Dream a Little Dream

Close your eyes.

With your eyes closed, I want you to picture your biggest dreams.

A tall order for sure.

But not only your biggest dreams . . . the most farfetched, ludicrous, the “You must be out of your mind” variety—that’s what I want you to picture.  What thoughts did you have as the images of your WILDEST dreams played in your head?

Were you scared? Did you immediately begin to doubt yourself? Did you instantly hear your ‘be realistic’ teachers and parents’ voices? Did you, subconsciously, start reeling off all the reasons these dreams can never come true?

Or when I asked you to do this exercise, did you get excited? Did you picture these dreams as attainable . . . the prize of your race and fruits of your labor? Were they so vivid, alive and real, as you visualized them, that in some way it feels they are just a matter of time because you are so hell-bent on achieving them?

Did your heart beat a little faster . . . adrenaline start running through your veins . . . palms get sweaty . . did a smile spread over your face?

All are natural responses, but what I want you to know is this—as long as there is still breath in your lungs, it’s not too late to turn these dreams into reality! There is no such thing as being realistic, being too old, too young or too rusty to accomplish the things that make life worth living . . . the moments that take your breath away, the moments that become great stories and make for wonderful memories!

If your dream is to become a school teacher, leaving an indelible mark on thousands of the lives of thousands of children . . . do it! If you have always wanted to write a book, but don’t know where to start . . . I’ll give you advice, that I myself am using, it starts with words on page! No, your 250 pages won’t just magically appear, but words become a sentence, sentences become a paragraph, paragraphs become a page, pages become chapters and chapters become a book! Maybe your dream is to become a professional athlete . . . then get to training! When your peers are going to party, or still asleep, start honing your craft. Run more than they do. Get more shots up than they do. Hit the batting cage. Get out the JUG machine. Throw those passes. Lift weights like your life depended on it. Practice, practice, practice! If your dream is to become a musician that touches and inspires the world, then pick up that instrument, write that song, hit the studio and heal the world one note and song at a time! What’s the worst that can happen? You fail? Do you know how many people NEVER try because they are scared to death of failure? Or just as bad, do you know how many never attempt to do something they really want because they’re TOO scared of SUCCESS?

Maybe your dream is to become a doctor, so you can care for children around the world with a heart to reach those in third-world countries . . . then hit those books and ask for a heart of compassion that supersedes the one you have now! Your dream could be to become a social worker, a policeman, fireman, a lawyer, a businessman. Whatever your dream is, no matter the pursuit or field, it takes putting forth the effort. We all have different gifts and talents as unique as the God who gave them and as specific as their recipient, but the one thing ALL dreams have in common is something many are scared of—HARD WORK!

We’re familiar with the motto, “Hard work beats talent when talent doesn’t work hard,” right? Control what you can control—whether you’re on the court, in the field, sitting in a classroom, or out in the work force, that’s the one thing you can ALWAYS do— control what you can control-- and do so with great effort, fierce determination and with a positive attitude!

I hate to break it to you, but there will always be someone better, BUT there will never be a single person on Earth, or throughout the history of time, who can do what you do in the way that you do it! That’s a fact!

What happens if you put forth all that work and get nothing out of it? What if ‘THEY’ are right . . . you’ll never accomplish it, you’ll never be THAT successful, you’re just going to embarrass yourself! What if, what if, what if. When I think of that, I think of the phrase, “If IFs and BUTs were candy and nuts, we’d all have a Merry Christmas!” While that’s humorous, the truth behind it holds true . . . You can’t be focused on the ifs, buts, what ifs, the he say/she say. The reality is simple—If you want something badly enough, you’ll go after it. You’ll not only go after it, you’ll pursue it with reckless abandonment!

Like four ferocious dogs are nipping at your heels, you’ll run after it like nothing else matters. But the pursuit, no matter how great or small, begins with simply doing. What if my words don’t reach the multitudes . . . what if only five people read it . . . what if my past is too big to overcome . . . what if I’m not good enough . . . what if I’m never taken seriously. . . what if this is just a vain pursuit . . . enough already! I’m just doing. No longer thinking of all the reasons this can’t happen and just doing my damnedest to make it happen!

