Are There Cracks In Your Foundation?
The guys talk about the significance of having a solid foundation in life, drawing parallels between personal growth and a recent concrete driveway project. They discuss the importance of addressing pride, the need for continuous maintenance in relationships and personal development, and the lessons learned from the construction process. They emphasize the necessity of self-reflection and the role of the Gospel in shaping one’s heart and mind.
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What do a cracked driveway and a proud heart have in common? Mike Mobley and Chris Howard land here: the damage usually comes slowly, through things that seep in unnoticed, and the only real fix is letting God rip out what’s broken and pour a new foundation with Jesus on top. Chris watched a Bobcat tear out his old driveway, which had no rebar, and saw his own heart: pride, envy and comparison as he turns 50 and looks at other people’s careers. Mike admits his pride flexes around productivity, scoring himself as a winner or a failure without God in the picture at all. They also talk about what we let into the soil of our hearts, the enemy’s accusations versus the Spirit’s invitation, and the expansion joints cut into the new concrete in the shape of a cross. Below: the key takeaways, the Scripture discussed, and the full episode transcript.
A Driveway With No Rebar
Chris’s driveway had no rebar, so water seeped into the porous concrete, roots from a nearby tree pushed underneath, and the builder had laid it on sand instead of a mix of rock and soil. Over time the panels heaved. He knew it had to be fixed and kept putting it off, driving over the problem every day. Then a crew came out, a Bobcat ripped out the cracked concrete, and in one day there was a new driveway. Watching from his office window, Chris thought, that could be my heart.
Pride, Envy and Turning 50
For Chris, the hardness is pride. It shows up in his insecurities and when he and his wife aren’t seeing eye to eye. Turning 50 has him reflecting on a career without the trajectory he sees in friends. He cheers them on, but he also feels the comparison: he wants a settled role and some predictability. When he dwells on it, it becomes the thing he wants most, an idol that keeps him from seeing himself the way God sees him. Envy and jealousy erode quietly, like water under concrete.
The Mike Show: Winning and Losing Points
Mike’s pride flexes when he’s accused of something he didn’t do, and around getting things done. Productivity is part of how God wired him. But when he crushes a day, he’s tempted to think he killed it without including God. When he doesn’t, he calls himself a failure, which is false humility and just another version of pride. Chris calls it a game of gaining and losing points. Mike agrees: both sides leave Jesus out. It’s just the Mike Show.
What Seeps Into the Soil
Water rarely rushes in. It drips. Even good things, like loving our families, become idols when we put them above the Lord. So what are we taking in? What are we reading, listening to and laughing at? Crude jokes may be funny on the surface, but do they honor God? Your list might look different: anger, doubt, numbness, laziness, fear, money or the fear of man. And it never fully goes away. There’s always going to be another driveway, which is why we have to stay close to the truth.
Jesus on Top
After the old concrete was hauled away, the crew framed it, laid in rebar and poured fresh concrete. At the end, they cut the expansion joints: one vertical line and one horizontal line, in the shape of a cross. Chris quotes Proverbs 16:18: pride goes before destruction. He also reads Matthew 7:24–27, about the house built on the rock that stood through the storm. Mike goes back to his favorite verse, 1 John 4:19: we love because he first loved us. Jesus first, on top of the foundation.
An Invitation, Not an Accusation
Mike warns that the enemy would love to twist a moment like this into a lie: look how prideful you are, just give up, you’ve got no rebar. But James 4:6 says God opposes the proud and gives grace to the humble. God isn’t accusing you. He’s inviting you to lay it down at the cross. Mike remembers chasing careers, relationships and acting in his early twenties and still feeling a void every night until he met Jesus. Chris says to start: be honest, get into the Word, and ask God what soil your heart is right now. He’ll show you, sometimes through other people. We’re forgetful, so preach the gospel to yourself every day, and take the step today.
Scriptures From This Episode
Proverbs 16:18 (pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall) · Matthew 7:24–27 (the wise man who built his house on the rock) · James 4:6 (God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble) · 1 John 4:19 (we love because he first loved us)
Also discussed without a specific reference: guarding your heart, the fear of the Lord as the beginning of wisdom, and the parable of the soils.
Go deeper: Scripture on Humility · How To Humble Yourself Before The Lord · 7 Ways to Guard Your Heart · Can Productivity Really be Gospel Driven? · Responding To Lies With The Truth · My God, My Rock
Full Transcript, Not Quite There, Episode 22: Are There Cracks In Your Foundation?
Chris: We’re going to be talking about what I learned today from the concrete, and you’re learning it too. You just maybe don’t know it.
