MikePaschall.com

Since the move to Colorado, I’ve tried to do more long walks outside instead of only working out in the gym. We live in an area that provides ample views of Pikes Peak and the Front Range, so being outside (if it’s not 25 degrees, cloudy, with 30 mph winds) has its sensory advantages.

But, we weren’t in Colorado last week. We were in Texas. The good thing about small towns is that you can be in the country within minutes. That is especially true around McGregor. Rich farmland surrounds the community. From McTown, a five-minute ride in any direction puts you in the middle of black dirt heaven. The wheat fields and wildflowers normally dominate this time of year, so it’s a good time to get outside. It’s green everywhere in Tejas right now.

So I did that last Sunday morning. I went for a long walk. I had my mom drive me out of town and let me out at the desired mileage marker. After mom drove away, I lay in the middle of the road and did some stretching. It was quiet. Nice. I was alone. Just what I had hoped for.

I made a few calibrations on my phone and popped in the ear buds. While walking briskly I noticed that the recent rains had really stimulated the grass growth. Most everything was some variety of green. The gentle breezes caused the carpets of grass to sway and swing. Every gust moved the grasses with memorizing motion. I was really dialed into the podcast, so I primarily focused on the teaching, but I do remember thinking that there is nothing but grass for the next five miles. Long, green grass.

After about 30 minutes of absorbing the podcast, I noticed I could barely hear the podcast any longer. There were sounds of birds, grasshoppers, frogs, and crickets. It got so loud that I took the ear buds out of my ears. Suddenly I was aware that I wasn’t alone. There was a whole variety of smells and sounds that I guess I had been ignoring. Then I realized that down in the tall grass and weeds, the Texas wildflowers were everywhere. Indian Paintbrushes, Bluebonnets, Buttercups, Blue-eyed grass, Black-eyed Susan, Mexican Hat, Indian Blankets, Thistle blooms, Winecups, and Mountain Pink. The colors and smells were spectacular.

I had only been looking down the road towards the next turn. That perspective facilitated only one visual aspect of what was around me. As I’ve already mentioned, the long grass was standing above everything else. In the distance, all I could see was green grass. But when I started looking at what was immediately around me, I could see the hidden color exploding everywhere. The butterflies and bees were doing their thing. The crows, dove, cowbirds, Red-tail Hawks, and Scissortails were putting on a clinic. I am usually pretty good at taking in what’s around me, but for some reason there was a whole nature drama thing happening right under my feet, and because I was focused elsewhere, I almost missed it.

I don’t usually quote or think about scripture in such reflective moments, but a passage did surface in my mind. I spoke out loud, “The whole earth really is filled with His glory.” It wasn’t so much that I felt God’s presence in all of that, but I was aware that His creation is still paying dividends. I know we know a great deal about how things work on this big ball we live on, but the fact that man has only been drawing, photographing, recording, and sampling the goods on earth for a relatively small window of time is argument enough for me that He is good with man’s brief taste of the goods, but the overall show of glory was for His own delight. He’s enjoyed earth and its changes for billions of years.

I feel we children of God are mostly naïve and misguided by our presuppositions of what we call our walk with God. I do think we’re sometimes sincere, sometimes not, and mostly we just follow the bouncing ball without any direction at all about what we’re to do if the ball actually lands in our laps. Indeed, there is a good chance the whole earth is filled with His glory, and that challenges me to tap into that—whatever it is. I want to slow down on my assumptions of what I think that means. Sure, there are some tares in the wheat, but there’s also beauty in the weeds and long grass. What you usually see or don’t see kind of depends on what you’re looking for.

I’ll end with this: don’t be so sure your mission is His mission. Don’t be so focused on “out there” that you can’t be effective in here (and visa versa). Don’t dismiss the weeds. There could be some unexpected or unexplainable glory just waiting for you to discover as you tackle the daily grind. You don’t have to be on an exotic adventure to uncover His wildly glorious creation or His sacred purpose for your life. Look closer. It could be right where you are or right where you’ve always been. I have found that to be more true about my own life than not.

Oh yeah, if you thought I was going to talk about the “grass” in Colorado, sorry to disappoint. In that context, that’s a whole other conversation. Maybe, next time. : )

Love you all,

MDP

My first instinct was to honk the horn and then flip him off. All I could feel was screeching shame and embarrassment. I wanted to tell him to put the sign away, get back on his bike, and ride off into the sunset. Where he might go didn’t really matter to me… just as long as it was a place where there were no people.

