Originally posted on Facebook on Monday, June 9, 2025.
The circumstances may be awful,
but God is good in the midst of awful circumstances.
The car crash we were in was one of the worst moments of my life—
and yet, one of the best moments of intimacy I’ve ever shared with my wife.
Of course I hate that it happened.
I wish she never had to go through anything like that.
But her presence changed everything.
What we were going through was bad—
but going through it together was good.
And that togetherness—that good—is what stays with me.
So it is with God.
I can suffer the bad and not be consumed by it,
because while bad comes and goes,
I have good all the time.
“Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil;
For You are with me…”
— Psalm 23:4
So even in suffering, I can not only smile—
I can sing (Acts 16:25–26),
because of the outworking of deep appreciation
for the One I’m going through it with.
And because He is with me,
while I don’t like suffering, I'm not overcome with resentment.
I don't have to be preoccupied—scratching, and clawing, trying to get to a better place.
Because He is the destination.
And in all circumstances… I’m already there.
Originally posted on Facebook on Saturday, June 7, 2025.
The beauty you bring to the world is your gift.
All beauty comes from God and is alive.
Satan specializes in attractive dead things.
Very often, our gifts are revealed not just by the problems we see, but by the dark corners we see AND are compelled to illuminate—to bring God's beauty to.
A brother recently said I have the gift of facilitation. But I didn't see it. He gave me this definition: gift — unconsciously skilled.
Our gifts are largely unknown to us because to us they seem normal.
Most of us wouldn't see our gift unless someone gave us a mirror.
Oh, how wise is the Lord our God, who gives us the mirror of “the perfect law of liberty” (James 1:25).
The Word of God is not just a revealer of God or a judge—but a revealer of us: who we are and the gifts we received in Jesus Christ—“the good and perfect gifts that come down from the Father of lights.”
So the perfect law of liberty is not like a funhouse mirror that distorts—but one that shows us the truth of who we are.
Jesus Christ, the living Word, is the mirror. Our gifts can be objectively identified in Him because they are His character traits that we bring to the world.
So let’s normalize speaking life.
Let's encourage each other by affirming the Jesus we see in each other—by proclaiming the beauty we see that others bring to the world.
Originally posted on Facebook on Saturday, June 7, 2025.
I promised myself that I would make progress on my project every week, and I did a thing today!
I created the first prototype of my app, Web Me Down.
But getting there was a journey.
Coming up with business ideas is easy.
But, how do you know which ones are actually worth doing?!
I literally have hundreds of ideas (I own over 200 domains 😭).
I needed a way to quickly make informed go/no-go decisions—so I created the Business Sketch.
No fluff. No made-up projections.
Just actionable experiments that I break down in 4 Ps 👇🏾
1. Problem – Who is this for, and what pain are they experiencing?
2. Promise – What outcome does my idea help them achieve?
3. Pay-Worthy Pain – Why would they actually pay for this?
4. Prove It – What’s the fastest way to test that—with real potential customers?
That last one is central: no testing with friends or family.
If I can't reach people who are experiencing the problem, I don't have a business.
And, here's how Web Me Down ran the gauntlet.
🧪 Business Sketch for Web Me Down
1. Problem
I believe that writers who journal or take notes in Obsidian and publish long-form content on WordPress struggle to export and preserve their content in clean Markdown. I’ve had this problem myself.
2. Promise
A tool that converts WordPress pages to Obsidian-ready Markdown—preserving structure, links, and media—would let people archive, repurpose, and fully own their content.
3. Pay-Worthy Pain
I believe creators will pay $9/month (or a flat one-time fee for multiple pages) because:
• Manual export is annoying and tedious.
• Existing tools are complicated or incomplete.
• Writers, knowledge workers, and digital gardeners value well-formatted, portable content.
• The time saved is easily worth the cost to this niche
4. Prove It
I’ll offer a free single-page conversion. On that page, I’ll include a “Convert My Whole Site” button with a flat fee.
If 5% or more of visitors click that button, I’ll take that as a green light.
Early traffic will come from Obsidian forums, blogging communities, and Reddit subs like r/selfhosted, r/ObsidianMD, and r/Wordpress.
🔍 Early signals I could look for:
✅ DMs, comments, or shares from people saying, “I need this.”
The whole Business Sketch process took less than an hour.
And with that, Web Me Down was born.
It was late. I was tired. I just wanted to veg out.
But I kept my promise to myself—and made progress. 💪🏾
I hope this encouraged someone to make progress on creating the beauty they want to see in the world.
📣 Future updates on my progress and process will be posted to the Mission Militia: We Make Progress Facebook group where "We make progress"!
Originally posted on Facebook on Friday, June 6, 2025.
Remember my story about the refrigerator?
Well, the situation got even more complicated.
After painstakingly researching specifications, checking reviews, and comparing pricing, we selected what we thought was the best value for the money. We placed our order and scheduled delivery on Lowes.com.