Mike: Oh, wow. All right, all right, all right. Girls and boys, men, women, all audiences across the globe, welcome back yet again to another riveting episode of Not Quite There.
Chris: Riveting.
Mike: Riveting. That’s what Chris is going to say all episode. He’s just going to say “riveting,” in a baby voice.
Chris: Interspersed in here every now and then. Yes, we are going to be riveting today.
Mike: We are back here in the studio. That kind of sounded like a baby raccoon a little bit there.
Chris: Maybe a baby raccoon who’s hiding among the ferns, ready to attack.
Mike: They do hide in the ferns. They’re known for that. Although they don’t show any ferns in Guardians of the Galaxy. That’s probably not the movie you go to to learn about raccoons. Have you watched all the Marvel movies?
Chris: Not all of the Marvel movies. I’m sorry, America. There are quite a few we’ve missed, especially the last few.
Mike: What’s the most recent marquee one you saw?
Chris: Maybe Guardians of the Galaxy.
Mike: Did you see Infinity War?
Chris: I did not.
Mike: That’s terrible.
Chris: I got behind. They put out too many, and I’m going to blame them, whoever they are. The Marvel people. I couldn’t keep up.
Mike: So you’ve seen like three of the movies.
Chris: I’ve seen more than three.
Mike: Okay, I’ll give you that. Have you seen all the Star Wars movies?
Chris: All the Star Wars main-line movies, but maybe not all the spin-offs.
Mike: So you’ve seen one through nine, but not all the side TV shows.
Chris: Not all the side TV, not all the extra characters. But you’ll be proud that when it comes to The Lord of the Rings, I’ve seen all the movies. And they started The Rings of Power, which is another series. It goes thousands of years before.
Mike: Do you like it?
Chris: I’m growing more fond of it.
Mike: I haven’t seen that. Isn’t The Hobbit the prequel?
Chris: The Hobbit is the prequel. We all have our things.
Mike: We all have our things. How was your day today?
Chris: Very good. It’s a very nice day, because of the weather. Not the weather. We’re not going to bore people with the weather anymore, Mike. That’s a new leaf we’re turning over as it turns to fall. We get that nice fall weather, and we’re just not going to talk about it anymore.
Mike: You keep talking about the weather right now.
Chris: No, I’m not. We just talked about it. We’re not going to do that anymore.
Mike: I’m just trying to play all the sound effects while you’re talking. Did you want to tell us how your day was?
Chris: One day we’re going to get to what happened today.
Mike: So we noticed something: when we’re not interviewing people and it’s just me and you in the studio, I get a little button-happy. Okay, I’m done. That was officially it for the next two minutes. I’m not going to push any buttons. You’re looking at them like you want to push them right now.
Chris: I do. I’m sitting so far away from the colored light-up buttons. It looks like a big old Lite-Brite.
Mike: How old do you think I am? I know what a Lite-Brite is.
Chris: Lite-Brites are coming back.
Mike: Are they really? Our kids had a Lite-Brite a couple of years ago.
Chris: What else is coming back? This opens up a whole bunch of possibilities.
Mike: A lot of things come back. Haven’t you seen bell-bottom jeans? JNCO jeans recently? Like you’re supposed to fit five hammers on the outside of your leg. And there’s a lot of ’80s and ’90s stuff. Crew socks are back. No one does ankle socks anymore.
Chris: Mike, sometimes things are best left in the past.
Mike: Apparently all the comebacks are just jeans- and sock-related for me. Did you have JNCO jeans? Was this your era?
Chris: I did not have JNCO jeans.
Mike: That’s actually kind of surprising. I think I did, for like a year or two.
Chris: We had Girbaud jeans, which were kind of big in the leg, kind of like JNCOs. But JNCOs blew it wide open. They made it look ridiculous.
Mike: What were yours called? Girbaud? Was that a Colorado thing?
Chris: No, it was an international French label that sounded all fancy.
Mike: Like an international man of mystery from the ’60s. We need to get to your day.
Chris: What was the original question?
Mike: I was just curious how your day was. And then we went button-happy, and then we talked about jeans.
Chris: Well, to reel it back in, here we go. A project was accomplished at our house that’s been needing to happen.
Mike: By changing out the kitchen sink?
Chris: You know those really nice projects, where things change on the inside and you get to see them all the time, and you’re happy about them because you’re updating your house?
Mike: Because you see progress, or it changes your house value, something like that.
Chris: Yeah. This was not that. This was our driveway. The concrete under our feet.
Mike: Doesn’t everyone love a driveway project?
