Do you ever wonder if personal peace is even possible in today’s world? For the next few minutes let’s stop, breathe and take a sweet little sip of peace. There’s something about coffee that takes me back. Something about it that helps me to stop and enjoy the moment. I don’t drink enough coffee to get addicted, but I do look forward to my morning coffee every day. I make it the night before and have it set so it comes on early and it’s nice and hot when we wake up. There’s just something about it. Coffee with friends is a huge part of my life. I love going into coffee shops and smelling what’s going on and even the noise of the coffee shop is pleasant for me. When I was worship pastor, I set up most of my meetings in coffee shops. I’ve been going to northern Minnesota every year for about 34 years fishing with my son and some friends. It’s a small group of about four of us. We stay in a very simple resort in a town called Orr Minnesota, a town of about 175 people. The north side of town is about a minute from the south side of town, meaning it’s pretty small. We fish on a lake called Pelican Lake, which is a huge lake. And the fishing is incredible. There’s this train. The train used to be a huge annoyance as we would get up there and the train would run through anywhere from 10 to probably 15 times a day all through the night and all through the day. The place we stay at is across the bay so as the crow flies probably a little over half a mile. The train would be very loud and you could hear it coming for what feels like miles away. It used to be very very frustrating. Somewhere along the way, my perspective changed. Now, I so look forward to hearing that train all through the night and all through the day. It’s a peaceful sound from a distance and echoes through those northern woods. It’s just part of the overall experience up there. It really is incredible. And now when I hear a train anywhere else, it takes me back to northern Minnesota. Each morning we wake up in our very primitive cabin and head on over to the TPatton Café for coffee and breakfast. I suppose we are considered regulars because we are there every year and sometimes twice a year. We know the owner, Tara, very well. She and her staff are wonderful people that know how to take care of their customers. They have a simple menu in a beautiful unique setting. The restaurant is an old train depot and when you walk in you take a few steps down to the dining area. The food is cooked upstairs. There’s about 15 to 18 steps to get upstairs so the servers really get a work out!&nbsp; The real workout is When the delivery truck comes and he has to make about eight trips with his two wheel dolly loaded up with Food going up the steps. One of the simplest things they serve is coffee. It’s not really a special kind of coffee. Nothing you would find in a coffee shop per se. Coffee shops as I said earlier, are a big deal for me and I have to show much restraint to not run into a coffee shop every day and buy coffee. But there’s something about coffee in northern Minnesota at T Patton Café.&nbsp; Believe it or not I still remember the first cup of coffee that I had there. And it’s something that I look forward to every year as we get ready to go. I even start thinking about this at the beginning of the year even though the trip happens around Memorial Day for a week. I’m sure it has something to do with getting away from the stress of the city life and enjoying the wild north of Minnesota with great friends over a cup of coffee (or 6 cups). I have a friend in Nashville and he and I discuss coffee and even though we can’t have a cup of coffee in the same room, we slow down and just chat as we sip coffee together sometimes, separately. Sometimes we were just chat and cut up. Other times we’ll talk about life’s deep struggles together. One day, the conversation was particularly pain filled. As we wrapped things up, I felt inspired,...

