It's officially the holiday season! The commercials all scream of shopping and Christmas cheer, the music that's heard is normally some type of Christmas music, and there's a certain seeming change of attitude in people. People seem to be more joyful, more giving, even more philanthropic. I too would get caught up in all of the seasonal changes and cheer. However, just under 3 years ago, I found myself in the middle of a horrific divorce. The Christmas season, for me, has sadly taken on a whole different meaning and feel. I try to get into the spirit of the season. I try to have the holiday cheer. And I try to be the jolly 'ol TC. But the fact remains, I no longer have my children for Christmas. I no longer have my family and the traditions that we made. I no longer have that Christmas spirit.
Monday, November 29, 2010
Reflection
It's officially the holiday season! The commercials all scream of shopping and Christmas cheer, the music that's heard is normally some type of Christmas music, and there's a certain seeming change of attitude in people. People seem to be more joyful, more giving, even more philanthropic. I too would get caught up in all of the seasonal changes and cheer. However, just under 3 years ago, I found myself in the middle of a horrific divorce. The Christmas season, for me, has sadly taken on a whole different meaning and feel. I try to get into the spirit of the season. I try to have the holiday cheer. And I try to be the jolly 'ol TC. But the fact remains, I no longer have my children for Christmas. I no longer have my family and the traditions that we made. I no longer have that Christmas spirit.
Sunday, October 3, 2010
Port au Prince, Haiti
Tuesday, September 28, 2010
Letter To Grandma
September 22, 2010
Grandma,
At 4:30 am this morning, I got word from my brother that you passed away and went on to be with Jesus and leave your pain and illness behind. I just wanted to write to you this one last time to tell you how sorry I am for my past selfishness and pride in our somewhat distant relationship as I grew from a boy to a man. We had different views on things. You showed favoritism at times and you were tough on me occasionally. However, it wasn't until I went through my divorce that you became the Grandma that I hadn't previously experienced. You loved me, you loved your great grandchildren, and you even continued to love Ashley. Thank you for being a model of selflessness and understanding to an otherwise selfish and tormented guy. You seemed to understand my plight without even having to verbally dig deep. You just knew through your own experiences and wisdom. You selflessly helped me financially through my divorce process and never batted an eye - even when I wasn't able to see you face to face to say thank you.
Grandma, I was never able to say the things that I felt inside to you, but I want you to know that you were a huge influence in my life. You passed things down to me that I still use to this day and for that I thank you.
After getting word this morning and doing the round of calls while walking up and down Wilshire Blvd. in Los Angeles, I came back to my room in the Wilshire Hotel on the 9th floor and it was quiet and peaceful - reflective in fact. I opened the drapes to the windows and let in the overcast and dreary day. All that I could hear was the noise of the cars on the street below. But then it happened. I gentle peaceful message from the Lord to sooth my sorrowful soul. At that moment, a street musician playing a trumpet started warming up. After a short time of warm-up, he began to play the song "Amazing Grace". It (and a new special friend) made me think of the lyrics to the song that go, "Yea, when this flesh and heart shall fail, and mortal life shall cease, I shall possess within the veil, a life of joy and peace." Was that a message from you to me as you were on your way to meet Jesus? Was that the Lord speaking directly to me? Whatever the case, I got the message loud and clear! It proved to be a pivotal, emotional, and releasing moment for me. Thank you for the timely and peaceful message. I'll now not be able to hear that great traditional hymn without thinking of this moment and of you. Oh the greatness of our Lord and Savior!
Thank you for your life and what it meant to so many. Thank you for all of the things that you passed down through my mother that will live on through me! I love you very much and I regret not telling you that enough. Please forgive me. Until I see you again soon in the great by and by, you will be greatly missed.
