of words, and solve the problem in three speedy bullet points? I’ve got a full schedule here! Time to move on to the next issue already!

How can you tell if you’re not listening? When you start finishing someone’s sentences for them, when you start thinking “Oh, I know where this is going” as someone starts talking, and when you assume someone’s name is Lou.

Take heed and listen up, because as the Message Bible so eloquently puts it, “Answering before listening is both stupid and rude” (Proverbs 18:13).

Understatement

noreply@blogger.com (Sean) — Mon, 09 Dec 2013 13:52:00 +0000

ESA/Hubble

According to the Creation account in the NIV translation, God used:

13 spoken words to create about 1,800,000,000 cubic miles of sky,

16 words to form approximately 57,500,000 square miles of land and 139,400,000 square miles of ocean,

25 words to craft roughly 321,000 species of plants,

20 words to make about 31,300 species of fish and 10,000 species of birds, and

25 words to fashion approximately 1,264,000 land-based vertebrate animal species and millions species of insects (Genesis 1:6-24 and Wikipedia).

In addition to the words God spoke to create, there is this very footnote-esque statement during Day 4 of creation: “He also made the stars” (Genesis 1:16). Five simple words that refer to, oh, about 400,000,000,000 stars in our Milky Way galaxy alone, and possibly 100 sextillion (that’s the number 1 followed by 23 zeros) stars in the entire universe.

The creation numbers are staggering, incomprehensible and unfathomable. I mean, how can God use so few words to create so much? Each step in the creation process is an understatement of Biblical proportions.

If it were me, I’d be holding press conferences, bragging, and posting millions of selfies on the internet to draw attention to myself and what I had done. But God? Not so much. “For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities – his eternal power and divine nature – have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse” (Romans 1:20). One of those divine qualities is humility, since He let His creation speak about Him. No boasts. No need for attention. No grandiose verbiage.

And His humility was on display that first Christmas Day. Rather than choosing to make a lavish and impressive show to accompany the birth of His son - the King of Kings and Lord of Lords - God chose the humblest surroundings. Surroundings unworthy of someone destined to change the course of world history. Surroundings that were probably dark, dirty, and reeked of manure, since Mary placed the baby Jesus in a feeding trough (Luke 2:7). And instead of splashing the news all over the world, angels announced the birth to shepherds, one of the humblest professions (Luke 8-15).

We often get confused when our expectations are not met, something I’m always reminded of at Christmas. This Christmas, remember that flashy, glitzy, attention-grabbing events and gifts may not be nearly as meaningful or profound as something simple and understated. Consider the example of God, who created a sextillion things with a few words, and changed the world with an infant.

What if . . .

noreply@blogger.com (Sean) — Mon, 30 Sep 2013 12:43:00 +0000

My eyes snapped open when I heard it. I had been starting to doze off on a bus tour as part of a professional conference. My mind lazily wandered from one foggy, disconnected thought to the next. Looking out the window as the bus chugged down the highway, I caught a glimpse of a sign for an approaching exit, and recognized the name of the town.

A girl I went to college with had grown up in that town. My thoughts drifted back to years ago, and I remembered, recounted and reminisced as my eyes drooped. Then my mind switched to questions: What’s she’s doing? Where is she now? What if things had turned out different …?

Anything can trigger a memory. These reminders conjure up thoughts, feelings and emotions that range from comforting to spine-tingling. A certain song prompts you to remember a specific event. A smell reminds you of Grandma’s kitchen. A unique sound transports you back to the place where you first heard it.

In my case, it was a simple place name that caused my thoughts to meander. But I was a different person back in college, with different priorities, different thoughts, and different motivations.

Where does your mind go when it wanders? Ever catch yourself wondering or dreaming or hoping things could’ve been different or better? There is a danger in letting our thoughts repeatedly return to the past, especially if that past did not include God. If we continually dwell on what was, then we begin to lose focus on where we are right now, and lose sight of where we want to go.

So before my thoughts drifted too far off the road with my “What if …?” question, I heard “Then you wouldn’t know me.” Like sudden, strong gust of wind, the Lord snapped me back to the present tense, and the fog blew away with His answer. I was instantly awake, alert, and looking around to see who on the bus was invading my thoughts.

Once we know the Lord, He will provide corrections to our course as needed. Which is why Isaiah says, “Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you saying, ‘This is the way; walk in it’” (30:21).

Are you listening?

Faith

noreply@blogger.com (Sean) — Fri, 30 Aug 2013 02:16:00 +0000

www.crh.noaa.gov

The fog would roll in like a magician, eventually making things invisible. From my grandparents oceanfront cottage, I marveled as the fogbank washed the colors out of other cottages further down the beach, turning them gray until they finally disappeared.

The fog enveloped our cottage too, but it never seemed as thick and dramatic as it did down the beach. As a boy, I wanted to be in the thick fog, not the flimsy, wispy fog around our place. I always wanted to walk down to at least the O’Brien’s cottage; it always seemed to vanish. I thought about how cool it would be to go there and not be able to see my hands at the end of my extended arms.

So, I’d wander with my bemused grandaunt down the beach, but could never quite get into The Fog, even in front of the O’Brien’s place. The truly dense, thick, exciting fog always seemed to be somewhere else, just out of reach.

