Latest / Beliefs, Ballots, And BullDawgs / Friday August 7, 2026
Transcript
- Greg: Hey, good morning, everybody. It is Friday, August 7th, 2026. I'm your host, Greg Miller, and today's episode of Beliefs, Ballots, and Bulldogs and Birthdays. ⁓ today is actually my my 48th birthday. I am officially middle-aged and ⁓ finding myself in that unique position of not necessarily gaining wisdom in life, but certainly gaining some perspective and and really becoming aware of. of the aging process, ⁓ so to speak. I've dealt with some physical injuries and things of that nature. And ⁓ let's just say, kids, I I'm telling you, old age ain't no joke. Take care of yourself, ⁓ stretch, do all the mental exercises because ⁓ once you start getting up into your upper forties, it it's a it's a game changer. But you know, e every birthday tends to tends to lead us to the same kind of questions and same kind of thoughts. You know, how how do you feel? Do you feel older? Do you wish you were younger? And you know, honestly I I I don't really think that way. I I kind of I don't really think about how many birthdays I've celebrated, but but more in in in kind of a grander vision of things, just how many days in general God has blessed me with. You know, the the older I get, though the more I feel like I realize that that life isn't celebrated in in birthdays or any kind of milestones. It's life is just about the ordinary Tuesdays, the family dinners, the the random phone calls and and ball games and conversations. The quiet moments, just just reflecting with the Lord. And and oftentimes it it's it's moments that we don't appreciate when they're happening. But when we look back on them, we we really realize that that's that's the culmination and the totality of of our life. And you know, it's kind of got me me thinking about this as far as, you know, what if God gives me another 48 years? What would what would I want those years to accomplish? And honestly, not not to accomplish for me, but for him. You know, our Wor our world counts everything. Everything is is ⁓ monetized and numerized. We count followers, we count paychecks, we count our retirement balances, our championships, promotions, we count birthdays. But I don't think God is as interested in in how many years we live as He is as what we've done with those years that, you know, He has entrusted us with a certain amount of time on this earth to to spread his word, to help make heaven crowded. And You know, every day is a gift. Every sunrise is mercy. Every breath you take is an element of grace. None of us earned today. God gave it to every single one of us. If we look into God's word, Psalm 90 is the only psalm that was written by Moses. And think about that. Like Moses lived quite an extraordinary life. He he spent 40 years growing up ⁓ in Pharaoh's palace as an adopted child of Pharaoh, so to speak. He He spent 40 years out tending sheep in the wilderness. He spent 40 years leading the Israelites through the desert after breaking them from slavery. You know, Moses understood something that most of us don't learn till way down the road in life. And that's that you know, life moves quickly and things can change. But listen to his prayer in Psalm 90, verse 12. Teach us to number our days that we may gain a heart of wisdom. Love that verse. It's it Notice what Moses isn't praying for. He's not praying for more days or more years. He's asking for God for more wisdom. He doesn't pray, you know, hey, Lord, let me live longer. He prays, Lord, help me live wisely. You know, Moses understood that a long life without purpose isn't success. A life spent faithfully walking with God, that's success. And maybe that's the prayer all of us need, not Lord, give me more time. But Lord, help me make the most of the time you've already given me. And look, as I've thought about, you know, turning 48 years old, I haven't spent much time really thinking about getting older. I I think I'm kind of past that stage. I'm trying to spend a lot more time just thanking God, thanking him for the blessings that I've never deserved. You know, thanking him for parents who who loved me, believed in me, but corrected me when I needed it and pointed me towards what matters. Mom, Dad, thank you. You you've been one of God's greatest gifts in my life. I I I thank him every day for my incredible wife, Haley. She she walks beside me through victories, through disappointments, through celebrations, and through difficult seasons. She has loved me ⁓ and been far better for me than anything I could ever deserve. And I thank God every day for her. Haley Lynn, I love you to death, baby. I I I thank God for my daughters, Bailey and Maddie. You know, being being a father, watching them grow has been one of the greatest privileges of of my entire life. The the thought that God entrusted me to be a part of raising those two amazing, special, beautiful human beings. It's it's mind blowing. I I raising raising daughters has taught me more about God's love than I think I would ever understand without it. So I I I thanked him for that. I I I thanked