On these hang all the law and the prophets
Right now, we are driving westward through New Mexico in the dark, rapidly distancing ourselves from Deming. The kids are in the back seat watching movies or playing video games or drawing or something. Kelly is on the phone with a friend. And I’m sitting here on my laptop. I should be working, but instead I am thinking about the same stuff that’s been on my mind the last couple days.
So now that I’ve decided that simply being hungry for something is not enough, and that I also need to live life with excitement, anticipation and expectation, I have a challenge: I don’t excite easily.
There are plenty of things I enjoy, or even love, but few excite me. I enjoy steak and potatoes, but they don’t excite me—in fact, answering the question “what do you want for dinner?” is a chore. I love baseball, but I don’t dream about going to games. I really appreciate being able to drive places when I need to, but honestly, most cars look the same to me and I couldn’t answer you if you asked which was my favorite.
My 10-year-old son is always excited about something. He’ll wake up in the morning and tell me, “Daddy, I’m excited.” When I ask him why, it could be anything. He was excited we were about to go see some old Wisconsin friends. He was excited that a video game was scheduled to have an update. He was excited to go swimming at a friend’s house. He was excited to get an Emerge t-shirt (our church’s men’s ministry). He was excited to go see Grandma and Grandpa for Christmas. He was excited to paint his bedroom. He was excited to have tri-tip for dinner. He was excited to ride in Kelly’s new car.
He is always excited.
It’s a new year. I avoid “new years” resolutions because I think that if something is worth changing, it’s worth changing now and not waiting for a new year for a new commitment. Don’t get me wrong, I procrastinate with the best of them, and my June 23rd resolutions often slip and fade just like the stereotypical January 1 promises to hit the gym everyday.
On November 11, 2018, I was asked to give a short message at the time for tithes and offerings.
For some context, I am a member of C3 San Diego. My family attends a new “East Campus” that is temporarily meeting in a high school auditorium. We setup and tear down every week, including a massive 30-ish foot tent out front where we serve coffee and donuts each week. It’s so much more amazing than I ever thought this much work could be.
This is what I said.