One of my life mantras is, “Trust the process, but even more so the Processor (God). While I think that approach, along with the aforementioned ones are vital, I know, without a shadow of doubt, we were and are meant to use our gifts and talents. There is NO greater way than to honor the Gifter! Doing that is our gift to the world—one NOBODY can give except you!

“ For I know the plans I have for you-- plans to prosper you, not to harm you, but to give you a future.” Jer. 29:11

See that? To prosper you. In the Bible, do not fear is mentioned 365 times. Could it be overcoming fear is one of the biggest keys of accomplishment? Could it be overcoming our fears is the lynchpin to success? Is it possible adopting a fearless attitude in the pursuit of worthwhile things is one of the very reasons we live? Could it be life is meant to LIVE!?!

What causes your body to radiate with joy when you’re doing it? What is your biggest source of happiness? What activity, occupation or hobby can you not imagine your life without? What makes life worth living to you? See it? Taste it? If it was taken away, would life be same?

If you’re that passionate about it, then renew your vigor in multiplying your talent. Work harder than you’ve ever worked. Don’t let anything or anybody stand in your way! You may NEVER reach the summit, but I promise you it will be a BEAUTIFUL CLIMB! Are back-up plans good to have? Sure, but the reward of the journey isn’t where you end up. The reward is each step of the journey. It’s truly the destination. There is more blessing in each step of the race than most seem to realize. Why do you think there is so much opposition to you even running to start with? There is a devil behind every bush telling you you can’t—do you think that’s coincidence?

Can you imagine what would’ve happened to basketball, or to the world of sneakers, if Michael Jordan would’ve quit after he was cut from his varsity basketball team at Laney High School? Or how different the world of art would be if Michaelangelo, or Picasso, would’ve put down the brush the first bad painting they did? How different would the world be if the kid in school, who was once called, “Non-creative and one who didn’t have much of an imagination,” would’ve listened to his teacher? Who was that you may ask . . . none other than Walt Disney! Thomas Edison failed over 1,000 times to invent the light bulb—ONE THOUSAND, but do you know what his response was when asked, by a young reporter, if he felt like a failure?

“Why would I feel like a failure? And why would I ever give up?  I now know definitely over 9,000 ways that an electric light bulb will not work. Success is almost in my grasp!"

Whatever dream you still have, it’s not too late! That dream you had, as a little boy or little girl, can still be realized! Set out to make your coffin lose worth! Don’t take your dreams into the ground with you! Dare to be different and find the courage to do what so many fail to do-- get off the starting line! Have faith, set your vision, get focused, work hard, remain humble stay at it! Where it leads . . . who knows, but no matter the destination one thing is certain, it all started with a DREAM!

 So come on, won’t you dare to dream a little dream with me?

My Advice

Ever noticed how it's so easy to give advice yet so hard to follow it?
To simply spit the words out, but so difficult to swallow it

I don't have all the answers but I still continue to learn
The fire of ignorance is rampant--I keep pouring water-- I refuse to just let it burn

I've lived long enough to know, next to God, I don't know too much
But I do know man can't remain unchanged underneath the Potter's touch

I am the clay and He's the molder, shaping me with Grace not underneath strict laws
And loving me completely despite my many flaws

The wheel brings such pain, yet on it, I find healing
Only there do I learn all the times I hit the floor will only help me reach my ceiling

A work in progress to be expected . . . yes this much is certain
But God does His best work, when all is quiet, as He molds us behind the curtain

So I'll keep passing on what I know as I run this race called life
And pray my words bring hope and wisdom more than they bring pain or strife

If there is one piece of advice I could give it would be not to chase the wind
But to let the Potter shape you only after you make the Potter your Friend.

JMB

The Great Exploration

To EXPLORE the masses is to explore yourself
What flows through your veins; what's the purpose behind your breath?
Finding pure joy like Ferrell only this time you're the Elf
It's opening up the book instead of leaving it on the shelf

To EXPLORE painted leaves as they fall is to EXPLORE the Creator
and to question if the wind or the tree is greater
One no greater than the other-- both a beautiful sight to savor
Both were breathed to life in the hands of our Savior!

