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365 Devotionals: Repeat

Repeat them again and again to your children. Talk about them when you are at home and when you are on the road, when you are going to bed and when you are getting up.
-Deuteronomy 6:7 NLT

Sometimes I share these devotionals with my sons. Sometimes one of us is unkind and gets a lecture about Jesus. Sometimes someone asks if little babies go to Heaven when they die.

We don’t have a consistent practice of discussing God, but it often comes up. I try to return to Scripture and how the Holy Spirit has worked in my life when I am discussing anything significant. Or maybe it’ll be as simple as a “God willing,” when I’m asked if I’ll be at a game or event.

This verse is a reminder that I can share my faith with my loved ones more often.

Disclosure: The links below are affiliate links, meaning, at no additional cost to you, I will earn a commission if you click through and make a purchase. 

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Be Dangerous, Then Good

This kid got a little more dangerous today.

After years of training in the youth program at Elevated Studios, he joined the adult class and reignited his passion for the sport and art of jiu-jitsu.

Jesus told his disciples to carry swords. He toppled the money changers’ tables and whipped them. His ideas continue to upend the structures of oppression. He remains dangerous to this day.

I’ve watched a lot of good men fall in line with the oppressors. Good isn’t enough. Good avoids conflict in spite of cost. Good lets evil run free.

Good fails when it is not dangerous.

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365 Devotionals: Commit

You must commit yourselves wholeheartedly to these commands that I am giving you today.
-Deuteronomy 6:6 NLT

And you shall do what is right and good in the sight of the LORD, that it may go well with you, and that you may go in and take possession of the good land which the LORD swore to give to your fathers.
-Deuteronomy 6:18 RSV

And the LORD commanded us to do all these statutes, to fear the LORD our God, for our good always, that he might preserve us alive, as at this day.
-Deuteronomy 6:24 RSV

This chapter of Deuteronomy seems to be all about God’s commandments as they are meant to keep his believers alive.

I struggle with this in relationship to Jesus’s fulfillment of the Law and His declaration that loving one’s neighbor as oneself and as God are the most important commandments.

Does this mean that once our physical bodies are not under constant threat, then the long list of commands in Deuteronomy become stumbling blocks in the way of love? Does it mean that even under starvation and physical peril we must love above all?

Didn’t Jesus say the Law was only meant to show us that we are incapable of following the rules? That we must love as much as we can?

I didn’t attend Sunday service today. I played soccer. Can I love God and myself and my teammates and my opponents outside of worship? Is worship to live in love and be open to my teammates, friends, family, and neighbors about my faith in Jesus Christ? Is that enough? More than enough?

I ask these questions and assume I could be doing things wrong. I pray for the openness and wisdom to receive the answers and take them to heart.

Disclosure: The links below are affiliate links, meaning, at no additional cost to you, I will earn a commission if you click through and make a purchase. 

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Shakespeare’s Birthday with Pages Alive Theater

Westen has been performing Shakespeare since before he could read. We were celebrating the Bard’s birthday with Delaware Shakespeare when he volunteered to read some lines. Before I could protest, this little guy toddled up to the mic and I sat terrified for him.

Producing Artistic Director David Stradley fed him lines in his ear and he recited them darn near perfectly.

A small role in Macbeth came once Westen learned how to read and there have been many plays since.

Today was the culmination of two short weeks of preparation. Westen had to memorize two monologues (Hamlet’s To Be or Not To Be and Marc Antony’s Funeral Speech from Julius Caesar). Isaac’s lines were spread out and he had to navigate multiple cues.

After performing a cheat-sheet version of Julius Caesar in Barnes and Noble, the troupe headed to the Christiana Mall food court to surprise shoppers with quick hits from several plays and a remarkably bad rendition of “Happy Birthday” (in their defense, it’s not Shakespearean).

Homeschool friends came to support the boys and I was filled with gratitude for these opportunities and the community that creates them.

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Unschool Friday

They studied Shakespeare lines for a flash mob performance, attended Pokémon club, played video games, pretended with friends, and walked with their old man for dinner and treats.

These are the busy/laid back Fridays that I love so much.

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Feeling Their Freedom

This would be a picture of my sons playing in the creek with a friend, but they have disappeared around the bend.

Life is intensely close with a home-educating single dad and two boys. Having these moments of freedom for them is one of our greatest blessings.

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Playoff Rowdiness

The Spanish leagues love to run late, and hot.

Playoffs are here and I get to enjoy the passion on the field while I wait for my match.

This is why I still play in the competitive leagues. There’s something magic in win-or-go-home games.

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365 Devotionals: Total Love

Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.
-Deuteronomy 6:5 NIV

When you pour your love into the Highest, you are transformed. When embracing my love for God, I embrace those around me and find deeper ways to act as a messenger of God’s love.

Disclosure: The links below are affiliate links, meaning, at no additional cost to you, I will earn a commission if you click through and make a purchase. 

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A Good Day For Bad Jiu-Jitsu

When I first met my girlfriend in person, I doubted it would become romantic. She was seeing someone, lived an hour away, and had been clear about not wanting to be pursued.

It created a safe space, there weren’t games of seduction.

We talked about what we wanted in all our relationships, not just the romantic ones. I told her I wanted contenders, men and women who would push me as hard as they loved me.

Kristen has become one of the main contenders in my life. She loves me deeply and pushes me to be more than I am. She didn’t let me make excuses to skip jiu-jitsu training tonight. She called me out on my bullshit.

I got myself to Elevated Studios and got beat up.

I don’t think I could be more grateful for my lack of conditioning and flailing technique tonight. I pushed my self to dizziness and got off the mat before I got hurt.

We don’t voluntarily go to our uncomfortable limits often enough. Voluntary stress limits the power that involuntary stressors can have over us.

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I Have To Stop This

I yelled at my sons after a long day of getting a hard time from them. I feel like I ruined a happy day of celebrating the Resurrection.

I feel unworthy of all my blessings. I have to stop these outbursts. I have to do better.