by Donald | Jan 31, 2014 | Blog
“I, Paul, write this greeting in my own hand, which is the distinguishing mark in all my letters. This is how I write” (2 Thessalonians 3:17).
Yogi Berra said some very funny things. At once humorous, garbled and yet profound, they make you think and they make your head hurt.
Here’s one: “The future ain’t what it used to be.” It sprang into my mind recently as I read, yet again, someone’s opinion that mankind is growing nobler in character. The author of the book I was reading believed evolution was at work, inexorably pushing humans (sitting regally above the evolutionary chain) to higher purposes than those, say, of our brutish human ancestors whom we are leaving in the evolutionary dust. Others believe God or an unnamed higher power is doing the pushing. Regardless, the conclusion is the same: “we are getting nobler.”
I disagree. The history of mankind from ancient days to the modern era is chock full of atrocities and brutality. History reveals no differences in how humans of this or any age think, let alone how they behave towards each other, the things they strive for, the things they desire, and their propensity for exploitation of others to promote self-gain.
I tend to think like Yogi: some may hope the future holds more promise, but I know it ain’t what it used to be.
But even though humanity may still be corrupt, individuals can and do change to become better humans. Speaking as a Christian, I believe Jesus changes people—He changed me. In his book, Six Surprising Ways Jesus Changed the World, John Ortberg gives an excellent account of how humans have changed for the better as a result of the life of Jesus and His followers. But Jesus changes us one at a time; it is a one to one relationship. It cannot be legislated, coerced, forced, or assumed, and it certainly isn’t evolving. Brevity of life and a one to one confrontation makes the process non-universal.
Choice and free will are pesky things.
No Yogi Berra, my Mom had her own unique way with words. She used to tell me to be careful about the road I traveled because “you never know who you are going to meet.” Who knew she was talking about me? Too many times the person I meet on the road, the one who needs to be approached with caution, is me. And here another “Yogiism” comes to mind—“It’s déjà vu all over again.”
Our gospel message is clear: with Christ we are born again. “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ he is a new creation: the old has gone, the new has come!” (2 Corinthians 5:17). But it is also equally clear that we are far from perfect. “So I find this law at work: When I want to do good, evil is right there with me. For in my inner being I delight in God’s law; but I see another law at work in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within my members” (Romans 7:21-23).
The change wrought by God is permanent, but we can and do still go down swinging.
I didn’t realize it then, but I began to record my own punches when I began journaling in 2000. I am not sure what prompted me to begin to journal about the things going on in my business and personal life, but I am very glad that I did. Journaling has been of singular importance to me, chronicling my growth in Christian faith and enabling me to recall, in my own voice, God’s magnificent answering of each and every one of my prayers.
That is not to say I always got what I originally wanted, but I always got what was perfect and right. Perfect because the answers revealed a God who heard my prayers and used the circumstances of my life to mold me more into an image of Christ; “right” because the outcomes led to wisdom and the realization of the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22) in my life.
But the biggest benefit I obtained from journaling was gaining perspective.
Journaling gave me perspective about my own human frailty. If you want to experience the reality of the duality of human purpose—a strong desire to please God that runs headlong into a strong desire to entertain the flesh—start journaling.
The second perspective gained: anxiety is worthless. Jesus (Matthew 6:25) tells us not to worry. Paul tells us (Philippians 4:6) to be anxious for nothing. God tells us through the Psalmist to “be still and know that I am God” (Psalm 46:10a). We all experience trials. Journaling has kept me from forgetting the highs and lows of my life and the anxiety I suffered along the way, spilled (and spelled) out in my own handwriting on page after page. But the record also reveals (1), I am not omniscient, and (2) God always works things out. Anxiety contributed nothing.
The record also reveals scar tissue was inflicted in times of trial, but wisdom was the fruit I harvested. And peace was the blessing. Not a remembered peace gained from looking back into history, about what happened and exhaling a loud “Pheeeew!” as if I had somehow dodged a bullet. Rather, I gained peace that is available to me in the present because of the clear record of answered prayer granted in the past.
My journals remind me of victories against insurmountable odds inflicted by an unfair world. They also provide comfort because a crisis is just “déjà vu all over again.” And my journals remind me, garbled as it may be, “the future ain’t what it used to be.” It is much brighter.
by Donald | Jan 6, 2014 | Blog
“What then? Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is proclaimed, and in that I rejoice” (Philippians 1:18a).
