Godly Insights for the 21st Century Life

Celebrating Thanksgiving last month got me to thinking about what I'm thankful for. Here, in no particular order, are some of my favorite things from the past year. Christian Music:  I have listened to Christian music since fourth grade, but this past year has been a particularly good one. My favorites include "The Breakup Song" by Francesca Battistelli, "Best News Ever" by MercyMe, and "He Still Does (Miracles)" by Hawk Nelson. "The Breakup Song" is written as a letter to fear to pack up and get out of our lives, and I had some fears that needed to go away, and listening to that song helped me to face them and get rid of them. "Best News Ever" is the message of the gospel in song form, and reminds us that the story of Jesus isn't just good news, it's the best news ever. "He Still Does (Miracles)" is a reminder that the power of God to perform miracles is not just something that happened in biblical times, but so...

2016 was a bit of a roller coaster year for me, with glorious highs interspersed with terrifying lows. Fortunately, there were more highs than lows. Here in no particular order are the highs and lows of the past year. HIGHS: Spending time with Jojo: Jojo is my cousin Jessica's 18-month-old daughter, and due to scheduling conflicts, I didn't get a chance to see her at Thanksgiving or Christmas last year. However this year, I got to spend a great deal of time with her at both holidays, as well as during her dad's birthday party in September. Since she was older at the time I got to know her, I was able to build a better and more lasting relationship with her that will only grow as she gets older. My summer job: This summer, I was the chauffeur/activity supervisor for Ally and Kira, two of my friend Katherine's granddaughters. Throughout the course of the summer, I took them to camps, to the pool, to the park, and to church activities. They taught me how to use ...

Earlier this summer, I had a can of Sprite that was part of its "Obey Your Verse" campaign. However, the verse it was telling me to obey was "Me, I'm supa fly, supa dupa fly," which is not only unintelligible, but also not something that could be obeyed. In looking more into the campaign, I found that most of the verses chosen were this way. While the artists were chosen because of Sprite's history with working with hip hop artists, some of the verses chosen leave a lot to be desired. That got me to thinking about lyrics of some of my favorite songs that not only can be obeyed, but are worthy of being obeyed. Here are some examples: Hawk Nelson, " Sold Out ": I'm sold out I'm no longer living just for myself Running after Jesus with my whole heart And now I'm ready to shout I am sold out I'm sold out With every single step that I take now With every drop of blood left in my veins I'm gonna be making it count I am s...

After going to Winter Jam last month, and then the Tobymac Hits Deep tour this month, I have been thinking about who I would want to see at next year's Winter Jam. Here is my ideal list of artists: 1. Newsong As the founding members of the tour, it would not be Winter Jam without them. 2. Newsboys After seeing both God's Not Dead  and God's Not Dead 2 , I have seen a bit of their infectious stage presence. It would be great to get to see it live next year. 3. Lauren Daigle She was one of the artists I was most looking forward to seeing at this year's Winter Jam, but unfortunately, she got the flu and was unable to sing at a few of the venues, including here in Wichita. I would be very pleased if she would come back to the tour next year for those of us who missed her this year. 4. Colton Dixon American Idol  was cruel enough to schedule their live series finale opposite the Hits Deep Tour's appearance in Wichita. While I was upset at first that he wa...