Every year I have the pleasure of celebrating an amazing day, the day my wife was born. Sure, all of us are born… understatement of the year.
When I think about Cheryl’s birth it means something extra special to me. Yes, she’s amazing and I love her, but I always think about her differently than most people I know. I’ve mentioned before that Cheryl was adopted and Cheryl speaks openly about that. I thank God all the time that Cheryl was adopted by Jim & Mary Cnossen. It changed the course of her life and allowed us to meet and fall in love.
I also thank God that Cheryl’s birth mother chose life for Cheryl. There are literally millions of children every year who don’t get a chance at life. There are approximately 42,000,000 babies aborted every year worldwide and 115,000 a day. The numbers are staggering.
I am so blessed to know and love Cheryl. She is a blessing to her co-workers, family members and friends. I know she is a blessing to God. He’s proud of the woman she is and the woman she is becoming.
Thank you Lord for another wonderful year with the greatest gal I know. She makes me a better man and has shown me love that I don’t deserve. I pray that you grant her favor and blessings beyond measure in this coming year and beyond.
I love you Cheryl, you’re the best gift anyone could ask for… happy birthday.
Have you ever purchased something from your favorite online retailer (for me it’s Amazon) and eagerly awaited it’s delivery? Me too. There’s just something nice about getting a package delivered to your home. It’s kind of like Christmas. You know what’s in the box most of the time, but it’s fun to open it up anyway.
Usually Amazon ships my packages via UPS or FedEx, but from time to time they send it through the United States Postal Service.
I hate when that happens. Let me tell you why.
You see, with UPS & FedEx there are simple ways to check when your items will arrive. “But Scott, you can also track your package through USPS.com.” Yes, they say you can, but not really. If you’re the person shipping the package, you pay more to track. If you are the person receiving the package, you’re lucky to see the tracking info after you receive the actual shipment. This is just my experience, but I think the USPS is just another failed attempt by the government to run a business.
The USPS in nearly $70 Billion in debt and is asking Congress to bail them out. By the way, this is what $70,000,000,000 looks like. Makes it look a lot worse, huh?
Do we really even need the USPS anymore? How many letters did you send this week? This month? This year? I’m sure you emailed quite a few people, but hand-written letters are very rare. My mom still sends Cheryl & I letters or cards a few times a year, but she’s the only person in my life that does. We do receive a Birthday card from Cheryl’s Dad every year, but again, that’s it.
Think about what you get in the mail. Bills & junk mail. Tons of junk mail. More than 90% of what I get out of my mailbox everyday is junk mail. The other ten percent are bills and Cheryl’s magazines. In this digital age, you can get all your bills online and email anyone you want for FREE.
Let’s talk about shipping packages. UPS & FedEx have this down pat. They are efficient and reliable. The reason for that? If they weren’t, they would go bankrupt and fail. The USPS doesn’t live under those rules. You and I, or at least 53% of us, pay for the USPS to deliver our bills and junk mail to us 6 days a week. That’s just our tax dollars, you also have to pay for shipping and stamps on top of that.
You may have heard that the USPS is a semi-private business, but they receive upwards of $96 Million a year from the government. They also don’t have to pay Federal Taxes and receive discounted loans from the government as well.
Now they’re pressuring Congress to bail them out and in case you don’t know how this works, Congress will bail them out because “they’re too big to fail.”
Monday night, right before bed, I happened to read a Tweet from Jenn Jonhson (@JennJohnson20), one of the worship leaders from Bethel Church in Redding, California. She actually re-tweeted a link to a blog post by Michael Gungor (@michaelgungor) of the band, Gungor, about Christian Music. The actual blog post by Michael is quite lengthy, but there is a pretty good summary (with commentary) on the website for Collide Magazine.
Basically the Gungor frontman had some time on his hands and dumped his feelings, journal style, onto the bands blog space. In the blog, Michael talks about how easy it is to spot Christian music on the radio. Not by the lyrics, but strictly by listening to the music. He takes the industry to task for its perceived lack of creativity. There is much more in the article, but I’ll allow you to decide what you think of what’s written.
