Freeing My Mind

My wife is a walking encyclopedia of random information. Not Wikipedia type information, more like 100 Fun Facts You Might Wanna Know type information. Pretty much any sentence that begins with, “They say…”, is her specialty. Her most recent fact obsession is that your taste buds change every seven years. Since I don’t feel like doing my own research on the matter, I’ll simply take Lori’s word for it. In fact, I find that not only do my taste buds seems to change in some way every 7 years or so, it seems that my taste in most anything changes during that amount of time. Take music for instance: As a child, I was surrounded my strictly Contemporary Christian Music. Early Stephen Curtis Chapman, Michael W. Smith, Sandi Patty, Amy Grant, Degarmo & Key and of course Carman could often be heard coming from our mini-van tape deck. Case in point:

As you might can tell, this phase didn’t last very long. At least not until my Columbia House 10 CDs for a penny deal ran out.

Another childhood phase originated in the form of a movie. Well, not “a” movie, but rather “the” movie. “Back to the Future” solidified my belief that Michael J. Fox was the raddest guy on the planet. It also introduced me to “The Power of Love”. Not in a weird way, but in a Huey Lewis and the News type way. That Christmas I received a Pocket Rocker. With my brand new rocker was a single mini-tape which contained two songs, one one on each side. Side A: The Bangles “Walk Like an Egyptian” and on Side B: Huey Lewis and the News “The Power of Love”. My childhood was complete.

Like most young Mississippi natives, middle-school and early high-school centered around country music. To this day, one might could find my wife and I stopping the dial on a country station during a long drive from Mississippi. It’s interesting to note that we can still sing most every song. My favorite country musician was and always will be, George Strait. In fact, I liked George Strait so much that I got a Jeep Wrangler and personalized the license plate with STR8 HED. No, I’m not kidding.  I don’t have many high-school memories that do not involve George Strait’s box set as the soundtrack.

My late high-school years, as well as my short-lived college years were mostly fueled by illegal substances. As with most people who venture into the world of drugs, my musical tastes quickly changed. Jam bands and even 1960’s rock & roll became my forte.  My favorite band was Widespread Panic. I not only listened to these guys, I followed their every move. I could even go as far as to tell you what their set lists were during an entire month of touring. I really can’t listen to these guys anymore, but I would have to say that their musical ability was incredible.

At the age of 20, I had an encounter with God that changed everything. Musically, I locked myself away from most anything other than worship music. I quickly found that music is what helped me connect to God. It was easy for me to enter the spirit through music inspired by God. The first book I ever read after my conversion experience was entitled, “No Compromise: The Life Story of Keith Green“. I know the full title because that book is within arms reach even now. In fact, I would say that the inspiration of Keith Green in my life means more today then it did even then. Between two of my favorite musical people, Keith Green and Jason Upton, my early days of growing and learning were packed with inspirational sounds.

In January of 2006, I was coaxed into attending a concert in Vancouver, BC. This one night changed my life. I mean that sincerely. God birthed in me a brand new perspective on music and began a journey within me that I wasn’t expecting. Some friends of mine wanted me to go see this group that I had never heard of and I really wasn’t into going. I was content with Keith and Jason and really didn’t want to pollute myself. As I sat through the opening act sulking, I was half expecting to fall asleep and half expecting to need to perform deliverance on half the people around me. During the intermission before the main act, I thought about sneaking out a side door when suddenly I heard this sound. I looked down onto the stage to see where the sound was coming from. Although only a few lights shone from the platform, the band had taken stage. I was perplexed. There was something familiar about that sound. In fact there was something godly on it. I was confused. Had I somehow stumbled into a time or worship? Or could God actually rest on what some would call “secular” sounds? I set in awe through the entire show. I even looked at Lori and said, “Can you feel that?”. That band was Coldplay.

