Author

Frank Powell

Faith

How To Find Contentment In A Culture Of Scarcity

by Frank Powell
written by Frank Powell

I was at the ball diamond, a travel tournament for my oldest son, Noah. I had put in a full day’s work – 8 hours – and I was exhausted. 

Noah’s team was winning 8-4 in the final inning. The game wasn’t close, in other words. Barring a miracle, his team would win. A friend of Noah’s, a kid on the opposing team, walked up to bat. This kid goes to school with Noah. I’ve served him lunch at my house. He’s a good kid. His parents are kind people. I should’ve been rooting for him to do well, to get a hit. 

But I wasn’t. The first pitch zoomed past his bat. Strike one. Then another. Strike two. Then a third. Strike three. And just like that, he walked back to the dugout, head down. And here’s where you change your mind about whether you think I’m a good person (assuming you think I’m a good person right now) because as the catcher closed his mitt, sealing the kid’s failure, elation weld up in my heart. That’s right, I was excited. 

Why? Because it made Noah look better. I thought this kid’s failure would make my 10-year-old son look like a better baseball player, thus increasing his chances of making the high school baseball team in five years, making the verdict official: I, Frank Powell, am a successful parent. 

In that moment, something like a shock wave erupted over my body. It was  myheart alerting me to my sin. I was rooting for another kid to fail. This was not okay. Right there in the grassy berm beside the third base dugout, I had a come-to-Jesus moment. You ever have a moment like that? Where you realize you messed up, full stop, and the magnitude of your sin overshadows your surroundings. The world blurs. It’s just you and God. It’s a spiritual aha. Or oh no. 

I got up from my lawn chair, walked to the bathroom, and sat down in one of the stalls. I wanted to cry, to mourn my behavior. I was too tired for tears, though. The summer heat had vacuumed the moisture from my body. So, I sat down on that germ-infested toilet and prayed, asked God to forgive me, to heal this virus that infected my being. 

SCARCITY IS THE OPPOSITE OF GOD

My virus has a name: scarcity. 

Scarcity is a dangerous and toxic virus, one that, left unchecked, will drain the life from your bones. Scarcity is a deep-seated belief that there’s not enough in the world. Not enough what? Happiness. Success. Good families and marriages. You name it. Scarcity says someone else’s good fortunate is your misfortunate. 

Scarcity also says you’re never enough. You’ve never skinny enough. Successful enough. You never make enough or do enough. Scarcity says the world is a scary place and if you don’t know someone, you shouldn’t trust them. You should build large walls and keep them out. 

Scarcity keeps you small, locked inside a prison of your making.

And we live in a culture that drives us towards scarcity. Social media feeds on scarcity. The never-ending news cycle fuels scarcity. Politicians profit from scarcity. 

What happens when you open Facebook or Instagram or your app of choice? You see a barrage of photos, images of little Sally’s latest award or little Tommy’s latest travel team trophy or the Waltons on another vacation, and what happens? You feel less than. Your child didn’t win an award. Your son or daughter’s team hasn’t won a tournament all year. And, somehow, it’s your fault. You’re not a good enough parent. You’re not smart enough or athletic enough, and now your children suffer. 

Or worse yet, you have not the self-awareness to realize this is about you, not your child, so you project your flaws onto your children. Your son or daughter isn’t good enough, in other words. Lord, have mercy on the child who, as Carl Jung said, bears the burden of the unlived life of his parents. 

And what happens when you watch the news? I scarcely watch or listen to news of any kind, on any platform. But I tried it this weekend, and after fifteen minutes, I wanted to sell all my possessions, build an underground bunker, and never see the sun again. Seriously, friends. I kid you not, these were the top three stories on the news, in this order. 

The first was about monkeypox and how it was the the next COVID and how our country isn’t prepared for what’s coming. The second was about the excessive heat and how earth will not be around in 50 years if we don’t make changes. The third was about a rapist who was on the loose and how I should be alert. This man was (and I quote) “armed and very dangerous.” 

Umm. Where’s the escape button? I want out. This ship’s sinking. And fast.

Scarcity is all around us. That’s the point I’m trying to make, and I hope I’ve made. But it’s not THE point. 

THE point – I’m about to bring it home, watch this – is that scarcity reveals what we believe about God. And who is our God but a withholder, a stingy master, one who portions out his goodness because there’s not enough to go around. Do you believe this about God? 

I do. I don’t want to, but my actions indict me. Guilty.  

I know God is a God of abundance. His love and grace and mercy never end. I’ve read the gospels. I know God can take a little and multiply it. I know all this, and still, I stand behind home plate at my son’s baseball game and hope another 10-year-old fails. 

Lord, have mercy on me. I’m a sinful man. 

There’s hope for me, though. Yes there is. And for you as well. And for anyone who battles the sin of scarcity. 

You can break free. You can do this by getting to work, meaning you look hard at yourself and your actions and your behaviors and you expose all of them to the Light and allow the Light to singe them from your heart and mind. This is hard work. It’s excruciating work. It’s humiliating work. But it’s life-changing work. 

I’m sick and tired of seeing the world through the lens of scarcity. I want to see the world as God sees the world. I want to believe there’s enough room at the table for everyone. I want to accept everyone, cheer for everyone, champion the lives and careers of every single person I know. Don’t you want that? Aren’t you tired of frantically grabbing and withholding? Aren’t you tired of living with this nagging sense that you aren’t enough, that you must prove yourself to your family, to your co-workers, to your social media followers, to yourself, to your God? 

I am. I’m sick of it. 

THE ANTIDOTE TO SCARCITY

Scarcity can’t exist in God’s atmosphere. We need to return to the ways of God, to fix our eyes on the beauty and glory and goodness of God. We need to examine our actions, behaviors, motives in light of God. 

So, where do we start? At home, of course. With the man or woman in the mirror. And here’s what you tell that man or woman: YOU ARE ENOUGH. 

You see the antidote to scarcity isn’t abundance, which I believe is the opposite side of the same coin. The antidote is enough. Your life, right now, is enough. 

Your kids or spouse is enough. They don’t need to become the world best student or athlete or whatever. They are enough just as they are. 

You don’t need to prove a dang thing to any person. Who you are is enough. 

You don’t need to withhold your time or energy or resources for some later time. Keep what you need. Give away the rest. Give it to your those you love or those less fortunate than you. God is enough, so you don’t need to hold things for yourself. God will give you everything you need, every single day. 

If we begin to live this way, we will see our lives transformed. We will see our families and communities healed. We will see our fractured world come together. 

I am enough. So are you. And, most importantly, so is the God we serve. May we go and live this way. 

Grace and peace, friends. 

0 FacebookTwitterPinterestEmail
Faith

9 Microhabits That Will Transform Your Spiritual Life

by Frank Powell
written by Frank Powell

In the aviation world, they have a rule called the 1 in 60 rule. Maybe you’re familiar with this rule. I know nothing about flying airplanes (or, “large choo-choos,” as I called them when I was a wee lad), so this rule is new to me. The 1 in 60 rule says that for every one degree a plane goes off-course, that plane will miss its target by one mile for every 60 miles it travels. That means, for example, if I board a big choo-choo in Birmingham headed for, say, NYC, and my plane is one degree off course, we will miss our target by 16 miles. My plane would end up parked in the Atlantic rather than La Guardia, in other words. 

Now, maybe you aren’t an engineer like me and don’t share my affinity for numbers – I geeked out on these calculations for an hour – but you should. One degree of change is a small, minuscule, infinitesimal change. But, over time, this small, minuscule, infinitesimal change creates a large change. A change that is hard to notice becomes one that makes international news. 

The same is true with life. Every day, we make decisions that steer our life one way or another. One degree shifts that guide our life towards a destination. No one wakes up one day and realizes their marriage is on the rocks. Whether a marriage thrives or dies depends on small decisions that occur over a long period of time. 

Don’t like that example? Here’s another. Does a persistent anxiety (not the clinical kind, but the unrest, uneasiness kind) hover over your life? Where did it come from? You didn’t used to feel like this? What’s wrong? 

Think small. When you wake up, how do you start your day? Do you grab that electronic box and scroll social media or read the latest news? Seems like a small thing, right? You only look for a minute, maybe two. But, over time, you’re sending a signal to your medulla oblengata, a signal that’s rooted in fear and scarcity. A drop every day, and eventually the buckets overflows. You see what I’m saying? 

I call these small decisions microhabits. I didn’t come up with that term. I’m merely hijacking it (aviation pun not intended, I promise). Microhabits are like compounding interest. You do them for a long period of time, with no tangible change. Then, like an explosion, change happens. 

Microhabits can be good or bad. You have them right now, lots of them, and these small habits shape your life. In fact, I believe your life is the sum of your microhabits. 

I want to talk about some microhabits that can transform your life. These are small, insignificant decisions that could alter the trajectory of your life. If you keep at these for days and weeks and months, you will transform your life. You will find yourself becoming the person you always thought you could be. 

Here are 9 microhabits that will transform your spiritual life. 

1. Read one Bible verse and meditate on it. 

Too often, reading Scripture is another item to mark off our to-do list. Read three chapters of Matthew. Done. Scripture has no effect on our lives when we approach it this way. If the Bible is the inspired word of God, then we need to breathe in each and every word we read. 

Take Matthew 22:37, for example. 

“Jesus said, ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’

There’s enough meat on them bones to feast for weeks. What does it mean to love the Lord with all your heart? Stop. Close your eyes. Really think. What is the state of your heart? Do you feel shame? Why? Is there some area of your heart where you’ve refused to let God in? What might it look like to give ALL of your heart to God?

