No Wonder I'm So Tired!

I love this story from Charles Swindoll's book Laugh Again.

"Yes, I'm tired. For several years I've been blaming it on middle-age, iron poor blood, lack of vitamins, air pollution, water pollution, saccharin, obesity, dieting, underarm odor, yellow wax build-up, and a dozen other maladies that make you wonder if life is really worth living.

But now I find out it isn't that. I'm tired because I'm over worked.

The population of this country is 200 million. Eighty-four million are retired. That leaves 116 million to do the work. There are 75 million in school, which leaves 41 million to do the work. Of this total, there are 22 million employed by the government.

That leaves 19 million to do the work. Four million are in the armed forces, which leaves 15 million to due the work. Take from that number the 14.8 million people who work for the state and city governments and that leaves 200,000 to do the work.

There are 188,000 in the hospitals, so that leaves 12,000 to do the work. Now, there are 11,998 people in prisons. That leaves just 2 people to do the work.

You and me. And you're sitting there reading this. No wonder I'm tired!"

I'm Not Where I Used To Be...

We cannot become what we need to be by remaining where we are.

I like this prayer from the African-American church I found in a book by Lovett Weems, Jr called Church Leadership: Vision, Team, Culture, & Integrity. It says "Lord, we're not what we want to be, we're not what we need to be, we're not what we are going to be, but thank God Almighty, we're not what we used to be!"

As Christians we are always in the process of changing and growing...at least we should be. Weems puts it this way. "The way things are in the world at any moment is never synonymous with God's will. There is always a 'not yet' quality and an incompleteness about things as they are. God is always pulling us into the future with a call for an order far different from the current state of things.' (p. 38)

That is why recapturing and renewing vision is so important.

I have a great ministry leader for our golf ministry. He has led several meetings for our golf leadership team and he begins everyone by reminding us of the mission of our church and of the golf ministry specifically. He understands that we are always striving to fulfill it. Just because we had a great year in golf last year doesn't mean we have arrived at fulfilling our purpose with it yet. We are in that 'not yet' period of making progress towards that goal.

It is easy to get comfortable in where we are. The longer we stay in a place in life the harder it is to leave it. Where are you? Are you where you need to be? If not, what are you doing to change it?

November 11, 1998

Important Dates:

• November 11, 1998 - We talked on the phone for the first time. It was all business...but we talked like we had been friends for years.
• November 13, 1998 - We met in person. It was an after school program she was running through an inner-city church in North Jacksonville. She was frantic and running late because her volunteers didn't show up. I decided to start playing basketball with a group of guys that had gathered.
• November 30, 1998 - First date. We went to St. Augustine to see the Christmas lights...but they weren't turned on! It was a fun night of being harassed by teenage guys, chased by a rat, and watching a movie-like scene as someone had been shot at a hotel we were walking by. In spite of all that, we were falling in love.
• April 29, 1999 - I met with her parents to share my desire to marry their daughter. Her dad did something amazing. As I started to talk, he stopped me and said they knew why I was there. Then he said he wanted the time and conversation to be right so he led us in prayer. That was just another sign that I knew God was in this and I was getting an incredible lady as a wife.
• April 30, 1999 - I popped the question. My plan was to go back to St. Augustine but is was pouring down the rain. Instead we went out to eat (Olive Garden) then back to her apartment where I asked her to marry me. She said yes! We then went to her parents and grandmothers.
• October 23, 1999 - We were married at San Jose Baptist Church. I am also proud to say that our honeymoon night was the first time either of us had "been with" someone.
• February 13, 2007 - OK...I know this is a big gap of time, but something happened that sums up that gap. I was in line (at the last minute) to pay for a Valentine's Day card and the men in front of me kept making jokes about and putting down their wife's. "I can't get her this card...it says she makes me happy...she just makes me stressed." I couldn't believe what I was hearing. In that moment, however, I realized how blessed and happy I truly am to be married to Carrie.

The gap of time from our wedding day til now has been full of adventure, love, mistakes, forgiveness, more love, and, most importantly, God. I see him all the time in Carrie. I don't tell her enough, especially publicly, how much I love her and am proud to be her husband.

I love you, Carrie, and look forward to many more years of celebrating love and life with you!

The Christian Life is...

I have been reading Invitation To A Journey: A Road Map for Spiritual Formation by M. Robert Mulholland Jr. It is a great book that I have read several times before. I try to read it at least once a year.

The premise of the first half of the book is the sentence "The Christian life is a process of being conformed to the image of Christ for the sake of others." I love that. He breaks it down over four chapters based on each phrase: The Christian life is...