It’s January. My family is beginning to think about when to take down the tree. We have an artificial tree because of allergies, so the disintegration of a “real” tree does not spur us on from our lethargy. I think one year it was late February before we took the tree down.
It would be nice to think our delay is because we want to preserve the Christmas spirit in our home, but that is not the case. Rather, taking down the tree is a chore, and there is no gratification coming my way for doing the job. What is there is finality; Christmas is over.
So, when you look back on this past Christmas, how was it? Are you ready to put everything back in its place?
One of my favorite Christmas hymns is I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day (based on a poem from 1863 by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow). I am moved by the lines, “And in despair I bowed my head, ‘There is no peace on earth,’ I said. ‘For hate is strong and mocks the song, of peace on earth, good will to men.’”
When Christ is presented to the world, “whether in pretense or in truth,” He requires a decision to be made about “who” He is, and that decision point creates conflict for everyone, not just on December 25th, but 24/7/365. Christmas just seems to accentuate that truth.
Anxiety over Jesus materializes in the news almost on a daily basis in December. This year, Duck Dynasty and the removal of nativity scenes from public buildings created fodder for the press, in years past it was something else, but there has always been something to get excited about. Such jarring acknowledgements that Christians are different populate every December, and every December battle lines are drawn.
I am not a good gift wrapper. A few years ago I noticed with great delight that the back pages of wrapping paper contained outlines for cutting straight lines. This year, I noticed the lines were checker boarded, and it impressed upon me that the battle lines formed over differences in fundamental beliefs are not a single line, either. We stand with lines drawn all about us. When anyone expresses a remark about God that catches the ear of the press, the alarms sound for everyone.
I can understand how Christians find themselves at odds with the world, but why are Christians so often at odds with each other? You would have thought the Duck Dynasty conversation was as Luther in the Reformation with Christians of good will sounding off against each other. Many voices speaking the truth in love sounds like chaos rather than unity, but to paraphrase Pilate, “What is truth?”
My opinion is Christian disagreements such as those caused by the Duck Dynasty conversation are rooted in our human nature struggling with the death of self for the surpassing greatness of life with Christ as our Lord. Our zeal for the Lord can reveal itself in intolerance for others, Christian or otherwise, who do not exhibit our same zealous behavior over things we find important. Stones seem to find our hands more easily than tweezers to remove planks from our eyes.
What is the Christian prescription for plank removal? Certainly we could work towards a more harmonious dialogue with each other, but I believe the dialogue has to be with our Lord, one on one, and in our hearts, where He can sift truth and reveal it.
Fix your eyes upon Jesus—and your hearts, and your minds, and your strength. Love Jesus with all that you are and all that you have. Spend time with Him, study His words and reflect on their meaning; seek wisdom and understanding. Do the work.
Peter admonished the early church to “make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge” (2 Peter 1:5a). Christ is our Lord and Master, and Christ will lead us into spiritual maturity. Spiritual maturity is worth pursuing for many reasons, but chief among the blessings it provides is peace—the peace that passes all understanding—as we sojourn here in a fallen world looking forward to a better home and eternity with God.
“Then pealed the bells more loud and deep: ‘God is not dead, nor doth He sleep; the wrong shall fail, the right prevail with peace on earth, good will to men.’”
We hold in our hearts, in our “jars of clay,” a priceless treasure—knowledge of God and His love for us. A Christian can be joyful in December and all year long because the outcome of everything in this world—the things we agree on, the things we disagree on, the things that make us happy, the things that infuriate us, the honesty and the deceit, the shrewdness and the naivety—all of it—is outside of our control. None of it is in our hands.
Let that sink in. God wins, or to say it more exactly, He has won. If we are on His side—we win, too. And we can love because He first loved us.
A Christian learns to be tolerant of others, love one another, and still maintain his zeal for our Lord and King because it is Christ working in us, who enables us to live and breathe and to submit our wills to His. It may be a bumpy road, but the bells are pealing loudly and deeply.
Happy New Year!
by Donald | Nov 11, 2013 | Blog
“The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field. But while everyone was sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, and went away” (Matthew 13:24b-25).