Chris: This is our second one. So you’d think we just love it. You’d think we look for homes with driveway issues.
Mike: Isn’t that like once every 30 years?
Chris: I think we’re snakebitten on driveways. Like the other driveway we had replaced at a former house, this driveway did not have any rebar inside of it. Do you know what rebar is?
Mike: Okay, first of all, I take a little offense at how quickly you asked me if I know what rebar is.
Chris: Well, it’s not “regular bar.”
Mike: Rebar is those bars that go in the concrete. When you drive by a construction site and you see a grid. The rebar. The rebar bars.
Chris: The rebar bars.
Mike: I told you I knew what it was.
Chris: In our last two driveways that we inherited, we did not have rebar bars.
Mike: Okay, so here’s a construction question. Maybe you learned this from your project.
Chris: I feel very educated on construction.
Mike: I always see the rebar within the concrete when I drive by a construction site. It makes sense to me that it’s probably foundational and holds stuff in. So all you guys rolling your eyes right now, get over it. Not everyone knows everything about everything. So if you don’t have rebar, is that like a wall that’s just made of… what’s it called?
Chris: Sheetrock.
Mike: Sheetrock. You can just punch through it. So it’s a whole lot of concrete with no rebar.
Chris: It’s weak. It’s easily compromised. Can we say that?
Mike: By what? If you go home and stomp your feet on the driveway, are you going to fall through it?
Chris: No. I’m sure there are other factors that compromise it, like water.
Mike: That’s probably more realistic.
Chris: Water gets in there, and concrete is already porous, so of course the water tends to erode it. And then if you have any root issues nearby, some people put their trees right up next to a driveway…
Mike: And the roots can go through the concrete.
Chris: Because there’s no rebar bar. And then when it starts separating, there’s nothing to really hold it together. And there you go. I’m not an engineer.
Mike: Okay. So the first time you redid your driveway, did they not put rebar in it?
Chris: Well, that was at our old house.
Mike: Oh, I’m sorry. Another house. My bad.
Chris: But at this house, no rebar bar. There were some issues where we thought, okay, we might have to fix this driveway in a couple of years or so. And then it just got steadily worse.
Mike: Okay. So today was driveway day.
Chris: Today was driveway day. Long story short, they came out quickly, and they fixed it in one day. They replaced it. It’s nice new concrete.
Mike: Wow. I can’t wait to stomp on that thing. Is it wet concrete? How long do you have to let it dry?
Chris: They said stay off it for two days, but we’re probably going to go with several days. I’m not going to park on it.
Mike: Did you put your initials in it?
Chris: I did not. Missed opportunity.
Mike: You could have put the NQT logo in there.
Chris: A lot of opportunities missed on that. But I’m so happy with it.
Mike: I’m genuinely curious about this. When you do new concrete, do you get to choose from different types of concrete?
Chris: On this one, there weren’t a lot of options. They kind of know their game, and they say, “This is the way we’re going to mix it. This is how we’re going to lay it down.” There weren’t a lot of choices.
Mike: There’s not like, “Here’s our cheap concrete, here’s the medium glossy concrete, and here’s our VIP concrete”?
Chris: Not for a driveway. If we were redoing the deck next to a pool, then we’d probably go with something else.
Mike: I feel like people do stuff like that. Interesting.
Chris: Driveway’s done. Couldn’t be happier. Nice to see it completed. It was one of those things I knew was going to have to happen, and we were going to have to spend more than we wanted to on it. Now we’re on the other side of it. It’s not great having to spend money on what’s under your feet, but it’s an investment. It’s one of those homeowner things: you have to do it. There was no rebar, so eventually it was going to get worse, and it had gotten to a point where it was heaving so much, meaning the different panels of the concrete were shifting.
Mike: A driveway with no rebar bar.
Chris: There are so many nuances to what could have happened or might happen, so I’m going to leave that to our good friends, the insurance lawyers.
Mike: Well, thank you, insurance for Texans. We’ll make sure we say the right thing. Thank you, lawyers, for your advice. So you had a really productive day. I had a good, normal day: work, family, all great stuff. But I can’t believe they got that done.
Chris: That was very surprising. I thought we were going to have to wait, because as we were getting quotes, some folks were putting it out until October. They happened to be able to do it, and we felt blessed that they could come out and do it, at a price we were very happy with.
Mike: So at this point in the episode, people are probably thinking, I guess we’re just going to keep talking about concrete.
Chris: We’re going to be talking about what I learned today from the concrete, and you’re learning it too. You just maybe don’t know it.
Mike: Being put on the spot. Okay. What did you learn?