Nowadays, I read Chapter 11 in the Book of Hebrews, the Faith Hall of Fame, and I can hear that same little boy, wondering and longing. Wouldn’t it be cool to move to some strange land at God’s direction like Abraham, not knowing what is going to happen. Or spearhead a huge, building project like Noah. Or be part of some unbelievable miracle, like the Israelites passing through the Red Sea or making the walls of Jericho crumble.

In the verse immediately following his Hall of Fame list, Paul writes, “since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us” (Hebrews 12:1). The inductees to the Hall of Faith are not literally enveloping us like a fog bank. Their stories are held up as examples, to bear witness, of what awesome and incredible things are possible through faith in God.

Things so incredibly awesome, they seem out of reach.

However, we don’t have to go very far to demonstrate our faith. God hasn’t called us all to be missionaries to a foreign land, or to inspire great crowds of people, or to be a miracle worker. But He has made us parents and spouses and children and acquaintances and employees and friends and business owners.

And thanks to those relationships and connections, we don’t have to go wandering off to be in the thick of abundant opportunities. There are plenty of chances to display the calm confidence that faith generates, right where we are.

Broken

noreply@blogger.com (Sean) — Fri, 28 Jun 2013 13:18:00 +0000

When the wineglass shattered, rejoicing ensued. Much rejoicing. (See and hear for yourself here). My daughter and I danced, we slapped high fives, and we squealed and shouted so loudly in the detached garage that my wife heard us from inside the house with all the doors and windows closed tight. That shattering glass was our last ditch effort to get some part of her science experiment to work, and after hours and hours of effort and frustration, a short celebration was very much in order.

The experiment was supposed to be relatively easy: use sound to break wineglasses at their resonant frequency. We pummeled a variety of glasses with sound for hours and hours one afternoon with no success. We tried wineglasses; we tried glasses without stems; we even tried a mug. We tried not to get frustrated as the failures mounted.

After nightfall, we set up one more glass, and with the loudspeaker and amplifier cranked to 11, the glass exploded. After all that time, we broke only one glass, but what joy that one brought.

Consider how often God’s message of love and mercy and redemption and peace gets presented, and then rejected, by one person. I sat in church for years like a stout mug, with that message bouncing off my thick head. Just between 1^st grade and the end of high school alone, I probably sat through about 1,000 sermons and Sunday school-type classes. And who knows how many hundreds of thousands of times God tried to get my attention during the rest of my life when I wasn’t even near a church.

How many times did I stubbornly resist?

How many times have you?

When His message finally resonated with me, I broke down and humbly admitted I needed Him. Apparently, when that happens, Jesus says “there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents” (Luke 15:10).

So if my daughter and I get excited enough to dance and holler when one glass breaks after many hours of trying, imagine what the celebration in Heaven is like after years and years, and thousands upon thousands of attempts to get a person to take that step of repentance? “Rejoicing” might be an understatement. Dancing, high fives, and shouts of joy are probably just the beginning. The celebration might be downright raucous.

Have you given those angels something to celebrate?

Boston 2013

noreply@blogger.com (Sean) — Wed, 24 Apr 2013 03:14:00 +0000

(Boston Local 103 IBEW)

My heart got ripped out during the 2013 Boston Marathon. Although we have all anguished over the dead and injured many times after similar, senselessly tragic events, I always had a sense of detachment. They happened somewhere else. I didn’t know anyone directly involved. I’ve never been there.

But having grown up in the Boston area and run The Marathon just last year, the bombings this year became personal. I had been in the crowds and experienced the joyous electricity among the spectators as a kid, and I was finally able to fulfill a lifelong goal of being the focus of that excitement as a competitor in 2012. I can say the commitment and multiple years of training and preparation it takes to get to the starting line as a runner is matched only by the years of commitment and encouragement provided by a runner’s friends and families. Friends and families that were ripped apart for simply offering encouragement – 26.2 miles of beautifully loud and raucous encouragement - where it is needed most.

I keenly understood many aspects surrounding this event, and when I first heard of the bombings, my response was intensely furious. I’ve got to do something! Instinctively, I wanted the perpetrators brought to justice. If I were being honest, I wanted an eye for an eye, tooth for a tooth, severed limb for severed limb. But, honestly, what could I do?

In 2 Chronicles 20:1-30, the king of Judah, Jehoshaphat, is faced with disaster thanks to an impending invasion by overwhelming army, and he’s wondering what to do. “Alarmed, Jehoshaphat resolved to inquire of the Lord” (v3), and he prayed intensely before concluding with this appeal to God: “For we have no power to face this vast army that is attacking us. We do not know what to do, but our eyes are upon you” (v12).

The Lord answered “Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged. Go out and face them tomorrow, and the Lord will be with you” (v17). The next day, as the people of Judah “began to sing and praise, the Lord set ambushes” against the invaders (v22), and the armies completely annihilated each other (v23). There is no mention of Judah’s people lifting a finger during the battle, only their voices.

Whether it’s an invading army, mad bombers, natural disasters, a cancer diagnosis, bullies, or a host of other things that make hearts quake with fear, what can you do? We cannot control what might happen to us. As Jehoshaphat said, we don’t have any power over those things, and we should acknowledge as much by praying to the One who does.

The only control we have is how we respond to the situation. And if you are searching for victory, that response should include prayer, praise and perseverance, as the Lord does His work.

