The Power of Showing Up | Exodus 11 | Crossroads Daily

But Dean Schaup was a music teacher, not one of my teachers, the dorkiest guy in the world. Like, we had nothing in common, but he just cared for me. To this day, I'm 50 years old, he texts me on my birthday. Come on, man. And for up until like five years ago, he would have breakfast for my birthday every year. Wow. And he was the only one at that time that believed in me. This is the Crossroads Daily. No experts, no perfect people, just honest conversations about what happens when the Bible shows up in real life. Welcome to Crossroads Daily. My name is Caleb. I'm Dani. I'm Josh. And I'm Arturo. We're pulling up to the end of the week and the end of the plagues. We have one plague left. It is the worst plague, as you might have guessed. It's the death of the firstborn. So God says the firstborn of Egypt, of livestock, from Pharaoh to the servant, even of his people, if they don't do something about it, which they do, they put blood on the doorpost, is going to die. And Pharaoh is still obstinate. Despite all the things he's seen, his heart is hard and he will not let God's people go. One man in a whole nation is about to throw it into chaos, right? It's going to cost thousands of lives because of his choices. So thinking about our lives, I think, and I don't think, I know there are places where we have outsized influence, right? Our choices can raise the water level or really drain it down. Where is there a place in your life where you see that at play

and where you've seen yourself do that, either raise the water level or drain it back down and what you learned from that? I'm in the midst of something that has a lot of political charge behind. And I feel the weight of responsibility. I feel like people are waiting to hear what I say to either reinforce what they think or more reason to avoid me. It's hardening of a heart either direction. And so I feel this pressure always of, I got to be careful what I say to this person or that person or anybody because how I react will sway them in a direction. And so that weight is so hard and it's such a sense of humor from God because I like to speak up about things I actually care about. And this one I do because it has a lot to do with what I'm going through. And I have to be quiet more often times than not because of the responsibility I feel I have with the people around me, if that makes sense. It makes a ton of sense. And you're accepting that responsibility by not offering your opinion all the time. Right, because if I do... It's a hard thing to do. You're saying one that could influence thousands. Maybe it's not thousands, but it's my close friends. It's people that do have influence. And I don't want to be irresponsible. So I sooner opt out of saying anything because I don't want to mishandle it. We're not talking about lives here, like life or death, but it's just mindsets and opinions I don't want to reinforce. There is a weight and a responsibility. Yeah. Where do you guys see that in your life?

So in 2009, we had just started coming to Crossroads maybe a year before that, and I was doing whiz kids, and that was where they were busting kids in from the inner city. We were tutoring. It was amazing, amazing, so fun. Somehow I got roped into the Go New Orleans trip to lead Vacation Bible School, and I was like, okay, why not? Let's do it. Do I have to go on this trip? And they're like, yeah. I was like, oh, I'm just going to plan it? They're like, no, you have to go on it. So I came home, and I said to my husband, I was like, hey, we're going to New Orleans. He said, well, I'm not going to New Orleans. And I was like, yeah, we're going. He's like, I don't think I want to do this. Well, fast forward. We went, and it changed everything. He got baptized, met some of the greatest friends of his life that just shaped who he is as a man today, shaped our entire trajectory, my trajectory included. I mean everything shifted because we said yes to that trip. And so I always think about like what's the thing right now that I can say yes to, that God's just going to throw gas on it because those are fun things. Totally. The thing I immediately thought of was my kids. So I have six kids ranging from 13 to almost 30, and I'm discovering with my older kids right now there are a lot of things I instilled in them that have not been good. Well, I have a strong sense of justice and I have a very strong opinion about things, and now with my kids