To EXPLORE the sky is to catch a glimpse of the King's splendor
Making us all unworthy borrowers of the oh so gracious Lender

And oh so gracious He is with each breath He gives and the blood coursing through our veins
With the warmth of the shining Sun and His endless complete Love overcoming ALL our shame
I took the road less traveled though it's the hardest one EXPLORE much less to take
And I EXPLORED what it's like to broken, though I asked God to give me a break.

JMB

He Sees Differently than Us

God’s eyes are not our eyes.

What we find impressive, He finds sad. What causes us to marvel causes Him to bring correction. What we view as can’t-be-missed, He views as a complete miss. What we find wise, He finds foolish. In short, He is God and we are not!

We view appearances . . . God views our hearts! There have been times my Twitter feed has been filled with scripture, inspirational quotes and quotes from great thinkers and theologians, but my mind was filled with lust, my hands wet from dipping them into the vast ocean of sexual gratification and texts inbox filled with women. Conversely, there are times where my timelines don’t have much of a display of Jesus and I am, in fact, walking closely with Thou.  Is it a matter of being fake? While that’s part of it . . I also believe our timelines reflect who we are in our hearts, spirits and souls—at times who we WANT to be, but not yet are. If we’re honest, our timelines are a representation of what we believe, but not what we always consistently live.

We can do the best things, most selfless acts possible, dripping with altruism, from the outside looking in, with the wrong motives and they become detestable to a holy God. Conversely, we fall short, miss the mark, fall on our faces, but have our hearts in the right place, truly seeking after God’s own heart, and our failures become more of a pleasing offering than when we do things in hopes of getting recognition, basking in the glory or just wanting to be viewed as bigger than we really are.

See, we, as believers, must serve with only one intention . . . giving God the glory! Many of us will never get to be in the spotlight, sign autographs, take pictures or have a fan base. We will never have strangers clamoring for our attention when we go about our daily lives, never have them beg for RTs and follows and never have meals interrupted by people who choose their want over common decency. (Can’t they at least wait ‘til after the meal?) I pray if you do, you point the people who follow you to Jesus by acknowledging the Source of your peace, your happiness, your joy, the origin of your blessings!

But it’s not about how many people see us do good things as much as our motives behind why we do them! Man sees WHAT we do, while God sees WHY we do them. I think of the man who came to ask Jesus a question and called him ‘good teacher’ . . .  to which Jesus responded, “Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone.” (Mark 10:18) When we do things, it’s not about looking good, showing off or being good, after all, how can we be good when our righteousness is but filthy rags to Him, it’s about simply showing others how awesome God is by showing His Love to them through how we love them!

I’ve learned to view ‘MY’ good work, altruistic acts, in the same way of our Savior. Numerous times in the Gospel Jesus said go and tell no one. . . the man with leprosy, the blind man who received sight and even more amazingly the parents who had just watched God in the flesh raise their daughter to life—all of them had the same directive. Why you may ask? I believe it’s so people won’t let the miracle distract us from the message and the One who fulfilled it. One of the most incredible mysteries is how the King of Kings and Lord of Lords could become meek and humble! The only One who deserves the glory is the One who made us—God (Romans 11:36). . . sadly, He SO often is robbed of it.

Jesus was very clear we aren’t even supposed to let the left hand know what the right hand is doing much less tell anyone. Many people want to look good, appear ‘holy’ be the hero or heroine, so they post picture after picture of philanthropy work, pelt Facebook and Twitter with occasion after occasion of them looking good. While it’s natural to want to receive a ‘thatta boy’ or ‘thatta girl,’ if your post isn’t to encourage people to roll up their sleeves and whose ultimate goal is to give God the glory, it’s nothing more than an idol and a heaping pile of warm dung.

I know apart from Christ I can do NOTHING good and whether it’s in my acts of service or in my writing and hopefully one day life itself, I only want to see God glorified. I enjoy compliments, but any compliment I receive for me is not only misguided in reception but slowly becomes fatal. May You be lifted high God. I’m so thankful my attempts at blackening Your eye only glorifies You more for it shows how desperately I needed, need and will always need a Savior!! I’m equally as grateful I haven’t, in my selfishness, contaminated the beautiful Ocean that is God by pissing on the shore as I saw a blog state it.

