Archive - December, 2010

Reflections On 2010

December 31, 2010 in Exceptional Living 11

People tend to only remember endings. So much is made of finishing well that we can lose sight of the journey it took to get there. The last song on a great CD was a filler track but seems to be the only thing that stays with you. A terrific movie with a disappointing closing scene is regarded as a flop. A life-changing book with an unfamiliar doctrine in the last chapter is considered a throw-away. Should we really only focus on the end?

I lost two close relatives in the past few months, my family has seen intense difficulties in relationships and I’m ending the year with some serious fear of failure issues being brought to the forefront of my mind. It is a formidable close to this year to say the least.

If I only focus on today, I’ll become discouraged. I’ll lose sight of everything that has happened this year. However when I step back and reflect, I realize that this has been one of the most incredible years of my life. For example:

  • I started the year with a life-changing missions trip (my first) to South East Asia. I went with two other guys and we held church planting seminars for indigenous leaders in Myanmar and Laos.
  • I went on a road trip adventure through Northern California with two great friends. We flew in to San Francisco and spent the day walking through the streets, we visited wineries in Napa, enjoyed live music in Sonoma, visited the healing rooms at Bethel Church in Redding and ended the trip skiing on Mt. Rose in Lake Tahoe.
  • I jumped on a plane and flew across the country to pursue a love interest. It was quite possibly the craziest thing I’ve done in my life. It didn’t work out how I hoped, but it made me realize that I have the guts to do something risky.
  • I went on an incredible two-week journey through Israel with my church community.
  • Upon returning from Israel, I felt confirmation from the Lord that I need to start writing; thus birthing this blog.
  • I began leading a discipleship group in the Eleventh Hour Institute in my church. I am passionate about discipleship and this was like a kiss from the Lord.
  • I had a rad 80s-themed birthday party for my 31st birthday. Yes, I was Michael Jackson.

Even as I write this out, I’m blown away at the things God has done. This is just a short list of the external fruit of this year. The internal transformation that God has worked in my heart this year has been even more astounding. My capacity to receive His love has increased exponentially. Thus my capacity to give it away has increased as well. I’ve been able to get a firm grip on shame and condemnation in my life. It no longer rules my thoughts. This was a huge paradigm shift and maybe the most significant thing that happened in my heart this year.

So I enter the new year with expectancy. Regardless of how things appear to be ending, I realize that the journey this year has been monumental. It has shaped me into who I am today. It has given me vigor to live more intentionally and to expect the exceptional. As it manifests in my life, my prayer is for it to also come across in my writing.

My goal is to embrace the process from start to finish. I will celebrate the victories (because I know what is celebrated is repeated) and learn from the difficulties. I’m encouraged because I know these momentary light afflictions are working in me an eternal weight of glory (2 Cor 4:17)!

Are you looking forward to the new year? What was the most significant thing that happened in your life?

My Top 5 Posts of 2010

December 30, 2010 in Odds & Ends 15

Top 5 Posts

Top 5 Posts

As I wind down this year, I thought it would be a good idea to look back on my last few months of blogging. I officially started this blog in August and I can honestly say that this experience has been one of the most rewarding in my life.

Since I didn’t have a full year of writing here, I decided to skip an official “Top 10″ list a do only 5. Below is my Top 5 most popular posts (by pageviews) since August. For good measure, I added my Top 5 favorite posts to write.

I found it interesting that my most visited post was one that received 583 “stumbles” from StumbleUpon. My posts rarely get stumbled but I do see the value in having the option! Also interesting is that only one post made it to both lists.

So without further ado, here are the lists:

Top 5 Posts of 2010

My 5 Favorite Posts To Write

Did you have a favorite post here? What was your favorite post from the blog world?

My Year In Music

December 29, 2010 in Odds & Ends 25

2010 Year In Music

2010 Year In Music

If you thought I like books, you ain’t seen nothing yet!

I remember one time seeing this cheesy independent movie that was probably self-funded with no budget for the music. You don’t realize the importance of a soundtrack until it is non-existent or just plain terrible. There were scenes with absolutely no background music and when there was, it just didn’t fit the mood.