I wanted to scream. I wanted to cry. I wanted to punch him in the throat.

I did want to talk to him, but I already knew that would be a total waste of time. He wasn’t just walking with his sign… he was marching. Desert boots and camo-pants relayed the message that this soldier was not to be messed with. Saving the world from the clutches of hell is serious business.

Let me set the stage for you. I was running errands last week, and a guy I’ve seen at other places in town at various times had set up shop at one of the busier intersections in Colorado Springs. The message on the large neon-green sign he was carrying began with the word FORNICATORS.

Fornicators. I never hear that word used anywhere by anyone. Who talks like that? Anyone throwing that word around as a normal way of speaking isn’t prone to lead with grace.

Other attention getting words included in the message were: AGONY, ETERNAL FLAMES, JUDGEMENT, and of course… SIN and HELL. You couldn’t smear fear and condemnation any thicker.

Sounds yummy, huh?

God could not have been painted as any more pissed, and this guy confirmed it: Humanity must be God’s great mistake. HELL is God’s just and delightful obligation.

Pack your bags, people! Hope you like hot and smokey.

I double-checked my bible. That word fornicators is found in the New Testament twice, but there is no mention of hell in either passage. Of course, there are strong warnings about life choices in the 1900-year-old text, but the notion that FORNICATORS (or anyone else on the lists) are automatically bound for hell isn’t in there.

If I am to give this guy the benefit of the doubt, I think this was some kind of weird attempt at evangelism. Maybe, but I’m not totally certain that qualifies as evangelism. No alternative remedy was offered. Just burn baby, burn.

If the streetwalker was attempting to jolt people to do something in order to escape the flames of Satan, the sign could have easily read, “You are so screwed.” In theory, it’s supposed to be helpful. It’s not. I checked around. A few did flip him off. There were honks and angry stares. I just wanted to crawl in a hole.

I do wonder how he got like he is. FORNICATORS. Wow! Had he caught his wife in bed with another lover? Did his momma split with another man when he was a child? Was dad a pla-ya? What? What has happened that causes people to peddle such an angry God vibe? Where is the love? Have they ever really met Jesus at all?  

If Jesus is the poster-child of the Trinity, we’re going to have to add love, grace, and forgiveness back into the equation. The divine perspective is for a benevolent universe.” Richard Rohr

Anything that remotely smacks of hope, begins with GOD is LOVE. That is more than enough to change your life forever!

Streetwalker was having none of that. There was no alternative suggested. Just alienation. Although he didn’t offer salvation as some kind of solution, you’d still have to wonder, what is the point?

So… what about you and your evangelistic notions? What’s your angle? Do you think people need to be saved in order to escape hell, or do you think people need to become aware of the magnificent blessing of life afforded us by His grace, His love, and His lavish forgiveness? We have the best news on the planet! That might not always be said about how we package and deliver that news.

I wish I could make my own sign. Not on neon cardboard, but written on people’s minds and hearts. It would say:

LOVE MUST EXPRESS ITSELF

Yes, God loves you…

Even when you get it wrong.

Yes, God loves you…

No matter what you believe.

Yes, God loves you…

Regardless of how life has treated you.

Yes, God loves you…

In spite of what hate tells you.

Yes, God loves you…

For GOD IS LOVE.

This is for you streetwalker:

Lord, I pray that you would break through somehow to this man’s heart. Heal what needs to be healed. Touch every wound and restore peace. Show yourself as alive and loving. Holy Spirit, bring the witness of Your presence to his mind. May his message become the same as Your message: “Forgive them Father for they know not what they do.” Amen

Love you all,

MDP

xo

“God created man in His image. Ever since, we’ve been returning the favor.” -Mark Twain.

I recently attended a couple of funerals that took place inside of churches I had never attended. I didn’t know either person being memorialized, but I knew at least one of the family members. Both services were beautiful and fit the normal pattern of the stuff that we do at funerals in the South.