• a process (hard to understand in our on demand world)
• of being conformed (means we are the object acted upon...we do not conform ourselves to some idea or plan we think God has for us)
• to the image of Christ (the image of Christ is not something we add on to our life like a new piece of clothing, but it is that which brings restoration and wholeness to our life)
• for the sake of others (we are meant to serve others...one cannot be a true follower of Christ and not live our life to serve others and show them Christ)

This phrase (and this book) has helped to shape my life as a Christian. It serves as both a challenge and a reminder of what my life should be about. I pray it will challenge you in some way.

Restricor Plate Living

Hi. My name is David Lawson and I am a NASCAR fan. Not only that, but I am a Jeff Gordon fan. And, yes, I think NASCAR drivers are athletes and it is a sport.

There...I said it.

I don't know why I feel like I have to say that as a confession.

I'm not sure if it's the power, the sounds, the speed, the crowds, the mullets...or maybe all of it combined, but I have really come to enjoy racing over the last five years. Especially the fast tracks like Daytona. What really blows my mind is that these cars are not going as fast as they can go at Daytona.

The cars will race by at 200 mph, but are capable of going faster. Daytona is a restrictor plate race. The restrictor plate is a thin aluminum plate that fits between the carburetor and the intake manifold. This plate limits the amount of air that can enter the engine and less air equals less horsepower and slower cars. The cars could actually get closer to 220 mph if it weren't for the restrictor plate.

Some of the drivers want that ability. They want to be able to go all out.

At times in my life, I have been restrictor plate living. Most of us have been there. We let things like fear, lack of faith, laziness, complacency, other people, our past, or whatever else become our restrictor plate that keeps us from doing all that we can. God, on the other hand, wants us to go all out and then we can see what HE can really do.

"By his mighty power at work within us, he is able to accomplish infinitely more than we would ever dare to ask or hope." Ephesians 3:20 (NLT)

Determine to get rid of your restrictor plate and let's go all out. Oh, and "Go Jeff Gordon!"

A Class Act

I have to say, I'm not much of a Colts fan. I guess it comes from the years of them whipping up on the Jacksonville Jaguars. But last night (the Super Bowl) I was impressed.

Yeah, Peyton Manning did good, but that wasn't why.

The defense (which the Jags exploited for almost 300 yards rushing) looked incredible, but that isn't why I'm impressed either.

And it's not even because of their coach. I am a Dungy fan, don't get me wrong. He is an incredible man who is a great witness to what a Christian can be in professional sports.

What impressed me more than all of this was the way they acknowledged the importance of the whole team.

Close to the end of the game, Phil Simms was talking about the Colts organization and how great it was for them to experience this win. In his monologue he shared that they brought everyone in the organization to the game along with their spouse. He went on to say that list included the grounds crew and the janitors. That is what impressed me.

It is so easy for us to lavish praise upon the "face" of the organization. Someone has to prepare the fields they play and practice on. Someone has to keep the locker room fresh and clean so the team is comfortable in it. Someone has to run the sound system for the noise they pipe in the Dome during the games. (OK...I can't prove it, but...)

I was impressed by this act of appreciation by the Colts. It was certainly a class act.

A "Special" Sports Moment

Today I headed to Patton Park to do some research. I learned a lot more than I expected!

I am working on a new sports program for our church. It is going to be called "Just For Kicks" and will be a soccer program for youth with special needs. There is one program in Jacksonville that does soccer for this population and they are sponsored by the Down Syndrome Association of Jacksonville (dsaj.org). I went today to check out their program to see what I can learn for our summer program.

When I arrived at the fields it was very cold...well, by Jacksonville's standards. The temperature was in the upper 40's with a wind chill in the low 40's. As I pulled up several cars were there and people were starting gather. I sat in my car to watch...well, to stay warm...and just observe for a few moments. I don't know what I expected, by I was amazed by what I saw.

As cars pulled up, youth with down's syndrome and other disabilities were literally jumping out of their cars before it was stopped to get out to the field. One kid took off running (wobbling form side to side in a way that made you smile) and forgot to shut the car door. His dad had to put the car in park, turn it off and go around to shut the door so someone else could park there. The excitement may not have put them in safe situations, but it was contagious.

As I made my way onto the soccer field (very happy at this point that our program was going to be indoors!) I realized a lot of these kids had shorts and sweatshirts on and were laughing. They were ready to play and glad to see their friends. They got started with some warm ups....and then it happened.

Two boys (teenagers) were in the big circle doing their stretches and then looked over their shoulders to see a friend of theirs who was late running (that fun wobble run again) to the circle. The two boys left the circle and ran towards their friend. They all three met in a big hug and walked back to the circle with their arms around each other. I stood there for a moment and realized I had started to tear up.

It reminded me of the prodigal son going home and the dad running out to meet him. It reminded me of God running after me...accepting me for just who I am, my disabilities and all. It reminded me of how God wants me to run and accept others just the way they are and then engage in life with them, walking with arms around one another.

It was a moment I will cherish. God is teaching me so much through this new "Just For Kicks" program and it is months away from getting started.