The Fab Four

Skillet "Sick Of It"

Below is the official music video to one of Skillet's latest songs, "Sick Of It." Their new album "Rise" has been topping all of the Billboard rock charts which is awesome. I got to see them back in June at Spirit Song. If you ever get the chance to see them in concert, don't pass it up. Their shows are amazing!

The Overflow Devo feat. Lecrae (Day 1 of 8)

It's been said that the vainest things in life are the ones that we expect the most contentment from. We are hedonists and pleasure seekers by nature. We want satisfaction and contentment and seem committed to finding it somewhere on earth. People are constantly asking, "What's the meaning of life," like maybe the answer would satisfy their discontent. However, few people meditate on this question, and most would rather pacify themselves with fleeting pleasures.

They wake up every day only to repeat the cycle of seeking contentment, not finding it, and settling for some form of temporary gratification. It's a virtual Groundhog Day for humanity. King Solomon understood this more than anyone, and he writes in Ecclesiastes 1:9, "What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun."

Earlier in verse two of the same chapter, he calls everything "meaningless" or "vanity" which translates better as "redundant." Obviously, everything isn't meaningless, otherwise why take time to teach people the valuable lessons in Ecclesiastes? Redundant, however, makes perfect sense.

We, outside of a relationship with Jesus who satisfies our deepest longings, are left to a redundant existence. Were it not for faith in another life to come, we'd have no hope but to look for contentment in power, pleasure or possessions, only to never find it. Life seems very worthless under the sun, unless your worth is found in the Son.

Ecclesiastes 1:9 "The thing that hath been, it is that which shall be; and that which is done is that which shall be done: and there is no new thing under the sun."

Dogs don't bark at parked cars

As I've mentioned before, I received an associate’s degree in information management and design during my college days. Not to brag, but during those two years I made all A’s in each class involved with that program.

I designed different things like flyers, logos, business cards, greeting cards, invitations and a couple websites for my classes, and always received high marks and compliments from my instructors.

Through my experience with classwork and freelance work, I even got the opportunity to design a billboard that stood in various locations around the city of Lexington.

From that time period however, the only feedback I can remember word-for-word was the time when I received some pretty harsh criticism.

During my last semester of the design program, every student had to complete an internship. So I basically sent an email to any business in Lexington that was involved with design.

After several emails sent, I finally got a call back from a man who owned his own firm designing websites. He said he couldn’t offer me any money but he would love to meet with me and teach me the tricks of the trade. I happily agreed and met with him later that week.

When it came time for the interview, he basically offered me the internship right on the spot. But it was something he said during the interview that rubbed me the wrong way.

After he glanced at the portfolio I had prepared showcasing some of my best design work, his response was “Brad, you’re never going to be a great designer. But I can mold you into a pretty good designer.”

I went ahead and started helping him with a project that very day until I had to leave for my regular job. But I just couldn’t get over what he said, and just his attitude in general.

So I called him back the next day and told him I wasn’t going to return. Thankfully my mother had a co-worker who needed an assistant for my type of work so I was able to find another internship.

But for the next couple weeks, all I did was gripe and complain about what that man had said to me. I had forgotten all about the good grades I received in class and the compliments I had received on projects. All I could focus on was the one negative comment someone had to say about me and my work.

But one day as I was complaining about all this to one of my friends in class, another classmate turned around and said, “Brad, that’s just one person’s opinion.”

That statement was only composed of a few words, but it has had a lasting impact — not just in my work, but in life in general.

How often do we hear nice things from the people around us, but only remember when someone has something bad to say?

Let’s say you and the family did some decorating or landscaping around the house. Your neighbors all along the block may come around and tell you how nice it all looks. Then one person could come by and tell you something looks awful. Which comment is going to stand out more to you? All the compliments or the one complaint?

This certainly applies to our Christian walk as well.

Just as I learned to not let one person’s opinion stop me from being a designer, we should not let the Devil keep us from doing God’s work.

If you have been called to preach, you will encounter many people who tell you, “Great sermon, Preacher. I really enjoyed it.”

But every now and then, you will have someone tell you, “I don’t like what you preached about today. That’s not what I believe.”

Or maybe you have been called to sing. Many folks may tell you they absolutely love hearing you perform. And then someone may come asking you to give them money for a new mirror because your singing just broke their old one.

When we hear these negative words from our peers, it sometimes gets so discouraging we just take the easy way out and give up. We listen to the evil more than the good and decide we are better off sitting at home on our couch instead of doing what God has called us to do.

But Ephesians 6:12-13 says, “For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.”

