The Week In Review
October 18, 2025
One Good Thing This Week
Joe Flacco, forty years old and barely ten days into a new playbook, walked into Cincinnati and started slang’n Thursday night. Let this sink in… a quarterback who was sitting at home two weeks ago threw for 342 yards and three touchdowns against one of the league’s toughest defenses. He even ran a zone-read keeper like a college kid trying to prove he still had wheels. The Bengals, who looked lifeless a few weeks back, suddenly have hope as they beat the Steelers 33–31.
Joe Flacco is preaching an old sermon to a new generation: you’re never too old to matter. In a world that idolizes "the next big thing," here’s a man reminding us that experience, muscle memory, and quiet confidence still count. He’s not the flashiest athlete on the field, but he’s seasoned. He’s steady. He’s proof that wisdom under pressure can still win the day.
You older saints need to be reminded: you may not be running two-minute drills on national TV, but your moment is coming—next week, next month, or next year—it is coming. When it does, you won’t rise to the occasion. You’ll default to your preparation.
Flacco didn’t get lucky; he stayed ready. That’s the difference. He stayed in shape. He stayed sharp. He stayed humble enough to take the call when it came. So here’s the truth for every man who thinks his prime has passed: You’re not done. You’re not disqualified. You’re not past your usefulness.
Age doesn’t disqualify you—apathy does.
So lace 'em up. Keep studying THE playbook. Stay ready for THE call. Because when it comes—and it will—your moment won’t care how many birthdays you’ve had.
Flacco proved what the old, faithful saints already know: You’re never too old for one more fight [or one more disciple].
Something Beautiful This Week
Read about the beauty of persistence this week…
Anthropologists Daniel Lieberman [Harvard] and Dennis Bramble [Utah] call this persistence hunting. Early humans patiently tracked their dinner—learned its routines, vulnerabilities, and watering holes—until a single, well-timed burst of energy put it on the fire. That’s the same rhythm every writer, preacher, or thinker must learn: long stretches of slow pursuit punctuated by moments of desperate intensity.
Nobody writes a book in one sitting. You follow it around for months. Poke it. Prod it. Watch it graze in the back of your mind. Let it hide. Then, one day, you strike—and the whole thing falls beautifully into place.
One of my professors at Portland Bible College used to say, "Fall asleep in the processes of God." He’d grin and quote Genesis: "The Lord put Adam into a deep sleep—and when he awoke, there was a naked woman beside him." The class, of course, roared. "Do what you know to do," he’d say. "Read your Bible. Go to work. Study. Serve. Keep at it. Eventually, you’ll wake up to something that will blow your mind."
Many of you need more stalk in your walk.
You’re good at chasing good ideas, but you rarely surrender to great ones.
You’re great at sprinting through a project, but allergic to anything that takes longer than a week.
Yet God wired you for mountains, not molehills—for long climbs, not quick conquests.
The tragedy is that you’ve settled for sand dunes because you get bored halfway up the hill.
Get out of the dunes and get up the hill. The view is much better from the top.
Something Worth Imitating
Picked this up from James Clear this week—really, really good:
"Your thoughts and actions belong to you just like your possessions. Every so often, it helps to declutter—donate old clothes or clear out a crowded shelf. Maybe it’s time to let go of some unhelpful thoughts or outdated actions too."
That one hit me.
This weekend, take five minutes and do something simple but powerful:
Go into your closet or garage and find something you no longer need that’s just taking up space. Get rid of it.
Then do the same thing in your mind. Clear out the thoughts that keep you anxious, bitter, or small.
And finally, do the same in your heart. Release the grudges, the shame, the self-reliance, or the fear that’s crowding out God’s peace.
Clutter—physical or spiritual—always costs us space for something better. So make room this weekend.
For margin. For peace. For the Spirit to move.
