YONDER BREAKS

It's always been difficult for me to connect with God during a worship service. I'm not sure why -- I am a musician after all, so you'd think it would be my first choice of meeting God. But for some reason it's rare that I really feel my spirit connect with God's during the musical part of a worship service. This Christmas season, I found myself at  St. Andrew's Church  in Mt. Pleasant. I owe a lot to this church, having gone here often in high school and always coming away a better person, as well as being continually impressed with their community. It was actually on a St. Andrew's trip to  Creation Festival  that I made the public declaration of faith that changed my life. Sixteen years later, I still see the light of Jesus in this place. Despite the tremendous quality of this church and its worship team, as I stood in the pew with good friends singing Christmas carols and worship songs, I still felt disconnected. We might as well have been sing...

How come pot pie never works? It takes forever to cook, despite being counted amongst the most prevalent of frozen entrees; and when it's "done," it's either still frozen in the center or so hot you can't eat it for another hour. I'm not sure why this is the case, but it seems to be a universal truth. And so, as I chomp on my piping hot Trader Joe's pot pie, I am wondering if there are any other parallels that this long-time American staple could relate to (I'm always eager to relate  food to theology  you know). The first thing that came to mind is a big idea on our purpose in life. Have you ever done something that just doesn't work? Maybe a job or relationship that goes wrong at every turn. It's like wearing a shoe a half-size too small -- you could get by, but every step is uncomfortable and rubs against your little toe. Perhaps this experience is your pot pie in life. It will get you by, but something just isn't right. So what...

It was a big day at Redondo Beach, which is rare. The waves were breaking hard and fast on the south side of the jetty, while smaller and a little more predictable on the north side. I paddled out south along with about ten other guys who were already out, or filtering in. You could catch rights or lefts here, depending on how close you were to the jetty. But it was a steep drop no matter what, and so I hung out in places where it looked like I could get a good corner. Wipeouts abounded before I caught an amazing left. Big, long drop. I was flying - one of my fastest waves ever. My body was wound up perfectly to travel up the wave and do a big snap at the crest. Not that I'm great at doing snaps, but I've been learning. Unfortunately, on that day though, I enjoyed the drop and the speed so much that I didn't want to waste my ride on what would have likely been a failed snap. And so I absorbed the drop, tried to keep as much speed as I could, and rode it out. Unfortun...

"Trump won." This was the first thing I heard from my wife this morning. She has been following this election and been quite involved, which I'm proud of her for doing. We're both in disbelief really, and as I got ready for work and exited into a world that seemed changed somehow, I wasn't sure what to expect. Would there be rebel-rousin' folks driving around celebrating by shooting guns into the sky? Or would riots fills the streets of disappointed Democrats, lighting cars on fire and drinking forties? But as I drove in normal traffic down the streets I travel every day, I found nothing unusual, and that feeling started to leave. It seems drastic to have such an extreme man as our president, which leads to my drastic thoughts about what he may or may not do. Will immigrants be sent out forcefully? With The Wall actually be built? Will Muslims be put in concentration camps until they are deemed "safe" by the government? Extreme examples, but my ...

If you're like me, you still listen to albums. Full albums, not pieces of albums shuffled together (I still shuffle too; no judging). There is just something about a succession of songs in the order the artist intended for them to be in that tells a story, has an arc, creates a feeling that one song just can't accomplish. And sometimes, one of these albums speaks to you in a way that really connects with your life -- like the artist just lived what you are living right now, and gave you this great accompaniment to make it a richer experience. This could be something as light as an album that makes you feel like you're  riding to the beach  with the windows down; or it could be heavy, like therapy on a cloudy day in an even cloudier part of life. The first time this happened to me in a memorable way was  Emery 's  I'm Only a Man . It's an album about sin and shortcomings relevant to humanity. Divorce, abortion, infidelity, even mur...