You can make excuses for not reading three or four chapters. But you can’t make an excuse for not reading one. 

2. No technology for 30 minutes after you wake up. 

I should say an hour, but this is a post about microhabits, so we’ll set the bar low. 

A study from IDC research said 80% of smart phone users check their phone within 15 minutes of waking up. This is too high. 

If you check your phone as soon as you wake up, you allow the opinions and agendas of other people to dictate your day. You alert stress hormones in your brain. You prime your brain for distraction. 

What you do in the first moments of your day lay the foundation for that day. Start with a strong foundation. Be pro-active. 

Here’s a shortlist of things you can do instead of check your phone: 

Read. 

Go for a walk.

Cook breakfast. 

Pray.

Talk to your spouse. 

Listen to a podcast or audiobook. 

Take a long shower. 

3. Before you go to sleep, focus on one positive experience for at least 15 seconds. 

You have the power, just by focusing your thoughts, not only to change the chemistry in your brain, but to alter your DNA. 

God designed the brain this way. But change doesn’t come easily. Our brains have a built-in negativity bias, so if you want a positive experience to transform your brain, you must focus on it for an extended period of time (at least 15 seconds). And you need uninterrupted silence. 

I find the best time to do this is right before I go to sleep. I close my eyes, think about one positive experience from the day, and allow that experience to sink deep into my bones. I tie that experience to an emotion (like gratitude) and let that emotion flow through every limb and organ. 

This is a short, simple exercise that will transform your life. 

4. Entertain one new thought or idea. 

In a world where everyone lives in a self-erected echo chamber, empathy dies. And without empathy, humanity has no chance. I once heard someone say that humans can never call into question more than 1 percent of their current worldview (thoughts about themselves, political views, theology, etc.). That’s part of the problem with deconstruction. It’s a firehose of new ideas all at once, which causes the existing structure to crumble to the ground, leaving you disoriented and cynical. 

But you can listen to one opposing view on one part of your worldview every day. This isn’t about deconstructing faulty beliefs. This is about listening to someone else’s story. This is about recognizing our shared humanity, that we’re all part of the larger Story. 

This is about nurturing empathy, the oxygen of love, the bedrock of human connection and flourishing. 

5. Exercise for 5 minutes. 

Exercise is essential to health, which means it’s essential to spiritual well-being. How we take care of our bodies reveals what we believe about God. Exercise is one way we take care of our bodies. 

Exercise improves mood, boosts energy, reduces the risk of almost every disease known to man, and promotes better sleep. In my own life, I’ve found that exercise, even in short bursts, connects me with God by untangling the web of thoughts and emotions that build throughout the day. It re-centers me. It grounds me. 

To receive the benefits of exercise, you don’t need to run a marathon. Five minutes of walking will do just fine. 

6. Go to bed 30 minutes earlier. 

Or 15 minutes. Just go to bed earlier than you do right now. This isn’t a self-help exercise. Sleep is a spiritual exercise. And our lack of it reveals our inability to trust God. 

I love this verse in Psalm 127:2. “In vain you rise early and stay up late, toiling for food to eat—for he grants sleep to those he loves.” 

These words remind me that I’m not in control, that sleep reflects trust in God. It says I don’t have to do it all, know it all, solve every problem. I can rest.

We don’t get enough sleep, and our lack of sleep is eroding our health. Study after study proves this. More than anything, though, making the decision to go to bed earlier shows that you believe God is in control. 

7. Do one thing for someone other than yourself. 

When I was healing from a chronic illness, one of the core components of healing was to find ways to help other people. That’s crazy, right? How can helping others heal a chronic illness? 

Studies prove that serving can reduce chronic pain and increase happiness. It can even help you live longer. Why? Helping others connects you with a larger purpose. It reminds you that you exist for something more than meeting your own needs. It fosters a mindset of abundance, not scarcity. It connects you with humanity and with creation and with God. 

Start small. Pick up a piece of trash on the side of the road. Put up the dishes. Donate to a charity. Do one thing every day. And your life will improve.

8. Make your bed. 

Now, some might think I’m stretching it with this habit, and maybe I am. But I don’t think so. 

Again, I’ll refer to my own experience. As I began to heal from years of chronic illness, making the bed was one of the first habits I implemented. 

Here’s why. Making your bed sends a signal to your brain that you are in control of your day, not the voices and opinions of others. That you believe in the power of focusing on the small, insignificant matters in your day. That you will live this day with intention. That you will be thoughtful and responsible. That God gave you this day, which means you have a purpose. 

It’s a small thing that can have a huge impact on your life. 

9. Tell one person that you love them. 

Do you tell your spouse you love him or her? Your kids? Your parents and friends? You should. Everyday. So, today, and every day moving forward, make sure you say, ”I love you” to at least one person. Shoot them a quick text.

This is a habit about living without regret and recognizing that everyday is a gift from God, and being loved is the greatest of all gifts. 

_________

Microhabits are the key to capital-l Life. If you don’t like these, find your own. The number of microhabits you can implement outnumber the sand grains in the Sahara. Find the ones that make you a better, more loving person. And start them today. 

Grace and peace, friends. 

0 FacebookTwitterPinterestEmail
Faith

7 Lies Christians Believe About God

by Frank Powell
written by Frank Powell

What you believe about God is the most important thing about you. More important than the decisions you make. More important than the spiritual disciplines you practice. Your image of God shapes who you become. 

A.W. Tozer said if we could extract from any man a complete answer to the question, What comes to mind when you think about God? we could with certainty determine the spiritual future of that man. What does your spiritual future look like? Sit still. Close your eyes. Use your mind to paint God on the canvas of your consciousness. Who is he or she? No, not the Sunday school answer. Correct answers won’t help you. We’re talking about your actual life here. Honesty is the only policy. 

Is God a long-bearded crank who walks with a limp and a stick he uses to pop those blasted kids every time they come on his porch? 

Is God a wrath-filled father who’s unyielding anger ignites fear in your soul? Is God a gun-wielding, Republican-card-toting American who supports the troops? Is God a distant father who seems apathetic about the problems in your life. 

Who is God to you, really? 

Until you allow this question in the front door of your heart and mind, your life won’t change. You will continue doing the same things and feeling the same ways because your image of God is the cause of everything you say, think and do, not the effect. 

If you want to grow spiritually, in other words – and I hope you do – you need to ask yourself what you believe about God. 

That’s what I’m going to do here, in this post. I’m going to expose some lies I used to believe about God, lies that kept me small and angry, shackled to the chains of apathy and comfort. What follows isn’t the correct answer to the question Who is God? – as if such a things exists. It doesn’t, and if you think it does, you have a solid place to start in your quest for a better image of God (Lie=God loves certainty). These are some lies I’ve wrestled with and tried to move past. And I’m a healthier Christian for it. 

Here are 7 lies Christians believe about God.  

1. God is in control. 

God isn’t in control because God doesn’t care about control. We do. Control is a word we throw onto God because we need certainty. We need answers for every terrible thing that happens on this terrestrial ball. 

Thinking God is in control creates a lot of problems, both for us and for God. The biggest is this: if God is in control, then he doesn’t care about the suffering of actual people. If he did, he would do something. He would intervene. 

What if God can’t? Not because he’s doesn’t have the power or whatever. Let’s move beyond that. What if God can’t because control isn’t a word in God’s lexicon? What if God is something more than our response to all the unanswerable tragedies in our world? 

Hint: he is. 

God doesn’t want to eliminate suffering and tragedy. He wants to dwell with us through it. Is this not the message of the cross? Of course it is. And this is the message we need. Desperately. God isn’t distant or absent. He endured the worst pain this world has to offer, so we know that no matter how hard our life becomes, God is with us. 

2. God created me for a unique purpose.

Thanks, Rick Warren. No disrespect. I’m thankful for Purpose-Driven Life and the awakening it created. But bright lights cast a long shadow. And the shadow of the purpose-driven life movement is the belief that if you’re not doing something special, spectacular for God, your life is a waste. 

God didn’t create you for a unique purpose. He created you for relationship. You exist to live in relationship with God. God’s love is the reason you’re here. 

Another big problem with this lie? It makes us believe God loves us only for what we do or accomplish. And the more someone accomplishes, the more God loves him or her. So, you spend your life trying to earn God’s approval instead of resting in the approval you already have. This is an exhausting way to live. 

There’s not a single thing you can do to earn God’s love. You have it right now, all of it, an eternity’s worth of divine acceptance. So, rest in it. 

3. God loves me, but he doesn’t like me. 

I fancy myself as someone who loves everyone, but that doesn’t mean I like you. For example, I love politicians, meaning I recognize them as men and women created in the image of God, just like me. But I’d rather someone club in the nuggets than spend time with any of them. I don’t like politicians. Or anyone who watches the Bachelor (Hello – nothing on that show is real. Why romanticize fake love? Go find the real thing.)

Many Christians believe God sees us the way I see politicians. He’s fine with letting us into heaven and all, but he would never enjoy our presence. 

This is a lie, one-hundred percent false. God loves you, yes. But he also likes you. He longs for intimacy with you. He is fond of you. 

This lie is the firstborn of American Christianity, where believing the right things about God equals relationship with God. The problem with this – you probably see it – is your relationship with The Maker of the Stars is based on your actions and behaviors, which will never be good enough. 

God is fond of you, longs for relationship with you, because you’re made in his image.

4. God is a Christian.

What does it mean to be a Christian? Ask 1000 people and you might get hundreds of different answers. So, if you believe God is a Christian, what you mean is you believe you’ve cornered the market on correct theology. When you believe this, two things happen, both are bad: you take the Creator of the Stars and place him in a box and you believe God is now confined to your box. 

