I've been cautious about seeming self serving, so I haven't often posted videos of me singing.
Singing for the Lord is my highest calling and what I've done more than anything else ... so ... here's a couple of songs.
They are great songs even if I'm the singer.

Over a Cliff

With wide eyes and a huge, toothy grin, Mac stomped on the gas. Seven hundred horses howled.
"Why have a car without a monster engine?" he asked and laughed. "I love the smell of burning rubber. I love speed! And I ain't driving some little dinky sports car. The bigger, the better."
The car leaped ahead and rapidly accelerated. I could barely move my head as it was pushed back into the headrest, but I had to look at the speedometer. It was already reading sixty miles per hour. Seventy. Seventy-five and climbing.
"I've invested in every power option I could find for this baby," Mac yelled over the roar of the engine."My parts man is looking for more. No expense spared. This is my top investment."
Eighty. Eighty-five. I cranked by head around and looked forward. I didn't like my future with Mac behind the wheel of his pride and joy.
"What about the law?" I tried to pierce the engine noise and Mac's obsession with going faster. "You're breaking the speed limit."
All Mac did was laugh like I was the greatest comedian he'd ever heard.
Then a speeding ticket became a moot point as the car left the road ... and kept gaining speed. Ninety. One hundred. One hundred and ten.
Mac had to scream to be heard. "Why build a monster engine and not push it to the limit?"
By then, over barely level ground, we are hurtling ahead at one-hundred-thirty miles per hour. And I wish I'd kept my eyes on the speedometer rather than peer ahead.
"Mac! A cliff! We're headed toward a cliff!"
"What a rush!" Mac shouted. He didn't seem to have heard me or seen the danger in front of us as the mechanical beast passed one-hundred-fifty miles per hour. "This is how this car was meant to be driven. I've still got pedal left."
And he pushed the pedal harder.
"Stop! Stop! Please, Mac, stop! Turn the wheel before we go over the edge."
Fifteen trillion dollars! Sixteen trillion dollars! And rising.
"A bigger government is a better government," the driver declares. "We need to invest more in bailouts, health care, entitlements, education ... in any program for social justice we can create!"
Bailouts to the tune of hundreds of billions. Maintain an annual budget deficit of more than one trillion dollars. Print more money.
Create more bureaucracy. Need more jobs? Let them be in the government.
Don't tell the drivers the growth in debt and deficit ... the speed ... is unsustainable. They're ignoring any resemblance of their massive, suped-up automobile to nation vehicles in Europe that are falling over cliffs.
Their ears seem deaf to warnings about the economic laws they are breaking.
"Spend, spend, spend!" is their battle cry. "Borrow, borrow, borrow," from China or whoever will loan the money ... until they won't anymore. They are oblivious to the loss of true liberty as the unassailable wall of debt encircles the nation.
"Speed! I need more speed!"

Boredom and Little Foxes

A man begins dying at the moment of his birth. Most people live in denial of Death’s patient courtship until, late in life and deep in sickness, they become aware of him sitting bedside.

Eventually, Mitchell Rafferty would be able to cite the minute that he began to recognize the inevitability of his death: Monday, May 14, 11:23 in the morning – three weeks short of his twenty-eighth birthday.
Until then, he had rarely though of dying. A born optimist, charmed by nature’s beauty and amused by humanity, he had no cause or inclination to wonder when and how his mortality would be proven.
When the call came, he was down on his knees.

Dean Koontz

“The Husband”

A strong opening to a story is of utmost importance; that is what I am told. I let Dean Koontz take care of the beginning of this essay for me. Nobody does it better than Koontz.
If you get to know me, you quickly realize I love to read ... mostly fiction. I have often read stories that stirred within me the desire to do something more, something bigger than what I was currently doing. I felt inspired to (cliche moment) "be all I could be."
Obviously, as a Christian, I recognize I can only be the ultimate me when "the life I now live, I live through the power of Christ within me." (Spending more time in the pages of scripture would propel that transportation more effectively.)
Like most people, my actions don't always measure up to the "full stature of Christ." His is the example to follow, and I am meandering down other trails.
The word of God gives clear instruction and inspiration, under the anointing of the Holy Spirit, about how to behave as I ought. Many sermons and lessons taught at church remind me of how I should
live and stir inside me the desire to live that way.
And yet I fail. I am tempted and I fail to resist and flee temptation. I act as if sin still had chains on my feet and hands and the power of God did not reside within my by His Spirit to make me free from the bondage of sin and death.
Like many others, I wonder why that is. How do I keep getting sidetracked? Why am I not consistently walking and talking like Jesus?
Why does that "WWJD" wrist band (if I wore one) become more a painful reminder of what I am not (experientially) than a sure light guiding my path and illuminating my footsteps?
One insight into the problem is highlighted in an integral difference between fiction and reality. The most inspirational "story" ... even as it attempts to portray the endurance and patience needed to live ... cannot accurately reflect the mundanity of life. Nobody would read a story that told every detail of every moment!
Fiction is entertainment, an escape from reality, even when it attempts to present a truth and represent real life.
Stories are told in bigger than real bites. They are played out in scenes, not moments (except for momentary emphasis). When I make major mistakes ... when I sin "big time" ... I have almost without fail made multiple small steps in the wrong direction, showing a lack of the endurance it truly takes to live righteously. The big scene in which I sin is always a direct result of those boring moments when I failed to keep my eyes on Christ.
Sins rarely stand alone; they are supported by the foundation of little failures to listen to Holy Spirit. I have forgone anointing to follow after temptations of the flesh. “Small foxes” have begun to spoil the vine, and the fruit is obvious misdeeds.
Paul, the apostle, tried to remind me to “run the race with patience.” He wrote that I would “reap” the blessings of God if I “faint not.”
I have too often forgotten that each tiny moment is actually a big scene in my story. Failure to live it that way is what leads to my ultimate realization that I have walked away from God; I’m no longer intimate with Him. He is saddened by my absence from His side.
I feel Godly sorrow, too, when I choose to repent and draw near to Him. Otherwise, I soon begin a new pattern of moment-by-moment ignoring God.