Chris: Well, there are a lot of analogies that go along with replacing concrete, or any kind of foundation issue. As I was watching them, they were coming in and taking out big old chunks of old, dilapidated, cracked-up concrete.
Mike: You feel like you have to say it like that because we’re talking about construction. Do you need a hard hat?
Chris: I was thinking, that could be my heart at times.
Mike: Oh, man.
Chris: Yeah. There’s some hardness there that I have to deal with at times. And I loved the picture of something coming in and immediately ripping stuff out.
Mike: You liked that picture, today?
Chris: Yes. Because I was watching a Bobcat.
Mike: You just want to say “Bobcat” over and over again. What a revelation. Were you just standing out there like, “Whoa, this is a good analogy for my own heart”?
Chris: It just hit me. I would say so. I was thinking, this is a good picture. Of course, leading into that, there was already some reflection going on. What are some things I need to work on? What are some things that keep me from progressing? We have a show called Not Quite There. What’s keeping me from getting there? What are some things that just constantly get in the way? What do I need the Bobcat to come rip out and toss away, so we can be on to better things?
Mike: One quick point of clarification. We’re not talking about the animal bobcat.
Chris: That would be outrageous. That’d be like a raccoon clawing stuff up.
Mike: Not the animal bobcat. We’re talking about the construction equipment that can break up concrete and haul things away. There’s going to be someone out there thinking you’re talking about the cat. Just to clarify: a bobcat would rip you up and change things for you, maybe even your foundation, but that’s not what we’re talking about.
Chris: No.
Mike: So what did you process? Was it immediately the areas of your life where you have a hardness of heart? Now you’re making me process it. What was going through your head?
Chris: Sure. Pride. Pride is the thing I would say can be found in a lot of the insecurities I have. It can be found in the arguments I might have when my wife and I aren’t seeing eye to eye. I bring a lot of pride to the table there. That’s my party gift, and it’s not much of a party. So it’s there, and it’s real. I don’t know why that came to mind today. Maybe because you and I were trying to figure out what we were going to talk about today, and it seemed right there, ripe and ready for the taking. It’s such a good illustration of what God comes in and does, what the gospel comes in and does to our hearts, if we continually engage with it. And a lot of things lead to that. That driveway did not get that way overnight. Certain things came in and put it in that condition. You look like you have a question.
Mike: Well, I’m kind of live-processing with you. Now I’m thinking about the driveway, the project, the intensity of the Bobcat ripping up the dry concrete, replacing all of it, and then the finished product in a day or two: a brand-new driveway. It doesn’t have the weird heaving you were talking about, and it has the rebar bar inside it. We’re going to keep calling it that, apparently. It’s immediately making me think about my own pride, and I’m feeling convicted right now. How much am I willing to go through the hard work of opening my heart up, or having my heart ripped open, to get rid of all the old junk that’s there? Am I willing to go through all that for a better finished product: a better heart, a renewed mind and so on? Processing it right now, I don’t think I’m always willing to go through that, because it’s painful. That’s a lot of work.
Chris: You’re right. It’s painful to have to shell out money you don’t want to spend on something like a driveway. It’s painful to go through the quoting process, asking the questions and trying to find the right price. And it’s painful looking at the thing every day and every night as you drive up. The driveway is in such a strategic place that you have to drive on it, knowing that’s probably not helping it. So yeah, it’s a painful process. You know the problem’s there, and you try not to think about it.
Mike: Kind of ignore it. Turn a blind eye.
Chris: And if you do, it’s to your own peril, right? For financial and insurance reasons. It’s a problem that needs to be addressed.
Mike: So what are some of the things you were thinking about that come in and start polluting the driveway, or our hearts or our minds? What are the things that seep in there?
Chris: Well, you say “seep,” and water, for certain, is one of the things that comes in and erodes it. So if we keep with the illustration, what comes in and erodes our hearts? What tends to seep in there? Certainly jealousy and envy. Left untreated, those can turn into selfish behavior. It can lead to just thinking about what you need, and greed can result from that. So when I’m thinking about seepage: selfishness, envy, jealousy. All of those tend to chip away and weaken.
Mike: Not that we’ve said “seep” too many times. It’s not a normal word in my vocabulary.
Chris: How’s it seeping, Mike?