“The motive and ultimate purpose of pride is to rob God of legitimate glory and pursue self-glorification, contending for supremacy with Him thereby attempting in effect to deprive God of something only He is worthy to receive.” - C.J. Mahaney – Humility

Psalm 115:1 Not to us, Lord, not to us but to your name be the glory, because of your love and faithfulness.

I Want You to Know

Life is full of knowledge. It’s an ongoing education until our Earthly layover departs for the afterlife, so it got me thinking . . . what do I, in my growing knowledge and deep-rooted wisdom, want you to know? Hmmm, that’s quite a quandary. If I could pass along advice of the absolutely, no matter what, can’t be missed variety, what would I say? To be more authentic and candid, I did not give it much thought. For you see, the things most important, and dear to us, are carried in your soul, tucked away in your heart and coursing through your veins.

I want you to know Jesus loves YOU. It doesn’t matter what you’ve done, who you’ve been or how many times you did either . . . He loves you completely, wholly, relentlessly and beautifully! God could’ve scrapped his creation and started again once He saw us choosing things other than Him, but instead He sent Jesus to die on the cross for our sins—past, present and future sins. I want you to know that!! You may worry about not being good enough. Guess what? I’m not either! NONE, no not one, is good enough. It’s a FREE gift paid with the ultimate cost. That’s what Jesus did. He paid a debt He did NOT owe and one we could never pay! No matter where you are, God’s arms are not too short to reach you.

Anything is possible with Jesus and anything is possible, in a negative way, without Jesus . . . even for a moment. You can go every day for the rest of your life doing everything according to the Ten Commandments, adhering to God’s Word (The Bible) in every area of your life . . . you could share Jesus and allow Him to serve through you, walking in humility, gratitude and Love and guess what? God would not love you ANY MORE than He does right this very second in all our dirtiness, in all our pain, shame, unbelief and fear.  

Conversely, you can do the exact opposite. You can lead a selfish life, breaking every single one of the Ten Commandments and going against the Golden Rule. You can reject the Truth that is Jesus and every good thing and guess what? God won’t love you ANY LESS! That is mind blowing isn’t it!?! See, that is how BIG, unrelenting, POWERFUL and amazing God’s Love is!! It is COMPLETE unlike any completeness we have ever known.

I want you to know!

I want you to know people will disappoint you, be disloyal, unavailable, or even worse both, but God is ALWAYS faithful. There may be times we feel God has abandoned us, but that’s simply a lie. Even our perceived abandonment, at His hands, is better than the world’s embrace. He works ALL things together for our good—even our tragedies. God is before the tragedy, during the tragedy and after the tragedy. Nothing catches Him off guard or catches Him by surprise. Many things will happen this side of Heaven, we don’t understand, but I don’t believe we are meant to . . . that 720-degree understanding would make us God and we are not. I believe we are just supposed to trust. The Devil will try to get us to ask WHY, but if we believe God has plans to prosper us and not harm us the why isn’t as important and the WHAT—What is God teaching me through us, what will He do with this and HOW—how will He use it in my life for His glory?

I want you to know!

I want you to know the Devil will try to convince you it is TOO late to return to God or to come to God for the first time. That is nothing more than a lie straight from the pits of Hell! The reality is—as long as there is breath in your lungs; it’s not too late to tell him you aren’t going to be the same person he’s used to. It’s never too late to make a change, to give Christ a chance to operate in your life and to find your peace, hope, joy and happiness abiding in the shadow of the cross. He will do his level-best to make you feel like you are not worthy of God’s love . . . that you’re not good enough. When he does this, reminding you of your past, remind him of his future! He is already defeated, but in the same way God’s power resurrected Jesus when we operate in our OWN power, we resurrect the Devil and give him part-control of our lives. He is out to lie to us, steal from us, kill us, destroy us and I believe one of his favorite tactics—to DISTRACT us.

If Satan can get us to take our eyes off Jesus . . . He can, over the course of time, pull us away from the fold and isolate us. Then when he has us alone, that’s when he pounces with more ferocity than we expected, using our weaknesses to tear us down and make us feel defeated. Two of his biggest distractions are: busying us with anything that doesn’t include Jesus and technology. We are more attached to technology, which in-turn discourages true fellowship, opportunities to encourage and to receive it and hinders growth of relationships.

I want you to know!