What if God is infinitely more than you can imagine right now? What if God is greater than your little mind can fathom at this point? Or here’s one: what if you’re wrong about your beliefs about God?

I don’t believe God is a Christian. 

I believe God is love, which means I might find God among my church friends or I might find God in the slums of India. I might find God in my safe, suburban neighborhood or I might find in the mansions of Martha’s vineyard or the projects in downtown Chicago. I might find God in a conversation with my pastor or I might find him in the words of a Buddhist or Muslim. 

God isn’t confined to your box. Or mine. Go ahead place him in there if you want. Reinforce it with correct theology and loads of Bible verses that support your beliefs. And God, in his grace, might reveal himself in your box. But he’s not confined to it. And if you don’t believe this, I’m not sure you understand God (or the Bible). 

5. God sends people to hell. 

If God is a father, I struggle to understand how he sends people to hell. “Well, Frank, he doesn’t send people to hell. People choose to go there.” With all due respect, do you think I’m dumb? That’s the same thing, using more digestible words. 

This theology is problematic for a lot of reasons. First of all, what about mentally disabled people? “Well, they can’t choose. They go to heaven.” Okay, what about the ones with mental disorders like PTSD. One of my good friends killed himself after serving two tours in Iraq. He had PTSD. You want me to believe he’s in hell, after loving God his entire life? He wasn’t a bad person. He saw things no human should see and a mental disorder hijacked his rational brain. I believe he’s with God now, as I scribble these words.

The bigger issue here is our absolute obsession with hell. We need hell, I’m convinced, because we need to know people pay for their sins. We need a tit-for-tat God. Until it comes to our own sins, then we want an infinitely gracious God. 

I mean, really. We need to know Hitler paid for his sins? And an appropriate amount of payment is what…eternal torment and agony. C’mon, you can’t really believe that. 

“Well, Frank, that’s just the way it is.” 

Is it, though? What if that’s not the way it is? I don’t know if hell exists or not. Maybe there is a form of separation that occurs when someone consciously chooses evil. But I hope not. I hope every living thing abides with God for all of eternity. Except cats. And mosquitos. I’m fine if they don’t abide with God in the next life.

If God is Love, I think somehow, in ways we can’t yet understand, this Love overcomes all evil and hatred, and all living things dwell with God for eternity. 

6. God doesn’t care about my ordinary life. 

God cares about the dailiness of life, not the greatness of it.

Because the church has made Sunday morning the apex of Christian life, and because Sunday mornings are about professionals and performances and spotlights and emotional highs, many Christians believe their ordinary life doesn’t matter. What’s worse, many Christians believe God doesn’t care about their ordinary life, that there’s nothing godly or redeeming about going to work or paying bills or cleaning the house or going to Walmart for the fourth time in two days. There’s nothing worse than going to Wal-Mart. If you can leave that cavernous smorgasbord of excess with a smile on your face, you’re a saint of the highest order.  

Remember when God revealed himself to Elijah in 1 Kings? How did he do it? Not through a strong wind. Not through an earthquake or a fire. He revealed himself through a whisper. A whisper! 

Modern-day translation: when God wants to reveal himself to Frank (or Suzy or fill in the blank) how does he do it? Not through an emotional Sunday morning worship. Not through a powerful Bible Study at Starbucks. He reveals himself through the meaningless banter of my children or a workout at my gym or the folding of clothes. 

God cares about the dailiness of life, not the greatness of it.

7. The cross was God’s idea. 

My entire life I heard Jesus died on the cross for my sins, meaning God poured out the wrath on Jesus that I deserved. Without the cross, I couldn’t have a relationship with God. 

This creates so many problems. First, it paints God as an angry, wrathful deity, and it’s hard to come near to an angry, wrathful deity. Second, it creates a transactional faith, one where your focus is doing the right things so God will approve of you. 

You can’t transform inside of transactional religion. Write that down. 

The cross wasn’t God’s idea. God didn’t send Jesus to the cross. Man did. Jesus willing went to the cross to expose the powers and principalities, to reveal all the false, destructive ways we deal with Truth. To show, once and for all, that evil has no power over Love, that violence will never heal the world. 

_____

God is far more than our minds can fathom. That’s why we can never settle for the image of God we have right now. We must remain curious. Ask hard questions. Lean more and more into Love. 

May you have the courage to examine your own life, to let go of any lies. Be patience. There is no end goal here. Only the journey. 

Grace and peace, friends. 

0 FacebookTwitterPinterestEmail
Culture

The Desire To Be Right Is Killing Us. Here’s How We Overcome It.

by Frank Powell
written by Frank Powell

We live in uneasy times. The anxiety is tangible. You can feel it the way you feel a summer’s day in my hometown of Birmingham. It’s heavy, like your breathing under water, like you can’t catch your breathe. Our world feels that way right now, doesn’t it? Gun control. Abortion. The war in Ukraine. Sexual abuse in the church. I’m to the point where I have pre-pre traumatic stress disorder. I’m anticipating the anticipation of the next cultural earthquake, bracing myself for an event that hasn’t happened but will happen soon, maybe today.

Combine this unsteadiness with the opinions of every human at our fingertips, and you have a world that threatens to implode on itself. In times like this, what do we do? We disconnect and meditate and pray. Pssh. Please. 

We pick up our digital box and open our social media app of choice. And what do we see? The musings of the people who think like we do. We turn to our news source of choice and what do we hear? The ramblings of talking heads who pamper to our perspective. 

The ground underneath our feet is shaking hither and tither, and we need a firm place to stand. So, we double down on the voices we know. These voices seem so certain, so sure of what’s right and what’s wrong, and we want to be on the right side of every issue, so we turn on Fox News or CNN or whatever and we allow these sources to cement our worldview. 

And, look, I get it. I’m penning these words because I feel the pull to hunker down in my little corner and shout truth bombs at every unsuspecting person in my path. 

Look, there’s Larry. Larry believes guns are the savior of the world. Larry owns enough guns to supply a small platoon. Well, take this, Larry. 

“The answer to gun violence isn’t more guns. It’s gun control. You’re living in fear, Larry, and as long as people like you love their guns as much as they love their God, our land will overflow with the silent cries of innocent lives taken too soon.”

Boom. Direct hit. 

And, here’s the thing: I’m right. Most days I’m convinced that if every human adopted my worldview, every problem would float into thin air – poof! – and disappear. This sounds prideful and arrogant – and it is – but it’s true. 

If you’re honest with yourself, though, you feel the same way. All of us, to some degree, suffer from certainty bias. We believe our perspective is THE perspective and all others perspectives are wrong, at best, and the manifestation of Satan’s plan to take over the world, at worst. 

THE DESIRE FOR CERTAINTY IS KILLING US

I want to ask you a question, though, a question I’ve asked myself in recent days. 

Has my desire to be right made me a healthier, more engaged and loving person?

Here’s another question: Has our desire to be on the right (or left) side of arguments helped us becoming the kind of community that respects and humanizes every one, regardless of worldview? 

I can’t answer that for you, but I can for me. The answer is no. I’m more anxious and less hopeful today than I was a few years ago. I have less love and respect for people with a different worldview than I ever have. The world is caving in. And it’s their fault. 

Friends, this is not okay. We don’t exist to convince the world that we’re right. I’m beginning to realize that even if I did, by some divine sorcery, convince every human to think just like me, I wouldn’t find the peace I desire. I don’t think you would either. 

Our collective anxiety and constant access to technology has duped us, tricked us into believing it’s more important to be right than to love our neighbor. I could give you all sorts of Scriptures and theology to support this, but that’s not necessary, is it? Just look around. Or in the mirror. We indict ourselves. What we’re doing right now isn’t working, and we know it.

We need a new path, an alternative way forward.

Fortunately, we don’t have to continue like this. We can choose another way, a way that opens our hearts and minds, a way that gives our souls rest. And this way starts with three words:

I. Don’t. Know. 

This is the way of uncertainty. Can you imagine a world like this? A world where we don’t need things to resolve, where we recognize and embrace our limitations, a world where we realize we don’t know everything. We don’t even know most things. And that’s okay. 

CERTAINTY IS AN IDOL

Certainty is one of the greatest idols of our time. I know this because we’ve justified its existence for so long, we now call it a virtue. When you begin to champion something that drains life from your soul, you’re in trouble. Big trouble. 

And we’re in big trouble. In every Christian community I’ve been around, certainty is a mark of mature faith. The more certain you are about what the Bible says and how God interacts with the world and so on, the more likely you are to become a leader in the church. The more knowledge you acquire, the closer you are to God. 

The goal of Christian living is to acquire knowledge about Jesus, not follow him. Again, I know this because most Christians, myself included, can tell you where Jesus would land on every issue and who he would hang with in every situation, but their behaviors and actions look nothing like the Son of God. 

JESUS DIDN’T CARE ABOUT CERTAINTY

Meanwhile, Jesus, wasn’t concerned with clear or correct thinking. If certainty mattered to God, Jesus failed. God’s son often spoke in parables and used unclear, mirky stories to talk about God. He said over and over that the kingdom is like this or that. He frustrated religious leaders because he side-stepped direct questions about important religious things, like the sabbath or the after life. 

And when he chose his disciples, he didn’t show up to the local Bible college and ask for the best students. He went to the streets and chose the outcasts and misfits, people who knew little to nothing about religion. 

I’m convinced that if the Savior of the World stood in our midst today, both sides of the spectrum would find him deeply unsatisfying. Jesus wouldn’t land on one side of an issue because Jesus didn’t care about being right. 