The bottom line is if God wants you to do a job for him, you need to get there and do it. The Devil will use different people and different obstacles to discourage you, but you have to block all that out and focus solely on what the Lord has to say.

Worrying: Day 7 of 7

Matthew 6: 33-34 "But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof."

Angelwish New York City Marathon fundraiser

The text below is directly from Michelle Varney's Angelwish website. She is running in the NYC marathon to try and raise money for chronically ill children. Go check out the website here and donate if you can!

I am so excited to be running the New York City Marathon in memory of Jonah Coal Varney and to help raise funds for Angelwish to benefit chronically ill children!

Last October when I ran the Chicago Marathon, it was the most amazing experience of my life! It is an amazing feeling doing something that in your wildest dreams you never imagined that you would be capable of!  I mean, it is the ULTIMATE test of mental and physical strength!  This experience lit a FIRE in me to run another marathon, and I thought it would be much more meaningful to run the marathon for charity this time around.  I also thought why not run the biggest marathon in the USA, The New York City Marathon.  I have dreamed of running this marathon even before I was a runner!  And, with the help of my cousin, uncle, and aunt that dream is going to come to fruition.

When I initially ran the idea of running the NYC marathon by my cousin, Chad, I  discovered that he was as ecstatic as I was about this whole idea!  Chad said that he would like me to run the marathon to honor the memory of his son, Jonah Coal Varney, who passed away March 8th shortly after he was born.  He and his wife, Heather, told me that after looking through the available charities that Angelwish was their favorite for me to run for their little angel up in heaven.  After contacting Angelwish, I was fortunate to receive the last slot on Team Angelwish.  Please join Chad and I in honoring the memory of Jonah as we help raise money for this wonderful organization!

Tenth Avenue North "You Are More"

The official music video of "You Are More" by Tenth Avenue North is very powerful. The song itself is really good too. Check it out...

Worrying: Day 6 of 7

Isaiah 26:3-4 "Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee. Trust ye in the Lord for ever: for in the Lord Jehovah is everlasting strength."

Life lessons from the Robertson family

During the Christmas season, Carmen and I make visits to my mom’s house, to her mom’s house, to her dad’s house, to my grandparents’ house and — if we can fit it into our schedule — to our own house. It keeps us on the road for a couple weeks, but we can’t complain about all the food, fun and gifts.

But if there is one gift that stuck out to me among all the others this past Christmas season, it was my in-laws introducing me to Willie, Jase, Phil and Uncle Si Robertson — that’s right, the main characters on the popular A&E TV show “Duck Dynasty.”

I had heard about it here and there from my mother-in-law, Linda, and also from Les and Chris in the Times-Tribune Sports Department. And I’ll have to admit, it didn’t sound like a show that I would be too interested in.

But while I was munching down on my third plate of dinner at my mother-in-law’s house, “Duck Dynasty” was on TV in the background. And just hearing some of the things Uncle Si and the gang were talking about from the other room made me laugh. So after that night I got hooked, and it is now one of my favorite shows on TV right now.

Just watching what a bunch of millionaire “rednecks” do on a daily basis in between making duck calls absolutely cracks me up. I especially find it funny that Uncle Si shouts “Hey” before every other sentence, and always calls people “Jack.”

Using my DVR, I think I’ve just about caught myself up on all the episodes. But if a rerun happens to be on TV while I’m flipping through, I’ll still watch it and laugh just as much as I did the first time.

And while the show is really funny, that’s not the only thing I admire about the Robertson family.

You very rarely hear a curse word from anyone on the show and you never see any of them drinking an ounce of alcohol — with the exception of the vineyard episode. And at the end, the family gathers around the dinner table and gives thanks to God for the food. I am not just talking about a Thanksgiving or Christmas episode, they are shown praying at the end of every episode.

To be honest, if you told me there was a current TV show about millionaire rednecks, I would just assume that the four-letter words would fly left and right just like the bottles of Budweiser. But you don’t see that. And most importantly, they set an example of praying and giving thanks for what they have.

In my opinion, one of the best ways for anyone to witness is taking time to give thanks before a meal.

I can remember as a youngster going to McDonald’s and seeing someone bow their head before they ate. At that time, as someone who routinely did not give thanks for my food, I felt very convicted and very ashamed of myself.

And I’m sure many of us have had that embarrassing moment where we are a guest at a family dinner and we start chowing down before someone has a chance to say a blessing.

I don’t believe we should pray like that just to be seen in public as someone who prays. But I think it is very important to just take a moment and thank God for what He has given us and for what He does for us on a daily basis.