Bluegrass music is popular in Austria. I learned this first-hand in 1990 when I accompanied a bluegrass trio invited to Graz to represent the USA in an international folk festival (I was the fiddle player). We were guests of a local bluegrass band—Rawhide—replete with five-string banjo and mandolin, but no fiddle. We were in Graz for ten days, and we shared a lot of music and beer.
It was in Graz that I first heard Lyle Lovett’s recording of “God Will.” The lyrics impressed me then, and I recalled them again as I was flying home from Lubbock last Friday evening. In the song, Lovett asks, “Who keeps on trusting you when you’ve been cheating?” and “Who keeps on loving you when you’ve been lying?” His stinging reply is, “God does, but I don’t, God will, but I won’t, and that’s the difference between God and me.”
Serious business problems had taken me to Lubbock, and 30,000 feet in the air, fresh from reading the Scripture of Matthew 13 where God allows weeds to grow in His garden because He does not want to injure any of the wheat growing alongside it, I sat juxtaposed between God and Lyle Lovett. Weeds had been sown and were growing in my garden, and I needed to decide what to do.
Just a week earlier I had conducted a meeting with all of my employees in Lubbock, acknowledging we faced serious problems, but also informing them of my plans to redress those issues. I was positive and upbeat; I have successfully executed turnaround strategies in other situations. Although everyone (me included) had contributed in some way to the problems, I was intentionally “hospitable” to all—no one was excluded; no one was left behind.
Using a “Kentuckyism” I assured everyone that we were going to have a “do-over.” We were turning the page on the past and starting afresh.
And early last week we began to implement the plan. Over two days we offered training to every employee in the market. In addition to practical and technical training, I presented the business purpose of my company—to sow seeds of opportunity to our employees and to share the blessing of hospitality with our guests and the communities in which we do business.
My Christian values come out whenever I discuss hospitality (see Hebrews 13:2) and the importance of ethical behavior inside my Company (making godly choices in any business circumstance). I reminded my employees that what they do every day in the workplace matters in the big scheme of things.
What I kept private was that for the preceding three weeks I had earnestly and plaintively prayed to God that He would guide me and deliver our Company from evil—from anyone deliberately undermining our efforts or from thieves and malcontents whose purpose was anything but “hospitable” to my business. Experience has shown me problems like we face in Texas generally include malicious behavior from some.
Therefore, I was neither dismayed nor surprised when by Friday of last week a number of our employees had been caught stealing or otherwise flagrantly disregarding our Company policies and the training that had just taken place. Those employees lost their jobs. Other employees, perhaps sensing that a “do-over” was going to require them to “do things differently” opted to no-call, no-show, and to self-select out of our Company. And a few lost their jobs because of suspicious behavior.
Boarding the plane on Friday, a former employee texted me, pleading to be reinstated and calling on me as a “Christian man” to give them another chance.
I did not change my mind. I could not.
Recently, a pastor at church discussed some of the contradictory sayings of Jesus: do not judge, love your enemies, do not cast your pearls before swine, forgive others seventy times seven times, be innocent as doves and shrewd as snakes. His point: Christian principles are not easy to practice. Discernment is necessary.
Proverbs 4:7 says, “Wisdom is supreme, therefore get wisdom. Though it cost all you have, get understanding.” And Proverbs 9:10 says, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.”
I am the recipient of God’s favor. Sitting in judgment of others is difficult since I know my own failings. I care about all of my employees, but in the case at hand, I particularly care about my leaders who have exhausted themselves in a losing battle up to now. They are the wheat growing in my fields. They are struggling to find nourishment and hope. They are priceless to me.
God will deal with my former employees in love and judgment just as He will deal with me. God will treat those who have done me wrong or who have just been swallowed up in a bad situation fairly. After all, sometimes wheat and tares look the same. But as for me, I trust God to continue winnowing the weeds out of my business while I will strengthen my strong leaders and employees who need to know there is a reason for working hard and doing things ethically.
David said, “Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting” (Psalm 139:23-24).
I am good with that.
by Donald | Oct 22, 2013 | Blog
“The Lord will keep you from all harm—he will watch over your life; the Lord will watch over your coming and going both now and forevermore” (Psalm 121:7-8).
