“Hustle. Grind. Repeat.”

“Things may come to those who wait, but only the things left by those who hustle.”

Don’t hear me wrong – I love hard work and I consider myself pretty well versed in the art of the hustle.

But…we all need one day a week where we disconnect, unplug, and shut the world off – including our hustle.

Brady Boyd, in his book Addicted to Busy, calls it a “Pajama Day”. Have one day a week where nothing requires you to change out of your PJ’s.

God calls it a Sabbath.

Whatever you call it, you need to do it.

If you knew a guy who was cheating on his wife every week, yet attending church and considering himself a strong Christian believer, you would have a real problem with his blatant disobedient to Godly living.

Yet almost all of us willingly and regularly disobey the command to a Holy Sabbath rest day!

I’m trying to get better at it – I’m not perfect but I’m getting there. My father always strongly modeled this principle growing up, but it’s still a fight to maintain a personal culture of rest. Here’s a few  tips and resources that I find helpful for a successful sabbath:

– iPhone users, enable “Do Not Disturb” mode for the whole day

– Read “Addicted to Busy” by Brady Boyd (I read this every year. A Must Read!) .

– No errands – no grocery shopping or Costco runs allowed.

– Watch “Take The Day Off” sermon by Robert Morris: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U2fSDgzz6ZU

– Read “Simplify” by Bill Hybels

Be with your family, shut things with screens down, and RELAX. The hustle and grind can wait.

Obviously online marketing works, it’s an industry I work in, and I’m for it. I’m currently marketing to you and you don’t even know it! I mean, have you seen my new headshot profile picture? CLEARLY I want to look professional online and have an audience that likes what I say…I’m actually working on and implementing some creative ways to build my own email list and social media following as well.

However, the pattern I see repeating in this specific circle grates against me- particular for Christian, Bible based material.
I have seen this scenario play out 4 times in the past 3 years, and each of the authors were non-fiction Christian (I have seen in both male and female authors):

???? 1. Author starts with a fairly small project that (somewhat) unexpectedly takes off.

???? 2. He scrambles to keep up with the popularity and has quickly amassed a strong social media following.

???? 3. He produces great free content online. Incredible blogs, inspiring videos, and free resources that drive home all the points that made me fall in love with him to begin with. He speaks and travels.

????4. He writes another book, this time with his larger audience and the marketing is stronger. He’s getting better at this. His message is still authentic, raw and true to himself.

???? 5. *the weird part starts* Somewhere here he starts turning everything in to a marketing pitch for his (now) brand. It starts feeling less authentic. You’re no longer connecting with the story as deeply… you’re starting to feel like his customer being upsold to.

???? 6. He comes out with an e-course video series for several hundred dollars. Or a conference. Or both. Of course, if you enter your email you’ll get a free e-book with a teaser of some of the same content. This will show you how badly you need his course or conference.

???? 7. Now he has begun the shift from authentic raw author to digital marketing, brand, and message expert pitching me on why I need his digital products.

????NOW LET ME SAY that I understand writing books is not very lucrative for 97% of authors. They truly have to get creative to make money other ways – and monetizing a platform is a great idea.

I just wonder if anyone else feels the way I do – does this strategy dilute the messaging and story, or is it simply a necessary nuisance we’re okay with because we love the original message the author conveys?

Have you noticed this trend or am I reading too far in to a few isolated examples?

Should I back off and let authors do what they need to do to make a living?

Have you grown numb to all e-courses, e-books, and digital downloads because you feel like it’s all just a ploy to get your email?

This rant has been brought to you by some spicy Chinese food, the letter R, and the ???? emoji.

Based on the recommendation of a co-worker years ago, I remember watching the TV show “The Big Bang Theory” for the first time when it was in Season 2. I loved it. I found it was hilarious, totally nerdy, and had just the right amount of “sitcom cheesy”. Bazinga!

As season 3 started up, I noticed the show taking an increasingly dirtier turn. There’s always a level of crude humor that we sort of accept as the price of admission with network television, but I noticed the producers seem to increase the number of inappropriate jokes & unsavory scenarios… and decrease the amount of clothes Kaley Cuoco was wearing.

I hung on for the rest of the season, hoping it was a “phase”…but realized that this seemed to be the norm for this show now, and took my exit off before I fell more in love with the show.

