….restricted in your own affections

2 Corinthian 6: 2-13

“Behold, now is the favorable time; behold, now is the day of salvation. We put no obstacle in anyone’s way, so that no fault may be found with our ministry, but as servants of God we commend ourselves in every way, by great endurance, in afflictions, hardships, calamities, beatings, imprisonments, riots, labors, sleepness nights, hunger, by purity, knowledge, patience, kindness, the Holy Spirit, genuine love; by truthful speech, and the power of God; with the weapons of righteousness for the right hand and for the left; through honor and dishonor, through slander and praise.

We are treated as impostors, and yet are true; as unknown, and yet well known; as dying, and behold, we live; as punished and yet not killed; as sorrowful yet always rejoicing; as poor, yet making many rich; as having nothing, yet possessing everything.

We have spoken freely to you, Corinthians; our heart is wide open. You are not restricted by us, but you are restricted in your own affections. In return widen your hearts also. “

A powerful passage from Paul, written as a calling to the Corinthians to not withhold their affection…to not receive God’s affection in vain. 

It’s funny….I am blessed far beyond what I deserve, and it is only when God continually withholds something a desire in the deepest parts of my heart, that my eyes are opened to my lack of appreciation of the love He so freely has given to me.  I strive and I work, counting only on my own power, until I do not succeed in an important endeavor. My eyes are then open to the fact that I only return God’s affection when I am desperate for a favor from Him.  Or…I acheive a great success, and realize I am treading dangerously in my own power and pride, and yet God has chosen to bless me anyway.

The first part of the passage speaks to the importance of living a blameless life for God, and also as a witness of Christ’s character.  It is a challenging passage no doubt…quite convicting for me at this time.

Merchant’s….Customer’s….is anyone really confused about this?

So, I was out with a few of my amazing friend’s this last weekend….We went to see The Watchmen and then ate at TGI Friday’s….It was a fun Saturday night, but I had to work that day, and I was even more irratable than usual….

Two giant pet peeves of mine were in full display at TGI’s (sorta like Dr. Manhattan’s junk in the movie…if you saw it, you know what i mean).

Why, in the name of all things sacred, is it necessary to delineate between the customer’s receipt copy, and the merchant’s copy?   THEY ARE THE FREAKING SAME! 

I am well aware of the fact you need a copy, you stupid merchant, and I do not need you to tell me which one….I can see they both reflect the same transactions…I do not need direction on which one to leave.  My guess is if I leave either one, you will be just fine, because amazingly they both note I had a chicken sandwhich that cost ten bucks.  Thank you though, for being so kind, and illiminating any possible confusion….otherwise who knows how long I may have been sitting there wondering which copy I needed to leave….It could have been hours, maybe days….Thank goodness you were so kind as to note conveniently at the bottom ,which exact copy I was to leave. 

But, then, after stewing in fury, wondering exactly how anyone could be so insane as to think it was necessary to mark the two receipts, I  realized why this is so….to prevent the poor waiters from having to answer the endless questions from the masses….”ummmm…excuse me, which copy do I leave?”….because yes….there are many out there who would ask this question, and to preserve what little sanity our waiters have, it was deemed necessary to specifically note which copy of the EXACT SAME RECEIPT was needed to be left for the merchant, so as to avoid this rediculous…..this makes me so bitter.

And if this was not enough, It was my luck that someone in TGI’s just happened to have a birthday….so I was destined once again to sit through yet another worthless and useless rendition of the Birthday song.   No, no, no….we can’t possibly sing Happy Birthday…This is TGI Fridays after all…oh no, we must make up our own special version of the birthday song, so as to be sure to make a good impression….I mean didn’t you hear it?  It was like the birthday song, but we clapped really fast and said happy birthday at least five times more than normal, with an emphatic “HEY” at the end…wasn’t that great?

NO IT IS NOT.  Just sing Happy Birthday you idiots!  For the love, just sing the friggen song we all know and be done with it! you can even shorten it!  Just don’t make up your own….no one cares!    AHHHHHHHHH!!!

