As kids (and sometimes as adults) we pray each winter for the conditions to be just right for a glorious interruption of our daily routine, even if only for a day.
Of course, if the wintry flakes of wonder could fall on the right day, that would be even better. The day of the big test, or the big presentation, or whatever day you may be dreading.
Then, every few years (if you’re lucky), the special day comes. The weather reports turn out right. You wake up to the sight of snow on the ground and iced over roads and the best news anyone could ever get: school and work are cancelled.
You have your morning routine, your evening routine. You’ve got your school or work routine, and your afternoon-when-you-get-home-from-school-or-work routine.
You have relationship routines, family routines, holiday routines. You have your church routine, your faith routine.
With all the routines in life, it’s easy to feel stuck. Oftentimes it can feel like you’re not growing as a person or as a Christian.
Sometimes you need to do something different. Sometimes you need to break from the routine. Sometimes you need to challenge yourself.
This dog has figured out a way to say no to his owners. The dog knows what he doesn’t want.
The dog hates being put in his kennel. After being dragged into it against his better wishes too many times, the dog stands his ground.
This dog says no to what sucks the life out of him. We should do the same.
A dog is meant to be free. Dogs are made to run and jump and explore, not be confined to a kennel or a cage.
What were you made to do? Are there things that are stopping you from being who God made you to be? Why not take a lesson from this dog and Say No?
This weekend is your weekend. Instead of getting bogged down by busyness, try saying no this weekend.
Say no the projects, the activities, the relationships which suck the life out of you. Do something you’ve been meaning to do, been wanting to do, been dying to do but haven’t made the time for it.
Here’s my challenge to you this weekend: Say no to at least one opportunity that comes your way. Whether it’s an invitation to hang out, or a call in to cover someone’s shift at work, just say no.
Saying no doesn’t make you a bad person. You need to rest. You need time to do what gives you life.
When God created the world, He took a day off. He took time to rest. How quick we are to forget this!
We think we need to work to feel worth. We think a day off is a day wasted. But your soul needs to recharge. You need to fill up before you can pour yourself out.
Whatever it is that fills you up, do more of that.
Rest looks different for everyone. For some people it’s staying in bed and bingewatching the first season of “Scandal”. For others it’s getting in the backyard and gardening. For others it might be scouring record stores in downtown Athens.
Take a day of rest. Say no to the things of life that make you feel caged in.
I once heard a pastor say the world today is worse off than it was 50 years ago.
In fact I’ve read many men wiser than me say there’s more sin in the world today than ever before.
I’m not sure if I agree with them.
Bill Gates doesn’t agree with them either. This week Gates released his annual letter on the state of our world. It’s a pretty enlightening read. Check it out at GatesLetter.com.
Gates uses the letter to debunk some myths about poverty. He writes that average incomes are rising in almost every country, and that our perspectives on poverty and foreign aid are outdated. Many of these improvements are a direct result of The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.
“By almost any measure, the world is better than it has ever been,” Gates writes.
It’s been almost a year since I launched POP GOD. Creating this blog has been a long-running dream come true for me.
That’s all because of you – the reader. For every one of you who has read, shared, or commented on even one post, thank you. I don’t just write this blog for me. I write with the idea of opening up a conversation about the presence of God in our world. I write to hopefully encourage, inspire and challenge.
I know how many blogs and other sites are competing for your small window of time, and it means the world that anyone would give that time to me for something I wrote.
You put up with a lot of my plugs, with my typos, with bad posts and good posts. Thank you for being patient with me as I grow.
Could you do me one more favor? Could you take 3 minutes and fill out this feedback survey?
I want to make POP GOD a site you’ll keep coming back to. I want POP GOD to be a conversation we have together. I want to grow POP GOD into a community of believers seeking God in the present tense.
Answering these 7 short questions will go a long way in helping me make that possible.
So please be honest. Your answers are anonymous. I’ve got a thick skin – you won’t hurt my feelings with your true opinions. Thanks in advance.
There are few things more brave than dancing like crazy in a public place.
One of them may be admitting I really like the song and the video for “Brave” by Sara Bareilles.
Sara Bareilles’ song and album have improbably garnered a slew of Grammy nominations for this year’s awards.
You may not even realize you’ve heard “Brave” until you recognize it as the jingle for all the new Windows commercials you’ve seen during every commercial break of NFL football and just about everything else you watch on television. Continue reading →
Welcome to Episode 12 of the POP GOD POPcast – an exploration into the lives of people seeking God in the present tense.
This week’s guest is Jeff Owen. Jeff is the Dove Award Winning guitarist from Tenth Avenue North, the band behind songs like “By Your Side” and “Healing Begins”. Jeff and Tenth Avenue North are currently touring all across the country as part of Winter Jam and will be hitting Augusta on February 13. Jeff takes a few minutes off from the tour to chat about his early influences, dealing with success, life on the road, the latest Tenth Avenue North album, and Fraggle Rock. Enjoy this deeper look inside the life of a musician truly seeking God in the present tense.
Find out more about Jeff and Tenth Avenue North and purchase their latest album at tenthavenuenorth.com
Find out more about the Winter Jam Tour at jamtour.com
Subscribe to this podcast on iTunes, rate it, leave a comment, listen to all the other episodes, share it on Twitter and Facebook and anywhere else. I’d really appreciate it. Thanks.
I’m so excited to open up POP GOD and share more stories of people seeking God in the present tense. I’d love to hear your feedback. Leave me a comment and let me know how to improve things, what you’d like to hear discussed, and give me your ideas as to who you’d like to see on the POPcast.
***Last week on the blog I asked for your requests and ideas for POP GOD. This week we have our first reader-requested post from my friend Ogden, who asked for a post on Hanson’s classic song “MMMBop”. If you have a current or classic pop culture item you’d like to see discussed on POP GOD, leave a comment and I will make your request happen:
Has there ever been a song quite like “MMMBop”?
In 1997 the Hanson brothers exploded onto the pop scene with arguably the most infectious and nonsensical song of the 90s.
Everybody knew “MMMBop”. A lot of people still know “MMMBop”. Just play the video if you can’t quite remember the song and it should come rushing right back to your brain.
I’ve never had the chance to be disappointed by a Bruce Springsteen album.
As a relatively new Springsteen obsessive – I’ve only been on board this train for about 5 years – I still feel privileged for any new E Street release in my lifetime.
After all, the wrecking ball will find it’s mark at one point or another on every life. Even Bruce Springsteen will succumb to time. So I’m usually giddy with any news of new Springsteen music.
So, as Bruce’s latest album High Hopes is released worldwide today, why am I so underwhelmed? Continue reading →
A good portion of their job performance is based on prediction. Each night the weatherperson forecasts what the temperature will be. One segment later the sports anchor gives you their gameday picks.
They’re both just guessing. And most of the time they’re both wrong.
Yet there they sit night after night, week after week, offering their often incorrect predictions.
You probably saw it this week with high-stakes playoff football and wacky temperatures across the country. Even with incredible technology tracking the weather and advanced analytics watching every game, no prediction can be perfect.
Forecasters and sportscasters are given gobs of grace based on their personality rather than their prediction performance percentages.
It must be nice to have a job where you’re not really judged on your performance.
I think sometimes as Christians we become too concerned with The Measuring Stick – how we are judged by God based on our performance in this world. Continue reading →
Every Snow Day must end.
POP GOD 