May Your Coffee Taste Much Sweeter-Ep 003

Does a noisy mind drive you crazy? I know I can definitely relate to that! In this week’s episode, I’ll be sharing a song that addresses the noise in our lives and minds as well as some tips that have helped me a lot in this area. Maybe they could help change things for you as well!    Life, with all its highs and lows, is the best inspiration that I have found for writing songs and it seems there’s always something to write about. I think many songwriters would say similar things. You’ll find that most, if not all, of the songs of Mark Alewine Music are simply a piece of someone’s story and how God and His truth figure into it. Of course some songs come out my personal life if I’m going through a particular situation whether good or bad. Some come from other peoples lives. I love to have conversations with people and hear their stories and then sit down and write about it. Doesn’t matter who it is. Here’s how one of the songs came about. I was on the worship team one Sunday morning. We got done with rehearsal and there were 8 or 9 of us sitting around a table waiting for church to start. Struggles were definitely the prevailing topic of conversation that day. I was listening intently and feeling what each person was going through. The phrase “noise of life” came up in conversation. Others around the table nodded their heads. I pulled out my phone and started writing as they were talking. The “noise” they talked about boiled down to stuff like the distractions and demands of life that kept them so busy and preoccupied; that kept them from feeling close to God or maybe their family. Unexpected, hard news was another thing they talked about, maybe in their own life but also disturbing stuff heard continually on the news. We prayed for each other and encouraged each other. Worship was a bit sweeter that day as a result of this “life” connection we’d had around the table. Cindy and I went camping right after church. The next morning, I was reminded about the “noise” conversation when I&nbsp; realized how “noisy” the birds were around us. We started talking about the “noise” of life, what were some of the causes in our own lives and what could we do about it.&nbsp; I shared with her the rough draft of the song idea I had started on my phone around that table on Sunday and we started working it into a song which would be titled, “You Calm the Noise”. I had my guitar with me and started messing around finding a melody for it in the midst of all the nature sounds. Along with the song came something else. As we brainstormed, so many things came to mind that had been either triggers or solutions for us in the past so we created a list of them, a “noise checklist” of sorts. We were encouraged to realize that there’s quite a bit we can do to eliminate the “noise” going on in our heads if given some thought, prayer and intentionality. I want to highlight three of those for you and give you a free download of the entire list if you’re interested. The first question on the checklist is, “As far as it’s up to me, are there any broken relationships in my life?” Broken relationships can take up much of our thoughts and perhaps even keeping us awake at night which makes us more vulnerable to the noise of life in general. Since you’re human, I’m pretty sure you’ve experienced this. Sometimes vain imaginations are to blame. These are nebulous things that create riffs between people. Here’s how it plays out with me… I think or perceive that someone is mad at me and, without talking to them, I allow that to keep our relationship at a distance. I even go to bed at night thinking, “why is this person mad at me?” Worry comes into play, sleep becomes difficult, functioning at work or even functioning at home can be difficult because of I’m always thinking about that broken relationship. I need to have an intentional conversation with that person that goes something like...

How to Quiet the Noise of Life-007

This week’s story is meant to help you anticipate the sweetness of life if you just keep hanging in there, giving God time and space to work in your life and relationships. I’ll also introduce you to my wife, Cindy, and the song she inspired called, My Lady. First let’s start with guitars. I own 2 Taylor guitars. The thing about owning a really nice guitar is after you’ve had them for some time, they seem to get sweeter and sweeter and their sound gets warmer, richer and more inviting. This is also true of other instruments. &nbsp;I’ve had one of my Taylor guitars for about 22 years now. I absolutely love it.&nbsp; And the sound has gotten more incredible as the years go by. That’s been the way it has been with me and Cindy. As the years go by, she just gets sweeter and sweeter. And I’m blown away to think that I have been married to this incredible woman for going on 41 years this June. As I share the story of today’s featured song, My Lady, I hope you’ll be inspired to take a different look at your life, your spouse (if you have one) and what sweetness God has for you as you keep on growing. Cindy and I got married when we were 19 and 21 years old. Needless to say, we both were quite immature and sometimes fought over very silly things. Thankfully we both loved Jesus and had great peer pressure to work things out. It wasn’t long before we had kids, grown up jobs and big life decisions. We didn’t know what we didn’t know - which was - that we both had hurts and hang-ups that impacted our relationship and that would knock us down in the near future. We loved each other as best we knew how and continued to grow little by little. Even as believers who loved God, we experienced disappointments, betrayals, heartbreaks, mental and physical breakdowns, financial challenges, trouble with kids, uncertainties with parents and so many “normal” but horrible things that seemed to push us apart but pull us together all at the same time. We loved each other as best we knew how and continued to grow a little at a time. I’ve always appreciated Cindy and her support but one night, while sitting at her father’s deathbed, I had a moment of amazing clarity and sweetness which inspired the song, My Lady. She left the room to take a break for a few minutes. As I watched her, I was suddenly overwhelmed with gratitude for her as my wife and for her selfless acts of kindness for her dad and for me and for anybody she comes in contact with. Words came to me very very quickly so I started to talk-texting as fast as I could. There was no melody yet, just words. It was as if the years flashed before me and these words were the culmination of years of struggle and growth together, sweeter than anything we’d experienced so far in our marriage. Aside from my relationship with Jesus, she is truly the most remarkable relationship that I have ever had in my life! I’m so so grateful. There’s nothing she wouldn’t do for me and honestly, there’s nothing I wouldn’t do for her. We are doing something together now that we did NOT do early on in marriage and I want to share it with you so you don’t miss out. We make the time virtually every morning just to talk about what God is doing in our lives and to pray together for the day. That has been one of the most impacting things that we have ever done. This has brought us even closer and closer together. This next part is no judgment on anybody else, no condemnation whatsoever. I realize that there are many people, many couples out there, that don’t pray together on a regular basis. I realize it may feel awkward. I would say just start with a quick prayer in the morning and then build on that. This is something that you will never regret and you’ll be surprised at how much you grow together as a couple. Remember that “music makes stuff stick”! So guys, use songs like My Lady to help you appreciate your wife, to soften your heart towards her. And gals, use songs...