I realize that we live in a very fast-paced world these days, and I also realize how juicy a double cheeseburger can appear on a dinner plate.

But we still need to always take time and show appreciation to our Lord before we dig in.

Hey! If a bunch of millionaire rednecks can take time for prayer regardless of their busy schedule of making duck calls and “redneck water parks,” then so can we, Jack!

Worrying: Day 5 of 7

Romans 8:28 "And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose."

Abandon "Feel It In Your Heart"

I got to see Abandon for the first time right here in my hometown of Corbin, Ky., and they put on a great show. I picked up their CD at their merch table and have been hooked ever since. Here is the music video to one of their biggest hits.

Saturday alert

I will be out of town and without an internet connection Friday night and most of Saturday. So the Worrying series will hopefully continue Sunday. Thanks to everyone for reading!

Worrying: Day 4 of 7

2 Timothy 1:7 "For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind."

TobyMac "Me Without You"

I have gotten to see TobyMac live twice, and both times I have been blown away. Below is the official lyric video of one of my favorite TobyMac songs. It also reminds me of my wife because she used to sing it a lot around the house. Check it out!

Worrying: Day 3 of 7

Phillipians 4:6-7 "Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keeep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus."

Thousand Foot Krutch - "War of Change"

I plan to share a lot of Christian music and music videos on this blog. So to start things off, here is the most recent music video by my favorite band, Thousand Foot Krutch!

Worrying: Day 2 of 7

Matthew 6:27 "Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his stature?"

God's forgiveness lets you hit the reset button

When we were younger, my brother, Jordan, and I played a lot of Nintendo together.
We faced off against each other in all the classic games — Mario Kart, Mortal Kombat, NBA Jam, Street Fighter, etc.
There is a photo my mother has of me sitting on the couch at a very young age playing Super Mario Bros. while toddler Jordan sat next to me holding an unplugged controller thinking he was actually playing too.
So from a very young age until I went off to college, if Jordan and I were home together with nothing else to do, we were likely playing some type of Nintendo game.
Our battles would occasionally get pretty intense, as well.
There were several occasions where my father would scream at us from the other room telling us to stop yelling at each other. Mom would also get the random phone call at her office from one of us because of some name-calling that had been going on. She would make us apologize to each other, and scold us for saying mean things to each other.
But every now and then, our Nintendo fights would escalate to the extreme level.
 If screaming or name-calling wasn’t enough to settle the score, we would have to resort to the very worst tactic of them all.
Once this weapon was deployed, there was nothing we or our parents could do about it.
There would be no turning back.
If either of us got so mad because of how badly we were getting beaten, that’s when the only other option was standing up and hitting the dreaded reset button.
If you’re familiar with the Nintendo at all, you know there are two main buttons on the machine — the power button and the reset button.
The power button is what you push to turn the machine on. But the reset button is what you push when you want to start all over. If you are in the middle of a game, pushing the reset button erases all your progress and starts you from scratch.
Why Nintendo made this button so easily accessible, I’ll never understand.
But if Jordan or I were getting beaten so badly that we couldn’t take it anymore, we would hit the reset button and it was like our game had never happened.
 And just like the reset button on a Nintendo can give us a fresh start, so can Jesus Christ in our daily lives.
1 John 1:9 says “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us (our) sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”
 That is the most awesome reset button we could ever have.
 Maybe you are reading this and you feel you have been far away from God lately. You’ve been living a life full of sin and know you daily make choices that would not be pleasing to God. There is no better time than right now to hit the reset button by confessing your sins to Jesus Christ so you can be fully cleansed.
 Or perhaps you are reading this and you have never accepted the Lord into your heart at all. Don’t wait another second to ask the Lord to forgive you and become your personal Lord and Savior.
 Just like I did not hesitate to reset all those Nintendo games to help me win against my brother, we should not hesitate to reset our lives and win the greatest prize of them all — eternal life through Jesus Christ.

Worrying: Day 1 of 7

What if? What if? Have you ever dealt with the what-ifs?

Entertaining the what-ifs in your life is the first step to being overtaken with worry. Worry is taking responsibility for things you were never intended to handle.

Worry is a lack of trust in the Creator of the universe.

Worry says that you can handle it when many times you simply cannot.

Are you worried that you worry too much? You don't defeat worry by worrying about it. You defeat worry by redirecting your concerns to Someone who can actually do something about your situation. 

It does not mean that you do not take responsibility for the things you are supposed to handle; it just means that you know when you stop and God begins. 

Worried you don't know enough about it? Check out what the Bible says!

Proverbs 12:25 "Heaviness in the heart of man maketh it stoop: but a good word maketh it glad."