Mike: No, it’s just weird. “Seepage” makes everyone cringe. You’re probably cringing right now, driving down the road. We’ll stop saying it. But it makes me think: water can move really slowly. It’s not a rushing wave where all this stuff suddenly comes into my heart or mind. It’s that slow drip. If we put it out on the table and asked, “Is this bad?” we might even say, “Oh, it’s okay today. We’re going to be fine.” But give it years of a consistent process. Or even take something good. Let’s say it’s family, our wives or our children. When we make them the ultimate thing, when we put them at the very top, the Bible would call that an idol. Anything other than the Lord, when we place it above the Lord as our main priority, is an idol. It’s not wrong to love our families. But it’s repeated behavior, on any given day. If a huge rush of water is coming at the driveway, that’s pretty easy to spot. But the slow, underground damage that’s happening… it makes me think, what could be leaking into my heart?
Chris: It’s the erosion you don’t see.
Mike: Did something specific come to mind for you? Not that you need to confess all your deepest, darkest sins right now, but feel free.
Chris: Oh, certainly. I would say this year is a landmark year for me. I’m turning 50, right?
Mike: Yeah, you are. Here we go. I’m getting button-happy again, my friend.
Chris: Well, it hasn’t happened yet. It’s out there. One day soon I’ll be on the other side of that birthday, and then you’ll be dealing with “fifties Chris.”
Mike: So it’s making you reflect a lot?
Chris: Yeah. I think we talked in my story about how there hasn’t been a trajectory, career-wise, right? And I’ve certainly seen the paths of other friends and people I know where there has been that trajectory. It’s made sense, and they’ve done great and done well, and I cheer them on and will keep cheering them on.
Mike: And by the way, what you just said is great. I don’t mean to make this negative, but in a negative context, what has that brought about? Jealousy?
Chris: Comparison. “I want some of that too.” I would like my career to be settled. I would like some predictability about it. I’d like to be in a certain role, things like that, the things that come to mind for somebody who’s there at 50. That’s just the honest truth about it.
Mike: Which by itself, I don’t think there’s anything wrong with. I can’t speak for your heart, but maybe unless it’s dwelled on so much that…
Chris: Like you said, there are certain things that should not be above God. When I dwell on that too much, and I’ll just own it here, it starts to become that thing, that idol, the thing that I want. And it can get in the place of, and does get in the place of, me rightly seeing myself the way God sees me. And in that, it’s easy to get envious. It’s easy to get jealous. It’s easy to let those things erode. That needs to be rooted out.
Mike: Man, that’s a lot to come out of a one-day driveway project. On one hand, I’m so thankful the Holy Spirit was cueing you to all of this. There’s also another side of me that’s like, “Oh, great. Thanks, man. Thanks for bringing up the pride and wanting to root it out in both of us, and challenging other people.”
Chris: What about you, my friend?
Mike: Off the top of my head, I’m trying to think about this in live form. Quick side note: some people ask us how we choose what to talk about. We never want to over-prepare, because we want to be honest and real. We feel like sometimes just sharing what the Lord’s doing in our own lives could be helpful, for us and for people listening, since none of us is ever going to arrive. Hence the “not quite there” thing. When I think about pride, which I know is in me for sure, I think it flexes the most when someone accuses me of something I didn’t do, if I feel wronged. But I think the most “conventional” answer, which I don’t think is a word, but we’re going to go with it, is probably something in line with success and getting things done. I can get a lot of different things done, and I think that can be godly, just the way he’s wired me. Or it can become where I find my identity or my worth, and that’s where I think it becomes pride. Now you’re making me think even more: wherever we find our worth and identity, if that surpasses God, it becomes an idol. Getting things done is an aspect of how he’s created me. But I experience that pride when I get a lot done during the day and think I killed it, and I’m not including God in that. Or I don’t get done what I was supposed to get done today, and then I think I’m a failure, which also forgets God. And I think that’s kind of a false humility, which is a version of pride.
Chris: So it seems like there’s a game being played there, where you’re either gaining points or losing points based on how the day goes and what you accomplished.
Mike: Yeah, “game” is a good word, because I’m constantly going back and forth in that game. And it’s not one or the other. Both sides are wrong, and both are without the Lord. Even saying it out loud, there’s no following Jesus in there. It’s just the Mike Show: Mike’s producing, or Mike stinks.
Chris: Those things certainly drip in, and they’re going to keep dripping in. Here’s the kicker: that doesn’t go away. You’re going to contend with it. Even if I meet that goal and land in a role that answers all those questions for me, guess what? There’s going to be something else I want to strive for, something else the world has painted a picture of and said, “You need to be here by then.” So that doesn’t go away.
Mike: That’s encouraging.
Chris: Well, that’s why we have to stay close to the truth, right?