Introducing "My Lady"-004

Who wants to work for the devil? I recently discovered I was helping him more than I realized. Today’s podcast is about a song that came out of that discovery as well as some helpful tips for winning our battles.  &gt;&gt;&gt; &gt;&gt;&gt;  “I’m so stupid!”, “What a dummy!”, “Here I go again!”, “I’m an idiot!” Any of this sound familiar? We give ourselves permission to berate ourselves with our horrible words. Somehow, we feel like that’s OK when we’re talking about ourselves, but we would never use that kind of language with our spouse or our children or our friends. Or at least we shouldn’t. So why do you think that is? Why do we give ourselves permission to beat ourselves up? Why is that OK? My wife Cindy and I have an agreement. When we hear the other one beating themselves up with words, we intervene, and we will say things like “Don’t you talk to my wife like that” or “Don’t you talk to my husband like that”. It’s just a reminder to us to give ourselves some grace, just like we would and should with others. A while back, Cindy and I sat on the back porch having coffee together and talking. We got on the topic of self-talk and how easy it is to beat ourselves up. The conversation later found its way into the studio into a song titled, “The Good Fight”. Verse one of the song says, What do I hear myself saying and why do I say it so much So many times I catch myself believing that lie How long has this been going on Dare I disagree It keeps coming back even if I try But here’s what I will believe Welcome to “the good fight”. That doesn’t sound very “good”, does it? Our enemy, the devil, likes to attack us using lies, accusations, and condemnation. These assaults can cripple us or even take us out of the fight. If we don’t recognize these tactics, we can fall into agreement with them and beat our own selves up. The devil must just sit back and laugh at us when we do. In essence we are doing HIS destructive work in our lives. Do you know what I’m talking about? I sure understand because I have been so guilty of this, but I am changing. Cindy helps me catch myself and that’s been huge! The good news, though, is we can be very effective in winning these battles is we are equipped and aware. The fight is worthwhile and good, and victory is sweet! The Bible says if we have received Jesus as our Savior that we are children of God! I wonder if we know how powerful that really is. You and I belong to Jesus. We are not trash or stupid or dumb, nor are we idiots. Life is a daily battle. It’s a battle for our mind and our hearts and our beliefs. If you have kids living in your home, the battle is even greater today than it’s ever been. So what are we teaching each other, our children, our family, our friends by the language that we use on ourselves? I think the first thing we must do is understand what God says about all this. The Bible helps us understand the history of the battle, who our enemy is and God’s overwhelming provision for us. It assures us that the war is not going to end well for Satan and his followers. Satan knows it as well. He’s not stupid by any means. So, he tries to drag us down to his level. He knows he can’t drag you and me to hell if we are children of God, but he can take us out of any fight if we give him a chance. Paul wrote in Ephesians 1:3, “God has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in heavenly places with Christ”. Jesus has given us His authority and the keys of the Kingdom of God. The devil knows what we are capable of; he knows what God can do in us and through us. So that’s why he’s 100% committed to making sure that we never reach that potential. Because I love Jesus, I look for ways to say the name “Jesus” in a conversation, especially with strangers. I’ll give you some examples. Most people who know me know that I love the game of golf. I usually play golf very early in the morning around 6 so I can...

