Wild at Heart - John Eldridge; An evaluation

I read “Wild at Heart” by John Eldridge this week for the very first time.  I’d prefer to refer to this blog as an evaluation rather than a book review because it’s difficult for me to write a book review.
It’s often hard to admit when one’s wrong, but I admit that I was wrong.  This book originally came out in 2001 and I avoided reading it for 17 years based on what I had heard from other people based on a stereotype that I was determined that I would never pigeonhole myself into.   Hearing statements that Mr. Eldridge disliked Mr. Rogers and other nice people closed my ears into even giving Mr. Eldridge a fair opportunity to share the thoughts in this book with me.  Pridefully living as what I considered to be a ‘nice guy’ most of my life (even that moniker has been made known false to me and has been revealed to me as simply selfish pride) I didn’t feel that I would relate to Mr. Eldridge and his teachings.
Now at 43 years of age, I am at a crossroads of sorts as far as masculinity goes and, to be quite frank, needed this book.  Mr. Eldridge is not the egotistical male stereotype that I had envisioned him to be. He spoke on subjects that I was yearning to read about, but never came close to finding in my local Christian bookstore.  I believe that he truly cares about his readers; in this book he rightly identifies the core issues that men are going through, and is one of the scant few authors I know to have the guts to come out and say them.  All I can say, my 141blogger friends, is that you would have to read this book in its entirety to know what I mean.
It is not my goal of this blog  to put this man on a pedestal; it is Creator God/Jesus/Counselor Which is the Holy Ghost who deserves all our praise and adoration for His love, grace and mercy.  But I do believe that I owe Mr. Eldridge an apology.  I wish that I had not closed my heart to this book for all those years  without first giving him and it a chance.  I was wrong.
With all the other books and vast links on Mr. Eldridge’s ministry page I see I have a lot of catching up to do.  I have downloaded his app, and would like to know more.  I pray that God will continue to soften my heart as I choose to pursue the narrow road He has beckoned me to take.

Double Down

     Several years ago I went to KFC and ordered one of their Double Down chicken sandwiches.  For those of you who do not know what that is, it is a sandwich which uses two fried chicken breast patties as buns, with the other ingredients in between:  mayo, cheese, lettuce, tomato, etc.  This sandwich came at at time when one of the nation's major health kicks was underway, and KFC received a lot of scrutiny for being one of the most unhealthy fast food sandwiches that had ever been created, despite it being especially tasty.
     Double down, originally used as a blackjack term, has been used especially more frequently as a term given when someone presents a falsehood, then when confronted by people with evidence to the contrary, not only continues in that falsehood, but with even more fervor than before.  Jeremiah 44 came to mind recently.  After the cities in Israel and Judah were ransacked and the inhabitants of those cities taken from their homes, Jeremiah addressed a remnant of Jews living in the land of Egypt who had been assimilated into Egyptian society, worshiping false gods and burning incense to them.  There must have been such sadness when Jeremiah, the man of the true God, spoke to them:

     "Why are you destroying yourselves?  For not one of you shall live - not a man woman or child among you who has come here from Judah, not even the babies in arms.  For you are arousing my anger with the idols you have made and worshiped here in Egypt, burning incense to them causing me to destroy you completely and to make you a curse and a stench in the nostrils of all the nations of the earth.  Have you forgotten the sins of your fathers and the sins of the kings and queens of Judah and your own sins and the sins of your wives in Judah and Jerusalem?  And even until this very hour there has been no apology; no one has wanted to return to me or follow the laws I gave you and your fathers before you (Jeremiah 44:7-10)"  

     Again remember, that the cities of the Jewish homeland had already been destroyed, the inhabitants carried away.  Jeremiah was giving this remnant a chance to return to the Lord God and be set free.  Yet the Bible reports that not one individual came forward to repent, ask for forgiveness or even offer up an apology.  Instead the people 'doubled down' in one accord to the man of God:

