Uncle Mike's

CAPACITY

I sit out on my bench. I watch the sun rise. I hear the jays cry. The breeze tickles my nose. I remember.

I think about a time in the hot Louisiana summer sun. Sweating through my clothes and working outside. Building things the way I did. Back when I was driven and able. Back when my hands were strong. Back when I could carry a sixteen foot 2x10 on each shoulder.

Today, I wait for You here. I look to the amber sky and ponder my life. I consider all the people I’ve known. How many of them are now gone. Some asleep, and others…I’m not sure.

I want to build something, but what that is, I do not yet know. I wait on You to reveal more. I wait for You to whisper a secret in my ear. I train myself to be patient so that I may once again do work beyond my abilities. Beyond my capacity.

It must be about people. My passion serves no purpose if it’s not about people. Everything else fades. All things perish, but not the soul. These material things, they can’t follow me into the afterlife, but souls will. It must be about people.

Where should I start? Where do I begin? I begin with You. It always begins with You. No matter what I do, I must come to You first. Otherwise, I’m doing things because I think I’m smart. I’m doing them for my own selfish gain. I’m doing them for all the wrong reasons. Without You, it will all fall apart.

There are wolves outside. Each night they roam up and down the fence line. They belch, cackle, and growl. Each night they attempt a new tactic. They try another way to get in. They won’t get in. They’ll keep trying, and they’ll continue to fail. Eventually the Lord will confuse them in delusion. He will disperse them in conflict. And they will be destroyed in their own trap.

I will build something. Something with my own two hands. I will build something never seen before. And You, Lord Jesus, will be glorified.

Aunt Amanda’s 🤣🤣🤣

THE SWITCH

Several years ago, Amanda and I were visiting some friends in Miramar Beach, Florida. We don’t visit the way normal people do. Whereas most like to get together and go out to some fancy dinner, we prefer to help and work. We prefer to be among people in their natural environment. And for Mike and Fara, that was renovating homes.

So that’s how we chose to spend the day with them, getting their $1.2 million mansion ready to sell for $3 million. I’ve never been in a private residence that expensive before, and I’ve most definitely never seen a home with six electrical breaker boxes and a full size movie theater.

My tasks were to hang mini blinds in some of the rooms and replace old electric light switches with new ones. While I was running around looking for the right breakers for each corresponding switch, something dawned on me. This house had all the same issues every other house had. None of the breakers were labelled properly. I spent about an hour flipping breakers and using a digital multimeter until I identified each and every switch I needed to replace. I even relabeled the boxes for them.

I clearly remember when it hit me. I was in the kitchen, putting in a new light switch, and wiring it so it was no longer upside down (like all the others were). The switch in my hand was the same $1.50 15 amp single pole light switch I’d installed in houses worth much much less than this one. I realized something. This house might look impressive on the outside. It might provide amenities that others can’t. But on the inside, where it really counts, it’s the same as all the rest. No different than any mobile home, apartment, or single family house.

That lesson has remained with me. Like most spiritually-discerned things, it won’t go away. The lesson had much less to do with Mike and Fara’s wealth, and more to do with my own perspective and understanding. I know what’s behind those walls. I know what’s under that house. I’m fully aware what makes these things work. Since He saved me, the Lord Jesus has helped me view things, and my own life, in a very different way. He has given me new “eyes”. Eyes that quickly see layers deeper than I ever did before. Eyes which no longer permit me to be easily impressed with worldly things. I’m thankful for His grace. I’m thankful He permits me to know and do things. Sometimes I can’t explain how I know something. I just do. It has nothing to do with being studious, smart, or clever. It has everything to do with Jesus. I just simply go in the direction He points.

God Bless 🙏🏻☝🏻

JESUS

“He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him. And He is before all things, and in Him all things consist. And He is the head of the body, the church, who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in all things He may have the preeminence.” - Colossians 1:15-18

The Apostle Paul wrote this in his letter to the early Christians who lived in the ancient city of Colossae, in modern-day southwestern Turkey. Today, the once-thriving city no longer exists, but these words do. They are powerful. But it wasn’t that long ago that I had no idea what they meant.

Here, Paul is describing the indescribable. He is capturing the attributes, nature, and character of Jesus Christ. He opens his letter with a salvo of mind-blowing realities to make sure there is no doubt about the greatness and supremacy of Jesus. In a nutshell, what he’s saying is that there exists nothing higher nor more powerful within or beyond our known universe.