Warrior-009

Each test of life prepares us for the next. And failure is only failure if we don’t learn from it. With that in mind, would you join me to revisit a global test of faith, and more importantly, reclaim spiritual ground and then reload for the next test of faith. Stick around to the end of the podcast to find out about a couple gifts for you.    REVISIT What is faith? Simple definition, trust and confidence in something or someone. Of course we are talking about faith in God, who He is and what He says. Would you agree that fear is not necessarily the lack of faith but definitely the enemy of faith? Faith and fear fight for our heart’s focus, our sanity, and our influence. Fear is basically focusing on circumstances rather than God. Faith is focusing on God in spite of circumstances. The Bible talks a lot about fear, the testing of our faith and the power of faith. And it’s possible to feel fear but still act in faith despite the feelings of fear. Good news is God desires for us to win this battle and gives us what we need to do so! One of the most noteable battles of faith and fear came under the label of Covid19. Many of my friends, myself included, found ourselves facing fear in a brand new way. We were already weary and agitated from the election chaos when this new test appeared. Think about where you were when you first heard about it. I was waiting for surgery when I heard about the first case in the United States. And I remember listening to news and all they could talk about was how terrible this virus was and that it was going to kill just about everybody it seemed. At the time, Cindy and I were recovering from something unfamiliar and wondered later if that wasn’t Covid19. Then things started shutting down and I couldn’t believe it. Colleges, businesses, schools, sports, churches. New ways of meeting and doing business evolved but isolation, loneliness and depression were huge side effects. Another surreal thing was the silence. Cindy and I live under some of the flight paths of the Minneapolis/St Paul airport. It was eerily quiet. Seemed no one was traveling anywhere. Rush-hour didn’t even exist. Here in Minneapolis, you could travel the freeways at any time of day or night and not have any traffic to speak of. Kinda felt like the rapture had happened. People were afraid to go out of their homes and go shopping. Do you remember? Many of the men I run with were wrestling with anxiety and fear. Seeing how it gripped them shook me to the core. I was both surprised at their reactions but also tempted to join in. RECLAIM I have a dear friend and we would have discussions and he would say things like, “my” anxiety is at a higher level. Or “my” anxiety is flaring up. The word “my” gives ownership to something. I began to recognize the impact of ownership in these statements. When you own something like anxiety and call it yours, it’s very very difficult to give it up. But when you see anxiety for what it is, something that plagues you, don’t own it. Wow what powerful lesson for me, for him, for us all! Let’s recognize it, confess it and pray against it. That has been one of the biggest helps for me. Don’t own things you don’t want. Don’t own things that are not from God! It’s a new mindset for sure but I love it! I remember having discussions with several of my friends about what a decent response would be to the Covid pandemic, what God would say about it. Thoughts were really all over the map. I did NOT want to live in fear and knew I needed to take action! I believe God was working in my heart a simple response. Inspired, I went into the studio, grabbed my guitar and wrote Nothin’ Changes That. I suppose this was my declaration, my stance, putting Jesus over all of this, over the fear and the divisiveness. You are life, nothing changes that You are peace, nothing changes that&nbsp; You are hope, nothing changes that You are Lord, nothing changes that I find panic is one of the...