     "We will not listen to your false messages from God!  We will do whatever we want to.  We will burn incense to the 'Queen of Heaven' and sacrifice to her just as much as we like - just as we and our fathers before us, and our kings and princes have always done in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem; for in those days we had plenty to eat and we were well off and happy!  But ever since we quite burning incense to the 'Queen of Heaven' and stopped worshiping her we have been in great trouble and have been destroyed by sword and famine. (Jeremiah 44:16-18)"  

     They equated their prosperity to the worship of a false god and their misery to not worshiping her!  There were so many false and misleading statements in their response, yet they proclaimed it boldly and rejected the words of the prophet of God.  They exchanged the truth for a lie and continued to worship the false gods that were causing God's anger to increase.

     Is there anytime where you have 'doubled down' in your life?  Is it happening now?  Is there anything that has crept into you life that you know is wrong, is a stench in the nostrils of God, yet you still justify?  Is there any actions you knew you shouldn't take, even actions that God warned you not to take, yet you still took them?  Even if no one else knows about it, God does. Just like the Double Down sandwich is tasty at the time, yet bad for the body, so is a man who's actions may feel good and pleasurable at the time, but whose long-term effects can be devastating.
   

I am 141st - Music (and Entertainment) Highlights of 2017

I really love music (obviously), and with my I am 141st blog I really wanted to put out a more established 'best-of' list of 2017 in hopes that those who are reaching out for encouragement and good CCM music can see the great discoveries that I have made throughout this year.  I placed my experiences in chronological order by month, and ended with my 'top ten' music playlist of best singles that defined my existence in this tumultuous but blessed year.

January 2017:  [Artist] JJ Heller

Natalie Grant didn't bring her "Dare to Be" conference to Seattle like she did the prior two Januarys.  I mentioned to Kristin that one of my favorite artists JJ Heller was coming to Seattle one night and Bellingham another night with a much smaller (but no less impactful) women's seminar in that same month.  Kristin agreed to go to the women's seminar in Bellingham, while Asher and I went to go see "Hidden Figures" in the theatre.  Kristin really enjoyed it, got to meet the ladies, and got Asher an autographed glossy from JJ.

January 2017 [Favorite Album] Cass - Genesis

I discovered 22-year-old New Zealand producer Cass' "Illuminate" music video and Genesis album in late summer, but her album was released at the beginning of 2017.  A very eclectic sound of instruments and rhythms; My favorite new album of 2017.

February 2017 [Artist/Album] Hollyn "One-Way Conversations"

After her Debut EP in 2015, Hollyn released her first full-length album "One-Way Conversations" in February.  Sadly, this was about the time my local Christian Bookstore (Family Christian Stores) started going out of business and stopped carrying new titles; I had to iTune it.  Hollyn was recently part of the Hits Deep tour with artists like TobyMac, Building 451 and Capital Kings and is quickly establishing herself as one of CCM's up and coming hit makers.

March 2017 [Artist] Colton Dixon

I entered some cartooning into Facebook, when Colton Dixon invited his fans to put titles from his new 'Identity' album into art.  His debut single "All That Matters" helped me through some hard times the first half of 2017.

April 2017 [Worst Of - Family Christian Stores closes :( ]

Not happy.  After several years of financial hardships the huge nations Family Christian Stores finally closes its remaining stores.  Although the close-out deals were great, and I discovered some new music and musicians (Seth & Nirva, Jordan Feliz, Misty Edwards), it was bittersweet knowing that, other than the small-business Amen store one city north of my house, the nearest brick and mortar store is now an hour away, if the traffic is good.

August 2017 [Artist] Needtobreathe

Needtobreathe is probably my favorite band right now.  2016's "Hard Love" was hotter than a firecracker, and the band 'deluxified' their album with two renditions of their title track along with 4 new tracks that were as equally as impressive as the original tracks from last year.  "Cages" was the first song I can recall that shared lead vocals with the other members.