When Jesus talked about the issue, He used the image of "little foxes spoiling the vine." I, and all of us, must let His words guard hearts and minds moment-by-moment from the spoilage.

Late Start of the New Year

I have a long history of enthusiastic beginnings that lead to to nowhere.
Acknowledging the problem might be a first step, but it is not a solution. Obviously, it does not help to make excuses for the failing.
For three months, I consistently entered blogs. The new year begins, and I am in danger of ending my blogging career before it even begins. February is well-begun and this is the first time I've penned an entry .... one that is simply free form, unprepared, propelled by the realization that I don't want to fade away from the blogosphere.
I have never been a "resolutions" proponent. Making them leads to breaking them. I either do what I should do or want to do or I don't. Pledging to do something does not get it done.
Unless I am a man of my word. Like God, who always keeps His promises. His word is trustworthy. It never fails.
God had no problems with writing His resolutions. One volume 67 books long, the Bible presents a solid foundation on which my life is settled.
Of course, my personal issues with keeping pledges reveals my human failure to live like my life is on that solid foundation.
God loves me ... that means, He is doing whatever is best for me for all eternity.
My best response to His love is to love God ... to do that which honors Him and creates a great atmosphere for us to relate. God is all about relationship.
Jesus came that I might have that relationship ... FOREVER.
Being loved by God while loving Him will directly lead to me loving others ... my family (all of them), friends, acquaintances and the entire world ... as God gives me the opportunity.
Any resolutions I might make would simply be a process to living in the relationship. There are certainly practical things I must do to walk it out. I need to listen when God reveals those to me. I need to be determined to do them.
Not because I will gain any greater favor with God. But because I am so highly favored by Him that I should be willing and desirous of doing them.

Merry Christmas!

I suppose someone will read this sometime before December 25.
May this season be joyous. Let God remind you of the reason for the coming of His Son, our Savior, whose birth we celebrate - that is the best cause for joy!
May you have time to share with family. Have fun with your children. Talk to your siblings, parents and other relatives, recalling good times and reminding one another about how God "sent His only begotten Son."
I would love to think my sons, Scott and Tim, with their families, Katie and Martigan, and Kristin and Sophie, would see this ... "I love you all and pray your Christmas is wonderful."
I will talk to you (and text you) and make this more personal. Besides which, I cannot be certain you will read this.
Many of us have to truly rely on the grace of God to thoroughly celebrate. Heartache haunts us in numerous ways: we lost a loved one to death, we live far from family and have only the unsatisfying electronic media through which to communicate or sickness, poverty or some other trouble is on our heals and worming their ways into our hearts.
While we live in this world, there is no guarantee that tribulation won't touch us. As those who trust in Jesus, we have God's strength on which to rely, His joy to strengthen us, His peace to surround us and comfort us.
I believe ... and have experienced its reality ... that God's love and mercy are tangible.
He may send someone to physically be with you and provide emotional support. At the other end of the spectrum, God often reveals through His word an amazing sense of comfort.
Anyone who views me from the outside (as most of us see others around us, oblivious to what is going on inside them), may think I haven't a care in the world. It's Christmas, and I have everything one could want to make the season joyful.
I am RICHLY blessed, but I am human. I have lacks that may not be obvious but exist nonetheless.
Do I expect to have a blast this year? Yes! I could be wrong ... something could go awry. But the joy of the season is Jesus.
Secondarily, we get joy from family and friends.
And we can share happy experiences ... good worship, caroling, parties, dinner, watching "The Nativity Story,"  "It's a Wonderful Life" or "Miracle on 34th Street" (NOT "A Christmas Story") and, yes, football.
Even giving and getting gifts can be great ... if you steel yourself for the potential for disappointment when all you wanted from Christmas doesn't satisfy when you get them.
Be happy with the perfect gift ... Jesus.