Influence

noreply@blogger.com (Sean) — Thu, 28 Mar 2013 03:49:00 +0000

bostinno.com

I grew up surrounded by the unique and very distinct Boston accent. It sounds like this, and please, don’t try this at home; I am a professional: “Pahk the cah in Hahvahd yahd.” (Bonus Bostonian dialect lesson: The term “wicked” means “very, very,” as in “That scientist from Hahvahd is wicked smaht.”) R’s on the end of my words and syllables didn't exist, since that was the way everyone around me spoke.

So when my accent and I moved to North Carolina State University, I sounded just a wee bit different from the locals. “Where y’all from?” was the initial response. (Bonus southern dialect lesson: “y’all” is one person; “all y’all” is a group of people.) Once someone knew I was from the Boston area, the very next thing out of someone's mouth would be: "Hah! So do y'all paaaaahhk your caaaahh in Haaaahhvaaaahhd yaaaahhd?"

After being totally immersed in Southern culture for almost a year, my R’s reappeared occasionally. I even developed a slight drawl. Like when I got a flat – I had to change the “tar” instead of the “tie-ah.”

When I came back to Boston, friends would say “Sean, wheah you been? You sound wicked Southern.” Back at school, friends would drawl, “I reckon you been back in Boston. Y’all sound funny.” Back and forth I went between accents and dialects without consciously realizing I was adapting and changing based on what I heard from those people around me. Although I liked sounding, and therefore being, different from people, I was insecure enough that I didn't want to be that different.

The more we are around someone or a particular group, the more likely we are to be influenced by them, consciously or not. We start to act like them, pick up certain habits, and repeat what they say. Kids mimic their parents. Employees act like the boss to advance. We try to fit into the crowd.

… which becomes a problem when the influence of those people causes us to drift away from God. As Paul warns, “Bad company corrupts good character” (1 Corinthians 15:33). As my Southern friends might say, “Ornery people’ll make yuh ornery, and that’ll git y’all in a whole mess of trouble.”

What kind of sway are people having on you, and do you realize it? Because when it comes to the influence other people have on the way you live, the way you act, and the way you talk, all y’all bettah be wicked caheful.

Thorns

noreply@blogger.com (Sean) — Wed, 27 Feb 2013 13:17:00 +0000

http://effectualfaith.wordpress.com

When a wild rose grew up and bloomed unexpectedly in the hedge at the edge of our yard, we decided to relocate the rose to a more prominent location near the front of our house. Then, two stems turned into a bush, and its roots began to spread. New stems began sprouting out away from the bush over a larger and larger area, consuming more real estate than we ever intended. The rose bush had to be removed, which meant dealing with thorns.

Although I had thick gloves on to protect my hands, the thorns cut into my forearms and stabbed me in the torso as I wrestled to remove the bush. It’s as if the thorns knew specifically where I had minimal protection, and attacked me in those weak spots.

Some people are referred to as “thorny” for a reason. These are the people we wish we didn’t have to deal with, but just cannot avoid, like classmates, co-workers, clients, neighbors, and maybe even family members. Their words slash us. Their actions tear at us. Sometimes their mere presence intimidates us. And no matter how we try to protect ourselves, our vulnerable spots end up hurt.

We spend an exorbitant amount of time focused on the thorns. We end up thinking about how to avoid them, or confront them, or survive being near them. Thorny people chew up a lot of mental real estate, consuming our thoughts and hindering other parts of our lives because we cannot stop replaying events in our head, exclaiming “I can’t believe what he did!” And the more we retell the story to others – “Can you BELIEVE what he said?!?” - the more established the thorn’s roots become in our minds.

Who is the thorny person in your life?

Despite the prickly nature of some people, we are supposed to “Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you” (Luke 6:27-28). Thorny people should move us closer to Christ because they keep us humble, and provide opportunities to demonstrate His character when it is least expected.

Loving, doing good, blessing, and praying for those people who hurt us enables us to release our grip on the situation, and place it in Jesus’s hands instead. Thorns only hurt when we wrestle with the rose bush. All that loving and blessing and praying enables us to get a glimpse of how Jesus views that person, and to realize that despite our focus on the parts of the bush that hurt us, every thorn does have a rose.

The Faucet

noreply@blogger.com (Sean) — Thu, 27 Dec 2012 21:09:00 +0000


www.sweetclipart.com

The faucet handle blew off as the water erupted, soaking me and drenching the ceiling. In the next room, my wife and daughter erupted with laughter as I dove under the bathroom sink, frantically grasping for the water shut-off handle to stop the geyser.

By no means am I a plumber. You won’t catch me sweating pipe joints. But replacing a washer to stop a leaking faucet is so simple, even I can do it, and have many times before. So, I do know enough to turn off the water leading to the faucet before attempting to unscrew the faucet handle. Usually.

At some point that particular day, between deciding to fix the dripping faucet in the morning and actually attempting to make the fix in the afternoon, I convinced myself that I had, in fact, turned off the water to the faucet. I truly believed the water was off. But, I didn’t bother to verify what position the shut-off handle was in.