During one of those services, the projected image on a massive screen behind the altar showed a large image of Jesus with a kid on his knee. At first I didn’t really pay much attention, but the longer I looked at the picture, the more it dawned on me that Jesus looked identical to Barry Gibbs of the famed Bee Gees. Of course, I had to mention that fact to a friend who was sitting nearby on my pew. The glare of his wife suggested, “Am I going to have to separate you two?”

What kind of put me over the edge was the picture of the child. He had a chili bowl haircut, platinum blonde hair, and radiant blue eyes. Where the heck did that kid come from? Sweden? How the Fig Newton did a kid from Sweden get to Jesus back then? Barry Gibbs and a kid from Sweden… in a church in Central Texas… WOW!

The other service provided another opportunity to take note of the art in the church, but it wasn’t quite as obvious. This service involved family, so it pretty much obligated me to make a comment. In a hallway after the service, there was an 8” x 10” picture of a very white Jesus. My nephews were the first to hear my keen observations: “Oh look, Jesus has a mullet.” He did. Jesus looked like a white hockey dude… with a serious mullet. People in Michigan or Minnesota would have been very proud.

I know. I need help.

Artists have been trying to capture the essence of Jesus for a really long time. Of course we don’t know what He looked like exactly, but at least we have some idea of what a Middle Eastern man could have possibly looked like before day spas, hair salons, Wahl beard trimmers, plastic surgery and sunscreen. I’m thinking a darker complexion than… say… me?

That’s kind of the point of this. Do we make Jesus out to be somebody who is like… me? He thinks as I do, He likes and agrees with my politics, He absolutely adores my theology, my worship style preferences and God talk, He totally approves of my flawless style, He too is a conservative capitalist and likes winners, and basically he likes grits because I like grits (that’s a Pastor Peter Lord quote).

I think I should be scared if He really is like me. I know me. I know me well. I need a counter-influence that can still love me regardless of how little I know and understand about the things of God. I would like to love like Him. I would like to be known as a person who embraces everyone I encounter. But, it’s not going to be very good if it’s the other way around.

I love hearing my Paige’s Jon lead worship. I believe in the boy’s juice and I always feel wind when I get to be around that. One Sunday recently, while visiting his church, I felt I had a very liberating encounter while worshiping. I could see Jesus at a distance. I couldn’t make out the details of his face, but I could tell that he had on a brightly colored coat. As I moved closer to him, his coat looked like it was covered in thousands of bottle caps with different colors and different writing on each one. Suddenly, He dropped the coat off his shoulders and the coat fell to the ground. He said, “See me.” I pointed to the crumpled coat, “What about that?” He said, “Those buttons are your projections of how you see me… how everyone sees me. Your paradigms are in those buttons. Don’t be distracted by those projections. See me.”

That was the end of that moment.

There’s more to Him than a tanned Fabio in a smock. Way more. Find the real. Don’t be so certain you understand it all or Him. He may not think like us at all (especially when it comes to the stuff on our spiritual buffet). Those buttons were ours. Not His.

“Ah, ah, ah, ah… staying alive… staying alive.”

Love you people!

-MDP-

I’ve about decided that tribalism (of any kind) is a closed system. It’s not as open and free as it markets itself. It’s just another container that has rules of engagement, boundaries, high fences, and concrete explanations, which are designed for declaring and defining present reality. We so desperately want to be free, but within the confines of tribalism (especially religious tribalism), we’re anything but free. Ultimately, that’s very disturbing because it was for FREEDOM, that Christ has (past) set us (that’s supposed to be all of us) FREE (Galatians 5:1).

As much as I believe Paul meant what he was saying, he didn’t always act, sound, or look very free. Many times, Paul looks exactly like the old tribe he was trying to get out of. Factious, warring, exclusive, and dogmatically certain pretty much summarizes the old lineage. I’d add faithful, but I’m not sure it was always warranted. I do think Paul was trying to get out of the container he had always been a part of, but you know how it is when you’re one of many crabs in a steep bucket. Something or someone is always pulling you back into the norm. Freedom is a process… not an event.

How we were is always trying to get a foothold on how we are.

You have to get your mind right to align yourself in all the freedom that was purchased for us.

So, are you?  Are you free?

Free to think?

(To actually think outside the box of right and wrong—good and evil?  Have you ever tasted anything different from what you’ve always been served?  Is everyone wrong who thinks differently from you?)

Free to expand?

(To read and listen to thinkers who have more questions than answers?)

Free to doubt?

