campfire anthems

some of you may remember a while back when i was doing fat camp videos.  they were very popular, but yet very unsuccessful - mainly because i didn’t do anything or ever make videos.  there is a gym right down the road from where i live.  its going to take a lot of discipline, but i want to get up every morning a couple hours earlier than i do now and go work out before i play in corporate america.

i think back to the days in which i visited the gym on a regular basis.  i had so much more energy and just felt better.  i know that i just sold my bowflex because i never used it.  i don’t think i’ll have that problem with a gym membership.  there is a principle you hear in church sometimes.  its goes something along the lines of “your heart follows your money.”  meaning, if you tithe like you are suppose to, you will become more invested in the church.  you will care more about it.  i figured this principle could really hold true to anything.  i wasn’t paying for the bowflex, it was already owned by me.  if i’m spending 30 bucks a month to go the gym you better believe i’m going to get my money’s worth.

now if only i could get this guy to be my workout partner…

so all these people i know are doing this thing called positive post tuesday.  its where they pick out a person and write something really positive about them.  i’ve been thinking that it might be a cool addition to my blog so here goes…

emily monts de oca

emily is my wife of two years.  she is a good leader and has been a great influence on me.  she is one of the most passionate people i have ever met about her job and the impact that she has each week on complete strangers.  emily is the programming director at the church we go to, and let me tell you, she is one of the most dedicated employees i have ever encountered, no matter the field of work.  she is more talented than she gives herself credit for.

over the course of our relationship she has helped me grow as a better person and christian.  she has taught herself to cook some dominant dinners.  she has studied how to become a better leader.  she has cried because of some dumb decisions i’ve made and stuck with me through some tough times.  she has added incalculable value to my life.

when i first met emily she was singing in musicals at florida southern college.  last sunday, she sang to lead worship to about 300 people.  she really took it to another level and absolutely blew me away.  i was proud to be playing guitar for her that day.  i’m pretty sure this woman can do anything.  i couldn’t have picked a better mate.

for so long i thought that being consistent was a good thing.  people always commend others for their consistency.  employees maintain mediocre jobs due to consistency of performance.  athletes get inducted into halls of fame for always performing at a certain level.  as of recently, however, i am beginning to think that consistency is actually a bad thing.  in fact, it can be incredibly detrimental to one’s being.

think of it this way.  if you are just being consistent than you are never getting any better.  i don’t want to be a consistent musician.  i want to always be honing my skill and being better than i was the last time i picked up the guitar.  i don’t want to be a consistent employee anymore.  i want to excel within my industry and have more than just a job.

what about all you christians out there?  i am guilty of living a consistent christian life.  you know, being a good person.  serving in the church.  tithing.  doesn’t god deserve us to be better than just consistent?  i know i have a lot to work on, in all areas of life, to break my cycle of consistency.  i think its time that i become better than i was the day before.  don’t you think you owe the same thing to yourself too?  have you been consistent lately?

i was presented this quote and thought it would be a perfect thing to write about.  this quote was by the honorable abraham lincoln in 1863.  he said,

“we have been the recipients of the choicest bounties of heaven; we have been preserved these many years in peace and prosperity; we have grown in number, wealth, and power as no other nation has ever grown.  but we have forgotten god.  we have forgotten the gracious hand which preserved us in peace and multiplied and enriched and strengthened us, and we have vainly imagined, in the deceitfulness of our hearts, that all these blessings were produced by some superior wisdom and virtue of our own.  intoxicated with unbroken success we have become too self-sufficient to feel the necessity of redeeming and preserving grace, too proud to pray to the god who made us.  it behooves us, then, to humble ourselves before the offended power, to confess our sins, and to pray for clemency and forgiveness.”

wow.  i just can’t help but to read something like that, written by such a powerful and influential person from american history and not think about how far we have come since those words were spoken.  how far have we come though?  sure, we’ve made superior headway in medicine, science, and other technologies, but read the words he spoke again.  i don’t think we have come far at all.  in fact, i think we have continued to digress into the poverty that is sin.  how far will we go the next hundred years?  i think i’m glad that i won’t be around to see.

