I ran across a version of the Lord’s prayer from Matthew 6, but written in kid’s language. I absolutely love it. It captures the heart of what Jesus taught the disciples to pray.

I’m not here to argue whether Jesus meant the prayer to be recited verbatim or used as a template because honestly, I have no idea which is right. I do think that this prayer is a good guideline for how every prayer should sound, but i’ve also been known to pray it when I have nothing else.

But i do know that this rendering is maybe my new favorite paraphrase of what Jesus taught the disciples to pray as part of the Sermon on the Mount:

That’s it. That’s what I want. To be inside the will of God. No more, no less.

Anything I could ever desire outside of the will of God would never satisfy. It would seem good to me for a season, but in a little while would ultimately prove to still leave me wanting.

If I am inside the will of God, then I am truly safe from all alarms. What is there to fear if God is with me? Even if the will of God should call for my ultimate sacrifice, God will be with me and give me grace to endure. And afterward He receives me into His glory.

So that’s what I want above all else — to be smack dab in the will of God, now and forever.

I was thinking recently that the wisdom to make good decisions typically comes from lessons learned by making bad decisions. You would think that most of us could learn by observing the bad decisions of others, but apparently that doesn’t work so well. We tend to think that it didn’t work for that guy but it will work for me.

Patience is one of those things that you need but don’t really want to pray for, because the moment you do, your patience gets tested. Then you find how little patience you really have. But I suppose that the goal is that each time you have a little more patience than before. At least that’s how I imagine it works.

But if there’s a skunk eating my food, I think I can be wise and patient rather than hasty and stinky. At least I would hope so.

“The man of many friends [a friend of all the world] will prove himself a bad friend, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother” (Proverbs 18:24, AMPC).

The best kind of friendship is the one where the other person is your friend just because. It’s not because you’re popular or attractive or talented or know the right people. Some people just like you for you and choose to be your friend, no matter what.

Those are rare. Those are the ones you need to cling to and hold on to and never let go for as long as God allows, because those are blessings from God. Those are the roots of a tree that stay firm as opposed to leaves on the same tree that blow with the wind and never settle down.

I’ve always heard that Proverbs 18:24 speaks of Jesus as the friend who sticks closer than a brother. I know that another passage speaks of Jesus dying for us while we were yet sinners when most of us would hardly lay down our lives for our friends. Jesus instead laid down His life for us while we were His enemies and far from God.

That’s the kind of love that you see in those unconditional friendships. Those are the friends who will believe in you when you can’t believe in yourself. They will believe for you when you can’t believe. They will keep pointing you to Jesus and modeling Jesus to you until you start to look more like Jesus.

Those are the best.

Do you know when a joke becomes a dad joke? When it becomes apparent.

Also, you know that a pun has fully matured when it is full groan.

Thank you, folks. I’m here all week. Be sure to tip your waiters and waitresses on the way out.

Good night.

It’s interesting to me how karma is suddenly very popular — even among those who profess belief in Jesus. This is not about how karma and faith don’t mix. That will be for another post at another time. This is about how everyone who believes in karma always seems to believe in it for other people.

It’s always someone else who will get karma because of their bad behavior. Never me. I get a pass. I get grace. I get forgiveness. But that other person? Karma.

Even if I believed in karma, I’m pretty sure that’s not how it works. You don’t get to pick and choose who experiences the negative consequences of their actions and exclude yourself. If I want grace for me, I should probably extend it to others. You know, that whole thing about my forgiveness from God hinging on my forgiving others? That.

I believe when I point a finger at someone, there are four fingers pointed back at me. Maybe that’s why my grandmother told me never to point at anyone. But especially when I go to point out someone else’s sin or failures, I’d better make sure that I’m perfect. Or as Jesus said, I’d better make sure that I am without sin before I cast that first stone.

Maybe a better way is for me to be honest about my own sinfulness. For people to see Jesus in me, they don’t need to see me as perfect but forgiven. If I’m going through a struggle, I want someone who’s been there to talk to and to tell me about life on the other side. If people are looking to find peace and fulfillment, the best thing I can show them is not that I’ve got it all together and my life is perfect but that I fail and fall down but I have a Savior who can pick me up and forgive me and make me new.

