A Man Without A Home... Part 2

(You can receive this Blog via email by entering your address on the right.)

In case you didn't get it from my previous post A Man Without A Home, I am a man without a home. But do not be confused: I am not homeless. I am A Man Without A Home (see previous post).

I have found out that being without a home inspires creativity. For instance, I am at my favorite Starbucks, sipping green tea, and using the internet connection here as I write this Blog post.

When I visited my sister and her family for Christmas, the first question I asked after the "welcome-how-are-you's" was, "May I use your washing machine?"

And then food... no problem! Being somewhat of a minimilast-vegitarian, a stop at my local grocery store for some fresh fruit, and a box of raisin bran stashed in my car and I'm set for the day.

I'm no expert, but I am learning to make the most of wherever I am, and whatever I have. While in India, I can take a bucket shower, negotiate roads shared by animals, and I have learned to use roti and naan (bread) as a spoon to move the other food on my plate to my mouth.

I think that is the beauty of the way we were made: to be creative, innovative, and adaptable. Some will say that they need this and need that. I say tap your creativity. Become innovative. Adapt to the situation you are in.

Who knows, 2011 may be the year that we'll need to.

Question: How can you be more creative and innovative in your life? Share your thoughts below in responses.

(If you like this post, please re-post it or Twittter it to your followers. Follow me @bigcloudmusic on Twitter if you find me interesting.)

A Man Without A Home

(You can receive this Blog via email by entering your address on the right.)

Right now, I am a man without a home. Call it transition. Call it between places. Call it what you want.

Our family is in the process of moving to Florida from Maryland. I will be joining the staff of a church as the co-pastor. My wife and daughter have already moved down there with our "stuff".

I am staying in Maryland because my current church is keeping me on for a few months to aid in the transition of my responsibilities here. I'm glad they are, because my new church in Florida is not in the position to pay me, so I have to find a job to support my family.

This week I am sleeping at friend's house. Next week I will be sleeping at a different friend's house. The next, week, a different friend. All of my stuff that I didn't load onto our moving truck is crammed into the back of my Mini Cooper. Because I am a man without a home. 

I will commute via air, working three-and-a-half days in Maryland, and three-and-a-half days in Florida. This will begin after the first of the year. It should be fun.

That's my story. It reminds me of the story of another man without a home. He began his life being born in a borrowed feed trough in a borrowed cattle stall. He once said of himself that he had no place to lay his head.

He also traveled a lot. Not so much commuting, but rather purposeful journeys on foot to be involved in people's lives.

All of his clothes weren't crammed into the back of his Mini Cooper, but rather were worn on his back.

This same man without a home gave up his life so I could have a home in heaven. Now that ought to be fun!

Question: Have you ever felt that you didn't have a home? Share your thoughts below in responses.

(If you like this post, please re-post it or Twittter it to your followers. Follow me @Bigcloudmusic on Twitter if you find me interesting.)
 

Re-gifting Blog Posts

Creatives are continually looking for ways to do things differently. But sometimes experiencing the same thing again, the same way is not a bad plan.

So I offer you my 12 Days if Christmas Video Blog from last year. I think you'll enjoy all of them!

Question: What can you do again, for the first time? Share your ideas below in responses.

Put The Christ Back In Christmas...

Several years ago I had the privilege of working with Roy Mills, an Australian musician and worship leader. He had written a collection of Christmas songs, and in the process of recording them, I was brought in to be involved in the project.

The recording was to be called "Put The Christ Back In Christmas", and as we worked with the singers and musicians in arranging and recording, I began to get an idea for a Christmas story based on the theme that was emerging through the songs.

Roy gave me permission to move forward, and together with the collaborative services of my writing partner, Rick Libert, we produced the musical "Put The Christ Back In Christmas". Four performances in a dessert-theatre setting to packed audiences complete with a trailer park, and an Elvis impersonator produced great music and script, many changes lives, and some great memories.

Why an I referencing this story in my Blog? Well, the idea of Put The Christ Back In Christmas is not a new thought among Christians. And the regular readers of this Blog know that I always seek to encourage creativity in others. Therefore, I am asking...

Question: What can you do to Put The Christ Back In Christmas? Share your ideas below in responses.

(If you like this post, please re-post it or Twittter it to your followers. Follow me @Bigcloudmusic on Twitter if you find me interesting.)

Create-Your-Own-Party!

(You can receive this Blog via email by entering your address on the right.)

Are you a party person? What I mean, is when people are around you, do you make them feel better? Do you cause them to have fun?

I believe that every encounter and every relationship needs to be full of life. I want to find ways to enrich a person, rather than deplete them.

I want to go away from an encounter energized rather than drained. And therefore, I want to leave people with a smile and a hope, a laugh and a warm heart.