I’m certainly not perfect in this area — I can improve my filtering process when it comes to entertainment, for sure. For example, here’s my transparent confession: I loved The Office, despite the constant “That’s What She Said” jokes.

I’ve seen the promos for the new show Lucifer – causing quite the uproar on my Facebook feed! Make no mistake, there will be zero viewing of this show in my home.

However, I’ve seen tremendous amounts of outrage and absolute disgust at how “blatantly the enemy is allowed in our homes” and “how can we allow this garbage on TV”. While I agree with the sentiment of that…

“Lucifer” hasn’t barged into our homes by violently knocking down our doors. We’ve let him in every week for a few nights, for 30-60 minutes at a time. His blatant invasion shouldn’t come as a total shock…because we let him visit every once in a while anyway.

Strong sexual & perverse content in a show? “It’s okay, there’s so much funny, it’s worth overlooking.”

Lifestyle choices that are making a mockery of the Christ we serve? “No big deal, the lead actor is incredible.”

Award shows with near-pornographic outfits and musical performances? “Well, I’m just trying to stay in touch with culture.”

Entire franchises based on adultery and lying? “It’s just where society’s going, we may as well get used to it…”

Hear me – I believe the show Lucifer is very wrong, and the whole concept being popularized is very disappointing. I’m not suggesting that it’s okay to watch because there’s already so much rubbish on TV.

Just don’t act surprised or outraged when shows like this are produced, when all along we’ve been tolerating small doses of the same exact medicine.

(I’m preaching to myself as well, trust me!)

1. Fight to keep immoral content out of your home – you cannot be passive.
2. Moniter what your kids are in to – yes, be THAT parent. My parents were and I’m thankful for it.
3. Cancel your visits with Lucifer and cut ties with some entertainment that needs to GO.

“What one generation tolerates, the next generation will embrace.”

– John Wesley

“But among you there must not be even a hint of sexual immorality, or of any kind of impurity, or of greed, because these are improper for God’s holy people. 4 Nor should there be obscenity, foolish talk or coarse joking, which are out of place, but rather thanksgiving.”

– Ephesians 5:3-4 NIV

On a related note, it has come to my attention that I keep some of the wrong kind of friends around here on FB – the kind of friends that have never seen ANY Star Wars…Shame, shame.

If you are one of these wrong friendships in my life, and want to turn your life around by getting started on the Star Wars adventure, my recommendation would be this: (Fellow nerds, feel free to chime in with your comments or different recommendation but keep this a *SPOILER FREE* zone)

As you know, the saga was released in a seemingly strange order, and it “starts” in the middle, with Episodes released beginning in 1977. Then, the prequels, Episodes I, II , and III were released beginning in 1999. In my mind, these are “optional” and not as iconic or well-done as the originals (three words – Jar Jar Binks). Of course as with any great movie, the re-visits are never as good as the original.

Don’t get me wrong – I dressed up as Yoda, complete with big green ears and standing in line on my knees – when Episode III came out…so they’re still exciting to a Star Wars fan.

Now, in 2012, Disney bought Star Wars and announced a continuation with VII, VIII, and IX. Ready to make the leap in to the great universe that is Star Wars?

Here’s what I suggest you do… Watch the original release first: Episode IV, V , and VI. Then, head to the theater and watch the new one, Episode VII. Later, when you have time, go back and watch Episodes I, II, and III, but only if you want more back-story. These are “optional” in my opinion. They are nearly irrelevant to this new one – this way, you save time in having to get caught up on the entire saga, by only having to watch 3 movies instead of 6. *Nerd Rant Over*

But times have changed, and it’s possible to have access to great entertainment without having a cable bill or contract!

I’ve shared this with a few other people personally, and most people that feel like cable or dish is the only option are pleasantly surprised to read about some alternative options. My suggestion is not for everyone, but it’s worked for us the past 2 years and we’re not left wanting for any TV entertainment. We canceled cable when we moved from our apartment in January 2013 and haven’t looked back….our reason was primarily for cutting back on constant entertainment, but many will find that this also saves some major $$ every month.