September [Music Video of 2017] - Capital Kings (featuring Hollyn) "All Good"

Capital Kings, which originally only has had two members, recently replaced a member.  Although the Capital Kings sound has just seemed a bit off since this change, this single added Hollyn to the mix, as CK turned out a "Matrix" meets "Star Trek holodeck" meets "Butterfly Garden" techno-video. The results was "All Good," hit all the right notes, and make this beautiful video my music video of 2017.




December 2017 [Artist - The New Respects]

I decided to flip through the Dove Aware Nominees and winners of 2017 to see what, if any hidden finds I may have missed.  One of the "Short Form Music Video" Nominees was "Trouble" from The New Respects, a band who's lead singer is the daughter of CCM artist Nicole C Mullen.  The band has been putting out EP's and singles throughout 2017 and is already making waves with their retro rock and Motown sounds.




[Everybody loves good 'Best of....[current year] lists, so I updated my blog on 12/30/17, closer to the end of 2017, with some of my 'best of' choices' of music and entertainment]  My favs are below

My meaningful song playlist of 2017 (various years, recently discovered or rediscovered)

All Good - Capital Kings (Featuring Hollyn)
All That Matters - Colton Dixon
Bottom to the Top - V Rose
Cages- Needtobreathe
Creature Machine - TRALA
Feel Invincible - Skillet
Great Are You Lord - Seth & Nirva
I Didn't Build It for Me - Daniel Amos
Illuminate - Cass
Keep Fighting (Acoustic) - Fireflight
Pretty Lies - Veridia (Featuring Matty Mullins)
The Well - JJ Heller
Your Great Name - Natalie Grant

Top Ten Song Playlist of 2017

Keep Fighting (Acoustic) - Fireflight
Flaming Arrows - Carmen Justice
Can't Live Without - Hollyn
Trouble - The New Respects
Braver Still - JJ Heller
Creature Machine - TRALA
Cages - Needtobreathe
All Good - Capital Kings (Featuring Hollyn)
All That Matters - Colton Dixon
Illuminate - Cass

Best Short Form Music Video - "All Good" - Capital Kings feat: Hollyn

Best Long Form Music Video - "Circuit Rider" - Gaither Gospel Series (2016, but still counting it, since I bought it a the going out of business Family Christian Stores sale this year)

Best New Artist - Cass

Best Male Vocalist - Colton Dixon

Best Female Vocalist (tie) - JJ Heller and Hollyn

Best New Album - Genesis - Cass

Best New EP - Hard Cuts:  Songs from the HARDLOVE Sessions - Needtobreathe

Artists of the Decade (Through 2017) - V Rose, JJ Heller, Fireflight

Favorite Vinyl "Discoveries" - Marian Anderson - Spirituals; Daniel Amos - "Doppelganger" and "Horrendous Disc"; (honorable mention) - Jordan Feliz - "The River" (wasn't really a big fan of his 2016 radios hits but his music sounds a lot better on the turntable).

Best Movie Experience - Hidden Figures (Audience applauded twice during the movie, once at the end and once when Kevin Costner tore down the segregated bathroom signs).

Best Sporting Event - Curling Nationals (live) at Everett Comcast Arena

Who's on 141st: Week of 11/5/17

Who's on 141st - Week of 11/5/17

     I want to start a 'sub-section' of the 141st Blog:  regular posts (starting with a few times a month), as long or as short as they may be, into new discoveries, intrigues, music...good things.  Surely each week  there is at least gone good thing, one inspirational thing, one "think on these things" thing.  And each week someone or something good comes to the forefront.

Family.

What better way to start off this sub-section of thought than with the blessing of Kristin, Nels, and Asher.  Kristin my beautiful, smart and loving Proverbs 31 woman.  Nels, my strong fighting warrior.  Asher, my smart, joyful and happy Bub.  Without these blessings in my life I don't know where I would be.