Jesus came to destroy the idol of certainty. He came to make a mockery of correct thinking. Jesus came to break us from the trance of needing to be right. You can’t love people if you feel compelled to correct them. And Jesus cared about loving people.

Let’s admit – and I’m talking to Christians here – we care more about acquiring knowledge and fine-tuning our theology than caring for people. 

We care more about labeling people than loving them. 

And this has made us anxious, angry, depressed, lonely people. Would you agree? We’re divided, fractured, fragmented. A pro-lifer, for example, doesn’t just see a pro-choicer (that’s not a word, I know) as someone with a faulty view. They’re the enemy. Them, those guys, over there, they’re the reason the world is caving in. If they would just repent of their incorrect thinking, everything would be fine. 

Would it, though? 

We don’t need any more correct thinkers We need more people who can – with great courage – admit the obvious:

I. Don’t. Know. 

THE SPIRITUAL BENEFITS OF SAYING I DON’T KNOW

1. I don’t know connects us with God. 

It dismantles the either-or mindset that separates us from our neighbor and stunts our spiritual growth. You can’t grow if you believe you’re right. What’s the point? You have it all figured out.

2. I don’t know heals us, physically, mentally, and spiritually. 

Say the words out loud. If you’re like me, you feel something in your bones. Do you feel it? It’s your ego and the accompanying anxiety releasing ts grip on your heart and mind. You don’t know it all. You don’t need to. It’s okay if you’re unsure. Your body knows certainty is unhealthy, toxic to your health. Saying I don’t know is self-care. It’s a healing balm to your physical body. 

3. I don’t know opens the door to transformation. 

Not the kiddie pool transformation we see in American Christianity, where being a Christian means adhering to the cultural values – security, prosperity, progress, etc. Oh, and, of course, certainty. No, this is real transformation, where we begin to see things as they are, not as we are. Where we begin to grow in love and peace and joy. Where we see our neighbors as a reflection of ourselves. 

4. I don’t know allows us to see people as image-bearers, not as a collection of issues. 

Correct thinking almost always leads to dehumanization. Saying I don’t know allows you to re-humanize people. Think about your own life. No matter where you land on an issue. How do you feel about those on the other side. Hmm. Do you love them? Or do you see them as problems to be resolved? For me, it’s the latter. That’s why I need this alternative way, the way of I don’t know. 

Once I don’t need to be right, I’m free to be curious, to hear everyone’s story. Why does my neighbor support strong gun laws? Did he grow up in an unsafe home? Is he a military veteran who’s seen the worst in humanity? Or what about my pro-choice neighbor? Why does she support abortion? Maybe she grew up with abusive parents or she was forced to raise her siblings because her parents absent or something like that. She knows that you can be alive without ever living. 

Regardless, it’s clear what we’re doing now isn’t working. It’s not working because it’s not the way of Jesus. We’ve allowed the world to convince us that certainty equals faithfulness and it doesn’t. There’s nothing noble or godly about certainty.

The way of Jesus, the way of Healing, begins with three words:

I. Don’t. Know. 

May we have the courage to walk this path.

Grace and peace, friends. 

0 FacebookTwitterPinterestEmail
Faith

How To Change Your Life By Changing Your Thoughts

by Frank Powell
written by Frank Powell

Two years ago, I found DNRS. You don’t know what DNRS is, but I’m about to tell you. It’s a program for people who suffer with all manner of chronic illnesses. The principles of DNRS healed me, a miracle of the highest order, I assure you. Just ask the fifty doctors I frequented from all over the globe, some of whom considered the very best in their field, none of whom could identify the foundation of my plight. 

DNRS could, though. The source was a brain gone haywire. After years of immense suffering, I began to heal within weeks.

How is this possible? Neuroplasticity. That’s a clunky word. I know. It just means your brain has the ability to change itself. It means that you can quite literally transform your life by shifting the thought patterns in your brain. 

One of the first and most important things you learn in DNRS is that your identity never changes, regardless of how you feel or the circumstances around you. At your core, my instructors said, you are healthy. This is who you are. You don’t feel healthy. I didn’t. I felt awful, in fact. I felt like I got run over by a regular bus and a larger bus, at the same time. How could I feel this bad and be healthy? 

I was healthy because health is an inherent right of mine and yours. Just like love and joy and peace. They are my identity. We often get wrapped up in feelings. We assume because we feel something, it must be true. It is not true, though. Feelings are not facts. Feeling are neither good nor bad. We choose what to do with them, how we respond to them. Do we accept them as truth or call out their lies? 

I assumed because I felt miserable I was unhealthy. The pain, however, was the result of a bad signal in my brain, and I could re-wire my brain by changing the story I told myself. 

Your brain changes based on the stories you tell yourself. On one level, I don’t know why God designed the brain this way and I intend to ask him when I see him. I intend to ask God a lot of questions, in fact. I have a running list. I’ve asked Tiffani to place the list in my casket so I will have it on the other side. If, for example, you suffered from trauma at a young age, the stories you tell yourself about people and the world are hard to unlearn. The brain locks these stories deep in its core, and you will need a lot of good therapy and courage to change them. This seems unfair. The good news, though, is that you aren’t enslaved to your stories. On another level, though, this makes total sense. The fact that our brains can change means we have the opportunity everyday to choose heaven or hell, life or death. The choice is ours, and only ours. We’re not shackled to our circumstances.

For years, I allowed my circumstances to write my story. I settled for a story that made me a shell of the human God created me to be. Never settle for a story like this. 

God created you to live a great and wonderful story. So, if you’re not living the life you want, change the narrative. Tell yourself a different story. That’s what I did. And, almost overnight, my life began to change. 

It sounds too easy and self-helpish. I know. But it’s not. It was Paul who told us hundreds of years ago to take our thoughts captive and make them obedient to Christ. He didn’t know the science behind his words, but he knew, based on his experience, that you can alter the course of your life by refusing to allow your thoughts to form your steps. 

So, what stories are you telling yourself that are not true? What thoughts marinate in your mind that are not from your Creator? 

What are you not telling yourself that you should? Who do you want to become? Do you want to become a leader in your church? Your family? Do you want to love people with a greater passion? Do you want to learn and grow in your faith? Do you want to stop judging people or living in fear? Are you tired of swimming in a pool of shame? 

Then change your story. Tell your brain what you want it to become. If you are tired of living in addiction, for example, then tell yourself everyday that you aren’t an addict and that you’re stronger than the thing that holds you down, and then act accordingly. If you want to love your spouse more deeply, tell your brain that your spouse is beautiful and you are thankful to God for him or her and that your love for them will never die. 

Maybe you don’t feel that way right now. That’s fine. Remember, just because you feel something doesn’t mean it’s true. Sometimes, your brain sends you false signals. You have the power to over-ride them. The truth is you love your wife. You love your husband. Regardless of what you feel. 

Again, we’re not talking about self-help here. This is God stuff. God designed our brain. And he designed it to change. 

I won’t lie to you and tell you this is easy. It sounds easy. But it’s very hard. Interrupting years of toxic, unhealthy messages feels like breaking an addiction. It feels that way because it is. 

The brain, you see, doesn’t assign moral value to narratives. If you tell yourself that you aren’t worthy of love or that the world is a scary place and the most important thing is to stay safe, your brain stores that message and bathes it in a cocktail of emotions. 

The message you’re telling yourself is, of course, unhealthy and stunting your growth. Your brain doesn’t know that, though. The more you tell you yourself these things, the stronger that pathway becomes in your brain. So, if you choose to push back against years of hardwired messages, pack a lunch. In your lunchbox, include a bag full of perseverance and another full of courage. You will need both. 

_______

Any message not rooted in love and joy and peace is not from God. You are made in the image of the Creator of the universe. The core of who you are, your identity, contains the very essence of God. You don’t have to believe toxic, unhealthy messages. You have the power to change the course of your days, to carve out a new path. You have the ability to transform your life, to peel away unhealthy messages simply by telling yourself new ones. 

God will walk with you in this. I believe God walks with anyone who chooses the narrow road, and you feel his presence because as you strive for healing, you’re also striving for God. And that’s the goal, here, is it not? To seek God, to live everyday we have on this earth for him, to try our very best to pull back the layers of shame and fear and guilt and so on, so we can get to the core of who we are. 

The core of who we are are is God. 

So, off you go. Change the narrative. Stop living like you are a prisoner in the cell of your own mind. You aren’t. You’re free. You’re a child of God. Anywhere you find God, you find freedom, which is everywhere because God is in all things at all times, even the worst and darkest places. You have everything you need to become a man or woman created in God’s image.

Grace and peace. Amen.

0 FacebookTwitterPinterestEmail
Faith

There’s No Such Thing As A Picture-Perfect Life

by Frank Powell
written by Frank Powell

I ate lunch with my pastor a few weeks ago. He asked me how things were going. “Stupid busy,” I said. I used those exact words. I used them because they’re true. My life is stupid busy. My kids have reached the exploratory stage of life. You know, that stage where every sport and activity opens up to them and they want to try to them all. As a parent, you want your kids to try different sports and activities. But your resources are finite. Mine are, at least. So, you pick and choose, but investing in even one sport in my town feels like a full-time job. My kids play two. So, in essence, I have three full-time jobs, which is not conducive for one’s mental, emotional or physical health.

I told my pastor all this. He thought about it for a moment. “You’re in the busiest season of your life,” he said. “I remember when my kids were the age yours are now. We teetered on exhaustion. We didn’t know from day-to-day how we would find the time or energy or money to do all the things that needed to be done. Hang in there. Enjoy this season. It will get better.” 