When we hear something that seems spiritual or sounds Biblical, how often do we confirm it actually comes from the Bible? When tempting Jesus in the desert, Satan quoted Scripture out of context to help support his lies (Matthew 4:1-11). To fight back, Jesus also quoted Scripture, but correctly. We also need to understand the Bible, so we can distinguish the truth from the quasi-truth or outright falsehood.

Even if they are meant for good intentions, phrases like “God helps those who help themselves,” or “Money is the root of all evil,” or “This too shall pass” sure sound Biblical-ish, but they are not. The website blueletterbible.org has a great collection of sayings not actually found in Scripture. (Small group discussion idea!)

But what other sayings or phrases have we repeated, or believed in, or relied on without confirming they are based on Biblical truth? God may work in mysterious ways (another often-quoted saying not found in the Bible), but He will not contradict Himself. If Satan has the audacity to twist the meaning of Scripture while speaking directly to The Author of Scripture, I don’t think we’re immune to his word twists either. Whether sayings, bits of advice, or words of guidance come from a friend, family, community leaders, or anyone else, we should verify they are based on truth before fully embracing them.

“Test everything,” Paul implores us (1 Thessalonians 5:21). Otherwise, what we believe in could blow up in our face.

Sound of the Psalms

noreply@blogger.com (Sean) — Mon, 10 Dec 2012 06:11:00 +0000

Thanks to Keith Johnson and Life Covenant Church for allowing me to give the sermon back in August.

It's all about communication using descriptions of sound from the Psalms. Trust me, I'm an acoustical engineer.

Sockeye Fishing Lessons

noreply@blogger.com (Sean) — Tue, 30 Oct 2012 04:37:00 +0000

Her smile stretched as large as the sockeye salmon she caught – big, broad, and beautiful. As I scooped my daughter’s fish out of the water for her to see, I thought the tightening net would snap because of the fish’s weight. After years of fishing for trout in the rivers and lakes around Montana, fishing for salmon in Alaska was, literally and figuratively, an entirely different animal.

Our friend Aaron gave us all the same instructions before we started plying the waters. Turns out you don’t trick salmon into biting a hook or a fly. You don’t delicately present your fly in a natural way, hoping not to spook the fish. You don’t select the right pattern or color to dupe them.

Instead, you chuck this mass of metal upstream, where it splashes in like a cannonball. The weights and hook bounce and drag on the bottom, until the river pushes it just pass you. Then you heave the hook horizontally out of the water with a sidearm motion . . . and hope the hook happens to snag an unsuspecting fish in the mouth.

As rough and tumble as it sounds, there is a technique to it, which Aaron explained and demonstrated to all of us many times over the course of two days. When my wife and I were lucky enough to snag a fish, however, his instruction evaporated from our minds, and we reverted back to what we knew – trying to land a trout. The result: lots of Aaron’s tackle lost, and no fish.

But my daughter’s brain, and the brain of most kids, is like a chalkboard. Her little mental eraser wiped away the instructions about catching trout once Aaron started explaining how to catch salmon, and new instructions appeared. She approached salmon fishing like the child she is - innocent and unencumbered by any preconceived notions or I-know-what-I’m-doing pride, unlike us adults.

Jesus said we need to receive the kingdom of heaven like a little child (Luke 18:17). To do so, we adults need to wipe away all the clutter of what we think heaven should be like, and what we think we should be doing to serve Him. We just need to accept His personal instruction for us, act on it, and be patient. Otherwise, we’ll end up thwarted, frustrated and angry, which is not a good combination for getting into heaven, and apparently, not good for catching sockeyes either.

My Aching Big Toe

noreply@blogger.com (Sean) — Mon, 01 Oct 2012 03:34:00 +0000

It all started when the cast iron griddle fell off the shelf and onto my foot, striking just above my left big toe. No bones broke or fractured, but then again, nothing was ever quite right after that either. Even though it happened over a year ago, my toe still aches from time to time when I land on it just the wrong way.

And when my toe is in pain, I’ll shift my gait ever so slightly to try and lessen that pain. That puts odd stress on my left ankle. Which means my left hip starts to bother me. Then I’ll put more pressure on my right leg as I limp to compensate, which causes my right knee to act up. Which means my back gets thrown out of alignment because I end up moving in this weird, herky-jerky motion as I hobble around. Who knew my big toe could make me a physical wreck?

A foot problem causes a chain reaction that wreaks havoc with many, many other parts of your body, primarily because the toes and the foot are intended to provide stability to the rest of you. They are the foundation on which you stand, and if they have a problem, you won’t stand correctly for long.

What are you standing on, thinking it will hold you up? The stock market, job, social status, bank account, friends or family name? They might not be as stable over the long term as you think. People shift. Seasons change. Things happen. So what or who do you rely on for stability when little things go wrong, and start adding up to bigger and bigger problems, wreaking havoc with your life?

Jesus said a person who comes to Him, hears His words and puts them into practice “is like a man building a house, who dug down deep and laid the foundation on rock. When a flood came, the torrent struck that house but could not shake it because it was well built” (Luke 6:47-48).

In other words, no matter what trouble comes your way, with Jesus as your rock-solid foundation to stand on, you won’t have to go limping through life.