Each year, I wait with great anticipation for the month of October. There is much that commends it to me, but of most importance are the blue hues of its skies and its position on the calendar that invites introspection and the opportunity for renewal.
An October sky is unsurpassed in its beauty. All skies are blue, but they are not all equal. An October sky is a mirrored, almost silver blue, perhaps attributable to the effects of sunlight now lower on the horizon creating a different refraction of shimmering white that polishes and changes the blue, giving it a sharper edge and deeper clarity.
October marks the beginning of the fourth quarter. Businesses are already developing plans for the New Year based upon results achieved through September. The rapidly approaching holiday season compresses time; acquisitions, divestitures, financing, and fund raising activities take on a sense of urgency in October—a deal not done by Thanksgiving may not get done until January.
Given all of this, October is naturally a time for leaders to reflect on the year that is slipping past, and to set sights for what is going to come. Contemplative moments are not morbid in October. If things are not well, they can still be improved. If things are well, they can be celebrated and reinforced. October does not easily tolerate spilled milk dispositions.
Which brings me to renewal: If all is not as we hoped and all is not yet lost, then work must be rejoined to bring victory. Standing between the vitality of summer and the bleakness of winter is October, a time to renew commitments, affect change, and establish a better future.
What works for business also works for us individually. October provides us with a setting for reflection and renewal, too.
Spiritually, I find myself to now possess an “October soul,” and I like that. What do I mean by an “October soul?” Age has something to do with it—as I write this I am fifty-nine—and there are fewer days in front of me than behind me. No morbidity here, either. I retain my health, my zest for life, my pursuit of knowledge, my striving to become what God wants me to be, and my desire to be a better husband, father, friend, and leader. In many respects, I am at my peak performance—my life’s experiences have yielded wisdom and scar tissue. I have done good things and bad; smart things and foolish things. In honest reflection I find both wonder and blessing because God has used these things to make my soul prosper, and for that I am very grateful.
In my October soul, reflection yields peace and joy. I know how I will respond to crisis, to trouble, to testing, to hurt, to disappointment, to unfairness, to prosperity, and to times of need. I know how to laugh and how to make, and take, a joke. I know what kind of husband I am. I know what kind of father I am. And over the last fifteen years I have come to know Jesus, my God and King. I am at peace with me.
Because of Jesus, I know what to do when I fall short of being who God wants me to be. In my October soul I allow past regrets to wash over me, but I do not wallow in them. I remember my mistakes and those times where I was much less than I should have been with remorse, but not with continuing indictment. In the words of an old bluegrass song, “I have done my time.” And through God, I have moved on to restoration and healing. I pray for those I have hurt, trusting God to make all things right. In my October soul, good memories comfort me, and hurtful memories merely mark the road I have traveled.
And in my October soul, I look forward to enjoying a harvest. I look forward to helping my family make their own journey through life so that they, too, somewhere in the future, arrive safely in their October souls.
Randy Pausch was a professor at Carnegie—Mellon University who contracted pancreatic cancer in 2007 and passed away in 2008. His final lecture is available to view on “You Tube.” It is a remarkable lecture, and Randy must have been a remarkable man. Diane Sawyer interviewed him shortly before he died, and in that interview, Randy spoke candidly about his terminal illness and he said something that I found very uplifting. Randy said that inevitably with his passing, his wife and children would find themselves being thrown over a cliff and he would not be there to catch them. Since that was the case, he had decided he would spend his remaining time preparing nets that would catch them when he could not.
In my October soul, I want to prepare nets to protect my wife and children if they fall and I am not there to catch them. My nets will be sown using strong fabric and fiber, and my nets will be filled with the cushioning power of faith, hope, love, and goodness even in the midst of evil. My nets will offer healing, forgiveness, redemption, and an everlasting future because my God has promised those blessings to me and he will give them abundantly to my family.
It’s October—a rare and beautiful month. I pray this October will hold rich blessings for you.
(Excerpted from my manuscript Carry a Godly Briefcase, the Power of God at Work in Your Business)
by Donald | Oct 11, 2013 | Blog
“The steps of good men are directed by the Lord. He delights in each step they take” (Psalm 37:23-24 NLT).
“They have greatly oppressed me from my youth, but they have not gained the victory over me” (Psalm 129:2).
