The Stones sang it and I believe it: you can’t always get what you want. I caught myself watching one of those technical school commercials on TV the other day. You know, the ones that are usually broadcast during the middle of the day, designed to reach out to the high school drop-out who learned too late that pumping gas has a limited upward mobility. The graduate being interviewed for the commercial was holding his two little girls in his lap saying they, like he, could accomplish anything they set out to do. When I heard the father say those words, I became frustrated because the statement is not true. Let me explain…

Just because I desire to do something doesn’t mean that I can or should do it. There are many factors involved. First, not everyone is created equal in regard to ability or intellectual aptitude. I could never become a physicist, for instance, because I was not born with the intellectual capacity to become one. I know it’s not “fair” but life is not fair. Second, there are biological differences as well as physiological differences to consider. I will never become a professional basketball player (really?). There are obvious differences with regard to gender. I am amazed how male and female compliment each other and I celebrate the specialization that each gender brings. But, I will never give birth to a child (whew, I’m glad that news bulletin has been released)! This brings me to the third point: we are not all psychologically and emotionally equal. To accomplish the task of a funeral director there are unique demands. Those of a preacher, a physician, a lawyer, all have unique psycho-emotional parameters that are required to serve adequately in that discipline.

So, when we say that we can do whatever we set out to accomplish, we are fooling ourselves. The best thing we can do is embrace the abilities we have been given. In raising children, one of the greatest gifts we can give them is to nurture the unique gifts and abilities that become apparent as they grow. Many parents try to live vicariously through their children and attempt to coerce them into disciplines or professions with which they themselves wanted to participate but, for some reason, did not. We can help our kids get on the right track by encouraging them to recognize the skills with which they excel. Sometimes their talents are right under their noses–too obvious for them to see– but we must nurse those talents through reassurance. One way I knew that playing music would become my chosen profession was that I always felt content while I played and sang. People always said I was good at it. I felt God’s joy when I played. Opportunities to play and sing came to me increasingly over time. I am still playing and singing professionally today.

God has a plan for each of us. He loves us equally. His love for us is not based on our talents, gender, looks, behavior, status or ethnicity. We can discover the life He has created for us if we allow our unique gifting to flow and, more importantly, we return them back to Him for His glory.

Brenda and I realized after visiting Memphis, and the site of Martin Luther King Jr.’s killing at the Lorraine Hotel, that we had created a pattern of visits to other like places which we call our “assassination vacations.” Not quite an assassination in the classic sense, our 2004 visit to the crater on the south side of Manhattan where the towers fell on 9/11 had all of the eerie marks of the event in Memphis. The world was changed there. And, as Americans affected by that change, we want to make a pilgrimage to the “ground zero” of those events. We also made a trip last year to Washington D.C. and Ford’s Theater where John Wilkes Booth shot President Abraham Lincoln. From a center section of seats on the floor I could see the box where Lincoln was murdered. The distance from the box to the stage also made me cringe as I imagined Booth jumping and breaking his leg on the boards below. We then visited the Petersen House across the street where Lincoln was taken and later died.

Brenda and I look forward to visiting Dallas in the near future to see Dealey Plaza and the historical places connected to the death of JFK. Our intent to visit these sites don’t come from morbid curiosity. Rather, we are intrigued with the bravery displayed by the characters of these historic events. This morning, as I watch another History Channel special about the tragic events in November of 1963, I am reminded that I am witnessing at a national tragedy from the comfort of the future. When each of these events happened, the nation was in a stir–answers weren’t immediately forthcoming. I remember watching TV as a kid and seeing Robert Kennedy laying in a pool of blood on the kitchen floor of the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles. The environment was frenzied as people ran about in disbelief. Today I feel a bit unworthy as I gaze at the History Channel from my easy chair.

The nation gets thrown into a collective tail-spin when incidents like the aforementioned happen. We feel vulnerable, scared, and wonder if the tragedy will some how affect us personally. These emotions subside after time as we settle back into our normal living patterns and eventually distance ourselves from the force that swept us off our feet.

Driving by the Civil War battlefield at Spring Hill, just a mile or so from my home, I am aware that the world was changed right in my backyard. These shrines to sacrifice, be it an assassination, or a face-off at a lunch counter, rightfully return honor to those who selflessly purchased our freedom so we could one day visit that hallowed ground…from the comfort of the future.

Friday night I joined my comrades to play on the square in Murfreesboro, TN. Outdoor concerts have their challenges. Usually it starts with waking up the morning of the gig with an eye on the weather. One thing rain brings is cooler weather. But as last weekend’s post-rain outdoor baptism proved, when the sun comes back out, the rain vaporizes up into the clouds and cooks everything in it’s path. Guitars and amps don’t react favorably to these conditions–neither do singers nor musicians.

