This is an amazing blog written by fellow musician Michael Gungor. He seems to have put into words a lot of my feelings about music, art and “christians” as of late. Enjoy this great read…
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When you are in a touring band, there is a lot of time that is spent waiting. Waiting to board a plane, waiting for the bus to arrive at the venue, waiting for sound check…etc One of the many games that people in our band have implemented now and then to fill the waiting time is a little game we might call the “Christian or secular” game. Basically the game is simply playing a very short clip of music and having someone guess whether it is “Christian” or “secular” music. The person who is most accurate with his or her guesses is the winner.
This is surprisingly easy to do.
Especially when you talk about radio stations. It is easy for me to spot a Christian music radio station within about 3 seconds. Far before any Christian lingo is uttered to make it clear.
| — | Me |
Just a quick thought today, but I’m finding myself in a bit of a conundrum. When you don’t speak a language and you’re trying to connect with people, humor is usually a good option. Plus, I love humor anyway, so naturally I tend to find things to joke about or laugh about, it’s one of the best and easiest ways to build relationships with people who you can’t really communicate with yet.
Sometimes though I think I’m seen as a joker. Someone who can’t get that serious, someone who thinks like a child and is always just messing around. Which really isn’t true, but when you have to use joking and humor as a way to connect, I can see how that thought might pop up.
I don’t know, just a bit intriguing to me, I have to find a good balance on this one, and make sure that as much as I joke around, I live my life like someone who’s got some serious convictions.
So my friend Adam Hundley was here for two weeks and kept a blog, just passing it along in case you’re interested..
It has been an amazing couple of days exploring Bangkok. Wednesday started out with a trip on the BTS and a delicious Pad Thai breakfast. They really don’t have breakfast food the way we Americans do here. Generally it’s just a regular meal. After “breakfast” we explored some more of the many…
A lot of people ask me if I miss America at all, or what I miss about it.
It’s hard for me to answer that question. It’s interesting to think about, but really, America represents my past. The last chapter of my life before Thailand.
On one hand, it’s easy to pick out a few great memories or stories from my time in America and to wish I could live those “golden days” out one more time. We’ll always have our memories. But for me, to say yes to the question would mean that I long to return to reclaim the fondness of my time in America.
That may not be what yes means for everyone. But for me, it is. On the other hand, there will always be times that I think about the great memories and times I had back in the States. Things that our minds are good at telling us were the best of times.
But we have to be careful. To live in the past is a mistake. It’s easy to want to do though, because the present seems so imperfect. In the present we have problems. We worry about the immediate future and how our lives will turn out. Things can seem temporary, uncertain, and unfulfilling. So it’s easy to look to the past where there is no worry about uncertainty.
But for me, I can honestly say I don’t fear the future, and I don’t fear the present. Don’t get me wrong, there are little hiccups here and there, sometimes I get anxious, but I would not characterize my lifestyle or my thinking as prone to fearfulness.
And that’s why I can say that when you consider all things, I don’t really miss America. That I don’t miss my past. I’m excited, actually. For my present, and for my future.
In the book of Matthew Jesus tells us not to worry. In fact, he asks the rhetorical question, “Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?” When we worry we are prone to live in the past, to live lives without risk and without sacrifice.
“Because He lives I can face tomorrow
Because He lives all fear is gone
Because I know He holds the future
And life is worth the living just because He lives.”
