Fake Fear

So here's a crazy story I ran across...

WACKY-BUT-TRUE: WOMAN CALLED FOR HELP WITH PLASTIC SPIDER _ A terrified woman in the UK called for help after finding a tarantula the "size of her hand" in a cabinet in her home. When help arrived they found the eight-legged creature was a plastic toy.

I dug a little deeper into the story and found out that this woman called the UK equivalent of 911.

She had emergency responders at her house along with friends and family, all to find out that the thing she feared was a toy.

Some of the things we fear the most are not even real.

I've been scared of toys, but for different reasons.

I used to hate those trolls. The ones with the big eyes and freaky curl in their hair.  

There was just a movie made with them in it.

UGLY!

For some reason I was terrified of them.  

I remember having dreams where they would come alive and chase me!  

I found one in a toy box once, and ran away crying!  It was JUST A TOY!

This was the spider that caused the 911 call!

The toy the woman was afraid of was just a toy, but it looked REAL!  It looked like a spider!

The toy I was afraid of didn't look like anything familiar to this world!  I admit, I'm odd.

Here's what I find interesting about this lady...

She was already afraid of spiders.  Really afraid.

When even a hint of a spider showed up, she FREAKED!  Fear controlled her!

She was ready at a moments notice to become unglued when a spider came anywhere near her!

I think this applies to us in an important way.

You may have a fear of something.  Let's say for example, cancer or a heart attack.

If this fear rules your life in those areas, it becomes evident when you have a little ache or pain.

It could be a heart attack!  It could be cancer!  I need to see the doctor NOW!

You call emergency services, call a friend, call you sister!  

It could be you have a fear that a spouse will be unfaithful.

Each time they talk to someone from the opposite sex, you question all their motives!

"I was just asking for directions...honest!"

It does not matter, fear says you were flirting!  "You don't love me!"

See how this thing creeps into your life and builds a web just like a REAL spider?

Just like a web, you can get stuck in it and never get free!

What's the answer?

Ever see the acronym for fear?  False Evidence Appearing Real!  

Most of the stuff we fear, isn't even real, just like the toy spider.  

It's a waste of time to think about them.  It's a waste time for the people close to you as well!

They have to constantly assure you that it's a TOY!  Plastic, fake...harmless.

Don't let false fear steal any time from you!

Now...about that Tickle Me Elmo.  THAT'S SCARY!!

Friends are a Gamble

If you are about my age you may remember a song by Michael W. Smith called "Friends".

As a new Christian in my late teens just getting into gospel music, I really liked the song because it had aspects of Christianity and real life heartache.  I think the heartache part hit me the most, cause it was sort of a happy/sad song.  It was about people staying connected even though they may be apart, the common thread between them being God.

The lyric is "Friends are friends forever, if the Lord's the Lord of them..."  Those words meant a lot to me because at one point I went through breaking up with a girl who was also a Christian, and having to deal with still going to the same school and having the same social circle.

How do you handle that?  If we are all Christians we should all be able to move on with our lives right?  No.  It was super awkward and I searched for a way to make sense of it through the song.  (I even read the lyrics over the school PA, that's another story...)

Being a teenager in the 80's you didn't have things like Facebook to be able to keep relationships going even when you got separated from your buddies.  If you were fairly literate, you could write letters, or if you had no knack for paper and pen, you could just pick up the phone and call, but even then, things were never the same.

When you made a friend there was always a chance that friend could move away.  My best buddy moved away after grade 9 and I was sad.  We were pretty inseparable.  We would do crazy things like shoot each other with pellet guns by the railroad tracks!  I miss those days, but not the bruises!

My point is this, getting and having friends is a risk.

You have no guarantees that they will always be around.  You don't know if they will let you down when you need them most.  You don't know if they will tell you what you need to hear when you need to hear it.  It's always a risk.

But with the biggest risks come the biggest rewards.

