YONDER BREAKS

This might be just for me, but I am going to write it out in case it speaks to someone else also... Sometimes when you read the Bible a verse will seem highlighted to you, as if it demands your focus. The other day I was reading in Romans and that was the case for this verse: "Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle and set apart for the gospel of God" (Romans 1:1) And sometimes the verse that feels like it's being pointed out by the Holy Spirit doesn't really make a lot of sense! This is a simple introduction, but as I sat with it and let it ruminate, I think God was pointing out something. Notice Paul's title and self-description here: servant and apostle . There are a lot of things Paul could have written: Jew-turned-Christ-Follower , Pharisee , tent maker . But he chose first off a servant of Christ Jesus, and then his calling as an apostle who is set apart to spread the gospel of God. It got me thinking: what would my introduction be? In ...

Okay, this one is a little silly... Years ago, on a small-surf but sunny day at Dockweiler State Beach , my wife took this cheesy photo of me standing with my Wavestorm : Photo by Katie and not Mitchel (though he thinks he took it) I've mentioned before that I used to write for StoreYourBoard.com, and did a piece on the Wavestorm  as a good beginner board. There's also a chapter in All Roads Lead to Dockweiler about it, also using this photo.  Well, fast forward many years and one day my friend Aaron sent me a link to a guy offering surf lessons on Facebook who was using my photo for marketing, asking if it was me.  Nope. And then a few months after that, he noticed it had popped up on Craigslist as a print: I couldn't believe it! Someone was selling my likeness as "original" art. Well, he wasn't the only one, as Aaron also found this one about a year later: Apparently, this image needs to be out in the world! And so, I am launching the first OFFICIAL Rick-a...

About twenty years ago I was driving back from taking a friend to the airport. It was a sort of rainy, cloudy day, but as I drove home I remember seeing the sun rising behind the clouds in a beautiful display of creation. Just a day or so prior, my Dad had also left on an out-of-state trip and I remember feeling pretty down about people leaving, even if for short periods of time. It struck me that, even in sadness, just as in a cloudy day, beauty can be found; and this beauty is even more glorious, as the clouds create a contrast that accents the sunlight, just as despairing times are when we grow the most and become more dependent on God, seeing His goodness in fuller ways.  And so, being the songwriter I am, I went home and wrote "Clouds." "Clouds" Have you ever seen the moonlight in the morning When all the while you are mourning Because a loved one has gone away? And did you notice how the moon behind the clouds is shining Around the darkness, there's a lini...

I'll write more some more in-depth content on this in the coming days and weeks, but for now I wanted to share that my first full-length album (or LP) is out now! There is a YouTube playlist with every song you can find here: And of course you can listen on Spotify , Apple Music , Amazon Music , Pandora and pretty much anywhere else music is found! If you've been keeping up, you'll know that this album has been available for download to those who purchased my book, All Roads Lead to Dockweiler . You'll still get a digital download with the book, but now the music is out in the world for all to hear! Please share it with your friends and check back in for more on these songs that have meant so much to me! Thank you for your support!

I was reading in John the other day and an idea struck me: Could it be a good thing that this world, and particularly America, is so divided? Let me explain... In the account of John , the last thing Jesus prays over His disciples is for their unity. Not only the twelve disciples, but future believers also: "My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message,   that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me.   I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one— I in them and you in me—so that they may be brought to complete unity. Then the world will know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me." (John 17:20-23) As I read this the other day, it occurred to me that, if God can bring together a people who believe so many different things (and sometimes...