Love always,
Your first grandson, Todd
Sunday, September 12, 2010
Sleepless Nights
Once again, it's been quite a while since I've waxed a bit of poetic here on the blog. It's about midnight and I currently find myself in the middle of a whirlwind travel schedule that takes me all over the country and to Haiti. I've been laying in bed and I feel frustrated as tonight is another one of those "hard to sleep" nights. I can't seem to get all of the things going on in my head to take a break for a while. In the end, I guess this is a good thing as I can remember a day when I had nothing from losing everything. I prayed that God would allow me to find something I enjoyed and could excel at and He gave it to me. As a result, I find myself alone in a hotel room in Orlando, FL in the middle of a massive travel schedule. The Lord works in mysterious ways - especially in my life.
It's times like these that make me wonder what the Lord has in store for me down the road. What lies around the next corner? What's beyond the horizon? Where will my girls go to college? What's in store for me and my career? Will there be another woman in my life? Will I be content to be a single father for the rest of my days? These are questions that I find myself asking the Lord in the quietness of my thoughts in the middle of sleepless nights.
For now, I'm content with where He has me and what He continues to do in my life and the people that He brings in and out of it. I'm grateful to Him. I'm humbled from being humbled. And I'm anxious in His timing, yet I know His timing is perfect. It always has been with me. I'm happy with where He's allowed me to come and grow in my spiritual walk. The people He has allowed me to align with have been, in my eyes, specifically chosen by the Lord for my growth and healing. For that, I'm grateful.
So in essence as I write this to myself, I guess I'm thankful for the sleepless nights and moments of contemplation to be able to slow down and be still and just think. Maybe I shouldn't be so frustrated after all (except for with the couple next door)!
Monday, August 23, 2010
Letting Go
Tuesday, August 17, 2010
New Relationships
Friday, May 28, 2010
The Passing of a Friend
Thursday, March 18, 2010
Getting Acclimated
It's Thursday and today is the fourth day of my new position at Food for the Hungry as their newest Artist Rep. So far, it's been a whirlwind of conference calls and instant messaging with the corporate office, getting acclimated to the business protocol, setting up my office space, etc. Everyone I've talked to has been unbelievable and the common thread that I've noticed is that everyone seems to be genuinely in love with what they do and the cause it stands for. These are some incredibly and truly compassionate people! I'm anxious to continue to learn from them and glean as much knowledge as possible. I have a ton on my plate and am looking forward to getting in the trenches with my colleagues.
Wednesday, March 3, 2010
Knowing the Heart
It amazes me how, when you live righteously and upright, God will bless that. He promises that in His word. I guess I've never truly grasped that concept in my heart. I've always heard it and had the head knowledge, but it's never really taken hold in my heart. . . until now, that is.
Thursday, February 25, 2010
Grains of Sand
I wanted to take this time to say thank you to all of my family and close friends that have helped me, fed me, encouraged me, and most importantly prayed for me through my tough time of transition in searching for a job. The Lord has blessed me with a dream job that I can't be more excited about! I feel as if there's a whole new start awaiting me.
Wednesday, February 24, 2010
No Game Winning Shot!
First of all, let me start by saying God is good. In the past 2 years, the Lord has taught me a lot about waiting on Him and His timing. This is a huge lesson for me that I continue to grow in because I've always been this competitive type to want to take things in my own hands and fix them or work things out on my terms and timing. When you feel in control enough to "win the game" or directly effect the outcome of a certain circumstance, it's hard to change that mentality into one of humility and complete faith in the Lord. I've had the opportunity of learning this valuable lesson the hard way because I'm a hard-head! It took the Lord hitting me over the head with life to realize that I'm really not that in control and that put together. He's finally got me exactly where He wants me. I'm finally to a place of full submission and readiness for what He has in store and it's taken me all this time to get there. For that Lord, I'm sorry. It's been a long journey and yet still a long way to go. However, I'm in a good place right now and truly ready for God's will to finally take hold.