Which really brings  me to the present. My musical tastes are so varied now that it’s difficult to nail down. I fall back on some old favorites often and I find new favorites through great sites such as Last.FM. Recently I came across a young girl doing an acoustic cover of a Lady GaGa song. I must preface this by saying that I am not a Lady GaGa fan to say the least. In fact when I happen to get one of her songs in my head I’ll usually tune into children’s television in order to replace it with Barney or the Backyardigans. I have to say, this girl does this song a favor. She’s got something special and I though I would share this gem that I found with you. Her name is Juliana Daily. If your tastes haven’t changed in a while, give something new a try. Be inspired.

I was writing to a friend today and I mentioned a quote from Mother Teresa that I think about often:

“In this life we cannot do great things. We can only do small things with great love.”

This got me thinking about some of my favorite quotes from Mother Teresa that I looked up not too long ago. I believe this woman has a lot to teach us on the subject of love. If we are to help spawn a movement who’s soul purpose is the love of God and the love of people, then we have to be willing to rethink our entire belief system. When pure divine love enters, all of a sudden our faith begins to take on a new form. For instance:

“Do not think that love, in order to be genuine, has to be extraordinary. What we need is to love without getting tired.”

1 Corinthians 13, probably one of the most famous chapters in the Bible, speaks of the nature and effects of love. Over the past few years this passage has not only become central to my life’s message, but has also taken on a new form. While I once read, “Love suffers long and is kind”, as a command in order to love, I now realize that patience and kindness is actually a bi-product of love. In other words, love causes patience. The type of love that changes the world, isn’t the love that is applauded in the newspapers, but rather the love that never fails. It is love that perseveres through the darkness.

“Being unwanted, unloved, uncared for, forgotten by everybody, I think that is a much greater hunger, a much greater poverty than the person who has nothing to eat.”

The alleviation of poverty has become a central idea when it comes to love. We see people without food, shelter and water and something within our hearts aches. We gather up clothing and send it to the homeless. We pack containers of food and send it to war-torn countries. While this is well and good, I believe the greatest poverty lies in both the slums of Africa as well as the skyscrapers of New York City. The poverty of love.

“Everytime you smile at someone, it is an action of love, a gift to that person, a beautiful thing.”

I’ve had a running joke when I speak that the next great move of God will be a smiling movement. While I say it jokingly, I’m actually attempting to use humor as a catalyst for thought. Many of you might not have the opportunity to share my vantage point when it comes to gatherings within the Church. I’m able to see the entire crowd. It seems that the “seriousness of the Gospel” has gotten our panties in a wad. What’s the deal with all the frowning? I would say that it’s simply our emotional response to what we are feeling. Until we each experience divine love, it’s difficult to portray love in our hearts. I actually do believe that we are coming to a time where smiling will be a common occurrence and that simple act will change the world.

“I am a little pencil in the hand of a writing God who is sending a love letter to the world.”

While I am the first to extend the dream that you can change the world, I feel that we have begun to believe that that dream requires us to be famous. We’ve forgotten that our love is not meant to write our names on the hearts of man, but rather His name.

“I try to give to the poor people for love what the rich could get for money. No, I wouldn’t touch a leper for a thousand pounds; yet I willingly cure him for the love of God.”

Paul McCartney once wrote, “I don’t care too much for money, money can’t buy me love.”  There’s an common question that goes something like this, “For a million dollars, would you….” It’s somewhat thought provoking and entertaining to mentally test our limits when it comes to money. The truth is that where even money has its limits, love has no limits. Love will cause you to do crazy things. It becomes less of a choice and more of a reaction. A must. Like laying aside your deity and dying on a cross.

“I have found the paradox, that if you love until it hurts, there can be no more hurt, only more love.”

This I’m trying to learn. There comes a place in love, where the butterflies and ooey gooey’s come less often. Our modern society would say that this is the time to call it quits and move on. I believe this is the place where love is actually built. “Push through the pain”, they say. I would agree. Love eventually has a soothing effect. While everything around you says “no”, love says, “yes”.

“If we have no peace, it is because we have forgotten that we belong to each other.”

