Ragamuffin Gospel

The Return of Mr. Irrelevant

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Yes, the NFL draft was upon us yet again. I watched parts of it but not all, since I thought it might be better to actually have a life today and not live in front of the television for hours and hours.

I did see where Ole Miss quarterback Chad Kelly (nephew of former great Jim Kelly) was the last player drafted in the last round of the draft. At least I knew who he was and the school he was from.

Frankly, I’m not a fan of the term Mr. Irrelevant. It’s a bit of an insult to the player who gets taken last. At least he got drafted, unlike multitudes of others who would probably  love to be in his place.

It got me thinking again. Social media can be a tough place for those who feel the constant need to be approved and admired. It can be a lonely forum for those who base their identity by how many people like and comment on their posts, pictures, memes, updates, etc.

I know because I used to be there. It took some time away from Facebookland to get my head straight and my thinking right.

You might feel like Mr. Irrelevant when you post something witty or inspired and you can almost hear the crickets in the background from the lack of responses.

You might even feel like nobody appreciates you or even knows you exist as you go about your normal daily existence. You wonder if what you do (or even you yourself) matter to anyone.

God says you matter. The cross says you count. Jesus literally thought you were to die for.

I’ve found that God always puts people in your life who will see you. They will be witnesses to your life and testify to the fact that you have value. You probably won’t have very many of these people throughout your life, but those will be your true friends.

You are not irrelevant. You do matter.

 

Five Years Later

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Five years ago today I decided to see how long I could go without drinking carbonated beverages. At the time, I had no real goal other than to see how long it would take before I finally gave in.

Well, it’s been five years later and I still haven’t caved. I do occasionally have dreams where I have a coke, but post-REM, I have no desire for one.

If you want a moral out of this, try this one on for size. You accomplish any goal one step at a time, one day at a time. You move mountains one handful of dirt at a time.

The deciding factor is how badly you want to change. If your desire for change outweighs your desire for comfort and for familiarity, you will change. If not, you won’t.

Not deeply profound, I know. Dr. Phil probably said it better. I’m here to testify that I’m living proof to what happens when you take that first step. If I can change, anyone can change.

All it takes is that proverbial first step.

Watch me dream about having a Dr. Pepper tonight.

 

Never Say Never: The Musical

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Once again, I’ve found myself in a place I swore I’d never be in a thousand years. I found myself driving home from work with Roy Acuff playing on the car CD player.

For a second there, you probably thought I was going to say I spent the night in jail or had a lost weekend of partying and drinking. Nope. I’m not that exciting. I like to remember the good parts of my life and I also like to not have to fear for my life or my masculinity when bending over in the shower to get my soap.

I did say once that I’d never listen to country music. I was fairly adamant about that. I believed that Conway Twitty was the gateway on the path to dating your first cousin and dipping snuff.

Thankfully, I’ve matured and broadened my horizons. Still, Roy Acuff is about as country as you can get.

I’ve been reminded yet again that more often than not, it’s best to refrain from saying never when it comes to new experiences and trying new things, especially when it comes to music.

The life of faith is all about getting rid of expectations and learning to trust moment by moment. I’ve decided that God always leads me where I would have originally decided to go had I known everything that He knows.

It really is just as much about the journey and the process as it is about the destination. It’s about who you’re becoming along the way as much as where you’re headed.

Roy Acuff was great. It felt like I slipped back to a simpler time and place that by and large doesn’t exist anymore except in music, movies, and books. And no, I have no desire to date any of my close relatives or go anywhere near chewing tobacco, thank you very much).

 

Finding Rest for Your Souls

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“We overvalue nonessentials like a nicer car or house, or even intangibles like the number of our followers on Twitter or the way we look in our Facebook photos. As a result, we neglect activities that are truly essential, like spending time with our loved ones, or nurturing our spirit, or taking care of our health” (Greg McKeown, Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less).

Tonight’s topic at Kairos was keeping the Sabbath.

It was not the usual guilt trip about how you shouldn’t go to Wal-Mart on Sunday or how if you skip church you must be a heathen pagan.

It was more about how God designed the seventh day for rest. Not merely sleeping in one day a week (though that is a good thing in my opinion) but truly resting in body, mind, and spirit.

Chris Brooks, the Kairos pastor, pointed out that we don’t rest from our work as much as we work from our rest. Interestingly enough, the Hebrew word for work can also be translated as worship, so even our labors can have an element of rest in them if we view our jobs as offerings of worship rather than just tasks and to-do-lists.

I still love what Macrina Wiederkehr said: “Work is love made visible.” When we see that our job isn’t something we endure to get to Friday, but an act of worship and a demonstration of love, then it becomes less of an ordeal and more of a joy.