I was thinking about Valley Forge this past Tuesday. The images of Washington’s rag-tag Continental Army, still reeling from the effects of two successive defeats at the hands of the British Army, suffering through the winter of 1777 with little provisions and poor morale, seemed right in line with what my little company has been experiencing in one of our markets this year. In need of boots and reinforcements, my little team in Texas has days that can only be described as wretched.
We are suffering from a shortage of manpower in Texas. Too few people makes for extremely long hours for employees, occasional short-tempers, and a sense of becoming the hamster on the treadmill—running really, really fast, and still going nowhere.
But on Tuesday past, even the treadmill seemed to come off its hinges. A trusted and valuable manager called and resigned, effective immediately, essentially saying “too damn bad” when I implored him to at least work with us during a transition.
Yesterday, a good friend of mine told me my blogs always seem to have happy endings. Of course, he knows about my struggles in Texas and work issues that confront me on a daily basis, such as feeling helpless when sales are sluggish and our ability to pay all of our bills on time cannot be met. “Perhaps,” he offered, “readers would like to know your path is not always littered with roses.”
Reflecting on his observation, I opined my essential character traits are ones of encouragement and hope, and my Christian faith is the source. I reckoned that for me to write differently would be as difficult as trying to write a novel about child abuse—something so abhorrent that my mind won’t contemplate its horror.
Continuing our dialogue, my friend reminded me that a number of psalms cry out in pathos and distress over life circumstances, but the psalmist still rejoices in the hope of a righteous God who defends and protects the oppressed and weak. The psalms offer hope while acknowledging life is not fair or always beautiful.
I believe hope is the distinguishing characteristic of Christians. Non-Christians can be moral; they can be self-sacrificing and giving to others; and they can lead exemplary lives. But without God, a non-Christian’s “hope” for their and their loved-one’s lives, their dreams and the dreams of those they love, attempt to find solid footing on mists and vapors. Remember the scene in the movie Signs where Mel Gibson is describing two types of people? One type believes God is in charge, the other type believes no one is in charge. In dire situations, the non-believer is faced with chance for outcomes. Joaquin Phoenix’s character decides to believe in a God who will preserve and protect. I love that scene.
But for clarity, and with a respectful nod to my friend, let me say that the situation in Texas is difficult for me, my team, and my company. It grieves me that so many people are frustrated over turning the situation we are in around. Seeing a young and competent manager quit abruptly and knowing he could not have felt good about how he chose to leave really wounded me. I was disappointed, hurt, and sorrowful, and simultaneously still felt compassion for his choice that will bear poor fruit for him somewhere down the line.
Hence, Valley Forge was on my mind. But here is where the analogy takes a hopeful turn.
According to Kennedy Hickman (About.com, American Revolution: Winter at Valley Forge), there is more to the story of Washington’s Valley Forge experience than I recalled—much more. Mr. Hickman informs that the troops were not as ill-equipped to face the winter as our common memories would suggest. Conditions were harsh, but the Army was no less well provisioned than other regiments. In fact, Washington found a way to gain provisions through foraging activities and lobbying the Continental Congress. Most of the lives lost were due to an outbreak of illness that occurred in the spring of 1778.
But here is where it gets interesting. Not only did the army survive the winter, they were also able to procure the services of Baron Friedrich Wilhelm von Steuben, a former member of the Prussian General Staff, who ably and capably trained Washington’s army such that when spring came, the army stood up well against the British at Barren Hill and the Battle of Monmouth. Von Steuben also helped with improving the sanitary conditions of the camp that had contributed to illness among the troops.
Von Steuben approached training by selecting a core group of 100 soldiers who were rigorously trained. They, in turn, trained other units, multiplying the effectiveness of the training and building morale. Hickman notes the Continental Army came away from Valley Forge more formidable and capable.
Thanks to Mr. Hickman, Valley Forge is now a part of my “hopeful” mind. I pray for a Von Steuben to step forward and help us find our way out of the morass that has us mired down. I will continue to do my part, although my part seems precious little to me. And I cry out to God, just as the Psalmists did, to rescue us and prove that we are not just rearranging the deck furniture on the Titanic.
I bleed with my troops, but I do not give up hope.
Hospitality is an honorable business. I love what I do. I persevere in the face of difficulty, and look forward to God’s hand in securing a change in the course of this little war. He is capable to do that, and I know He watches me.