Friday, February 19, 2010
A Birthday Wish
Today is (obviously) February 19th. It's a special day because 17 years ago today, my then wife gave birth to our twin girls Shelby and Taylor. Today is a bitter sweet day for me. It's sweet in the fact that I love my girls more than anything and I have a truly special relationship with them that I'm blessed with. It's so undeserving yet I'm grateful for God's amazing grace. It's bitter because I no longer get to see my angels on a daily basis. I've been divorced for more than two years now and my former wife and all three of my children moved away to another state. I only get to see my kids sporadically and I so desperately hurt when I'm not with them and getting to see them grow up and develop in to wonderful Godly women. It's bitter because I don't get to be with them on this special day. And it's bitter because I still harbor quite a bit of guilt in playing a major role in the drastic change in their lives. I don't know that I'll ever truly get over that. In many ways, it motivates me to be a better man and father. It causes me to continue to grow in a way that I never want to be the person I was.
There's so much that I want for my little girls that are growing up so quickly. There's so much that still have to say and teach to them. There's so much life that I need to live with them! There's still a lot left for me and so much room for improvement. They are my motivation. They are the reason for who (and who's) I am. They are my life and my loves!
Happy birthday girls! You are truly a gift on loan to your Mommy and I from the Lord above. I hope this birthday is a wonderful one because your next one will be the best one ever! Daddy promises!
Monday, February 15, 2010
Farming
So my question to you is, what’s your field, and are you plowing it? Are you plowing too little? Are you plowing too much? What’s your sweet spot, and in ten years, will you have a small orchard that can feed your family and some of your friends? What’s your land to toil?
1. If you have a family, if you are married with kids, that’s a field to plow. If a larger field is calling you away from your family field, then you don’t have it in you to plow it, so let it go. Your family comes first. Further the plot in that story. Get your wife some flowers, go fishing with your kids, plow the field God has given you. Andy Stanley says that in life, your family is going to suffer or your work is going to suffer, so choose. Your work life are those three rows of beans, the rest is your family, I think, and the work rows can’t replace the family rows.
2. Plow the field God gave you. This is going to be a bit controversial, but I’m just going to say it. God gave you a heart, a wellspring of delight and desire. That heart can be corrupted, for sure, but God also speaks to you and through you through that heart. If you are given an amazing opportunity to become rich and famous, but you aren’t looking forward to the work, ask yourself if God put a heart inside you to do that work. If not, let it go, no matter what the cost. Now here I’m going to get really controversial: If you have an opportunity to “build God’s kingdom” in some massive way, but the work is like pulling teeth, I think you have to really ask yourself if that is what God is calling you to do. There are times (Jonah) when the problem isn’t the work, it’s you. But there are also times when the problem is the work itself, namely that the work just isn’t for you. I firmly believe that God calls people into work, gives them a heart to do things, that seem to have nothing to do with the kingdom, and furthermore, nobody will ever be able to figure out why it is God would have them do it. Except this: Nothing speaks more powerfully than a person who has been set free to do the work he loves. There’s some gospel truth in there somewhere. I like to look at it this way, I pray and ask God “where the wind is blowing.” If the wind is blowing in a Christian book that helps people’s faith, I write that book, and if the wind is blowing on a novel that has nothing to do with faith at all, I write that book, and I’m free and I love it and I thank God he gave me the work and let me do what I love.
3. You will have to work with consistency and faithfulness. A farmer farms a field, and if he misses a week of work, everything falls apart. If the seeds aren’t in the ground when the rain comes, the crops don’t grow. Our faith is not about magic, it’s about partnering with God to see remarkable things happen through faithfulness and consistency over a long-period of time. If we buy into the instant-results mindset of our culture (that is depressed and confused itself) we will become very frustrated with God. God has a system for growing food. If one farmer does no work, but prays and sings to God, and another farmer does work, and does not pray or sing to God, then the farmer who prayed will starve and the farmer who worked will eat, because even though the second farmer didn’t acknowledge God, he understood God’s ways and he adhered to the principles God created. The first farmer was just looking for a magic show.
