Drew Brees Shares His Testimony

Yesterday’s win is a day I will never forget….and I pray that Drew’s platform will be even bigger to share his testimony and live it out for the world to see.  A class-act, and great role model.

Breathe In & Smile Out,

Chris

Howl Dat

Even the animal kingdom is full of Who Dats!!!

Breathe In & Who Dat Out,

Chris

The Struggle and The Purpose

Purpose comes in many shapes and sizes.  When it’s distorted it becomes a struggle.  When the purpose dies but the effort continues, it ends with struggle.  If the purpose is defined by environment and circumstances then it will inevitably end in struggle.

The problem with all of these scenarios is the struggle.  Our purpose should be fueled by passion.  It should frame our efforts.  It should be the motivation behind our days.  That’s not to say resistance won’t come…but a passion filled purpose fights resistance with persistence.

I had this revelation as I started to analyze my blog…what was the real purpose for me…because it was feeling like a struggle.  It’s an extension of me, my life, my passions, my world.  Which often starts like this:

It’s not about being something I’m not or somebody I’m not…it starts from the heart and usually ends in a journal.  I love the picture of my journal page with the 2010 plans…because my kids joined me to help put their own piece of art in the page.  It reminds me of how important relationships are…how important family is…and how important it is to include that in the journey.

What are you struggling with?  What are your passions…what is your purpose?  Do 5 things this week to remove the struggle and replace the energy with pursuing your purpose.

Breathe In & Smile Out,

Chris

The Voice New Testament Bible

I recently joined the blog team at Thomas Nelson, now I’m an official book sneezer This is my debut blog review of their new bible translation called The Voice.  It’s a fresh look at the new testament through the Liberating King, Jesus Christ, and His Church.  The unique approach that really sets this translation apart from others is the collaboration between scholars, pastors, writers, musicians, poets, and other artists.  They use a combination of italics and outlined boxes to give relative context to the passages while using a screenplay format to emphasize a fresh expression of a timeless narrative.

There are so many passages in this Bible that are worth mentioning.  They take a timeless truth, the familiar words, and paint a new picture.  Here is one of my favorite passages and example of this uniqueness:

Through this man we all receive gifts of grace beyond our imagination. He is the Voice of God.  You see, Moses gave us rules to live by, but Jesus, the Liberating King, offered the gifts of grace and truth which make life worth living.  God, unseen until now, is revealed in the Voice, God’s only Son, straight from the Father’s heart. – John 1:16-18

The contributors to this Bible do a really good job of  taking the narratives to a place of meaning and experience where it touches the soul in a new way.  They take the greatest story ever told and make a real storytelling experience through the new testament.  It’s the most creative approach to a translation I’ve seen since Peterson’s “The Message.”

If you are looking for a new testament Bible that is creative, stimulating, transforming, faithful to the original manuscripts, and very readable then The Voice won’t disappoint you.  Click here to get a copy from Thomas Nelson.

Breathe In & Smile Out,

Chris

Top 10 Lessons Learned This Week

It was an action packed week…shot past like a bullet…and here I am on the tail end sitting in front of the grill recalling the top 10 lessons learned this week…in no particular order:

10. I can take a shower and get a 5 year old ready for school in 15 minutes.

9. The day I think I have planned can change on a dime…make sure I have enough margin to move.

8. When your neck is on the line, double check at least three times from two different paths.

7. Chips and salsa can be lunch and dinner.

6. Great music will rise to the top with a little push.

5. A 5 year old can take a shower by themself, but may not be clean when they get out.

4. Relationships are the most important part of life, don’t take them for granted or leave them starving.

3. People want to be loved not reached.

2. Let people do what they’re good at, don’t get in the way, and watch them win.

1. Love is a noun, adjective, verb, and adverb…we need to live like that.

Breathe In & Smile Out,
Chris

A Ragamuffin Soul named Carlos

I love the heart of Carlos Whittaker.  He is the real deal….never contrived or posed…always authentic…and completely sold out for God.  There is a new generation of worshipers coming up and I believe Los has created soundtrack for it with his new EP and upcoming LP.  Check out his story here:

Working with guys like Los is the fun part of this gig at Integrity Music.  Doing things like this 30 Day Give-Away make this career a calling.  Seeing Los hit number 1 on iTunes Christian Album Charts on his first day in the store makes me jump and shout!

