Dan Ray

Christian ■ app & game dev ■ logistics/forwarding tech ■ management consulting ■ coffee ■ musician ■ woodworking/DIY

[Dan Ray @TheActualDanRay]

@tjmorris_bear Fellowship, networking, finding likeminded locals or MAGs.

[Dan Ray @TheActualDanRay]

@jcfosterx If that top piece (bamboo or otherwise) makes it into the official v1, I’m already excited for the modding potential.

[Dan Ray @TheActualDanRay]

@forestmanjohn Bold choice! I’ve been on the list since the day you announced it, so if you need beta testers, I volunteer as tribute 🤚🏼

[Dan Ray @TheActualDanRay]

Brothers, another confession: I'm an expert level grumbler. Truly world class.

I’m not the loud kind, but the quiet, under-the-breath kind, “I guess I have to do everything” kind. There’s no coffee made. The shop doors were left open. The electrician left detritus all around the panel. The weather won't cooperate. The emails keep coming. Somebody online is wrong, and I CANNOT abide such a travesty…

None of it is actually a big deal. That's the problem. It's a thousand tiny complaints a day, and I never once stop to think that the each one is a building block.

I’m ALWAYS building a monument to something, and so are you.

Here's the case I want to make this weekend: you are ALWAYS feeding a habit. Every single day. Either you're feeding gratitude, or you're feeding its opposite: grumbling, complaining, resentment, entitlement. There is NO neutral. There is NO off switch. Whatever you feed will grow.

"In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you." (1 Thessalonians 5:18)

Read it again, please. In EVERY thing. That’s not “in good things” or “in fun things” or “in necessary things” or even “not bad things”. Every = all, and all = literally all things.

Paul calls it “the will of God concerning you”. Men can spend decades asking God what his will for their life is or searching for meaning and purpose in a million other (less fruitful) venues. I’m sure the complete answer isn’t one single thing, but I’m even more sure that one of the things is this:

Gratitude is an order.

Ten lepers cried out to Jesus. Ten were healed.

"And one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, and with a loud voice glorified God, And fell down on his face at his feet, giving him thanks: and he was a Samaritan. And Jesus answering said, Were there not ten cleansed? but where are the nine?" (Luke 17:15-17)

I'll tell you where they were... they were busy. They had places to be. They got what they asked for and moved on to the next item on the list - maybe that rings a bell from last week’s essay.

Here's what honestly convicts and disturbs me: I'm usually one of the nine. I can pray hard when I'm desperate, and when the answer comes (whether it’s yes, no, or “not now”… that’s another essay entirely) I barely say thanks before I've moved on to the next thing. Jesus noticed the nine of ten who didn't come back. He most certainly notices the one of one when I do it too.

Israel walked out of Egypt on miraculously dry ground through the middle of a tempestuous and very real sea. They literally ate their fill of bread that FELL OUT OF THE SKY every morning, and then they complained about the menu… stereotypes exist for a reason I suppose.

"Neither murmur ye, as some of them also murmured, and were destroyed of the destroyer." (1 Corinthians 10:10)

“Murmuring” is the old word for exactly what I could do under my breath all day long. God didn't treat it as a personality quirk back then, it was actually deathly serious.

"Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened." (Romans 1:21)

Ok so they didn’t say thanks and were entitled brats, but do you see how that’s on par with, or at least right next to, refusing to glorify God as God? I don’t know quite yet what a darkened heart really means, but I suspect it’s not very far from the grieving of the Holy Spirit; IYKYK.

"Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting." (Galatians 6:7-8)

I like to pretend that having acreage makes me as competent as a real farmer about land management, and I’m definitely kidding myself about that, but what I absolutely know is that whatever goes in the ground going to be a part of what comes up.

Every complaint is a seed.

Every "thank You, Lord" is a seed.

You are planting something right now with your mouth and your thoughts, and in a year’s time, or much sooner, you'll be harvesting it whether you meant to or not.