4. Stop measuring your crops. This is a tough one for me. I confess I check to see how many retweets I’ve had or comments on blogs, but none of this has anything to do with farming. I’d much rather fall in love with my work, and get up and do it for the works sake than do it for the notoriety. To be honest, no number I’ve seen online has pleased me. Never. But you know what has consistently brought me pleasure, sitting down and having written a good little story. Fame is fickle, and it will come and go. If you associate your identity with the fashion trends of a fickle public, you are going to go insane. I’m leaning to keep my head down and plow my field.
Friday, February 12, 2010
Provision
This is going to be a short Friday post.
Wednesday, February 10, 2010
Brain Tumor!
Today is another day at the Public Library where I can be online and search for jobs. I really didn't plan on writing anything here today, but I'm tired of chasing job opportunities down dead-end streets. Therefore, I gave up for today due to frustration and a throbbing headache (I think due to finally needing reading glasses - I'm officially old!). Thus, I write.
Tuesday, February 9, 2010
Perfect Timing
Today, it is snowing AGAIN! School is out today and people around here seem to freak out when there's some snow flurries in the air. It's truly ridiculous. I hate the snow and cold weather. I'm a Florida boy through and through! However, with the snow and cold weather comes a certain tranquility and peace that forces me to kind of stop and reflect on what's going on in my life. In the past few years, things have been chaotic to say the least. I have been more uncertain and uneasy about my life and the future than I've ever been. I've had to come to the conclusion of either being my own man and turning from God, or completely submit to Him and leave behind my selfish ways and actions that have hurt so many in past years. I decided years ago to completely submit to Christ for the rest of my days. With this decision being made, things have certainly not been easy. In fact, the Lord says that the life of a Christ-follower won't be easy. But then, Jesus' life wasn't easy either. I believe this is God's way of truly seeing if I'm willing to put my full faith and trust in Him. I'll be honest - it's hard some days. It's tough believing that God is in ultimate control of His children and that we must have total faith in Him and His perfect timing. That's a hard thing for me to grasp hold of in the midst of turmoil, unsettledness, and uncertainty. I'm pathetically flawed and human!
Friday, February 5, 2010
Up and Down
Today I'm posting an excerpt from my brother, Troy's blog. Honestly, I don't have much to say and I certainly can't do better than this! Troy is my family, my rock, my Godly wisdom, my confidant, and the person I feel God placed on this earth to watch over me so I don't destroy myself. The older I get, the more I realize this and am grateful. How can someone take on the burden of someone else yet knowingly not be able to do anything to help other than pray? Now that, to me, is Christ-like! I love my brother. Always have and forever will.
Thursday, February 4, 2010
The Journey
Tuesday, February 2, 2010
The Coming Days
At the time that I'm writing this, I currently sit in the public library where things are quiet, I can be online and check email, and just think. I'm sitting at my usual table in a corner next to a floor to ceiling length window where I can view the outside and feel somewhat connected to it. There's an unusual amount of snow on the ground that brightens up everything outside. It's calm, still, and quiet out there. Yet, there's still the movement and motion of the birds and squirrels going about their daily business of looking for food as if there were no change in the landscape.
(Ephesians 3:20-21)
Saturday, January 30, 2010
Snowed In!
Thursday, January 28, 2010
Earthly Fulfillment
Will Jesus fulfill us here on earth? from All Things Converge Podcast on Vimeo.
An amazing, insightful, yet simplistic view of the Christian life and our earthly fulfillment coming from Donald Miller. This guy never ceases to amaze me with the depth of his views yet he makes them so easy to understand. I hope you agree.
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
Doing Things His Way
Isaiah 55:9 states, "As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways and My thoughts than your thoughts."
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
Mid-Life Crisis?