Baptism into God's family

On 11/5/17, what would have been Nels' 9th Birthday, Asher made a decision to be baptized into God's family.  I am so grateful for his decision and so proud of him.  I know Nels is rejoicing in Heaven over Asher's new life.












New Music discovery - TRALA

Former solo artist Moriah Peters formed a new CCM trio in August, adding new lyrical depth and a unique sound to an otherwise predictable genre.  Although it doesn't mention social media by name "Creature Machine," in my interpretation, is the 'anti-assimilation' message that the music industry, especially the CCM genre, needs to hear.

Creature Machine - TRALA
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9eJC4_QQY5w

Thank you Veterans, for your service and dedication to our country and our freedom!  #Veteransday #iam141st

November 5th: A day of sorrow and a day of hope.

It is with a sad heart that 11/5/17 will mark the day Nels Robert Campbell would have turned 9 years old.  In some ways it seems like such a long time ago and others times like a few days ago.  I don't know if there is anything that I haven't said before about this brave little warrior.  I love him.  I miss him.  I thought my life was over with his last breath, and I was ready to go to Heaven with him. 

But God had a plan to would be to his glory.  The legacy of Nels would be that, through his life and through education of his disorder, other babies with his rare condition could be spared from death and be overcomers, while those who were not be spared were still warriors up until their last breath.

And God knew that one year and one week later, another little miracle would come into this world.  Asher Johan Campbell, born 5 weeks premature but otherwise perfectly healthy.

And God knew that Asher, who's Biblical name means 'filled with joy and happiness' would bring much joy and happiness back into our lives.  And on November 5, 2017, exactly 9 years after the life and passing of Nels, Asher has made a commitment to be baptized into God's family who believe upon the Lord Jesus Christ and are saved.  I know that Nels will be looking down on this moment with gladness and love and be rejoicing and celebrating.   A new chapter of November 5th remembrances begins, and life and love will go on.

A Prayer for Safe Haven in the brink of Hurricane Irma May 2006: Miami, Everglades and the Keys. Kristin and I were several years into ministering under Living Rock Ministries and were blessed to be able to extend our vacation after I was one of the trip winners for my work that year. Even 9 months later Miami was still cleaning up after being clipped by Hurricane Katrina. We worshipped on the beach at sunrise with our banners and flags. We rented zoo bikes and road the long spurs throughout the Miami zoo. In other parks we fed monkeys, watched parrots and paid our respects to sea animals. The Fruit and Spice Park was still damaged, but the staff were so willing to describe their amazing plants to us. The waitress at the Alehouse in Doral (west Miami) was so receptive to the ministry music Kristin and I had written and were giving out on this trip. And the food there was so good. We were saddened at the shape of Flamingo (at the end of the road of Everglades National Park) which had been decimated with both the hurricane and a brush fire in the same time period. At the Keys, we experienced dolphins and swam with the rays; the name of the boat we road on was fitting called “Amazing Grace.” What I have been praying for lately however is not grace, but mercy. I wish for God to stop Hurricane Irma in its tracks and have mercy on His people. I’ve been praying for this. I want people to know that there is a God and he cares so much for His creation. I want the words of Psalm 107:23-31 to play out in real time before the calamity strikes (as read in my grandma’s Bible): “They that go down to the sea in ships, that do business in great waters; These see the works of the Lord and his wonders in the deep. For he commandeth, and raiseth the stormy wind, which lifteth up the waves thereof. They mount up to the heaven, they go down again to the depths: their soul is melted because of trouble. They reel to and fro and stagger like a drunken man, and are at their wit’s end. Then they cry unto the Lord in their trouble, and He bringeth them out of their distresses. HE MAKETH THE STORM A CALM, SO THAT THE WAVES THEREOF ARE STILL. Then are they glad because they be quiet; so he bringeth them until their desired haven. Oh that men would praise the Lord for his goodness, and for his wonderful works to the children of men! These words were originally written of the mortal sailor, However we all are sailors, sailing on this earthen planet on our daily orbit around the sun. May we cry out to the Lord in one accord, even as we brace for what natural circumstances would tell us can only result in destruction, to bring those in destruction’s path out of distress by God’s great hand. I call out Hurricane Irma by name: May your storms be silenced immediately so that the people may be able to return to their desired and intact homes and havens, on land or in the harbors. I ask this in the name of Jesus, my Savior and my Lord. Amen.