him for for the friends he surrounded me with. I have always been surrounded by By people who have helped me, lifted me up, and helped make me who I am today. Kelly and Brian Nobles are our are our best friends right now. They are our life partners. Kelly and Brian, I I appreciate everything y'all do for us, the love, the support. You guys are like family to us. It doesn't have to be blood. We love y'all to death, and and I hope we can always be friends. ⁓ I I thank, I thank God for everybody that's that stood beside us. ⁓ I I thank God for for David Smith. Good Lord, is that hard to even say? through throughout the time and the years and the distance. You know, David and I always had a unique connection. And and and frankly, without David agreeing to do the other podcast with me, common sense superheroes, I I can tell you with with some degree of certainty, I wouldn't be sitting here doing this every day. So David Smith, I I'm grateful for you. I I'm grateful for all the people who have who have celebrated the victories with us, who who have prayed for us, who have encouraged us. And frankly I'm just I'm grateful for For people being around to remind us that life's not meant to be lived alone. I as I look back over forty-eight years and you know, on one hand it seems like an awful long time, but on the other hand, it it it feels like just a mist. I've realized that the the greatest blessings in my life were never things. They were never materialized things. They weren't they were it was people. It was it was never possessions, it was never something I could purchase or own. It was relationships, it it was It wasn't accomplishments. It was the the feeling of those accomplishments with people that mattered. I'm I'm grateful for the grace that God has shown me. God has been far better to me than I ever, ever deserved. And I like I'm not saying life has always been easy. It hasn't. And I have made some mistakes. I have made some some questionable decisions. I have gone down some paths that may not have been chosen for me. There have been disappointments, there have been failures, there have been some heartbreaks, there have been mistakes, there have been questions. But through every season, God remains faithful. And I look back now and you know I can honestly say that that some of the hardest chapters of my life are are truly where I learned to trust on Him the most and where I learned to lean on Him. And if I have one kind of general overwhelming feeling as I turn 48, it's simply gratitude. Gratitude for a faithful God, gratitude for an amazing family. Gratitude for the privilege of being able to do this every day and open God's word and share it with people. And gratitude that by his grace, I I get yet another day, another opportunity to tell my wife and my daughters that I love them, another opportunity to grow closer to Christ, another opportunity to help lead someone and hopefully point someone towards towards the good word. The greatest gift God ever gives us is not another day to be here. It's not good health. It's not a financial success. It's not anything like that. The greatest gift he he gave us is what we keep coming back to. It was his son. Every other blessing in life is temporary, but the gift of Jesus Christ and the salvation that comes with him is eternal, it is permanent. Jesus stepped into time so that you and I could spend eternity with him. We can't even comprehend eternity. It's massive. That's the greatest gift any of us will ever receive. And you know, if if today was my last day and not just my 48th birthday. Look, that truth is still enough. I know where I'm spending eternity. My hope doesn't rest and never has rested in how many years I have left. It's not up to me. It's up to him. My hope rests in the one who conquered death itself. So let me leave you with the same prayer that Moses prayed thousands of years ago. Lord, teach us to number our days that we may gain a heart of wisdom. Don't waste today chasing things that don't matter. Don't spend time fretting over things that'll be gone by tomorrow. Call your parents and tell them you love them. Tell your spouse, tell your children, hug your kids, forgive somebody, encourage a friend, and spend some time in God's Word. Pray with your family, laugh a little bit, worry a little bit less. One day we're all going to look back and realize life wasn't made up of a bunch of extraordinary moments and milestone celebrations. It was built one ordinary day at a time. And every single one of those days was a gift from God. Thank you for letting me spend a few minutes with you every day. Thank you for listening. Thank you for allowing me to share what what God's teaching me. This that's all this is, is my daily devotional, and I'm just sharing it with you. I I pray that he gives all of us hearts to to value the time that we've been giving and the time that we have left, but more importantly, to value the people he's placed in our lives. Y'all have a wonderful day. And as always, get in your Bible, say your prayers, love one another, and tell the truth. God bless.