God wants us to know we are all important, all worthy, through His Grace, of love and all our heart’s desires, but the biggest thing he wants is for Him to be our biggest desire and the Reason we have our meaning, belonging and sense of purpose. We exist to know Him, share His Love and to do so for His Glory \o/

That’s what He wants us to know!

God doesn't Need You

There she was quickly, eagerly and enthusiastically reaching up and sticking her hand in the pockets. All I could do was smile. How could I not? Her blonde hair, sparkling eyes, big smile and excitement from a pure heart melted my heart.

At 41 inches tall, it was no easy task as she strained to retrieve the pool balls from their temporary homes. On her tippy-toes, and with a look for fierce determination, allowed her to achieve her goal. Before long, thanks to my four-year-old Karson Faith, the balls were racked, they served their purpose until one-by-one they vanished into the pockets again.

As I watched her on her mission, God spoke to me and said that's you. Was He talking about me being four? Obviously not, but I quickly caught on. That's WHO HE WANTS US TO BE. God's plan will fold out . . . His purposes will be done here on Earth . . . and He will reign victorious whether we choose to participate or not. Just like the balls would've been racked and the game would've been played no matter who retrieved the balls to put in the triangle. Such is the case with us!

God DOESN'T NEED YOU-- He doesn't NEED me, but want to hear something beautiful? He WANTS us . . . He wants our love . . . He wants our time . . . He wants our gifts, our talents and our lives! He wants us to trust Him with ALL of it! But again, He doesn't NEED us. His Ultimate Plan will succeed whether we eagerly jump in, like launching ourselves into a pool on a hot day, or if we choose to sit out like a basketball game after we've played 10 games in a row.

The Truth is we have WAY higher view of ourselves than we should. We are cocky, arrogant, self-centered. We think we are being generous when we give God some of our time when, in reality, without God there is NO time . . . we have no breath in our lungs, no purpose, no meaning, no family, no friends, no careers, no success! God did not send Jesus to Earth because He 'needed' us; He sent Him here to die for our sins because He loves us more than we could ever imagine in two lifetimes much less one.

He longingly wants us. He wants to give us the BEST instead of settling on scraps. The best I am referring to is Himself-- Jesus! When God says in John 10:10 He came to give us Life . . . not just life but an abundant life, He was referring to what? No . . . who! He was talking about Himself. This life can afford many great things! Happy moments, funny moments, joyous moments. We can experience a special kind of love in our wives, our husbands, in our girlfriends and boyfriends. We can share in instances in time where we feel like this is living . . . moments we wish we could save in a bottle-- where it can't possibly get better than this!

I've heard it said, "Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by every moment that takes our breath away!" No matter what happiness we may find or how much contentment we feel, not even our best moments, once-in-a-lifetime moments can compare to intimate moments shared with the Creator . . . with our God and with our Savior! Pursuing, living or chasing any thing not named Jesus are nothing more than vain attempts at trying to fill a bucket that has a hole in the bottom. It will NEVER happen! But that certainly doesn't stop us from pouring water in just as quickly as we breathe does it? It simply won't work. How do I know? Because I have tried and STILL do at times. Solomon calls it a, "Chasing after the wind."

Go Daddy

During the pool showdown between my brother-in-law David and me, Karson Faith did what any son or daughter would do-- she cheered for her Dad. "Go Daddy," she screamed. Isn't that how we should be with God? Whether you view yourself as being His son or daughter, you are. You may feel like you couldn't possibly be His after alllllllllllllll the things you've done, places you've done and hurt you've caused, but every single sin, each disappointment and the immense pain is covered completely in just one drop of blood out of Jesus's body as He hung up and died.

While some people don't feel 'witnessing' is part of their job description, or duties, as a believer, all witnessing is is saying, "Go Daddy" to the world. Sure there is tragedy in the world. Sure there are calamities. In short, there is a lot of evil, darkness and ugly in this world. . . But it doesn't take perfect (spiritual) eyesight to see God at work in our lives just ONE trip to the Optometrist. One encounter with the living God can transform our lives if we let it. There are moments every single day where we can see God if we just take the time to notice. The truth is we are just too busy and distracted. Sometimes we are blinded or 'asleep in the light' as Keith Green says.