Bill worked in the Christian music biz for over 15 years. He has an intimate knowledge of how things work. Obviously he has an opinion. I worked in Christian radio for 6 years a very long time ago and I obviously have an opinion as well.
For me, I’ve always had an issue with Christian music’s tendency to “copy” what’s popular in the world of secular music. Secular music is basically anything and everything that isn’t considered Christian music.
Christian radio is not marketed toward me, the middle aged white guy. There are two local Christian music stations that I’m aware of in Central Ohio. One of those stations is your classic adult contemporary with a lot of different bands that all start to sound the same after a while. Then there’s the hip, youth driven, make your ears bleed station that has a lot of singers screaming in a very deep metal voice for hours on end. Neither one is my cup of tea.
I’ll readily admit that I tend to be all worship music or good ol’ Pop/Rock Top 40 music (limited hip-hop please). Generally speaking I’m always going to like a nice upbeat Rock song. Hair Bands were my favorite… yes, I had a mullett.
Deep down inside, I really want to enjoy what the Christian Music Industry has to offer, but I just can’t get into it. I can’t really tell you why, but Michael Gungor’s blog came as close to why as I’ve ever been able to articulate.
So, let me ask you this: Do you listen to Christian Music? If so, what do you like about it? Do you think that Christian Music lacks creativity?
It’s been quite a while since I’ve spent any time listening to mainstream Christian music… I haven’t been current on anything from the genre since the mid 90′s when I was working in Christian Radio. At some point, it all seemed to blend together.
I just so happened to listen to an old favorite of mine, Steven Curtis Chapman, on Spotify last night before bed and it was no surprise to me that SCC has not lost his ability to write great music and lyrics.
Here they are, I hope they bless you today.
Do Everything by Steven Curtis Chapman from re:creation
You’re picking up toys on the living room floor
for the 15th time today
Matching up socks and sweeping up lost
Cheerios that got away
You put a baby on your hip and color on your lips
and head out the door
And while I may not know you I bet I know you
Wonder sometimes does it matter at all
We’ll let me remind you it all matters just as long as you
Do everything you do to the glory of the One who made you
Cause He made you to do
Every little thing that you do to bring a smile to His face
And tell the story of grace
With every move that you make
And every little thing you do
OOoh ooooh oooooh
Maybe you’re that guy with the suit and tie
Maybe your shirt says your name
You may be hooking up mergers, cooking up burgers
But at the end of the day
Little stuff big stuff in between stuff
God sees it all the same
And while I may not know you I bet I know you
Wonder sometimes does it matter at all
We’ll let me remind you it all matters just as long as you do
Everything you do to the glory of the One who made you
Cause He made you
To do every little thing that you do to bring a smile to His face
And tell the story of grace with every move that you make
And every little thing that you do
Well maybe you’re sitting in math class
Maybe anekatips on a mission in the Congo
Maybe you’re working at the office
Singing along with the radio
Maybe you’re dining at a five star
Or feeding orphans in Myanmar
Anywhere and everywhere you are
Whatever you do it all matters
So do what you do and don’t ever forget
to do
Everything you do to the glory of the One who made you
Cause He made you to do
Every little thing that you do to bring a smile to His face
And tell the story of grace as you do
Everything you do to the glory of the One who made you
Cause He made you to do
Every little thing that you do to bring a smile to His face
And tell the story of grace with every move that you make
And every little thing that you do
Ooh oooooh
Every little thing you do
So whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.
My friend, Bill, posted a link to an old Christian Rock song from the 80′s on Twitter today. He has a show called Backspin Radio, that celebrates the classics of Christian Rock from the 80′s & 90′s. That led to a flashback of another song by the same artist and it got me thinking.
As a Christian, why do I find it so hard to live the victorious life that we have through Jesus Christ?
First let me remind you that through Jesus Christ, the battle is won. How often do we remind ourselves of that? Do we live like it? I can answer that pretty often I don’t. How about you?
