Always
Always – Switchfoot
This is the start
This is your heart
This is the day you were born
This is the sun
These are your lungs
This is the day you were born
And I am always, always, always yours
And I am always, always, always yours
These are the scars
Deep in your heart
This is the place you were born
This is the hole
Where most of your soul
Comes ripping out
From the places you’ve been torn
And it is always, always, always yours
But I am always, always, always, yours
Hallelujah!
I’m caving in
Hallelujah!
I’m in love again
Hallelujah!
I’m a wretched man
Hallelujah!
Every breath is a second chance
And it is always, always, always yours
And I am always, always, always, yours
Friends
In the picture above (taken sometime in the late-80’s) you’ll find the two guys I grew up with during those critical teen years. I have so many memories that it is literally consuming my thoughts now that I’ve recently discovered them both on Facebook.
Shamefully, I haven’t spoken with my good friends David Johnson (left) and Jeremey Cross (right) in well over a decade.
I hope that’s all about to change soon.
Persistence
The Forces of Mediocrity
by Seth GodinMaybe it should be, “the forces for mediocrity”…
There’s a myth that all you need to do is outline your vision and prove it’s right—then, quite suddenly, people will line up and support you.
In fact, the opposite is true. Remarkable visions and genuine insight are always met with resistance. And when you start to make progress, your efforts are met with even more resistance. Products, services, career paths… whatever it is, the forces for mediocrity will align to stop you, forgiving no errors and never backing down until it’s over.
If it were any other way, it would be easy. And if it were any other way, everyone would do it and your work would ultimately be devalued. The yin and yang are clear: without people pushing against your quest to do something worth talking about, it’s unlikely it would be worth the journey. Persist.
—-
“Great spirits have always encountered violent opposition from mediocre minds.” —Albert Einstein
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“It is not the critic who counts, not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly, who errs and comes up short again and again, because there is no effort without error or shortcoming, but who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself for a worthy cause; who, at the best, knows, in the end, the triumph of high achievement, and who, at the worst, if he fails, at least he fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who knew neither victory nor defeat.” —Teddy Roosevelt
—-
“To avoid criticism do nothing, say nothing, be nothing.” — Elbert Hubbard
Stretching
I have always loved sports. One of my favorite claims is that I never played organized sports in school yet I’m able to hang in there with guys that have—basketball, baseball, football, whatever. I’m not all-world by any means, but I have no problem stepping into any game and feeling confident that I won’t be making a fool of myself. I even lettered in college for Intramural Sports (got a jacket and everything!).
This Fall I joined two new athletic ventures. The first was a City Softball League. I’ve only played church ball since college and this was a definite step up in skill level, as well as atmosphere. The second is a Tuesday night basketball group. You have to be 25 or older and from Clinton. Typical players include the police chief, local restaurant owners, and teachers (Everyone there seems to be 6′ 5″ and can drain three’s like Reggie Miller.)
Both of these have been stretching opportunities for me. I’m a pretty introverted, home-bodied kind of guy, but I’ve met some really cool people in the last couple months. It’s funny how simply stepping into a game can build your confidence and increase your exposure to the community around you.
I guess my parting thoughts are to find a game to get into. You can’t see what you’re made of by sitting on the sidelines.
Anymore
A couple months ago as part of our MuteMath VIP package Jason and I traveled to Grand Rapids to sit on a tour bus and listen to the new album, Armisitce, before it was available to the public. One of the songs that stood out to me was Clipping. I remember distinctly looking at Jason and saying that this is a great song for a church to use leading into a sermon.
It remains one of my favorites on the album, not only because of the great music but because it resonates with me so much.
In the last year I’ve been coming to a point in my life where I just don’t feel like fighting people who disagree with my beliefs—religious, political, sports, whatever. I’m very happy in what I believe, and I’m very willing to listen and learn from others, I just feel no desire whatsoever to fight or argue with anyone, on anything.
I know how it happened. It was a combination of more church infighting, and “christians” acting like tools during the presidential election. I feel passionately about many subjects, but if you’re wanting to fight me on the subject, or threaten to (or actually) leave me because of it… good riddance.
