Originally posted on Facebook on Saturday, June 14, 2025.
It's 4:00 AM.
The night is starting to wane.
I stir. Sleep has left me.
The feelings and thoughts begin to creep in.
I'm sad.
Even though I know the accident wasn't my fault (I've rehearsed it a thousand times), I feel responsible for all the suffering this has caused my wife.
It was her car. Now it's gone.
Dealing with insurance has been a nightmare. And on top of all that, she has to buy a new one. Interest rates aren't what they were.
The added stress is visible.
And it's all my fault.
Then, I feel the brush of her arm moving across the bed.
She extends her hand for me to hold.
That was such a ministry to me.
Her outstretched hand said, "I'm with you—through it all."
This is the ministry of the wife—the rib of support, always beside.
This is where I want to be with God, where circumstances do not present any risk of my refusing His outstretched hand.
I want to say, "I'm with You—through it all."
Because being with You is what I want—ABOVE ALL, come what may. Together, we can deal with everything else.
"Yet indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ"
– Philippians 3:8
Originally posted on Facebook on Friday, June 13, 2025.
Overcoming Satan's attacks is often as simple as not looking where he tells me to.
"Look at you, and how you've failed…"
"Look at this other person doing better than you…"
"Look at your circumstances…"
"Look at this thing you can have…"
These are Satan's suggestions.
But instead, I must keep my eyes on Jesus.
His voice is different.
Jesus never condemns.
Instead, He speaks like this:
"I can get you right. Leave everything holding you back…"
"Don't concern yourself with them. You follow Me…"
"Do not fear. I am the Good Shepherd…"
"All others are thieves and robbers. Only I have come that you might have life—and have it more abundantly…"
Originally posted on Facebook on Thursday, June 12, 2025.
In Week 24 of 52 Weeks of Gratefulness, I give thanks to God for science and engineering.
We often joke that modern vehicles don't hold up in an accident like cars back in the day.
That is by design.
They look a mangled mess after an accident so we don't have to. They're engineered to crumple in places to absorb the impact so the force isn't transferred to the passengers.
Were it not for the grace of God and exceptional engineering, we would not have walked away from this accident.
We were banged up, but in one piece.
God bless each and every engineer involved in this vehicle's design. Your work is part of why we're still alive.
Originally posted on Facebook on Thursday, June 12, 2025.
I ate my feelings yesterday.
There's nothing wrong with chips and cookies,
But rather why I went to the chips and cookies.
It was in effect, trading my birthright for a bowl of soup.
(Hebrews 12:15-17)
I chose temporary relief in fleeting pleasures that do not satisfy, rather than the lasting healing of God that sustains.
But, for a child of God there is never condemnation, only correction.
He guides me to come to Him,
to stop scrolling,
to turn off the screen,
to close the pantry,
to meet Him in the quiet place,
to pray,
to cast all my cares upon Him,
and wait.
Wait for Him.
Do not forsake Him for another.
He will surely come.
I repent.
Though I stumble,
When I look to Him,
My Lord says, "Follow Me."
Then with an outstretched arm He lifts me up,
and restores me to a place where I can… again.
(Psalm 37:24, Jude 1:24)
"I called on the LORD in distress;
The LORD answered me and set me in a broad place."
— Psalm 118:5
Originally posted on Facebook on Tuesday, June 10, 2025.
Good dads say, "No."
It’s 1995—the year I’ll graduate high school—and my dad is getting me a car. We’re shopping around different dealerships, and I want one of the first cars I see: a dingy, used ’92–’93 green Saturn SC.
I’ve got the fever.
I’m anxious to go nowhere in particular.
I just want some wheels—and would’ve settled for practically anything.
But my dad said, “No.”
Because he wanted something better for me.
He chastened me for my anxiety, warned me of all it could rob me of, and instructed me to learn patience—so I can have the best.
Weeks go by.
At the end of a school day, I’m walking toward my bus when I hear my name—
“Chris!”
I look past the buses…
There’s my dad, leaning against a shiny, red, gold-package 1995 Mazda 626.
What my dad wanted for me was exceedingly better than what I wanted for myself.
And I wouldn’t have gotten it… if my father hadn’t said, “No.”
So it is with God.
He says, “No”
because there’s something better He wants for you.
"Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us"
— Ephesians 3:20
And so nothing I say is ever confused with prosperity garbage, let me be clear:
The better that God wants for us—
is Him.
Very often, the thing He says “No” to would keep us from that.
So today, I’m thankful for a good Dad who says No to the “good” I think I want—
so I can receive the best He has for me.
P.S. Everything God gives teaches us about Himself (marriage, family, etc.). So, how we live as parents, spouses, people… is so important. It can aid or hinder others from having a right view of God.
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.