Revisit, Reclaim, Reload-006

Need a boost today? God-stories do that for me. Today’s episode will hopefully spark expectancy and awareness of Jesus meeting up with you and encourage you to share your God-story with others.    I’ve admired Zach Williams since he came onto the scene several years back. I like the realness that he shows and, the rawness of his music is this something that I relate to so well. I’ve never met Zach, but he feels like a guy that I’ve known all my life. He’s got an incredible testimony of how God showed up at just the right time and helped him recover from drugs and alcohol. It’s amazing the transformation that has taken place and so encouraging, especially if you or someone you love has ever faced similar struggles. You can watch his story on GGSSPodcast.com. Remembering and recognizing are both very important if we want to grow in our relationship with God! Zach sings a song with Dolly Parton called “There Was Jesus”.&nbsp; This song means so much to me personally and that’s why it was the first cover song that I recorded. You can hear it on the streaming platforms and at , Episode 8. It’s a powerful song about recognizing Jesus at every twist and turn of our lives; the Jesus who is willing and waiting to help if we will just take His outstretched hand. I think all of us, if we really thought about it, could say this song, There was Jesus, was written specifically about them. That’s what I love about this song. It’s very relatable. So what’s your “There was Jesus” moment? Maybe&nbsp; you can think of a bunch of them. That’s great! When you and I share them with each other, expectancy and faith build so we can experience more of the fullness of life that God desires for us. I’ve had many of those moments and I want to have many, many more! If you’re game, I’ll share a couple of them with you today and I’d love to hear your stories as well! The first story is about the crazy way Jesus got through my thick head and totally changed my life. I traveled all over the world when my dad was in the Air Force for 20 years. The Air Force was our life and traveling was just something that we did. It was a good life for us and my dad loved serving in the military. He truly loved his country, and my dad truly loved his family. But traveling the world as a young kid also has some challenges that were very difficult to overcome. We moved around quite a bit. Sometimes we didn’t move super far from where we were living but it still meant yet another new school district. We moved to Japan when I was 6 weeks old and I spent the first four or five years of my life there. It was all I knew and I remember that I loved it. When we came back to the states, it was a very very difficult transition for me, even as a five-year-old.&nbsp; No joke, the first time I saw snow, I thought rice falling from the sky! And then we started moving around here in the states and I was always the new kid in school. Seven or eight different schools before high school. I’m not really whining; I’m just stating fact. Being the new kid had its drawbacks. My dad retired when I went into the ninth grade and we moved back to Georgia which is where we are all from. I was able to go to high school all in one school rather than traveling around every two or three years. I grew up in the church but had become a little indifferent to Christianity. I was not a God-hater, but I just didn’t care anything about God. I suppose deep down I didn’t know the consequences of a life without Jesus if I died. There was a youth revival that happened in the southeast back in the 70s and it’s swept through the Southeast in a most amazing way. It truly was Jesus showing up and people realizing it. Many of my friends got saved in high school and many of those friends were football players. One of these guys in particular would always tell me he loved me, which I thought was strange. But I had the upmost respect for this friend of mine. I looked up...

