Will God help you buy Pacers tickets?

Yesterday was the first Friday of the month, which has become my personal spiritual retreat day.

The day before had been rainy, and the weather was beginning to cool, so I initially planned to find a different location than the park I usually go to. A friend suggested a couple of options, but as I woke up that morning, none of them felt right for this particular month. In the end, I stayed home—and it turned out to be exactly where I needed to be.

Turning My Heart Toward Our Children

Early in our time together, my heart turned toward our children.

As I looked around the house at pictures on the walls, I found myself enjoying many fond memories. For those who don’t know, Lisa and I have two teenagers—our son, Chris Jr., and our daughter, Kylie. They are great kids. Like any family, we’ve had our share of challenging seasons, but overall, we’re doing pretty well.

As I continued reflecting, I thought about a goal I set this month in my Truth@Work roundtable: to track the number of quality conversations I have with my children each week.

Anyone who has—or has had—teenage kids knows that quality conversations can be few and far between. You ask how their day was, and the response is, “Fine.” You try to probe a little deeper, and you get the look.

So, as you might expect, reality set in: I don’t have nearly as many meaningful conversations with my kids as I would like. This wasn’t new information, but it was enough to cause me to pause and genuinely consider how that might change.

A Shift Toward Stewardship

Another strong theme from my retreat was stewardship.

Earlier in the week, I had met with Jay Link from Stewardship Ministries and was introduced to some of his teaching. While this retreat was originally intended to be technology-free, I felt led to spend some time digging into his curriculum. I’ve only scratched the surface, but a few themes immediately stood out.

Who Really Owns Our Stuff?

The first question was simple but convicting: Who owns our stuff?

As Jay highlights, we often get wrapped up in our sense of ownership and forget that we don’t truly own anything. God—the Creator of all things—is the ultimate owner. We are simply stewards, entrusted to manage what He has placed in our care.

Most of us would answer “yes” to that intellectually. But at a heart level, what’s really going on? If we’re being honest, there’s probably a little too much “mine” woven into our thinking.

Generosity Through the Lens of Stewardship

Another module I previewed focused on generosity.

Jay points out that once we truly understand we are managers—not owners—it changes how we view generosity. One idea that stood out was God’s own generosity. I love being generous with my children, and in the same way, our Heavenly Father loves to be generous with us.

While I’ve only begun engaging with Stewardship Ministries’ content, it reinforced something important for me around ownership, generosity, and trust.

The Day’s Theme Comes Into Focus

Much more happened throughout the day than I can share here. But as the day began to wind down, something meaningful emerged.

I started connecting the dots between financial generosity and relational investment. Some of our most memorable moments with our kids—time at the lake house, vacations, or even spontaneous Starbucks runs—were made possible because we used God’s resources to invest in relationship.

As I reflected, I said to the Lord:

“It seems like today’s theme has been centered on our children. I haven’t spent much time in Scripture today, but if I’ve focused where You wanted me to focus, would You confirm it through Your Word?”

I opened my Bible—without any forethought—and immediately landed in Luke 15, the Parable of the Lost Son.

There were several takeaways, but the primary one was clear: I had asked God to confirm that children were the theme of the day, and He did.

So… Will God Help You Buy Pacers Tickets?

That brings us to the title of today’s post.

Historically, Chris Jr. and I have talked about going to Pacers games. But I’ve never been fully committed to the idea. Over the years, my reasons have varied—money, time constraints, concerns about role models, and probably a few others.

Throughout the day, as I reflected on ways to create meaningful time with my son, Pacers tickets kept coming to mind. And just as consistently, I tried to suppress the thought—mostly because of the financial investment. I justified it by telling myself there were plenty of other ways to spend quality time that didn’t cost as much.

But the idea kept returning.

So I finally prayed:

“God, if I’m supposed to buy Pacers tickets today, please make it clear.”

I looked down at my open Bible and began reading Luke 16, the Parable of the Shrewd Manager. After being drawn back multiple times, I landed on Luke 16:9 (NIV):

“I tell you, use worldly wealth to gain friends for yourselves, so that when it is gone, you will be welcomed into eternal dwellings.”

Without diving deeply into the full context, the message was unmistakable:
Loosen your grip on money and invest in your relationship with your son.

Acting in Faith (and Cheap Seats)

I shared the story with one of my most trusted, godly advisors—my wife—and she agreed.

When Chris Jr. got home, I challenged him to see how an 11-game ticket package could fit into our busy schedules. As you might imagine, he was shocked. Within an hour, he had it figured out. We called the Pacers, and now we have seats for the season.

To be clear—we didn’t get too greedy with God’s resources. We’re sitting in the cheap seats. But we’re in the building. And I’m confident there will be many meaningful moments ahead.

Final Thoughts

For some, this story may sound a little out there—much like my yellow birds story. For me, it’s simple.

Thank you, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, for relationship. I remain in awe of how clearly You communicate when we’re willing to ask—and listen.