I didn’t suddenly wake one day as a bitter and dour man. I put in the reps. I practiced it, honed it into my art form, and even put it to work. The output from that long and sour season was a failed marriage, lost friendships, wild depths of depression, depravity, and a quick decade of my life lost abroad.

I think most of us aren't ungrateful because we lack blessings. We're ungrateful because we won’t look at them.

"Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits:" (Psalm 103:2)

Wouldn’t it be enough to just say “Bless the Lord O my soul”? No, it wouldn’t, because you WILL forget. It’s almost like the men in the bible knew something about human nature. In this case they knew that you must actively go looking for your blessings, to genuinely and earnestly look at them (insert “would ya look at that” meme). It’s not a default position for a lot of us, so the practice is required… lest we forget.

So look at it. The breath in your lungs this morning. Hands that work (even if they’re just tapping your phone at the moment). Food you didn't grow yourself. Sunlight. Scripture that you're free to open and discuss. Mercy for a lifetime's mess.

"It is of the LORD'S mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness." (Lamentations 3:22-23)

"Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning." (James 1:17)

Basically I read these as saying we know who sent the gifts, that’s not a question. The only question left unspoken there is whether we’ll write our thank you notes or not.

Some of you are carrying real weight right now, some in my own family, some in my own chair. Loss, sickness, grief, debt, loneliness, fear, and I'm not asking you to pretend otherwise at all.

Neither would Habakkuk:
"Although the fig tree shall not blossom, neither shall fruit be in the vines; the labour of the olive shall fail, and the fields shall yield no meat; the flock shall be cut off from the fold, and there shall be no herd in the stalls: Yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will joy in the God of my salvation." (Habakkuk 3:17-18)

That man's whole economy and likely career and livelihood is going to collapse… and “Yet”…That's the most powerful word in the whole passage.

Hear me: Gratitude that only shows up in good times isn’t true gratitude; it’s just a reaction. True gratitude, the kind that follows "yet", is faith and is devotion.

Paul learned it the hard way, in prison:
"I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content. I know both how to be abased, and I know how to abound:" (Philippians 4:11-12)

There it is. Contentment can be learned which means contentment is a skill, which means you can practice it.

Start tomorrow morning (or right now) before you even start your coffee. Name three things, out loud, and thank God for them by name. I did it in the frosty front yard this morning while my slippers were still on: “Good morning, Father. Thank you for allowing me another day. Thank you for the incredible abundance and bounty you permit and I so often not only take for granted but forget about entirely. Thank you for the gift of forgiveness and atonement in the incredible sacrifice of thy only begotten Son.”

Do it again at night.

When you catch yourself murmuring, grumbling, bitching, stop mid-sentence and swap it for one thanks instead. Even if it feels performative (because it is… for now).

"Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus." (Philippians 4:6-7)

Giving thanks will lead to peace, and the Lord’s peace is like no other peace you’ll ever know.

Be mindful of what you’re feeding today, brothers. Give thanks, in ALL things, and let that singular peace be upon you.

[Dan Ray @TheActualDanRay]

@JeroTenma I love that Josh’s tones are getting more attention right now. I’ll add one of my favorites to the mix, the drop at 0:45 is the most delicious thing:

https://t.co/HYDY1bpDdV

[Dan Ray @TheActualDanRay]

@thewardoll My Glock identifies as 2-spirit, so those terms are acceptable.

[Dan Ray @TheActualDanRay]

@atmoio Slop detected. Post about ignoring posts has been summarily ignored. Possibly massive meta W.

[Dan Ray @TheActualDanRay]

Let’s start the weekend with a confession: I’m naturally a disorganized and lazy PoS who constantly has half a mind to indulge in whatever comfort I can get my greedy fingers around.

Obviously the fix for this is to just make a list and get stuff done, right? Get after it. Get ‘er done. Stay hard. Whatever other influencer slop you’re thinking of <— inert here.

Thing is, I've got lists. I’ve got lists of lists.

The first one is today's: Prayer. Coffee. Scripture. Breath work. Cold plunge. Sunshine. Space weather news (@SunWeatherMan). Emails. AI bot check-ins. Then get into the shop to start the day, so on and so forth.