Due to the fact that this blog is already somewhat lengthy, I will have to restrain myself. I could go on for days on this one quote. I can only say that this statement, along with the early Church’s example, I believe to be the key to our reformation. My destiny is wrapped up in yours. My life is wrapped up in yours. This mentality breeds love.

“If you judge people, you have no time to love them.”

How true it is. While I said that the previous quote is the key to our being reformed into Christlikeness, I believe this one to be just as important. We spend so much time standing against people, that we lose track of loving them. We are more known for what we are against, rather than what we are for. Love covers sin. If we truly want to stand for righteousness, we must simply stand for love.

During some of my recent messages, I’ve been mentioning the life of Mother Teresa, the Albanian Catholic nun who spent most of her life ministering to the sick and poor of Calcutta, India. Both during and her life and subsequent, many have questioned the validity of Mother Teresa’s faith due to personal writings that expressed questions within her soul pertaining to her experience with and belief in God. It’s also interesting to note that one of the our great heroes of faith, King David, has his questions of faith recorded within our Book of Faith.

Questions are our key to truly understanding God. Without questioning that which we believe, truth is never held up to a mirror to see if what we believe to be true actually is. As I always say, truth can stand in the face of any scrutiny. It seems that one of our key spiritual principles found in scripture is mostly shied away from. That key is understanding. Throughout the Bible, mainly Proverbs, the idea of not only having knowledge of life and God, but actually understanding life and God is vital to our spiritual health. While wrestlings of the soul, to us, seem to be quite unhealthy, I’ve found that it is those “dark nights of the soul” that eventually lead to the light of truth. It is in our nature, as followers, to simply hear an idea and believe it. While some would call this “true faith” I would say that this is simply faith in what man has said. If we are to actually come to grips with what we believe and have that belief planted within our hearts, then questioning what we believe is imperative.  See my earlier blog on Repentance and the Scientific Method. God is the only one who can actually lead us into all truth.

Ok, one more.

“I know God will not give me anything I can’t handle. I just wish that He didn’t trust me so much.”

This is my official Mother Teresa quote for the day. Be inspired. Much love.

Hello everyone. I made it back from my adventures in the Caribbean sea. An amazing time was had by all, but it’s good to be back as well. I was inundated by a hundred emails and Facebook messages today, so I’m not going to be able to get out a full fledged blog. Although, I would like to share a message that I received from a young girl in Brazil. I was there in early December, as you might recall and I received this message not long after. This is akin to me posting baby pictures or something. And, by the way, I decided to leave the grammar in tact.

See you tomorrow!

Hi Craig,
I was at Dunamis in São Paulo…not sure u will remember me anyway…
I want to tell u what has happened…. in only one week

At the firt day of Dunamis, Lord used u to wake me up, and He brought me back to him..

My testimony is pretty much like urs, i grew up in the church but got distante because never had a experience with God before, got involved with drogs, and i was addicted to cigarrets as well…. always belived and prayed but i knew i wasnt doing teh right thing…

And at that Wednesday u prayed, God talked through you, and liberated me from those addicitions and filled me with his love.

Since than i havent smoke, i have tryed to stop many times before but i felt my body craving for nicotine,my heart acelerating. but now i didnt feel that because God broke it!!

So the next day i felt hungry for MORE LOVE MORE GOD and kept coming back i went back every day and God gave me a lot of blessing and opened my eyes and ears.

Resuming through a friend that brought me to dunamis then through u and then through me God brought back my hole family back to him,
i just told then how diferent i was, that the LOVE was so strong, and they felt and they saw it and they wanted it back…

My family was going a part, everyone far from the Lord, we r in 7 total, My parents was nearly divorcing, one of my brothers left home because a big argument, and me and my other 2 sisters wasnt friends any more and really into the world things, u know night clubs, many boyfriends, drogs..