1 Corinthians 15:57 (NLT) says, “But thank God! He gives us victory over sin and death through our Lord Jesus Christ.” I’ll let all of the theologians pick apart what “sin” & “death” are, but to me sin includes sickness, disease, violence, abuse, greed, corruption, sexual addiction, alcoholism, drug addiction, loneliness, sadness, homelessness, hunger, abortion, injustice or anything that is not God in this world.
The death part most of us have down… we’re going to heaven someday, but guess what? His Kingdom, while not fully realized, is present in us, we just have to live like it.
So back to the victory and battle winning. If Jesus gave us victory over sin & death, that seems like pretty good news. We talk about the Good News a lot in Christian circles, but is it really GOOD NEWS to us?
Again, far too often I don’t live like I know the Good News of Jesus Christ. I complain, I whine and shake my head at this world. I worry about the economy, I gripe about the politicians and I buy into the fear that is peddled to us everyday.
The Bible says, “For God did not give us a spirit of timidity (of cowardice, of craven and cringing and fawning fear), but [He has given us a spirit] of power and of love and of calm and well-balanced mind and discipline and self-control.” (2 Timothy 1:7 AMP)
Many of us live like we’re hanging on until Jesus comes back, but we’ve got some amazing work to do. First off, we have victory over the enemy. I know you’ve all heard about the enemy. He’s the one that, “…prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour.” (1 Peter 5:8 NLT)
Scary… but don’t forget about that not having a spirit of fear thing. In fact, it says that Jesus gave us a spirit of POWER, love, calm, well balanced mind, discipline and self-control. There’s also that little verse that says, “So humble (submit to) yourselves before God. Resist the devil, and HE WILL FLEE FROM YOU.” (James 4:7 NLT)
Just for a little review. We’ve been given the victory over sin & death, we’ve been given a spirit of power, not fear and if we submit/humble ourselves to God & resist the devil, he’ll flee from us? Hmmm… so why are we not living a victorious Christian life?
This isn’t a bunch of positive self talk, this is scripture. God’s Word. He said it, not me. Again, I know there will be scholarly people who can dissect the words and probably come up with a more tame version of things. Some people may like that, but not me.
I’m tired of living my life like Jesus doesn’t live in me. Jesus gave us His Holy Spirit to live in us (John 14:16, 17; Acts 2:4; 1 Corinthians 3:16), guide us, teach us and empower us. In fact, Jesus told His disciples in John 14:
12 I tell you the truth, anyone who believes in me will do the same works I have done, and even greater works, because I am going to be with the Father. 13 You can ask for anything in my name, and I will do it, so that the Son can bring glory to the Father.
Greater works! Not only have we been empowered to do the things that we see Jesus doing, but He told us we would do GREATER THINGS… does that make you a little excited?!? There are countless stories of Jesus’ followers doing amazing things in His name.
In Acts 5:12-16 it says:
12 The apostles were performing many miraculous signs and wonders among the people. And all the believers were meeting regularly at the Temple in the area known as Solomon’s Colonnade.13 But no one else dared to join them, even though all the people had high regard for them.14 Yet more and more people believed and were brought to the Lord—crowds of both men and women.15 As a result of the apostles’ work, sick people were brought out into the streets on beds and mats so that Peter’s SHADOW might fall across some of them as he went by.
16 Crowds came from the villages around Jerusalem, bringing their sick and those possessed by evilt spirits, and they were ALL healed.
Remember the woman who touched Jesus’ garment as He walked by and she was healed (Mark 5:21-34)? Peter, filled with Jesus’ Holy Spirit walked by people and his shadow healed them.
Then in Acts 19:11 & 12 we read:
11 God gave Paul the power to perform unusual miracles.
12 When handkerchiefs or aprons that had merely touched his skin were placed on sick people, they were healed of their diseases, and evil spirits were expelled.
The power of Christ in us is so powerful, we don’t even have to be there for it to rub off on people! Talk about Good News!