But “HEY”, at least TGI Fridays serves a chicken sandwhich on garlic toast, which is actually a darn good idea (but they serve some entrees on square plates, some on rectangle plates, and some on the old fashioned round ones…why?  I have no idea, but I want to cry just thinking about it….who really comes up with this crap?).

Launch into a new life

Well, HELP’s first launch party has come and gone, and I came away with great hope.  We  still have plenty of things to work out and through

First off, the music was just amazing. Aaron Ivey, Kyle Lent, and Nate Navarro played some amazing and extremely inspiring music.  I highly recommend checking them all out.   

We also had our T-Shirts out in full force, and people made generous donations to obtain one.  It was very cool, and the design turned out great (thanks Strobe & Wade).  Props to Color Factory and Gilbert Sauceda for doing extremely high quality work and also coming out for the launch party!

Thanks to Sodade, and thanks to everyone for partaking in their great coffee.  The whole night just had a great “community” feel to it, and that is exactly what we had hoped for.  It was very cool of Sodade to allow us to use their place, and hopefully they were blessed by the business it generated. 

I think the challenge will continue to be in getting others involved on a personal level.  Making that connection where generosity  becomes love is something I want to strive for not only in myself, but for everyone who decides to make a donation to HELP.  While many give much out of the generosity of their hearts, a giver’s heart that is truly in love with the receiver will spend a life time by their side. 

Jesus so deeply cares for the people of this world….I hope I can get to that level where I will sacrifice everything to show the love He first showed me….I am very very slowly moving forward, and it is entirely due to the fact God threw me into a personal experience with his people at Musha Wevana children’s home in Zimbabwe.  Pastor John, Orpah, and the children were faces I could not ignore.

Risky Business…

I just sat through a church service where two friends of mine discussed the 7 week trip they took around the world.  No, not to your typical tourist attractions, but rather to the areas where most are afraid to set foot in.   Sudan, Uganda, South Africa, Zimbabwe, Iraq, India, and Cambodia….places filled with beauty….both in scenery and in the faces of the people….but also places considered highly volatile and in some cases quite dangerous (especially for two Americans).

It is difficult to wrap our minds around the issues that plague this world, which are so tragically highlighted in these areas….extreme poverty, orphaned children, HIV/AIDS epidemics, and sex/human trafficking to name several. 

On a lighter note, anyone seen the movie Taken?  It is a fantastic action movie where this ex…spy I guess, or special forces dude played by Liam Neeson goes after the sex traffic ring that kidnaps his daughter.   And how does he solve the problem?  Well he throat chops every last one of them in the process of rescuing his daughter.   Maybe Sly Stallone and Liam can get together and solve these issues with a few explosive tipped arrows and numerous chops to throats…

But since that does not appear to be the answer, maybe the Body should be?  Ahhh….but isnt it risky business traveling to these areas?  As my two friends referenced today, I point you toward Mathew 25: 14-30….the parable of the talents.  We can not expect to take what He has given us, hoard it to ourselves, and then reep a great reward.  I don’t want to live until I am 90, having done nothing to answer His calling to be a defender or advocate for those who are so less fortunate. …tossed into a life with no opportunity.    No, rather I am motivated to risk myself…rather it be my life, my money, my time, my career, etc….to be used to make a difference….Don’t be overwhelmed by fear or doubt that any of this can be changed.  It is our jobs to be obediant and faithful…nothing more.

If I am promised that by risking everything, we will gain so much more eternally, why don’t I do it?  I can’t be discouraged by my past failures either….just keep pressing on.

HELP’s Launch Party is February 28th.   More to come on HELP and the future of our risky endeavor.

Trade deadline comes and goes….

Mavericks’ message to fans….”We Love Our Team”……not so sure I love the message.  But, again my hope was to land another rotation player without giving up our top 3 scorers or Kidd.  My bet is Donnie tried, but the “sellers market” appears to have been a myth.  Everyone wants to dump salary?  really, so why would no one take Stackhouse?