Ready to cut the cord? Here’s what to do:

1. Cut cable or dish entirely and revert to internet only plan – high speed (20mbs or higher)

2. Buy a Roku or Apple TV. (One time cost of $70-$100)

I’m an Apple guy for sure, but rather than an Apple TV, I suggest a Roku. Lots more content options and a little more open to new “channels” (you can pick and choose which “content channels” you want, like apps).

3. Then, subscribe to:

• Hulu – $8/mo
• Netflix – $8/mo
• Dish Sling live TV subscription – $20/mo (more $$ if you add other package options)
  (Sling has fairly limited content right now BUT it does show live ESPN)
• Optional: Amazon Prime $99/yr (comes out to an average $8.25/mo…it does have a lot of duplicate content from Netflix, but there are additional Prime benefits that make it worth it in my opinon.)

4. Buy a HD Antenna for local channels like ABC, Fox, NBC, etc. (one time cost of $50)

Numbers breakdown:
Initial equipment cost – $130-$150
Approx Monthly cost – $44 (depending on streaming options, able to cancel individually on a month to month basis)

You’ll be paying a total of less than $50 a month (plus the cost of internet, which you would have anyway) for on demand entertainment that you want, not wasting money on extra stuff you won’t use.

We have an on-again, off-again relationship with Sling. I paid for 2 months when it came out, then canceled it for 3 because I wasn’t really using it during a busy season of my life. Then I started again a month ago to watch FoodNetwork, but will likely cancel again if I don’t feel like I’m getting my money’s worth out of watching it.

So that’s it! Pick and choose your options, and you can have great on demand entertainment without selling your soul to the cable company! Don’t let your dreams be dreams.

It’s definitely led me to think differently in some areas…one being money. Missionaries live by faith off of monthly support – duh. They have a huge responsibility to be good stewards of the money their supporters are sacrificing for them…but, aren’t we all? Aren’t all to be good stewards of our money, regardless of how it’s raised or where it comes from?

Anyway, that’s not my main point. Just an example of an area that I’ve been thinking differently.

Something I’ve noticed in conversation with people outside of “the ministry” – everyone and their mom knows someone in the ministry.

I was at Waffle House with a good friend the other day, and began talking to my server (Wendy was her name, I believe) a bit about what I do.  US missions to the high schools, and all that good stuff. Her response?
” Oh, yes! I had an uncle that was a youth minister for a loooong time!” She went on to describe her involvement in various ministries as well –  it was a very engaging conversation. (Yet another compelling reason to visit your local Waffle House!)

Here’s what I’ve seen in my short time at bat: Everyone will instantly respond by mentioning someone they know in the ministry. My brother is a pastor, my dad was a worship leader, my brother in law was a church groundskeeper, my mom was the Pope, etc.

Okay, so I’ve never heard that last one. But you get my point. We even see this in John 4, in Jesus’ encounter with the Samaritan woman at the well. Her response to His spirituality was:

¹⁹“Sir,” the woman said, “I can see that you are a prophet. ²⁰Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, but you Jews claim that the place where we must worship is in Jerusalem.”

Why are these people always referenced by seemingly unsaved people in conversation? Why are there names brought in to the mix? Why is it that it could be someone from long ago, but for some reason it seems so relevant to talk about them?

Could it be that they’re making the impact in their lives? That the brother-in-law is remembered for his good advice he gave that one time. The uncle is remembered for being there at the hospital. The dad is remembered for his spiritual leadership.
(Sure, there are probably people who bring up these names just to sound spiritual to some degree – but for the most part, these are the ones making the impact)

The challenge I get from all this?

To be that someone. To be the person who gets brought up in those random conversations. To be remembered as the connection point to the Kingdom.

Not saying you have to go into “full-time ministry” to make this happen…And not saying you have to be remembered to be “great” or whatever.

But may I be the person remembered for serving Jesus.

Apple’s long anticipated touch screen tablet has hit the ground running, with mixed reviews. I have no desire to blog from a gadget reveiwer’s standpoint – plenty of that has been done already. I simply want to put out my opinion on the table.

“Big whoop – a bigger iPod touch with a retooled OS, more apps, and a slightly faster processor. $500 for a bulky iPod?!? Heck no!”