"There Was Jesus" Backstory-008

Have you ever been baited into an argument and you end up saying the wrong thing? Or perhaps you were the “baiter” saying the right thing but in the wrong way? Me too! Today I’ll share some tips I’ve learned in this area and I invite you to share your best tips with me!   &nbsp;  Whether it’s saying something destructive in the heat of an argument or saying the right thing but in the wrong way, we have to recognize “the bait”.&nbsp; We also need a plan to use God’s power to speak words that are fruit rather than poison like Proverbs 18:21 says so well:&nbsp;“Words kill, words give life; they’re either poison or fruit – you choose.” Our choice of words is so important for the sake of others but also for our own sake and for the sake of the Kingdom. I’ve been in Christian ministry full-time and part-time for over 40 years and I have seen the consequences of taking the bait in my life and others again and again and again. It happens to everybody. We get caught up&nbsp; making sure that people know exactly where we stand rather than being patient and helping them want to listen to us because we show them love, respect and kindness. It’s on the phone or face-to-face or even worse, on social media! The first tip is BE WISE ON SOCIAL MEDIA!!!!! It’s really tough to win an argument on there.&nbsp; Basically what we have are very loud voices screaming their opinions and hurling insults at others based on their opinions. It’s sad, it happens in the Christian world as well. I’m not sure how this benefits the kingdom. I think we can say with confidence that, really, it doesn’t. One particular friend of mine has been the inspiration for a few of my songs. He’s part of the music industry and lives in Nashville.&nbsp; He was experiencing scathing fallout from “taking the bait” on social media. The impact on him personally, emotionally and professionally was significant as well as needless.&nbsp;He wanted to get my feedback on his next steps. I pondered it for a little bit because deep down, I believed his opinion was valid, even correct and helpful, but I was trying to think of the possible consequences of further “conversation” aka argument. And as I started thinking about it a little bit more, it really didn’t have a lot of value because I think ultimately nobody wanted their mind changed. They only wanted the other person’s mind changed. In other words, “my way is the right way and your way is the wrong way, and that’s all there is to it.” As we discussed this a bit further, the words “don’t take the bait!” came out of my mouth,”. The power of these words stuck in my mind. And yes, a song was born. Around that same time, conversations were taking place with another friend on the verge of losing their marriage because of a war of words that got out of hand.&nbsp;Because their conversation made its way to friends on social media, a number of their friendships were destroyed as well. I think more times than not we are baited into an argument. Sometimes we are the baiter! Maybe we even baited someone else into an argument feeling that it was justified or righteous even. We’ve all seen families divided, really divided. Divided in such a way that a son or a daughter won’t even speak to their parents or the parents won’t speak to their children because they refused (or forgot) to think!; to think through their choice of words and the possible outcomes. That’s another basic but often overlooked tip, THINK it through; what will the benefit or consequences be of the words I choose to speak. Do I really want THAT outcome? Why is this important? Because the Bible says we will be held accountable for the words we speak. Even if we’re willing to apologize later for our poor reactions, is that really how we want to represent? Why not choose to think and respond rather than unthinkingly react. Our brains are super-computers. We can think through the scenarios and pretty well...

Don't Take the Bait

Do you ever find yourself begging God for something? Why is that? And how can you and I overcome this mentality? &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;    A WRONG PICTURE OF GOD Do you ever find yourself begging God for something? That could be begging for anything really. It could be begging for this new job, or it could be begging for healing for ourselves or somebody that we love, or could be begging for money because we’re broke. It could be anything really. During a time of incredible stress, I found myself begging God to hear me, begging him to be with me, even begging him to love me. Yes, begging God, the one who created me and everyone else, begging him to take care of me. Begging as if he were some kind of sick being that looked at me and said “Beg&nbsp; me a little bit more. You’re almost there but not quite.” When I recognized this horribly wrong image of God underneath my prayer, I had to stop and get myself re-aligned with truth! What a difference that made! Out of that experience came the words of the song I wrote called, This Much I Know. WHAT IS AN ACCURATE PICTURE OF GOD’S HEART TOWARD US? Jesus came to show us the Father and had quite a bit to say about His heart towards us. In Matthew 7:7-11 Jesus says, “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.&nbsp;For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened.”&nbsp; Then He says, “or what man is there among you who, when his son asks for a loaf, will give him a stone?&nbsp;Or if he asks for a fish, he will not give him a snake, will he?&nbsp;If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give what is good to those who ask Him?” He also said in John 16:23–24 in the Message version, “This is what I want you to do. Ask the Father for whatever it is in keeping with the things I’ve revealed to you. Ask in my name, according to my will, and He’ll most certainly give it to you. Your joy will be a river overflowing its banks.“ Now that’s an amazing promise! Yes, God is the Most High and is to be revered. At the same time, He’s our loving, heavenly Father who delights in us, loves us enough to correct us and who welcomes us to be at home with Him. Think about the kids in your neighborhood. If they came barging through your front door, opened your fridge, made some sandwiches then sat down on the couch in your den, that would be weird, right! However, your own kids are most welcome to do just that!&nbsp; Why? Because they are your kids. There’s a different relationship there. They are at home with you, and you are at home with them. As redeemed children of God, that’s like it is with us and the Father. Yes, we always need to show Him respect and honor Him but also know that He wants us to be at home with Him and He with us. NOT A GENIE IN THE BOTTLE This relationship is not to be confused with the genie in the bottle mentality. You rub the lantern until the genie pops out and then the genie gives you three wishes. And I think sometimes I have been guilty of the genie mentality. But remember, the verse in John 16 says, “Ask in My name, according to My will.” HOW DO WE KNOW WHAT TO ASK? So how do we know what His will is? I think to know that, we must spend time with Him, learn more about Him through his word. What do you think that looks like? I think that might look like a dedicated time of the day to spend some time praising, reading the word of God and praying. Dedicated. Something specific and set aside. Often times, we wake up in the morning and we’re already running late, and we have to hit the shower and perhaps get the kids up and get them fed and off to school And then we have to hit the traffic and try to reach the office or wherever it is that you’re working usually, barely on time. You get through the day, and you head home exhausted, and you might...

