love is...

love is...

patient.

kind.

content.

humble.

honoring.

not all about me.

chill. (not easily angered)

forgetful. (keeps no record of wrongs)

digging truth not evil.

protecting, trusting, hopeful, persevering. it never stops.

never fails.

- Paul (1 Cor. 13)

wow. i thought love was just love.
nope.
way bigger than that.

how are you doing loving?

it's pretty important because
love wins.

The Revolution - love wins.

there are a lot more of these bumper stickers floating around today than there were yesterday.

i hope the meaning takes our city and culture by storm.

we gave a bunch of these out to the students yesterday @ Ridge as we finished up a series called "The Revolution" with a day that revolved around the phrase LOVE WINS. (Thanks, Rob, for empowering us with that phrase & letting us borrow it.)

The series was all about the Kingdom of God and what Jesus had to say about it. That's all we've talked about for a month.

it's interesting that Jesus never actually defines the Kingdom of God. He never says "the Kingdom of God is..." He only says "the Kingdom of God is LIKE..." and then He tells a story.

we tried our best to explain the Kingdom of God in 1 sentence the 1st week. our meager attempt was that "God is making everything the way God wants it to be and He wants my help."

and then it's crazy that the Kingdom of God is so OPPOSITE. but then again, that's the essence of what a revolution is. because "normal is boring. opposite is revolutionary."

and if Jesus were here today He probably wouldn't call it "the Kingdom of God". He chose that phrase because that was the hot button of the context He was in. Not sure what we would call it today, but we went with The Revolution.

because that's what it is. a revolution.

and this revolution is not for some specific place or for some specific time or in 1 compartmentalized area of our lives. it is literally "Revolution Everywhere."

yesterday in Student Impact we were brave enough to try to sum up this Revolution in 2 simple words. "LOVE WINS."

because Jesus summed it all up with "love" (Matthew 22). Paul summed it all up with "love" (1 Corinthians 13). and everything we had talked about all month long that Jesus ever said about the Kingdom of God really comes down to LOVE. love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, turn the other cheek, give, etc... etc... it's all so opposite. more of the same doesn't win. evil for evil doesn't win... love wins.

can it be possible that the most humble, vulnerable, lowliest, and seemingly "weakest" position of LOVE can actually WIN in this world we live in?

tomorrow i want to dive into some more thoughts about what Paul had to say about love when he was trying to help this group of people in Corinth live their lives as a part of The Revolution.

awe & joy & hope

(I originally posted this on August 24, 2009.)

most awesome way to start my Monday was singing this song David wrote a long time ago...

"God our Savior,
the HOPE of all the ends of the earth
and of the farthest seas,
who formed the mountains by Your power,
having armed Yourself with strength,
who stilled the roaring of the seas,
the roaring of their waves,
and the turmoil of the nations.
The whole earth is filled with AWE at Your wonders;
where morning dawns, where evening fades,
You call forth songs of JOY."
- David the songwriter (Psalm 65:5-8)
beautiful. I'm stoked that God, our Savior, is the hope of all the ends of the earth! That's amazing. That's awesome. I am completely filled with awe this morning... God has captured my sense of wonder because of all his amazing wonders. This morning I am singing songs of joy. I can't hold them back.

it's all over

the Champions League Final has been over for a couple hours now. done & dusted.

The best team in the world is now crowned as the best team in the world. i was cheering against them but still appreciate how beautiful they are to watch.

i'm just thankful it's a VERY short off season. Because in August it all cranks back up. The beautiful game on display again. we only have to take June & July off from the best game ever invented.

my Geordie boys in Newcastle had what i guess they would call a successful season... even after Andy Carroll departing. i hope we can buy some STUDS with that $55 million! we need to buy 1 top class striker, a stud center back, a right back (no offense Sim), and a Keeper. + hold on to Jose Enrique and Joey Barton who both seem to be Liverpool bound if you believe the rumors.
so i'm hoping for a top 7 finish and Europa League football in 2012-13.

Roberto Martinez and Wigan are staying up too. it was a relegation battle like none other. we'll probably never see anything like it again. although i hope we do because it was unbelievably exciting!

I bet Fabregas will go to Barcelona or Real Madrid for like $80 million. it will be interesting to see what Arsenal do this summer. lots to be done for sure. i won't care very much when Fabregas is gone though. i predict that Man U wins it again next season with Liverpool, Man City, and Tottenham all really coming into their own to officially make it a BIG 6. (and hopefully Newcastle sliding into 7th.)

