Afternoons with Dave

When was the last time you got a cavity? It’s funny, I used to never get them when I was a kid, and I used to fight my parents about going to the dentist, but as I’ve gotten older, I’ve gotten a few here and there. Fun, right?

I took some rare time off next week, and next Friday was supposed to be a day of catching up on some small things I’ve been meaning to get to, taking care of some little tasks, but it’s a big-boy, grown-up day. I’m getting a filling. It’s no big deal, everything else is fine, but stuff like this always seems to happen. Day off? OK, get the car fixed, do taxes, or go to the doctor.

Is this something I want to do on my day off? Of course not, but it is a blessing. I have the time to do it, I have a great dentist, and it’s important to get these things done before things get out of hand. I just switch my focus from not wanting to do something to being blessed that God gives me the time to take care of these things.

We read in 1 Corinthians 13:11: When I grew up, I put away childish things. Things like saying, “I don’t want to get it done, I don’t want to go…”

Oh, adulting.

Sometimes people just cross your mind, you know? And what do you do when that happens, you just let the thought fade?

I was chatting with my wife Heidi last night when I got home from KCBI, and I said, “Hey, guess who I was thinking of when I was driving home?”

“Who?”

“LuAnn,” I said.

Then Heidi went, “Oh, LuAnn! I wonder how she’s doing?”

LuAnn and I used to work together back in the day, and she was our wedding photographer, so when she crossed my mind, I sent her a text, asking her if she needed prayer. And these are the exact words she shot back to me seconds later:

Well, this is the best, most God-thing I’ve had in a long time! There’s a lot going on, Dave, and I actually could use all the prayer I can get. So, thank you for heading that nudge from God.

So we called her right then and there, prayed with her about some things going on in life…just an absolute God thing.

It reminds me of Paul in Philippians 1:3 – Every time I think of you, I give thanks to my God.

Yes, I thank God for that nudge. 

In many firehouses across the country, there’s a poem hanging on the wall called The Fireman’s Prayer. It was written in the 1950s by Wichita, Kansas firefighter A.W. “Smokey” Linn. With the wildfires we’ve seen across North and Central Texas lately, I thought you might appreciate taking a moment to read or hear it.

The Fireman’s Prayer

When I am called to duty, God, whenever flames may rage,
Give me the strength to save some life whatever be its age.
Help me to embrace a little child before it's too late,
Or some older person from the horror of that fate.
Enable me to be alert and hear the weakest shout,
And quickly and efficiently to put the fire out.
I want to fill my calling and give the best in me,
To guard my neighbor and protect his property.
And if, according to Your will, I have to lose my life,
Please bless with Your protecting hand my loving family from strife
.
Source: wichita.gov/2072/Smokey-Linns-Firemans-Prayer

When was the last time you looked back and noticed how far you’ve come and grown? It can be surprising, right? Growth sneaks up on you, like a plant. It starts with a little seed, and over time, you’re looking at... corn?

My neighbor has two corn stalks growing in his yard. They’re right by his grill in the backyard, so I’m thinking he was grilling corn on the cob at some point and maybe a few kernels fell to the ground. That’s my theory. But over time, with the right conditions, they’ve been quietly growing every day. Little by little, through storms and heat, you name it, these stalks have been getting higher. And we both only noticed them about a month ago.

One day, I looked at his yard and called out to him when he was out there, “Hey, you got corn growing?”

“I do? Where? Well, would you look at that!”

God grows us too - spiritually, as we read the Word every day, through trials... in so many ways.

So, look back a few months, a year, a couple of years, and see how the Lord has grown you during that time. You can be excited for the future, too. You’ve come a long way, but there’s so much more to go... or grow. I’m eager to see how tall my neighbor’s corn stalks will get, and maybe we’ll have some fresh corn on the cob soon.

Job 8:7 - And though your beginning was small, your latter days will be very great.

With the kids going back to school, pumpkin spice stuff back in stores, and before you know it, a season change, maybe now is the time for a social media change?

Not everyone deserves a front row seat to…your peace. So, if you’re following someone or a page that posts things that make you feel anxious, angry, discouraged, drained, or brings back bad memories, you can just unfollow or mute. I do this all the time. Not unfriending but simply choosing to guard your heart.

You don’t have to explain it. You don’t have to make a big announcement. You’re just choosing what you allow into your heart and mind.

Proverbs 4:23 – Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.

Sometimes detours happen, right? You're heading down one path, and then God redirects you to something new.

Sometimes it's literally a detour when you're driving. 

That happened to my wife, Heidi, the other day. She takes the same route to work every morning, but overnight (thanks, TxDOT), construction completely shut down her usual way. Who knows when it's going to reopen? She found another route and managed to make it to work on time. Everything turned out fine, but it was still annoying.

Then, on the drive home, she had to take another detour. When she pulled into the garage, she looked at the time and couldn't believe it! She said, "I took a detour on the way to work, then another one on the way home, which was totally different from the morning route. But I never knew I could go that way. There was less traffic than usual, and I got home even faster. I'm going to take this route all the time now."

Funny how that works, isn't it? Sometimes the detour ends up being the better path. The route we never would have chosen turns out to be the one that saves us time, teaches us something new, or leads to an unexpected blessing.

It reminds me of Proverbs 3:5-6 - Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to Him, and He will make your paths straight.

Have you ever thought about how we’re more connected than ever? You can pick up your phone or hop online and chat with someone on the other side of the planet in an instant. But no matter how well-connected we are, many people are lonely.

There’s a group that meets on the Katy Trail in Dallas every Friday night at 7 p.m. - Walk & Talk Social. The idea is to get people off their phones, away from screens, free from doomscrolling, and out there to meet people face to face. You show up, get paired with a stranger (no name tags), walk, talk, and get to know each other.

People love it. Why? Because God designed us for connection.

Genesis 2:18

The Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him.”

There are also a lot of "one another" commands in the Bible: love one another, encourage one another, pray for one another...

Tech can keep us connected, but it can't replace the real relationships that keep us going and remind us that we're not alone. Maybe that's why something as simple as taking a walk with a stranger feels so new to the people who are part of Walk & Talk Social.

Connection: it's how God made us.

Why is forgiveness so hard?  

My good friend Jeniffer shares the deeply personal story of finally forgiving her dad, Claude, after 12 years of pain. It’s a powerful reminder that forgiveness doesn't change the past, but it can change the future.  

If you have heartache from a broken relationship, my prayer is that Jeniffer's story encourages you to take that first step toward healing.  

"Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you." —Ephesians 4:32

When the woman at the well met Jesus, He already knew her whole story: the painful parts, the complicated parts, and the parts she may have wanted to hide. But He didn't shame her... he offered her living water.

In Adam and Eve’s story, everything began to shift with one question: "Did God actually say…?" That same kind of doubt can still sneak in today, slowly changing how we see God, His goodness, and His instructions.