I heard a Damp/Stack for Vince Carter trade rumor…..ummm thanks but no thanks.  Damp is amazingly underrated due to his fat contract.  No way am I giving up my one…count that ONE interior defensive presence.   Damp rebounds amazingly well figuring boards per minute played, plays solid defense, has the bulk to hang with the Mings, Duncans, and Shaq’s out west,  and sets great screens.  Damp is overpaid, but he is a player you have to have in this league.  Again, no way am I making a trade where you break even or get just marginally better.  We aren’t beating the Lakers with a trade like that.  We had to get lucky, and score big….it did not happen, but it was not for a lack of trying, I am sure.

The good news?  The Aggie alumn (WHOOP!) Antoine Wright put up another 20 point game in Terry’s absense.  If he can just give us 12 points and D up like he did against Carter last night, I can live with that.  Word is that Stackhouse is coming back and will play meaningful minutes, and I am actually excited for some reason.  Guess I still have good memories of the past.  Stack..You Can Do It!

Stuff

Some recent thoughts on ministry in America. 

I have long struggled with our career centered culture.  The “American Dream” if you will (bet you have never heard that one before!!!).  Everyday I go to work, and many of those days I long for something more meaningful.  I think Followers both young and old struggle with finding  the ”calling” for their life in the midst of the chaos and never ending grind of corporate America (or running a small business…..working full time, you get the picture).  I am tired….I am exhausted…and at the end of the day did I advance His Kingdom? 

This is the struggle for me in a nutshell  (everytime I use that phrase I think of Austin Powers….”no this is me in a nut shell, help help how did I get into this nutshell…what shell has a  nut like this?”)  .

In the last 2 years, having visited South Africa and Zimbabwe, while working with my Pastor on his non-profit, I have come to realize that with great discipline and perseverence, we have the opportunity to turn our working ways into a gigantic movement toward advancing His Mission.  I AM NOT ASHAMED OF THIS COUNTRY and our wealth.  I am encouraged to use our culture and wealth more wisely.

The recent economic developements have emphasized this in the past several months.  What if we lived comfortably, yet far below the level we could,  and devote the created excess to eradicating poverty?  How as a society can we garner so much wealth, yet find ourselves in the midst of an economic depression?  It is mind boggling, and I am convinced this Nation, set to face possibly very trying times, is ripe for a revolution directly related to how we spend the money we have been so richly blessed with. 

What if I, instead of purchasing a home, choose to live with my parents or several roommates ( I am single), and devote a large portion of the $1200 or more I save to making a difference for those who have nothing?  How can I justify spending money on life’s luxeries knowing that there are children in need of simply food and shelter?  Don’t get me wrong, I will undoubtedly continue to spend money on entertainment and “wants’, and I could forever debate within myself whether spending any money above my basic needs is right, with so many impoverished in this world.  BUT, I have to make changes. 

 I have to take responsibility for how I am using the money I receive as a direct result of the culture I am proudly engulfed in.  Using this money in a responsible, Spirit feeled manner can be done in many ways (and would be fun to debate).  If I take this approach, then when I end my day, do I reflect on that day and see meaningless work?  NO I DO NOT, because I am no longer working to build my own wealth, but rather I am working so that I am using the financial flexibility I have been blessed with to make a difference in the lives of those who do not have such an opportunity.  It would almost be irresponsible not to work, if my finances were truly devoted to HIM.

More thoughts to come on this….

Allstar Break…

31-21……on pace for 49 wins….one shy of 50 to extend the Mavericks streak of consecutive years with 50+wins. 

We all know what happened this time last year…..we make a trade for Kidd and give up Harris.  Well hindsight is 20-20, and it sure would be nice to have swapped J-Ho instead.  Well….actually it would have been even better to have fired Avery after the Golden State debacle, but what can you do? 

All in all Kidd gets a bad wrap.  The guy is a player.  He brings so much to the table, and I think trading him at this point would be purely lateral.  We all know his weakness…..he can’t score….and of course this is the Maverick’s weakness.  But, if you trade Kidd for a scorer, you likely lose the passing, rebounding, leadership, and Kidd’s timely ability to make the key defensive plays down the stretch.   The Mavericks have to find a way to add scoring without giving up any of our top 3 scorers and Kidd. 