I didn’t understand this. Jesus was never described to me this way. For 42 years, I walked through life believing that He was no different than any other do-gooder or pacifist. Much like a modern-day Tibetan monk, He just roamed the ancient Israeli countryside and did good deeds and helped out the poor.

I attended church when I was a young boy, but was not raised in a Christian household. Jesus was never something we discussed. In fact, I can’t recall anyone ever saying his name. Church was treated as a social club, and a place to put on your best performance. We professed to be one way inside the building, and then behaved another at home. Had I known then what I know now, I would have realized something was very wrong.

Here’s the gist:

Jesus was in the beginning. He was before the universe was created. Before the Milky Way, solar system, sun, moon, stars, and our planet Earth. He is called the “Word”. A highly magnetic sphere with an iron core was formed, then oceans, then mountains, then nature. Man was created in God’s image, yet rebelled. Sin entered the world and humans were fated to toil and die. Humans continued to be born and die without knowing why. God hatched a plan to redeem His most beloved creation, and focused His efforts through the descendants of one individual…Abraham. Through Abraham, a Solution would emerge. A promise was made. A covenant was consecrated. An eternal pact between God and a man…and the descendants (Seed) of that man…and all the nations his faith would inspire.

430 years later, God imputed sin. He revealed the reasons why we humans must die. Because we could not be holy, as we once were in the Garden of Eden. We could not exist in a way which didn’t offend God. We were defiled, and guilty of breaking Gods commandments. These commandments were codified and given to Moses atop Mt. Sinai on two stone tablets, those tablets were smashed in anger, then replaced, and put in the Ark of the Covenant. The law was codified, not to save humanity, but to warn us. To remind us. To teach us why it’s impossible to avoid judgement and death. That was until the Chosen One, the Messiah, the Christ, the Solution was to emerge. Without this Solution, without Christ, our souls were destined for eternal death…eternal separation from God. Because we are powerless to do right on our own.

Prophets emerged, and were filled with God’s Spirit. They foretold the coming of the Christ. Moses was one of the first to describe how God would “raise up for you a Prophet like me from your midst, from your brethren” (Deuteronomy 18:15). For the next 1,500 years, in a multitude of countries and languages, through an infinite number of dialects, under highly unfavorable circumstances, they all said the same thing…the Messiah would come and free us from the slavery of sin and death. They predicted how He would look, where He would be born, how He would be treated, how He would die, and how He would overcome death. The last of which, Malachi, prophesied 100 years before Alexander the Great was born, and 425 years before Rome became an empire.

Yet when Jesus entered our world as a human, and became sin in the flesh, everyone forgot. All of a sudden everyone had amnesia. The religious elite of the time acted like they had no clue what He was talking about. That is except for some crazy man who lived out in the wilderness, ate locusts and wild honey, and baptized people in the Jordan River…John the Baptist. They neglected the commandments of God so they could live in opulence. Over those 1,500 years, humans created and instituted their own laws, ordinances, and traditions in an effort to control people. They used these traditions to guilt the common person into submission. Sound familiar?

Jesus defied them, rebuked them, spoke the truth, and was killed by His own countrymen for it. But before He was betrayed and handed over to the Romans, He predicted how it was going to go down with 100 percent accuracy. All of which aligned perfectly with thousands of years of prophecy. But He didn’t stay dead. Three days after He was killed in the most horrific manner possible (crucifixion), and had been interred into a tomb purchased by Joseph of Arimathea, He rose. He was resurrected. Jesus became sin in the flesh so that we could be freed from the judgement of eternal death:

“For what the law could not do in that it was weak through the flesh, God did by sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, on account of sin; He condemned sin in the flesh, that the righteous requirements of the law might be fulfilled in us who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.” - Romans 8:3-4

More eyewitnesses were present, and confirmed they saw Jesus alive again, than could confirm the deaths of either Alexander the Great or Julius Caesar. More than 500 at one time. Yet the world is more inclined to believe the latter. Jesus rose from the dead, and is considered the “Firstfruit”…the first survivor of death. He remained on earth for 40 days providing comfort, guidance, and instruction for the establishment of what would become the church. He also promised to send a Helper. That His Spirit, the Holy Spirit, would be among us, and dwell within us, to guide us and nudge us to conduct ourselves in a spiritually correct manner.

