YONDER BREAKS

Parenting is inherently frustrating, right? Well, I think I may have found the most  frustrating thing, in case you were wondering what it is. The most frustrating to me at least (because everyone is different). I have noticed lately that my fuse becomes amazingly short, I mean clipped to the end, when I am trying to accomplish something and my kids keep interrupting. Maybe you can relate. Before stay-at-home parenthood was my routine, I remember watching a video of a couple of moms complaining that they never got anything done. Not even that they just never finished anything they wanted to, but making fun of the idea that it was even possible. I noted the commentary, but thought to myself, Yeah, but surely I can finish something, right? I'm a pretty smart guy; pretty resourceful...  But I set my ambitions low. I remember my first day on the job, actually, where my only goal outside of keeping Ellie alive was to do the dishes. That's it. (And I'm pretty sure I succeeded.)...

I've been thinking more the last couple of years about a legacy , and leaving something that exists beyond myself. This has usually manifested itself in creative projects -- songs and stories I want to write that I hope future generations will enjoy. Naturally, this can be a daunting task, as so much content is created every day that really only the best of the best is ever remembered long term, right? And then I thought about the faraway future, hundreds and thousands of years from now...what art from today, this century, this millennia, will even be around anymore? Little to none. The thought brings the whole house of creation down in a lackluster smash  of futility. Is this desire to create for something beyond me even right? I'm sure it's natural, to want to be remembered for something you did, but is it biblical? -- Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal.  But store up for yoursel...

Isn't snow beautiful? Having never lived above 34-degrees latitude, I typically only get to see it on snowboard trips or when visiting my in-laws. This holiday season, however, I have gotten two solid snow storms in only a week's time, and in two locations. The gift has been such a blessing, and as I have gazed at the large fluffy flakes falling in droves, or scanned smooth blue rolling hills, covered in four inches and lit by a full moon, I think snow teaches us some things about God and life. First: I struggle sometimes with the idea that God could love so many people at once. Often times I find myself in a congested space, or a downtown area, and I look around or at the apartments and town homes near me, and think, Even if God just loved all the people in this area, that would be an incredible thing . But to think that God loves a whole world's worth of people, and has been doing so for centuries upon centuries...well, that is certainly something beyond my comprehensio...

"Think about how many songs you have stored in your brain," I remember telling my co-worker Angie during some down-time while working at Baskin Robbins. "Is there a better way to spread ideas than through music?" I said, with a hopeful glint in my eye. Okay, maybe I didn't have a glint in my eye -- after all, I couldn't see myself in the dull reflection of ice cream-stained plexiglass -- but I imagine that I did. I was finishing up high school at the time, and getting really into music. My punk band, Minus the Standard , was a lot of fun, and we were actually playing some small shows. Even though the end of high school and different colleges brought about the dismemberment of what I'm sure was to be the next MxPx ( Who is MxPx? , the collective readership asks...), I was all about music and investing most of my graduation money in a new guitar, amp and pedal board. I was also writing some of the best songs to-date, though I had no avenue to share it. ...