God is touching lives through faithful servants like Los…and I thank Him often for letting me be a part of the team.  I work with some of the smartest guys in the business…and on days like this we celebrate a great team effort and victory!

Breathe In & Smile Out,

Chris

Today is The Day … Yesterday

Look who stopped by Joel’s little church in Houston yesterday…

Breathe In & Rock Out,

Chris

Hope, Encouragement, Power & Authority

If I could just use 4 words to describe the holy word of God, it would be Hope, Encouragement, Power and Authority. That’s the message…that is what I run to…that is what I stand on.

“I appeal to you, dear brothers and sisters, by the authority of our Lord Jesus Christ, to live in harmony with each other. Let there be no divisions in the church. Rather, be of one mind, united in thought and purpose.”  ~ 1 Corinthians 1:10

“But to those called by God to salvation, both Jews and Gentiles, Christ is the power of God and the wisdom of God. This foolish plan of God is wiser than the wisest of human plans, and God’s weakness is stronger than the greatest of human strength.” ~ 1 Corinthians 1:24-25

The last thing God told Moses before he left the top of Mt. Sinai were these instructions on the Sabbath.

“You have six days each week for your ordinary work, but the seventh day must be a Sabbath day of complete rest, a holy day dedicated to the Lord. Anyone who works on the Sabbath must be put to death.” ~Exodus 31:15

The Sabbath is an important par of our covenant with God.  For a day dedicated to this will bring Hope, Encouragement, Power & Authority.  As we live that out, wisdom comes.  God will take the ordinary and make it extraordinary.  He takes the impossible and makes the possible.  He takes the faithful hearts and blesses the generations with Hope, Encouragement, Power & Authority.

What 4 words would you use to describe the holy word of God? Are you living in those words today?

Breathe In & Smile Out,

Chris

The Cry, The Voice, The Conversation

I was moved by the conversation that Jesus has with a Cannanite woman in Matthew 15.  It’s one of those scenes where all the disciples are around as it unfolds.  There is an awkward few moments there…where the disciples speak up to prompt Jesus to do something…and in  a matter of 15 minutes or so the conversation goes from a cry to silence to a voice to conversation to pleading to faith and healing.

The woman starts with a cry out to Jesus for healing for her demon possesed daughter.  To which Jesus remains silent.  That is a place where we all tend to get uncomfortable and impatient.  She continues to cry out, so much the discuples start to ask Jesus to say something!

He simply responds with an answer that is not what the mother is looking for.  Jesus says he is her to tend to His sheep.  A legitimate answer that som  many would just walk away from thinking, “okay, He spoke…it’s not His will…” Not this mama, she is persistent.

As the conversation continues Jesus gets a bit more direct when He says, “why would the master waste the children’s bread to feed dogs.”  Wow, that’s ta slap in the face! Basically He said you’re not in the family, why would I waste my bread on you….a dog!

The mother comes back quickly with a response that stopped Jesus in His tracks.  She says, “even dogs eat crumbs from the master’s table.”  He recognizes her for her great faith and immediately heals the daughter.

My big take away is that God wants us to go deep in our prayer/conversation with Him.  He wants us to question, provoke thought, and be persistent.  He wants us to never give up because through those reald and deep conversations our faith can be brought to a place where He wants us to go!

As was the case with Abraham, Job, Moses, David, and the list goes on.  He wants u to engage beyond a comfortably safe conversation.  He’s our father, it’s okay!  There may be a miracle waiting on the other side.

Breathe In & Smile Out,

Chris

OK Go / EMI Lawsuit / This Too Shall Pass

This business of music is a bit crazy these days….and it’s getting even crazier as some of the big labels take a stab at some of the best marketing channels.  OK Go unpacks this whole story and inserts great perspective here

The irony of the whole thing…EMI signs a band called OK GO.  Then they say OK NO you can’t have embed code on your YouTube video.  OK GO says alright “This Too Shall Pass” will go up on Vimeo where embed code is available.  EMI responds with OK NO, This Too Shall NOT Pass…we’ll sue Vimeo.  Strategic thinking has left the building….now 4 million views will be spread out across 40 diff channels….brilliant!

OK GO, here it is…enjoy

Breathe In & Smile Out,

Chris