So why are so many of us living defeated? Why are so many of us not filling the world we live in with the Power of His Kingdom?
From everything I read it’s there for us. We just have to walk it out. Live like we know who we are in Jesus Christ.
I know this may seem a little crazy to some. I’m sure there will be people that question the theology of it, but I can honestly say that He’s awakened me. He’s opened my eyes and given me faith (almost like a child… I’m getting there) to believe Him at His word. I’m starting to believe that “I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength.” (Philippians 4:13)
How about you?
What song started this whole thing?
Rick Cua – I Can, I Will (from Midnight Sun – 1989)
I can, I will, I stand,
I do believe that I can, I will use the power,
I can, I will, I am the warrior and I’ll fight for you,
I can, I will.
Look at me: I’m flying and I’m not scared,
Was afraid of trying, now I’m in the air,
Look at you: you’re falling; where’s your faith?
Can’t you hear him calling?
Come take your place.
Daytime, night-time, keep your eye on him,
Say it, sing it over and over again.
I can, I will, I stand,
I do believe that I can, I will use the power,
I can, I will, I am the warrior and I’ll fight for you,
I can, I will.
Look at me: I’m ready, I’m full of fire,
Used to be unsteady, with no desire,
Look at you still waiting to make your move,
Time to stop debating; you’ve got nothing to lose.
Daytime, night-time, anytime at all,
Say it, sing it, take it to the wall.
I can, I will, I stand,
I do believe that I can, I will use the power,
I can, I will, I am the warrior and I’ll fight for you,
I can, I will.
Daytime, night-time, keep your eye on him,
Say it, sing it over and over again, over and over again.
I can, I will, I stand,
I do believe that I can, I will use the power,
I can, I will, I am the warrior and I’ll fight for you,
I can, I will
Wednesday night I had my second comedy night here in Ohio.
We had an amazing turnout again. Tons of friends came to show support and I had a great time.
This show was definitely dirty. The previous show I asked the comics to keep it PG-13 and they did an amazing job. In my opinion you don’t have to be dirty to be funny. I have no beef with people who do, but I still think it’s possible and in most cases a great show without it.
It just so happened that there was a toddler’s family birthday party in the restaurant that night. That made both of the comedians a little freaked out, but they carried on anyway. We made sure to let the family know that an adult show was about to begin and they said that was fine.
I’m not writing to give you a blow-by-blow record of the event, so let me just say the event went over very well and it gave me another opportunity to see where all this comedy stuff fits into my life.
At the first show, I decided I needed to write all new material. When I performed stand-up back in the Detroit area, I mostly focused on the “fat guy” material. Cheryl hated that I did that. In all honesty, it was a crutch. There is so much more to me than being a fat guy.
Well, needless to say, the new stuff bombed. Not necessarily because of the material or jokes I created, but because of the delivery. I didn’t believe in it. I can come up with jokes all day, but what I didn’t realize was people didn’t think I was funny because of premises and punchlines. They thought I was funny because of me. The real Scott.
Many people in the past have told me how funny the stories about my life are, but I would always say, “Nobody will laugh at me telling stories about my childhood. They’re not jokes.” The truth is, they aren’t jokes, but there is something about how I tell them that makes people laugh.
The second comedy night was fast approaching and again I found myself trying to write jokes. I was stuck. The premises for these jokes were somewhat amusing, but they weren’t funny to me. After talking with Cheryl and my friend Kelly, I was again instructed to tell stories. I was still resistant, but I wrote down some ideas of my “go-to” stories and set them aside.
On the day of the show, I was panicked. Kurt, a friend of mine, was driving down from Michigan to see the show. I warned him that I was not going to do much, but he was welcome to come. Before Kurt arrived I was feverishly writing more jokes for the show. This felt worse than not studying for a test until the night before.
After we hung out for a while, we headed over to the venue to have dinner before the show. At this point, I still have no idea what I am going to do. I start talking it over with Kurt and he just says something that clicks:
“Scott, you are not a scripted kind of guy. You’re an improvisor. When you do jokes that are written out, you sound like a person reading lines. When you speak from experience and from the heart, you’re hilarious. Just be you.”
