by David Docusen | February 6, 2009 | Uncategorized
The past week has been such a breath of fresh air. I feel like I’m finally back into the swing of things again. The past month was enough to really test our mettle in the Docusen home. Several exhausting things packed into one month seemed to have caught up with me. However, this past week has been amazing.
I finally caught up with a lot of the loose ends that were out there a couple of days ago. That meant that the last few days have been given to free thinking, new levels of creativity and reconnecting with people in our Hope community.
I’m so looking forward to the coming weeks. I really believe that God has given us clear direction with the new series, Engage, that we are jumping into this week. Good times.
by David Docusen | February 5, 2009 | Uncategorized
We finally had a big snow storm last night. We woke up to several inches of snow on the ground. This was enough for us to get all bundled up this morning and take Max and Mary sledding on the hill on the side of our house.
Great way to start the day!
by David Docusen | February 4, 2009 | Uncategorized
Dara and I started marriage counseling tonight with John Gum and Ginny Peterson. This is our favorite thing that Dara and I do in ministry. We love being able to invest into young couples the things that God has invested into us.
Great night. Great couple. Lots of fun 🙂
by David Docusen | February 4, 2009 | Uncategorized
I have a confession to make: I love the cold.
I know for a fact that if my good friend Vinnie Zarletti ever hears this he will never let me live that down. I have been consistently a fan of the searing Florida climate. Cold was always anything under 60 degrees.
I should clarify my confession: I love North Carolina cold.
I was really not looking forward to a real winter. However, it’s absolutely beautiful here! I love the fact that NC has all four seasons, but none of them are too harsh. The hot is not too hot and the cold is not too cold. If it snows, it doesn’t stick around long. If it’s scorching hot, it doesn’t stay that way for months on end.
I love the cold. North Carolina cold.
by David Docusen | February 2, 2009 | Uncategorized
I have been reading “Outliers” by Malcolm Gladwell. It’s an off-center look at successful people. It talks about the role the people around extraordinarily successful people play in their success. From Bill Gates to The Beatles to professional hockey players. A great quote is from Gladwell himself summing up this book: “This book is not about tall trees. This book is about forests.”
I used some illustrations in this book on a recent sermon I did on Biblical community. Quite an interesting read if you’ve not yet checked this one off of your reading list.
A very compelling portion of this book was when Gladwell talked about the 10,000 hour principle. The basic theory here is that it takes a person 10,000 to become an expert in their field. He chronicles Bill Gates’ early experiences on the first computers. The Beatles 8 hour sets/7 nights a week schedule in Hamburg, Germany. Many other examples.
I started to think about this in relation to faith. I was talking to Dara a couple of weeks ago about our faith walk in coming to Charlotte with no guaranteed pay. I asked her why she was so calm all the time about our current situation and her reply was immediate: “It’s easy for me to believe.”
I thought about the hours and hours that we have put in to prayer over the years. I thought about my childhood. I thought about observing my mom trusting God to simply keep the lights on at home. I thought about making it through college with no outside help. I thought about raising our kids and leaning on God to teach us so much. I started to add it up and I really think that Dara and I, individually, have both put in at least 10,000 hours of simply believing.
Don’t get me wrong. I’m by no means implying we are “experts” in having faith. To prove this point, just two weeks about I found myself leaning over the sink as I was washing dishes at Caribou Coffee praying this great prayer of faith (sarcasm): “Please, Lord, don’t forget me. Don’t forget my family. Don’t forget your promise to provide.” Not a prayer I’m very proud of, but I am very human. God understands. And he answered that prayer (of course).
I think the reason Dara could look back at me and say, “It’s easy for me to believe” is because God has brought us through so much. He has shown himself faithful in 10,000 hours-plus of having to believe. All of the experiences of our lives have led us to this point.
All of this to say this: don’t despise the current circumstances of your life. Even if you’re in the midst of complete breaking. Put your trust in God. Simply put – BELIEVE. The hours will continue to rack up and you’ll get to a point in your life where you’ll be able to confidently say, “It’s easy for me to believe.”
Matthew 6:25-27 – 25 “That is why I tell you not to worry about everyday life—whether you have enough food and drink, or enough clothes to wear. Isn’t life more than food, and your body more than clothing? 26 Look at the birds. They don’t plant or harvest or store food in barns, for your heavenly Father feeds them. And aren’t you far more valuable to him than they are? 27 Can all your worries add a single moment to your life?