Maybe the best way to show people how much they need Jesus is to own up to how much I need Jesus. Maybe the best way I can show people how to meet their need for Jesus is to spend the rest of my life running after Jesus the same way He ran after me when I was furthest away but needed Him the most.

I agree. I need a day between all my days, especially those weekdays. If I had to choose just one, I think I’d add a day between Sunday and Monday.

It never fails that I will get plenty of rest and sleep during the weekend (which I realize probably makes me sound like I’m 90), but once Monday hits, I feel like I’m coming down off of some manic binge where I’ve been up for 48 hours straight or like I’m recovering from a triathalon. It’s only Monday and I’m already tired. Really?

Mondays make me thankful for coffee. Actually, every day that ends in the letter y makes me thankful for coffee. I just sense my need of caffeine more on Monday.

Or the workplace could incorporate nap time like we used to have back in kindergarten. I can just see the Fortune 500 boss telling all his employees to put their heads on their desks for 30 minutes while he turns down the lights so everyone can sleep. Sadly, I’d be down for that.

Maybe I’ll just stick to my coffee and caffeine addictions.

In all honesty, I hate when that happens. It’s like my belt loop never gets caught on anything unless I’m already in a hurry or in a bad mood. In fact, it seems that when I’m already having a bad day, everything inanimate seems to work against me.

But maybe that’s God telling me to stop being extra. Maybe God is saying to me to stop making it all about me — my agenda, my wants, my desires, my timetable . . .

I think that part of the reason I can’t really hear the voice of God is that I’m too much in my own head or too much into my own internal conversations to make room for any other voices. That’s when I need to be intentional to at least let God into the conversations I’m already having in my head.

I do think that pinky toes are designed for finding the corners of furniture in the dark, regardless of your mood. Maybe that’s a part of the fall. Maybe it’s just those little toes being extra. Maybe it’s God teaching me more of that humility and dependence. But can they not? Seriously?

I hate it when I do dumb things. It’s annoying.

Tonight, I went over to Franklin where they had the Bluegrass on the Harpeth festival. It was great seeing so many people gathered together for music on a relatively mild summer evening. I had a near perfect evening, marred by one thing I wish I could take back or do over.

I went to the ATM to deposit some money. All that went according to plan. Then I went to Barnes and Noble to check out their vinyl and eat some of their cheesecake, not in that order. It was only when I arrived at Barnes and Noble that I realized that I never got my debit card back from the ATM machine.

So there it lies in the belly of that First Horizon ATM. And I feel dumb. But it’s not the end of the world.

I still have my credit cards. I have a small amount of cash. I will be ok.

I’ve learned throughout my journey through this walk of faith that beating yourself up repeatedly over mistakes doesn’t help you grow in grace. Giving yourself grace does. When you allow for your fallenness, you make room for forgiveness and grace. You learn to see your need for God more.

The key is to forgive yourself and learn from your mistakes. I can laugh about it, but hopefully, I don’t keep leaving my debit cards in ATM machines. And most likely, I will get a shiny new debit card out of all this.

“Dear Lord, you are the first of the just. You lived the righteous life. It is because of you that your heavenly Father keeps this world in existence and shows his mercy to us sinners. Who am I, Lord, to expect your love, protection, and mercy? Who am I to deserve a place in your heart, in your house, in your kingdom? Who am I, Lord, to hope in your forgiveness, your friendship, your embrace? And still this is what I am waiting for, expecting, even counting on! Not because of my own merits, but solely because of your immense mercy. You lived for us the life that is pleasing to God. O Lord, you are the just one, the blessed one, the beloved one, the righteous one, the gracious one.

I pray that your Father, the Father of all people, the One who created me and sustains me day in and day out, may recognize in me your marks and receive me because of you. Help me to follow you, to unite my life with yours and to become a mirror of your love. Amen” (Henri J.M. Nouwen, A Cry for Mercy: Prayers from the Genesee).