last night emily and i went over to the thompson residence to watch the office as we always do on thursday nights. the usual crew was there. james, travis, emily marion, kfj, and the ambers (thats our name for amber and lauren). the only person missing was gabe. i think he had some lame excuse for not being there…something about working. gabe, at least tell me you are washing your hair or changing guitar strings. so the office was really good last night. i’m starting to get into it a little more and learning about what makes the characters funny. once show was over the crowd thinned out a little bit and the real conversation began. i was talking about my goatee and how i was going to grow a big thick hairy mess on my chin, like that guy sundance from american idol last year. everyone swore that there was now way his name could be sundance. i now had a personal mission/vendetta against those in question and had to prove that i was correct (i’m not competitive at all). after a quick google search, i claimed my status as goatee aficionado and moved on to the next subject.

after a bit, kfj went to bed, because she is a nurse and had to get up early this morning. travis scared emily just around this point, when we started discussing our fishing trip for next friday night. we are going to do a little night fishing just outside of englewood. trav started talking about that when he is at the hem of natures pant legs, those surrounding him will be in danger at some point. emily did not like this. apparently travis has been known to sink boats and/or set them on fire. i told him i was a strong swimmer. i hope i don’t have to prove it.

::new thought::

do you have the kind of friends that you just can’t break away from? let me explain what i mean. i have a friend that is like this, but they will be left unnamed. anyways, this person loves to talk. it doesn’t matter what the subject is. that’s cool. i can usually hold a conversation about anything, or i can at least fake it. i finally figured out the key to this person’s “not letting you leave” success. just so i can stop using the phrase this person, we will refer to them now as filbert. so filbert would engage me in conversation. when emily or i made the call to go home to sleep, filbert switched his attention to emily, engaging her in a completely new but equally random thought. this could go on and on, until you pick up on the technique. back to last night.

coleman the wonder dog was laying curled up on the couch across the living room from where i was sitting. he was so cute and peaceful, just laying there in his coat of slightly graying black fur. then, without notice, coleman sprung up and snatched at mosquito out of mid air and ate it. this technique reminded me slightly of a king cobra attacking the flute of an indian man on the street. what one might call a “snake charmer.” it was incredible. i think it may have changed my life.

you know what i hate? homeless people. i know that sounds so awful and unchristian like, but its true. let me explain once again. i know that some people have it rough, i’m not talking about them.  i speak of the pan handlers that can work a drive thru or the cashier’s station at a 7 eleven. quit standing on the corner with your sign that says you are a veteran and finish the phrase with god bless you. the reason this bothers me is because sometimes, if you catch them at the perfect time, you can watch these people get into their cars and drive away. its sort of like the people that claim to be homeless and in need, but have a cleanly shaven , just out of the shower face. i almost always refuse to give these people money. i will, however, give them a sandwich…just to see the disappointment in their eyes, due to it not being a bottle of alcoholic liquid. another thing i really hate is being approached by these people. they all use some variation of the same story.

hey man. my car is right over there and i don’t have any gas. my wife is pregnant and i need to get her home so she can rest. oh, did i mention that i don’t even live in this city? i have to drive 30 miles from here. just give me a couple of bucks so i can fill up my car and take my girlfriend and newborn home.

did you notice how mid story the lies changed. i think sometimes these people don’t even have their lines scripted out. you know what i’d rather hear than sob stories like these? well i’ll tell you.

h…hey buddy. listen. i just got out of jail. do you think you could spare a couple of bucks? i wanna get a six pack and some cigarettes to celebrate my first night as a free man again.

at this point, i open my wallet and give the guy a 10 spot. that’s really all i’m looking for, some gut level honesty. i already know what you are going to do with my money. don’t try to fool me and we’ll be cool. my lovely wife, emily, doesn’t agree with me. seriously, you are about to enter the twilight zone that is her mind. when approached by these people, she automatically thinks that god is sending an angel down to test her. and for all i know, this could be the case. by the way, emily is a much better person than i am. she told me this story from tuesday night. she said that when she was picking up guin, our friend’s daughter that we watch on tuesdays, this creepy, slightly threatening man followed them and then approached her. she handled it just like any good christian should. she helped him solve his problem, whatever it was. she quoted a verse from matthew about how jesus said whatever you do to the least of man you do to me. if i were in this situation, being tested by god, and he put a bum/angel in my path and there ended up being a tense situation, i would probably beat the poo out of this bum/angel. sorry jesus. i’m not very good at tests. in all reality, this is a scary place we live in and i’m not about to ask questions first, especially if someone in my presence is in danger. i’m going to get so much crap for this, but….i think when put to the test, like that in which i was describing, its better to be alive and ask for redemption later than to ask questions first and wind up dead.