The second one is long term, but pressing: Water. Food storage. Generator. First aid (@refugemedical). The stuff a man starts stacking once he's read enough scripture and seen enough “news” to notice the two starting to rhyme or at least start following the same beat.

And I'll be honest with you. Some mornings and some nights that second (or third or fourth) list owns me in ways that I don’t like. I lie awake running scenarios and somewhere long past lights-out I realize I haven't prayed… I've just been planning in the dark with no light from above.

I can hear the argument from young-me: "You say God's got it, but you're hoarding canned goods just in case he doesn’t?" Fair question, really. But he missed the point then, and I can just as easily miss it now.

Scripture does not tell you to be a fool with an empty pantry and a blessed attitude. I know FAR too many Christians with this attitude.

"Go to the ant, thou sluggard; consider her ways, and be wise: Which having no guide, overseer, or ruler, Provideth her meat in the summer, and gathereth her food in the harvest." (Proverbs 6:6-8)

The ant doesn't panic and the ant doesn't doomscroll. The ant WORKS, in season, and then it's done.

Remember the ten virgins? Five ran out. Five didn't. "But the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps." (Matthew 25:4)

If you believe we are living in the last days, and I do, then a reasonable man would keep his lamp trimmed and his house in order. He would not mistake laziness or indulgence in this moment’s comfort for faith in his soon-coming King.

In trying to figure out where I tend to screw this all up, I’ve noticed that the boxes on my lists have a way of reproducing, sometimes prolifically. It’s like checking the box actually just produced three more baby boxes. Then ten. Then I need to look at excavator rentals to dig my bunker, whole-home solar solutions (I’ve got some acreage to spare and I’m sure the shop roofs could be productive as well)…a fallback plan, and a fallback plan for the fallback plan. Do me a favor and go google “recursion”.

Jesus told a story about a man just like that with a solid harvest, grand plans, big barns and the man told his own soul to take it easy.

"But God said unto him, Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee: then whose shall those things be, which thou hast provided?" (Luke 12:20)

Thou FOOL. Not "thou sinner." Not "thou bad guy." Fool.

That’s what these endless lists make me.

There’s this illusion that we can somehow control tomorrow, or maybe influence it just enough so that our own will can be done.

"Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away. For that ye ought to say, If the Lord will, we shall live, and do this, or that." (James 4:14-15)

Brothers, our lives are the steam rising off that first morning coffee. We’re a vapor, and we ought to keep it in mind.

Sooo… what do?

"Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might; for there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in the grave, whither thou goest." (Ecclesiastes 9:10)

Whatever is in front of you is the assignment. Not the (likely) grid collapse. The fence. The kid who needs you. The job. The prayer you skipped. The Word you didn’t have time for. Do it with your MIGHT. Then put the hammer down, and move along.

"Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof." (Matthew 6:34)

Today has enough trouble. You don't need to borrow tomorrow's. You're not being responsible when you do that; you’re just being greedy and fearful.
Also, notice the order Jesus gives: "But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you." (Matthew 6:33)

FIRST. Not after the generator (I’m looking at Generacs), not after the bug-out bag, or the IFAK, or the ammo. Seek ye FIRST.

When the list is done, or at least the first generation of boxes that we started with, we don't sit there sharpening our anxiety to prune all the baby boxes we delivered in the process. We rejoice.

"This is the day which the LORD hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it." (Psalm 118:24)

They’re not saying we might rejoice if there’s time after the laundry and after clean the grill. Look around. There's food on your table. Air in your lungs. A roof, a Bible, maybe even people who'd notice if you went missing. That is bounty. That is abundance. HE gave it to you and to me. Ingratitude in the face of that is spitting on the gift while it’s still in your hands.

You want to be ready for the end times? Consider that a truly grateful man is harder to break than a man with a thousand rounds of 5.56 and no joy in his heart (but also we can have both!)

To revisit a piece of last week’s writing: one of the things I hate admitting is that underneath any of my prepping, if I'm honest, is the same thing that made me an atheist in my teen years; I want to be the one in control. My will is my priority, because I know me and my world better than you or anybody else.
In my own strength I find limits. I find the pride that says I can outplan God. I find folly and embarrassment and shame.

"Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths." (Proverb 3:5-6)

When you hit your limit (and brother, you will):
"And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me." (2 Corinthians 12:9)

There's that word again: Sufficient. His grace for you. His day for its own trouble. It’s enough.

So here's the charge, as much for myself as for anybody reading (thank you, by the way):
Fill your lamp. Check the box. Do today's work with your full might.
Then put down the list, lift up your head, and give thanks to the God who made this day.

Tomorrow belongs to Him. Today belongs to Him as well, but He just handed it to you. So please don't waste it in fear, or worry, or pride.

[Dan Ray @TheActualDanRay]

@Caf3Gam1ng @tjmorris_bear Might have been back in grade school when I first heard “if you fail to plan, you plan to fail”.

I don’t understand why this is the one area where having a thoughtful and comprehensive approach suddenly makes me a weirdo to so many normies.

[Dan Ray @TheActualDanRay]

@Devon_Eriksen_

[Dan Ray @TheActualDanRay]

As a young man and confirmed Catholic I did what any good GATE program attendee would do in order to gain acceptance from peers while also rebelling against the authorities I was so naturally repulsed by: I studied and parroted my way into becoming a rabid atheist and anti-theist. Hitchens and Dawkins would have been proud of 15 year-old Dan’s level of recall and snark that he mistook for intelligence and wit. As a chubby and not-physically-talented teen, this was my preferred method of rebellion since not quite all of the cool-kid-options (sex, booze, drugs, parties) were available (yet).

Fast forward to life now in my 40s as a Christian and a man still constantly seeking purpose, role models, motivation, and somehow peace amidst all of that, and I’m starting to notice a potentially more insidious character flaw in myself, and potentially other men in vaguely similar situations. That flaw is something I’ll just call “drift”.

We didn't rush out and slam the gate. We didn't curse the Shepherd. We, who accept and even embrace our role in the Lord’s flock, just put our heads down and kept eating. One patch of grass led to the next, and the next, and the next, until one day we looked up and couldn't hear His voice anymore.

That's what I mean by “drift”. It’s not rebellion in the 15 year-old Dan sense. It’s something quieter and more slippery.

Maybe drift is the same as wandering? Fine maybe so, but hear me: a short season of wandering is still wandering. "All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way." (Isaiah 53:6)

Every one. Not some of us. ALL of us.

So how does a sheep drift? Head down. Comfort. Distraction. Chasing grass instead of righteousness. The next TikTok, the next Reel, the next Short, the next small thing that feels… maybe not “good” but surely good enough.

Nothing in that field looks dangerous. It all looks benign at worst, but sometimes downright bucolic. That's exactly why you never look up or look out, but instead just keep nibbling away mindlessly or even blissfully at the next patch of grass till you’re eventually out of earshot of the Shepherd.

Jesus said, "My sheep hear my voice." (John 10:27) but eventually you can no longer hear a voice you've drifted from. Prayer gets shorter, then it gets skipped. The Word sits closed. The Shepherd's voice doesn't stop, but just gets softer, and then we manage to drift out of range of the still small voice entirely. Away from the flock. The lost sheep is alone and isolation is where the drift picks up speed because nobody was close enough to notice you've gone.

I know the retort you might be feeling, at least it’s the one in my gut as I proofread and edit this thing… something like a Thanos-style “I’ll do it myself”. But please hear me, brothers; the sheep, by itself, is prey for the adversarial forces that lurk in the tall grasses and shadows of verdant pastures. The lone sheep has no claws, no speed, no armor and it certainly can't fight the wolf or even confound the coyotes. Out there by itself, it’s just dinner for those others that seek it.

So why don't we just turn around and walk back to the flock where we last saw our Shepherd? They can’t have gone that far, right?

