Little Chopsticks: The Finger of Doom

The Finger of Doom even terrorizes my Frenchies 

May 2026 was a big month for our son, Calvin – 14 months at the time. He gained multiple skills like finally crawling with his hands and knees instead of his forearms and his legs dragging across the ground like he’s in the Vietnam War. “This isn’t the army, Calvin” I would think to myself.

 

He also acquired the skill of picking my nose.

 

I call this recent development “chopsticks.” 

Now, chopsticks refers to anytime he pokes at something with one index finger or both. But telling you the nose-picking story out of all of the things he has been poking within his first two years of being alive is the most fun to tell. 

 

With mouth gaped open like he’s trying to disarm a bomb and the focus of a lion crouching low in the African savanna for his next meal, Calvin will whip out his chopstick fingers whenever I am laying on the ground with our offspring on top of my stomach.

 

Imagine for a moment that you are laying in a field facing the clouds, and as your heart is filled with contentment and gratitude, you see a balloon come into view from the left corner of your peripherals – you don’t move your head, but the balloon casually invades your view as it drifts off into the distance.

 

Calvin’s fingers are like that balloon. Instead of being a balloon drifting off into the stratosphere, it attacks you. From my view, I see an innocent pair of fingers, one on each hand, hovering above my face. Little do I know that in few seconds, those same fingers are looking to either do some dental work in my mouth or stab the very back of my nostrils.

 

Some days, when he decides to play dentist, it looks more like he dumped the ingredients of a delicious bowl of ramen in my mouth and is proceeding to mix it together with his fingers like they are utensils. Other days, I wind up with a bloody nose after he heads straight to the back of it with his little finger.

 

One day I was reflecting on this recent “skill” he developed, and I thought about how incredible God must be to already instill a sense of intense focus in our one-year-old boy. Nowadays, it is difficult for me to stay focused on one task at a time; yet someone who is 36 years younger than me is already focusing better than me.

 

Then I naturally got to thinking, What if I focus on God like this? What if the way Calvin’s fingers find their way up my nose can be applied to how I pursue God – with intense deliberation and focus.

 

I believe long before my nose started bleeding, Calvin already decided he was going to send his finger on a mission to see what was inside the deep, dark abyss of his dad’s nose. What if, long before my day starts, I decide to send my mind and heart on a mission to allow God into my day, my thoughts, and my conversations with others? What if I allow my ears to hear the heart of God and the Truth of Scripture and what He says about me to penetrate my mind?

“…letting the Spirit control your mind leads to life and peace,” Romans 8:6 says.

“Think about the things of Heaven, not the things of Earth,” Colossians 3:2 commands.

In my other post, “Larry, the Wise Racquetball Ghandi,” I mentioned how Larry told me “I play better when I don’t think about the last shot.” So much of my life is focused on the last shot that I derail my momentum with God. I lose sight of him in the midst of all of the chaos I stir up in my brain.

 

Corrie Ten Boom once said “If the Devil can’t make us bad, he will make us busy,” and when I am busy putting all of my attention on trying to do things on my to-do list, solve problems throughout the day, and worry about things in the future, without God, it creates the chasm the Devil wants to keep building. He loves to interrupt God’s plan, and if we let him provide us with a convincing argument to not think of the things of heaven, then he’ll come up with reasons that distract us.

 

If you ever feel that God is out of view, you just need to “pick” your way through the outside noise and ground yourself in the Truth of who God is and how He sees you. Sure, what Calvin is after (the back of my nose) and what you’re after (closeness with God) are likely two different things, but the same means to each end can be exercised: deliberation and focus to achieve what you’re seeking. 

 

The good news is there are plenty of resources to use to develop and maintain the habit of being close to Him and grounded in the Truth.

 

First, be honest in your dialogue with God. Second, immerse yourself deep in Scripture, and third, surround yourself with people who challenge you in your faith and remind you to be in lock step with God.

 

Who knows? After developing these habits, you might be as focused as my son is at picking my nose.

Elmo, The Hippocampus, Paul, and God

Have you ever been in a Kohl’s or Target that is closing in 10 minutes and you’re one of 3 customers left in the store? You know it’s closing soon even without the intercom reminding you to head to the checkout lanes because that’s when the smooth jazz or Bruno Mars comes on. Sometimes, you wonder if you’ve heard the song before but don’t remember where from.

 

Well, I can now say I have entered into new territory when it comes to niche places to have music enter your brain and get stuck in the depths of it.

 

It was June 1^st, 2026, and my brain was playing this faint melody was doing that “smooth jazz when Target is closing” again. Only this time, I was at home and realizing there’s no way to look up the song when all that’s playing is the beat in my mind. Even as I write, I have drawn the conclusion that I can’t even write the beat down without the lyrics helping that beat come to life.