I’m just not sure if that’s a good place to be or not. Seems like I should be more willing to fight for people or ideas. But honestly, I’m not. At least right now.
Clipping — MuteMath
Feeling overload
Carrying bottled skies around
I’ve been drowning all along
Wearing out in a faltered sea
And I give up
Common sense failed again
Meddling in a foreign scene
Foreign dream
Time won’t spare another sun
Daring me with another choice another choice
Anymore I don’t know who to fight anymore
I don’t know what is right anymore anymore
Anymore I don’t know who to fight anymore
I don’t know what is right anymore anymore
Anymore I don’t know how to feel anymore
I don’t know what is real anymore anymore
Anymore I don’t know who to trust anymore
I don’t know what I want anymore anymore
Anymore I don’t know who to blame anymore
I don’t know what to say anymore anymore
Anymore I don’t know what I want anymore
I just don’t know anymore
October Debrief
Only three things of note this month…
1. Saw Paramore and Paper Route in concert at the Filmore in Detroit with Jason and Levi. Such a great show! I only wish we had better seats, but I’m sold on Paramore, and Paper Route is better live than I’d even hoped for. I’d go see both of these bands again.
2. Participated in an epic MuteMath concert experience. I’m still putting my review together on this one, but wow. Even after having seen them live 4 times before, this was hands down the best concert I’ve ever been to.
3. Halloween! Tried to watch a bunch of creepy-type movies this month (Zombieland wins hands down), and decorated our porch and lawn. This was the first year we stayed in Clinton and handed out candy. Good times! Tanner went as Harry Potter. Picture to come soon.
I also started playing basketball on Tuesday nights. I hope this Wednesday I don’t feel as bad as I did last Wednesday.
Looking at the calendar, I’m going to have quite a month in November. Can’t wait!
Books Read in October:
Zip.
Zilch.
Nada.
Movies Watched in October:
Zombieland – 5/5
The Brothers Bloom – 3/5
17 Again – 3/5
Sugar – 5/5
Year One – 2/5
Away We Go – 3/5
From Dusk Till Dawn – 2/5
Land of the Lost – 2/5
Shrink – 4/5
Young Guns – 4/5
Where The Wild Things Are – 5/5
Full Battle Rattle – 3/5
Management – 2/5
12 Monkeys – 3/5
Law Abiding Citizen – 4/5
Scream – 4/5
Running The Sahara – 5/5
Scream 2 – 3/5
Rocket Science – 5/5
Scream 3 – 2/5
Fight Club – 5/5
Event Horizon – 3/5
Young Guns II – 3/5
An American Wolf in London – 2/5
Previous Months:
January 2009
February 2009
March 2009
April 2009
May 2009
June 2009
July 2009
August 2009
September 2009
Books
Big year for books! A full-term pregnancy into 2009 and I’ve already read, or listened to, 30 books (as well as the New Testament). Quite honestly I have no idea how I’ve done that, especially considering my rigorous movie watching regiment. None-the-less I’m happy to finally plow through some of these books on my bookshelf.
Here are four remaining books on my To-Read-In-2009 list:
Frankenstein – Mary Shelly
State of Fear – Michael Crichton
Team of Rivals – Doris Kearns Goodwin
Hot, Flat, and Crowded – Thomas L. Friedman
And I’m chomping at the bit to read these:
Outliers – Malcolm Gladwell
Pagan Christianity – Frank Viola & George Barna
A New Earth – Eckhart Tolle
Scared – Tom Davis
The Hundredth Man – Jack Kerley
Organic Church – Neil Cole
The Da Vinci Code – Dan Brown
So You Don’t Want to Go to Church Anymore – Jake Colsen
Sticky Church – Larry Osborne
This just in! There are 2 new books coming out soon that will surely jump to the top of my list:
SuperFreakonomics – Steven Levitt & Stephen Dubner
What the Dog Saw – Malcolm Gladwell
I certainly have my work cut out for me.