Great music directs emotions and shapes atmospheres. I like to view my life as a blockbuster movie for which I am responsible for the score.

There are plenty of people that did their Top 10 Albums of 2010. I don’t really buy a ton of new music anymore. That’s pretty crazy for someone who once used to go to Best Buy EVERY Tuesday to buy a new CD. That’s probably why I have over 95GB of music in my iTunes.

Music takes a little more time to sink in these days but once it does, it goes into heavy rotation. That’s why most of what you’ll see in my lists aren’t albums that came out this year. I decided to go through my Most Played songs (highest to lowest) of this past year and compile the list below. I also included the full albums I had in heavy rotation. I hope you enjoy and maybe find something new:

2011 Soundtrack

  • I Surrender/Spontaneous Song – Kim Walker
  • Where You Go I’ll Go – Brian & Jenn Johnson
  • Beauty For Ashes – Anthony Skinner
  • Burning Ones – Jesus Culture
  • See His Love – Kim Walker
  • Jesus Make Me Yours – Audra Lynn
  • Noticed – Mutemath
  • Wings – Alberto & Kimberly Rivera
  • Across Water Again – Blindside
  • Cold Condition – Edison Glass
  • In Regards To Myself – Underoath
  • Abracadavers – Classic Crime
  • Clipping – Mutemath
  • Breathe Into Me – RED
  • In The Middle – Harbour Music
  • Psalm 18 – Cory Asbury
  • Falling Out Of Trees – Barcelona
  • Sons and Daughters – Jason Upton
  • The Truth of a Liar – August Burns Red
  • Glassgow Kiss – John Petrucci

Albums In Heavy Rotation

  • Kim Walker – Here Is My Song
  • Jesus Culture – Consumed
  • Mutemath – Armistice
  • Editors – The Back Room
  • The Temper Trap – Conditions
  • Barcelona – Absolutes
  • Keane – Under The Iron Sea
  • John Mayer – Continuum
  • Ray Lamontagne – Trouble
  • Anberlin – Cities
  • Edison Glass – Time Is Fiction
  • Great Awakening – Cities
  • Rodrigo y Gabriela – 11:11
  • Frederico Aubelle  - Gran Hotel Buenos Aires
  • Andrew Ehrenzeller – Beauty Is What Remains
  • Gungor – Beautiful Things
  • Jesus Culture – Come Away

What was your favorite song or album of this past year?

My Year In Books

December 28, 2010 in Odds & Ends 40

2010 Year In Books

2010 Year In Books

To say that I like reading would be a harrowing understatement. If I don’t have at least one book in my hand at any given time in my life, I feel like my IQ slowly diminishes.

I love a great novel that will engage my mind and heart. I love a Christian book that will open my eyes to scriptures like I’ve never seen before. I like a good business book that will stir the passions of my entrepreneurial proclivities.

I read about 21 books this year. I say about because these were the ones I could remember. I will admit that I wasn’t exactly intentional about all the books I read this year. It was more of a serendipitous encounter with many of the books below. However, I did read a few that were absolutely phenomenal. I highlighted my favorites below in red.

So without further ado, here are the books I read this year…and a couple of other categories:

Books I Read This Year:

  • The World Aflame by Rick Joyner (Christian Non-fiction)
  • Gracenomics by Mike Foster (Christian Non-fiction)
  • Gazelles, Baby Steps and 37 Other Things Dave Ramsey Taught Me About Debt by Jon Acuff (Christian Non-fiction)
  • Aunt Julia and the Scriptwriter by Mario Vargas Llosa (Fiction)
  • Same Kind of Different as Me by Ron Hall & Denver Moore (Christian Non-fiction)
  • Sit, Walk, Stand by Watchman Nee (Christian Non-fiction)
  • Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins (Fiction)
  • Brooklyn by Colm Toibin (Fiction)
  • Stuff Christians Like by Jon Acuff (Christian Non-fiction)
  • Caught by Harlan Coben (Fiction)
  • Strengthen Yourself In The Lord by Bill Johnson (Christian Non-fiction)
  • Experiencing Father’s Embrace by Jack Frost (Christian Non-fiction)
  • Rework by Jason Friedman (Business)
  • Free by Chris Anderson (Business)
  • Culture of Honor by Danny Silk (Christian Non-fiction)
  • The Road by Cormac McCarthy (Fiction)
  • Rooftops of Tehran by Mahbod Seraji (Fiction)
  • Conspiracy in Kiev by Noel Hynd (Fiction)
  • Revolution in World Missions by K.P. Yohannan (Christian Non-fiction)
  • The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold (Fiction)
  • The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larson (Fiction)

