A Lost Check and the Kingdom

He put another parable before them, saying, “The kingdom of heaven is like a lost check from your grandmother.” (The Gospel of Daniel 6:1)

Okay, that’s not how it goes. And there is no Gospel of Daniel. But, I learned a lesson this past week that would apply to this “verse” very well.

My MawMaw and PawPaw drove in from Lufkin to watch me graduate. We went out to eat Friday night, and as we were leaving, she gave me an envelope with my name written on the front in her 83-year-old handwriting. I said thanks but waited until after dinner to open it once my little brother and I were back in the car. It was a sweet card with an even sweeter check. I put the check back in the card (not in the envelope) and put it in the backseat as we pulled out of Cracker Barrel and onto the Interstate.

Fast forward five minutes. Keith Urban is blaring on the radio and my brother just put an after dinner dip in his mouth. As we’re talking, he rolls down the window to spit. (I know. It’s redneck.) We drove that way for a few minutes when it hit me. “Wait! Roll that back up! I’ve got a lot of stuff in the back that I don’t need to loose.”

Back in the driveway at home, I turned around in my seat to grab all my stuff and take it inside. I grabbed the card and envelope, but guess what?

No check.

I panicked. I know that they can always write another, but how irresponsible and ungrateful does it look to lose a check like that only fifteen minutes after getting it? So… I do the logical thing and make my brother turn the car upside down with me. And we looked everywhere. Between seats. Under books. Around the console. But guess what?

No check. I’m officially freaking out. What if somebody found and cashed it already?

Four days and much stress later, I’m getting into my car and I notice a little white spot sticking out from under my floormat. There it was! Finally! How in the world it got under my floormat, I have no idea. But… I do know that I haven’t felt relief and joy over finding some lost thing in a very long time.

“The kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls, who, on finding one pearl of great value, went and sold all that he had and bought it.” (Matthew 13:45)

What if I felt constantly about the kingdom the way I felt about that check?

Officially an Alumnus

Saturday was one of those really important days that you’re supposed to remember for a long time. On Saturday, I officially became a college graduate. No more classes, no more tests, and no more all-nighters spent frantically finishing last minute projects and papers. One thing, however, is sure to stay the same — UMHB will continue to demand money from my ever-shrinking wallet. Except this time it won’t be for bills and fees, but endless pleas for donations and scholarships. Dr. O’Rear, you can go ahead and save the money on that long-distance call because those donations won’t be coming your way for a really, really long time. But I digress.

Sadly, at the apex of my collegiate career (the infamous walk across the stage) I think I caught a case of temporary amnesia. I remember being sick to my stomach as the clock ticked closer to 10:00 AM. I remember standing in line waiting for my name to be called. I remember thinking, “I really hope my family and friends make a lotta noise because I don’t want to look like a total loser with no friends.” I remember walking up the steps and standing ever-so-carefully on that taped purple X. And then…

Nothing.

Seriously, no matter how hard I rack my brain to try and conjure up one memory of that walk I waited so long for, I got nothing. I know that I didn’t hear my family yell or Khang shout, “Roommate!” I also know that I didn’t trip or do anything to make myself live in graduation infamy — a huge blessing. But I can’t remember walking. I can’t remember a single step. I can’t even remember Dr. Bawcom handing my diploma to me. All I remember is giving Andy Davis (what a guy!) a hug at the end of the stage and then magically appearing back in my seat thinking, “What the heck do I do now, and how long is the rest of this ceremony going to take?”

The whole day was a blur.

So, a word the wise… don’t drink the night before or the day of your graduation. It’s hard enough to remember as it is.

VODDIE ON CNN

This video is making the rounds today, and chances are that you’ve already seen it. If you haven’t, give yourself a few minutes to see what proclaiming the gospel in a countercultural but humble way looks like.

I’ve always liked Voddie Baucham for his straight-forward and biblical approach to all things. This video only makes me respect him all the more. I also wonder if my thin knowledge of scripture as a whole would hold up if I found myself caught in a difficult discussion like this.

DEATH BY LOVE

I’m a huge fan of Mark Driscoll. I’m especially a fan of Driscoll writing books that I can pass on to friends of mine. So… check out the website for his newest book “Death By Love: Letters From the Cross.” It’s due out at the end of September.

OLYMPICS

I love the Olympics! I love the nationalities, the flags, the anthems, and the competitions.

I just saw one of the greatest Olympic competitions ever! The USA Men’s 4 x 100 Freestyle Relay victory over the French had me jumping up and down in my living room and replaying it with friends on DVR over and over again.

France had been talking trash beforehand. That is before Phelps, Weber-Gale, Jones, and Lezak swam one of the most amazing relay races I’ve ever seen.