Jesus ascended into heaven right in front of everyone. Poof…up into the clouds He went. Two angels were standing there and kind of mocked them by implying, “Look guys, He told you this was going to happen, so don’t act so surprised”. 10 days later, while everyone was gathered at Jerusalem, the Holy Spirit arrived. Like a river of wind, it blew in and bestowed upon Jesus’ followers all manner of supernatural knowledge and abilities. We call this day Pentecost.

The story isn’t over. There are still prophesies yet to be fulfilled. Prophesies which are several thousands of years old. Thus far every prophesy has come true with 100 percent accuracy. Jesus is coming back. This time He will return in the manner they thought He would the first time…as a conqueror. But the fight will be short. There are just a few more enemies to defeat. He will cast them into the lake of fire. Satan and Death are at the top of His hit list. The Day is coming. The time is short:

“And do this, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep; for now our salvation is nearer than when we first believed. The night is far spent, the day is at hand. Therefore let us cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armor of light. Let us walk properly, as in the day, not in revelry and drunkenness, not in lewdness and lust, not in strife and envy. But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to fulfill its lusts.” - Romans 13:11-14

I’ve done my best to summarize my understanding of Jesus in my own words. He was in the beginning. He loves us so much that He permitted himself to be born a human birth, endured human life, was mocked, spit on, beaten, mutilated, and hung on a cross and embarrassed in front of everyone. Yet He forgave us. He knew. He knew things had to get a little messy before they could be fixed. The time is coming. He’s coming back like a thief in the night. I hope this provides you with a few things to consider.

GOD BLESS 🙏🏻☝🏻

IMAGE ART: Yongsung Kim - “The Hand of God”

I’ve been watching my youngest niece, Kenner, play with this blue marble when she comes over to visit. She absolutely loves it. She has to show it to me about 20 times. To her, it’s a “BAW” (Ball). I’ve been watching her figure out that it can roll down a dado joint I ripped into an old spare piece of 3/4” pine.

This gave me an idea. I remember those old cartoons where they build those elaborate contraptions or machines where one ball sets everything into motion. You know, the ball rolls into a thing, then a thing drops down and makes another thing move, etc etc etc.

The gears in my mind start turning, and it all starts with this 5/8” blue “BAW”. I foresee a very very fancy “mousetrap” in our future. 🤣🤣🤣

I’m thankful these two girls keep Uncle Mike’s mind sharp.

THIS IS MY LIFELINE

It’s been with me now for nearly eight years. It’s been opened on more than 2,700 consecutive days…and it shows. I had to duct tape the spine because the binding was giving out. The back is in bad condition because I love the maps. My eyes soak them up and memorize all the little details about the geographic locations of the ancient tribes, the travels of Abraham and the patriarchs, the names the Romans changed of the old towns around Jesus’ time, and how extensively Paul travelled…and I always wonder if he actually ever made it to Spain (Romans 15:28).

This is my lifeline. I don’t want a new one, because my eyes have been trained where to find what I’m attempting to recall. I know what part of the page certain things are on when I frantically look for guidance. I have no specific order in which I read it. No specific time of the day. I just go to it when I feel the need…the nudge. I keep it on me always.

I’d rather someone read to me directly from the Bible, than show me a book about the Bible. That’s someone else’s subjective opinion. I want the source. I want the raw unfiltered truth of the WORD. It can cut…sharper than any two-edged sword (Hebrews 4:12). It will sever a man’s soul in half…the good from the rot. I can see the real you through the fake you…even if I may act like I don’t. I make note (Romans 16:17)…you are known.

Lord Jesus…thank You for Your Word.

Amen 🙏🏻☝🏻

Making progress on Aunt Amanda’s new planter box. I had to step away from it for a week or so with all the recent rain and other things.

Got the sides attached this morning. I was reserving this exciting task for my niece, Harbor, but she’s busy today 😂. In all seriousness, she loves using the impact driver, and is pretty good at it.

Amanda says it looks like a bed frame. It’s 36 inches tall (3 feet), so in the future I plan to use this same basic design to construct a high-top crawfish table.