No Begging Required-012

“At the end of your rope” can be a very scary place to be. However, it can also be a place of hope and peace and growth. Let’s talk about that.      THANKSGIVING TRADITION It was Thanksgiving time and we were getting ready to have the whole family over at our house. Most of them live in the Twin Cities, 12 total. This is something that we do every year. I don’t know what food your family likes to serve at your Thanksgiving celebration, but several years ago we decided to do something a little different for ours. We decided to do a Thanksgiving breakfast. So we would lay out a traditional southern breakfast spread for everybody just to give them something a little different rather than having to eat two big turkey dinners in one day. We would have scrambled eggs, sausage, bacon, grits, biscuits and gravy and cantaloupe. It’s something that everybody looks forward to and spending time together is obviously a wonderful thing. INTERRUPTED But the virus that shall not be named had other plans for me and Cindy. A week before Thanksgiving, Cindy came down with symptoms and that changed all of our Thanksgiving plans. Cindy and I had it all figured out ahead of time what we would do if one of us got sick. We were going to mask, glove up and stay in separate parts of the house. Well…that plan only lasted about two minutes. Cindy got pretty sick pretty quick. There wasn’t a snowball’s chance in South Florida that I was going to leave her in a different part of the house in the condition she was in. So I was in full nurse mode if you will. I was attempting to be careful around her but at the same time to be fully attending to her, setting alarms throughout the night to check for fever and monitor her oxygen levels. One evening, she was especially in a bad way. She was in her recliner next to mine covered up under six blankets and she was still having mad chills. I had never seen her this sick before. I couldn’t take my eyes off her and 40 years of marriage went through my mind. Forty glorious, sometimes very difficult, years. We’ve been through so much together.&nbsp; EMOTION EXPRESSED THROUGH SONG It was right around that time that I started writing some words to the song, Have You Ever Felt. You think of David in the Psalms and how he would hit emotional points in his life and he would write the psalms or songs that ended up being psalms. You could hear his heart through these readings. I kind of felt like that. And I just poured my heart out as I wrote. The first verse says: Have you ever felt, the weight of the world on your shoulders Have you ever felt, the days just seem to get colder The nighttime seems longer, you don’t feel any stronger There’s only one way out This was November and certainly the days were getting colder and the darkness was longer than the daylight at this particular point so there were some natural occurrences happening. But the nights were very long for me as I was trying to sleep but concerned about Cindy and setting alarms and taking temperatures and giving medication and then trying to go back to sleep which was very difficult. But I needed to sleep because I needed to be attentive in the daytime. END OF MY ROPE I really was at the end of my rope and crying out to God knowing that He was my only way out. He was Cindy’s way out in this particular moment also. I don’t want to be overly dramatic and say that I thought Cindy was going to die because I didn’t, but I wondered if she needed more than I could give her at this particular point. We knew of a few people praying for us but decided to go ahead and send a prayer request to our Friendship Church family through the website. Within a few hours of sending that prayer request, Cindy started to improve. Sensing the power of prayer and experiencing the love and kindness of friends lifted us in an amazing way and we were able to press on. So here’s the chorus: I know where my help comes from I know who puts breath in these...