One glance at the sky, beholding all its glorious splendor . . . the warm sun rays on our skin . . . the serenity of the ocean . . . the gorgeous sunset . . . the mountains touching the sky with their peaks . . . the lush green grass . . . the birds chirping . . . the flower in the middle of the sidewalk . . . the look in your child's eyes as they look at you . . . infectious laughter from the elderly woman at the store . . . the driver who lets you over on your commute to work . . . the closer parking spot . . . the unexpected raise, or bonus, at work . . . your coach telling you good job with a pat on the back . . . the thoughtful text from a friend when they know you're going through something . . . I could go on and on and on, but these are all occasions we should proudly proclaim, "Go Daddy" just like my precious niece did! And while these moments can just as easily be overlooked when we're just too unaware to notice or too caught up in ourselves.

Simple, unassuming moments-- like your niece being a good little helper-- can become powerful teaching moments. God doesn't need you to be a student. . . doesn't need you to be obedient . . . and doesn't need you to love Him. See, He was God before you, before me and will be God after we're gone. But OH HOW He wants us! Simply put, He loves us, so He invites us to be part of the Greatest Love Story ever written and most valiant victory of all-time. He doesn't want us to accept counterfeit love, settle for cheap substitutes, or imitations, not when we could have His Love!

One day EVERY knee shall bow and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord. He doesn't need you for that to happen, but He's inviting you . . . softly whispering YOUR name. Will you answer?

On Top of the Mountain

I’ve seen dreams that move the mountains/Hope that doesn’t ever end/Even when the sky is falling/And I’ve seen miracles just happen/silent prayers get answered/Broken hearts become brand new/That’s what faith can do.

Those lyrics from Kutless’s song “That’s What Faith Can Do” are the words I would use to describe a moment 35 years in the making—the day my Dad and I went hiking. You may scoff and say I’m being over-dramatic, but it was a poignant moment with the significance not lost on either one of us.

“Dad, want to go hiking with me next week?”

“Sure, I would love to. When?”

“Let me check my work schedule and I’ll see when I’m off.”

“We can go to South Mountain.”

“Actually, I think we should go to Crowder’s Mountain.”

“That sounds wonderful. I’ve never, ever been there in my entire life.”

“Sounds like a plan Stan,” and with those words our plans were signed, sealed and delivered . . . a Dad/son outing just the two of us. I was so excited, considering my Dad and I have never gone and done anything just the two of us not counting going to watch the Carolina Panthers play when I was a sports editor and he was my photographer for the Lincoln Times-News.

My Dad, who is now one of my best friends and biggest supporters, and I weren’t close growing up. As is often the case, with being a product of divorce, I saw him every other weekend. I knew he loved me and he knew I loved him. We remained in each other’s prayers, but we loved each other from a distance. I know I speak for both of us when I say we were selfish . . . there were times where we were hurt from the other’s actions . . . and we wanted that relationship more than anything in the world, yet too disobedient and stubborn to take even the proverbially hard first step.

I’ve seen dreams that climb the mountain (move the mountains). That’s what that day was—a dream that came true. A blue-eyed, blonde-headed boy’s dream coming to fruition as a brown-headed, albeit with a receding hair line, grown-man.  While that moment was WAY TOO LONG in the making, it happened because of faith. Hope that doesn’t ever end/even when the sky is falling/And I’ve seen miracles just happen/silent prayers get answered . . . our hope never ended that we would one day have the type of closeness we both desired. We always maintained faith that God would not only wash away all the past hurt, and bitterness, in His perfect grace and Son’s blood, but that He would restore our relationship in a way ONLY He, the Restorer of all things, can.

Under the loving touch of Papa, God has restored our relationship before doing something even more amazing building it stronger than ever before. It’s no coincidence Jesus was a carpenter in His younger days! There is simply nothing too broken in His hands. He is the ultimate Frank the Fixer! And that’s what our faith, mixed with deep longings of two neglected hearts, did once they met Jehovah Rapha.

My uncle, my Dad’s older (68) brother Bob, from his death bed, texted these words, “ Have a great hike with your Dad tomorrow. Love and prayers! June 3, 2014 4:06 p.m.  