I tend to overdo it and forget my boundaries. My wife is periodically asking me to dial down the humor because I get, well... out of control. Too much fun at a funeral: Hey, the person is in heaven and feeling a lot better than we are. Too much hilarity at the hospital: Isn't laughter good medicine?

So there you have it. A smile, a good word, some laughter, and even an all-out assault on negativity. That's what I want to leave you with!

Question: How can you create-your-own-party when you are with others? Share your thoughts below in responses.

If you like this post, you can re-post, put it on your Facebook status, or forward it to your friends. Follow me on Twitter @bigcloudmusic if you find me interesting. Subscribe to this Blog if you'd like.

 

Minimalist Thanksgiving

(You can receive this Blog via email by entering your address on the right.)

I was speaking over the weekend with a friend who is from Nigeria. The subject of Thanksgiving came up. He indicated that Nigerians have been celebrating a Thanksgiving-style event for hundreds of years, even before the "first" Thanksgiving here in America.

For them, it is based on the same premise of thankfulness for the abundant harvest that ours finds its roots. Further conversation revealed that many African nations have this focused time of "after harvest celebration". Simply put, we weren't first.

For many Americans, Thanksgiving has become a four-day weekend, a football-game-filled gathering, a time to be with family and over-eat, and the day before "Black Friday" (the day after Thanksgiving that boasts great deals on stuff).

I heard an ad for a national retailer that indicated that they would open for business at 3:00 am on Friday. Black Friday has become Black Friday Week for a few companies, where the same deals are available starting on the Saturday before Thanksgiving. Why wait until Friday to shamelessly seek to take consumer's money?

And then there's the eating. (This is the self-inditing paragraph: Yes, I will over-eat, albeit only vegetables, and maybe have only one piece of pumpkin pie, sans whipped cream.) The amount of food consumed by Americans on Thanksgiving surpasses what some people eat in a month. (OK, I'm done.)

May I suggest that we hold off a little on the consumable edibles, and not be so focused on the consumable stuff, the shopping and spending. How about being more focused on our relationships, and gratitude for what we have (that others don't), rather than what we want?

Question: What can you do in your life that will make this Thanksgiving a little more minimalist? Share your thoughts below in responses.

If you like this post, you can re-post, put it on your Facebook status, or forward it to your friends. Follow me on Twitter @bigcloudmusic if you find me interesting. Subscribe to this Blog if you'd like.

 

Dreaming In Black & White

(You can receive this Blog via email by entering your address on the right.)

I usually don't remember my dreams in the morning. However this morning, I vividly remember what I had just dreamed about.

It was a very short dream. It was a very disturbing dream. It was about Nazis taking the Jews out of their homes and "rounding them up".  It was in black & white.

I saw the people in their overcoats, hats and scarves, clutching their suitcases and a few meager possessions. I saw the soldiers in their greatcoats and jackboots, clutching their MG-42 machine guns and driving the people like cattle.

What I remember the most in my dream was a large suitcase that seemingly moved up the street by itself. As it got closer, I saw a small boy crawling on his hands and knees, pushing the heavy suitcase. He was crying. He was in black & white.

And then I woke up. It was still dark in my bedroom. It was still dark outside. Everything was still in dramatic black & white.

So as I write this I wonder why my dream was in vivid black & white. Did my mind feel it necessary to create a Schindler's List atmosphere because of the nature of the dream? Was I simply being historic, and using the pictorial "tools" of the era?

(I will not try to spiritualize this dream, just to share it for what its worth.)

In whatever color you dream, I encourage you to keep dreaming. I encourage you to dream big. I encourage you to let your imagination find new ideas, and new ways of expressing old ideas.

Even if you dream in black & white.

Question: How do you dream (while sleeping and while awake)? Share your thoughts below in responses.

(If you like this post, please re-post it or Twittter it to your followers. Follow me @Bigcloudmusic on Twitter if you find me interesting.)

Creativity Inspires Creativity

I love being around creatives. I enjoy hearing ideas, listening to dreams, seeing the passion that accompanies creativity.

But for selfish reasons too, I love being around creatives, because creativity inspires creativity. I always leave a creative conversation with renewed vision and a dozen new ideas churning in my mind.

I remember attending my first youth ministry conference as a wide-eyed 20-year old. There I was, listening to my heroes (Barry St. Clair, Bill Jones, Ralph Neighbor) taking notes as fast as I could, cherishing every nugget of "wisdom" that was being thrown my way as I sat on the front row (yes, I actually sat on the front row for every session).

Now when I attend conferences, although I diligently listen and take notes, I also allow my mind to run with thoughts and ideas, allowing creative impressions to take shape. Two pages of notes are opened in front of me: one for what the speaker is saying, and one for the creative ideas that come to me as I listen and think. (I actually have written songs while listening to others teach.)