 

Though we usually remember him as helping toddlers with the ABCs, teaching us about how bees protect their queen, and interacting with other puppets on the famous Sesame Street, Elmo helped me in an unusual way: remembering the song that was stuck in my head.

 

Aside from changing poopy diapers, cutting up sweet potatoes into chewable sizes for a baby’s mouth, and playing Bluey on repeat for several hours, having Elmo’s “Letter of the Day: A!” song stuck in my head rather than any song an adult would hear on the radio is the ultimate indicator parenting season is here and there’s no turning back.

 

The point is, God designed the brain this way on purpose. What our senses capture – whether it’s hearing, tasting, feeling, sight, or smelling, our brain reminds us what we sensed. It’s why people who see something they wish they didn’t say, “I can’t unsee that,” or they cringe when an unwanted song comes on because they’re bound to spend the rest of the day trying to dislodge it from their brain – but too late, it’s stuck there.

 

By now, it sounds like God is using the brain to torture us, but here’s the truth:

It’s about what we choose to put inside our brain that counts.

 

According to WebMD.com, “[The Hippocampus’] largest job is to hold short-term memories and transfer them to long-term storage in our brains.” Outside of memory, the Hippocampus is also responsible for learning and emotion. WebMD also points out that since the Hippocampus of the brain deals with memories, and memories are involved with every day life, it plays an important, complex role. Therefore, it can “talk” to other parts of the brain, and it needs to if it deals with such a vital part survival. For example, we need to rely on what we remember about cooking if we want to feed ourselves. If we get a deep cut in our arm, we need to rely on memory and learned behavior to provide aid to the cut so it doesn’t become an infection. Or, in the corporate world, we need to rely on not only what we recall from memory, but our ability to adapt and learn better ways of doing the same thing if we are to remain effective in the work place.

 

One example from my own life of my senses developing a short-term memory into a long term one is when I bought the Newsboys album, Thrive (this was the Peter Furler Newsboys that I grew up listening to 20+ years ago) right before Spring break around 2002. I was in eight grade, and my family and I were headed to Gulf Shores, Alabama from Michigan in our little minivan, and that entire trip and this album will have an eternal bond that no one can break. When I hear “Million Pieces,” “Live in Stereo,” and “The Fad of the Land,” I am immediately transported back to the 2002 on 21^st floor of our condo overlooking the Gulf of Mexico. The sound of the album creates the long-term memory I had of Alabama and the fun times created there. It brings the memories from 25 years ago to the front of my mind like I went there just last month.

 

Back to Elmo, if I spend enough time with him through watching Netflix episodes, or listening to his music on Spotify, then his voice is going to play a big role in my brain and his catchy tune will transport me back to the many other times I listened and/or experienced Elmo.

 

When Paul wrote to the church in Philippi, his desire was for the people to focus on good things; in so many words, to fill the Hippocampus with things of God: “Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise.” (Philippians 4:8-9, NLT) But then, he adds this zinger: “Keep putting to practice all you learned and received from me – everything you heard from me and saw me doing. Then the God of peace will be with you.”

 

I believe this: to allow Elmo to truly invade the Hippocampus of my brain, I need to listen and put his words to practice. More fitting would be if my toddler listened to Elmo’s catchy song, then practiced what the little red puppet monster sang in the song. Next thing you know, Calvin is speaking in full sentences by two years old because of Elmo’s hit song.

 

Or, in my case, put people like Paul in my life and fill my day the words of God on a daily basis that draws me closer to the Truth and what God says about me. The Hippocampus wants and “thrives” off of connection with God. Why wouldn’t it? If Paul is as connected to Christ as he says in all of his letters – in Acts 20:24, he says, “None of these things move me…so that I finish my course with joy, and the ministry, which I have received of the Lord Jesus”) – then if the church in Philippi would be wise to practice all they “learned and received from [him].”

 

Choose today to fill your brain with Paul’s words, Jesus’ words, and the words of God. Choose today to surround yourself with people who love God deeply. Fuel your Hippocampus with memories with the Lord, and let it transfer those short-term memories to long-term.

 

“…Then the God of peace will be with you.”

 

According to Paul

 

“What’s the letter? Clap, clap. What’s the Letter? Clap, clap.”

 

According to Elmo.

 

Larry, The Wise Racquetball Ghandi

       

             Sometimes you watch the Jeep who cut you off in traffic is the same one you watch get pulled over, and sometimes you get pulled over instead for retaliating when the Jeep cut you off. Sometimes you get cut from the basketball team when you watch the kid who cheated on the math test get a starting role on that team. Sometimes you hit the game winning home run, and the next day you strike out three plate appearances in a row. One day you sell $25 of lemonade and the next day you barely crack a dollar.