In the spring of 1980 I was enjoying the opportunity to travel and see North America in it’s entirety for the first time. When we were kids in the 60s, my folks packed the station wagon one summer and we made our way through Yellowstone, The Grand Canyon, Jackson Hole, and everything in between. The wonder that the big sky displayed in those landscapes was awesome. When a storm was brewing, the best thing to do was to find shelter and wait it out because it was going to be ominous. Zooming forward in time, this 1980 trip brought back these memories as me and the band worked our way across western Canada, slogging through the thick mud of the fairgrounds where we played. We were guests of the Hell Drivers, a popular Canadian stunt driving crew out of London, Ontario, that dazzled audiences with their car jumps, roll-overs and other death-defying feats. We also shared the stage with a marionette troupe. Needless to say, we had to make due with the summer weather on the prairie and all of it’s fickle behavior.

Not only was mud a concern, dust and heat were also enemies. Pedals, amps, mics and sound systems were always vulnerable to failure when dirt was present. We had to cover our gear with whatever we could muster so that the Hell Driver’s dust storms wouldn’t find their way into our stuff. Mic cords and P.A. cables took a terrible beating. We had to take wet towels and clean the entire length of each before rolling and packing them into their cases for travel.

Still, after all the hassles with playing outdoors, it is the most fun I ever have as a musician. It reminds me of the time, while as a kid visiting Disneyland in Anaheim, bands rose out of the ground on an elevator-like stage at the Tomorrowland Terrace. The sound of it was incredible to me as I circled above the terrace on my rocket ship. I wanted to play there one day (that dream “sort of” came true in 1981 when I played for a week or so at Disneyworld in Florida). When on an outdoor stage, I love to turn up my amp and let it get a little rowdy (we put our amps in sound-proof boxes at times to cut down on stage volume…so cranking it up is a treat!). The rain held out Friday night. The square was filled with worship and great music. This trumped all of the hassles that lead up to the event. I’ll worry about the dust later.

The atrocities of the oil spill in the Gulf are outrageous. The reality of the aftermath is far worse than the news reports show on TV. Wildlife has taken a major hit as well as the businesses that line the coastal vacation destination. Agriculture has been bruised as the ports that help distribute products are vulnerable to curtailed operations. Many families who have sunk every last penny into their livelihoods, as well as borrowed ones, have considered moving elsewhere to make a fresh start. It is a terrible disaster that will take years from which to recover.

Even after this horrendous human error, life will find its way back to normality. It always will. I know it may seem insensitive to even attempt to make the point here. But, I believe that we will one day see the sun rise over a renewed Gulf. The seafood industry, tourism, wildlife, the export infrastructure, etc., will return. The earth and its eco-system is resilient. We have witnessed untold disasters that have, over time, recovered. I understand that there are opposing economic and ecological philosophies here. The term “scarcity” is found as an important topic of discussion with both disciplines. Scarcity refers to limited natural resources verses consumption. The fear is that without intervention, these resources eventually become extinct. The secular view is that the concept of a creator/sustain-er is absent from the maintenance of the earth’s resources. In other words, it’s completely up to mankind to manage these resources or the earth will be in peril. The other view is that God is at the center of His creation and has provided a sturdy system of rebuilding when there is an ecological imbalance. This is much like how the body maintains a balance in itself, called homeostasis.

I am a proponent of being ecologically responsible. I also have faith that my God holds the world, mankind and the heavens in the palm of His hand. I trust that the measures we take as good stewards of the earth and it’s resources are in harmony with His command in Genesis–to populate the earth and care for it. I also believe that God is ultimately in control and that, in His power, the earth keeps turning.

All right, I’ve heard enough complaining about the heat. The temperature is dancing around 100 degrees. Yesterday, the “feels like” temp was 117. I heard the hottest day on record in North America was 134 degrees in Death Valley, CA, on my birthday in 1913. I don’t think middle Tennessee will get that high, but I swear it feels close.

Seasons are here for a purpose. California, my home state, only has two seasons: great and not-so-great. Tennessee has four distinct seasons and it’s one of the true pleasures of living here. We always have something to look forward to as the weather changes. It being August, the fall is right around the corner. Oakland comes to play our beloved Titans on September 12th. I can’t wait! The leaves change, I bring out the long sleeves–and best of all, I get to retire the lawn mower until spring.

Then the cold comes. And, after Christmas, the long-haul of January through March helps us look forward to the warmth again. What would life be like without change–without ups and downs, without the straight and the curved roads of life? I imagine it would be like eating the same thing everyday for every meal. Even my favorite food would be a bore after a while.

The variety of seasons generate in me a hope for tomorrow. I have always tried to enjoy the season that is upon me. I like to get all I can out of it because the weather’s gonna change soon. Life is like that: enjoy family, togetherness, food, friends, music and just plain-ol’ living because we are not promised tomorrow. I will live today as if it’s my my last. I will go out there in the stifling heat, count to ten, and then race right back into the cool comfort of my home and look forward to fall.

The last thing I want to do with my spare time is paint a room. Probably because I am terrible at it, even though I come from a family of house painters (my grandfather, uncle, brother and cousin have all been professional painters/ wallpaper hangers at one time). I am better off buying the paint and letting someone else apply it. You’d think I would have learned the art of painting after working with my brother for a few days back in the late 70s. But, no. I get more paint on myself than on the walls.