(Without having to rush back to home base in order to be accepted or approved? To consider mystery, and that God might not be as predictable or explainable as we seem so assured?)

Free to ask questions?

(Without fear of being exiled or defiled from grace, fellowship, or heaven?)

Free to not conform?

(Real transformation doesn’t happen by marching in cadence with everyone else. That’s conformance. Deep transformation happens in the obscure lonely walk through valleys and shadows. Jesus is our prime example of that kind of courage.)

Honestly, are we really free?  Or do we have to maintain our certainties in order to maintain our faith?

I have to answer the question also. I’ve lost interest in being just another crab in the bucket.

Love you people!

-MDP-

For the past couple of months, I’ve handled more boxes and crates than I really want to ever remember. Moving definitely puts you in touch with your baggage… inside and out. Some of these crates we’ve been hauling around for the past 20 years. Unpacking them is just too much. So we’ve hauled them again… and again… and again. It’s fairly harmless when it comes to our tangible stuff, but not so good when it applies to our internals.

We have definitely unpacked more stuff than not, but the energy required to uncover all of our loot requires patience and fearless fortitude. I say patience because our culture seems to be geared with the default posture that if we can’t see immediate visible results then we’re not making progress, or we have failed altogether. That attitude is an enemy to faith. Faith isn’t that practical. Faith involves plunging ourselves into deep mystery. It’s in the deep that transformation happens, and that isn’t always immediately discernable by yourself or others. We all know how to act. We’ve all got a little bit of Hollywood in us.

The fortitude part is the fearlessness and endurance to actually get at “it”—stay at “it”. Breathers and rest are good, but sooner or later, you’ve got to dive back in and address what looms in the dark pile. Real rest remedies fatigue, but sometimes you can’t rest until you’ve confronted what loiters in the shadows. Stay at “it” long enough and you’ll run out of projects. That is some of what freedom feels like.

I’m in the gym about 6 days a week, but there is something about moving that touches muscles that you didn’t realize you had. Everything currently hurts, but that is only temporary. The deed is done. The journey is here.

Advil please.

Love you all!

-MDP-

Gitty up Trigger!  It’s time.

It seems that every two or three years I post something about our moving again. The reason that I do that is because every two or three years we move again. Blink-blink.

I think we can honestly say that it’s never premeditated. It mostly happens because we’re responding to some opportunity or some impression of what appears to be a season change. Moving to Waco in November 2013 was bittersweet. We left a community of people who had previously rocked our world. It was hardcore and spiritually intense. We had forged deep relationships with honorable and loving people. Not everything there was up to that standard, but leaving Georgia wasn’t easy. Yet, there was a sense that family needed to be the focus for the next season—and that was especially true for Patti. So we moved.

The last two and a half years in Waco have been anything but boring. We came not knowing much more than Patti needed to seize time with her mom (the Martha we had always known) while there was still opportunity to do so. Within weeks of being here, it was obvious that the decline was definitely happening every day. What was to be a casual check-in a couple of times a week, became and 24-7 care concern almost immediately.

Early on, our evenings consisted of wine, cheese, crackers, and a lot of teary debriefs. Az (Alzheimer’s, dementia, you name it) was kicking our family’s butt. We had no idea what we had signed up for. Dementia was making more trouble than we had foreseen. So, we started reading and studying. A brutal topic, but it had to be done.

I still marvel that I got to witness firsthand how a daughter responded to her mother’s need. Lots of people pull on Patti’s life and I can honestly say that she gives and loves as well as anyone I’ve ever known, but in this situation with her mom, it’s been something more than just taking care of mom. Patti dived in deeper with the woman who had always been there for her. She wanted to connect and give security when Martha’s reality window of the familiar was closing. My words will never accomplish the true justice of what this season was like. “Horribly glorious” is about the best I can convey with words. It has truly been a privilege to witness. I’m convinced that my girl is a bad ass.

(I certainly realize that Patti is not the only person that has signed up for such duty.  If you’ll look around, there are people giving themselves away for the sake of a parent or a child or a mate everywhere. The fact that humanity is still willing to do that is a good thing. I genuinely think it’s part of His image shining through us. The ancient rites of family.)

