Changing Gears For the Christmas Season
Last year I finally started a project that I had been wanting to for a few years. For the first time around it, went really well. This year we are doing it again. Throughout the month of December I invite you to come rediscover the season of the Savior. The Bearded Christmas is a celebration for what Christmas is really about. Take a break from wrapping presents. Find some quiet from the holiday crowds. Pour yourself a cup of coffee or hot coco and let’s dive into the season that we know as Christmas.
From December 1st-25th visit The Bearded Christmas for a daily Christmas Bible reading, discussions about the season, videos, and Polaroid pictures. Hope to see you there.
The Bearded Christmas
Screen Protector
Do you have a screen protector for your phone? You may even have one of those phone tanks, also know as, a case that can protect it from a nuclear explosion. Ever since I have owned my first smart phone, it has had a screen protector on it. After a few months I replaced it. When I pulled off the old one it was all scratched up and hazy. It did it’s job protecting the phone screen from my spare change, keys, drops, and everything else about my life that can be hard on things. When I looked at my phone, it was still brand new. The screen was perfect. A phone screen protector is a very simple addition. It is just a piece of plastic with a sticky side.
We are willing to go out of our way to protect our phones. Are we willing to go out of the way to protect our lives? Are we willing to do small things to protect our spiritual lives? Screen protectors in our lives take the brunt of the abuse so we do not take them directly. What is a life screen protector? Any method, habit, object, etc that we put in the way of us and temptation to sin. My objective is not to list a bunch of rules to help you obey the rules. Rules on rules only mess things up. What I am talking about are putting practices in place to guard yourself. These practices are for you. These are not things that you force on someone else. That promotes legalism.
Learning From Conan O’Brien
What we can learn from Conan O’Brien’s difficult and premature departure from NBC:
- Things ending in a difficult manner do not erase all the good of the past.
- Be grateful for what you have.
- Working hard and being kind incubates amazing things.
- Cynicism will get you no where.
- It takes a team of amazing people.
- Make sad moments happy ones.
- You do what you love, even if it’s in a 7 Eleven Parking lot.
- He did the dream job of every comedian for seven months, and is thankful.
Why are there not more Christians in America this thankful for the lives God has blessed them with? Everyone in America is more wealthy then most of the world. Why do we complain so much?
Only A Child’s Prayer
“Only a child gets prayer answered; a wise man does not.” – Oswald Chambers
The devotional My Utmost For His Highest has had a profound influence on my life. God has used the words in this book to speak to me on several occasions. Often a statement from the book leaves me thinking for days. The quote above is one such statement.
Wisdom is important. Knowledge is useful. Faith is mandatory. Works are a must. Worship is life. Prayer is essential. Yet, Jesus told us in Luke 9:48 ”Whoever receives this child in my name receives me, and whoever receives me receives him who sent me. For he who is least among you all is the one who is great.” In Luke 18:16-17 He said, ”Let the children come to me, and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of God. Truly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it.” Let us also mention what Jesus said in Matthew 18:4 “Whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.”
When Jesus talks about being great He always refers to a child as an example.
No matter how much we grow in our faith and walk with Jesus, always remember we are a child of God. We are not God’s brother or sister. We are not God’s sidekick. We are not going to impress God by what we know or how holy we make ourselves. God will never love us any more or any less than He already does. We can be called God’s children because of what Jesus did for us with His life, death on a cross, and resurrection.
Have faith and pray like a child. Remember this.
To NaNoWriMo or Not To NaNoWriMo?
That is the question.
The National Novel Writing Month, a.k.a. NaNoWriMo, held every November. It is a yearly challenge to write a 50,000 word novel in 30 days. That is the equivalent of a 175 page book.
The idea is not perfection. The idea is output. As Steven Pressfield says “There’s a secret that real writers know that wannabe writers don’t, and the secret is: It’s not the writing part that’s hard. What’s hard is sitting down to write.”
NaNoWriMo states on their website, “Make no mistake: You will be writing a lot of crap. And that’s a good thing. By forcing yourself to write so intensely, you are giving yourself permission to make mistakes. To forgo the endless tweaking and editing and just create. To build without tearing down.”
We have to take the perfectionist out of us an let ourselves start for the sake of starting. We can never get in the position of producing good work unless we start. Pressfield also states, “We can always revise and revisit once we’ve acted. But we can accomplish nothing until we act.”
This post is really a pep talk to myself. It is just being done publicly. I have a million excuses just like you why not to do it. Everyone around me will probably think I am crazy. That means I will probably have zero support. Like you, I work. I live a musicians lifestyle. I have a family to attend to. I have not really written much fiction (it is National NOVEL Writing Month). I can’t even type very fast. Yes, I can go on and on.
To NaNoWriMo or not to NaNoWriMo? That is the question.
NaNoWriMo Website. NaNoWriMo Facebook.
Why I Get To Do the Cool Stuff and You Don’t
It is time to address something. It is time some people come to understand some things about me. Really, it is not about me. Even though I am involved.
There is no way I could have predicted the past three years. But, the past years have come as a natural result of decisions made and principles followed.
Over the recent years my musical career is actually starting to look like a career. I have met people that I thought I would never have a conversation with. Opportunities have came that many people would give up body parts for. I have traveled to places many people long to visit. And I can go on and on about the many blessings that have come my way.
When I update my Twitter and Facebook about some of my opportunities, I get responses like “I’m jealous,” “Lucky,” and “How did you get that hook up?” Sometimes I get the impression from people that I am just more “Lucky” than them and I just randomly had these opportunities handed to me. Or God has supernaturally opened doors for me and not others; which is true, but not in the way that you think.
I am no one special. I want to make that clear. That can be confirmed by all the people who have scratched their heads at how I have these opportunities and they do not. They scratch their heads because they know I am no one special. My sins are many. My imperfections are countless.
People who live interesting lives, do interesting things. Those who get interesting opportunities are those who follow certain principles and make certain decisions. It really is that simple.
We Go To Church To Worship Ourselves
When we go to church we look for sermons we want to hear and music that we prefer. We want the environment to look just right. We want our visual senses pleased. We want all the right entertainment for our kids. We want our teenagers in a safe place. We do not want to be put in a challenging situation. When we serve, it must be clean and easy. We want to be acknowledged for what we do for God. We want to leave feeling better about ourselves.
Is this how the Bride of Christ is to act?
And Jesus said to all, ”If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it. For what does it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses or forfeits himself? For whoever is ashamed of me and of my words, of him will the Son of Man be ashamed when he comes in his glory and the glory of the Father and of the holy angels. – Luke 9:23-26 ESV
Will we pick up the Cross of Christ or will we worship ourselves?
While we are at it, I must share my favorite church service video. Enjoy!
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Abraham Lincoln
Age 7 – Worked to support family after they were forced out of their home.
Age 9 – Mother died.
Age 22 – Failed in business
Age 23 – Defeated for legislature and could not get into law school.
Age 24 – Declared bankruptcy and spent 17 years paying off debts owed to friends.
Age 25 – Defeated for legislature again.
Age 26 – While engaged to be married, sweetheart died and heart was broken.
Age 27 – Had a nervous breakdown and spent the next six month in bed.
Age 29 – Defeated in becoming the speaker of the state legislature.
Age 31 – Defeated in becoming elector.
Age 34 – Defeated for Congress.
Age 37 – Defeated for Congress again.
Age 39 – Defeated for Congress yet again.
Age 40 – Rejected for the job of Land Officer in home state.
Just When You Think You Have Limitations In Your Life
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