YONDER BREAKS

Calling Jesus our Lord is so common in Christianity (for obvious reasons), but do you ever really think about what that means? To be honest, it's quite difficult, because we don't really have "lords" around that we regularly submit to. Here's a good verse, though, that illustrates what it means to have Christ as Lord: Now who will harm you if you are eager to do what is good? But even if you do suffer for doing what is right, you are blessed. Do not fear what they fear, and do not be intimidated, but in your hearts sanctify Christ as Lord. Always be ready to make your defense to anyone who demands from you an accounting for the hope that is in you; 1 Peter 3:13-15 To me this says that it's easy to make mankind our lord, as we fear others and their opinions. But making Christ Lord means we remember that He's the one we have to give account to, and He's the one we ultimately answer to. This is a game-changer, as we can walk about in freedom,

Lately, I've been sucked into the habit of after-lunch chocolate. It's been a long-lasting battle for me, with plenty of successes and failures over the years, but when you just ate some garlicky left-over spaghetti for lunch, chocolate seems to be the perfect thing to cleanse that palette. But too much of this and those cheeks start to chub, so I often vow to stop heading for the M&M's and/or cookies after lunch. Day 1 might be a victory, but by Day 2 the walk by my neighboring cubicle and its renowned candy stash is too hard to pass up. By Day 2.5 I've caved and feel like a failure, citing the old palette cleanse as a viable excuse. But tomorrow is a new day! So after a morning pep talk, the battle begins again...okay, maybe that's a bit dramatic, but we've all been there to some degree. And so I think this is a good illustration for the fight of our lives, described by Paul in Romans: We know that the law is spiritual; but I am unspiritual, sold a

Some people get paid to surf. Isn't that ridiculous? It's like getting paid to eat ice cream or something... And then there's the rest of us -- spending our days chained to a cubicle, staring at a computer monitor; eight hours sandwiched between a traffic-filled commute each way. By the time you get home, you're so exhausted (but you're not sure why...after all, you just sat down all day) you wouldn't have the energy to surf if the sun stalled long enough to make it happen. So how do we stay stoked on surfing through the drudgery of every day life? Here are seven tips I've used to get through the daily grind, because a surfer's got to do what a surfer's got to do: An East-coast sunrise session. 1. (Catch a surf before work) This is in parenthesis because not everyone can swing this one. You have to live by the beach, be willing to wake up  super  early, have a short commute to work, start work late, be okay smelling like salt water all d

I have a love-hate relationship with technology. Actually,  like -hate relationship is a better way of putting it... I'm that guy who gives people dirty looks when they're on their phone in a public place, or appreciates asking strangers for directions instead of using a cell phone. I still buy CD's because I like having a physical backup of music, and I don't own a tablet. Still, I'm not too proud to admit that technology has its advantages, even applied to something as natural as surfing. So here are some technological advances that, to me, seem to enhance the sport we love. Surf Report When I was growing up you would call the  Ocean Surf Shop  hotline for Folly Beach, SC to hear a recording of how the waves were that morning. It was always busy, so you had to call several times to hear it, and it was only done once or twice a day, so the accuracy was questionable. Now we have  Surfline  which has live cameras from all over the world, saving surfers count