Life with The Swell Guy!

Live music and dancing pirates on a Friday night. Nice.

 

Warning: Avoid Sudden Stops

 

A beach walk at golden hour

 

The Weary Kind

The other night we watched Crazy Heart. Not only did Jeff Bridges deserve the Oscar he won for his role, the soundtrack was amazing. Some of the original tunes had more hooks than a Lake Greenwood tackle box. I think you will enjoy the theme song. 

It's Redneck Tuesday!

It's prom season in The South. Old Dixie, Alabama Chrome, and Camo all seem to be a popular choice this year.

It's a Blues Monday

Here's a little slow blues with James Cotton for you. Take your time. Work it out. It's going to be a great week.

WWJD?

I took this photo at lunch yesterday. This guy must have the gift of encouragement. I wonder if he knows bullhorn guy? I'm not with them...

Questions

It's been a while since I have written a deep post. I'd like to tell you that I've been off doing some great work or writing great stuff, but that is not the case. It's more like I've been out in the weeds trying to block out the noise long enough to say or do something that makes sense. I've had a lot more questions lately than answers.

I've been frustrated...with me. I would start to think or pray and I became distracted. Meditation became a mindless maze of disconnected thought. I started to write deeper post that I thought were special andthey it would go nowhere. I tossed a bunch of partial posts on the scrap heap and hit the delete key. I visualized burning them. Sign. If's it is junk for me, how could it be any good to share with you or anyone else?

The thing is I could not put a finger on my spiritual funk. I kept having these questions and could not work out any answers. It was like something was blocking me from getting to where I wanted to be mentally and spiritually. This did not cause me to doubt my faith or doubt Christ. It just left me at odds with myself.

I wondered if it was because we know so many people going through a lot of crap right now. We have friends that are sick with the kind of stuff that changes lives or shortens life. We have friends in financial crisis. And friends dealing with dissolving marriages or other collapsing relationships. And we have friends that have made really bad choices and are in the midst of living through the damages caused. Lots of nasty bad stuff has been going down lately with people we know and love. 

When friends ask for or simply need prayer and you are out in the weeds being distracted it is not good. What? I say I love them and can not spend a few moments petitioning for them before the father?  What kind of Christ-follower am I if I say I love them and do not care enough to really be completely concerned with their struggles? 

I wanted to try harder. I thought I was trying harder. But every effort to think and pray clearly ended in distraction. At one point I thought that I would be happy if I could just complete one thought from start to finish. That would be good. I wondered if I was over committed. I wondered if I was under committed.

Since it was clear that I could not do or fix anything on my own I began to pray that prayer that tells God that he knows and I was going to trust him in my life and in the lives of others. I began praying about just being willing to be available. Little by little it felt like I was starting to communicate better with God. This made me completely grateful. 

I get a little freaked out sometimes when people say God told them something. I tend to throw up a flag because I have seen this comment used like some sort of carnival trick or as a lever for people to pursue an agenda or get something they want out of others. At the very least when I hear that comment I find my self asking if what was said is consistent with what I know about the nature of God. 

So having said all of that, towards the end of last week during a meal something happened.  In a very clear moment I felt at peace and had this feeling that everything was OK. No, I did not hear a voice, but it felt like clear communication. The questions that I had been asking were fine and I was continuing the process of being restored to the father. It did not seem like the moment to say anything. It was a quite moment, not some big revelation. I looked at my wife, my best friend, and I told her that I loved her.

Good Advice for Men - No. 51

Always give the lady the chair. 

It's Redneck Tuesday!

 Come on Mable, let's put on something special and go to The Wal-Mart!