I would like to say this made me feel better, and maybe it did. But I wanted a magic bullet or a quick fix. I wanted him to open a line of communication with God and come back with a five step plan to make my life easier. I would settle for an extra hour or two. But I preferred a step-by-step plan, ordained by the Big Man Upstairs, and guaranteed to resurrect my energy and free time from the ashes of my over-saturated schedule. 

What I really wanted to communicate, though, but didn’t have the courage, was that I’m stressed. No, that’s inaccurate. I’m drowning. If I scan the different arenas of life – social, spiritual, financial – I’m behind in all of them. I come home exhausted. I wake up exhausted. “I’m tired” is the tagline for my life. 

I wanted a magic bullet because I know they exist. I know families with kids who did what I do but aren’t drowning in fatigue. I see them all the time on social media. You see them, too. 

If you separated my tired self from true self, I would tell you those pictures aren’t real. I know they’re a mirage. But my tired self is the one scrolling my timeline. And my tired self doesn’t see things clearly. He sees reality through the lens of comparison and discontentment. 

THE DANGER OF SOCIAL MEDIA

Social media is dangerous in all seasons of life. It’s particularly dangerous, though, in seasons where stress is high. High stress is fertile ground for a legion of unhealthy, toxic behaviors.

You’re tired, exhausted, running on physical, emotional, spiritual fumes. The house is a wreck. You forgot that today was show-and-tell at your third grader’s school. You open the mail and find a bill from the orthodontist. You open your e-mail and find a link to pay for your son’s select soccer season. Your car needs new tires. You just clocked out on another 50+ hour work week.

In the madness of this, you plop down on the couch, open Facebook or Instagram or Tik Tok or whatever, and what do you see? Picture after picture of beautiful families who have it together. The Welborns with their white tees on the sand, all three kids smiling. Man, do they have it together. How do they have it together? What am I missing? Why is my life a wreck?

You keep scrolling. Oh, would you look at that? The Fowlers are on another vacation. Are they on vacation every week? Oh, and would you look at the Simmons. They’re at Disney. Again. Oh, and they all have matching shirts that say #BROKE, except the “O” is replaced with a Mickey logo. The Simmons have it together, and they’re funny. How do they do it? I mean, seriously, how much money do they make? God, I want to go to Disney. Or the beach. I need a break. Why can’t I have that life? Why am I failure? 

We do this, don’t we? Or is it just me? We assume we’re the only ones crawling through life. Every other family has it together. They have access to the magic bullet. 

THE TRUTH ABOUT THE PERFECT LIFE

Here’s the truth: no one has it together. The photos you see on social media aren’t real. Every single human in the history of the world struggles through life just like you and me. Maybe the Simmons do travel to the beach every week. Maybe you do know someone whose house is so clean you can lick the floors. 

But, here’s what I know about humans. Something is array in another arena of life. Maybe Mrs. Simmons wrestles with mental illness. Maybe her marriage is on the rocks. Maybe her relationship with her children is shallow, superficial. Maybe Mr. Simmons is a workaholic. Maybe he cares more about the state of his golf game than the well-being of his family. I don’t know what is array in this family’s life. But something is array. 

I don’t say isn’t an indictment on the families you see as you scroll through social media. I say this because I know the reality of being human. To be human is to struggle, to wrestle with finitude, with limitations, with weaknesses. We fight and scratch and claw through our days, and this doesn’t dismiss the beauty and joy of life because there’s plenty of that. Plenty of smile-worthy moments. 

It just means that life isn’t Instagram photos. It’s not. No family is picture perfect. No family has it together. Let me say that again, louder this time, for the folks in the back: no one has it together.

So, one of the most important things we can do for our mental, emotional, spiritual and even physical health is divorce the pictures we see on social media from this idealized image of having it together, as if such a thing exists. 

WHAT IT MEANS TO LIVE A GOOD LIFE 

Social media also deceives us about what it means to live a good life, a meaningful life. Social media says if you could just have his job or her Type A personality, you would be happy. If you had the freedom to frequent the Floridian shores or the resources to hire a maid or a yard guy or a personal masseuse, you would instantly find happiness. Social media wants you to believe that happiness is so close. It’s just beyond your grasp. The only thing you need is one more thing. 

And we know this is a lie. We know acquiring more is a bad recipe for peace and joy. The things of God grow in the incubator of contentment. Write that down.

Jesus himself warned us against the temptation to acquire more in an attempt to find Life. “Watch out,” Jesus says in Luke 12:15, “Be on guard against all kinds of greed; life does not consist in an abundance of possessions.”

Well, then, what does life consist of? What is the good life? 

The good life is a life lived with honesty and integrity, where we value telling the truth and making the right decisions more than we value our personal comfort.

The good life is one where we value our self-care. Where we have the courage to look at our spouse and say I’m tired and need a break. I don’t need to go to Florida, but I do need a few hours alone tonight. I need you to take care of the kids. Very few adults have the courage to prioritize their self-care. But the ones who do know something about capital l-Life. Jesus says this life is available to us right now. Most days, I don’t think that’s true. People who value self-care know Jesus is telling the truth.

The good life is one where we care more about who our kids become than than the awards they receive. My kids can win Mr. or Miss Name Of Your High School. They can be the star quarterback or cheerleader or whatever. But if they’re not good humans who love God and treat people with respect and tell the truth, I’ve failed as a parent. 

The good life is one where we’re content in this very moment right now. We don’t long for another thing, not another vacation or a higher paying job or a larger house. Contentment is an EpiPen for anyone overwhelmed with stress. Take a shot and your systems return to normal, almost overnight.  

The good life is one where we love ourselves and our neighbor and our community. We give time and money to those in need, rather than hoard it all for ourselves. 

This is what matters. And this is what so few parents pursue, starting with yours truly. I don’t pursue these things nearly as often as I should. I get caught up in the rat race, hung up on riding the hamster wheel, climbing ladders that lead to nowhere.

When my kids are grown and gone, what do I want them to remember about me? That I spent my most of my hours working so I could keep up with the Joneses? That I spent all my time in the yard, making sure my lawn and flowerbeds were Instagram worthy? #Blessed. That my house and car were flawless? That we went to Disney every other weekend?

Or do I want them to remember that I was present in their day-to-day lives, that I played silly board games or had tea parties or whatever, that I taught them how to find joy in this moment, and that you don’t need a mansion or a vacation to have a good life? 

Of course the answer is the latter. If it is, why don’t we stop this silly social media comparison game? Let’s stop pretending that just because the Simmons post a new photo every weekend from a different location, that they have a better life than you. They don’t. They just have a different one. 

Life is hard. You don’t have it together. You can’t do it all. So, prioritize the things that matter. Let’s be okay with good enough. Let’s be content with the blessings in front of us. 

Grace and peace, friends. 

0 FacebookTwitterPinterestEmail
Short Stories

A Light Brighter Than Evil: A Short Story

by Frank Powell
written by Frank Powell

Today, I left home the same way I leave every morning. Had I known this was the last day of my life, I might have done something different. But probably not. I love my routine. It goes like this. Shower. Hair. Breakfast. Teeth. Backpack. School bus. Always in that order. 

I also love school. And learning. And my friends. More than anything, though, I love my teacher, Mrs. Stein. Mrs. Stein is my best friend. I tell her this almost everyday. She never says it back, and that’s okay. Instead, she places her hand on my shoulder and smiles and that’s all I need. I know she feels the same way. It’s our little secret. 

When I arrived at school, something felt off. I could sense it. I felt an urge to leave, to run away. I’ve heard animals can sense bad things before they see them, things like tornados or hurricanes or tsunamis. I read it in a magazine, I think. It’s like a built-in alarm that keeps them safe. I like that. I think I have a built-in alarm, too.

I stopped at the foot of the steps leading up to the school and looked up. The sky was a beautiful hue of blue. As far as my eyes could see, nothing but sun and sky. My school building looked larger than normal, the two-story structure seemed to reach to the heavens and stretch from one end of the earth to the other. Was the sky playing tricks on my mind? I don’t know. Kids walked past me left and right. I was in a trance. My mind wouldn’t allow my feet to move. What was this? 

“Eric, dear, the second bell is about to ring. C’mon.” It was Mrs. Stein. Like a therapist who snaps her fingers to awaken a hypnotized patient, I returned to reality. I smiled, walked up the steps, Mrs. Stein put her arm around my shoulder, and my internal alarm went silent. 

When I walked in the classroom, I saw several napkins with Happy Birthday written on them, and I smiled. I smiled because the napkins were from my birthday party last week. I turned eleven. Mrs. Stein knew I wouldn’t see my parents on my special day. My parents work all day everyday, so, as they say, I can have everything I want, but what I want is to see my parents. Anyway, Mrs. Stein threw a party for me, and she threw it in our classroom during school. That’s right. She chose me over geography. She bought cupcakes and juice and everyone sang Happy Birthday. 

Happy birthday to you. Happy birthday to you. Happy birthday, dear Eric, happy birthday to you. I’ve replayed the words in my head a lot. Is that weird? Probably so but I don’t care. It felt nice to have the attention on me. I don’t like the part about people staring at me. But I like to feel special. It makes me feel like someone cares about me. My parents never make me feel special. I love my parents. But my classmates are my family. They make me feel special. 

After humming the birthday tune a few times, I picked up my pencil and began work on my morning assignment. Math. My favorite subject.  

“There are 235 books in a library. On Monday, 110 books are removed. On Tuesday, 62 books are returned. How many books are in the library?”