Honorable Mentions (started but didn’t finish):

  • Permission To Speak Freely by Anne Jackson
  • From Eternity to Here by Frank Viola
  • Sacred Pathways by Gary Thomas
  • Still Life With Woodpecker by Tom Robbins
  • The Complete Works of Oswald Chambers

Top 10 Books I Want To Read This Year:

  • Heavy Rain by Kris Vallotton
  • Spiritual Slavery to Spiritual Sonship by Jack Frost
  • The War of Art by Steven Pressfield
  • Crazy Love by Francis Chan
  • Linchpin by Seth Godin
  • Fatherless Generation by John Sowers
  • The Prophet by Khalil Gibran
  • The Normal Christian Life by Watchman Nee
  • Long Tail by Chris Anderson
  • Compelled by Love by Heidi Baker
What is the best book you read this year? What is the one book you MUST read next year?

Jesus Grew Up

December 23, 2010 in Meditations 38

Baby Jesus?

Baby Jesus?

If you’re not easily offended, one of the funniest parts of the movie Talledega Nights is Ricky Bobby’s prayer to baby Jesus. He says things like “Dear 8lb, 6oz newborn infant Jesus…don’t even know a word yet, just a little infant and cuddly but still omnipotent.” He says he likes to pray to the baby Jesus. It is over the top but it made me think, “Can I relate to baby Jesus?”

It’s difficult for me to picture the God of the universe being born in such meager accommodations. I celebrate it every year. We pull out the nativity scene. We sing songs about baby Jesus. We celebrate His birth. But for me, it’s almost like two different versions of Jesus. The baby and the 33 year old.

I’ll be honest, I always think of the 33 year old Jesus. I picture Him in His glory, working miracles, teaching powerfully and loving radically. I forget that the biggest part of why He is our advocate and can relate so well to us (Heb. 4:15) is that He grew up.

“And Jesus increased in wisdom and in stature and in favor with God and man.” Luke 2:52

This one single verse blows my mind. It’s tucked away in the Gospel of Luke and he drops it so subtly but it packs a wallop. Think about this for a few minutes. The God that created the heavens and earth “increased in wisdom and stature.” While He was just a little infant and cuddly but still omnipotent, as Ricky Bobby so succinctly put it, He did not consider equality with God something to be grasped (Phil 2:6). Is your mind not yet blown? It gets better.

Jesus increased in favor with God and man. What does that even mean? How in the world could Jesus grow in favor with the Father, whom we already know loves Him perfectly?

Jesus went low. He humbled Himself not only to be born into the world He created, not only to start from scratch and grow in wisdom, stature and favor with God and man, He humbled Himself to die. He came as a baby and died a sinner’s death. He did it to show us the way to the Father.

I always wonder why I feel like I can relate to the 33 year old Jesus because I don’t live the life He did. I probably relate a lot more to the baby Jesus and even the pre-teen Jesus (wandering off, asking tons of questions, talking back to my parents).

As I reflect on Jesus’ birth this year, I want to think about how much I can really relate to the baby Jesus. The one that had ten small fingers and toes, just like I did. The one who was dependent on His parents for everything. The one who grew in wisdom and stature and in favor with God and man. The Jesus that learned to become a son before He became the King of Kings.

What are your thoughts? How do you relate to Jesus?

I Will Not Be Moved

December 21, 2010 in Exceptional Living 34

Air Mattress Goodness

Air Mattress Goodness

It’s been a pretty rough week for me. From battling a bit of writer’s block, dealing with some pretty intense heart issues related to fear, to a seemingly never-ending move…it’s definitely been hectic.

To be honest, today is the first time I’ve even looked at my blog since my last post. I’m still not feeling inspired but at least I have a story to tell.