During a 47 minute hammerfest that included 4 minutes of Tabata Intervals on a stationary bike, I started thinking - deeply thinking (which I often do during these times of suffering). I thought; here I sit in a gym full of middle-aged to elderly women and men and I realized that I'm now one of them! When did I transition and cross over into being a middle-aged guy trying to hang on to good health? What happened to the twenty-something kid that used to play college basketball and not have a care in the world? I don't remember my mind ever transitioning into middle-agedom, but my body certainly has! In fact, I still think of myself as being in my late twenty's - probably to a fault.
Monday, January 25, 2010
Donald's Outlook
About a week or so ago, I found this excerpt on Christianity and spirituality on Donald Miller's blog. He's a really nice guy and just so happens to be my favorite author by penning my favorite book I've ever read - Blue Like Jazz. I identify with his outlook on life, relationships, and most importantly, Christianity. He's a very intellectual guy. Far more intellectual than I'll ever be. Therefore, when I read this excerpt on the heels of the Pat Robertson incident about Haiti, I greatly connected with his point of view - thereby solidifying even more my common outlook on things that I share with him.
Friday, January 22, 2010
Making Progress
So, it's been quite a while since I last posted here at Compete Life. Almost 7 months to be exact. Many things have transpired. Much time has passed. Perspectives have evolved. Since the passing of Brandon Klein, I discovered a lot about myself. I've realized that I am greatly flawed. I am selfish. I am stubborn. I am resilient. And I am a survivor. You see, in an effort to stay as transparent as one can on a blog, I've gone from living in a beautiful 3800 sq. ft. home to living on a great friend's (@ksparq08 for all you Twitter fans) couch. Over the past two years, I've gotten a huge slice of humble pie. And believe me, even though it doesn't taste good, it's extremely healthy! I was once a highly sought after producer in the Christian music market. Now I am completely unemployed and praying for God's guidance in how I will meet my monthly responsibilities on the horizon.That's quite a drastic and humbling change, both financially and emotionally, but the valuable lesson that I've been learning is how to truly rely on the Lord's guidance in the smallest of areas. That's something that never occurred to me as little as 4-5 years ago. I was selfish and self-absorbed!
As some of you know that have visited this blog in the past, I decided to take up the sport of triathlon and chronicle my exploits in training and competing. Little did I know that the training aspect of this activity would become so important and vital to my development both physically and, more importantly, spiritually. You see, being out alone on the streets or in the water, has become my prayer closet. It's the place that the Lord speaks to me the loudest and most clearly. And it's in this time that I can truly converse back to him audibly. It's my time with Him. It's OUR time together to sort through my "things."
In one of my recent daily devotions it said, "Anytime you try to make progress, there WILL be opposition. But with God on your side, you can stand your ground." With that being said, this past week was one of serious opposition. Satan knew exactly where to poke, prod, and test me. I cut ties with a very close friend of almost a decade because our relationship had become more adverse than friendly, one of my best friend's child was diagnosed with Muscular Dystrophy, I lost my job, and I have to go back to court for family reasons. It's been quite a week with a ton of painful build-up! That may be one of the reasons why I'm chronicling this - because it's a much needed outlet to get this stuff off of my chest and somehow make sense of all that's rumbling around in my head. That takes me back to my devotion. This has been my opposition and yet I'm choosing to stand my ground. Because unlike times before, I now more than ever know that God is on my side standing right behind me to support me and to remind me that He knows what the final outcome is and He knows who it benefits. I find peace and comfort in that.
Will this be a blog that keeps record of some forty-something year old man trying to stay in shape for some cheesy races? NO! Will it be an every day account of what's going on in my life? Absolutely not! I'm too private and reclusive for that. However, this WILL be a place where I will occasionally write my thoughts and epiphanies every once in a while. If no one sees or cares, fine. If they do, I hope you enjoy. Until next time, I ask and covet your prayers that the Lord truly guides me to where He wants me to be.