Hope at the End of Your Rope-013

Dark times, breaking points, can’t sleep, can’t breathe….sometimes hope seems impossible. However, I’m living proof that impossible is possible! Today I’ll share a very personal story and a song written out of those emotions.   Today’s a little usual in that the song we’ll be talking about hasn’t been yet released yet. Find out how you can hear it and other unreleased songs at , Episode 14. (There might even be a free download in it for you J.) Today’s featured song is called Impossible is Possible. It’s a collaboration with my friend Kathy Tschida. You’ll get to hear part of Kathy’s God-story in next week’s episode. Make sure you check it out! LIFE’S AMAZING TIMES You know, as I look back on my life, I’m amazed how God has worked in our lives. Right after we got married we moved to Minnesota and attended what is now called Bethany Global University.&nbsp; It was so much more than a school. I’m still inspired to this day by the work being done there and the community of believers that helped us grow up with in many ways. God used it to set a wonderfully firm foundation for me and Cindy as a newly married couple. When it was time to branch out to other heights that God had for us, I felt confident and ready. When I got my first full-time worship pastor position at Friendship Church in 1997, I was so excited and could see that God had his hand on it. HIDING IN PLAIN VIEW But times certainly weren’t always easy. We had to deal with family things like most people have to deal with. Don’t get me wrong, we have an incredible family, but there were some serious struggles for sure. We weren’t exempt just because we’re Christians and especially not as a pastor’s family. Unfortunately I tried to deal with those things in my own strength, and often made things worse. Does that sound familiar? I don’t know if it was fear of what people would think of us or pride or shame or because I was a pastor and not supposed to have problems, but&nbsp; we hid the majority of our pain and challenges. There were times when we, Cindy and I, felt like failures, very alone and very afraid. From this vantage point of life, however, I know that was the enemy’s plan for us and not the way God would have had it. I hope you can benefit from hearing about my mistakes and avoid a lot of needless suffering yourself. It’s still almost overwhelming these many years later, to reflect on the goodness of God to us during that time, how He stayed with us, carried us, sustained us and raised us up from a pretty dark place. ANOTHER ROUND OF DARKNESS Once things settled down a bit, another time of darkness came upon me personally. Even as a Christian, fear and identity issues were constant companions most of my life and showed up in my reactions to stress. Things grew increasingly worse over the years until I finally had to get help. I didn’t recall ever feeling helpless or hopeless before that time. Previously I would have “decided” that I could handle things myself. For me to say “yes” to getting help, was a difficult decision. However, despair had set in and I did not like it. I could not breathe. I could not sleep. I was embarrassed and ashamed that I actually needed help, but I, indeed, needed help.&nbsp; PRESS IN I shot up a flare and God answered. After 2 sessions with a counselor, she thought it would be best for me to see a colleague of hers. It was at that point that I knew something was truly going on inside me. To decide to walk into a counseling office again was huge. I knew that things would probably get worse before they got better. “Pressing in” was my first choice.&nbsp; It didn’t take long for the new therapist to confirm there was something deep inside and it would take some work to get to the core of it. I have to say, fear almost paralyzed me. It was hard to think about facing the unknown giant that was about to be exposed. But my reactions to stress were not healthy and without...

How to Quiet the Noise of Life-007

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