In a world where busyness is glorified and justified and promoted, God says to rest. God says that you can get more done in six days with a day set aside for rest than you can by charging ahead full speed for seven days without a break.

“Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you’ll recover your life. I’ll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won’t lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you’ll learn to live freely and lightly” (Jesus, Matthew 11:28-30, The Message).

Thoughts on God’s Great Grace

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It’s Monday. My brain is shot. I can’t come up with anything remotely inspiring or creative, so I decided to let one of my favorite writers express some powerful words about the grace of God:

“He saw you cast into a river of life you didn’t request. He saw you betrayed by those you love. He saw you with a body that gets sick and a heart that grows weak. He saw you in your own garden of gnarled trees and sleeping friends. He saw you staring into the pit of your own failures and the mouth of your own grave. He saw you in your own garden of Gethsemane and he didn’t want you to be alone.

He wanted you to know that he has been there, too. He knows what it’s like to be plotted against. He knows what it’s like to be confused. He knows what it’s like to be torn between two desires. He knows what it’s like to smell the stench of Satan. And, perhaps most of all, he knows what it’s like to beg God to change his mind and to hear God say so gently, but firmly, “No.” For that is what God said to Jesus. And Jesus accepts the answer.

At some moment during that midnight hour an angel of mercy comes over the weary body of the man in the garden. As he stands, the anguish is gone from his eyes. His fist will clench no more. His heart will fight no more. The battle is won. You may have thought it was won on Golgotha. It wasn’t. The final battle was won in Gethsemane. And the sign of conquest is Jesus at peace in the olive trees. For it was in the garden that he made his decision. He would rather go to hell for you than to heaven without you” (Max Lucado, The Gift for All People).

Now go buy all of his books.

Rain, Rain, Go Away

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  “When you face stormy seas I will be there with you with endurance and calm;
        you will not be engulfed in raging rivers.
    If it seems like you’re walking through fire with flames licking at your limbs,
        keep going; you won’t be burned.
    Because I, the Eternal One, am your God.
        I am the Holy One of Israel, and I will save you” (Isaiah 43:2-3, The Voice).

I never thought I’d say it, but I’m actually relieved that the weekend is just about over.

It has rained literally all weekend long and Monday promises to bring sunshine, so I say bring on Monday!

All this rain reminds me of nearly seven years ago when Nashville had a long period of substantial rainfall that turned into a flood that significantly impacted the city and surrounding areas.

I still remember not being able to get out of my subdivision due to the road being flooded. I remember seeing parts of the city underwater and seeing portable school buildings floating down the interstate.

I remember above all a promise God made to never again flood the world, accompanied by the sign of a rainbow given to Noah and all who would follow after.

I remember that God told us not to fear even when the waters rise and the flames come because He said He’d be with us no matter what.

Thankfully, this weekend hasn’t been nearly that dramatic. No floods or flames, just rain. The worst I had to deal with was getting wet while walking to my car in the rain.

I take great comfort in knowing that no matter what happens, even the worst case scenarios that we all occasionally fear, nothing can separate me from the love of God. I have a Redeemer who knows how to walk on water to get to me.

 

Life Lessons from Round 1 of the NHL Playoffs

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I confess. I had little to no faith in my Nashville Predators to be able to beat those mighty Chicago Blackhawks in the first round of the NHL playoffs.

I boldly predicted that Chicago would take the series in five games (and I thought I was being generous to Nashville by giving them that one game). The regular season series between these two teams hadn’t gone well for the Preds. They managed to win that first game, but after that it got ugly.

I was wrong. Boy, was I wrong.

My Nashville Predators not only won the series but they swept those mighty Blackhawks. For the record, no 1 seed has ever been swept out of the first round in the 100-year history of the NHL. Nada.

I wonder how many of us have given up on a dream because we’ve already decided before we begin that it’s a lost cause. We’ve convinced ourselves not to even bother trying because it can only end in abject failure.

With God all things are possible.

Do you really believe that?

Do you believe it not as an abstract generality but as a specific reality meant for you?

I know that God’s not a celestial genie giving me whatever I want whenever I want it. Some of God’s best answers to prayer are no because that means a bigger and better yes is following, something I would never have dared to dream.

I also know that God is able. I’ve said it before (and credit again goes to Pete Wilson for this one) that what seems impossible to us isn’t even remotely difficult for God.

I’m hoping my Preds keep winning. It’d be awesome to see Nashville bring home the Stanley Cup (although that’s still a long shot). That kind of hope is along the lines of I hope I win the lottery.

I’m hoping God will keep His promises toward me and always do what’s best for me. That kind of hope is certain and secure, as sure as Jesus who made them is alive and sitting at the right hand of the Father.

Next time I might have a little more faith in the home team.