But now, victory is ours.. after a lot of pray my parents remembered how much they love each other, my brother come back home, me and my sisters even feel like going out to night clubs and no drogs, because he fell us up.. hehehe…we r full of love, full of God…many more things happened but if i tell u everything i will need another 3 pages! We cant stop loving God we r all the time praying we r all the time praising, and we want to be used and we want to to this revolution!! my sisters r having vesions, the god is telling us thing thrue my mother mouth when she prays, i can hear good talking to me many times of the day and thrue many dreams…
THE REVOLUTION OF LOVE IS HAPPENING my family is the prove alive!

i´m so hungry that i bought the course through ur web site School of Prophetic Awakening.

GOD IS AWESOME GOD!! I THANK HIM FOR UR LIFE!

Some find time their time on an airplane to be a perfect time for working, reflecting, meditating and even praying. You can usually find several handfuls of business men talking loudly on their Blackberries prior to take off and immediately upon landing. These are the same guys who spend the flight working on spreadsheets and PowerPoint proposals.

Then you have the writer. This guy is in the zone from the moment he takes his seat next to the window. The writers always choose window seats. The sky at 30k feet seems more inspiring to them than the passing beverage cart in the isle. Considering their speed of typing and the intensity spread across their face, I can only assume the great American novel has been written during our 4 hour trek to the Caribbean.

I’ve often heard other itinerate speakers talk about their times of revelation and meditation while aboard these flying vessels. While, most of the time, I have a nack for finding God in odd places, I must say that airplanes are the last on my list of preferred sanctuaries for prayer and contemplation.

First, you have the often forgotten co tinuous hum of the plane’s engine. This is one of the worst aspects of the actual flight. A sound that in any other circumstances might be somewhat lulling, when mixed with the closest quarters you will get to another person prior to marriage, the ability of flight attendants to find your elbow with the corner of the beverage cart despite it being pulled closely to your chest, the slowly forming bruises across your knees due to the seats being designed for pigmis and the unshakeable feeling that although you’ve flown dozens of times, that strange clanking sound could be bad, that same sound morphs into nails scraping across a chalkboard.

I found people’s ability to work and be inspired in the midst of flying to be nothing short of remarkable.

On a side note, I believe that the items contained within the SkyMall catalogue should no longer be novelty, but standard for society. If a watch can have a hidden camera, then why wouldn’t it? If patent pending gravity defying sneakers are possible, then shouldn’t all sneakers defy gravity? If a RoboCup ball return robot exists, then these puppies should be installed at every country club in America. I say, no more regulay roses. Only roses dipped in 24k gold. If a blue tooth earpiece can “improve your hearing and enhance your image” then all blue tooth devices should. All apartment porches should come standard with the Porch Potty Premium. This grassy outdoor litterbox for dogs, comeplete with a scented fire hydrant and working sprinkler system, should not be limited to the ultra wealthy, but available for all. I say, if one tomato garden is upside down, they all should be. Then it would no longer be upside down.

Anyway, since I just wrote this blog on a plane, half of my thoughts are void. Enjoy your week, see you around the 25. I love you all.

The word “repent” means a lot to us here at Freeing My Mind. (And by “us” I mean, me.) The reason behind this is that our modern understanding of repentance is actually very different from what the word actually means. At least the Greek word recorded in scripture. I’m not a Greek scholar by any means, but I do know how to use Google.  Metanoeo, is the term for “repent” in the original language. After reading about 10 different definitions of the word, it is best summed up as “to perceive afterwards”. While this may sound a little confusing at first, it’s actually quite simple. It is a realization that leads to a complete change of mindset. It is an enlightenment that changes one’s life.  In other words, it is a freeing of the mind. The realization that what we once thought and the way we once lived is actually wrong. We come to the understanding that a new way of living and thinking is now mandatory.

While most people come up with pictures of weeping and sorrow when the word repent is used, I believe repentance is actually a joyous thing. It leads to a new state of being and a new lease on life. While repentance does lead to our salvation in Christ, in a grander sense it leads to our understanding of God’s kingdom. It is an ongoing process by which our hearts and minds are continually transformed into the image of God and His creation. Repentance is the foundation of reformation. In order for something to be reformed, we have to first realize the need for that reformation. This comes through repentance.