i’m really glad its the weekend. i’m leaving work early today to go to frostproof for a rehearsal dinner. emily and i are playing and singing in a wedding tomorrow. it should be interesting. pray for our sanity, mainly because i hate weddings. anyways. now that you have had a deep and scary look inside my brain, i will leave you with this thought. what’s the deal with raisins? wouldn’t you rather just eat the grape before it got all gross? ok, bye!

and here my friends is the grand finale. i actually don’t have anything philosophical to say about today’s video. i hope you all have enjoyed this little mini series i have put together, and haven’t been too offended. you know what? maybe i will get philosophical now that i have started writing. i hope you are offended by these videos. i hope it make you uncomfortable. once you get comfortable with yourself, or your life, or even your church/religion…you are doing something wrong. yes. i just called you out.

by becoming comfortable with the way things are going you are instantly pushing away the very lives you should be trying to make an impact on. if you want to stay uncomfortable, or just satisfy your curiosity of what some churches are doing to change the way people look at religion, stop on by rpc. services are sunday mornings at 9:00 and 10:30. you won’t be disappointed. in fact, my good friend travis is speaking this sunday while timm is on vacation. anyways, thanks for playing along these past few days. enjoy.

*the views and writings of this website do not represent the ideas of any persons mentioned, nor any organizations. these are merely personal convictions of the author.

i think this one is especially good. all laughing aside, i think that the church, as a whole, points their finger in the faces of people and condemn them for their “sins.” in this clip, jesus is going around the crowd telling everyone what they did wrong. i know that the whole misconception of christianity is that you have to be perfect like jesus was, but that is impossible to achieve. i think instead of leaders in the church pointing and saying “you did this wrong you sinner,” they should be using positive reinforcement to help encourage people along their christian journey. a simple word of encouragement can go a long way. enjoy day three’s video.

day two’s video is very far out there. its funny to think of jesus, and even christianity, the way this video portrays it. i honestly think that some people think that this is the way churches work, setting up these ridiculous structures and rules, and to a certain extend maybe some churches do. you can’t miss church on sundays. you have to do this. you can’t do that. church, and especially christianity, shouldn’t be about rules and regulations. it shouldn’t be about what you can and can’t do. yes, i think it is important to be in church on sundays. if done correctly, church is an environment where you can have much spiritual growth. its a place to fellowship. after going to ridgepoint church, however, i have come to the conclusion that church isn’t the most important aspect of spiritual and relational growth. this kind of growth occurs by reading your bible and attending a small group, in which you can dive deeper into the meaning of christianity. the church is just a mere stepping stone.

now don’t get me wrong. there are some pretty cool things that happen on sunday mornings. last night, at our home, we had a creative meeting to discuss some of the upcoming sermon series, and let me tell you, there are some amazing things planned that you won’t want to miss. so without any further delay, enjoy what wouldn’t jesus do? video two.

timm blew it up yesterday. he talked about the next step of the “escalator” series at church, which was all about service. he used a well known passage from john to paint the image of serving those in need, and how none of us have any excuses to get out of this. we can’t say things like, “god, this person doesn’t deserve it” or “god, you just don’t understand what they did to me.” rest assured my friends, he knows. jesus knew that judas was going to betray him, but he still knelt down and washed his feet. this just blew my mind. maybe i should be more helpful and take initiative when i see a situation in which a person is in need. maybe i should be of better service to my wife when the dishes need to be washed. i think maybe is more than likely probably.

today’s devotion verses were nehemiah 5:6-11.  it talks about the burden that god sets on his people and how we overcome it/what we are to do about it.  as much as i would like to discuss this devotion with you today i feel like i am not suppose to.  its a pretty personal/private thing so i hope you understand.  if you really want to know go out and get “solo” and start doing some of these things with me.