Barcelona will of course win the Champions League again. it's going to be a while before someone can knock them off. best chance was when Arsenal had them knocked out in the 2nd leg before the inexplicable red to RVP.

The only games left for me to watch in this season are the League Two, League One, and Championship playoff finals. those 3 will be fun. Go Stevenage & Swansea City.

very thankful for the beautiful game. it makes the world a more beautiful place.

failure & success

(when i use the word "culture" below, i'm referring to any small culture that you create = in your home, your business, your organization, your church, etc...)

if you create a culture where failure is not an option then you will find yourself with a culture where innovation and even SUCCESS are also not options.

so, if you don't allow people to fail you won't allow them to ever succeed.
i am sure i stole that from someone famous and probably jacked up the wording, but chew on that for a few days.

Risk and pushing the edges and NOT BEING AFRAID TO FAIL is a key to innovation and success! so let it happen in your culture.

in fact - encourage it!

happiness (not what you might expect)

i'm enjoying an awesome sabbath today. it's a day earlier than i expected, but also needed. i am so thankful for the simple pleasure of sabbath.

it's been quiet and i'm enjoying the SIMPLE and ORDINARY pleasures of this ordinary day. i'm keenly aware today of a bigger Presence. a God who is here. in this moment.

a God that we don't even have a name for... just titles like "God."

and i'm thankful. thankful for life and all its simple pleasures.
thankful for this sabbath to slow down and simply be present. present with an even bigger Presence. it's almost (or is) mystical.

i am SO thankful. i'm enjoying. i'm happy.

"It's not how much you have that brings happiness; it's how much you appreciate however much or little you have."

- Brian McLaren

right on.

i am here. God is here. and whether you think that is "much" or "little" i am full of appreciation, reverence, awe, wonder, joy, and happiness.

AS

On Monday i wrote a few thoughts about "a new way of believing". you should read that HERE before reading below.

So if it's about a way of "being" in the world and not just "believing" things about the world, then Peter Rollins' approach "emphasizes the priority of love: not as something which stands opposed to knowledge of God, or even as simply more important than knowledge of God, but more radically still, as knowledge of God."

love = knowledge of God

WOW! did you catch that? real, true knowledge of God = LOVE. not facts, theology, knowing stuff, reading books, having all our beliefs lined up, etc...

but LOVE is as good as it gets when it comes to knowing God.

because think about it... love is the chief thing. without love i am nothing. Jesus summed it all up with love. and GOD IS LOVE!

what better way to know someone than to become what they are?

what you do IS what you believe! (sort of part 2)

before i continue my thoughts from yesterday's post (which you can read HERE) i decided to repost these thoughts i wrote and originally posted on February 24, 2009.This is a good post to fall in between yesterday's thoughts and tomorrow's post.


(You can read "sort of part 1" HERE.)
I think orthodoxy is important. I think what we believe is important. BUT I think just because we say we believe something doesn't mean we really believe it. Just because we write something in a paper doesn't mean we believe it. Just because we write a whole book about some doctrine doesn't mean we really believe it. Just because we preach something doesn't really mean we believe it is true!

Again, many Christians put too much stock in "doctrinal statements" and having the right theology. It's like if you can just "mentally assent" to this list of statements then it's all good and you're an orthodox Christian. I think it's important for sure, but we can say we believe that stuff all we want... but if we don't live it we don't TRULY believe it!

What you do IS what you believe!

and whatever you don't do & live... you don't truly believe, no matter how much you say you do and how many books you write or sermons you preach about it.
what i'm saying is, it's WORTHLESS. Just because you have a lot of knowledge about theology means jack to God. If we don't live like Jesus it's all meaningless. We may as well have a lot of knowledge about cars or medicine or wax... it's not like knowledge about one is any better than the other IF it doesn't change the way we LIVE!