 

               And while we love to say “Life’s not fair!” as if it will immediately cure our sulky moods, we simultaneously suit up for another day of life’s up and downs, because as upsetting or joyous they can be, they are just as unpredictable too.

 

               I didn’t get pulled over recently, but me getting pulled over for getting cut off took shape on the racquetball court back in April 2026. Although it would be neat to drive around like a maniac on a racquetball court, that’s not how it went. It involved life not being fair and me throwing a gigantic fit about it. You know how it goes: you throw a fit, embarrass yourself and possibly burn some bridges in the middle of your tantrum, then realize it isn’t remotely as big of a deal as you thought after you’ve had a full-scale meltdown.

 

                Have you ever played racquetball? All you need is a racquet, a blue rubber ball, and glasses to protect your eyes. A glove for the hand you use to put your racquet in is optional. Let me spare you the detailed rules and put it this way: try to hit the ball towards the front wall with your racquet in a way that prevents the opponent from returning the shot before it bounces twice.

 

                Regardless of whether or not any of that made sense, I’m sure you can relate to doing something that is designed to be fun, but turns into a day you wish you could do over the second you think about it. If you’re like me and think you should be able to crush everyone in the sport because you play 3 times a month for less than a year, you have to work extra hard to not take a humbling loss personally.

 

                At this point, it would be best to introduce Larry, a fitness nut who, let’s just put it politely, doesn’t move on the court the way his age suggests; and without revealing his age directly, his kids are around my age. Yes, Larry is much older than me but moves on the court like he’s younger than me – and it’s frustrating. I should add that he’s on my wife’s side of the family, but in a lot of ways, he’s like a father figure to me. Don’t get me wrong, my own father far exceeds the average father, so I don’t need an extra father figure in my life because I need an exceptional father. However, it’s nice to know God blessed me with numerous father figures in my life that I am not related to by blood, and Larry is one of them.

 

            Back to racquetball: he pulls off shots that can only be successfully executed if you’re retired, play games against semi-pros, and don’t mind getting absolutely decimated by better players with the sole purpose of learning from them to get better.

 

            In summary, I just described Larry and a big reason he demolishes me every Saturday morning for two hours.

 

            He doesn’t complain, pound his racquet against the wall, and throw tantrums like I do, yet he’s the one who should be getting angry when he messes up because he’s put in far more work than me. Yet, he’s a calm as a cucumber with its sunglasses on. If I could read his mind, he would probably be thinking, onto the next shot, and that’s where his mind goes because he plays just like it.

 

            When I learn from him, it’s less about racquetball and more about composure and not letting the humility that comes with losing the point turn into embarrassment from how you respond to the humbling moment. Don’t get me wrong, he also teaches me techniques, strategies, and location of shots, but I learn the most about behavior on the court based on how he plays.

 

            Larry once told me that the best racquetball players he’s played against “never think they’ve got it all figured out. They believe they could always get better, and they are constantly learning.”

 

            Whether it is intentional or not, Larry is speaking straight from Scripture, which has a lot to say about being humble and learning no matter where you’re at in life:

Instruct the wise and they will be wiser still; teach the righteous and they will add to their learning.

                                                            Proverbs 9:9 (NIV)

            What I believe this verse is saying is simple: Wise people are coachable; righteous people never stop learning.

 

            But to learn, you need an attitude that matches it. I have discovered the hard way that my antics on the court do not give me the opportunity to learn – you can’t learn when you let your emotions carry your head to another place of personal offense.

 

             In fact, the times I get close to beating Larry, or experience the rare opportunity to beat him, my approach to each point is what helps me execute and finish strong. In one of our racquetball meetings, Larry told me, mid-game, “I can tell you play better when you don’t think about the last shot. You slow the game down and let it come to you. I can tell it helps you stay in the game.”

 

            Being coachable and humble slows the game down because you take time to learn from every shot, good or bad. The shots I refer to are not just exclusive to the court. At work, when I get caught up in the to-do list and having to rush through all of it, I can tell I get impatient with my students. When I breathe, take time to learn from my day, and rest – slowing things down – I approach my students with more grace, energy, and love.

            Don’t stop learning and growing. Don’t let the speed of life discourage you – instead, listen, add to your learning, and develop wisdom along the way. Larry has taught me a lot – not just through pickleball. I hope I use each opportunity I have with him to learn from his own experiences and how he approaches life.

 

            I also hope God has given you or gives you someone to learn from, because he has a funny way of bringing these people into your life.

 

            When they do step into your life, be glad they did: it is often God’s way of saying you need to learn a few things.