Let’s see. Two thirty five minus one ten. That’s 5 and 2 and 1. 125! Yes, alright. Sixty-two books returned. So, I add that number back, right? Right.

Before I could do anything else, I heard two loud sounds, sounds I had never heard before. 

The sounds startled me. They were loud and threatening and dangerous, like fireworks possessed by a demon. Maybe some kids were pulling a prank? Who would do such a thing? We have two days left until school ends. I happened to glance at Mrs. Stein. I saw a strange expression on her face, one I had never seen before. She was scared and confused, like someone might look if the Boogie Man was chasing him. 

Then, I heard the screams. They started soft and distant, but rose like a crescendo to the point that they consumed the hallway and our room and every inch of our building. I didn’t hear any words. Just loud, piercing, I-need-help-now screams. I knew something was wrong. But what? I couldn’t imagine anything bad happening at our school. We live in a small town, a safe town. People don’t hurt one another in my town. We look after each other, care for each other. I know almost everyone here. They’re all nice and friendly and helpful.

The screams continued. Mrs. Stein slammed the door and locked it. “Everyone get away from the door. Now! Over here, in the corner.” 

As she said this, I watched her. Her lips quivered. A tear built up in her right eye. Then her left. Then the tears streamed down her face. She wiped them from her cheek like she was angry they appeared. She breathed deep and her lips stopped quivering. This was serious. Something very bad was happening. 

I heard more firework sounds. Louder now. Three or four or five or more, one right after the other.

The firework sounds felt so close I could smell them them. They smelled like fear. I placed my hands over my ears. I closed my eyes for a second. When I opened them, I saw the most hideous figure staring into our classroom through the window. I only saw the figure partially. I was in the corner of the room, after all. But what I saw was pure evil. His face was thin and littered with pimples. His eyes set too far down on his face, the left one larger than the right. He looked like a teenager, not much older than me. What I remember most, though, was the look in his eyes. His pupils had no color. They were clear or black, like someone or something had sucked the love and joy from his body through his eyeballs. 

With a single shot, he turned our window into shards, reached his hand through the opening and unlocked the door. There were no fireworks. This boy had a gun, a big one. I had seen guns in pictures and movies and things like that, but never in real life. Why was it so big?

 In the background, I heard more shots. Was someone else in the building? Was there another boy with a gun? I heard the vague sounds of a man shouting. “In your rooms,” he yelled. “Get out of the hall.” 

The boy looked around. He was scared, maybe more scared than me. Fear radiated from his body. You could feel it. He scanned the room. His gaze went from the kids to Mrs. Stein, back and forth, for what seemed like an eternity. Finally, he raised his gun and pointed the barrel at Mrs. Stein’s chest. 

“Nooo!” I yelled with enough ferocity that it startled him. He briefly removed his finger from the trigger. But only briefly. 

I don’t remember what happened next. I guess I jumped up from the corner of the room and ran towards Mrs. Stein. I leapt in front of her. I don’t know what I was trying to accomplish. When you’re eleven and someone points a gun at the most important person in your life, you don’t think. You just act. And that’s what I did.

The bullet pierced my flesh. Then a second one. Then a third. That piece of metal felt warm as it entered my body. I felt no pain, though. I felt no fear either. I felt nothing, in fact. Why didn’t I feel anything?

I heard more shots. Was the boy with the gun shooting my classmates, my family? I wanted to help them, too. Instead, the boy fell to the ground, and Deputy Sherrill entered our room.

I looked up at Mrs. Stein as she held me in her arms. She kept screaming words, the same words, over and over. Why was she screaming? Why wasn’t she happy? I protected her. I still didn’t feel anything. Why didn’t I feel anything? I thought getting shot with a rifle would hurt. Maybe I’m a super hero. Mrs. Stein will love me forever after this. I can’t wait for recess. And lunch? What is on the menu today? Oh yeah, Italian dunkers. I love Italian dunkers. 

I no longer saw shapes or figures. I no longer saw Mrs. Stein. I only saw light, the brightest light I’ve ever seen. Some figure looked at me, held me in his arms, and said, “It’s okay, my child. No more pain. You are safe now. Come with me.” 

So, I did. I walked a ways. Then, I saw him. The boy with the gun. He didn’t have a gun anymore, though. And he didn’t look scary. His eyes had color again. They were hazel. I should’ve felt anger or fear. But I felt neither. Why wasn’t I angry? 

The Bright Light reached out his hand to the boy. “It’s okay, my child,” he said. “No more pain. You are safe now. Come with me.” So, he did. 

I smiled at him. He smiled back. I miss Mrs. Stein. But I like this place. I think I’ll stay here awhile. 

0 FacebookTwitterPinterestEmail
Faith

Your Favorite Bible Character According to Your Enneagram Type

by Frank Powell
written by Frank Powell

As I said in my previous post, the Enneagram is the most powerful spiritual growth tool I know. It’s also the most humiliating, which is proof that it works. Before the truth sets you free, it tends to make you miserable, as Richard Rohr once said.

Whether you’re a devoted disciple of the Enneagram or a novice, we tend to understand ourselves by looking at the lives of others. Fortunately, the Bible gives us many examples of how to walk with God, for better or for worse.

In this post, I want to give you a biblical character for every Enneagram number, as well as a few famous people from both real and fictional life.

Let’s go.

One: Reformer

Biblical character: PAUL

Ones tend to see the world in black-and-white. They have a strong moral compass, a clear picture of right and wrong. Because no one meets their high standards (standards they first impose on themselves), Ones often wrestle with anger. Expressing anger feels wrong, though, so Ones rarely show their anger. Instead, it comes out as resentment, which is anger expressed in a passive-aggressive way.

The Biblical character most associated with this type? This is the most obvious selection of them all. The apostle Paul. Paul loved the law. He was a Pharisee. He believed in his moral stances with such ferocity that he was willing to murder people. Then, of course, Paul meets Jesus on the road to Damascus, and everything changes.

Once he starts following Jesus, we begin to see what a transformed One looks like. He gives up his murderous ways, but not his passion for a just world. Paul is an excellent character study for Ones. You see clearly his dark, unhealthy side. You also see clearly how Paul transforms his life once he connects with the Source of Life.

Other famous Eights: Ruth Bader Ginsberg, C. S. Lewis, Atticus Finch (To Kill a Mockingbird), Bruce Wayne (Batman)

Two: Helper

Biblical character: JOHN (the beloved disciple)

Twos can walk in a room and identify the needs of every person without saying a word to anyone. Twos are givers, which is noble, until you learn why. Two give as a way to avoid their own needs. The giving is also manipulative. They give hoping to receive, but they never come out and say this, so bitterness can often build in Twos.

The apostle John is a Two. John is the only apostle who remains with Jesus at the cross. John’s gospel (as well as his letters) focus on love. Richard Rohr points out that, although John emphasizes love, his love is exclusive, focusing on the “brothers.” John does not talk about loving enemies in any of his writings. So, you see the good and bad with a Two. They can give selflessly. But they can also be possessive and exclusive.

Other famous Twos: Dolly Parton, Maya Angelou, Hagrid (Harry Potter), Princess Leia (Star Wars)

Three: Performer

Biblical character: JACOB

Threes are the go-getters, the workaholics, the doers. They craft an image of success and importance and avoid failure like the plague. They often wrap their identity around their job title or accomplishments.

Richard Rohr says no one in Scripture embodies their Enneagram number more completely than Jacob. In this case, Three. You can find his story in the middle of Genesis. Here you see a man willing to do anything to succeed, and it begins in the womb, when he fights with his older brother, Esau. Later in life, Jacob comes up with a plan to steal Esau’s birthright. As his father, Isaac, rests on death’s door, Jacob covers himself in wool and appears before him. After stealing the birthright, Esau’s anger forces Jacob to flee his home. On the journey, he has a dream that includes (wait for it) a ladder. Ascent and descent, climbing up and down ladders. Threes love language of this sort. Jacob’s entire life is about gaining and appearing successful.

Other famous Threes: Muhammed Ali, Taylor Swift, Leslie Knope (Parks and Rec), Ron Weasley (Harry Potter)

Four: Individualist

Biblical character: JOSEPH

Fours are creative and emotional. They’re in touch with the dark side of life, unafraid to travel to the depths of things. They always feel like they’re missing something, though, which creates a lifetime battle with envy. Fours are fixated on being special, different, and authentic.

Following the Four’s desire to be special and distinct, Joseph dreams on two separate occasions that his brothers will bow down to him. As you can imagine, this doesn’t go over well with his older brothers. In fact, they dislike his message so much that they devise a plan to kill him.

Fast-forward a bunch of years. Joseph, after a serious of jailings, rises up the totem pole in Egypt. He’s second in command and a famine descends on the land. His brothers travel to Egypt hoping to find food. They find food, but they also find Joseph, although they don’t recognize him. Joseph, rather than revealing his identity to his brothers, tests them. After much hoopla and, to be honest, too much drama, Joseph reveals his identity. As a Nine, this whole approach to revealing himself seems unnecessary and grossly over-dramatic. But I guarantee Fours don’t feel this way.

While you see the emotional and dramatic side of Joseph, you also see the power of a redeemed Four. When healthy, they can change the world.

Other famous Fours: Anne Frank, Thomas Merton, Frodo Baggins (Lord of the Rings), Loki (Marvel movies)

Five: Investigator

Biblical character: THOMAS (A DISCIPLE OF JESUS)

Fives tend to observe reality rather than engage with it. They see the world through a lens of scarcity. This leads Fives to withhold time and energy, especially from those closest to them.

