Dave Burchett's Blog, page 63

How Do You Become God’s Favorite Child?

I love my pastor and his family. That is a such a blessing to be able to say that. Jeff Denton brought his unique blend of wisdom, geekiness, humor, grace, leadership, Biblical truth and pastoral care to Wylie, Texas several years ago. Waterbrook Bible Fellowship will never be the same and that is a very good thing. Our church has four amazing and gifted pastors on staff with Jeff as the Lead Pastor. Check it out if you are churchless in Collin County. You never know what Jeff will say or post online. He is totally out there as a pastor, husband and dad. Recently he shared this exchange with one of his teenagers. “All it takes to be my favorite child is obedience.” “Well, I guess I’ll never be your favorite then.” I don’t know which one said that but I am sure it could have come from either J.J. or Amelia. I know that Jeff said that with

4 Profound Lessons I Learned From My Dogs

Reposted from Faithstreet.com. Esteemed theologian and reformer Martin Luther wrote about his canine companions, “The dog is the most faithful of animals and would be much esteemed were it not so common. Our Lord God has made his greatest gifts the commonest.” We can learn so much from these faithful friends about life, love, and grace. Who knew that some of my most profound lessons would be taught by a couple of rescued puppies? I am not ashamed to confess I have been discipled by my dogs. Here are a few “bite-sized” treats I’ve learned from my canine companions: 1. Revel in the life you have. Is there a better example of this than a canine companion? If only we could live like we were just let off the leash to run in freedom and joyous abandon. I wish I enjoyed anything as much as my dog enjoys everything! Enjoy the day you have. Sure, life can be hard and

The “Revengers” Are Not Superheroes!

The Avengers: Age of Ulton is the blockbuster movie that recently debuted to record numbers. It features the familiar Marvel comic book superheroes. The team struggles to stop Ulton’s plan to make humanity extinct. Sadly I have played a non-superhero for much of my journey with the Lord. I have tried (mostly unsuccessfully) to be a Revenger. When I am wronged I fight for my truth and my justice. If a relationship becomes extinct in the process that is the price of being right and for justice to prevail. Fortunately my role did not include any Spandex costumes. But the truth is I find revenge a much easier road to take than forgiveness. When I am wounded or offended my first response is usually sinful. I am hardly unique. A couple of guys who were really close to Jesus had the same sinful response to bad behavior. He sent messengers ahead to a Samaritan village to prepare for his arrival.

One Secret of Happiness.

Regular readers of these humble ramblings (all tens of you) know what an over the top dog lover I am. I shared this illustration in my new book Stay. A sick man turned to his doctor, as he was preparing to leave the examination room and said, “Doctor, I am afraid to die. Tell me what lies on the other side.” Very quietly, the doctor said, “I don’t know.” “You don’t know? You, a Christian man, do not know what is on the other side?” The doctor was holding the handle of the door; on the other side of which came a sound of scratching and whining, and as he opened the door, a dog sprang into the room and leaped on him with an eager show of gladness. Turning to the patient, the doctor said, “Did you notice my dog? He’s never been in this room before. He didn’t know what was inside. He knew nothing except that his

What The World Really Needs Now

In 1965 Jackie DeShannon recorded the hit song “What the World Needs Now is Love”. Three years later Dion recorded a song called “Abraham, Martin and John”.  In 1971 a Los Angeles disc jockey named Tom Clay combined those tunes with some news audio clips to create a powerful social commentary. What the World Needs Now by Tom Clay covers the two songs with versions by The Blackberries, a session recording group from LA. The record begins with a child trying to define some grown-up words like segregation and prejudice. It is a powerful reminder that although all of us are born broken and with a sin nature. The truth is that a lot of how we act on that sin nature is learned behavior from our culture and those around us. There is a better way. Here is how the song began… Interviewer: What is segregation? Child: I don’t know what seggeration is. Interviewer: Uh, what is bigotry? Child:

Want A Personalized Copy of Stay For Your Graduate?

If your Graduate is a dog lover you can give them a personally autographed copy of Stay. I have a limited number of special adhesive autograph plates that I am going to send out to purchasers of Stay. What a unique gift for Graduation to give your graduate a personalized and autographed book! I will personalize and sign this adhesive plate and promptly mail it to you. Go out and buy a copy of Stay or order online (this is on the honor system). Email me at dave@daveburchett.com and tell me where you bought it, how you want it signed and where you want it mailed. Simple. The cutoff date for Graduation gifts is May 31st or whenever I  run out of plates. Don’t miss out on this unique and special gift for your Graduate. Buy your copy, send me your address and how you want the book signed. This offer will end soon so fetch your copy today! (If

6 Things I Wish I Had Known in High School

  1.    I wish I had known that my high school years did not define me for life My teen years were a mixed bag of memorable highs and incredible lows. Now I realize that I am grateful for what I once considered some of the worst moments of my life. In many of those spiritual valleys you could not have begun to convince me that God was molding me or that those experiences could ever be of value. I have developed a heart of compassion for those who are wounded. Why? God gave me the privilege of being wounded early in my life. That sounds crazy as I read back over that last sentence. But I can now see that my struggles as an overweight, geeky and often outcast adolescent molded my heart to empathize with those who are hurt and ostracized by their peers. Had I been the coolest guy or the best athlete I most likely would not have developed

Fetch a Personalized Copy of Stay for Mother’s Day!

If your Mom is a dog lover you can give her a personally autographed copy of Stay. I have 200 special adhesive autograph plates that I am going to send out to purchasers of Stay for Mother’s Day gifts. What a unique gift for Mother’s Day to give her personalized and autographed book! I will personalize and sign this adhesive plate and promptly mail it to you. Go out and buy a copy of Stay or order online this week (this is on the honor system). Email me at dave@daveburchett.com and tell me where you bought it, how you want it signed and where you want it mailed. Simple. The cutoff date for Mother’s Day is May 4th or whenever I run out of plates. Don’t miss out on this unique and special gift for Mom. Buy your copy today, send me your address and how you want the book signed. This offer will end soon so fetch your copy

A Modern Twist on Casting Stones

I have become so discouraged with the level of discourse on Twitter, Facebook and the internet in general. The anonymity of cyberspace makes the cowardly courageous and the mean spirited downright evil. I have watched with sadness as Twitter trolls have destroyed or severely damaged people who posted unfortunate or thoughtless remarks. Sometimes the venom is directed at those who simply have a sincere difference of opinion on moral issues. Recently a video went viral with ESPN reporter Britt McHenry. Her rant against an employee of a towing company was disturbing. It was particularly hard for me to hear because I am from a working class and uneducated family. I immediately found myself judging her and condemning her. Then I stepped back and remembered a wonderful line from Pastor Tullian Tchvidjian. “We all sin and fall short of the glory of God. But that doesn’t keep us from comparing distances.” That is exactly what I was doing! I was comparing

There Is At Least One Reason Why April 15th Is A Wonderful Day!

(This is my annual revisit of one of the great stories in sports. Something to take your mind off of tax day) April 15th is not my favorite day of the year. Tax day is never fun for a guy who is organizationally challenged. My idea of being prepared is having everything in one box. But April 15th is a great day for baseball fans. Jackie Robinson made his major league debut at first base for the Brooklyn Dodgers on this date in 1947. It was a historic and significant day for baseball but even more so for our country. You can argue that the American civil rights movement was ignited when Robinson came to bat in Dodger Blue. The journey for Robinson was difficult at best and nearly impossible at worst. Many Dodgers players, mostly Southerners led by Dixie Walker, threatened to walk if forced to play with a black player. That ended when Dodger management let them know