Buying a Man’s Munchkins and the Intentional Love of God

Had an interesting encounter the other day that I have not been able to shake.

I was enjoying an evening with my bride and we popped into Dunkin’ Donuts for a coffee and a donut.  (Yes, I am a cheap date.)

As we were placing our order, a man came in with his young daughter.  And I didn’t give it a second thought.

Until I was suddenly seized with a sense that I should pay for his order.  This is not something that happens very often to me.  In fact, almost never.  It seemed that God was really impressing on me to make this small gesture.

As they were standing next to us in the other line and were finishing their transaction, I asked him if I might be able to pay for his order.

Now, I’m not really sure what sort of reaction I was expecting.  Surprise?  Shock? Gratitude? All I know is that when someone offers to buy me donuts, my answer is an immediate “Yes!”.

So, here I am, anticipating this dynamic exchange, and he simply looks me in the eye and says “No.”

???

I pressed again, saying that I would REALLY like to buy this man’s munchkins for him and his daughter.

“No.”

“Really?  It’s not trouble. I’d be happy to.”

“No.”

Eventually, I took the hint and let it go.  He paid and went his way.

But the whole scenario continued to bother me.

Thinking about it later, I realized that I had an incomplete expectation of how to engage people with the Love of God.  I’ve heard most of my Christian life that we need to share the Love of God with the world.

They are empty and lacking and needing love.  Truthfully, it seems it would be relatively easy to seal the deal.

But, that’s not how it is.  For most people, they are so unused to receiving love, experiencing it unconditionally, and are so calloused by a lack of love, they simply will not respond to it.  Only a specific and intentional application of love will be able to crack through the barrier.

The world is not clamoring for us to show up with love.  They are not anxiously anticipating us to lead them to God.  Our expression of love must be more forceful and committed than their hearts have been made hard.

Had this stuck in my head…

and figured the best way to get it out was to share it with you… Now you too can have the sound of thousands of soccer hooligans chanting the riff in your head too!  Thanks ESPN!

Someone on the Internet must HATE ME!!

It started so simply.

I had a sudden need for something ridiculous.  And, knowing no better place for the ridiculous, I went to YouTube.

Thankfully, the kids and I got our absurdity fix with this:

Now, I won’t go into what it says about our culture that this 1 1/2 minute video has been viewed more than 1.3 million times.  I’ve added my views to it and I am not so high-minded as to not enjoy it.

My issue is this video:

Yep, those are my kids.  My lovely bride put this together for me for Father’s Day last year.  And the best part?  She used one of our family’s favorite songs – “Little Wonders” by Rob Thomas from “Meet the Robinson’s”.

It was sweet and amazing and heartfelt and it made me cry.

Then came the upload to YouTube.  As you can see, it was not anything close to a web phenomenon.  Just 56 views.  And those came mostly from friends and family.

But you wouldn’t know that was the song used in the video.  Because somewhere in the mix of family feelings, love, joy, and celebration we overlooked the fact that we committed a heinous web crime.  COPYRIGHT infringement!

How dare we take a song about enjoying life’s little moments together and use it to celebrate Father’s Day?  I’m sure “they” would hardly stand for “their” song to be misused this way.

But Carlos786 has 1.3 million views.

I wonder if somewhere out there in the great interwebs doesn’t just have it out for me.  Or if the people responsible for the song are just incredibly short sighted.

Investment time

Shared with the Vivid Church peeps this AM that God seems to be calling an increasing number of people to a time of pursuit and consecration.  

I truly believe that the month of May will be a critical time of investment and sowing.  May will be a pivot point in this year.  

The Bible instructs us in Isaiah 55:6 to “Seek ye the LORD while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near.”  There are times when God is in motion and we must get in on what He is doing.  

There is a set time to plant and make investment.   Together, we are committing ourselves to seek God throughout May in unprecendented ways expecting unprecedented harvest, unprecedented breakthrough, and unprecedented impact.

Notes from the start of the journey

I’ve been feeling completely challenged.  So many things are happening and requiring focus and attention.  I have my neck outstretched in earnest anticipation expecting God to do some amazing things within and through me, my family, and with community of Vivid Church.

But I also feel sorta stuck.  Like somehow someone accidentally kicked the gear shift into park.  And I honestly don’t know exactly how it happened.  But I know that I refuse to continue in it.

And I’ve questioned myself as to the cause.  Did I do something that has moved me into a holding pattern and away from the flow of God?  Is there something attempting to hold me back?  Does moving forward simply require a higher level of consecration and dedication?

Regardless of the cause, there is a single answer.  Fast.  

If I’ve mistakenly moved, a time of fasting provides for honesty before God allowing humility and restoration.  If there is spiritual warfare, fasting works to break down strongholds.