Swim
Swim – Jack’s Mannequin
You’ve gotta swim
Swim for your life
Swim for the music
That saves you
When you’re not so sure you’ll survive
You gotta swim
And swim when it hurts
The whole world is watching
You haven’t come this far
To fall off the earth
The currents will pull you
Away from your love
Just keep your head above
I found a tidal wave
Begging to tear down the dawn
Memories like bullets
They fired at me from a gun
A crack in the armor
I swim to brighter days
Despite the absence of sun
Choking on salt water
I’m not giving in
I swim
You gotta swim
Through nights that won’t end
Swim for your families
Your lovers your sisters
And brothers and friends
Yeah you’ve gotta swim
Through wars without cause
Swim for the lost politicians
Who don’t see their greed as a flaw
The currents will pull us
Away from our love
Just keep your head above
I found a tidal wave
Begging to tear down the dawn
Memories like bullets
They fired at me from a gun
Cracking me open now
I swim for brighter days
Despite the absence of sun
Choking on salt water
I’m not giving in
Well I’m not giving in
I swim
You gotta swim
Swim in the dark
There’s no shame in drifting
Feel the tide shifting and wait for the spark
Yeah you’ve gotta swim
Don’t let yourself sink
Just find the horizon
I promise you it’s not as far as you think
The currents will drag us away from our love
Just keep your head above
Just keep your head above
Swim
Just keep your head above
Swim, swim
Just keep your head above
Swim
Enemy Among Us
Enemy Among Us – Paper Route
Fell into a hole my ears were ringing
Followed every rule and kept repeating
Could I be a fool?
In the silence, you’re the first one that I turn to
You’re the first voice that I turned to
In the absence of my own
There’s an enemy among us
There’s an enemy among us
And he stole as best he could
He stole as best he could
An enemy among us
There’s and enemy among us
He stole as best he could
Our hearts like an enemy should
And when I awoke my friends were sleeping
I put on my coat to keep from freezing
Something isn’t right
In the silence, you’re the first one that I turn to
You’re the first voice that I turned to
In the absence of my own
There’s an enemy among us
There’s an enemy among us
And he stole as best he could
He stole as best he could
An enemy among us
There’s and enemy among us
He stole as best he could
Our hearts like an enemy should
In the silence, you’re the first one that I turn to
You’re the first voice that I turned to
In the absence of my own
There’s an enemy among us
There’s an enemy among us
And he stole as best he could
He stole as best he could
An enemy among us
There’s and enemy among us
He stole as best he could
Our hearts like an enemy should.
September Debrief
» Football is back!
» Michigan already has more wins than last year!
» The Lions finally win a game!
» The Tigers are finishing strong!
» Fall softball is finally fun.
» Drove Grandma-In-Law to her family reunion in Alabama. A very quick weekend trip but enjoyed getting back on the road again. Enjoyed some out of this world catfish, hushpuppies and sweet tea.
» Lots of great music loaded up this month!
» Small group is picking up steam. So glad Steve has joined us!
The big story this month is that I failed at my goal of reading the New Testament in September. A bunch of reasons, mostly excuses, but I plan on wrapping it up before Monday. It’s been a huge learning experience and I plan on doing it again, and often. I’ll probably do it every couple months or so, switching up translations each time. The Message really threw me for a loop. Next in the que is the old standby NIV.
Books Read in September:
A Million Miles in a Thousand Years by Donald Miller
Drops Like Stars by Rob Bell
Movies Watched in September:
The Pickup Artist – 3/5
The Hunting Party – 3/5
The Deer Hunter – 4/5
Michael – 3/5
Spirited Away – 2/5
Romeo + Juliet – 4/5
Adventureland – 3/5
Take Out – 4/5
Cape Fear – 3/5
I Love You, Man – 4/5
Casino – 5/5
Trouble The Water – 5/5
Sunshine Cleaning – 4/5
O’Horton – 4/5
The Cider House Rules – 4/5
Previous Months:
January 2009
February 2009
March 2009
April 2009
May 2009
June 2009
July 2009
August 2009