May 2006:  Miami, Everglades and the Keys.  Kristin and I were several years into ministering under Living Rock Ministries and were blessed to be able to extend our vacation after I was one of the trip winners for my work that year.  

Even 9 months later Miami was still cleaning up after being clipped by Hurricane Katrina.  We worshipped on the beach at sunrise with our banners and flags.  We rented zoo bikes and road the long spurs throughout the Miami zoo.  In other parks we fed monkeys, watched parrots and paid our respects to sea animals. The Fruit and Spice Park was still damaged, but the staff were so willing to describe their amazing plants to us.  The waitress at the Alehouse in Doral (west Miami) was so receptive to the ministry music Kristin and I had written and were giving out on this trip.  And the food there was so good.  We were saddened at the shape of Flamingo  (at the end of the road of Everglades National Park) which had been decimated with both the hurricane and a brush fire in the same time period.  At the Keys, we experienced dolphins and swam with the rays; the name of the boat we road on was fitting called “Amazing Grace.”  

What I have been praying for lately however is not grace, but mercy.  I wish for God to stop Hurricane Irma in its tracks and have mercy on His people.  I’ve been praying for this.  I want people to know that there is a God and he cares so much for His creation.  I want the words of Psalm 107:23-31 to play out in real time before the calamity strikes (as read in my grandma’s Bible):  “They that go down to the sea in ships, that do business in great waters; These see the works of the Lord and his wonders in the deep.  For he commandeth, and raiseth the stormy wind, which lifteth up the waves thereof.  They mount up to the heaven, they go down again to the depths:  their soul is melted because of trouble.  They reel to and fro and stagger like a drunken man, and are at their wit’s end.  Then they cry unto the Lord in their trouble, and He bringeth them out of their distresses.  HE MAKETH THE STORM A CALM, SO THAT THE WAVES THEREOF ARE STILL.  Then are they glad because they be quiet; so he bringeth them until their desired haven.  Oh that men would praise the Lord for his goodness, and for his wonderful works to the children of men!"  

These words were originally written of the mortal sailor, However we all are sailors, sailing on this earthen planet on our daily orbit around the sun.  May we cry out to the Lord in one accord, even as we brace for what natural circumstances would tell us can only result in destruction, to bring those in destruction’s path out of distress by God’s great hand.  I call out Hurricane Irma by name:  May your storms be silenced immediately so that the people may be able to return to their desired and intact homes and havens, on land or in the harbors.  I ask this in the name of Jesus, my Savior and my Lord.  Amen.  

Testing the spirits (1 John 4:1-3)

     Did you see the movie “Miracles from Heaven” with Jennifer Garner that came out earlier this year?  It was actually a really good movie (despite what the critics try to say), however there is a scene from the movie where some of the church women try to tell Jennifer’s character that her daughter’s afflictions must have been from some untold sin that she or her daughter is committing.  The pastor does nothing to rebuke their behavior.  Not only does this propel the heroine not to go to that church anymore, but it is contrary to what Jesus said in the Bible regarding the blind man (John 9:1-3), when the disciples asked Jesus who’s sin caused the man to be born blind.  

     Now more than ever we need to ‘test the spirit’ to see if it is from God (1 John 4:1-3) if we are believers in Christ and someone approaches us in this manner.  And if we ourselves moved to reach out to someone, we need to take caution.  Using the phrase “God told me to tell you...” can be very dangerous if the Holy Spirit is not in the interaction.  However, if the Holy Spirit does move you, you can be confident in engaging that person or persons, because God is doing it for a reason that you may not understand at the time, but will actually work toward His glory.