FirstTrueLove

I’ve been feeling very uninspired lately, and I feel like it should be the other way around!  I worked my butt off to get a good job that I could build a career out of and to get into a living situation that was not only with some pretty awesome men of God,  but is a world closer to everything I do.  All the while pursuing God passionately and consistently which was a change for me to be honest with you… I don’t come from a place where I put much of an effort into my relationship with God… I just kinda let it happen.

It’s almost like I’m too busy to be inspired.  I haven’t written a song in months, which sucks!  I just can’t seem to put my finger on it.  Then the other day I bought a new worship album on the recommendation of a friend, Josiah Potter.  Matt Papa’s Your Kingdom Come.  It’s an amazing album and brought me to a truth I needed. Like so many other struggles I’ve gone through and are going through I figure the answer is this simple.  I just need more Jesus in my life.  What’s more inspiring than Him?!?!?!  Answer… NOTHING!!!  I relate this to the struggle for purity every man goes through every day of his life.  What’s more likely to keep you from doing something you shouldn’t.  An upgraded piece of software for purity or filling your heart with more of The Word?!?  An easy answer if you ask me.  So i guess this lack on inspiration in my life is similar in that Jesus is the most important thing in my life so why don’t I fill myself with Him?  It’s just funny I don’t turn to Him first!

So my roommates and I were at this club last night… We were at the bar grabbing a drink some guy behind me shoves me and says, “HEY MAN!!  You are rubbing up on me and I DONT LIKE IT!”  He proceeds to break a bottle over my face and a brawl for the ages ensues.  Before long, this 7′3, 526lbs beast of man comes up to us and punches all three of us in the face at the same time!  We pick him up and throw him over the bar, breaking bottles of liquor and beer everywhere… Totally didn’t happen but, what if it did?!?!

I actually got scratched by a certain young lady’s dog… playing tug-of-war.  What did you do last night?!?!

The Voice... if you don't have this translation of the new testament, check it out!

published in Nashville Tennessee by Thomas Nelson Inc.

So, I’ve been working at Mozingo Music in O’fallon Missouri for the last 2 1/2 weeks and it has been pretty interesting so far.  I’ve already been stretched pretty far, having to learn all about drumkits, keyboards, bad and orchestra instruments.  I’ve had to build drumkits, pedal and amp displays and numerous other things.  I’ve been outside my musical box and it’s been hard but amazing.  I worked my first clinic tonight and it was an incredibly busy day getting ready and setting everything up for Akira Jimbo, an incredible drummer from Japan… Who plays a 43 piece kit by the way…. it took 2 1/2 hours to get half way done with everything we were doing to prepare that thing.  Needless to say the night went awesome and it was a lot of fun,  a lot of work but fun too!  I’m excited to see how I grow from the experience of working here with the people I do.  Jeff Mozingo is an amazing guy who is really passionate about his craft and I’m pumped he gave me an opportunity.  Visit www.mozingomusic.com and check us out.

Shameless plugs aside, I love my job.  It’s officially my job to be relevant in the music industry.  Tonight I had dinner with the head of marketing for Yamaha drums and their regional manager for the midwest and got to know them pretty well in 3 hours of hanging out with them.  And the head of marketing for Zildgian cymbals.  All really nice cool guys.  I’m praying the I can stay focused on God in all of this and not get so caught up in what I now do for a living that I lose sight of the my relationship with Him and that He will continue to grow me in this experience. I need to follow through now that I have a career in the field I have always wanted. I pray that I honor Him with everything I do.

I heard someone last week at quarter-life talking about how the details of their life, aka their job, relationship situation, financial problems, had been put on the back burner by God because He was doing radical things in their heart, which is awesome btw!  I’ve been through that same thing for the last 5 years!  But now those details are being shoved to the forefront of my life and radically awesome things are happening.  I just got hired at a new job that I start Monday, thats actually in the field I wanna work in and it’s a career I can build!  I’ve been dating a pretty amazing woman for a few months and things are going incredible with her.  I’m finally at a point where I have a steady income that’s not just paying my bills but allowing me to save for the future.  All in all things are great!  So what is it that God is trying to show me/teach me in this time?  How am I growing? 