I saw an internet hoax recently where members of Facebook were warned to not "friend" someone named Jayden K. Smith.  The threat was that "Jayden" would hack your information and do terrible things with it!

First of all, I'm pretty sure that can't happen through Facebook.  The worst someone could do would be to bother you with constant requests to play games!

Secondly, it got me thinking about real world friends.  What if the Facebook scenario played out in real life?

What if you wanted to make friends and you couldn't because there was a rumor going around that you were a thief and will steal from anyone you get close to?  What if you were the subject of a campaign to tell the whole world wide web about how bad you are?  What could you do?

It would be tough to find a friend in that atmosphere!

Think about this for a second.  In the bible, Jesus picked out 12 guys to be his "learners".  The old school name is disciples.  After 3 years with them He said in John 15:15 (That's easy to remember!) that He now called them friends.

It's interesting because He knew that every one of them would turn their back on Him when He was at His worst moment!  He even told them it would happen!

Jesus never thought it wasn't worth the risk.  He believed in friendship.

I want to be a better friend.

I think of the people that I have encountered and how they were good friends and I wasn't.

I think about how even now there are friends I have now that I can't seem to talk to about things I should.

I think of people I wish I could be friends with, but their personality forbids it!  They are best left alone.

Relationships can be challenge, but I think ultimately they are worth it.

Prayin'

The chances of finding someone who does not know what the "Lords Prayer" is are high.

It's very well known all over the world. 

You know it by heart, right?  Why is that? 

"Because it's written in the bible!" you might say. 

Well I have something else for you to consider... 

We know that wonderful prayer because someone asked. 

Jesus was praying as he usually did, and one of the guys said, hey can you teach us that? 

There was no formal introductory prayer class. 

Maybe Jesus would not have ever said anything about what He was doing if no one was interested.

We don't even know who it was who asked! 

We have the Lord's prayer today because somebody asked a question. 

Always ask questions.

Think about it, won't you? Thank you.

Ever think about what you're thinking about?

If you can do that, then you have an advantage in life you may not be aware of.

You can change your thoughts and then change your life.

I believe that mind reading is a myth.  I do not think people are clairvoyant.  

I'm sorry if you have paid money to a medium or psychic.  You can't get a refund.

The only person in your head is you.  The door to your brain is closed unless you open your mouth.

I can't tell what you're thinking.  Which leads me to say this...

Thoughts are private for a reason.

Your thinking is lightning fast, random and complex all at the same time.

If anyone were to hear your thoughts it would probably drive them insane!

Why are we given this ability to hear our own voice and the voice of others in our heads?

No one else can hear it but us. 

People may be able to read our thoughts based on the look on our faces but not normally. 

You just may have a permanently confused look!

Our brains are the buffers for what we say. 

There is a scripture that says be slow to speak.

Our thoughts then are not who we are, they are only what we could become.

You can choose your thoughts.

 If you don't choose them, there are other forces who want to choose them for you.

Advertisers are a good example. 

If they can choose your thoughts, they can manipulate your lifestyle.

You end up asking yourself "Why am I really eating Skittles?"

In the movie, inception, they tried to plant an idea thought deep within someones mind.  It worked.

Co-dependent relationships can fertile ground for this. A narcissist can take full advantage.

Your thoughts are just lines of words or ideas, they won't become real unless you dwell on them.

They shape who you are and what you do.

I don't want to know what's going on in your head. It would scare me and everyone else on the planet.

We may even lock you up.

BUT

Those thoughts can be changed. That's what the word repentance means. 

It's common to think that when you hear the word repent, it means that you have to change your behavior.

It goes deeper! 

 Change the way you think, behavior will follow. 

 Behavioral change is not the end goal of living as a Christian anyway. 

 Any animal can be trained to do tricks.  We want a quality of life!

Try thinking about what you're thinking about...and that's a first step to change.

WONDERJAM!

For King and Country LIVE at Wonderjam 2017!