We were pleased.
Weeks go by, and then we receive an SMS:
"The payment for Lowe's order was declined. Update it within 3 days to avoid delays or cancellation."
Wait. What?!
I scurry over to our bank's website to verify the transaction. And sure enough—we had already been charged.
So I called Lowe’s customer service to see what was going on.
Lowe’s rep: How may I help you?
Me: Hi. We recently bought a refrigerator through your website. I just got a message saying our payment was declined, but we’ve already been charged.
Lowe’s rep: That wasn’t a charge. It was a hold.
Me: Okay… but the charge is still showing on our card, and now it looks like you’re trying to charge it again.
Lowe’s rep: [abruptly] Would you like to speak to a manager?
I’m transferred to a manager, who explains that Lowe’s authorizes the card for the full amount when you place the order online, but doesn’t actually charge it. After a few days, the hold is released, and then they reattempt authorization. They do this repeatedly after a set number of days (maybe 10? no one really knew) until the order is delivered.
I explained this wouldn’t be a problem if the hold were released before the card was charged again—but it wasn’t.
The manager admitted this was a known issue that affects many online customers, and that many end up canceling their orders and reordering in-store. The problem? We purchased this fridge during a sale, and the promotional pricing was no longer available.
I asked if I could just buy a Lowe’s gift card and use that to pay, to avoid this loop of reauthorizations. She said there was a risk it would kick the order out completely—best case, it would delay delivery another 22 days. Worst case, we’d lose the sale pricing and end up paying nearly double.
I asked, “Are there any other options?”
She replied, “Sorry, no.”
Enter Samuel and Aliya.
I went to our local Lowe’s expecting to cancel the order, settle for a less ideal option, and face who-knows-how-long of waiting—all while we were badly in need of a refrigerator.
I explained the situation to the clerk at the appliance desk—Samuel. He pulled up the order, started researching options, and even logged into the distributor’s website to check stock. Then he called a manager to make sure he wasn’t missing anything.
Finally, he said, “Mr. Luckett, here are our options—it’s a possibility it may not work, but this is something we can try.”
Then Aliya walked up, responding to Samuel’s page for a manager. They deliberated some more. Then she said, “This should work.”
Together, we walked over to the customer service desk. They pull up my order, and after overcoming some obstacles, our original order with the original installation date was completely paid for and they provided me the paperwork to prove it!
Two people, stopped, and explored everything they could do to help me—rather than telling me what they could not do.
Samuel and Aliya saved my relationship with Lowe’s and made my life measurably better—I walked in with a problem and I walked out without one. They have no idea the weight they lifted off my shoulders.
Originally posted on Facebook on Wednesday, June 4, 2025.
In Week 23 of 52 Weeks of Gratefulness, I give thanks to God for an overflowing cup.
Today, I will boast in the Lord.
God has affirmed His Word and rewarded my seeking Him.
“But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.”
— Hebrews 11:6
My cup runs over.
“Give, and it will be given to you: good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over will be put into your bosom.
For with the same measure that you use, it will be measured back to you.”
— Luke 6:38
Every time I’ve heard this passage in the past, it was from those devouring widows’ houses.
But this isn’t about money—obviously not.
How could money be put into your bosom?
No, this is about a much greater treasure—
"the true riches."
And I’ve been given a tiny sliver:
the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ (2 Corinthians 4:6).
That is worth more than all the money in the world.
Now I see dimly,
but oh, what a wonderful, soul-filling sight!
My cup runs over—
not only in the face of difficult circumstances,
but because of them.
God has used them to turn me to Him
in ways I would not have otherwise—
to show me more of His heart,
and to make His heart more of mine.
Oh, I see it now:
“Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities,
that the power of Christ may rest upon me.”
— 2 Corinthians 12:9
My cup runs over with His goodness—
even in the presence of my enemies.
And my sincere pray is that it's overflowing into others.
Originally posted on Facebook on Sunday, June 1, 2025.
I had a co-worker who was concerned about a plant at the office. It wasn’t doing well. Her first instinct was to take it home and repot it—to make sure it was in good soil.
I found wisdom in that.
There are a lot of things we can do in the care of an ailing life—we can prune, pick away dead foliage, treat for invasive pests—but it’s all for nothing if the plant isn’t rooted in good soil and exposed to proper light.
“I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.”
— John 15:5
The principal thing is getting them to Jesus—"bringing them home" which means to bring them closer to ourselves and other believers where there is good soil… to get rooted in Jesus and exposed to the light of God's love.
This is the essence of life in Christ—God with us, God through us, God all in all.
This is true discipleship: bringing others into the good soil of Christ among us—the solid ground from which all life stems and lasting healing follows.
Originally posted on Facebook on Tuesday, May 27, 2025.
You know what I think makes for a fulfilling life?
