#ThirtyThankfuls Day 15: A smelly “barn.”

“Where there are no oxen, the manger is clean,
but abundant crops come by the strength of the ox.” (Prov. 14:4 ESV)

It’s a busy day, a tiring day. There is much to do. I’m working late tonight, mainly because every night until Sunday is booked with something or other.

My office is dirty. My mind is cluttered. I want to get away and leave all of this behind, escaping with my books and my wife to a far-off place without dinging email alerts and ringing phone alarms.

On these days when the responsibilities are stacked and I need to stay on my grind, I remind myself of the verse above.

Because the easiest way to have a clean barn is to shoot your oxen–but that’s also the quickest path to an empty belly. A productive life is usually a messy life. That isn’t meant simply to glorify “hustle culture,” which can become quite unhealthy and unbalanced. Rather, it is to say that making things happen and taking care of my family means there will often be busy days and late nights.

So instead of being grumpy about my stacked to-do list, I’ll thank God for my fruitful (if cluttered) desk and keep at my task.

Goodnight, friends.

Pause.

Hey fam.

Today’s been a slog, and I don’t have a post ready. Ironically, today’s post was gonna be about work. However, I have more work to do today than time to do it.

I’ll be back tomorrow with two thankful posts.

Thankful for your understanding and your prayer support.

See you tomorrow.

—d.

Updates, Odds, Ends, etc.

Hi reader.

It seems like quite a bit of life has happened in the last 2-3 months, both in the world and here at home. I don’t have time for all sorts of detailed explanation, so here are the bullet points:

Work/ministry/family life is a bit hectic lately, but humming along. I’m thankful to God that my family and I are healthy and that He has graciously supplied all of our needs, just as He always does. That said, I’m feeling the strain of many commitments and not much time.
We are in the process of buying our first home. If you’re not aware of how ridiculous things are in the real estate market, I’ll just say that this video is only barely satire. We have a contract on the new place and may be closing and moving in over the next month (more on this later, I’m sure). As such, I may not be posting too much until after we get settled in the potential new homestead. (Of course, anything would be better than the almost-zero I’ve posted since the beginning of the year, right?)
Speaking of posting, I’ve started contributing to Things Above Us, a Christian group-blog. (Don’t get jealous–I’ve only posted once so far.) I would very much appreciate if y’all could check that out and, if it interests you, sign up for the email updates and follow us on socials. The guys I’m writing with are solid dudes, and it’s a pleasure to join them and contribute in some small way to the site.
I’ll be heading to Together for the Gospel in a few weeks, thanks to the generosity of a good friend. This will probably be the last time I get to enjoy a conference like this for a while (see above re: buying a house in this crazy market). I’m really looking forward to getting a little time away to worship and recharge. It’s been a tough spring.

That’s really all I’ve got going on: work, church, household, a little writing. But that’s enough.

Before I go, a couple links you may find interesting:

Starting on a somber note: as I’ve mentioned before, I love international versions of The Voice. Here’s a video from The Voice of Ukraine–one of my favorites, actually. Here’s a band of soldiers performing just a few weeks before their country would be invaded by Russian forces. There’s no way to know if any of these brave men and women are okay, but it’s just another reminder that this month-long war that may not directly touch many of us across the West has a very human cost.
Okay, this one’s actually somber, too: Austin McConnell gives us a glimpse of the heart-breaking secrets behind (literally) a 19th century French painting.
Less somber, more epic: here’s a cover of Metallica’s “Master of Puppets,” in the style of Muse.

That’s it. Happy Thursday, gang. I hope to post sooner again sooner rather than later. In the meantime, join the mailing list in the sidebar so you get notified every time there’s a new post. Thanks!