Part of my job at LIFE is to represent the station at big Christian events.

To me, this is a thrill!

Me and Steve Bradley onstage at Wonderjam!

I love being able to go onstage somewhere and talk about what we do and invite people to listen.

I get excited about Christian radio and I hope the audience feels that!

We were part of Wonderjam at Canada's Wonderland again this year and we got prime stage time!

We got to go on before the main band, Skillet, to announce our upcoming Fall contest!

We also got to toss out a few LIFE t-shirts to the hungry crowd!

I have heard that as many as 4000 people check out the concerts during the event.

Skillet! Shot from backstage!

Skillet, rocking Wonderjam!

Steve Bradley, Jon Cooper, Me, Sam and Josiah the shutterbug!

It's a very weird experience to be backstage when a MAJOR band is getting ready to go onstage.

All the stage technicians have their various jobs to do to make the show happen.

To the lay person, they can seen a bit grumpy.

I'm there to do a job and try and stay out of THEIR way!  It's really awkward...but fun!

The music sounds way different from the rear of the venue!

The guys from Skillet were super chill and snapped a pic with us before they went onstage!

My ears still hurt...

Time

A show I enjoy watching is Doctor Who.

It's the adventures of a man who can zip about through time in a spaceship.

He has amazing adventures and usually takes along a companion or two.

Here's the thing about the show I love and hate.

Time travel is a myth.

I believe we can't do it.

I want it to be true, but in my heart I know it's just a a fantasy that allows the story tellers to create a
world where almost anything can happen.

Why do I think time travel is a myth?

Because no one has come back from the future to tell us it's possible!

(It could also be because the "future people" don't want us to know.)

I read a quote recently that left me thinking about time.

It says that "the evidence for the concept of time is circumstantial".

I think it means that we see what "looks like" the passage of time, but it's really the effect of decision being made in the now.

We are "old" only because we are experiencing the effects of a daily routine of decisions and natural occurrences.

We only posses the present moment.

"What about prophecy?"

Good question!

I think the same principle applies.

Because of a decision made, only one outcome can occur.

God sees the end from the beginning because He's smarter than we are.

He lets us have a peek once in a while.

What do you think?

How To Get Past A Problem. (Usually)

I'm reading a book about life.

No, it's not the bible.

It's by someone I won't mention.  It's not important.

What IS important is what the person was saying about moving forward in life.

If I asked you to name something that is a wall in your life, would you know what I mean?

A wall can be something like personal debt.  It stops you from moving ahead with financial goals.

A wall can be a past hurt.  It seemingly stops you from getting really intimate with anyone.

A wall can be a difficult person.  They seem to be standing in your way, keeping you from advancing.

A wall is something that stops you, puts a boundary on you or limits you.



What if that disappeared TODAY?  What would you be doing?

Here is a cool story from the bible.

There was a man who could not walk.  He would lay by a pool and wait for the water to move.

He never got in.  He blamed others.  Someone else beat him to the water.  ALWAYS!

Jesus came along and asked him if he wanted to be haeled.  It should have been obvious right?

The first thing he started talking about were the excuses why he could not be healed.

Is that you?  Are the excuses your first defense?

If things are not the way you think they should be, is it other peoples fault?

Do you even have a plan beyond the walls of your self imposed limitations?

Jesus took care of the man right there.  POOF!  Problem solved.

NOW WHAT?

Now he has the rest of his life to enjoy!

If your debt, hurt or annoying person were to suddenly become not an issue, what would you do?

Do you even really WANT your walls to be torn down?

Here is the danger we can fall into sometimes.  We make our problems part of who we are.

Our issues can become our crutch.  A way we get sympathy and attention.  Find identity.

The problem is, what if those problems were taken out of the picture?

Who are you then?

Problems are things that happen TO us.  They are NOT us.

I don't know what it might be for you, but I do know that if you're going to move forward into new areas of life, you got figure out what you want and hack away at the excuses!

Live it!