I decided right then and there that I would tell a story about my life instead of telling jokes. A wave of calm washed over me and all was well. Well, until I started thinking again. Added to that, I hadn’t seen Dan yet, who was running the sound for us (check out Dan’s band “Honey Compass” next time you’re in Central Ohio) and the comedians were no where to be found (they were driving in from Detroit and I found out later they thought the show was at 8:00 pm not 7:00 pm).
Once we squared everything away and got ready to start, the fear hit me again. I decided it was better to just intro the first comic and not do any stuff. I freaked out, I admit it.
After the 1st comic was done, I just thought to myself, “Do this or you’ll regret it for a long time,” so I jumped in. I set up the story with a little audience interaction and then I went for it. Once I started going, I felt like I had a thousand times before telling one of my funny stories to friends in their living room or at their kitchen table. The story-telling worked.
Last night was another breakthrough comedy moment for me. I think I finally found my comedy mojo, so to speak. Looking forward to sharing more of those funny moments with everyone at the next comedy night.
By the way, Mom & Dad, you might be famous (in Marysville) because you provided me with two very memorable characters for my stories. Tons of great material still to come.
Let me say this right up front… I don’t have all the answers.
Quite honestly, I don’t want to know all the answers either.
Over the past few years, I’ve noticed what I consider to be a disturbing trend in Christian circles…
We want to know everything. Everything that happens, happens for a reason and we must figure out that what that reason is. God has some explaining to do.
Why does He, a loving God, send people to Hell? Why does He allow evil in this world? Why do so many people have to suffer? What is the meaning of life?
Let me ask a question of my own:
What is faith and what part does it play in our search for knowledge and understanding?
Hebrews chapter 11 starts out with this statement:
1 Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.
This is the kind of statement that makes questioners squirm. When we want all the answers and need to understand everything that God does, we get ourselves in quite a pickle. I’m not saying for a second that asking questions is wrong. God can handle our questions.
If you read on through Hebrews 11, you’ll see stories of people who did things God asked them to do by faith. Many times these things seemed illogical or unpopular, but by faith these men & women obeyed God believing He would come through for them.
I’ve been reading through the Gospels recently and there are plenty of stories of Jesus healing people because of their faith. Jesus also says that we need to have faith like a child to enter into His Kingdom.
Faith seems to be pretty important in the Kingdom of God.
Now, let’s just get this out there… just because you question God or want answers doesn’t mean you don’t have faith. There is wisdom in seeking the truth, but it’s undeniable that faith is vital to our relationship with Jesus Christ.
You know, it’s easy to see why people struggle with God. If you’ve read any of the Old Testament, you know that God destroyed some people. He wiped out entire nations. He brought His wrath down on sinners many times. Then you read the New Testament… the stories of Him giving His Son up to die on a cross. The stories about love, healing, freedom. It can sometimes feel like we’re dealing with two different people.
It’s confusing, but His ways are not our ways. God can do whatever He wants, because He’s God. He’s holy, so whatever He does is holy too.
How do I know that? Because He said it.
Faith.
I’m believing that everything He’s doing, has done and will do fulfills His purposes. He doesn’t have to explain it to me. He’s God.
My experience has been when I’m struggling with faith or wanting answers, it’s because I’m trying to bring God down to my level. I want to think He’s just a regular guy, with struggles just like mine. I want us to be on an equal playing field, because it makes me feel like I’m not so bad.
The devil has been using that tricky logic for a long time. In Genesis 3 satan asks:
1b “Did God really say you must not eat the fruit from any of the trees in the garden?”
2 “Of course we may eat fruit from the trees in the garden,” the woman replied.
3 “It’s only the fruit from the tree in the middle of the garden that we are not allowed to eat. God said, ‘You must not eat it or even touch it; if you do, you will die.’”
4 “You won’t die!” the serpent replied to the woman.
