(A Conversation)
You know I didn’t make that up.
Yeah, but you sure nailed me with it.
Only because I know what it feels like.
Yeah, I know you do.
So… back to the metaphor… you feel like you’re pushing a 2,000-pound rock up a hill by yourself.
That about sums it up.
Well give me back my rock!
Dude, you can have it.
Just kidding. You can keep it. It looks really nice rolling over you.
Wow, with friends like you…
Yeah, yeah. I do have one question about this picture, though.
Okay.
You have the hill, the boulder, and you.
Uh huh. [click to continue…]
Hello, this is Carl.
Hi Carl. A mutual friend gave me your card. Is this a good time to talk?
Sure. How can I help?
Well, I’m not sure if you can. The card says “Criticism Coach.”
Yep. That’s me.
I gotta be honest. I’ve never heard of a criticism coach.
Neither had I until the day I decided the world needed one.
So you just sort of made this up?
Well, I formalized the idea a couple of years ago. But I’ve been criticoaching for years.
Criticoaching?
Yeah, that’s my shorthand term for it. I did make that up.
What is a Criticism Coach?
So at the risk of asking a dumb question, what’s a criticism coach? [click to continue…]
(A Brief Conversation about symbols and change and heritage and hate and other awkward things…)
What’s wrong with it? It represents who I am.
It also represents some things you don’t want to be.
It’s my heritage!
Some would say it’s hatred. [click to continue…]
(A Conversation)
Stuck.
Stuck?
Yeah, that’s probably the best word for it.
As in, you’ve hit the ditch and can’t get out?
Maybe. Or more like I get so far and every time I hit this wall I can’t ever seem to break through.
Maybe you don’t really want to break through.
What’s that supposed to mean?
Maybe you’d rather lose a thousand pounds than 20.
I don’t follow.
Isn’t it easier to lose one pound and gain it back, then repeat the process a thousand times, than losing 20 and keeping it off?
Okay now you’ve gone to meddling! And yeah, maybe that’s true, but humor me. Let’s assume I really want to lose the 20 pounds. Or I really want to pray consistently. Or I really want to stop feeling so insecure.
But you feel stuck?
I feel stuck.
Powerless to break free?
Yeah, that.
Tired of 1 John 1:9 being your life verse?
Yeah… Hey! Wait a minute! Are we talking about me or you?
Well, let’s just say, to quote two former presidents, “Ah feel yur pain” because I’ve been “knee-deep in doo-doo” myself.
And what did you learn?
That I was a bad liar. [click to continue…]
O Lord, You have searched me and known me.
Yes, I have searched you and known you.
Now I want you to search me and know Me.
You know when I sit down and when I rise up;
I want you to know when I sit down and rise up.
You understand my thought from afar.
I want you to understand my thoughts,
even in the places that seem distant.
You scrutinize my path and my lying down,
I want you to search Me like that.
And are intimately acquainted with all my ways.
I can be found!
I can make you intimately acquainted with all My ways. [click to continue…]
(A Conversation)
I watched the Robin Hood movie again last night.
Kevin Costner?
No, seriously? Russell Crowe.
OK.
I love the quote from there…
About rising and rising again?
Yeah… “Rise and rise again, until lambs become lions.” That really resonates with me.
I can see why. So are you rising and rising again?
Hardly. More like “fall and fall again.”
Why is that? [click to continue…]
(A Conversation)
Quiet.
Quiet?
Yeah, quiet. You ask how I am… I’m quiet.
In what way? Are you upset?
No. I don’t think so. Just quiet.
Worse ways to be, I guess.
I suppose so.
And what brought you to this place of being so quiet?
I guess it all started with this sense of yearning – of longing for something more in my walk with the Lord.
That’s a good thing.
Sure, ‘til I realized what’s in the way.
Which is…? [click to continue…]
(A Conversation)
You’d think by now I’d have this down.
Have what?
Making decisions and finding God’s will.
Is that what you mean by “being at a crossroads?”
Yeah, I have some decisions to make, and it’s kind of a mixed bag. Some really good things and some really challenging things, either way I go.
Okay…
But I don’t want to just do what I want to do. I want to do God’s will.
As opposed to your will?
Yes. I know that he speaks through my desires. But even that’s mixed up right now.
And you need Him to sort all that out for you?
Yeah.
Sorta like those neon arrows on the highway at night that say, “Stop here?”
Boy, wouldn’t that be awesome? [click to continue…]
Thank you for calling the Affordable Car Administration. This is Brenda, how may I direct your call?
Hi Brenda, this is An… Hey, you sound familiar. Didn’t I talk to you about needing an attorney because I left my keys in the car?
Why yes, I believe you did! Mr. Wood, is it?
Yeah, that’s me. And then you were at that firm looking for heroes or something?
Quite correct, sir. Unfortunately that didn’t work out so well.
Why’s that?
The recession. All our heroes were unemployed, so they signed up for government work.
And the attorneys?
The same. You know that they say… “The best place for an out-of-work lawyer is in making more laws for all of us to enjoy!”
Well I’m glad to hear a familiar voice there, Brenda. I’m in a world of hurt. I just got this notice in the mail that says, “Your current vehicle is being discontinued as of January 1.” Then I’m supposed to purchase a new one that meets the minimum requirements of the ACA?
Well congratulations are certainly in order, sir! I know you’re going to enjoy driving your new automobile. [click to continue…]
(A Conversation)
The Kids
I’m impressed with your kids. Well, most of the time.
They’re not my kids.
What?
Not mine.
(Gasp!) You mean…
Noooo, not like that! I’m their father.
Oh, so they are your kids.
Nope. I gave them away a long time ago. In fact, on the day they were born.
To who?
To God. He’s the one who gave them to me in the first place. “Children are a gift from the Lord; they are a reward from him. Children born to a young man are like arrows in a warrior’s hands” (Psalm 127:3-4, NLT).
Okay, whatever, but they’re your responsibility.
Oh, of course. God gave them to me for a season to help turn them into strategic weapons for His kingdom. So I feed them, clothe them, and train them.
Train them to do what? [click to continue…]