I'm finding, we were talking about this earlier, I'm finding that some of them are having very little grace for people in places where they don't see justice. And so like I'm having to do some backtracking with them, going like okay, now I know this is how I behaved but maybe, maybe we should learn to love people. And for them, they're just like, oh no. No, no, no. Where's my dad who would kick down the door? So with my older kids especially, I'm having to sort of moonwalk back on some of the things they learned from me, which is challenging and also a lot of fun, but more challenging than fun. Yeah, I'm glad you said that because that's what I thought of first and I'm there, I'm where you were. So I have three kids that are 11, 11, and 9, so we're like in the heat of it, in the thick of it, and I want to set them up to exceed me, right? And I know that they will learn faith and money and relationships from what I do, right? I don't always want to do the right thing, you know what I'm saying? Like, I want to come home from work and just veg out, not make a relational investment in them or their mom or go see a friend, right? Or whatever. Like, I just want to veg. And one of the things that I'm seeing now too is I veer the other direction. I'm too kind about everything, right? So like, their crap is everywhere and I'm like, okay, I guess I'll just pick it up for them, right? And their mom, who is the truth teller, and my wife, who's the truth teller, is like, I need you to play bad cop sometimes, like not just be the good one. Because I'm here with them all day. Like, not me, but she is there with them all day. Dad comes home and just does all the fun stuff. And so I'm having to be intentional about taking teaching moments, right?

You can't talk to your mom like, I don't have to be mean about it, but like, we literally had one yesterday. I said, boys, when mom tells you to do something and you don't do it, you know, that's disrespectful, right? They're like, what? Yeah. You wouldn't do that to me, would you? And they were like, no. I was like, why would you do it to her? And it was a good teaching moment over lunch. And the only reason I thought to even pick it up is because my wife was like, hey, man, you can't just be the fun guy all the time. You know, and I don't want to send them out into the world with not the best that they can be. So that outside influence at home is real. Thinking a little different direction, who's had an outside influence on you in a positive way? Who's sharpened you or molded you, turned you into the person that you are today? Like, let's give people some props, right? We can complain a lot, or we can give people some of the flowers while they're still here. Don't wait till they die to give them the flowers, right? Give them the flowers now. So who is it? The easy one for me is my wife. Like, she has had the greatest impact on my life. So that's easy. But like, the other one is this man named Dean Schaup. He was a junior high school teacher.

And one of the many times I was getting expelled, I was getting ready to be kicked out of school for the year. And my principal, Dr. Miracle, shout out Dr. Miracle. She was amazing. That's literally her name. And she saved my life. She brought me in, and she had my expulsion papers. And she said, we're going to try something to get you in school. And you just have to meet with this guy and do like some community service or whatever. But Dean Schaup was a music teacher, not one of my teachers, the dorkiest guy in the world. Like, we had nothing in common. But he just cared for me. To this day, I'm 50 years old. He texts me on my birthday. Come on, man. And for up until like five years ago, he would have breakfast for my birthday every year. And he was the only one at that time that believed in me. And I was a miserable person, teenager, just miserable. But this guy, he had no reason to believe in me. He had no reason to show kindness to me, and he did. And it's the longest relationship I have ever had in my life. life. It was incredible. Yeah. I love that. And I still call him Mr. Schaub. Yeah you do. Yeah. Yes you do. Got to. Yeah I have to call him Mr. Schaub. Yeah. Who else has one? I would say, and thank you for the opportunity to give a flower to Victor Martinez. Come on. My pastor, he's the Espanol pastor here at Crossroads, and I was saying earlier, you know, my default right now

with the responsibility I feel I have is to not say anything. But I'm so thankful that he will lovingly tell me, but remember also who it's for, because who it's for is who should be on your mind when you really choose to say it or not. And he pushes me to say it. I don't like to talk, and I'm scared to, but I know I have to. And he always puts me in a place where I know, so if I say it, it'll be rooted, and who I'll have in my mind will be exactly why I will say it. And I'm very thankful that he's in my life to be able to always put me into the spotlight when I don't think I want to be or have to be. Yeah. I love it. I guarantee you will have a good day if you take up this challenge. Who can you give a flower to today? Give them some encouragement. Who has had an outsized influence on your life in a positive way? Shoot them a text, make a phone call, send an email. I don't care how you reach out, but tell them. Tell them how they've impacted and changed your life. It'll make their day. It'll make your day. It'll give you a little bit of joy. We could all use some of that. We'll see you next time.