I thought the last Olympics was good. This one is shaping up to be just ridiculous.

Oh yeah… Michael Phelps is amazing.

THE CHAPMANS

I saw this video at the end of a long Wednesday in the middle of a long week when my sin and the sin of others toward me has been burdensome. The Chapman’s hope in the face of things much more eternal and weighty than my problems has stopped me dead in my tracks. Even though Good Morning America edited out what had to be lengthy discussions about Jesus and Christianity, I know what this family is talking about. Today, I’m hoping to believe in Him in the mundane the way they have in the extraordinary.

I want you to know brothers, that what has happened to me has really served to advance the gospel so that it has become known through the whole imperial guard and to all the rest that my imprisonment is for Christ. (Philippians 1:12-13)

DODGE A WRENCH

For those of you who don’t know, part of my summer job has been an internship with the college/missions pastor at FBC Belton. And it has been amazing.

Each week, the other intern and I plan a Wednesday Chill. Chills are basically a time to hang out with the college students who are in Belton for the summer.

Tonight’s Chill was a College v. Youth Dodgeball Tournament. And it was amazing. My team dressed up in pink and black (Team Pepto) and got set to waylay some unsuspecting youth. We were absolutely unstoppable as we mowed down youth team after youth team. I pounded more than one small child in the face. Check out the thugged-out team below:

Ice cold, huh? Anyway… we made it to the championship round and swiftly got our butts handed to us by another team of college students. Oh well, you can’t win ‘em all.

The point of my story is that I pulled my left groin and threw out my back. You see, I’m way outta shape and two hours of dodgeball is not exactly what one needs to begin an exercise regimen with. So after cleaning up the gym I threw back two ICEE pops (incredible, by the way), made a quick run to Walmart for some IcyHot and Advil, and am now topping it all off with an icy cold Coca-Cola.

I love my job with the college ministry. I’m being challenged, stretched, making mistakes, meeting incredible people, and getting paid to pull my groin. How awesome is that?

What are you thankful for today?

I GUESS I NEEDED A SABBATICAL

So, I kinda quit blogging for a while (in case you didn’t notice). Actually, it was a long while. The funny thing is that I’m not even sure why I hit the “pause” button on my blog. There was no uber-holy decision to fast from my blog, and I never even really got tired of it.

The crazy thing is that I’ve actually had a lot to blog about in the past few months. A trip to England. A new job. Two new baby brothers who I’ve gotten to see grow up a bit. Politics. Even a few funny YouTube videos to share with the world.

But none of this made it onto paper (or a computer screen to be exact) because I just never took the time to write it down. And you know what I think I learned?

I need blogging.

I’m not a journaler (though I’d like to be). And I’ve really missed to chance to type a few things out and get them off my chest. So, I’m going to give this another go. I’m not going to try to post everyday like I did in the past, because that’s just not me right now. So… what to talk about?

Well… I have begun what will be a long journey to memorize the book of Philippians. I’m working at a fairly slow pace and memorizing it word for word from the ESV. So far I’m a little over two weeks through the journey and have the first twenty-four verses down fairly well. I hope to blog through my experience a little bit. Of the first twenty-four verses, these have stood out to me the most.

“I want you to know, brothers, that what has happened to me has really served to advance the gospel, so that it has become known throughout the whole imperial guard and to all the rest that my imprisonment is for Christ.” (Philippians 1:12-13)

Here’s to blogging more very soon.

I THINK I CAN AGREE…

Clay pointed out this quiz on his blog today. I took a few minutes to check it out, and think I would agree with the large majority of the results.

I think I can agree with most of this. Check it out. What do you think?

COACHING

Just in case you haven’t noticed, Major League Baseball started back up this week… and it has been awesome!  The ‘Stros have been less than impressive, but at least their one win keeps them just above the worst record in baseball. Sorry, Tigers.

I was thinking last night as I watched their one win against the Padres about the fact that there are still coaches in major league sports. The Astros have fourteen managers, coaches, and trainers working on everything from base running to pitching to conditioning to hitting. That’s a lot of coaches for some forty men who are supposed to be professional players! Why do they still need coaches after all these years?

If you can’t already see where I’m going with this, the number of coaches per major league team got me to thinking about the need I have for “coaching” in my own life. I need the wisdom of men older than me and friends more aware than me. There are times (a lot of times) when something is terribly wrong in my life and I can’t see it. There are even times (surprise, surprise) when I ignore the very thing I know is wrong.

I guess what I’m saying is that I hope I never start to believe that I’ve outgrown the need for coaching. If you’re reading this and you’ve had any hand in “coaching” me – thank you. Be patient with me. I am learning.