For example = I can write on this blog all the time about how much I believe God wants us to love and care for the poor and orphans. I can put it in my doctrinal statement. I can quote all the Bible verses about God loving the poor and commanding us to love the poor (like "Those who shut their ears to the cry of the poor will also cry out and not be answered." = Proverbs 21:13 and "Those who give to the poor will lack nothing, but those who close their eyes to them receive many curses." = Proverbs 28:27 and 14:31 and 28:8 and 19:17 and 22:9 and 29:7 and on & on). I can sit and debate people for hours and convince them that God commands us to care for the poor. I could be really smart & know all the biblical teaching there is to know about this topic! BUT if I didn't love and care for the poor myself, not only would I be an idiot, but I would also prove that I DON'T REALLY BELIEVE GOD WANTS ME TO LOVE THE POOR! Because if I really believed it, I would DO it.

Because what you do IS what you believe!

In "do you think Jesus really cares if you..." which was "sort of part 1" (which you can read HERE) a lot of people brought James 2 into the discussion... and rightly so, although that specific passage never crossed my mind when I was writing that post. You can read their thoughts on that passage HERE.
Speaking of James 2, I do love the verse (19) in that passage that says "You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that." haha, and I'm sure that God is very impressed with their orthodoxy!

Anyway, all the talk in the comments about James 2 made me nostalgic. I remembered the guy I used to listen to way back in the day named Rich Mullins... anybody remember him? He was different. kind of a "ragamuffin." That guy wrote some good songs. I wish he were still here and still writing.
So, there was this song I used to love to listen to by him (based on James 2). It actually didn't even have any instruments in the song. Just voices. It was kind of a goofy song honestly. but I liked it. It was called Screen Door "Faith without works is like a song you can't sing; it's about as useless as a screen door on a submarine." = Straight up worthless.

(YOUR thoughts?)

a new WAY of believing

change.

we all have to agree that there are a lot of things that NEED to change in our world.

many people simply disagree on what those changes are or how they need to be made.

it's no different in the religious community... lots of disagreement when it comes to change.
but, like it or not things ARE changing. the postmodern era is ushering in plenty of change. there seems to be a lot of talk about what we believe possibly changing.

but, what if we don't need to believe new things (as opposed to old things), just new ways to believe?

Peter Rollins says in How (Not) to Speak of God = "Instead of following the Greek-influenced idea of orthodoxy as right belief... [we need to] rediscover the more Hebraic and mystical notion of the orthodox Christian as one who believes in the right way--that is, believing in a loving, sacrificial, and Christlike manner."

This reversal from 'right belief' to 'believing in the right way' is in no way like simply doing the opposite... as Rollins puts so awesomely "for the opposite of right belief is simply wrong belief."

and that would be just plain stupid. to believe the wrong thing. no one is suggesting that.

He goes on to write...
"Thus orthodoxy is no longer (mis)understood as the opposite of heresy but rather is understood as a term that signals a way of being in the world rather than a means of believing things about the world."

YES! i LOVE that! A WAY OF BEING IN THE WORLD. not just a means of believing things about the world. because at the end of the day, who really cares what you believe if it doesn't translate into a way of being.

i wrote a whole blog series on that idea and you can see 1 part of it HERE (titled what you do IS what you believe.

so the idea is that orthodoxy is not determined by believing something but by BEING something. because anyone can mentally assent to something. that's pretty easy.
being/becoming is so much more important. some guy named Jesus said that, not me.

later this week i want to explore this further and really see the root of all this.

they found a new planet

i enjoy reading GOOD magazine fairly regularly and recently i saw an article that caught my eye.

Scientists have found a new planet not all that far away. only like 20 light years & it appears it's the 1st outside of our solar system that can sustain life.

so... of course "we" (a.k.a. humans) are sending some messages over there in case there's anyone to receive them.

here were some of my favs:

Tamasin, Australia: "If you come to Earth look into: music, the beach, ice cream, hugs, family, love, dancing, cheese, trampolines, friendship, books and dreams. Just for a start."

Otto Koivuranta, Finland: "The lust for money will be the end of earth. I hope the same thing won't happen to you."

Sergio Camalich, Mexico: "What do you see when you look up into the sky? Do you feel small and lonely, just like us? From now on, I can assure you one thing: you are not alone. Be happy."

*this next one is possibly my #1 fav...
Dr. Okowon Falafalokoronko, Nigeria: "Sir. Let’s make a deal together. I have inheritance of $25m which I need help to release.Please send your interplanetary BSB a/c details. Thankyouplease."

Pi, Australia: "3.141592653589793238462643383279502884197169399375105820974"

Richard, Australia: "Please understand any messages from politicians (our leaders) do not represent the rest of us. This is an Earth tradition."