Last Wednesday I had what we call an “Encounter” at my church. The purpose of an Encounter is to get to core issues in your heart that may be blocking your relationship with the Lord. Two people sit with you and lead you through anything that comes up. They don’t give you advice, they just ask questions and let you identify things in your own heart. Then they let the Holy Spirit lead them how to pray for you. It’s an amazing experience…if you’re ready to deal with your stuff, that is.

I went in pretty confident that I was in a good place but open to see what the Lord might reveal. It turns out there are a bunch of fear issues that I didn’t quite have resolved. Imagine that, Tony. I was able to identify them and begin to get some breakthrough but there’s more work to do.

A few days later a good friend of mine gave me a word that confirmed a lot of what came out in that meeting. She had no idea what I talked about in my Encounter but she was pretty accurate in some of the things the Lord was showing her for me. I was, in a word…”sobered”. Okay God, I hear you.

Along with processing all of these heart issues, I’ve been in the middle of a move for the past week. We got the keys to our place last Saturday so during the week we were slowly moving small things to the new place. We hired movers since we (my sister and I) are moving to an apartment on the 3rd floor.

It's raining ducks!

The plan was to move on Saturday and as luck would have it, it began pouring. Not drizzling, not raining but pouring cats and dogs…and ducks. The movers arrived at what felt like the peak of God responding to Kim Walker singing “Let it rain”.

The prognosis was that they could move us, but they were pretty sure that our couch and electronics were going to get wet and possibly ruined. Not a promising prospect.

We asked when they could return and as it turns out, every one in south Florida decided to move in the middle of December. They were booked solid until Tuesday.

So with half our stuff in the new place, half in the old, and power turned off at the old place…I’ve been sleeping on an air mattress for the past few nights waiting for the movers to return.

As I pondered all this in my heart, I was (kinda?) encouraged by this verse:

“For the righteous will never be moved” ~Psalm 112:6

Maybe the movers will come today. Maybe they won’t. Either way, I will not be moved!

Have you ever had one of those weeks? Do you have a crazy moving story?

When The Muse Is On Vacation

December 15, 2010 in Meditations 38

I’ve been having a difficult time writing this week. I wouldn’t necessarily call it writer’s block, per se. I have a huge list of draft ideas queued up. I have a well of thoughts swimming through my head. But for the first time since I started this blog…it is not flowing easily. I feel like my muse is taking an early Christmas holiday break.

Since I started blogging again in August, every post has flowed seamlessly from my mind to the keyboard. Some thoughts came so fast that I couldn’t type fast enough to keep up. There was no striving involved, no effort at all really. But this week I find myself at an interesting point. I have a head full of ideas and no inspiration to release it.

I don’t want to force it out. When I started this blog, I promised myself I would never force anything just to have a post. Which seems a little hypocritical as I write this. Although this post is actually kind of flowing for me…but I digress.

I’m not blogging for money. I’m not doing this because it is a job. I’m doing it because I love to write and I have an overflow of what God is doing in my life. I want to document these things and when possible, encourage other people.

Faced with the first blockage of flow in 4 months, I’m determined not to freak out. I know that the biggest technical goal I made for myself with this blog is consistency. I don’t want to be that guy that abandons his blog for weeks or months at a time. I also don’t want to publish any trite sentiments, just to increase my post count. Everything I’ve published to this point is straight from my heart…yes, even the crazy version of “O Holy Night“. You know you loved it.

Part of it may be that I’m moving this week, my house is a wreck and I have a million other things to do. Part of it is that I get a lot of inspiration from discussion with friends and I’ve been shut in all week. Part of it may be because it is South Florida and it is in the 30s. I’ve never experimented with my writing abilities at various temperatures. Who knows??

So I ask you friends, what do you do when you get stuck in your writing? Do you push through? Take a break? I’d love to hear your thoughts.

Spiritual Calisthenics

December 14, 2010 in Identity 39

Breathe & Stop

Breathe & Stop

In 9th grade I made the high school basketball team. It was a pretty big deal because it wasn’t easy to make the cut. I was excited to play with the other guys and see how well we all meshed. I anticipated the first day of practice to be like the Dream Team preparing for the Olympics.

