The World's Awesomest Drummer

Recycling

Last week, I had the privilege to have a meeting at Knox Area Rescue Ministries. I’ve long been a fan of the incredible work KARM does in the community, so it was great to visit to hear about some of the exciting new projects they have coming up.

One KARM team member shared a really interesting concept with me. She said that these days, so many people are into recycling. And rightfully so. You can’t turn on the TV without seeing something about being green or reducing, reusing or recycling.

The thought my contact shared was that what KARM does best everyday is recycle. Only instead of plastic, they are into recycling people. Those who have been discarded or used up. Those who have been “thrown away” by society have a chance to become useful again.

That's a great concept. And it’s a reflection of what God does everyday. Providing second chances for all of us who need them.

The choice

Everyday we have a choice.

We can either listen to the voice of fear or faith.

The voices of fear are louder than ever. Terrorism. Job loss. Oil spills. Climate change. The list is endless. It's any mental tape lodged in your brain that says some variation of you're not smart enough, strong enough or stylish enough.

The voice of faith is much quieter. It whispers while fear rants. It promises that someday all the struggle will be worth it, while fear screams to "get yours now!"

These days I've been trying more and more to silence the voices of fear. Most days I fail more than I succeed. But I'm slowly learning to trust. To be still and know that God is God.

More faith. Less fear. I like the sound of that.

Henry Granju

Please pray for my friend Katie Granju and her family, whose oldest son Henry passed away last night. Hug your babies tight and please keep this incredible family in your thoughts + prayers. Below is a beautifully written tribute by Katie's friend and excellent blogger, John Cave Osborne.

Rest in peace, Henry.


My beautiful friend Katie Granju is living every parent’s nightmare. Last night, she lost her eighteen-year-old son to complications stemming from a drug overdose coupled with a brutal assault. As I expressed in a recent post called The Trail, no amount of effort, dedication, or planning can prepare us for every single scenario that’s out there. The same holds true for parenting. All we can do is all we can do. The rest is up to someone else. Katie was reminded of this the hard way.

Still, she decided to detail every step of her family’s hellish journey in hopes that their story would serve as a grim example from which the rest of us could learn. Her platform became enormous as tens of thousands of people waited for her every post with bated breath. Her virtual community of readers cried tears that were real as they prayed alongside Katie and her family for the miracle that never happened.

But what did happen was a healthy conversation which encouraged all of us to tackle the issue of drugs with our children even more aggressively than we already were. A few cowards anonymously sprang from the woodworks during those conversations to sling their putrid arrows of insecure hatred, but Katie didn’t care. Perhaps because she knew the overwhelming majority of her readers saw her for what she is–an incredible mom turned heartbroken hero, tenaciously fighting for her son to the bitter end while simultaneously contributing to the greater good of her community, both virtual and real.

Thanks to Katie’s candor, bravery, and incredible writing, Henry’s legacy will live forever, and lives will be saved.

I strongly encourage each of you (particularly my Knoxville peeps) to read this post by fellow Knoxville blogger Shane Rhyne, who works with Katie at Ackerman PR. He details how you can reach out and help Katie and her family during this devastating time.

May God reveal the perfect path of healing to both of Henry’s biological parents, Katie and Chris, as well as to their spouses and their entire family. You have all been in my thoughts and prayers and will continue to be.

God bless you, Katie.

And, Henry, may you rest in eternal peace.

Heaven is Whenever

My roller-coaster search for a job continues. Lately I had a job interview where I was quite sure that I nailed it and a job offer would be forthcoming.

The people I interviewed with didn't get that memo.

So while I was bummed about that gig not working out, I have had several other opportunities come up. I get cautiously optimistic, not wanting to get too excited for fear that I will "jinx" it and lose out once again.

The whole process is very draining. But I do sense that I'm traveling along the path and that there's a bigger picture being painted. My problem is that I just want to hit fast-forward and get to the end, where I have a great new job and my life becomes Easy Like Sunday Morning.

God doesn't really work that way. I want him to, but where's the fun is that, really?

I was reminded of that recently with this great quote I saw by Craig Finn in the latest issue of Rolling Stone. Finn was talking about his excellent band (The Hold Steady) and their excellent new album (Heaven is Whenever). As The Hold Steady like to do, it's a concept album, and Finn was explaining his concept behind the record:

"I was thinking a lot about struggle and reward - about how the struggle is part of the reward. With anything you care about, from having a relationship to being in a rock & roll band, there are going to be days that suck. The key is understanding those days as part of the euphoria. If you're playing a show for 20 people somewhere in the middle of South Dakota, you can't think, "We just have to get through this, and it'll get awesome.' It has to all be awesome."

I've got to fully adopt this state of mind. That whether it's finding a new job or finding my path and becoming the man God wants me to be, some days are going to be a struggle. But that's part of the beauty. It only magnifies the view from the top when you get there.

It's time to experience heaven wherever and whenever.

God Is In the Gaps

As someone who is spending a lot of time "in the gaps" these days, I really appreciated today's blog from Dr. Chris Stephens. Hope you do, too.

Hey Friends,

We are in our third week of the series, Eyes Wide Open. The series is about dreams and helping others you love achieve their dreams. This weekend we are going to deal with delayed dreams. All dreams are delayed to a certain extent because when we achieve them, they are no longer dreams.

Remember, life happens while we are on our way to our dreams! The journey is more important than the destination of our dreams. Let’s face it – we get discouraged in the meantime. We get discouraged when there are delays in our dreams. I think we will call them the “gaps.”

By definition there is a gap between the receiving of a dream and achieving it. We hate the gaps, but as Chuck Carringer said: “God is in the gaps.” Abraham had a gap, Joseph had a gap, and so did every other biblical character that actually achieved their dreams. For some of them the gap was decades long. Some gave up before the dream became reality.

Do you sense God in the gaps? Do you look for God in the gaps? When our kids were younger and we went on family trips (purgatory) they would ask, “Are we there yet?” “I wish we were there.” It is so easy to wish our lives away and try to skip the gaps when they really are the biggest part of our lives. To enjoy them is to experience the life Jesus bought for us on the cross.

You may be in a gap right now and He is with you. He promised He would be. I love receiving dreams and achieving them, but God’s revealed desire for us is to delight in the journey.

Are you?

Pastor Chris

Anything's Possible - Dr. Chris Stephens

Amazing story of God's faith and redemption on an amazing man: Dr. Chris Stephens. Watch this when you can...