Mike: Absolutely. You’re right. It’s the product of sin in a sinful world. That battle is going to be there until Jesus returns, or until we pass away. So what do you do with that? There’s always going to be another driveway. There’s always going to be more foundation to fix. You’re never going to arrive. But we don’t have to stay where we are. So if that’s the case, and I believe it’s true, what do you do tomorrow?
Chris: It’s going to be continuous rooting out, I would say. And we haven’t even identified all the things that can cause the problems. Water is one thing. But guess what else we learned from our driveway fiasco? They didn’t have the right composite underneath. There’s soil and sand that can get washed out, especially as water gets in. But they actually like to put in a mix of rock and stone with the dirt to keep the water flow from being so detrimental. So not having the right foundation underneath, the right soil, can actually be a problem. I didn’t think anything of that.
Mike: So the new company mixed in rocks? It’s not just dirt?
Chris: It’s not just dirt, and it’s not just sand. They said a lot of builders just put in sand to get it done quick, to do it at scale. And guess what? Then you’re dealing with these issues in driveways.
Mike: We learned a lot about industrial composites from a previous guest on a previous episode. Thank you, Mark.
Chris: Mark could talk about construction. He probably knows the insurance too.
Mike: He knows Bobcats really well. So there’s a lot here. Water can come in. Soil can be shifting. We said there was no rebar, so that’s another element of a weak foundation. I’m assuming they put in rebar.
Chris: They put in rebar. It was all over the place. Rebar bar.
Mike: This is a lesson for me on driveways. What else was wrong, or could be wrong?
Chris: We had a tree taken out that was nearby. There were some roots underneath that you could see when they were removing everything, when the Bobcat was coming in and doing what Bobcats do.
Mike: So the tree would have roots. So basically, other things could get in underneath. Foreign objects.
Chris: Foreign objects. Things that just don’t belong there. Certainly there are things in our Christian life that don’t belong, that could get in there and upset the foundation.
Mike: That makes me think, what am I taking in? We even had an episode early on about nutrition, what we put into our bodies and how to steward the bodies God has given us well. So, if my heart is the soil we’re talking about, what could be getting into it? I know we’re doing a lot of analogies. What am I taking in? What am I listening to and reading? What conversations am I having with people? Am I doing a bunch of crude joking, laughing at stuff that, on the surface, is funny, but does it honor God? And therefore, is it actually funny? Just convicting things.
Chris: In that moment there might be some joy over it, but then as it goes on…
Mike: Was it actually worth it? Was it honoring? I’m saying that as someone who’s laughing pretty much all the time, so I don’t have it figured out. It’s just making me take an inventory: how clean and well taken care of is my foundation soil? Do I even have any rebar in there at all? Or am I faking myself out, and I’ve got a bunch of sand? We know Scripture talks about the house built on sand. That’s not going to work when the storm comes. But the house built on rock, with a strong foundation, will last.
Chris: A lot of analogies. I got to see it all played out from my office window today.
Mike: When you were in your office, were you eating Cheetos while you were watching?
Chris: I haven’t had a Cheeto since the last episode. I’m Cheeto’d out.
Mike: We had so many Cheetos on that episode.
Chris: I think those who were listening heard that.
Mike: I think they did. Hopefully you were delighted by it, because our stomachs were not afterward. So, unless you have more analogies…
Chris: No, I think we’ve belabored the point on what could mess up the soil. A lot of things.
Mike: And chances are, honestly, if you’re listening and processing with us, you might already be thinking, “Oh yeah, this thing. This person, this subject, this thing I do is probably not good for my foundation.”
Chris: Certainly. What Mike may have issues with, and what I might have issues with, may not be your thing. Maybe it’s anger. Maybe your faith… you’re going through a time where you’re having a hard time believing in God and believing his Word.
Mike: Yeah. You could be blah. You could be numb right now. You could just be existing. Maybe it’s being unintentional. I’m just trying different things that come to mind, and not to point fingers. Honestly, these are traps I’ve fallen into at one time or another. It could just be laziness. It could be that the Lord’s not number one right now, or today, or in this moment, and you need to realign those priorities. Fear. Politics or money…
Chris: Fear of man. Just wondering what other people think.
Mike: A hundred percent. Okay, so that’s a lot of what’s bad. And I’m assuming, in the construction world, since I’m a man, thank you, they break it up with the Bobcat. They break up the foundation and haul away everything that’s bad.
Chris: They’re hauling it away. You never see it again. Unless you follow the truck, you’re not going to see it again.
Mike: So it’s gone. They take away all the stuff: the sand, the roots, whatever could be mixed in. And then they what?