So, why share this?  As I said, I’m expecting some major things from God.  And I thought it would be fun to let you in on the journey rather than having me come back in a few weeks and try to recapture everything.  

Also, I want to encourage you to join me if you are feeling stuck.  Let’s spend some time away from feeding our stomachs and getting before God.  

I want to know about your journey.  We can travel together.

Just a taste…

Ever felt like there was something missing, but you just couldn’t put your finger on it? 

You’re not crazy. You’re hungry.

In our current study series “Hunger”, we are discovering the symptoms of hunger, its function in our lives, how to properly respond to it, and how God uses it to draw and lead us.

Property Damage and a Valentine

It started out so simply and went downhill so fast.  It was to be a simple trip to Publix to grab a few items after having picked the kids up from school.

Micah was buzzing about all the cards he had received at his class party and was proudly carrying one of them around.

As we entered the store, Kylie had to get on the scale to find out how much she weighed.  Micah began playing with his card by slowly slipping it between the wall and a thin metal sheeting that had been added during the re-design some months before.  Slowly slipping it in and sliding it out.  Over.  And over.

Until, in a sudden moment of clarity that came about a nanosecond too late, he turned to look Stacy and me in the eye. His lips began to quiver as he explained that his card was gone.  GONE.  As in vanished into the netherworld that is the space between the wall and the thin metal sheeting that had been epoxied and double-sided taped and screwed into the wall.  As in GONE.

Then he gave me that look that one only gets when they need you to figure out how to make their world right. Regardless of whether or not you actually can do anything about it.

I sent the family away to continue shopping and so I could have some space to mutter under my breath out of earshot.

I first attempted to pull the metal back to see if I could locate the card to no avail.

Next, I attempted to slide something into the space in hopes of fishing it out.  Again to no avail.

I proceeded to do this, in various combinations, for about 15 minutes.  All the while, other shoppers were entering or exiting the store looking at me as if I had gone mad.  

Finally, I realized it was time for a dramatic course of action.  I had to ask for help.

I went to the Customer Service Desk and patiently waited my turn in line.  When it was finally my turn, I had to explain that I did not want a rain check or a lotto ticket or a pack of Marlboros.  I needed help in extracting an item of great sentimental value.

As the kind ladies listened to me, I slowly began to doubt they would be so inclined as to help.  This kind of thing normally falls in the “Tough Noogies” department.

I tried to explain all the various methods and attempts I had carried out as we walked to the scene of the “incident”.  Not to be undone, they proceeded to try and retrieve the card in the same manner.  With the same results.

Finally, we all knew what had to be done.  I just didn’t want to be the one to suggest it.  

There was a barely visible seam in the thin metal strip.  We had to pull it off the wall.

In a flash, Leslie, the customer service manager, went back to the office and came back with a handful of tools.  And Dallas, another customer service person, was in tow.

I watched in disbelief as these two ladies began to wedge and pull and pop the stripping from the wall.  

And they kept going.  And going.  And going.  Until.

Nothing.  There was no card there.  Immediately, I began to question.  Did I really know that Micah had dropped the card?  Did he simply put it in his pocket and forget it?  Did he drop it somewhere else?  Did he leave it in the car?

By now they had detached about 3 feet of stripping from the wall.  As I began to fumble for the words to express my gratitude/apology, they gave the stripping one last pull.  

That’s when the tiny piece of corner became visible.  Modern physics would struggle to explain how the card found its final resting space.  I’m sure it involves wormholes and universal constants.

After receiving the retrieved card, I bounded through the store to find my family and set my son’s world right again.  I found them and displayed the card victoriously.  

And what was the response?  

“Thanks, Daddy.  Oh, come here.  I want to show you something that I want.”

Yep, the universe was perfect once again.

Elizabeth Gilbert on genius | Video on TED.com

Amazing thoughts on the creative process and the artist…

more about "Elizabeth Gilbert on genius | Video o…", posted with vodpod

A Day in the Life

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• 07:54 Vivid Church pre-launch Bible Study this AM… so pumped to take the nexy step in the vision… #
• 16:50 good times this AM @VividChurch… can’t wait for Community Group tomorrow night… #
• 21:19 nap is coming back to haunt me… freakin’ wide awake… #
• 22:14 dropped the Grammy’s long ago… watching documentary on the Supreme Court… I am smart… SMRT… SMRT… I am so smart… SMRT #

A Day in the Life

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• 11:00 ran to a meeting only to find no one else was there…consolation is getting to Saturday AM cartoons with #1 son… #
• 18:37 fish sticks and "Evan Almighty"… another exciting night at the Darnell household… #
• 20:15 really enjoyed "Evan Almighty"… #