(This week’s edition of the iPod Devotional from theFish.com) I was driving along listening to the radio when a Billy Joel song came on. And my oddly functioning mind somehow conjured up Jesus picking the song and participating in karaoke at one of the many weddings that He attended. Perhaps He would have if only to further annoy the Pharisees. But past the weirdness of my thought process are a couple of things to ponder in the lyrics of the song “Just The Way You Are”. Don’t go changing, to try and please me, You never let me down before, My personal belief is that one of the biggest and most damaging mistakes that the church makes with new believers is not teaching clearly and continually what happens when you put your faith in Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord. It seems that we too often get young Christians immediately into studies and activities.  We subtly (or in my own
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(The latest iPod Devotional from theFish.com. A new one is available each Monday at theFish.com) It is summer in Texas and that means one thing. It is hot. In fact, it is so hot that… …farmers are feeding their chickens crushed ice to keep them from laying hard-boiled eggs. …you learn the hard way that a seat belt makes a pretty good branding iron. …you discover that in July, it takes only 1 finger to drive your car. …hot water now comes out of both taps. All of those are true because someone’s uncle checked them on Snopes. Really. Some guy told my friend that and somebody else said he was trustworthy. So forward those “facts” to everyone. When summer hits it is always nice to be able to retreat from the heat. This summer’s escape was to Southern California to take a little sea cruise and hang out with some dear friends. And while I acknowledge that it was refreshing
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Digging through some photos reminded me of a wonderful trip to Captiva Island a couple of years ago. As I remembered the week in paradise one memory kept coming to mind. We were blessed to be on the beach when a couple of folks pulled up to a marked sea turtle nest one morning. To our surprise they began to dig into the nest. Having an inquiring mind I asked what they were doing. I learned that the eggs in this nest had hatched seventy-two hours earlier. These dedicated volunteers had marked the nest over fifty days earlier and monitored the site every day since then. Every single day! Volunteers watch over hundreds of sea turtle nests each season. When the eggs hatch the men and women dig up the nest, count the hatched eggs and also the eggs that did not hatch. An average nest contains about 120 eggs. But what happened next amazed and inspired me. While digging deep in the
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Welcome to my website! We have a new look but the same commitment to you… “Bringing sporadic joy and intermittent wisdom to tens of readers several times a week.” Grace and peace to you, Dave Need a Speaker? Dave is available on a limited basis to speak at churches, conferences, or retreats. Contact us via the Speaker Request form for more information.
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Since millions and millions of Americans have not bought my books I continue to make my living as a television sports director. My main gig is directing the Texas Ranger’s baseball telecasts. This has been a fun year for Ranger fans and one of the biggest treats so far has been watching the amazing hitting talent of outfielder/DH Vladimir Guerrero. As I have marveled at Guerrero’s talent I thought back to some comments by Texas hitting coach Clint Hurdle. Clint talked to our announcers during a recent telecast and commented on some of his players. He talked about some things that he was doing with different hitters. But when the talk turned to Vlad Guerrero he chuckled and said something very simple. “Vlad was struggling a bit in the spring so we sat down and looked at some video of him when things were going well. That’s all it took.” I keep thinking about that process. Reviewing how things looked when things were going good got the talented
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On a recent flight home I spent a fair portion of the time just gazing out the window at some amazingly beautiful clouds. The sun reflecting off of the magnificent formations was spectacular. I tried to make out shapes like I used to when I was a kid.  The exercise reminded me of a classic Peanuts cartoon when Charlie Brown. Lucy, Linus and Charlie Brown are all gazing lazily at the clouds. Lucy asks the two boys what they see. Linus Van Pelt: Well, those clouds up there look to me look like the map of the British Honduras on the Caribbean. [points up] That cloud up there looks a little like the profile of Thomas Eakins, the famous painter and sculptor. And that group of clouds over there… [points] …gives me the impression of the Stoning of Stephen. I can see the Apostle Paul standing there to one side. Lucy Van Pelt: Uh huh. That’s very good. What do you see in the clouds,
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For some reason the server has dumped the last dozen or so posts. Even the server is a critic! While we try to figure out what happened I am re-posting the recent Father’s Day series. Sorry if you get a repeat of those articles in your cyber mailbox. Blessings and grace, Dave
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