Chris: So they already have the new structure ready by that time. They break it up, and then they start putting in some wood and framing for the new concrete.
Mike: Wood and framing. Very good.
Chris: Thank you. And then the rebar bar goes in, and then they bring the truck. The concrete mixer. You see the cement just pouring out.
Mike: Love a good cement truck.
Chris: It’s going into wheelbarrows, and they take the wheelbarrows and put the cement down on the structure.
Mike: They lay down the cement.
Chris: They do. And then they flatten it. They get it smooth. You see this all happening in front of you, and it’s very satisfying.
Mike: I was going to say satisfying. I’m glad you said that.
Chris: A very satisfying feel. And then, guess what they do at the very end? They put a cross on it.
Mike: What? They do?
Chris: They have a vertical line and then a horizontal line, and that helps with the expansion. But it’s in the shape of a cross, Mike. That is what I saw today.
Mike: That’s very interesting. So basically, here comes your new, clean, proper foundation, built strong. And I’m going to say, with Jesus on top.
Chris: Jesus on top.
Mike: With the cross, guarding and protecting you, on top of your foundation. I like to think of it that way. Wow. I’m going to look at my driveway a lot differently when I go home. I would have never put that together.
Chris: I wasn’t expecting to either.
Mike: So when you were watching the satisfying driveway replacement, not eating Cheetos, and seeing the cross put on top, which is kind of blowing my mind right now, did Scripture come to mind for you?
Chris: A lot of Scripture. And if I were better at actually memorizing Scripture, I would tell you what that Scripture was.
Mike: Do you have a single verse? I’m going to put you on the spot. Don’t cheat. Do you have a single verse memorized? Are you holding that far away? Do you need glasses?
Chris: I do have some readers that I didn’t bring because of pride.
Mike: You’re turning 50 this year.
Chris: Got them. That goes with turning 50. No, I’ve got it. I can do it. Calm down. It’s at a perfectly good distance.
Mike: Don’t let your pride get in there. So what came to mind for you?
Chris: Well, watching the Bobcat work: Proverbs 16:18. “Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall.” Do you know what “haughty” means?
Mike: Well, first, I was a little impressed by your Scripture-reading voice there. Let me take a guess. “A haughty spirit before a fall.” Like a begrudging kind of spirit? Maybe puffed up?
Chris: Puffed up.
Mike: Like a puffed-up Cheeto. Do you know, or are you asking? I never say “haughty.” Okay, that would make it pride, arrogance. But I never look at someone and go, “Hey, man, you’re being haughty.”
Chris: You don’t want to do this. What comes to mind for you?
Mike: Well, when you said the cross on the driveway: “We love because he first loved us.”
Chris: That’s your favorite verse.
Mike: I know. I say it all the time. I quote it all the time. I think it’s applicable to every scenario. It’s Jesus first, all the time. Jesus first, on top of that foundation, on top of your driveway. The cross is there. Are you hating on 1 John 4:19?
Chris: I’m loving on 1 John.
Mike: So from a memorization standpoint, that’s what comes to mind. I have some other references, and this is where I have to admit I don’t have the exact biblical references, but there are different places in Scripture about guarding your heart and what you’re letting in there. And the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. So once I start my day not thinking of Jesus first, I think your Proverb probably comes in. My pride, and maybe a little bit of a haughty spirit, starts rising up. And if I don’t die to that, the Bobcat is eventually going to come.
Chris: Bobcat don’t care.
Mike: It’s going to come and tear me up.
Chris: No, just to be serious about the verses that did come to mind: anything related to foundation and soil, right? There are a couple that are prime when it comes to that. Being founded on the rock: Matthew 7:24-27. “Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock.” That goes along with what I witnessed today.
Mike: A hundred percent. And maybe something I’d want to remind you of: I could also see the enemy wanting to whisper to you today, or come attack you after you watched that driveway, whispering some stupid lie. “Look how bad you are. Look how prideful you are. You’ve got so much pride and so much sin. Just give up. Call it a day. You stink. You’ve got no rebar.” Almost making fun of you, accusing you, trying to rob you of even the teachable moment the Holy Spirit gave you in the driveway. And I think of James 4:6: he gives more grace. “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.” There’s a lot of humility, grace, peace and gentleness there. The Bobcat tore up the driveway. That’s not pleasant. But the new stuff was poured in and spread out, and the cross is covering it. I think there’s something here for you, but also for anyone listening. It’s okay. Even in this talk, if you’ve identified some areas you need to lay down at the cross, that’s great. God is pleased with that. God’s not accusing you of being a terrible person today. He’s inviting you to lay those things down and move forward and work on your foundation one day at a time.