That sums up my first initial thoughts. Then , through a conversation with pastor & mentor Daniel Norris (I’ll reference some of his thoughts later), my imagination came out to play for a bit. I invite you: let yours do the same for a moment.

(if you could care less about the iPad, this post isn’t for you. I’m not trying go all fanboy on you, I promise. Feel free to leave now.)

Okay, is your imagination out and ready? Let’s put our thinking caps on, boys and girls!

I believe that the iPad can bring healthy change to two  sectors of society, if we’ll let it.
And I’m not talking as an eBook reader or bigger portable media player. Allow me to get specific for a moment.

Sector One: Ministry / Preaching.

Right off the bat, this thing replaces my yellow notepad for taking to meetings. Yes, there is power in handwritten scrawl – but the digitization for sharing and backup trumps that. Having to carry a stack of stuff to meetings is no more! Or, at least greatly reduced. Looking over budgets, purchase orders, service plans, etc becomes really easy with iDisk – everyone in the office has online access to it. Got a thought for a sermon to develop later? Type it in. You can fully develop it on iPad later, or export to your home computer. Really no need to do that though – you could do all your online studying and referencing straight on the pad. I’m sure Christian publishers will put out a plethora of studies and resources to make this thing a Word powerhouse. Keep in mind, I really like typing on an actual keyboard, and for long, in depth prep, you wouldn’t be able to tolerate holding the device in one hand and trying to type with the other.

Let’s move on to the actual preaching part. Here’s where it gets good. Laptop? Too cumbersome to preach from. Obvious. Whenever I see someone open up their laptop and begin preaching from it, my mind instantly wanders:
“Oooh, sweet.I wonder if he’s tweeting right now. What would his twitter be? Maybe I can find him really quick… Hm,  I bet Jesus would’ve owned a Mac. Yeah, definetly. Oooooh, look! A pretty glowy apple! Prreeeetttyyyyy…”
… or something like that. I’ve found it distracting. An iPad is the perfect size to be useful for the preacher (phone is too small) and subtle enough to avoid being a distraction. Like I said, it replaces the notebook. The preacher could prepare his notes on the mac, then upload it to iDisk and access from the iPad. Revolutionary? Maybe not. Easy and polished? Yes.

If you’re one of those guys that has a power point every time you preach, that’s a no-brainer. The iPad will allow you to access the file and  sync it with the computer in the soundbooth so that what you’re seeing on the iPad is what they’re seeing on the screens. It’s a presentation dream come true! Just add your notes to your sermon slides, and your entire sermon could be based on the keynote. Daniel had some other thoughts he posted on my facebook in this area :

Perhaps you’d like to keep an entire library of books in one location easy to read and access

subscribe to newspapers and magazines that update automatically and can always be searched for info

have access to every sermon you’ve ever written, and use the device to deliver it… think of the cool points as you earn

To all the haters, you can use your notes and control a keynote presentation at the same time (no more asking the unattentive graphics guy to skip to the next slide)

Watch movies on a screen larger than 2.5 inches. Yes you can use a laptop on a plane… but it just doesn’t fit on that little tray

Instant Portfolio

Great pad for taking notes on and working with Documents (it’s the 21st Century Yellow note pad)

Did we even mention that iwork works on the device???

I’m just getting started

For churches … it’s a 10inch multi touch screen

Kiosks just went obsolete

Discipleship, Follow Up, Sign Ups, Guest services just moved to where ever the individual is

No better way to browse the web when sitting on the couch

Games… Games… Games… not so much for me, but for those who like to waste time (hummm)

100,000 apps … there’s an app for that, and not there is a screen large enough to actually do some pretty cool things with them.

Well said, Daniel. Kiosks just went obsolete – Instead of having greeters with just cute little church logos on, give them an iPad! Now every visitor to the church is recorded on the spot, and synced with a database. Is your imagination following? This is cool. Children’s check in, youth follow up, altar call respondants: all can be done in the hand. I likey.

I don’t think I need to expand any more here – I could go on and on, but I don’t want to sound like I’m working on commission for Apple or something. Just play with the implications of this thing in your head – especially if you’re involved in ministry or at a church somewhere.

Okay, when you and your mind are done playing with that idea, let me hit one more topic:
Sector Two : Foodservice.