I'll Take All the Stringed Instruments I Can Get!

Another strange issue that creates division (Oh! How I hate to hear of such among the children of God.) in churches is the use of instruments in the sanctuary during worship.
I have only one complaint about instruments - I don't have enough of them at our church!
I'll take any guitars, drums, horns, cymbals, etc. you want to provide. I'm out of practice in dealing with instrumental performance BUT I believe I could relearn quickly how to do it should God prompt the musicians to join in and they say, "Yes," to his call.

Some people actually are completely satisfied with a piano and or organ being the only instruments used. Some churches don't even use instrumental soundtracks, preferring using their keyboard players to accompany every part of the singing - congregational, choir, ensemble or solo.
Some people - and some churches - believe nothing but the human voice should be heard in a service. Their justification - the New Testament, they say, never mentions musical instruments in gatherings of the church AND they limit their form of worship to a New Testament guide, forgoing all the scripture in the Old Testament.
They certainly cannot dissuade the use of instrumental music in worship if they read the Old Testament, especially the Psalms. Among the seven Hebrews words that are translated "praise" in English is the word "zamar."
Zamar means "to pluck the strings of an instrument, to sing, to praise; a musical word which is largely involved with joyful expressions of music with musical instruments."

Psalm 21:13: "Be exalted O Lord, in Thine own strength, so will we sing and praise (zamar) Thy power."

To praise the Lord is a willful decision. I must decide that God is worthy of my worship and, whether I feel like it or not, I lift my voice in song, chant or shout, I lift my hands, ecstatically or in supplication, or I clap, dance or spin in joyful response to Who He is and what He has done and is doing.

Praise is also an emotional response to the character and mercy of God. If I truly understand who God is and what He does, I WILL feel joy, peace and exultation. It will erupt from deep within me in some form of praise.

I am a singer. I don't play an instrument (one of the things I regret most is never disciplining myself to learn to play something). I don't regret being a singer; I am grateful to God for the talent, the anointing and the opportunities He gives.

Yet, instrumental music more fully expresses the joy I have in the Lord than anything else. My songs are completed by the use of instruments. I am blessed by the way the instrumental arrangements enhance the vocal lines.

And I love the unadorned, a cappella sounds. Both fit in worship. Each has its place. Certainly, singing in the Spirit - the anointed harmonizing of human voices yielded in uninhibited song directed toward the Almighty - is as glorious as any praise in which I have participated!

In most worship services, I want to have any and all instruments possible available. And if sons and daughters of God who play aren't available, I'll be blessed to use soundtracks.

I'll worship in "truth" - basing instrumental use on the word of God. I'll worship in "spirit" - focusing whatever is done on glorifying and thanking God and proclaiming the salvation that is through Jesus Christ to whoever hears.

Thanksgiving Is Due the Lord

Psalm 92:1-5 (A psalm or song for the sabbath day)
It is good to give thanks to Jehovah, and to sing praises to Your name, O Most High; to show forth Your loving-kindness in the morning, and Your faithfulness every night; on the ten strings, and on the harp, with sounding music on the lyre. For You, Jehovah, have made me glad with Your work; I will triumph in the works of Your hands. O Jehovah, how great are Your works You purposes are very deep.

"It is good to give thanks ..." Translation - God is worthy of my thanks and to withhold my praise - to not have a thankful heart from which praise flows is evidence of something deeply troubling in me.
We'll deal with the obvious up front. As much as I love turkey and the trimmings (most especially, after the turkey, the pumpkin pie and whipped cream and other desserts), that is not what this season is about. It is more than a national holiday. The feasting is supposed to be about more than filling our stomachs and not worry about it because we're only going to plop onto the couches to watch the football games.
Feasting originally was intended as a celebration of God's character and what He has done for us because of Who He is. Feasting originated among people who didn't always have abundance, so they celebrated the bounty that God provided.
We now feast in a land of constant abundance ... and our feasting has become more about the pleasure in the abundance and enjoyment of the flavors and sated feelings of a lot of food.
We MUST consciously with determination remind ourselves - I must remind myself - that God is still in control. We have abundance only because He has provided it. I must remember that everyone ISN'T so blessed, and not because God loves me more. He knows who to present with abundance and who to present with lack. God alone knows which circumstance is the best for whomever in preparing them for eternity.
In lack and plenty, I can find blessings. God's goodness is in His presence and His care for me in whatever need I have. And we with plenty of food have as many and as critical needs as those who are hungry.
God is God and worthy of honor and glory.
God is just and worthy of respect and obedience.
God is merciful and worthy of praise.
God is good, and His goodness should compel us to utter thanks ... to sing our thanks ... to shout our thanks!