It was hard as hell, but it was also tender, sweet, and precious—still is. Now that Martha is in a memory care facility, the efforts to connect are still important. Patti goes everyday to visit with her mom. Yes, her mother appears to be content and safe in that environment, yet Patti has become another source of light to more than just her mother. Workers, aides, residents and staff all pull from the radiance that she carries. Loving on Martha is the primary motivation, but you know Patti can’t help herself as so many others are in such close proximity. Everyone gets a touch. It’s an amazing gift to behold.

So, one week from today, we will put our stuff in a Penske truck and drive the 850 miles to Colorado Springs, Colorado. For the third time, that is where we will lay our heads.

Much like the other 27 moves, there is no way to really know what is ahead. Departing here to live there does pull on our hearts in many ways. Leaving our moms again is hurtful. Martha is unaware, but a part of Patti’s life and ministry stays here. Not seeing her mom everyday is going to leave a huge vacuum. Regularly touching her mom has brought a lot of joy and happiness to my girl. Seeing her mom’s smile when she walks in everyday is righteous love. That is going to be a massive void for them both.

My mom is healthy, alert, and doing her own thing. I suspect we’ll still spend lots of time together. She loves Colorado, and of course her people who reside there. I’ll miss the ability to pop in on my brother and sister on a whim. We’ll miss a lot of our spiritual kids who are still hurting from grief and loss. Being near Jimmy and Lorna is about the only thing we can actually do for them. Yes, it’s still really hard. Thank you for your continued prayers.

Longtime garden friends, who know our story and get how we roll, understand this move. Their supportive affirmation is helpful. We agree with the Beatles: We get by with a little help from our friends! Thank you so much!

I suspect that the bulk of our friends here in Central Texas won’t even know we’re gone. We’ll be in and out of here on a fairly regular basis. With the moms and family here, we’ll be around.

Besides, I’ll have to in the winter. The white stuff freaks me out. (Help me Jesus!)

Come see us!

Love you all,

Mike  xo

OUR NEW MAILING ADDRESS!

7824 Flicker Grove  .   Colorado Springs, CO 80920

Check it out: I recently saw this video on FB and now I know why it went viral. It’s really sweet.

There is something about being picked that really does us some good. Feeling left out and overlooked totally sucks, but getting the nod of approval is one of the more uplifting things that will ever happen to us.

I tried to put myself in this guy’s shoes. Evidently, he had served this kid and her mother very well. Apparently the bond is genuine and the payoff is extremely sweet.

I loved his line which revealed his heart: “Yeah, I’ve been wanting to do that forever.”

Dad got picked, validated, and affirmed. Let’s eat some cake!

There is a great passage of scripture in the Bible that points out a stated reality:

“Thus we have been set free to experience our rightful heritage. You can tell for sure that you are now fully adopted as his own children because God sent the Spirit of his Son into our lives crying out, “Papa! Father!” Doesn’t that privilege of intimate conversation with God make it plain that you are not a slave, but a child? And if you are a child, you’re also an heir, with complete access to the inheritance” (Galatians 4:5-7, The Message).

There are some pretty exciting things in that passage:

1. We have been set free
2. We are fully adopted as His own
3. We are heirs
4. We have complete access to that inheritance!

That news is so good we can hardly believe it, and that might be our problem.

Like the young woman in the video, we need to pick, validate, and affirm what God has already done for us. It has always been in His heart, but He patiently waits for us to decide to live fully in the acceptance and freedom that He has so graciously afforded us.

He picked us before we knew it. Maybe it’s time for us to stop earning, and transition to receiving and living in the full rights of our inheritance. Like the young lady: “Yes Lord, I’ll take that deal! I choose to live in Your unconditional love and acceptance!”

He picked so we could pick. What a deal!

Love you all,

Mike xo

If you missed reading Simple and Simple #2 this video is pretty much your summary.  I apologize if you’re not Matrix savvy.

Once we’ve stared down our addiction to being noticed or needed, and then face our thirst for being right, certain, and important, the final temptation must be wrestled down: CONTROL.

Jesus was propositioned the third time by darkness with the ultimate sugar stick: “It’s all yours, dude. Just play the game, bow the knee, and you can have it all!” (Matthew 4:8)

That is a serious offer, and regardless of the source (which most of us have no issue overlooking) it’s too much power and control for us to ignore. It’s a legit temptation.   Verse nine clearly reveals the costs, but too many are usually willing to gamble.