If you are a creative (and I believe that everyone is, because we are all made in the image of the great Creator), hang out with other creatives. Share ideas, listen to impressions and thoughts, receive inspiration.

A good friend and fellow creative is also an aspiring author. (He's not ready to go public yet, but when he does I will post it on this Blog.) He recently asked me to read the first few chapters of his first novel, to give my opinion. I read, and it is great!

Why did he ask me to read? Because according to him, I have "served as a creative inspiration to me on many levels."

So I guess creativity does inspire creativity.

Question: How are you inspired to be creative when talking to, reading, or listening to others? Share your thoughts below in responses.

(If you like this post, please re-post it or Twittter it to your followers. Follow me @Bigcloudmusic on Twitter if you find me interesting.)

ABCs For Sharing Your Dreams

(You can receive this Blog via email by entering your address on the right.)

Are you keeping your dreams to yourself? Are you holding back from "going public" with your innermost hopes because of fear? Are you even dreaming at all?

Although our dreams may be personal, I believe they are meant to be shared. Even if it is only with our closest friend, we should divulge our deepest aspirations. Why? Here are three good reasons:

• Accountability - Sharing your dreams with someone will help you stay on track to accomplish your goals. They can give you periodic "check-ups" to motivate you to keep moving forward.

• Bump - Sometimes we need a little push, a nudge, or a bump to get us going. Fear can paralyze us. Lack of motivation can keep us from taking the first step. When we share our dreams, a needed push is readily available.

• Contribution - Sharing your dreams with someone will allow them to offer another perspective on what you are seeing. This can be valuable as you see your dreams through their eyes and their vantage point.

I am grateful for my wife, who is my best friend and trusted dream sharer. She gives me a fresh perspective on my hopes, she keeps me motivated to press on, and when needed, she gives me the needed bump to propel me forward.

Find someone to share your dreams with. Allow them to be a part of that secret place deep within your soul where your dreams live.

Question: Who do you share your dreams with? How is that beneficial to you? Share your thoughts below in responses.

(If you like this post, please re-post it or Twittter it to your followers. Follow me on Twitter if you find me interesting.)

How To Make Fruit Salad

(You can receive this Blog via email by entering your address on the right.)

My wife Elaine makes an amazing fruit salad. Her special "brand" sets it apart from other fruit salads I have eaten. Maybe the fact that she makes it not too often is what makes it amazing. For whatever reason, I love it!

We recently had dinner at the home of our son's in-laws, and my wife brought her fruit salad. When we left their house, she was handed her empty serving bowl. But we had only eaten half of it. The in-laws kept the rest...they too thought it was amazing!

The different ingredients are good in and of themselves, but when they are combined, the result is...amazing! (Am I using that word too much? Taste my wife's fruit salad...)

Fruit salad is a lot like what and who we are. If we identify one attribute that we posses (skill, character quality), we can say that we are good at that, or that we excel at that. But when we consider the cumulative total of all that we are (not only what we do, but also who we are), we realize that we are pretty amazing!

Now my goal here isn't to have us pat ourselves on the back and think highly of ourselves, just for the sake of thinking highly of ourselves. Rather, I want us to see ourselves as complete, multi-deminisional people, rather than one-deminisional "I'm-only-good-at-one-thing-types" who miss a lot of who we are because we don't value all of who we are.

Want me to tell you how to make fruit salad like my wife does? Nope.

Question: Do you see yourself as a cumulative total, or as one-deminisional? Answer below in responses.


(If you like this post, please re-post it or Twittter it to your followers. Follow me on Twitter if you find me interesting.)

3 PRs Of Dreaming

Dreaming is good! Dreaming keeps us thinking beyond our present. Dreaming gives us hope.

But sometimes dreaming needs a little PR. Just laying back and dreaming won't get it done for us. We need to leverage our dreams. Here are three PRs of dreaming:

• Prepare: Dreaming gives us a vision of the future. As we visualize the future, we begin to see what needs to be accomplished, what needs to be put into place to fulfill our dreams. 

• Propel: Our dreams push us. They give us purpose. They motivate us. Our dreams light a fire within our hearts that cause us to pursue those very dreams.

• Preserve: Our dreams constantly compel us to keep going, to not be satisfied with the present. Dreaming reminds us that we were designed to fulfill a greater purpose than we might perceive our current circumstances dictate. 

So dream, dream, dream BIG!

Join the conversation: What other PRs are a part of your dreaming? Share your thoughts below in "responses".

(If you like this post, please re-post it or Twittter it to your followers. Follow me on Twitter if you find me interesting)