My 3 Favorite Quotes of the Week
"We are weak, but we are His." — Richard Sibbes
"If you have an apple and I have an apple and we exchange apples then you and I will still each have one apple. But if you have an idea and I have an idea and we exchange these ideas, then each of us will have two ideas." — Source: "The United States in World Affairs." NBC. April 3, 1949.
"There is a place called 'heaven' where the good here unfinished is completed; and where the stories unwritten, and the hopes unfulfilled, are continued. We may laugh together yet..." — Tolkien, Letter 45
Stat(s) I Found Interesting This Week
Young people today, especially young men, do not understand how reading books can alter the trajectory of their lives. Reading for pleasure among American adults has declined by 40% over the past 20 years.
It was recently reported that only 28% of men read a work of fiction, compared to 47% of women [19-point gap]. A National Endowment for the Arts study found that just 40% of men read any book at all that year.
This dramatic decrease in reading is happening while a deepening existential crisis among young men is rising. Record numbers of young men are not getting married, not dating, not enrolling in school or working, and struggling with serious mental health issues. Correlation? I think so. Can reading save us? In some ways, yes…
“Reading maketh a full man; conference a ready man; and writing an exact man” — Francis Bacon
My Favorite Pic This Week
Most men do not realize that increase is just three moves away. 98% men stop at "this is pointless…"
Brothers, keep going.
Book(s) I Read This Week
No book this week, but I am excited about the new Springsteen biopic. Though I am questioning a movie about a guy’s life who is still living. Could be a weird flex. We’ll see…
Song(s) I Listened To This Week
"Can you tell me what happened to the seeds I’ve sown?"
What God Taught Me This Week
"So Elisha left him and went back. He took his yoke of oxen and slaughtered them. He burned the plowing equipment to cook the meat and gave it to the people, and they ate. Then he set out to follow Elijah and became his servant." — 1 Kings 19:21
Elisha didn’t just walk away. He destroyed every trace of his old life. He burned the tools that once defined him. It’s as if he said, 'I’m not coming back.'
I love the idea of being called, but I often forget that calling involves cost.
Sometimes it’s the cost of comfort. Sometimes reputation. Sometimes control.
Elisha models what it looks like to trade predictability for obedience. He refuses to let nostalgia compete with calling. His fire on that field was both a sacrifice and a statement. A visible declaration that his future now belonged fully to God...
___________________
**This is an excerpt from the piece Burn the Plow written by my brother
this week. Incredible read about life on life discipleship. Per usual, God used him to teach me… Read the whole thing HERE.
Looking to connect in person? Here are some places I’ll be in the next few weeks:
Men Serving God, The Levitt Pavilion, Arlington, TX, October 21
Brothers, my pledge to you…
"You will never suffer at my hands. I will never say nor do anything knowingly to hurt you. If you're down and I can lift you up, I'll do that. I will always, in every circumstance, seek to help and support you. If you need something and I have it, I'll give it to you. No matter what I find out about you, no matter what happens in the future, either good or bad, my commitment to you will never change."
For the King,
—Harp
Thank you for sharing this Brother. What struck me most is the consistency in your message discipline, persistence, and staying faithful no matter the stage of life. I loved your point about Joe Flacco age doesn’t disqualify us; staying ready and obedient does. It reminds me of 2 Timothy 4:7 I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith True faithfulness is about preparation, endurance, and obedience, not timing or recognition. I also resonate deeply with your reflection on persistence and falling asleep in the process of God.” That’s exactly how God molds us through seasons of waiting, studying, and obedience. Like Elisha in 1 Kings 19:21, sometimes we must burn the plow, leave the familiar, and fully surrender to God’s calling, trusting that He will provide and guide. Your words about decluttering our hearts and minds are powerful. Philippians 4:8 reminds us, “Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable if anything is excellent or praiseworthy think about such things Letting go of clutter grudges, fear, or distractions opens us to God’s peace and purpose. Brother, I have tried to text you many times to share about our ministry here in India, and I would deeply appreciate your prayers and guidance. May God continue to use your writing and teaching to inspire and transform lives.