It might seem like I’m trying to teach here, and I guess I am in a sense, but this is an idea that has formed everything that I believe. The idea of repentance means that the way we once thought is false when compared to our new understanding. If we as people and we as the Church are to continue to grow, then we must have an ongoing heart of repentance. Are you tired of hearing the word. Let me rephrase it. We must have an ongoing heart for reformation. A reorganizing of our lives, hearts, mindsets and purposes.  Without this, we cease to grow and we begin to exist in a perpetual state. True repentance changes almost every facet of our viewpoint. We begin to look at the world different. We see people in a different light. Our understanding and relationship with God becomes more alive.  I can honestly say that I probably go through a process like this at least once a year. A series of encounters with and revelations of God which drastically change my viewpoint. While some might consider this wishy-washy, I would say that it is simply continued growth in God.

There is an idea that I learned during middle-school science. That idea is called the Scientific Method.

The image you see here, is the Scientific Method. It’s simple really. 1) A question is asked. This question begins by analyzing a current existence. We begin to question why that is and if it is actually true. Next, we 2) do background research. We attempt to understand the subject in question and what the current state of thought regarding the matter is. Next we 3) construct a hypothesis. This is a theory about the answer to our question. The next step involves 4) testing with an experiment. We put our ideas up to scrutiny. We don’t simply take our hypothesis and consider is truth because it is what we believe, but we decide that that which is true can stand in the face of questions. Thus, the experiment. Finally, we 5) analyze the results and draw a conclusion. Our idea has now stood in the face of scrutiny and either holds up or doesn’t. This leads us to a conclusion. 6) Either our hypothesis is true or it is not. This is where things get interesting. If our theory turns out to be false, then our original question is yet to answered. In fact, we leave the experiment with more questions than we began with. If our original idea is not true, then that means that actually do not know what is. If it is true, then that idea has now stood up to the test and has come out as true.

“Craig, what in the world are you talking about.” I’m talking about repentance. This is how it actually comes about. We question our current mindsets, think on that mindset, test that mindset and see if how we think and feel is actually true. The only way to really do this is not by testing our thoughts against our natural way of thinking, but against the nature and will of God.

Our problem seems to be that we see true faith as not having any room for scrutiny. If we really have faith, then we shouldn’t question it. This perception is outside the realm of repentance. If we never question and test our mindsets, how can we actually believe them to be true?

“To perceive afterwards”. To come into a new way of thinking due to the process of thinking, testing and concluding.

The, at least, yearly process of change that I seem to go through happens through this method. I see an aspect of my life and beliefs and I begin to question it. I measure it up to what God says on that matter and at times repentance occurs. I realize that my current way of thinking is actually false. I must then begin the process over with my new way of thinking.

With posts such as this there is always a fear of sounding overly high-brow or even pretentious. But again, I’m simply freeing my mind.

Besides, I can blame it on my brother, Chris. He’s the one that got me thinking about this. Which leads me to today’s inspiration. This is a video done by my brother. Do we look alike? He and the rest of the guys at Student Life really do some of the best media presentations around. I think you’ll enjoy it. If not, then ask yourself why.

I’ve never been one to shy away from controversy. Considering my southern roots, this probably is somewhat abnormal. There was a time that, although I had somewhat controversial thoughts, I usually tried to steer clear from actually expressing this thought for either fear of the backlash or maybe just attempting to steer clear of having to deal with any backlash. Recently though, I’ve actually begun to simply just embrace this aspect of my psyche. Today should fall in line with this line of thinking.

This will hopefully not be a long rant, but it is something that has frequented my mind in the past few weeks.

Why do the majority of Christians feel the need to fall in the line with almost every message of the Republican party? For some of my readers, this could be old news, but I have recently seen another flair up of political ideas that are stamped with the Christian seal of approval that seem to be at odds with the message of Jesus. If one particular political party stands by a number of ideas that one may strongly believe in, it doesn’t mean that one has to stand by every idea of that particular party. No, I’m not a democrat, but I’m not a republican either.