Litton

noreply@blogger.com (Sean) — Mon, 27 Aug 2012 23:08:00 +0000

The story of Kip Litton is amazing. In the August 6, 2012 issue of The New Yorker, Mark Singer details just how amazing, as this dentist went from overweight to running marathons. Inspired, he set out to finish a marathon in less than three hours in each state. To cover 26.2 miles in under three hours, while not utilizing transportation with wheels, is a difficult and significant accomplishment. To do it repeatedly is astounding.

www.writingaboutrunning.com

Litton started and maintained his own website to chronicle his feats, which initially went unnoticed. However, for about a year when he was 48, he averaged about one marathon per month, and traveled all over the country to race. In many of these races, he finished near the top of his age group. Incredibly, he actually won the West Wyoming Marathon outright.

And people did begin to take notice of Litton’s performances. People like the overall fourth-place finisher at the Deadwood Mickelson Trail Marathon. Litton’s time put him in third place overall. But the fourth place finisher was actually in third place at the halfway point, and he swore he did not get passed during the last half of the race. He would have noticed, too – the last half of the course consisted of a six-foot wide trail.

Other runners, bloggers and race directors failed to find Litton in the myriad of photographs taken during races, except at specific timing checkpoints. People sleuthing the internet eventually figured out Litton fabricated the entire West Wyoming Marathon that he supposedly won, from creating the event website, to inventing the names of the other “participants” and their times.

Litton was exiting each course between timing checkpoints, utilizing transportation with wheels to travel to the next checkpoint, and then re-entering the race. Once he crossed through the checkpoint, he repeated the process. He was cutting the course, which is a running term for “cheating.”

As Singer concludes, “Litton’s story could have been a small but admirable one: an out-of-shape Midwestern dentist who transformed himself into a competitive marathoner. But he had insisted on transforming himself further, inventing a heroic avatar, ‘Kip Litton,’ that couldn’t be sustained.” Singer continues, “But whatever glory he felt was surely short-lived” as people exposed him as a fraud.

What stories are we spinning to impress people, stories based on deception and cheating, which only require more cheating and more deception to maintain? What front or what mask are we putting up for people to see, when the truth is actually very different? Whether stories or facades, they are still lies.

Maybe we’re fooling those people now, but we can’t sustain it. Frauds do ultimately get exposed. As it says in the Message translation of Numbers 32:23, “You can be sure that your sin will track you down.”

And then the story won’t be so amazing.

Traces of God

noreply@blogger.com (Sean) — Mon, 02 Jul 2012 23:07:00 +0000

Physicists wanted answers to a big question, so they constructed the largest machine in the world to get them. The Large Hadron Collider cost about $10 billion to build, consists of a 17-mile long underground tunnel, and shoots 40 million protons per second toward each other through the tunnel at 99.9999991% of the speed of light. The hope is to finally detect the Higgs boson particle, nicknamed the “God particle” because it is predicted to be the fundamental building block of everything in the universe.

Getty Images

However, the Higgs boson cannot be seen because it only exists for a yoctosecond, or 0.000000000000000000000001 of a second. Therefore, scientists cannot detect the particles directly, but instead observe “tracks” after the protons collide and break into smaller pieces. Like contrails from a high-altitude jet, the traces indicate the particles have been there.

Although physicists dislike the “God particle” nickname, it seems appropriate considering how He reveals Himself. Smack in the middle of pain, grief, suffering and doubt crashing through our lives, we cry out “God, where are you?” but we don’t get a clear answer. We want answers and relief in a yoctosecond, but evidence of God’s presence can take years to see. It took me over 20 years to finally understand my parents’ divorce was probably the best thing to happen to my spiritual growth, despite the confusion and sadness I experienced when I was a boy. I wanted answers, but got none at the time.

Similarly, despite direct involvement in some of God’s mightiest miracles, Moses still needed reassurance that God would continue to lead the Israelites through the desert after leaving Egypt. Even after holding his hands up to part the Red Sea, Moses still had doubts about God. He pleaded for answers from God, and wanted to see Him directly face to face.

“Then the Lord said, ‘There is a place near me where you may stand on a rock. When my glory passes by, I will put you in a cleft in the rock and cover you with my hand until I have passed by. Then I will remove my hand and you will see my back; but my face must not be seen.’”(Exodus 33:21-23).

What big questions do you want answers to? God may not be apparent when we want Him or expect Him to be, but with faith and perseverance, the traces of His presence become evident later.

Boston

noreply@blogger.com (Sean) — Wed, 02 May 2012 04:17:00 +0000

“It. Was. So. Much. Fun.” That was the first response – with an emphatic, whimsical pause between each word – when I asked runners what the Boston Marathon was like. I started asking about two years ago, before I had fully dedicated myself to the months of preparation ahead. I wanted to know what one of the most prestigious, challenging and demanding marathon courses in the world had in store for me.

I expected to hear about the hills on the course (the most famous one isn’t called “Heartbreak” for nothing). I expected to hear about how much their legs hurt after enduring the race. I expected to hear about how terrible training through a Montana winter to be race-ready in April would be.

But no.

The initial and immediate response from the Boston veterans uplifted and encouraged me.

When I finally participated in the 2012 Boston Marathon, my legs screamed in pain because the hills were brutal, and the withering heat near 90 degrees made me wilt, and I ran my worst race since junior high.

