david norman blog dot com

I'm a quitter. My myspace account is gone. Deleted. Or at least scheduled to be.

I realized that I never use it, update it, or spend any time on it. I twitter throughout the day and check facebook regularly. But myspace had become obsolete and useless to me.

It's just one less thing to check (though nobody really messages me there), and one less "brand" of myself that I don't think of anymore.

Are you my friend on facebook?

Do we follow each other on twitter?

If not, why?

This week was a hard week. While I was recommended to be a church planter at my last assessment, we simply cannot raise the necessary funds to move forward with a church plant. And so we're back at square one: we know that God has a plan for us (and that it's way greater than our own), we simply have no idea what that is.

Today I started pondering the question, "What would I do if I weren't in ministry?"

Here's my top ten:
10. Policeman - I would get a gun and permission.
9. Fireman - I would get an axe and permission.
8. Football Coach - I would get a whistle.
7. UFC Fighter - I would get to punch people.
6. Professional Golfer - I would get to whack a ball all day.
5. Surfer - I've never tried, but it looks cool.
4. Race Car Driver - "I wanna go fast!"
3. Teacher - Molding young minds.
2. Seminary Professor - I would have to finish my degree first.
1. Professional Musician - I'd have a creative outlet and get to do something I love.

What about you?

If you couldn't do what you do... what would you do?

CLARIFICATION: I'm not quitting the ministry. I never was. You just wonder every now and then about taking an easier job, like air traffic control at DFW or something.

Have you ever had that sneaking suspicion that you just have out-dreamed your life with God? You know what I'm talking about. Don't pretend not to.

You had this insane vision that you did something incredible for God - you may have even claimed that as your "calling," or "purpose." But as soon as you faced adversity, you began to believe that God's vision for your life is not quite as large or glorious as your own. And while I'm not one to espouse anything resembling prosperity gospel (which is, in fact, no Gospel at all), the problem is not with the lack of God's scope, but our scope of God.

CS Lewis wrote in The Weight of Glory:

it would seem that Our Lord finds our desires, not too strong, but too weak. We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea. We are far too easily pleased.

Growing up, my dad was forced to develop certain verbal cues for me because, frankly, I was a pain in the neck who required extra discipline to pick up certain characteristics. One of those cues was "Think son, think." It was used most often when I would "figure" or "assume" or even worse, "creatively devise" rather than using my adolescent brain.

The idea that my vision is greater than God's is one of those moments when the old verbal cue has to kick in.

"Think son, think."

Paul wrote that God is "able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us." And if I truly believe that, then I can't possibly outdream or outvision God.

Instead, if I truly believe that truth than I will be able to slow down and realize that my vision isn't larger than God's, but only a mere crumb of anything close to all that he desires for my life.

The scary thing is, if I'm willing to waste my life chasing after my dream, I'm more than able. But if I'm willing to place that desire and dream at the feet of Jesus, and submit to his will and plan for my life, I can rest assured that his vision for my life is ridiculously greater than my own.

So next time you don't feel as though God is cooperating with your life-goals...

Think son, think.

What really bothers me about mistakes is not that I fail, but that it usually affects others around me. It wouldn't bother me to totally screw up and bear the weight on my shoulders. The pain - the hurt - comes when I realize that it's influenced, affected, and hurt those that I love.

I had this thought yesterday when I was challenged by someone about a post that I had written. They were offended. It would be one thing if they were some anonymous person in the interwebs that searches for things to gripe about. But this was someone whose relationship I treasure. Needless to say, I deleted the post.

All of my kids have had this book. "No, David." by David Shannon. As I was thinking through this thought, it kept bringing me back to this book. It's really just about a mischievous kid who manages to do everything wrong, and his mother is constantly saying, "no, David!" The end of the book is simply the mother taking David in her arms and exclaiming "I love you, David."

I wonder how many times people in my life (perhaps especially my mother) have grown weary of correcting me due to my repeated mistakes to see that I need that affirmation of relationship.