Because sheep have no sense of direction home, no clear moment of exactly where we lost our way, or exactly which patch of grass pulled us just far enough away to make it a problem. The lost sheep doesn't find its way back. It just keeps moving. When we try harder in our own strength, all we do is drift even better, even faster, even farther than before.
Self-rescue sounds noble or heroic, but it's simply pride in disguise. "I got myself into this. I'll get myself out."

Brother… No. You won’t.

I struggle even now to accept this, but the fix is surrender, not struggle.
What does a lost sheep do? It cries out. Plainly.

Pray it word for word: "I have gone astray like a lost sheep; seek thy servant." (Psalm 119:176)

Not "I'll find you, Lord." but instead “SEEK ME, Lord.”

Next, STOP DRIFTING. Be still where you are and let Him come. "What man of you, having an hundred sheep, if he lose one of them, doth not leave the ninety and nine in the wilderness, and go after that which is lost, until he find it?" (Luke 15:4)

He leaves the ninety-nine. He goes after the one.

That’s you… right now it’s me.

Get back in earshot. Open the Word. Pray every day, even when it feels dry, even when it feels like talking to a ceiling, or talking to your hands. You're not earning your way back. That’s not an option. You're making a decision to turn and look back in the direction of the voice that's already been calling.
Reach toward the flock, even if you can't see it yet. Maybe you’re like me and don't have a church family right now, there's no brother or sister you can call tonight. Reach anyway. Speak up. Say it out loud, to the ones you haven't even met yet.

If you're out there drifting too, you're not the only one, I promise you.

Brothers, trust Him to do the finding. "As a shepherd seeketh out his flock in the day that he is among his sheep that are scattered; so will I seek out my sheep, and will deliver them out of all places where they have been scattered in the cloudy and dark day." (Ezekiel 34:12)

That's His promise. The finding is His job.

If your childhood was like mine, you’d be expecting the belt once you’re finally home, but the Word tells us plainly that when the Shepherd finds that sheep, He doesn't scold it, and He doesn't drive it home with the rod or staff "when he hath found it, he layeth it on his shoulders, rejoicing." (Luke 15:5)

Carried home. Rejoicing.

So wherever you've drifted, for however long, however quietly it happened, please call out today. Don't try to find your own way back. Let Him find you.

"For ye were as sheep going astray; but are now returned unto the Shepherd and Bishop of your souls." (1 Peter 2:25)

Returned. Not by your own strength. By His.

[Dan Ray @TheActualDanRay]

@Babygravy9 hopital

[Dan Ray @TheActualDanRay]

@benaveryisgood @wigger My brother in Christ, fix your algorithm and let the demonic plague you no more.

[Dan Ray @TheActualDanRay]

Man I want to know more and support you guys, but this entire screed is unintelligible to me. This sounds like AI slop using incredibly niche industry slang, let alone industry standard terminology which would be a slight improvement. Have you considered a more broadly understandable style?

[Dan Ray @TheActualDanRay]

@Warcraft Combat Rogues:

[Dan Ray @TheActualDanRay]

For anyone wondering why you can’t login to WoW Forever right now - good things (probably) are happening:

[Zorbrix 💙 @Zorbrix]

New build day on Wow Forever Beta! It’ll be down for a few hours while we work on it.

I’d advise not sitting there trying to spam login (I see you all doing it)

[Dan Ray @TheActualDanRay]

@ctinafool Excellent! There’s plenty of fine tuning to be done once you’re in, but I’m glad this at least just gets us into the game.

[Dan Ray @TheActualDanRay]

Anyone playing WoW Forever on Mac has probably noticed a widespread bug that I've only just nailed down.

Issue: The fancy new lighting/PBR/compute-shader path is hanging the Metal/AGX driver and causing WindowServer to choke and die.... so you get your loading screen, but then black screen and eventual death :(

Solution: Before entering your world, go to Options > Graphics. Set 'Secondary Lighting' to Fair. Set 'Shadows' to Low. That's it!

[Dan Ray @TheActualDanRay]

@DrvingWhileJosh @Wow4everupdates Also it’s weird because I can run retail just fine with fairly high settings. So it’s definitely specific to Forever 🤷🏻‍♂️