And yet when people started asking me how the race went, I found myself echoing that happy first response. Running through the midst of a 26.2 mile tailgate party, with thousands upon thousands of people cheering and encouraging you on, mile after mile, affects you like that. I think if I had smelled even a whiff of negativity when I first starting asking about Boston, I would have given up on the marathon idea, and therefore, would have missed out on pure joy, in spite of all the difficulties.

It probably shouldn’t be surprising, then, that Jesus did not mention the potential troubles, pain, and suffering the disciples could be in for when He first asked them to follow Him. After all their time together, Jesus did not say “In this world you will have trouble” until His last day on earth (John 16:33). Up to that point, I would think the disciples had been a fearful mix of awe, wonder and amazement. But initially, I think “Follow me” probably sounded joyful, playful, and even whimsical, the same way runners told me about Boston.

So the next time I find myself on the verge of discussing my Christian faith, I’m going to try and start with some version of “It. Is. So. Much. Fun.” Because I don’t want someone else to miss out on all the fun.

What's that kid with the purple head saying - LIVE

noreply@blogger.com (Sean) — Tue, 10 Apr 2012 14:48:00 +0000

From the Life Covenant Church 2012 Cabin Fever Follies.

"_______"

noreply@blogger.com (Sean) — Sat, 25 Feb 2012 14:05:00 +0000

When my wife was a young girl, she and her little sister were treated to a Saturday night at the drive-in theater. Popcorn. Giggling. A good wholesome time during a family-oriented film, the first of a double feature. During intermission, the parents informed the girls it was time to go to sleep. Their movie was over, and it was time for mommy and daddy’s movie.

Worn out from the excitement and late hour, her sister conked out before the second movie started. However, my future wife sat in the back seat, quiet, patient and supposedly asleep, while the adults became engrossed in the story, oblivious to the small sponge behind them.

The very next day, a teacher intercepted my future mother-in-law at the classroom doorway as she came to pick up her daughter. The teacher looked horrified; her eyes wide with shock as she pulled my future mother-in-law aside. The teacher leaned in nervously. “I’m not sure how to tell you this,” she whispered incredulously, “but Kristin said ‘______.’”

In front of the teacher.

For all the other kids to hear.

During Sunday School.

Probably made for some interesting discussions around town later that day, when unsuspecting parents innocently asked, “So, what did you learn at Sunday School today?”

When religious leaders arrested Peter and John for preaching about Jesus’s resurrection, they stated, “We cannot help speaking about what we have seen and heard” (Acts 4:20).

And neither can we.

We all repeat and tell other people about the things that influence us, good or bad. What we expose ourselves to sways our hearts, minds and opinions, which in turn, drives what we talk about. Peter and John spoke about the miracles, healings, love and good news they were exposed to by hanging around Jesus. But as Kristin’s parents discovered, the flip side occurs when “bad company corrupts good character” (1 Corinthians 15:33), and bad company can take the form of people, books, music, TV shows, jokes, magazines, websites, and of course, movies.

Even if she had no idea what the word meant, little Kristin could not help speaking about what she had seen and heard, repeating at least one word from the movie with adult language and situations, and reflecting it back out for the world to hear. But she was unknowingly exposed to some things that apparently turned out to not be appropriate for her age. As adults, however, we have a choice about who and what approaches our eyes and ears.

If we are not careful, at the most inappropriate time, we might end up saying “______.”

Sour Cream

noreply@blogger.com (Sean) — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 13:46:00 +0000

www.bonappetit.com

The sour cream never had a chance. Never knew what hit it. Innocently it waited in my refrigerator for the next potato- or nacho-based meal, which as a bachelor happened frequently.

This particular day, I staggered into my apartment after running 22 miles while training for my first marathon. Drenched with sweat, vision blurred and legs wobbling, I lurched toward the kitchen, ravenous after burning so much energy. Flinging open the door to the fridge, several tumbleweeds blew out, exposing the unsuspecting tub of protein and fat. Hesitating briefly, a small voice of reason pleaded to not make meal out of a condiment. I shrugged, and attacked the sour cream with primal gusto anyway.

Even though I had changed my physical regimen over several months to prepare for running 26.2 miles, I hadn’t changed my eating habits – burgers, fries, fried chicken, and now apparently, a foray into the fattier condiments. No wonder my body always felt so broken down, and I was zombified by the need for sleep.

Call me crazy, but a food-ish product that contains 10% of my suggested daily allowance of saturated fat in a mere 2 tablespoons couldn’t possibly replace all the carbohydrates, potassium, sodium, vitamins and minerals I burned off in mass quantities. And it certainly could not provide me energy for the next training run. So I lost weight and remained sluggish throughout my training. I bonked during the actual race. My legs turned to mush, and I slogged through the last 2 miles like I was shuffling through waist-deep wet cement.

In the second half of 1 Corinthians 10, Paul writes about bad food. Bad because it was sacrificed to idols, not bad because of its fat content. These days, we do not have to worry about whether our food participated in pagan temple rituals. But we should be concerned about what food we put into our bodies, and how it affects our moods, our energy levels, and our focus because it relates to how well and how actively we can serve God.

When speaking of food, Paul said, “Everything is permissible – but not everything is beneficial. Everything is permissible – but not everything is constructive” (1 Corinthians 10:23). The items on my bachelor menu were all readily acceptable to eat, but they were not helpful for me. I hope you do not have a sour-cream-as-a-meal habit, but what other food-ish item(s) are on your regular menu that may not be beneficial for you in the long run?

