Christian Life

We either are or we aren't. It's not both. Admittedly, in the recent years of my Christian walk I have been under the impression that it's not effective to be overtly Christian in the eyes of an unbeliever. I thought that the best way to make an impact was to be relevant with a perfect amount of "worldly" peppered in. Not too Christian. Not too secular. Of course, the problem then becomes defining what that means because it can get pretty convoluted pretty quickly. But I digress. In my honest and earnest attempt to be as "real" as possible, I

I want to have faith that moves mountains. I don't want to be one of those Christians that always talks about "overcoming." I want to be one of those Christians that always looks on the bright side, always focuses on the positive, always thinks there's a way. Not that we don't need to "overcome" now and then. But on this side of salvation, I think there comes a point when we need to stop looking back and thinking "that was tough" and start looking forward and saying "let's do this!" It's inevitable - we will face challenges. I think we've

Sometimes things change in a matter of minutes. See, I had this idea. This exact idea of where I was going, how my life would look, where I wanted to end up. I tend to plan. I'm a planner, a big-picture person. I like to look far, far into the future and say, "that's where I'm going." This is great except for one little problem. The details. You know the old saying, "the devil's in the details?" Well nothing could be more true for me. I always overlook the details. I always forget one small, crucial aspect of this or

Two years ago today I lost my dear friend, Stacy. She was without a doubt the most incredible person I've ever known. I miss her dearly. I wrote this song for her two years ago today. This one's for you, Stacy.

...There's just life. I love that quote from the movie Tombstone. (I happen to be a descendant of Wyatt Earp, just FYI. Well actually of his brother Virgil. Pretty cool, right?) There is no normal life. So true. I think we look for it all the time. I think a lot of times we think that "as soon as this and this happens, things will be on track." And maybe they will be. But in my experience, we rarely get what we think we want. And even when we do, it's either not exactly right or not exactly what we

I recently had a long conversation with a family member about what it takes to be successful. She's been dealing with some pretty heavy stuff in her life, namely the challenge of finding oneself and figuring out what to do from there. She asked me what I had done to be successful. I always find this question funny. You see, I've been in the music industry now for over ten years. I started humbly in my little Baptist church youth group band and have followed a meager path through the brambles and tendrils of the jungle we call being a

Everyone wants a loyal friend. Few realize you have to BE loyal in order to RECEIVE loyalty. Such is life. I am married to one of the most loyal persons I know and it is from him that I have learned most of what I know of true friendship. Life can be riddled with disappointment. Things don't work out like we want, people leave us when we least expect or need it, someone lets us down tremendously. It is for these very reasons that we must find who is most loyal and stick to them like glue. I've had my

Why are we so apt to sue for every little thing these days? I heard about the class action lawsuit against AT&T for their iPhone exclusivity contract. What??? That deal was made years ago. And they had every right to make it. Why are they just now complaining about it? And now there's a potential class action lawsuit against Apple because Consumer Reports decided to announce that the iPhone is not fit to buy. Nevermind that most, if not all, cell phones lose signal strength when you cover them up with your hand. Nevermind that it's only a handful of

Anyone who knows me personally knows I'm not very good at hiding what I really think. If I'm elated about something, I won't hide it from anyone, even if I try. If I'm disappointed in you, I won't be able to pretend otherwise and I'll wear that disappointment on my shirt sleeve like a badge of courage. In my short tenure in the corporate world, it has become evident to me the need to be able to "play the game:" to learn how to shut your mouth when necessary, put on your game face, grin and bear it. Sufficient to

Do you know what the number one criticism of Jesus was? Jesus was criticized for being a friend of sinners. Sinners loved being around Jesus. Do unbelievers today love to be around believers? Or do they feel like we think we're better than they are? – Robert Morris A friend of mine posted this quote on fb today. I really like it and it got me thinking... I think we can even take this one step further. You see, Jesus didn't just befriend sinners and make them come to him for friendship. He didn't throw parties and send out an

I made up a word the other day. I call it "de-nichefy." Classy, I know. What it means is to stop over-categorizing something down to a tiny description that limits the possibilities of said "thing." In other words, stop limiting. As an entrepreneur and a creative type all rolled into one confused package, I often find myself facing the challenges of owning a business with thoughts like, "I'm not made like that;" or "I'm not good at doing things like that." By saying these things, I'm categorizing myself down to a tiny niche that limits me from possibilities I could

We talk a lot about faith. We throw around the phrase, "just have faith that it will all work out" (or some variation) haphazardly and frequently. We tell ourselves consistently that there's a bigger plan and we've just got to trust it. And all of that is well and good. All of that is true. But what it doesn't answer is the "how." What does that look like? How does faith look when it is being carried out? Is it waiting? Watching? Hoping? I think it can be, but I don't think that's all it is. I believe faith is

Sometimes I feel like I'm walking a high wire. Perched between what could be and what already is, I walk precariously the fine line in hopes I that I don't misstep and fall flat on my face. I get going pretty good sometimes and think I've got it under control. But I always forget to factor in the wind...The wind can be the whim of a friend, the economy, the attitude I have on a given day. And when it comes, it always shakes me to the core. So I do some soul searching and realize that I shouldn't be

I've been thinking a lot about Michael Jackson lately. Some say it's because I'm a victim of the media frenzy going on right now, but honestly I don't watch TV very much. So aside from watching the recap of his funeral last night when I got home, I've experienced very little media on the subject. But the idea of his story is a constant stream of consciousness manifesting itself in various forms from my mind.Today it's a blog.I cannot help but think about the life and legacy of Michael Jackson with a twinge of sorrow. He started off as the

My friends, if ever I find myself doubting the existence of God, I need only to visit the mountains and my faith is renewed. And the mountain in this particular picture is of special significance since I have been visiting it since I was born.And I am excited to say that this weekend I will stand at the foot of this mountain, awe in my heart at it's majesty, and revel in the wonder of my Creator.I promise to share more pics as I take them so that you too may indulge I the splendor.Until Colorado,The Captain

I readily admit that I'm a late bloomer when it comes to the world of gaming. I never really got into it as a child. My mom wouldn't let us have one (except for playing Frogger and Pac Man on my sister's old Atari) so I never really got into it. I had friends throughout college and even after that were all into games like Halo and whatever else (I have no idea), but I was just never drawn to it.But recently I got an iPhone, and being the technology geek that I am, I just love exploring the app

Life has moments. Moments of fear. Moments of sadness. Moments of complete joy. Moments of not knowing what the heck to expect next... I'm in one of those moments right now. It's exciting and scary all at the same time. But what I've realized is that God never opens the door you expect or makes things turn out exactly as you hoped. And I believe that's because real faith is not believing so that whatever you want will happen. Real faith is believing that what's happening is what's best for you. If faith was easy, it wouldn't be called faith.