The first day of practice we all arrived ready to show our skills, talking amongst ourselves about the upcoming season. When we looked around, we realized that all the basketballs were conspicuously absent. Our coach then lectured us about discipline and conditioning. He wanted to see what we were doing to keep ourselves in shape over the summer. Then we ran.

We ran laps, we ran up and down the stairs, we ran suicide drills. We stopped to take a water break and some of the guys actually threw up in the trash can (don’t look at me, I would never do that). Then we got back on the court and ran again. We ran for two hours straight. We ended the practice and he said “Good job guys, we’ll see you at the same time tomorrow.”

Guess what we did the next day? Yeah, we ran. We ran for two weeks straight. We didn’t make one layup, shoot one jumpshot or run one play. We grumbled, we complained under our breath and some of us were ready to quit. When the coach would catch wind of our complaining, he would make us run even harder. It was really bad.

“All discipline for the moment seems not to be joyful, but sorrowful; yet to those who have been trained by it, afterwards it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness” ~Hebrews 12:11

I’ve been through some pretty rough things over the course of my life. I failed, I’ve backslidden, I’ve even lost things that I felt like I didn’t deserve to lose. I’ve been faithful and still suffered pain and loss. I’ve been frustrated, anxious and even angry at God.

They say that hindsight is 20/20. Now that I look back at all those difficult things in my life, I realize it wasn’t punishment. It was training. Before anything is approved, it has to be tested.

There are times that I’ve looked at the discipline of the Lord as punishment. I felt condemned. But it was really just me condemning myself (Romans 8:1). God didn’t want me to suffer because I deserved to hurt. It was to prove that everything I believed was real. He knew what He deposited in me and He wanted to find it approved.

I remember the first game of my season in the 9th grade. We got on the court and ran up and down on those guys. We out-hustled our opponent on just about every play. We were in top physical condition. We had trained for this. We were ready. We were victorious.

If you are in the middle of a difficult situation right now, I encourage you to understand that God isn’t punishing you. This is your opportunity to shine. His heart is to see your faith approved. He is for you. These suicide drills are for the perfection of your faith. He is building endurance that will last for eternity.

Have you ever felt like you were going through spiritual calisthenics? What sport can you relate to?

Best. Christmas Song. Ever.

December 10, 2010 in Odds & Ends 32

Santa Knows What's Up

Santa Knows What's Up

I have a confession. I’m not a big fan of Christmas music. Sure, I can appreciate it. I listen to it in the stores or at other people’s houses. But I can’t say I’ll go buy Christmas music and listen to it in my house. It’s just not my thing.

Every once in awhile a song comes around that will blow me away. It awakens the spirit of Christmas in my heart. It makes me happy. In the spirit of Christmas, I have to share it with everyone who will listen.

With no further ado, I present to you the Best. Christmas Song. Ever.

Oh Holy Night

P.S. If you don’t feel the power of God come upon you at the 2:13 mark, you have no soul.

What is your favorite Christmas song?

On Perspective

December 8, 2010 in Meditations 3

Perspective is an ever-changing reality. It frames our picture, adjusts our lenses and it creates our filters. We use it to define everything from relationships to space and time.

Sometimes a minor shift in perspective, will open up a completely new reality. Adjusting the lens just slightly, opens up an entirely different view. What looked impossible, now seems possible. What looked uninteresting, becomes fascinating. What sounded like noise, becomes melodious.

Blessed she who clearly sees the wood for the trees.
To obtain a ‘bird’s eye’ is to turn a blizzard into a breeze. ~Brandon Boyd

Perspective does not define truth, but it will shape how you receive truth. Your perspective is limited to your experience. Your experience determines the level of truth you can comprehend.

Click here to continue reading.

Today I’m guest posting for Kathy Dishman Richards today over at her blog Katdish.net. Kathy has been one of the most fun and interesting people I’ve connected with online. I hail her as the Queen of Twitter and she is seriously one of the best writers I know. She’s pretty hilarious to boot. You should follow her on Twitter and/or subscribe to her blog. Her weekly Twitter recaps alone are worth the price of admission (which is free, by the way). Those things are awesome!

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