Silence

noreply@blogger.com (Sean) — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 05:12:00 +0000

Microsoft clip art

Remember a serious crush you had when you were in high school? Michelle and I were in typing class together (Flashback: The class taught kids how to use a typewriter correctly. You know, those clackety things people used before computers to create documents?). From what I could tell we hit it off pretty well. Joking and laughing and occasionally stealing glances when the teacher wasn’t looking – needless to say, I was a little distracted during class. Maybe it’s because of those interactions that still, to this day, I don’t know how to keyboard correctly.

Yet, even though I spoke with her, I remained silent about The One Thing That Mattered: how I felt about her. And so, I remained trapped in my own, self-constructed solitary confinement of unspoken hopes and dreams.

I drowned in that same silence when I found out she had started dating some guy. Some other guy. Some guy in our typing class, no less, who probably used his superior typing skills to woo her, unlike me who continued to hunt and peck. Some guy who apparently had no problem talking to her on a deeper level, unlike me who kept silent about such things.

So while they started joking and laughing and stealing glances, I ached inside, left to repeatedly wonder “What if I had said . . . ” Every word I failed to speak when I had the chance pressed down like stacked weights on my chest. Her same actions that used to thrill me, now tore me apart. I resembled David’s remarks in Psalm 39, “When I was silent and still, not even saying anything good, my anguish increased” (Psalm 39:2).

By not saying anything of importance or meaningful to her, in effect, I abandoned her ears to let them roam and find something of substance to listen to; something our fellow typist verbalized.

What is The One Thing That Matters to you that is being left unspoken, and to whom? How could your relationship with God, your friends and your family improve if you said something – anything - about how you honestly feel and what you think? During this time of resolutions to start the new year, make it yours to start tearing down the walls of silence.

Eye-Catching

noreply@blogger.com (Sean) — Wed, 14 Dec 2011 13:56:00 +0000

arthursclipart.org

My eyes bugged out when I came down the stairs on that particular Christmas morning. The present stood almost as tall as me, and because it was so big and so eye-catching, I was absolutely positive it just had to be the coolest present I had ever gotten or would ever get. My mind raced from one possibility to another about what it could be, and who I would call first to brag about it.

After half-heartedly opening several other gifts and encouraging my mother to hurry with hers, the time finally came to open The Present. Tearing into the wrapping paper, breathless with anticipation, eyes wide with excitement, it was . . .

It was . . .

It was . . .

A long-handled snow shovel.

*Sigh* Gee. Thanks.

Christmas seems like a good time to remember what God considers important is typically upside down from we consider important. That’s why people have such a hard time understanding concepts like love your enemies (Luke 6:27), to be great you’ve got to be a servant (Matthew 20:26), to be first you must be last (Mark 9:35), it’s more blessed to give than to receive (Acts 21:35), rejoice in suffering (Romans 5:3), and so forth.

Therefore, when God gave us all a present on the very first Christmas and sent the long-awaited Messiah and Savior of the world, He was not grandiose, showy and pretentious. The King of King and Lord of Lords was born tiny and helpless into humble, simple beginnings, and rested in an animal’s feeding trough (Luke 2:7). As He grew older, Jesus “had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him, nothing in his appearance that we should desire him” (Isaiah 53:2). In other words, He was easy to overlook. I overlooked a number of much smaller, more meaningful Christmas presents to focus on the big attention-grabbing one, only to be let down.

This Christmas, remember “the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord” (Romans 6:23). The person that embodied that gift - the most meaningful and precious gift any of us will ever receive - was so unassuming, modest, and unpretentious, that many people overlooked the tiny gift’s significance, and chose to focus on something eye-catching instead.

Optimsim

noreply@blogger.com (Sean) — Wed, 23 Nov 2011 05:04:00 +0000

Do you consider the glass half full or half empty? For all the negative news we get pummeled with every day - Earthquakes! Unemployment! Cancer! – you’d think we would tend to be downright pessimistic, focusing on the empty part of the glass. But according to a recent book, The Optimism Bias by Tali Sharot, we humans are actually an optimistic bunch. “The belief that the future will be better than the past or present is known as the optimism bias. It abides in every race, region and socioeconomic bracket.” According to Sharot, a growing body of scientific evidence indicates optimism may be hardwired into all of us.

Which comes in handy when things don’t exactly turn out how we’d like. Just ask anyone who’s had their heart broken, yet dreams of new love anyway. Or the business manager who lost the bid, but starts searching for the next opportunity anyway. Or Cubs fans, because there’s always next year.

Optimism is founded on hope. Hope imagines new opportunities. Hope believes that conditions will improve. Hope drives us forward despite situations that scream out for pessimism.

It is that kind of hope that enabled Paul to confidently state, “We know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose” (Romans 8:28). Not just some things. Not the occasional thing. All things. So if hope springs eternal, shouldn’t the source of our hope also be eternal? What keeps driving you forward despite the negativity pressing in on you?

It seems to me Jesus was an optimist, and imparted some of that optimism in each and every one of us, as science is beginning to understand. After all, He did say, “I have come that they may have life and have it to the full” (John 10:10). That makes me think even if the glass appears to be half empty, we can believe it will eventually be full if have faith in Him.