Maria, Australia: "Do gyms exist where you come from??? Is there such a thing as calorie counting and body image issues ? If not please come get me ASAP PPLLLEEAASSEE"

Admiral Ackbar, Yemen: "IT'S A TRAP!"

Erik K. Veland, Australia: "Apologies in advance for most of these messages. They are an example of our primitive humour."

which of these are your fav OR WHAT MESSAGE WOULD YOU SEND?

10%

"If you put 1/10 the energy of complaining into solving the problem you would be surprised how well it works out."

- Randy Pausch

now, i think that statement is one to live by. seriously.

usually when we complain we are not thinking logically. at all. it's 100% emotional. which causes us to focus on the problem and just complain.

which does no one ANY good.
at all.

in fact it does a lot of harm most of the time.
but we don't realize it because, if you remember, we're not thinking logically.

but what if you took just 10% of that "complaining energy" and reallocated it toward solving the problem at hand... i.e. - actually doing something about it?

wow. you could be surprised.

my goal is a little different though. i think i'm a cold turkey kind of guy. forget the 10%. i want to reallocate 100% of the energy from complaining to productively working to fix, solve, create solutions.

i hope i'm surprised at how well it works out.

words women use

(This was originally posted on September 15, 2009.)

Last month Crystal and I were on vacation and ate at Hyman's Seafood in Charleston. While eating my boiled peanuts & waiting on my 3 different fish I picked up this card & read it. It was called "Words Women Use."

Fine
This is the word women use to end an argument when they are right and you need to shut up.

5 Minutes
If she is getting dressed, this is half an hour. 5 minutes is only 5 minutes if you have just been given 5 more minutes to watch the game before helping around the house.

Nothing
This is the calm before the storm. This means "something," and you should be on your toes. Arguments that begin with "Nothing" usually end in "Fine".

Go Ahead
This is a dare, not permission. Don't do it. [She might even say "Go ahead, baby" to make the deception even greater!]

Loud Sigh
This is not actually a word, but a non-verbal statement often misunderstood by men. A "loud sigh" means she thinks you are an idiot and wonders why she is wasting her time standing here and arguing with you over "Nothing".

That's OK
This is one of the most dangerous statements that a woman can make to a man. "That's OK" means that she wants to think long and hard before deciding when you will pay for your mistake.

Thanks
A woman is thanking you. Don't question it or faint. Just say you're welcome.

So, WHICH OF THESE "WORDS" RING A BELL? ANY STORIES?
 

bad day at work? you GOTTA read this! (or even if you just want to laugh)

(This was originally written and posted to renown on August 19, 2009.)
 

I love my job. well, my main job anyway... I've got like 5 & really only like the 1 I'm passionate about! With that said I think I have something that will make your day if you hate your job OR if you had a bad day at work... OR if you are anyone else! Trust me... you want to read this for a good laugh.

"When you have had one of those take-this-job-and-shove-it-days, try this.
On your way home, stop at your pharmacy and go to the section where they have thermometers. You will need to purchase a rectal thermometer made by the Q-tip Company. Be sure that you get this brand. When you get home, lock your doors, draw the drapes, and disconnect the phone so you will not be disturbed during your therapy. Change into something comfortable, such as a sweat suit, and lie down on your bed. Open the package containing the thermometer, remove it, and carefully place it on the bedside table so that it will not become chipped or broken. Take the written material that accompanies the thermometer. As you read, notice in small print this statement: 'Every rectal thermometer made by Q-tip is personally tested.'
Close your eyes. Say out loud five times, 'Thank you, oh thank you, that I do not work in quality control at the Q-tip company."

The source for that is unknown, but it was tucked in the 1st chapter of a book I'm currently reading by Mark Buchanan called The Rest of God: Restoring Your Soul by Restoring Sabbath. (awesome book btw).

I hope that made you laugh! That's good stuff. That's how I look at everything. I'm just an eternal optimist. I exude positivity. Maybe it's just the way God wired me or maybe the way my dad brought me up - always reminding me to look at situations positively. who knows...
funny stuff though!

quotes of the week #42

my favorite quotes of the week to share with you - 42nd edition!