The apostle Thomas, one of the Twelve, is a great example of a Five. After Jesus’s resurrection, the disciples run to find Thomas and once they do, they tell him that Jesus is alive. Thomas, however, doesn’t believe it. In that infamous passage in John, Thomas says, “Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe.” Classic Five response.

Fives are skeptical and analytical and wrestling with anything that defies logic. Jesus, in his grace, doesn’t withhold the nail marks from Thomas, but draws him near and shows him. Thomas then believes.

His letter, The Gospel of Thomas, isn’t in our traditional Bible. You should read it though, especially if you’re a Five. His words paint the picture of a redeemed five, a man who didn’t allow his logic to override his faith.

Other famous Fives: Albert Einstein, Bill Gates, Albus Dumbledore (Harry Potter series), Sherlock Holmes (Sherlock Holmes)

Six: Loyalist

Biblical character: RUTH

Sixes are loyal and practical and driven by fear. They often use worst-case scenarios as a defense mechanism against accepting the chaos of life. Sixes often attach to authority figures or strong leaders as a way to find false security.

Ruth is a symbol of loyalty. After her husband dies, Ruth defies her mother-in-law’s plea to return to her homeland. Instead, Ruth vows to stick with Naomi, saying, “Where you go, I will go; where you lodge, I will lodge; your people shall be my people, and your God my God.” She follows Naomi to Bethlehem, where she meets Boaz.

Because of Ruth’s deep sense of devotion to those she loves, she becomes the great-grandmother of King David. Ruth is a picture of what a healthy Six looks like. They will not abandon those closest to them for any reason. Once you make friends with a Six, you have a friend for life.

Other famous Sixes: Chuck Norris, George H. W. Bush, Bilbo Baggins (The Lord of the Rings), Hamlet (Hamlet)

Seven: Enthusiast

Biblical character: KING SOLOMON

Sevens are fun, spontaneous and adventurous. They hyper-focus on the positive and sunny side of life in an attempt to avoid pain.

King Solomon is a great example of what happens when an unhealthy seven follows his impulses. Solomon begins his life in a sober way, asking for wisdom, rather than fame or wealth. God grants his this wisdom, and with it, he also acquires fame. As his life progresses, though, he becomes addicted to lust and self-indulgence, as he gathers more and more, amassing a storehouse of trinkets and hundreds of wives. He never seems satisfied. The Lord tries to warn Solomon, but he’s too far gone. In the end, he builds shrines to neighboring gods and worships them.

Other famous Sevens: Robin Williams, Benjamin Franklin, Peter Pan (Peter Pan), Poe Dameron (Star Wars)

Eight: Challenger

Biblical character: JOHN THE BAPTIZER

Eights are commanding, intense and confrontational. Act now, apologize later is an Eight’s motto. They fight for justice and advocate for the powerless. But they also struggle to admit weakness. They can domineer over people. Their greatest fear is vulnerability.

John the Baptizer gives off a strong Enneagram 8 vibe. He is direct and confrontational, not afraid to attack the spiritual leaders of his day. John was a trailblazer. He forged his own path. He didn’t care what those around him thought about him. Strong, confident, independent. John embodies a healthy or reformed eight, someone who uses their energy and strength for justice and healing.

Other famous Eights: Martin Luther King, Jr., Muhammed Ali, Darth Vader (Star Wars), Captain Marvel (Marvel movies)

Nine: Peacemaker

Biblical character: JONAH

Nines avoid conflict. They lack focus and drive. They have the least available energy of any number on the Enneagram. When healthy, though, Nines are a healing, calming presence. They know who they are and aren’t afraid to use their voice.

Jonah, the reluctant prophet, is a Nine. As a Nine, I have always felt a connection with Jonah, even before I knew the Enneagram was a thing. I identified with his resignation about preaching to a godless people, his desire to run away from the thing God calls him to, and his anger when the thing God calls him to actually works. Jonah has a nagging slothfulness that follows him through every scene in his story. God has to force Jonah’s hand by throwing into the mouth of a fish.

If you want to see the pitfalls of a Nine on full display, read Jonah.

Other famous Nines: Abraham Lincoln, Carl Jung, Harry Potter (Harry Potter), Dorothy (The Wizard of Oz)

0 FacebookTwitterPinterestEmail
Faith

The Healing Message For Each Enneagram Type That Will Transform Your Life

by Frank Powell
written by Frank Powell

I found the Enneagram six or seven years ago. I was in a dark place. I had no job. I had no prospects for a new one. I was lost, disoriented, confused. Just a few months prior, I thought I knew what I wanted to do with my life. I wanted to pastor a church. I left engineering to do it. This work gave me life. The people gave me hope. Finally, after years of pencil pushing, shackled to an 8-5 existence, I found work I loved and enjoyed. Now, here I was, four years removed from my first day as a pastor, burnt out, cynical, exhausted. I had worked at two churches in that time, and I’d just assume someone club me in the nuggets than work in a third. 

How did this happen? Why wasn’t this working out? I was so sure of my plans, so convinced of my future. 

Into this mess came the Enneagram. I don’t remember how I first stumbled across it. But I picked up Richard Rohr’s book on this ancient tool, and with enough pessimism to fill the Atlantic, began reading. At the time, I was allergic to new ideas. I blame my Christian upbringing for that. The red flags started with the cover though, as I stared at this strange symbol that resembled something from The DaVinci Code. I wasn’t sure if this book would teach me something new or cast an evil spell on my soul. I was already in a dark place, though, so I shrugged my shoulders and concluded my life couldn’t get much worse. 

Almost immediately I knew I had stumbled on something that would change my life, something of infinite worth. I looked around, like a man who found a buried treasure and wanted to ensure no one else laid eyes on his precious jewel. How had I lived the first twenty-some-odd years of life without someone mentioning the Enneagram? 

______

The Enneagram is so powerful because it reveals the primary wound we suffered as children, and the persona we created to cover our wound. 

All of us needed to hear something from God that we didn’t. That’s how our wound formed. We created a false narrative about ourselves or the world (I must be good or my presence doesn’t matter or I’m defined by what I do), and ignored the truth God already proclaimed over us. 

To heal, we must begin to breathe in the primary message we missed as children, our healing message from God. 

Each type has a core message from God, something they need to hear to find healing. If God were to approach each of us, this is the message we would hear, the words God would speak to our souls, to heal the deep wounds we’ve carried from the time we were young lads. I want to share these messages with you. 

TYPE ONE

Healing message: You don’t have to be perfect to be good. You’re fully loved despite your imperfection.

Ones have a strong moral compass. But they’re also color blind. They tend to see the world in black and white, right and wrong, good and bad. You get the idea. This comes from their childhood wound, an impulsive addiction to do-goodedness. 

Most ones attach their worth to their deeds. They believe they must do good to be good, which is a dangerous game because you never end up doing enough good to feel like you’re good. So, the message God wants ones to hear is they’re loved just as they are, because of their imperfection.

TYPE TWO

Healing message: Your giving doesn’t determine your worth. You’re wanted and loved just as you are.

Twos are all about relationships. They can enter a room and determine your needs without saying a word to you. The problem is that twos often find their identity in their giving. They have no idea what they want or who they are apart from meeting the needs of everyone around them. 

So, God comes to you, twos, to remind you that you’re loved just as you are. Find out what you want from life. Devote time and energy to the man in the mirror. God loves that man or woman very much.

TYPE THREE

Healing message: Success and upward mobility will never give you peace. You’re worth is found in who you are, not what you do. 

Ian Cron says, “Being a three and living in America is like being an alcoholic living above a saloon.” America is a three country. Transformation is very hard for a Three in this country. We champion the values that inhibit their growth: success, achievement, efficiency. Threes are the go-getters among us. They work long hours. They struggle with failure. They often attach their worth to what they do. That’s why they need to hear this healing message and allow it to sink deep in their bones. Success will never, ever fill the longing in your soul. It’s an empty pursuit. 

TYPE FOUR

Healing message: You aren’t missing anything. Don’t be ashamed. We see you. We love you. 

Fours believe God created them defective. They lack some internal wiring that the rest of the world has. So, most fours wrestle with envy. Fours are also emotional. Fours often mistake emotion for identity. They ride the waves of the latest feeling. As you can imagine, this creates a lot of instability, which leads to insecurity, and, ultimately, shame. 

Fours, God didn’t create you with a missing piece. God loves you with all his being. He looks down on you and sees you and smiles. You are loved. Let this truth be your guiding light.

TYPE FIVE

Healing message: You will never find capital-l Life by detaching from reality. Don’t run from the present. God has given you everything you need to live fully in this moment. 

Fives see the world through a lens of scarcity. They fear they don’t have the physical and emotional resources to engage fully with reality, so they detach and sink into their mind. Fives can appear distant and aloof. 

But this is all a defense mechanism against pain. Fives believe they can avoid emotional and spiritual pain by withdrawing. They don’t realize, though, that running away from life is its own form of suffering. The only path to healing and wholeness is to engage fully with reality. God gives us everything we need not live fully in every moment.

TYPE SIX

Healing message: Nothing is outside of God’s grasp. Everything will be okay. You are safe.

I know sixes almost as well as I know my own number, nine. I’m surrounding by them. I have siblings and in-laws and best friends who are sixes. I also have two kids with strong six energy. Sixes are loyal and, like ones, often follow the rules. But sixes do it for a different reason: fear. Sixes are motivated by fear and anxiety and worst-case scenario thinking. To be honest, I feel bad for sixes. With the 24/7 barrage of fear-based news stories and social media timelines and so on, it’s a tough time to be a six.

More than ever, sixes need to remember that they’re safe. Not that bad things won’t happen, but that everything belongs to God and falls within his grasp. So, in the end, everything will be okay. 