Little Things

noreply@blogger.com (Sean) — Fri, 28 Oct 2011 22:44:00 +0000

Nature was calling. Actually, nature was yelling. Loudly.

So I turned off the highway at the next exit, found a convenience store, and hustled into its restroom. The only available location for relief was a sit-down model inside a stall. So up went the seat, I answered call #1, and that was that.

Or so I thought.

As I turned to leave the stall, something made me hesitate, and look back to see a few yellowish drops sprinkled onto the rim of the bowl. If the mothers and wives of the world could get a word in here, I’m sure they would say it is all too commonplace from us boys, no matter what our age.

Typically, I would have thought, “Gross. Well, I’m glad they pay people to clean that stuff up. I’m outta here,” and left. But instead, a little ditty popped into my head: “If you sprinkle when you tinkle, please be neat and wipe the seat.”

My brow furrowed in confusion. The seat was up. Upon further inspection of the seat in its upright position, sure enough, several drops had somehow defied all logic, gravity, and laws of fluid dynamics to end up on the top surface of the seat as well. Yes, on the raised seat. Believe me, I grew up with a single mother and we shared a bathroom. My aim is good.

My typical reaction bulldozed its way to the front of my thoughts, and demanded the hired help deal with it. But a quiet and firm voice insisted I clean up my mess since it would be the right thing to do. So, my good side and my not-so-good side decided to have a non-verbal argument inside my head as I stood inside the stall, brow still furrowed. Hopefully, no one else was dancing outside the stall, putting nature’s call on hold.

“You really should wipe that up.”

“I’m not gonna wipe that up.”

“Please be a nice guy and wipe that up.”

“Why me? This place is a dump. Everybody else leaves it. Maybe it’s not even mine.”

Back and forth, back and forth it went like a tennis volley, until the good side simply said, “If you came in here and had to sit there, would you want to find that on the seat?”

“No.”

“Then, why would you leave it for someone else?”

Correct me if I’m wrong, but “If you sprinkle when you tinkle, please be neat and wipe the seat” is not in the Bible, but “Treat others the same way you want them to treat you” most definitely is (Luke 6:31, NASB). Cleaning up after myself in a bathroom seemed like such a inconsequential, unimportant and insignificant act. Even though nobody would ever know about it and I would never get a “Thank you” for it, my one simple act served the next guy who would come into that stall, whoever that might be. The Lord was not asking me to serve people by venturing off to be a missionary in darkest Africa, or by giving away my entire paycheck to the poor. I was in a convenience store men’s room, for crying out loud.

The Lord fills every day with these seemingly trivial events, but actually, they are tests. Tests to find out who understands His Word, who will do what He asks, and who He can have confidence in. By continuing to answer the test questions correctly, our responsibilities will grow and grow and grow. But if we cannot . . . well, . . . as Jesus said “Unless you are faithful in small matters, you won't be faithful in large ones. If you cheat even a little, you won't be honest with greater responsibilities” (Luke 16:10, NLT).

We cannot leapfrog past the simple tests because they provide the foundation for knowing what to do when bigger and harder tests come along. There is no telling what great and awesome things the Lord has in store for us. Maybe He will send us to Africa someday. But we had better show Him that we can take care of the little things in our lives correctly first, like cleaning off a toilet and not expecting to receive any credit.

Ants

noreply@blogger.com (Sean) — Thu, 22 Sep 2011 04:17:00 +0000

http://thepauls.wordpress.com/

For being so small, ants are held in high regard by the writers of Proverbs. We should consider the ways of the ant and be wise (Proverbs 6:6-8 and 30:24-25). The ants’ continuous work draws stark contrasts with laziness. Ants are always working as a community, and their industrious nature keeps them working together toward a common goal. They’re always doing something – searching, moving, gathering, building, storing, advancing – and Proverbs implies we should imitate their habits.

I hate the little buggers.

And when they started searching, moving, gathering, building, storing and advancing inside our house, I went on a primal ant-killing rampage. Squashing them, poaching them by pouring boiling water onto the anthill outside, and spraying them (Helpful ant-extermination tip: 1 teaspoon rubbing alcohol, 1.5 teaspoons liquid dish soap, and a few cups of water in a spray bottle works just as good as Raid, smells better, and is cheaper, too!). It was satisfying because I felt like I was doing something. But they used that much-lauded industrial nature, and the army kept coming.

For all my bloodlust against the invaders, it didn’t do me much good. For every visible ant I eliminated, there were many, many more I could not see, including the roots of the problem – the nest and the queen. The ants would keep coming and coming unless they were eliminated at the source.

To do get to the nest and queen requires the bait and wait approach. Laying out bait they think is food, but is actually poison, which they carry back to the nest and spread around.

Then you wait.

And you trust the poison will do its job without seeing any results instantly. Which is the problem for an ant-hater like me. I wanted immediate proof. Instead, ironically, I got a lesson in patience from the tiny workaholics.

What problems are you facing that seem to demand a quick response, but actually require a healthy dose of patience? We all want immediate results. The quicker the better, usually. But if we want God’s help to get to the root of the problem, therefore providing a true long-term solution, we’ll just have to exercise some prayer and faith, and wait for Him to work. When we do that, “the end of the matter is better than its beginning” because “patience is better than pride” (Ecclesiastes 7:8).