Dennis Palmer

Christian. Husband. Father. Drummer. Hopefully I always get that order right.

[NOBUNAGA🇯🇵🏯_夏樹蒼依 @japan_nobunaga]

USA. A breakfast counter. The waitress recommended the biscuits and gravy, and when the plate arrived, I thought something had gone wrong in the kitchen.

I say this with shame. The dish looked like a construction site after rain. Pale mounds. Gray ladle-fall. Speckles I could not identify.

In my land, the eye eats first. A meal is arranged like a garden. This meal was arranged like weather.

"Is it… finished?" I asked, carefully.

"Honey, that's what it looks like."

The man beside me was already eating his. He did not look up. "Just try it."

I am a man who has charged hillsides at dawn. I raised the fork. I tried it.

I must now formally apologize to the biscuits, the gravy, the waitress, the kitchen, and the entire breakfast tradition of the American South.

It was magnificent. Warm. Peppered. The biscuit drank the gravy the way a field drinks rain — THAT is why it is shaped like that, you fool — and every mound I had insulted was a soft fold of comfort that my homeland, in eight hundred years, never once thought to invent.

"Well?" the waitress asked.

"I judged it," I confessed. "By its appearance. I am ashamed."

"Everybody does, hon."

Everybody does. A national dish that forgives you for doubting it. It expects the doubt. It waits for you on the other side of it.

Do not judge the gravy by its face. Judge yourself, for hesitating.

I order it every Saturday now. I no longer see the construction site. I see only the garden.

It was a garden the whole time. The eye must be trained.

[Michael Foster @thisisfoster]

Here’s a simple way to get unstuck when you’re worried, overwhelmed, or overthinking a decision.

Ask yourself one question:

What kind of thing am I dealing with?

Most issues fall into one of three categories.

1. Settled Things

These are things that have already been decided.

Your birth family.
Your nation of origin.
Your height.
Your past decisions.
Your upbringing.
Things you did.
Things done to you.

Some of these things were decided by your own past actions. Others were decided by God’s providence. As Paul says in Acts 17:26, God determined our appointed times and the boundaries of our dwelling place.

You can’t go back and change these things.

So the question is not, “How do I undo this?”

The question is, “Does this have any bearing on what I should do now?”

If not, leave it alone. Don’t spend your life fighting settled things.

2. Action Things
These are things you have some real control over.

Your diet.
Your exercise.
Your spending.
Your work ethic.
Your attitude.
Your friendships.
Your theological knowledge.
Your presentability.
Your habits.
Your skills.

These are your controllables.

You may not control everything about your health, finances, relationships, or future. But you usually control more than you think.

So if the issue falls here, don’t overthink it.

Take direct action.

Start small if you have to. Make the call. Go on the walk. Open the Bible. Apologize. Apply for the job. Pay the bill. Clean the room. Do the next faithful thing.

3. Prayer Things

These are things outside your direct control, but not outside God’s control.

The economy.
The weather.
The housing market.
The availability of a suitable spouse.
Other people’s choices.
Timing.
Open doors.
Closed doors.

You can’t force these things. You can’t grab the steering wheel of providence.

But God can act.

So you take indirect action through prayer. You ask. You wait. You prepare. You remain faithful. You do what you can do and trust God with what only He can do.

So ask yourself:

Is this settled?
Then accept it and learn from it.

Is this actionable?
Then do something.

Is this outside my control?
Then pray and trust God.

This is a simple framework, and yes, it’s a little reductionistic. But that’s the point. The goal is not to explain every complexity of life. The goal is to get you unstuck.

Most people waste too much energy trying to change the past, control what belongs to God, or pray about things they simply need to obey.

So categorize the issue.

Then act accordingly.

Accept what is settled.
Act on what is yours.
Pray over what belongs to God.

[Dennis Palmer @drumdcp]

@LloydLegalist Ain’t it fun by Paramore

[Dennis Palmer @drumdcp]

@RepThomasMassie @WhiteHouse How bout this? You’re from KY and as the rep from there you likely have some pull. Use KY state law to start some legal proceedings. Get off X and get to work instead of spreading hate and dissent on social media.

[Dennis Palmer @drumdcp]

@brettboettcher1 I tried it. It’s good! I didn’t have the collagen and I added a handful of blueberries. It’s really sweet!

[Dennis Palmer @drumdcp]

@DeAngelisCorey He’s going to be really embarrassed when the homeschool portfolios make the public schools portfolios look like daycare…

[Dennis Palmer @drumdcp]

@Ravi72807668 @UrbanFuseMusic @BunnySteph3440 @CollinRugg It’s not graphic language… it’s describing the procedure. It’s looking at what’s actually being done by one human to an other. Understanding it is key to making informed moral choices. Serious ethics demands that we know what we’re talking about.

[Dennis Palmer @drumdcp]

@GuntherEagleman Chinese takeout!

[Dennis Palmer @drumdcp]

@goddek Nickelback

[Dennis Palmer @drumdcp]

@RepTeresaLF Have you ever met @elonmusk? Maybe you know him? If not… it makes you look ridiculous to say personal stuff about someone you don’t even know.

[Dennis Palmer @drumdcp]

@DataRepublican @TaraSetmayer It’s almost as bad as “late stage capitalism”

[Dennis Palmer @drumdcp]

@The_Kyle_Mann The Incredibles is better.

[Dennis Palmer @drumdcp]

@jameszimmermann Man… you are so good! I love these… please keep sharing.

[Dennis Palmer @drumdcp]

@JimGetzen @jameszimmermann @christopherrufo This is a real bone-head post and I don’t think you’ll ever understand why…

[Dennis Palmer @drumdcp]

@Anc_Aesthetics @SenMikeLee The 45 thing is a dumb idea. I know plenty of 45 year olds that can’t afford houses right now. Ditch that and I’m in.

[Dennis Palmer @drumdcp]

@The_Kyle_Mann @GhostStalker451 The expansions make the Reavers much more of a threat! They are kinda tame in the base game. Definitely worth it!

[Dennis Palmer @drumdcp]

@DefiantLs That’s just a whole lotta nuthin’ right there…

[Dennis Palmer @drumdcp]

@SKMorefield @RBReich Anytime someone says “basically” it’s almost guaranteed they don’t know what they are talking about…

[Dennis Palmer @drumdcp]

@reason So you quote Musk saying that it’s impossible to reliably audit these govt departments and agencies because the basic accounting is a disaster and then you try to debunk his assertions by using reports from govt depts. Brilliant.