While some of the ideas that I have issues with may not be on the scale of the war over slavery of the mid 1800’s, I think the mindset can be compared. For the most part, slavery was widely endorsed by the American church and by some even after the civil war. This was not only the case in the south, but across America. The tradition of slavery simply wasn’t questioned by most church leaders. While this type of mindset is detrimental to any reformation, I believe that we could be in a similar quagmire concerning some of our current political thoughts. I think we’ve forgotten that we are not first and foremost American, but first and foremost Jesus followers.

My friend, Doug Addison, taught me to always surround controversial thoughts with, “I’m just saying.” That way you can pretty much say whatever you want. So, without further ado, I’m just saying.

Let’s begin with a somewhat simple one. How has caring for the environment become a purely liberal cause? One of the first commandments given to mankind by God was to “tend the garden”. When God created man, he told man that everything in the earth was given to him. God created the earth and then put it in our hands. How can we make a stance on water-boarding a top priority and place the environment at the bottom of the list. We act as if global warming is something to laugh at, all while, whatever the reason, the earth is growing warmer at an increasing rate. We are scared that laws concerning “green” initiatives will intrude on our “freedoms”, all while complaining about gas prices. I commend a growing movement which is being called the Creation Care Movement. One particular organization that is championing this cause is the Evangelical Environmental Network. I encourage you to check them out. I’ve long sense stopped worrying about being labeled a “tree hugger”. If that means that I actually consider caring for creation as an important part of our mandate as humans, then there will be no awkward side-hugs between me and the oak.

Since I brought up water-boarding, let’s go there. I’ve heard the argument that water-boarding isn’t torture and that’s not what I’m here to debate. I’m also not here to debate if it works or not. My question is simple, would Jesus do it? Even if lives were on the line, would He? Over the past couple of years the idea of torture, when it comes to terrorism, war and lives being at stake, has been a hot button issue in politics and on cable news channels. One of the reported forms of coercion that was used at Guantanamo Bay was the blasting of Britney Spear’s “Hit Me Baby One More Time” at high decibels for hours on end. I don’t see how this being torture could even be up for debate.

Next up, illegal immigration. This is a tricky one. I understand the concern. I understand the need to protect our borders from potentional terrorist threats such as nuclear weapons coming across the Mexican border. What I do not understand is the, at times, degrading and vehement tone when it comes to discussions on the matter. As far as I understand the situation, it seems that we could balance our concern for the border with our concern for the poor people arriving in our cities and towns. I’m just saying.

The death penalty. I could talk about this at length, but I’ll spare you. What in the world are we thinking? This is very simple. One of the ideas that most easily sums up the New Covenant is redemption. Where did the we get the idea that it is our prerogative to take someone’s life if they also took someone’s life? Jesus himself came across a situation concerning the death-penalty while He was walking the earth. In John 8, a woman caught in adultery was brought to Jesus. The Jewish law said that she should be put to death. Most of you will remember the outcome. “Let you who is without sin cast the first stone.”

This last one has been on my heart a lot lately and I feel that, again, I could probably bloviate for quite some time on the matter. But alas, you get by with a simple observation. How has the military, and even war, become such a cornerstone of the American church? I am not anti-military, let me make that clear. Although, I am anti-war. Meaning, I don’t like war. Now some would say, “Well, no one likes war.” While that is probably true in a sense, we also seem to get so hung up on our political stance concerning wars that we often lose sight of God’s stance. It’s simple to me. “For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ” (2 Cor 10-3-5)

And hey, if we disagree, that’s cool. Whether you’ve been reading Freeing My Mind for a while or this is your first read, we’ve probably disagreed before.

I’m just saying.

I feel the need to put a disclaimer before today’s inspiration. It’s a joke.

Your probably (or hopefully) wondering two things.