That thought led to a really strong moment for me when I realized two things. First, there is no such thing as a victimless sin. King David confessed to God, "Against you only have I sinned." Every sin affects and hurts God, our heavenly Father. Without our sin, that effectively strains our relationship to Him, the cross would not have been necessary.

Second, despite my sin, despite my screw ups, God still is gracious enough to pull me aside and remind me of his love for me. I feel the weight of his discipline. I feel the weight of my complete inability to show his great love to others. And yet God still speaks through his Word, and in his sovereignty speaks exactly that which I need to hear.

Over the next week or so, I'll share some of those encouragements where God has clarified something to me. Most of the time, these are areas that I intellectually agreed with, but practically ignored.

Jason Witten - I Am Second



I'm so glad to know that this guy plays on both of my teams. He's a firm believer in Jesus Christ, and he's a Dallas Cowboy.

I can't wait for football season.

I think Matt Chandler has some great insight as to who makes up this group of de-churched believers and exactly what led them to that point.



What do you think? Agree or disagree?

These are just some thoughts from last week that I haven't had time to fully develop but wanted to share anyway.

• God is not (and never has been) surprised by my present situation. He was at work bringing me to this place. He is at work bringing through it, and He is at work delivering me from it.
  
• God leads by opening doors. Shouldn't we believe that he has the power to slam them shut as well?
  
• God walks us through times of struggle in order to open our eyes to that specific struggle.
• When we need encouragement, God speaks through his Word before speaking through his people.
• God's vision for my life is greater than I could even hope for.

I'm hoping to fill these thoughts out a little over the next couple of weeks, but I wanted to go ahead and get them out.

Bard Letsinger, a friend of mine that I met on twitter, blogged about an interesting conversation that concerned our relationship a few days ago. It's definitely worth the click for a good laugh.

It all surrounds a comment in which I thanked him for the "link love." Long story short, it was read by a good-hearted and well-intentioned friend of his as though it had a comma in it, thus thanking him for the "link, love."

Let the accusations and misunderstandings begin...

This week, I'm praying and fasting. I believe that our family is on the verge of something HUGE, and I am taking this week to seek God like never before.

And I say all this not to try to come across like some spiritual discipline giant - I'm not. Seriously. I was the guy in seminary who fought and argued like crazy over the practice of fasting.

Besides. I have a southern baptist background. How many southern baptist ministers do you know who understand what a diet is, much less a fast?

Esther fasted to seek God's favor in a time of crisis.
Daniel fasted in order to gain clarity and focus of God's vision for his life.
Israel fasted for self-examination.
Israel also fasted before going into a major battle.
Jesus fasted for 40 days in the wilderness.

And so I tell you that I will be fasting so you can pray for me and that God would give me the discipline and strength to seek Him more intensely than ever. I will not be blogging about how hungry I'll get. (I see that as a digital equivalent of Matthew 6:16).

But I will post something down the road about all that God shows me over this period.

While you're praying for me, would you consider joining our facebook prayer group?

In ministry - especially when you're stepping out on faith (or even considering it) - you will run in circles of others who are doing similar things. In doing so, you become more and more privy to their journey and what God is doing in their midst.

Ultimately, you begin the comparison game.

God has definitely called them, after all, look how he's providing for them. Why isn't he providing in that way for me?

or

They say God has called them, but look at their journey! Do they really think they can handle this? Do they really think it's this easy?

or

I'm so glad God didn't call me to struggle in that manner.

The reality is that whenever we play the comparison game: we will either wallow in self-pity and become envious , or we will puff up with pride.

There's a brief interchange near the end of John's Gospel when Peter starts playing the comparison game. Jesus explains to Peter that Peter will die against his will. Peter's response was to immediately look over at John and ask, "what about him?"

Jesus responded clearly, “If I want him to remain until I come, what is that to you? As for you, follow Me.” John 21:22 (HCSB)

When we play the comparison game instead of diving head first into what Jesus has called us to do, we effectively take our eyes off of our call, and what God is doing in our midst, because we're so concerned about what He's doing in someone else's.

As for me, I'd rather just follow Him...

Photo by mr_wobble