Chris: I think you’re right, and thank you for saying that. I’m grateful to say that wasn’t a part of today. But I did think: in its current condition, the driveway could have stayed that way and just gotten worse. One side could have ended up three feet higher than the other. That’s the trajectory it was on. If it went through more Texas summers with more water getting down in there, the damage had been done to the point where it couldn’t be sealed to keep the water out. It was just not on a good course. And when they come in with the Bobcat, it leaves it in shambles, right?
Mike: Oh yeah. And you’re exposed. It’s vulnerable. And you don’t know what to fill it with.
Chris: Yeah. The situation’s worse than it was before. But I’m thankful for the cement truck that came with the newness.
Mike: That’s a good word for when we’re chasing things that just leave us empty at the end of the day. When I was in my early twenties, I pursued so many different pathways, so many different things to fill my heart: careers, girls, different adventures, even acting, moving across the country. If I’m honest with myself looking back, and I feel like I knew this sometimes in the moment, there were times at the end of those days when I was like, “This is not it.” They were cool experiences. Maybe I had a great day, or a great hour. But when my head hit the pillow, I knew there was some type of void.
Chris: A void.
Mike: I guess my driveway could have just been empty, or full of holes. It was missing a lot. I didn’t know what that was until someone introduced Jesus and the gospel to me. And on this side, that feeling is not there. It’s incredibly not there. There’s a satisfaction and a completeness. I don’t even know what the right word is.
Chris: There’s a peace. I think we are on the “project complete, ready to move on to another” side, and so there’s some excitement there. But if you take your eyes off it, if we don’t take care of this new driveway going forward… Having it done and complete, though it’s a small thing, and though it’s not something inside the house that you get to enjoy, I know driving up to it every day now is going to feel like, “Thank you.”
Mike: There it is. So what do you think is a good way to encourage the next steps, whether it’s me and you or someone listening? We’re talking a lot about the foundation of the heart, the mind, the core of who we are. We talked about the bad things, and we were only scratching the surface. And we talked about laying the right foundation and sealing it. So what would be a good step? Or at least, what did you think about?
Chris: Well, I was glad I was already in the process of taking a look at that foundation and asking, what needs to change? There have been some good conversations with my wife recently about things I’ve been struggling with, things that have caused me to question some things. Just getting to honest conversation. Transparency is always great, with yourself and with others. I was glad I was in the middle of that already. But for those who are listening and asking, “How do I even get started? Do I even want to get started?” I say: start. It’s worth it. We learn about the different soils that the gospel falls on, right? So where are you right now? If we’re believers, we should be preaching the gospel to ourselves and to others every day in some form or fashion. If that’s not happening, then what soil is your heart right now? Is it rocky? Is it ready to receive? And if it’s not, maybe ask why. Spend some time in the Word. Spend some time with God and ask him. He’ll show you what’s getting in the way. And he may use other people to show you or tell you.
Mike: That’s a good word. It’s funny. We’re forgetful people. I used to be really bothered when I’d hear someone tell me to preach the gospel to myself every day, and to others.
Chris: That’s probably your pride.
Mike: Yeah. Because I’d hear the gospel and go, “Yes, okay, I know it, the gospel.” But you never move on from the gospel. If anything, it just permeates deeper into our hearts and minds. And seriously, we are forgetful. Jesus repeated many things to his disciples for years, and he was basically living with them 24/7. If he had to do that with the disciples who were that close, we’re kind of silly to think we don’t need those reminders. So I would bet, chances are, something besides construction has come to mind for you. Something in your life has come to the forefront: maybe something to turn away from, or something to step toward. And like Chris was saying, why not? If you’ve been prompted with any of that, there’s a reason you’ve been prompted. So why delay? Just start taking those steps today. Because, like replacing the driveway, if you don’t, you’re just risking things getting worse, your heart getting more eroded, and, honestly, finding less satisfaction at the end of the day.
Chris: You’re right. That’s the best way I could say it. It sounds like you’re saying it too: step forward and make a change.
Mike: So as we step forward and wrap things up, are you ready to tell everyone, down to the penny, how much money you had to spend?
Chris: Stay tuned for new episodes where we talk about the gospel as it relates to a master bathroom renovation.
Mike: We have another construction story coming your way. Some of you are saying, “Don’t give us another construction story,” and some of you are saying yes. We are button-happy here on Not Quite There.
Outro: Thanks so much for joining us. Please consider rating and reviewing our podcast and hitting subscribe on whichever platform you prefer. Remember to keep moving forward, because we’re not quite there.