TYPE SEVEN

Healing message: You have everything you need. You don’t need to manufacture peace and joy. They are already inside of you. Rest, and be. 

Sevens see the positive sides of life. They’re fun and adventurous and spontaneous, always up for a good time. Sevens are also allergic to anything negative. They avoid hard and difficult situations and emotions. They believe they can outrun pain and suffering or color over it with shades of orange and yellow. 

Like all numbers, their behaviors are a defense mechanism. For sevens, they believe they can find True Life by avoiding the dark parts of this life. This leads many sevens to appear disingenuous and superficial. Sevens must understand that you can’t avoid suffering. Pain is built in to the human experience. If you want to find wholeness and healing, you must learn to embrace the light and the dark, the good and the bad.  

TYPE EIGHT

Healing message: Wearing an armor of toughness to avoid emotional intimacy isn’t courageous. It’s cowardly. To find true strength, you must take a chance on vulnerability.

The tone of this healing message sounds harsh. That’s by design. Eights appreciate this no non-sense, straight-to-the-point vernacular. Eights have big energy. You can feel the presence of eights before you see them. They have this energy, though, because they’ve had to develop a persona of strength to cope with their childhood wound. 

For eights to heal, they must learn to embrace intimacy and vulnerability. This takes courage, lots of courage. But, with a lot of patience and practice, it is possible. 

TYPE NINE

Healing message: The absence of conflict is not the presence of peace. Your presence matters. Your voice has value. 

Full disclosure: I’m a nine, and I hate it. I love it somedays, but I mostly hate it. I wish I had the assertiveness of eights or the ambition of threes or positive energy of sevens. 

My whole life, I’ve wrestled with insignificance, this feeling that my life, my voice doesn’t matter. What’s the point? Many nines ride the coat tails of their significant other and call this a life. It’s not. You’re not alive if you’re siphoning energy from those closest to you. God wants nines to know that he created them with a unique purpose. He gave them a voice, and he wants them to use it. So, nines, use it. 

_________

The Enneagram can and will transform your life, if you commit to doing the work. If you’re unfamiliar with the Enneagram, here are a few books you can read to get started:

The Road Back to You by Ian Cron and Suzanne Stabile

The Enneagram: A Christian Perspective by Richard Rohr

The Enneagram by Helen Palmer

0 FacebookTwitterPinterestEmail
Culture

8 Life-Changing Lessons I’ve Learned Since Graduation

by Frank Powell
written by Frank Powell

I received my college diploma thirteen years ago. It feels like thirteen-hundred years ago, though. I’ve lived multiple lives since then, some of my own choosing, some not. 

Graduation is a crossroads. It’s one of life’s biggest transitions. 

The most important lessons you’ll learn are in front of you. Some lessons, however, I can tell you now because I’ve been there. These lessons, if you soak them in, can keep your life free from a lot of unnecessary suffering. Why do some people seem to thrive in the years to come and others don’t? How do you experience capital-l Life? I don’t have all the answers. But these might help. 

Because I’m a sharer, here are the most important lessons I’ve learned since graduation. These are true, by the way, whether you’re a graduate or not. 

Here we go. 

1. Nothing is wasted. Everything matters.

In the years to come, you will experience days so good and full that you will reach the end of them and ask, “Can life get any better than this? Surely not.” I’ve had a few of those days. You might think those days occurred in the big moments of my life. The day I got married and held my kids for the first time. And they did. But I also had them in otherwise ordinary settings. Hold onto these days. Soak them in. 

Because you will also have hard days. You will have really hard days, days where the suffering is so intense it feels tangible, like an actual hand is choking the life from your bones. Since graduating, I’ve been diagnosed with cancer. I’ve changed careers twice. I held my dream job in the palms of my life only to be told I wasn’t the man for it. I lost a family member to suicide. My parents divorced. I lost a child. Oh, and I developed a chronic illness that sucked the life from my bones and left me in language-less pain, bed-ridden for almost three years. 

It’s easy to look at the highs and the lows and the plateaus and assign them a moral value. This day is bad. This day is good. And so on. It’s natural to look at the failures and disappointments and setbacks and assume those days are a hindrance to your life’s journey. 

Don’t do this.

Because everything matters. God uses all of it. Every single moment of your life matters. The good, the bad, the ordinary. It all counts. Even our mistakes. Yes, God even uses our sin. Somehow and for some reason, he uses it. 

2. The world is not caving in. 

We need your optimism and hopeful naivete right now. The optimism that believes in the future. I hope you believe in the future. We need that so bad right now. Most of us no longer believe in our future. We’ve listened to too many talking heads, too many fear-mongering news analysts whose only objective is to sell us fear. They’re good salesmen (and women). We’ve bought it. 

We believe the human experiment is reaching its end. It’s not, though. Here are the facts. At this point in history, we’re experiencing all-time lows in infant mortality, poverty, famine, and violence. When COVID threatened to destroy us, we developed a vaccine in months and saved hundreds of thousands of lives. Humanity is NOT on its last leg. The human experiment hasn’t failed. 

The best is yet to come. We need optimism that hasn’t been tainted by the suffering and cynicism of life. We need you. So give it to us. Show up and show us how we should live, with energy and passion and hope. 

3. Your integrity is more important than your accomplishments. 

In the days ahead, you will build a career and maybe find a spouse and build a family. You will face decisions of all kinds. In your decision-making, remember this: your integrity is the most thing about you. It’s more important than your job title. It’s more valuable than all the money in the world. Protect your integrity at all costs. 

Here the thing, though. Protecting your integrity will cost you. I don’t know how. But at some point, money or recognition or success or even friends or family will ask you to compromise your integrity. One or more of these things will ask you to make a decision that goes against who you are. Don’t do it. Whatever you gain is temporary. It’s fading, even as you acquire it. And what you sacrifice is far greater. You’re sacrificing the chance to live untethered from your true self.  

There’s great freedom in integrity. This is the only way to find freedom, by the way. Don’t give it away for a few coins or a fleeting title or false security.

4. Take care of yourself. 

I lived the first twenty-seven years of my life unconcerned with my body. I pushed myself at work. I pushed myself physically. I stayed up late. I ate too much. I didn’t establish boundaries in my relationships. I didn’t prioritize number one. 

When I turned twenty-eight, the years of neglect cost me. I began experiencing nausea and body aches that progressed into pain so severe I struggled to stand or leave my house. I became bed-ridden. 

Thankfully, I found a program that gave me my life back. I would’ve never lost it, though, had I taken care of myself. 

Self-care is not selfish. Make the decision now that you will prioritize yourself, your well-being. Take breaks. Pace your days. Get plenty of sleep. Life is a marathon, not a sprint, and there are no medals for finishing first. Walk the marathon as often you can. 

Listen to your body. Your body speaks to you. If you listen to it, you could save yourself years of pain and suffering. 

5. Make mistakes. 

Don’t be afraid to make mistakes. Don’t be afraid of anything. If you’re going to fear something, though, fear the status quo. Fear comfort. Fear a life that reaches its end having accomplished nothing. Failure is not bad. Failure is a sign of life.

The mistakes you make provide the greatest opportunities for growth. As strange as this sounds, you must make mistakes to find capital-L life. So, don’t be afraid of them. Take risks. Fall down. When you do, get back up. Learn. Repeat. 

6. There’s nothing wrong with an ordinary life. 

There’s a toxic message that hovers in the atmosphere of America, a message that says your life is worthless unless you live in the spotlight. You must cure cancer or amass thousands of TikTok followers or whatever. This is a lie. The allure of fame is huge. The payoff is not. 

There’s nothing wrong with an ordinary life, a life where you love the people around you and care for your community and prioritize your well-being and make the right choices. This is the good life. This is where you find joy and peace and hope. 

7. Live in kairos time, not chronos time. 

Time has two systems of measurement: chronos and kairos. The first is clock time. It’s the hours and minutes and seconds as determined by the thing on wrist. Most people are enslaved to this time. This is not the way God created us to live, though. It’s a mindless existence. We go from here to there, and never stop to ask why we’re doing what we’re doing. It leaves no space for the presence of God. 

Always leave space to experience the presence of God. This is kairos time.

Kairos is transformative time. It’s God time. Kairos is time outside the clock hands. When you live this way, you’re not enslaved to the hours in the day. You can stop and ask questions. You can look for God. You see opportunities. You prioritize what you value most. 

You don’t have to live in the shackles of the clock. You can choose a different path. This is the path all the great ones choose. It’s hard. It requires awareness and intentional decisions and sacrifice. But living in kairos time is the only way to experience True Life.

8. Never stop learning. 

Most of your life, teachers threw assignments in your face and told you to read this or that book and come back the next time with the right answer. All that is over. 

Congrats. Now, I would like to welcome you to the classroom of life. This is your most important class, more important than all your previous classes combined. You never graduate from this class. You have no assignments or textbooks, and there are no wrong answers. The only way to fail this class is to refuse to show up, to live your coming days in willful ignorance, indulging every selfish desire.

A lot of people stop learning after they graduate. I pray you don’t. This is the surest way to waste your life. The world has so much to teach you, so many beautiful and amazing lessons. If you press in, you can experience a life you never thought possible.

Visit new places. Read a lot of books. Learn from different people. Stay curious. This is your task for the remainder of your life. It’s a humbling and exhilarating task. 

_______

Here’s to a new season. May you learn and grow. May you find peace and love and joy. Good luck. 

Grace and peace, friends.

0 FacebookTwitterPinterestEmail
Newer Posts
Older Posts