Okay, I’m a server also. Did you not think I was going to talk about this? My mind goes wild at the idea!
Every restaurant I’ve worked at uses a computerized ticketed ordering system called “micros”.
You’ve been here: Server comes to table, takes order on notepad, goes to the back and punches some buttons on the “micros” computer. Boom, 20 minutes later, your food arrives. Pretty good system…but…

How much more could this be improved with an iPad?!
Every server gets one. The restaurant has had a personalized micros app developed, and it is wirelessly synced with the kitchen’s printers. The server comes to your table, and whips out the iPad. He shows you pictures of the specials of the day, that aren’t in your menus. He takes your entire order and punches it in right at the table – no more notebook-to-computer translation (an area where I have certainly messed up an order or two).

Another thought is to have an iPad at every table – nearly eliminates server interaction. The menu is all digital, just drag and drop your selections in to course categories, make any modifications you have (no mushrooms, extra waffle, etc) and your meal comes out timed perfectly. In this case, the introduction of the iPad to the food industry would hurt it: suddenly the demand for servers is replaced by a tablet (similar to what automated checkout lines did to cashier jobs).

Again, I could go in to more detail here – I’ll spare you.

Those are just some ideas. Criticize if you want – we each have our own opinions. Is the iPad necessary to incorporate in to both of these fields? Oh, no way. But it can make it a heck of a lot cooler – we’ll have to see how this pans out.

How could it affect your line of work or life?

It’ll be interesting to see if this is the “magical” “revolutionary” device Apple is hoping for or just another Newton.  I tend to lean far towards the former.

It wasn’t a bad night, money-wise. Good amount of business, good staff on tonight, and generally good tips. I’m not going to go into detail about the logistics of the food-service business: if you want to see someone who does, and is pretty humorous, check out my friend Jon’s page here.

The only thing I wanted to post about was something I saw running rampant today – something I’ve seen alot in my 4+ years of being in the restaraunt biz, but for some reason it especially irritated me tonight. I almost busted some heads. Okay, maybe not really. I’ll go ahead and introduce it by quoting Jon’s blog post from this past Saturday:

The one thing about this couple that really bothered me was that there was no communication, unless there was a complaint. every time I went to the table they were sitting there on their cool little smart phones. which brings me to say this, if you’re going out with your significant other, talk with them. listen to them. if your cool smart phone is more important than your relationship with him/her, then it’s not going to be too long before it’s just you and your phone.
I really like my new phone I got, but I don’t get on it when I’m out with my wife.

I love the way that’s worded, by the way. That’s exactly what I saw a lot of tonight!
Guys especially, but girls too, who would go out to eat and spend 80% of the meal chilling on their phones! Playing scrabble, facebooking, searching the area for the nearest Waffle House – seemingly anything besides talking to their date!

What? I mean, it’s Valentine’s Day! Overrated, Hallmark, commercialized – call it what you want, but if you can’t be romantic and involved in your “best bud’s” life on V-Day…you have a problem!

Jerks. Best word without cussing I can think of for people that consistently do that. Checking the phone occasionally, responding to texts, updating Twitter saying you’re out with an amazing person- totally cool in my opinion! Far too often however, even on V-Day, the focus turns from just being with the person, to writing, posting, texting, etc about being with that person! What? What? I find it terribly disconnected and disrespectful. Just my two cents…I’m climbing down off of my soapbox now.

Don’t get me wrong, I love being connected. I love Facebook, Twitter, Flickr, gmail, YouTube, etc. But when you set aside time to spend with a certain special someone, isn’t it worth it to unplug for a few hours? iThis, iThat, ilovebeingonline – let’s take the “i” out of everything and let it be about “them”!

I think oftentimes we get so involved in being “socially connected”…that we become “socially disconnected“.

Can I challenge you to be different in this? Go out with the person – and actually be there! Don’t be off “in the cloud” somewhere! The great business philosopher, Jim Rohn (and I believe Zig Ziglar as well), instructs us to “work when we are at work, and to play when we are at play.” Choose today, and every day, to enjoy life by being fully present. Wherever you are, be there!

El FIn.

Luke

“All of us tend to put off living. We are all dreaming of some
magical rose garden over the horizon instead of enjoying the
roses that are blooming outside our window today.”
Dale Carnegie