Creating the beauty you want to see in the world.
No—more than that—creating the beauty you were created to bring into the world.
This is the Imago Dei—our likeness to our Creator. After each day of creation, God stepped back, reflected on His work—the beauty He put into the world—and saw “It is good” (Genesis 1).
That’s the first thing I must remember:
To be intentional about creating the beauty I was made to bring into the world.
I’ve noticed the "beauty" I’m drawn to create often reflects a trait of God’s character. Coincidence?
So now, I evaluate my days with a single question:
“Have I brought God to something today?”
If I have, it was a good day.
And I’ve learned—you don’t necessarily need a new job to create this kind of beauty.
Often, I can simply do my job in a new way.
I can attest to this.
I’m not particularly passionate about switches, servers, or routers.
But I do care deeply about connecting people, keeping them safe, and making their burdens lighter.
Information Technology just happens to be the canvas for me to bring it into the world.
And it’s not just about work—
Beauty can be brought into every part of life: family, daily activities, even rest.
The problem is, we often miss it.
Not because it’s not there—but because we fail to step back, reflect on our work—the beauty we've put into the world, and see it is good.
So here’s what I’m learning:
The first thing I must remember to do is to be intentional about creating the beauty I want to see in the world.
The second is to rejoice over it.
And I have much to rejoice about.
It's so wonderful to see, for example, co-workers appreciated and encouraged, or the family in Christ I've ministered to serving and expressing love for one another.
I can see why Paul wrote passages like Ephesians 1:15-16,
"Therefore I also, after I heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints, do not cease to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers …"
It's so good.
Satan’s full-time job is to prevent me from seeing it.
But it’s there—beauty I’ve been allowed a hand in creating.
And it’s worth fighting to see.
That beauty—participating in expressing God's beauty—makes life so fulfilling.
Originally posted on Facebook on Monday, May 26, 2025.
Jesus did not come so we would have right ideas.
Jesus came so we would have God.
“ I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.”
“And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent.”
— John 10:10; 17:3
Have you ever been hit so hard that you can't tell up from down?
I have.
When life hits you like that, philosophies, principles, and ideas leave you.
But, God never will.
” … For He Himself has said, ‘I will never leave you nor forsake you.’”
— Hebrews 13:5
Come to Jesus, believe Him. Keep asking, seeking and knocking—desiring God.
“For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened.”
— Luke 11:10
And get God through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit who draws near by grace through faith in Jesus Christ.
God is not just a concept in our head. Faith does not come by being convinced. It comes by meeting a Person, and by love of that Person that makes us one with Him.
“ … Knowledge puffs up, but love edifies.”
— 1 Corinthians 8:1
Receive what cannot be shaken as you become something new in Him never to be separated again.
Originally posted on Facebook on Sunday, May 25, 2025.
In Week 21 of 52 Weeks of Gratefulness, I give thanks to God—for God.
As I pondered the many things I’m grateful for, it occurred to me: these things are beams of benefit streaming to me from God—one after another.
The gifts are good, but the true prize is God.
God is the ultimate good—and that gives me everlasting hope.
Whatever I’m going through—or whatever I’m without—because God is, I know there is good in the world.
And that makes me glad, even if it seems like I’m not experiencing it in the moment.
I rejoice in others enjoying Him, and it gives me hope that His light may one day shine on me again.
“Do not be deceived, my beloved brethren. Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning.”
— James 1:16–17
There is a coming Day when I will bask in God’s light—and it will never end. (Revelation 21:23)
Originally posted on Facebook on Tuesday, May 20, 2025.
A bad habit of mine wrecked many conversations before they had a chance to start—accusation.
I wish I had the wisdom and humility 20 years ago to say, “I have fears that cause me to interpret some of the things you do as proof that those fears are true,” rather than accusing others.
I tend to hold conclusions based on my observations and lead into conversations with them—until they’re disproven. While that works in science and sounds perfectly reasonable, it’s toxic for relationships. In science, you’re the one confirming or disproving a hypothesis based on new findings. In relationships, it comes off as an accusation—where you’ve put someone in a position to defend themselves before giving them any benefit of the doubt. It's cold, clinical and ungracious.
There’s also a kind of hubris in this approach: it assumes I’m completely objective in what I observe—but I’m not. Our fears skew our perspective, and it takes humility to admit that. It also requires the maturity to accept our limitations—there are always variables we can’t see.
“For what man knows the things of a man except the spirit of the man which is in him?”
—1 Corinthians 2:11
Our fears aren’t always reality—but sometimes they are. If someone is doing something that bothers you, and you’re dealing with someone compassionate, starting with vulnerability, fears, humility and where I may be wrong can lead to a more constructive conversation—because it’s exploratory rather than accusatory.
I can’t go back in time, but the next best thing is to pay forward what I’ve learned. I pray it helps someone perfect their love.