What’s next? I’ll attach 1 inch by six inch boards along the 75 inch length of the bottom with a 1/2 inch gap between each one for drainage. Over that will go two or three layers of w**d barrier to hold in the soil. In the bottom I‘ll pile up some old branches and sticks to keep the soil from compacting and serve as compost over time. Then soil. I’ll add the top ledge after the soil settles a bit.

This video talks about how one of my greatest strengths in secular life, became one of my greatest weaknesses in a spiritual one…my intellect. In the beginning of this journey, I thought I could reason my way through the material in the Bible, and use it to start a business. I thought I could teach people how to be better leaders. But I was wrong. Not because the material was flawed, but because my heart was.

This cover depicts a drawing I made in my journal during a very difficult situation back at the end of 2021. Ironically, and much like Jesus, He has brought me back to the exact same location to heal and overcome.

IT’S NOT ABOUT ME The three critical spiritual lessons I learned through perceived fa...

FIFTY

“I waited patiently for the Lord; and He inclined to me, and heard my cry. He also brought me up out of a horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock, and established my steps. He has put a new song in my mouth — praise to our God; many will see it and fear, and will trust in the Lord. Blessed is that man who makes the Lord his trust, and does not respect the proud, nor such as turn aside to lies.” - Psalm of King David #40:1-4

Today I turn fifty years old. It’s a strange number. I don’t feel fifty, yet there are enough experiences behind me which tell me otherwise. I still feel young enough to work all day out in the hot sun, yet suffer the effects of it for the next three. I just learn to be smart with my time, and pace myself through it.

I chose King David’s words in this particular psalm because I can’t say it any better myself. To be brutally honest, I never expected to make it this far. With the profession I chose, and the reckless pace I was living, I truly didn’t expect to make it past thirty-eight. I know there are a lot of people who can both attest to, and agree with this statement. Yet here I am, and that’s not because I’m smart, clever, or lucky.

I’m here, not because I’m living right, not because I said some magic words…but because there’s more work to do. God’s not finished with me. In fact, I believe He’s just getting warmed up. He has blessed me with good health, with my wits, with capacity, with talents, and with an amazing small tight-knit family.

Most of you know me from more recent years. A time after I committed my life to serving my Lord and Savior…my King of kings and Lord of lords…Jesus Christ. But there are others who knew me before that. Who knew me the first forty-two years. The people who encountered the savage, the violent man, the arrogant intellect, the heathen, the scientist, the murderer. They would not recognize this person today. And for good reason…because Jesus has created something new. I am indeed a new creation (2 Corinthians 5:17). And for those who knew me back then…this is the only reason I’m still alive. Because had it been left up to me, I would have left y’all back on 23 August 2018.

I walk by faith, not by sight. That means I don’t plan, I follow. Yes…I’m prudent about some small things here and there…but ninety-nine percent of my day I leave up to my Commander, my Captain, my Good Shepherd. That means I might say and do things which make absolutely no logical sense…at least not to the world. But that’s exactly how God prefers it, “For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God…” (1 Corinthians 3:19).

I realize, today, at fifty, Jesus is just getting warmed up with me. The last nearly eight years has just been an ice-breaker. Moses ran away from Egypt at forty after he killed that Egyptian guard. He fled to Midian and lived there for the following forty years. It wasn’t until he was eighty that Jesus visited him in the burning bush, and called him to his true purpose in life. I’m not comparing myself to Moses, I’m just saying, “With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible” (Matthew 19:26).

To the ones who truly love me and love Jesus, this is a pleasant and welcomed reality. But I also have enemies, just like everyone else. People who secretly wish for my demise. People who hide behind words, and conspire in dark places, who may not truly believe I’ve been changed, nor like the fact I’m still permitted to thrive and speak. To them, this should be a cause for great concern. Not because of anything I might do, but because of He who permits me to do these things. It’s a horrible thing to find yourself on the wrong side. I know, because I was once on that side. “It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God” (Hebrews 10:31)

I will go on. I trust first, therefore I can do. I know I’ll continue to struggle and make mistakes along the way. But I will go on, and I will see Jesus. Today was better than yesterday, and tomorrow will be better than today. So today, on my fiftieth birthday, I recommit my entire life to the Lord Jesus Christ. You are my strength and my song, and You are my salvation.

God Bless