1) Where have the blogs been?

2) What has brought on this hiatus?

The answer to both of those questions is actually the problem. While, having an unusually busy travel schedule for December and of course Holiday festivities, the real reason for my prolonged absence from the blogosphere is that I actually have too much to talk about. The problem is that I can’t yet divulge all the goings-on at the Kinsley house. No Lori isn’t pregnant, but our excitement level and feelings of hormonal imbalance are just about equal. I know, once again a vague tease of information, but I promise the wait should be well worth it. So you see, since Freeing My Mind is my avenue to divulge my spiritual, psychological and emotional thought process, it makes that difficult when those thoughts consuming my life are not quite internet ready.

That being said, I’ve decided to lay aside all that I really want to say and go off-topic a bit. Or at least off the course of my current day to day thoughts.

How were my Holidays, you may be asking. (No, I am not attempting to be politically correct in my use of “Holidays”. While I do have a somewhat affinity for Bill O’reilly, at least his zeal for child abuse legislation, I think the man power fueling our crusade to stand for the phrase “Merry Christmas” could be better spent elsewhere. War and poverty for instance. I just like to include the entire holiday season.) Anyway, my holidays were unexpectedly wonderful. For the past few years the season has been filled with a certain of amount of stress and anguish due to increased financial pressure, travel to and from our hometown, balancing time spent between both sides of the family, preparing for the usually busy month of January and lastly, attempting to fight my feeling that Christmas is actually about family. Although this year was actually fairly merry.

Lori has become somewhat infatuated with crocheting. (Thanks Kateland.) At first, I was a little taken back by this new found hobbie. My knowledge of the crochet sub-culture was limited to my belief that the median age of its members was 82. My first thought was that she must be pregnant. I’ve heard that many women began to bake a lot and make things when those first few waves of prenatal hormones come crashing in. I’ve learned that this animalistic phenomena is called “nesting”. Although, it turned out not to pertain to this situation. I’m sure there are ancient feminine factors at work here, but she actually seems to simply enjoy it. I was totally on board the crochet train when I realized that 50% of our outgoing Christmas gifts were going to derive from her obsession. One holiday stress out of my way. Merriness level – 4

The next mountain to overcome would be the usually non-merry task of dividing holiday time between my blood family and my law family. (No spiritual connotation intended. I actually love my law family.) While those of you that have been perfecting this balancing act over the course of decades may have even had to perform this dance across state or international borders, I have still found this to be one of the least merry parts of Christmas all together. Not the family part, I love that, but the actual brainpower required to bring about the most holiday cheer all around. Short of creating detailed spreadsheets including mathematical figures and timestamps or taking a course in orchestra conducting, I think we pulled it off pretty well this year. Another stress out of the way. Merriness level – 7

In previous years, January has been an incredibly busy month. Between the beginning of our winter semester of AwakeU and my usual urge to “do something different” near the beginning of the year, much of my December has been spent contemplating and preparing for the next month. The interesting thing, is that this seems to be my busiest January to date. Although, there is so much happening and so much being birthed that I’ve actually had to give the worry over to God. Imagine that. Yet, another stress out of the way. Merriness level – 9

You may have wondered a bit about my last holiday stress. For a number of Christmas seasons now, I have fought an overwhelming feeling that for me the time is not actually about the birth of Christ, but about family. It’s always seemed that the baby in a manger aspect was simply tacked on or made to fit in. We always said that He was the reason for the season, but the majority of the season was spent focusing on friends and family. I was constantly at war with myself trying to make it about Jesus, when it seemed that my spirit actually wanted it to be about family. This year I finally quit fighting it. It’s difficult for me to simply take a time of year and add in some ritualistic observance of Jesus’ birth. My whole life is spent thinking on and being with Jesus. My whole life is not spent with family. In fact, as I’ve grown older, there are members of my family that I only see during that season. I see Jesus everyday. Now, I’m not one of these people who ban Christmas due to a belief that its origins are pagan. If we were to denounce anything in our culture that has paganism at its roots, then we would have to begin with our church culture. No, for me Christmas is about family. It’s about gathering with people we love and both remembering and creating memories. Jesus is in the midst of it, as He is in the midst of everything, but not as a baby in a manger. Another stress out of the way. Merriness level – 10.