I have learned something cool from Brenda that has made the dreaded search for paint a fun challenge. I go the area in the paint department that I call the “ooops paint” aisle. This is where someone erred in choosing a color, texture, etc., and have returned their mistake to the store to be re-sold for a very deep discounted price. If it’s a good day, there is a color, or something close to what I had in mind, sitting there that I can snag for next to nothing. For the two trips I made last week to the derelict ooops paint aisle, I came away only spending $5 per gallon on $35 paint. I feel proud about the purchase. Then I spend the “big” money on tape, brushes, pan inserts, rollers, etc. Why purchase those items every time you paint, you ask? Well, I am so excited to be finished with a room that I fail to rinse the brushes and they all turn to stone in the corner of my garage. I have a graveyard of items from the hardware store that die a terrible death in that way.

The guys at the store with the orange vests always see me coming. Maybe it’s my imagination, but they seem to be whispering to one another, “Here comes that musician guy again. I wonder what he’s screwed up this time?” I imagine they jokingly hurry and hide all the cool ooops paint colors and leave the strange ones like fluorescent green or eggplant for me. Whatever the case, we usually settle for one that is “close” …the one whimpering to take him home like a pitiful little puppy in a pet store.

In this economy, I have had to learn to be a “do-it-yourself-er.” Brenda has more faith in me than I do when it comes to fixing stuff. I can write songs, play guitar, sing and lead others in worship, but my skills as a handyman are lame. I will have to say, though, that when the walls are dry, the blue tape is pulled, and that last piece of furniture is scooted back into place, I do a victory march around the room and pump my fists. Even though the lines are a bit crooked and the little dots of spilled paint mock me, I have the warm, satisfied feeling of a completed task. Now, the leaky shower faucet is screaming for my attention…

I have never forwarded a complete piece written by another author, but Greg Laurie’s devotion of July 28, 2010 was so incredibly on the money I want to share it in it’s entirety:

Dear children, keep away from anything that might take God’s place in your hearts.
1 John 5:21

Believe it or not, idolatry comes naturally to all of us. Why? Because we must worship, and we will worship. Even as nature abhors a vacuum, so does the human soul. The human soul always will find an object of worship, either on the shelf or on the altar or in the mirror or in heaven. But we will find something to worship, because we are idolaters.

Maybe we don’t give these gods the names they were once given, like Dagon or Baal or Zeus or Thor, but they are gods nonetheless. An idol or false god is anyone or anything that takes the place of God in our lives. And know this: everyone has a god—even atheists.

When someone comes up with their own version of God, that is worshiping a false god as well. Making statements like, “Well, I don’t believe in a God who would. . . .” is creating your own god, and that is idolatry.

The Bible warns us, “Dear children, keep away from anything that might take God’s place in your hearts” (1 John 5:21). But why would we worship an object or a thing or something else instead of the true God? Because in our minds, it gives us control. In his book, Words from the Fire: Hearing the Voice of God in the Ten Commandments, R. Albert Mohler wrote, “Idols imply control—human control. . . . We will devise our own worship because we have devised our own god.”

An idol or false god is whatever you get excited about, whatever you are passionate about. People get excited about a lot of things. They may not call these things their gods, but in effect they are. What is the focus of your life? That, for all practical purposes, is your god.

Greg Laurie
Copyright ©2010 by Harvest Ministries. All Rights Reserved.

How many times have you pulled up into your driveway forgetting how you got there? Have you ever had a conversation with someone, walked away, and couldn’t remember what was said? This isn’t a case of dementia, but one of not paying attention to the “moments” in life. In other words, we are so busy racing from point A to point Z that we fail to enjoy B through Y.

I heard of an experiment conducted by the brilliant violinist, Joshua Bell. He brought his multi-million dollar violin into a DC subway and set up to play, incognito. Joshua is probably one of the top five, if not top three, living violinists in the entire world. The experiment exposes the reality of our modern world as we hurry through life. The Washington post reported:

“7:51 a.m. on Friday, January 12 (2007), the middle of the morning rush hour. In the next 43 minutes, as the violinist performed six classical pieces, 1,097 people passed by. Almost all of them were on the way to work…Each passerby had a quick choice to make, one familiar to commuters in any urban area where the occasional street performer is part of the cityscape: Do you stop and listen? Do you hurry past with a blend of guilt and irritation, aware of your cupidity but annoyed by the unbidden demand on your time and your wallet? … What’s the moral mathematics of the moment?”

A worthy moment is every moment…maybe answering our child’s endless questions, listening to a friend in need, a quiet dinner with our spouse, or doing absolutely nothing.

In today’s world we find our value in what we do. So we are constantly building the foundation for our self-worth–working and earning our way to self-acceptance. We worry about things that probably will never happen. I want to learn to stop, listen, love, taste, pause and reflect, for my days on earth are numbered. Time is fleeting and the opportunities will never return. I want to spend every moment God gives me because He doesn’t give us roll-over minutes like the cell phone companies. I will do all I can to enjoy today and not hurry past the beautiful music that is being made right now.