That’s a very heavy judgment on “all the kingdoms of this world.” In all these systems, self-interest has to dominate. For Kingdom people, self-interest cannot dominate.” – Richard Rohr, O. F. M.

Make no mistake, the third temptation is all about power and control. And as Rohr indicates, it is the culmination of all three temptations into one package: “The great lie, a mythological riddle that can’t be solved—The sin of the world.” (John 1:29)

About the only way to combat the gravitational pull into this numbing cycle of default normalcy is to sell out to gospel living. And that, my friends, isn’t very easy. His yoke is easy and light, but it’s also pretty much counter-flow to every world system in place. I’m not talking about fist-pumping rebellion here, but a different rhythm and a different path—a peculiar stride that doesn’t find its value by blending in with more of the same or how it’s always been done. The amount of counter energy Jesus exuded towards the kingdoms of this world was astonishing! Homie didn’t play.

I know serious-minded ministry people who believe they’re exempt from such things, but actually, “we’re” not. In fact, there is more temptation, not less. It’s not easy to resist the rewards of any system. That’s why the game gets played over and over again. What we’ll do for a little honor, glory, recognition, or control. Sigh.

Darkness finally split the scene when Jesus spoke words that ended the conversation. True to form, He offered the ultimate antidote to nullify the poison from the liar’s tongue. Again, we are reminded that we are to govern our lives by values that come from a different space and reality. And about the only way we can get to the true essence of that rhythm is to center ourselves in God’s full acceptance of who we really are. We can stop with the self hype. We can truly be grace. That doesn’t require marketing. It requires trust.

It simply takes faith to believe that. You’ll know when you’ve met someone who believes. You’ll feel the grace and sense the Sabbath rest. It really is that simple.

Love you all,

Mike   xo

There were three temptations. Three times “the dark” attempted to over-extend the light—trying anything to get Him out of his rhythm. It didn’t work. Jesus knew who he was and what his Father thought of him. You normally can’t manipulate or jack with people who are grounded in that kind of shalom.

Last week we looked at the first temptation or addiction: our need to be noticed or needed. Honestly, it’s a brutal conversation. I don’t know if you’ve figured it out or not, but your number of Facebook or Twitter followers doesn’t have a damn thing to do with who you are or your value as a human being. And if you don’t know that, you’ll spend the rest of your life trying to get noticed, get recognized, or get some proverbial wink of approval. What a horrible, horrible, horrible waste of your life juice.

God I feel better for saying that!

Let’s move on. I’m tired of thinking about it.

The second encounter that Jesus faced was the whole, “Since you’re God’s son, jump!” (Matthew 4:6) This is our addiction to being right, to be in, to be a part of the moral elite, to be saved and superior—all for our own benefit. This would be a thing called self-righteousness. This is the spirit that will step on humanity for the sake of a religious notion. If you want to talk anti-Christ… look no further. It was juicy bait—but Jesus didn’t bite.

More evil has come into the world by people of religious ignorance than by people who have intentionally sinned.” –Richard Rohr, O. F. M.

The problem is our NEED to be right—our insecurity without our certainties—our ridiculous pride about our certainties. It’s nice to be right every now and then, but that driving need to be superior, righteous, and elite is just downright uuuggglly.

Rohr points out that when the young rich man asked for the specifics of how to gain eternal life, Jesus didn’t give him any real answers, because it was the wrong question (Mark 10:17). Jesus didn’t play by the rules. He didn’t play the game that everyone else was playing. There is a real possibility that much like “darkness” the young man didn’t really want answers. He only wanted affirmation of what he was already certain of. Selling his stuff wasn’t going to buy the boy a ticket to heaven. We don’t believe that do we? If you do, why do you still have your stuff? Why? Ain’t you going to heaven? Jesus help us to have eyes that see.

Jesus offered the same kind of solution to the person struggling with lust: “Fine, cut out your eye, but you’ll soon figure out that your problem is not your eye. It’s your heart.” (Matthew 5:29)

Our need to be right, to be on top, to be certain, to be THE authority, the big-dog, the alpha are real temptations. Simply, it is an addiction of great concern. Don’t just like this.  You should hate this… it’s in us.

Wow… three pieces of scripture. Guess that constitutes as preaching. Sorry.

Love you all!

Mike  xo