I know this has been out for a while, but I get a lot of readers who might not have seen it. Now this is merry. Be inspired.

Along with good holiday cheer, something to think about…

I was hoping to get a more proper blog out before I leave for Brazil, but as I sit in Newark, NJ waiting to board our plane, it looks like a short snippet from my iPhone is all you get.

Although tired from already being on the road for a week already, I’m so stoked about Brazil. I did the same event in December last year, and it was my favorite place I went all year.

1) Crazy passionate young people.
2) Wobbly Mary. A Brazilian dessert something akin to flan with a heavy dose of coconut.
3) Brazillian steakhouse. I can pronounce the term, but attempting to spell it would bring down my “world traveler” respect points.
4) Futbol chants during the conference.
5) Summer.

I wish I has time, and a better keyboard, so that I could share what all God has been doing in Lori and I. I remember writing a post entitled “Growing Pains”. In it I described the feeling of my external life having trouble keeping up with accelerated change inside of me. It looks like my life and ministry are beginning to catch up.

I’ve been contemplating various pioneers throughout history. Whether it be Jesus, Martin Luther (original and King Jr. version), Chris Columbus, or Leonardo Davinci, I’m beginning to see various similarities about their lives. While I currently merely aspire to be like these men, I’m beginning to understand my thought process a little more.

A long time ago, the Lord spoke to me. He said, “More than a minister, Craig, I want you to see yourself as an inventor. You might make 10,000 mistakes, but if you keep seeking to do what has never been done, eventually you will create something that changes the world.” It’s easy to think about being that way, but frustrating to actually live that way. I’m finding myself in a time where my hypothesis has yet to be completely proven, but I’m seeing good signs. I know, still vague.

On a side note, I need some accountability with a goal that I’m setting. I’ve got about three books inthe works. Varying in their state of completion from simply an outline to about 100 pages written. (Although that particular book is somewhat dated in my heart.) I’ve decided to commit to having one of them finished by February first.

SO, here is where you come into play. I would like my faithful blog readers to help give me a much needed kick in the butt when I need it. I would really like some of you to commit to praying for me. Mostly for creative grace and time. Also, every now and then either leave a comment on the blog or leave me a swift kick in the butt via facebook. Something to the effect of, “Craig, I really hope your working on your book right now. I’ve decided to go on a hunger strike until you finish it. I have also forced my young children to participate in my strike. Oh, and I have suspended my African child sponsorship until the book is printed.” That should help. But really, leave a comment.

Forgive any spelling errors, this actually was a long post for an iPhone keyboard.

Let my hero inspire you:

I’m in California. San Diego to be exact. In fact I’m looking at the border to Tijuana right now. Lori and I are with our friends Jerame and Miranda Nelson. The purpose of our trip has been two fold. I’m speaking in a couple of churches, but we haven’t got to see these guys in about a year and a half. It’s been really good to catch up. We’re on our way to Palm Desert. From what I hear, there’s a great church there that I’ll be at tonight.

Side Note: We just passed a road sign (pictured) warning of crossing illegal immigrants. I wouldn’t have believed it if I hadn’t seen it myself.

Some of the most crazy encounters with God in my life have been with Jerame around. Miranda was actually our first intern. Please don’t ask her about it, I’m sure we did a terrible job that first go around. Anyway, it’s been really refreshing being here. If you’ve been a loyal follower of Freeing My Mind then you know about the transition and wrestling that I’ve been going through. There’s been an incredible peace over our hearts since being here. No, we’re not moving here, but I can’t promise we haven’t been getting some clear direction since arriving. (More on that at a later date.)

I’ll leave you with a picture of the happiest man on earth… or the founder of viagra.