First off let me address those details I was just talking about.  Those are all things I have had to learn an extreme amount of patience for because I have wanted them for a very long time!  I’ve been pursuing God pretty steadily and intensely  for the last 2 1/2 or 3 years now and growing spiritually a ton in knowledge, wisdom, and practial everyday experience of being in the world but not of it.  God has been breaking me of my pride by meeting me in my grief and healing wounds that have been on my heart for a very long time, which I’m still in the middle of and it SUCKS, and all in all shaping me into a man I honestly had doubts I would ever become.  A man whose heart’s desire is to please God.  I want all those details to be honoring to Him.  I want a healthy, fun relationship with Abbey.  I want a good work ethic and the right motivation in my job.  I want to bless people with my finances so some good is done with money as oppose to holding onto it for that new amp I want so bad!!  God has replaced the desire to be satisfied in a relationship with a desire to honor Him in the relationship He has given me and that is such a huge blessing!  It is seriously a bigtime burden off of my heart and I thank Him for that.  So let’s talk!

What is God doing with the details in your life?  What is He showing you?  How is He growing you?  What has been stirring in your heart?

So this has seriously been the week from hell for me!  Nothing has gone right at work.  Been yelled at by crazy customers for 3 hours strait who just could not figure out why her money was so spread out over the 5 accounts she had opened the month before, so she closed 2… our security guard was waiting for her to say something hostile, get violent, or use one of the code words we have on our list of words we are aloud to throw people out for using, btw that actually exsists so if you are thinking about using questionable language next time you are at the bank, make sure noone can hear when you do it cause you might get kicked out!  We have a rollover time of 2 oclock each day, which just means we go to the next business day at 2, so everything has to be balanced by then.  Yeah I was by myself that day, had 4 ATM’s to take care of, the vault and my drawer and nothing got done until 4:30, WHOOPS!  I had all sorts of people breathing down my neck that day and honestly pretty much wanted to punch everyone!  Got it all sorted out the next day though so everything is gravy there, finally! 

We all go through seasons where nothing goes right and we get overwhelmed.  Sometimes I don’t know how to respond.  I try to at least keep my cool outside cause inside I’m screaming at the top of my lungs ready to tackle the next person that comes in the door.  What does God show us in these moments?  How much we can handle?  How strong He has made us?  What does He show you?  What is He preparing us for by allowing things like that to happen or days like that to occur?  To be honest I’m not really sure but I know I’m interested enough to find out!  How about you?  How do you handle days like that?

so, its been on my mind… how about yours?!?!  thoughts, feelings, share them!!!

go to www.johnmayer.com and click the link to listen to his new single, who says.  thoughts, opinions, well heres mine!

IT SUCKS!!!!!!!!

i absolutely can not stand this song!  it’s obnoxiously boring, it carries a stupid message and i liked stop this train the first time he wrote it!  he said in an interview he is trying to find indentity in music… well if his identity is a guy who does nothing but smoke and hang out with different girls every night who he wont remember anyway, then im uninterested!  i just hope the rest of the new album isnt as lame as this song!

You get out of your warm bed, take your shower, get dressed, drink your coffee, get in your car and drive to work.  You listen your favorite morning radio show or favorite album to get your day started off right with your to-go cup of coffee in hand.  All in all you are enjoying your drive into work.  It’s beautiful as the sun comes up over the city skyline, you are listening to a beautiful Hymn.  Then, when you’re at a stoplight you look over and see a young man, about your age, waking up on the sidewalk.  Folding his old, dirty blanket and gathering his things, he stops and looks at you and for those few moments, the heat in your car turns cold, your tastebuds become numb to any good flavor your coffee was bringing you, and that Hymn you were listening to goes silent.  It’s as if his stare was a knob or switch that turned off everything that was comfortable and opened you up to the reality that life in this world isn’t as it was meant to be.

That was my morning today as I was driving to work.  I didn’t feel guilty for things I have the luxury of enjoying but it was an eye opening moment in my life and my heart went out to that boy I saw sleeping on the street.  We live in a broken fallen world, and those are words most of us have heard before but it never ceases to be true and I believe God puts moments like that in our lives to help us remember why we need Him and why our job as Christ followers is so important.  Everyone needs Jesus.  I need Him just as much as the boy who is so clearly suffering more than most people in this country does.  Any thoughts come to mind when you hear this story or have those moments yourself?!?

Shamless Plug

I’m playing a fundraiser tonight in Ballwin MO at Sky Music Lounge at 930 Kehrs Mill Rd from 7-10 pm.  It’s a fundraiser for orphans at an event called Fight For Love being put on by the people at Red Tree Church.  These children have been abandoned, abused, sold for sex, exploited for money and tossed away like garbage. I know it’s a Monday night and this is short notice and there is football on tv and other stuff going on but if you can you should come out and support an awesome cause.  There will be 3 other bands there and a comedy act, coffee and an all around good time to spend with freinds!  C’mon out and say hey!