And I just don’t see that happening, but I’ll wait and see like everyone else.  If anyone is to be traded from our starting five and Terry, it has to be J-Ho.  The problem is, I just don’t see us getting back anyone in return that would be a significant upgrade.  J-Ho has played better all around of late, but his inability to get anything done in the 4th quarter is unacceptable when you are suppossed to be the team’s second best player. 

Dirk has been amazing once again.  How a player can be so underappreciated, I’ll never know.  He is expected to dominate the flow of the game from the power forward position, which is just idiotic.  Dirk is a 7 foot power forward, with guard like shooting skills and above average ability to drive to the basket.   BUT Dirk is not a guard, and guard’s dominate the flow of the game and create shots for their team mates.  The Mavericks are in desperate need of a starting caliber two guard that has the size and scoring ability to compliment Kidd’s skills at the point guard position. 

The Mavericks front office should  only be concerned with finding this 2 guard.   The second best option….finding an inside scorer…..but man do we need a 2 guard that can put the friggen ball in the hole.

HELP

John 3: 30 is a short but sweet  verse that reads “He must increase, but I must decrease”   It speaks simple and ultimate truth to me….and I also have it tatooed on my body which must have some relevance here. 

I am currently in the process of helping to jump start a non profit titled HELP-HelpEndLocalPoverty.  I am the one in the core group without any real identifiable skill, so I just help get what I can get when I can….and stuff.  Our website is    helpendlocalpoverty.com.  Check it out.

I hope to use this blog as a way to talk to myself….and get  the thoughts, emotions, and musings off my chest, as we struggle to get HELP off the ground, and hopefully change the lives of a few orphans impoverished in Zimbabwe  (and eventually those in poverty all across the globe).   Well…we just hope to be a part of His movement.

I already have learned rule one of blogging.  You may want to check out your name, before you make a blog address.  Otherwise, you might find out that JD Maverick is also the name of a “professional” wrestler from Edmonton, now Louisville, Kentucky….just google it.  

jdmaverick is significant because my name is John David, and I love the mavericks.  See the signficance? Amazing I know.    I suggest you read between the lines as much as possible.  It will blow your mind.  I hate the fact I even started this…

JD

You’ll like the way you look…I guarantee it

That my friends, is the Mens Wearhouse Guarantee, and I have no idea why it exists.  I coined the phrase “The Mens Wearhouse guarantee”….I mean they made up the saying, but I turned that phrase into a simple, sarcastic, and mocking way to emphasize how much of a sure bet something really is. 

So you know when I say  “you’ll enjoy my gatherment of words on this blog”, is the equivalent of the Mens Wearhouse guarantee…..well….you are guaranteed nothing, because it is a worthless phrase.  How about that?!

On a more serious note………..Does anyone else have a  problem with The Mens Wearhouse slogan? 

I have a HUGE F’n problem with it. I mean what that heck is the significance of this statement?  Seriously ( <-now you know the serious part is coming), who in the crap buys a friggin suit and then says “man….I totally look like a POS in this bad boy…I wish they guaranteed I would like this suit…you know the one I picked out for MYSELF and voluntarily purchased…..oh wait….I am an IDIOT”?  

I know the first thing I do when I make my gameplan to shop for some sweet new apparel is think to myself “gee  I wonder if this shop will guarantee that I have half a brain, and can actually pick out an item that I find aesthetically appealing?”  I do not require a guarantee in this matter.  This just in….if I don’t like it, I won’t buy it…or is that just too simple…

I want to rip my ears off and tear my eyes out and throw them in a fit of surrender.  Are you happy?  I no longer even desire to possess the ability to hear or see the second this commercial infects my television.  The mere thought of it sends me into an uncontrollable/helpless,  Charlton Heston on his knees, fist pounding the sand, staring at the head of the Statue of Liberty yelling “Damn You” tail spin of…RAGE!

Actually I just change the channel…..well double actually I don’t even have cable…. but whatever…I really enjoy exaggerating….and  I like adjectives.