Although my anticipation had reached a fever pitch, that thoughtfulness in the form of 47 letters and 11 words, let me know something special was on the horizon.

There we sat, after driving 25 minutes, in the parking lot as my Dad tearfully expressed his gratitude for this special day. I said little. . . but as he sobbed, I joined him with joyful tears running over in my heart, my eyes teared up. It was a moment I’ll never forget. Two men forsaking their egos and exchanging machismo for humbled gratitude. . . it was beauty that would make Heidi Klum blush.

We made the 2.8 trek up the mountain. Though I wouldn’t call the terrain treacherous, it was challenging in spots. My Dad and I took pictures along the way—of the Timber rattlesnake we prayerfully were protected from, of the scenery, the rocks, the lush trees, the billowing clouds, the challenging trail. When we made it to the top, we had a picnic. My Dad had my favorite—a peanut butter and jelly and some potato chips. Even though, we were only on top of the mountain, we were on top of the world!

ONLY GOD is capable of orchestrating this moment. I soaked it all in like a sponge, attempting to absorb an entire ocean drop by drop—the cool breeze, the sun’s warmth, the Creator’s beauty and my Dad . . . a man who used to resemble a stranger, who now is one of my best friends, my mentor, one of my heroes and brother. I listened to his words. It wasn’t so much what was said. It was the magical instant, sitting on those rocks where we were just ‘there’ in complete silence. There are few twinkles of time as special, familiar and filled with contentment than that of silence shared—not uncomfortable or awkward—between friends. It’s magical. When any need to utter a single syllable is swept away like the quietest tornado.

Broken hearts become brand new/That’s what faith can do.

In the past 10 years, my Dad has endured much pain, grief and sorrow. Lost two kids, 16 and 22, a marriage, all three of his brothers and nearly his life, twice, and while he has every reason to bitter, he’s learned how to focus on the restored life God has given him-- a true helpmate, encouraging partner and best friend his wife Gracie, his health, a Kingdom family, two kids who appreciate him more than ever before and eyes that no longer are blind—eyes full of sight with a heart full of love. His broken heart has become brand new!

Each step up that mountain and each imprint back down, I was that blue-eyed little boy again. The hike was in some ways the completion of a rite of passage into manhood, for me, but it was the exclamation point of God’s full restoration.

There is NOTHING too broken for Jesus. It doesn’t matter how fractured a relationship, or hopeless the situation, is. In the hands of a miracle-working God , the impossible becomes more than we could have ever hoped, dreamed of or prayed for. My Dad’s heart is literally, spiritually and physically, brand new. He had triple-bypass a year ago and he died on the table for seven and a half minutes.

I marveled at my Dad’s endurance, how good of shape, especially from a cardiovascular standpoint, he is in, but more so, I marveled at God’s faithfulness. See, His delay does not equal His denial, but we often throw up the white flag by ceasing to pray it—whatever it is—through! Never lose faith or grow weary. God has a plan and it’s PERFECT. It doesn’t mean it won’t contain hurt, deep sadness and frustration, but it does mean all of the tragedies bring about the sweetest death, our self-reliance, and births something even more beautiful—our trust in Jesus.

When I was a kid, I thought my Dad could rope the moon. He wasn’t physically big in terms of stature, but, in my eyes, he was. Now, he’s the smallest he’s ever been, 160 pounds, but he is a mountain of a man. I do not focus on how much weight as he’s lost as much as I focus on how much wisdom, fierce-allegiance and deep-rooted intimacy in Christ he’s gained. That’s what makes a MAN.

It’s not how big your muscles are, how many beers you can drink, women you can slay or how much money you make. The true measure of a man is found in realizing all you have is weakness and all God has is strength, so in finding yourself to be puny, you find He is STRONG—stronger than you ever realized! In your life, you may feel like God is nothing more than a Friend turned Stranger, like He’s not loving and that He doesn’t meet your needs, but life is worth the living just because He lives!

We made it to the top of the mountain, which was sweet indeed, but day-by-day, moment-by-precious-moment, we press forward to the Promise Land and, with each step, we find the one thing that makes life worth living . . . the Promise Land is beautiful, and while fulfilling, it’s ugly and empty compared to the Author of the journey! And miracles? They are the work of His righteous hand, but not what makes Him GREAT!