 

My Multimedia Adventure Continues

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It’s been a while since I updated you on my latest music and Netflix intake, so here goes.

I picked up a live Bob Marley and the Wailers album from the clearance section of Target. It’s called Easy Skanking in Boston ’78 and it’s classic reggae from my favorite decade, musically speaking. The title’s a little weird, but the music’s great. It helps if you have speakers with lots of bass.

I pre-ordered the new Lindsay Buckingham/Christine McVie album from amazon.com. I’m very much intrigued by the pairing and I’m hoping for a little old-school Fleetwood Mac vibe on this one.

Right now, I’m reliving my high school glory days with The Best of Both Worlds, a Van Halen best-of compilation. It’s amazing how those songs take me back to when I first heard them. And for the record, I prefer David Lee Roth over Sammy Hagar, but I like ’em both.

I foresee some serious Allman Brothers Band marathons in my future. I do believe that southern rock is good for the soul, especially when that soul has a lengthy commute to and from work.

Currently, my Netflix mainstays are Gilmore Girls (halfway through season 6) and Bates Motel (just started season 2). Gilmore Girls still has that fantastic dialogue that reminds me a lot of the old movie His Girl Friday (with some similarities to one of my favorite John Cusack movies, Better Off Dead). I have a fairly decent idea of where Bates Motel is headed, having already seen Psycho (and Bates Motel is the backstory to that movie).

I’m always open to suggestions for what to listen to and watch next, especially when it comes to Netflix. I’d really like something that has a similar vibe to Stranger Things and The OA, but I’m pretty much open to any kind of shows or movies out there.

More to come at some later (and probably randomly picked) date. Stay tuned.

 

 

Take Your Time

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One of my favorite Kairos moments from back in the day when Mike Glenn used to lead the prayer time.

Put both feet on the floor, he’d say. There’s nothing that will come up in the next few minutes that’s more important than what God’s saying to you right now. Relax and breathe. All those errands will still be there later. Right now, all you need to do is focus on God.

We live in a culture that celebrates busyness. Not necessarily productivity. Just busyness. The mantra of the age is that we don’t have time because we’re so very busy doing God knows what.

The idea is to never have a dull moment or any down time. We have all these time-saving gadgets that create more time to get more done. As a result, we have less leisure and free time than ever.

Maybe the most freeing words anyone will ever tell you– take your time. That was my takeaway from tonight’s Kairos message.

Sometimes, it’s good to focus on your breathing. It’s good to be silent and still. It’s good to rest. Above all, it’s important to be in the moment, not always thinking ahead to the next big event or thinking back to the what if’s and the could have been’s.

“There’s no present like the time.” That may be my new favorite line from a movie. Time is not infinite. You get a precious few years to live, too few to waste in busyness. Life is to be lived and savored and not merely gotten through.

Take your time.  Wherever you are, be all there. Do less but do it with everything you have, offering it as your spiritual act of worship. Enjoy the little things and pay attention to the moments in your life.

Also, take plenty of naps. Those are good.

 

 

 

It’s Good to Be Back (in Social Media Land)

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Today was my first official day back on social media since February 28, which just so happened to be my birthday as well as Fat Tuesday, the day before Ash Wednesday. That’s the first day of Lent.

As usual, I gave up social media for Lent. It was fantastic. I enjoyed the absence of political rants and Facebook drama and passive aggressiveness which makes me seem absolutely normal in comparison. I almost didn’t come back.

But here I am again, posting about all the places I go during the week, sharing all the diverse music I’m listening to, and again trying not to judge people’s grammar (and rolling my eyes constantly in the process). I might even post a pic or two of food and/or beverages I’m consuming to make you infinitely jealous.

I do like keeping up with friends and what’s going on in their lives. I had felt completely out of the loop for a month and a half. I honestly have no idea about who’s gotten engaged or married or pregnant. I don’t know how I survived all those years without social media.

Oh wait, yes I do. I had a life. Or at least I had books.

Social media is good and well as long as you keep boundaries and don’t let it run your life or determine your self-worth. I believe that it’s best to keep it positive and uplifting. It’s so much easier to sit behind a keyboard and tear someone else down through a post or comment than it would be to ridicule them to their face.

I’ve noticed that a lot of people who claim Jesus as Lord will unleash political diatribes against those on the other side of the spectrum instead of heeding His words to love and pray for your enemies and to do good to those who mistreat you. Again, social media makes it easier to do that.

You may not always agree on everything, but it costs you nothing to be civil and show respect to everyone. And yes, Jesus meant what He said about loving your enemies.

I intend to do my best to keep things light and fun with lots of pictures of my geriatric feline, plus random and odd memes that strike me as funny.

That’s all. You can go back to your hilarious videos of cats in shark costumes riding on roombas.