“Peace begins with a smile.” – Mother Teresa 

“When coercion of any kind is used in the interests of the Christian message, the message itself is corrupted.” – Lesslie Newbigin

“But our primary role as spiritual leaders isn’t making people see eye to eye. It’s making sure our eyes are focused on Jesus.” – Mark Batterson

“Sometimes our technological expertise has seemed to top our moral capacity to use this expertise for the good of humanity. We have a capacity to feed all and yet millions starve because we seem to lack the moral and political will to do what we know is right.” – Desmond Tutu

"Leaders goal: Don't deny a person who has faithfully served your vision the right to pursue a grand vision themselves!" - Brian Houston

"When you change the heart of a parent, you affect their child or teenager in a way that is lifelong." - Reggie Joiner

“If you have to explain a part of your ministry in a paragraph instead of a sentence then it has become too complicated.” – Chris Brown

"The devil is a better theologian than any of us and is a devil still." - A.W. Tozer

"God is not an American. He made the Americans." - my 4 year old son. #proudparent

- Stephen Wagoner

do you have any favorite quotes? 

trash bags

(stats are from 2009)

1 billion people don’t have access to clean water.
The average American uses 400-600 liters per day.

Every 7 seconds, somewhere in the world a child under age 5 dies of hunger. 
Americans throw away 14% of the food we purchase.

Almost 1 billion peeps live on less than $1 a day + another 2.5 billion live on less than $2 a day. ($1 being exactly what we could really buy in our culture for $1! Truly $1)

so, more than ½ the world lives on less than $2 a day, while the average American teenager spends nearly $150 a week!

40% of people in the world lack basic sanitation, while 49 million diapers are used and thrown away in America every day.

1.6 billion have no electricity, nearly 1 billion can’t read or sign their name, nearly 1 million children are denied basic education.

by far MOST peeps in world don’t own a car = 90% of people don't have one.

But 1/3 of American families own 3 cars!

1 in 7 children worldwide (158 million) has to go to work every day just to survive.

Americans spend more annually on trash bags than nearly half of the world does on all goods!

Guilt isn't helpful. helping is helpful.

who's telling you what's next?

This was a great thing for me to read as a leader and just for my personal productivity. so, chances are it's a great thing for some of you out there to read too.

It was on Seth Godin's blog the other day. the link to the article is HERE but it's below in it's full 3 sentence entirety:

The Agenda

The job of the CEO isn't to check things off the agenda. Her job is to set the agenda, to figure out what's next.

Now that more and more of us are supposed to be CEO of our own lives and careers, it might be time to rethink who's setting your agenda.

and BOOM. 

who's telling you your agenda? who's telling you what's next?

start thinking like a CEO. look into the future. what's next? for you? and for your organization?

nobody else is going to do that for you.

party people or religious people?

(This was originally posted on June 2, 2009.)

I just wanted to share with you the coolest sentence (pretty crazy run on sentence though) that I've heard all day. I heard it while mowing my grass tonight listening to Rob Bell's series = Jesus Wants to Save Christians. This was Part 7 (I've only got 1 more talk to go in the 8 part series).

It's from a series back in the day but now there is a book of the same title (Jesus Wants to Save Christians = buy it HERE).

Anyway, here's what he said...
"By the way, a general rule of thumb - If people who want nothing to do with God and are hostile to church and are considered kind of on the margins... if they love being around you; and very wound up religious people who think that they're right and everybody else is wrong find you deeply disturbing and offensive... then you're being like Jesus."

Pretty awesome. My prayer is for Jesus to help me live this way, help me live like He did! So that the "party people"... the people who the other church peeps don't like... wanna be around me.

That's our prayer at Ridge Church. That people who don't like church would come to our church and really like it... and that God would change their world! 

wise & risky & passionate & loving

this is a little private peek into my soul. i hope it's not too personal.

wise & risky & passionate & loving.
that was my prayer this morning.

kind of random like most conversations are and those 4 things just flowed together.

i need them.

we probably all need a double dose of each. so i'm asking for them. and i'm going to keep asking for them a lot.

i do have a crazy love for people. people i see, people i know, and people half a world away that i've never met. i love them. i want the best life possible for them.
but i'm praying that God would make me MORE loving. i want a love like God has for people.

but that love in me sparks this ridiculous vision God's birthed in me for the world. audacious and ridiculous. i'm passionate to see it happen. i'm passionate to be a part of this revolutionary vision. becoming more loving makes me become more passionate.

as far as i can tell, along with more passion comes more risk. so i want to be risky. i'm asking God to make me risky... and then even riskier. i am going to need to take some serious risks in my life time. This love and this passion in me is going to require risk.

but God, please give me Your wisdom to go along with being risky. i'm begging God to make me wise. i want to be risky and wise, not risky and stupid. there's a great balance in there somewhere and i hope i can find it. i really want to be wise like the proverbs talk about. not safe, but wise.

and that's my prayer. a peek into my soul.