5 “God knows that your eyes will be opened as soon as you eat it, and you will be like God, knowing both good and evil.”
6 The woman was convinced. She saw that the tree was beautiful and its fruit looked delicious, and she wanted the wisdom it would give her. So she took some of the fruit and ate it. Then she gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it, too.
We’ve had the desire to know everything for a very long time. God wasn’t trying to hide some amazing thing from us, He was protecting us from evil. He’s never stopped doing that. He wants what is best for us…
11 For I know the plans I have for you,” says the LORD. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.12 In those days when you pray, I will listen.13 If you look for me wholeheartedly, you will find me.
Jeremiah 29:11-13
God’s okay with the seeking. Jesus said in Matthew 7:
7 “Keep on asking, and you will receive what you ask for. Keep on seeking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened to you.
8 For everyone who asks, receives. Everyone who seeks, finds. And to everyone who knocks, the door will be opened.
Ask away! Seek as often as you can! Knock on those doors, God is waiting to answer, be found and welcome you in.
Faith is the key, it opens the door to peace. Philippians 4 states it this way:
6 Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done.
7 Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.
I’m not really saying anything profound here. I just needed to download some of my feelings about faith and wanted to put it out there and open a discussion about what faith means to us.
Where does faith fit into our seeking/questioning? Can we ask God questions without losing our faith? What does faith mean in your eyes?
Today is the day… the iPhone 4S will be arriving at my front door sometime very soon. It’s made a tremendous journey so far from China to Anchorage, Alaska and headed out the door on a UPS truck from Louisville, Kentucky in the middle of the night to make it’s way to me before the end of business today.
I’m a Mac Geek. There’s no doubt about it. I look forward to my new version of the iPhone coming out every year. It’s kind of like my Christmas. Some people get really excited about the Christmas season, I get excited about the new iPhone event once a year.
This year my friend, Kurt, and I chatted online while watching a real time blog of the announcement of iOS 5 and iPhone 4S. It was a lot of fun. I was a little disappointed about the unveil, but then I saw the ads explaining the new iPhone and all the advancements they made and I was sold. I’m a sucker for an iPhone ad.
Funny thing is, I talked with a number of people after the announcement that said they wouldn’t be upgrading from iPhone 4 to iPhone 4S… every last one of them did anyway. There’s just something about those Apple products.
Another friend of mine, John, stayed up with me chatting online into the wee hours of the morning last Thursday (into Friday) so we could pre-order our new iPhones. I had my pre-order secured by 3:45 a.m. but John didn’t get his until after 4:00 am, he told me he tried to take a nap, wake up at 2:45 a.m. for the 3:00 a.m. pre-order, but I’m sure he couldn’t sleep. Too excited.
When the 2nd iPhone came out, I waited in line with a bunch of Mac Addicts in front of an Apple Store here in Ohio. It was one of the best times I’ve ever had. What an experience! We sat out in front of the store talking about Macs and the Apple Store employees brought us all Tim Horton’s coffee while we waited for the store to open. They were all excited too.
By the way, if you’ve ever been to an Apple Store, is there anything like it? It’s like walking into Willy Wonka’s Chocolate Factory… only for nerdy, tech geeks.
I realize that Macs are just things and have no eternal value, but let me just say, it’s fun being a Mac Geek. It’s not that bad. I’m a Mac guy and Mac guys (& gals) get excited about Mac stuff. We’re nerdy, but it doesn’t feel nerdy… like in a pocket protector kind of way.
Everyone has a hobby or something they really enjoy that might seem trivial to others. Some people like comic books, Star Wars or Star Trek… who am I kidding? They like Comic Books and Star Wars or Star Trek (I think there is a heated rivalry between Trekkies and Star Wars Fanboys). Some people like knitting, biking, hiking, photography, reading, sports or movies. The possibilities are endless. We’re all unique and have different tastes, but all of us have something we enjoy being a part of that we probably could live without… but it’s just so darn fun!
What is that thing that you get excited about that might seem trivial but brings a smile to your face? Looking forward to hearing about each and every one of them.