God, make me wise & risky & passionate & loving.

thoughts on sabbath and furious rest

(This was originally posted on June 16, 2009.)
 
I love sabbath! (sabbath = basically a day of rest each week.) I have only truly understood it for the past 4 years or so. Louie Giglio and Rob Bell, 2 of my "mentors" helped me to "get" sabbath & dive into the awesome world of practicing it.
Thankfully those 2 men helped me understand and start practicing sabbath just a few months into my marriage. I think it was divine timing! (I had never done it before.)

[*Side note story warning] In fact, I can still vividly remember the exact time when I decided to practice sabbath rest each week. I was driving in my caddy listening to a Rob Bell talk back in '05 after we had just been married. I was in the drive thru line at the McDonald's near our house picking up dinner & his whole thing had been about sabbath & I was like "you know what... I'm gonna do it." One of the best decisions I ever made.

Basically 1 day a week I try to NOT do ANY work. (Like no work for my job). I just chill. I've done that for almost 4 years. Pretty much every Friday is my "sabbath." And it also doubles as date night with my wife, Crystal. I've written about that before HERE.

Because of a super busy schedule & some extra jobs I've taken, I haven't had a sabbath in about 2 weeks. UNTIL TODAY. a Tuesday. And WOW did I need it! (That was the 1st time I've ever gone this long without one since I started.) I can tell that life gets jacked up when I don't get a day of rest each week.
[Today I just went to a late breakfast with my wife @ Sunrise... my fav breakfast joint in Charlotte where I used to go with my dad once a week when I was a kid. Then we did a little grocery shopping. Had some fun at the house. Watched a chick flick she wanted to see & now we're going to sleep. Very spiritual day.]

When I was a little kid I thought sabbath was just a Sunday thing & we weren't supposed to mow the grass or God might strike us dead with a lightning bolt. haha... but the cool part is that God started sabbath as a favor to us.

**Take the whole "God side" out of it even... it's just common sense. You will simply work better, feel better, be happier, function better, be nicer, and enjoy life more! Seriously, try it for like 4 weeks in a row. You will be amazed. You probably won't stop.

Here's some things Louie helped me understand about sabbath:
(the parts below in "quotes" are from him...)
Sabbath is “a day to remember that He is God and we are not. Without Sabbath, we forget who we are and lose sight of who He is.” That's really the heart of it.
I committed to NOT let myself “get to the place where I truly believe the outcome of the story fully depends on me.” Because that would be laughable.

*I don't know about you, but my job NEVER ends. I could work 24/7. Literally ALL the time... and there would still be more to do. I can't leave my work at the office. So when it comes to this sabbath thing for me - there's so much pressure to work on Sabbath because there's SO MUCH to do!

BUT, Louie taught me that sabbath IS RESTING in knowing that "Everything doesn’t hinge on me. If I stop doing my part, the whole world will not fall apart. I am not in control. God made the whole world in six days without any input from me, or my assistance. God doesn’t need me to accomplish His work. I am little. God is huge. I trust Him.” I love it! Sabbath is me getting to heap glory on God through proving/showing my trust in His power & sovereignty.

*When I wake up everyday (after I stumble out of bed) I seriously try to remind myself that I’ve been invited “into an already-in-progress Story in which God was doing just fine long before my little feet ever hit the floor.”
- “Sabbath happens anywhere and everywhere we let go of the controls and lay the cares of our lives at His feet." = that's a pretty simple definition for you.
[most of those quotes are from Louie's pimp book i am not but i know I AM which you can click on to the right & buy it.]

Basically we are all (myself included) arrogant. I guess it can only be our own pride that tricks us into thinking that what happens is pretty much all up to ME. How freaking arrogant is that!??? but we totally act that way don't we!? "I can't take a day off because there's TOO MUCH TO DO!" haha... there's always gonna be too much to do, SO you may as well have a nice relaxing day of rest. :)

Sabbath. It's furious rest. It's a very spiritual thing. And I refuse to trade it for any amount of $ or extra production.