The World Is Not Coming to An End Because of Health Care

The Guitar Adventure: Does it continue?

Honestly...

I did not have a desire to go to my guitar class that I have been taking down at UNLV on Monday night. The class has been really good, but very overwhelming. It has been a crash course on everything you need to know about learning the basics of the guitar.

Due to being exhausted from a great weekend and losing an hour of sleep I thought if I skipped out on the class it would be easier for me to go home and practice and get in bed early. Not to mention that Monday started at 5am with a workout, breakfast, counseling sessions, supervision, and then finally arriving at class at 7:30pm. This means that in the big picture of things I do not get to bed until 10pm. That really cramps my style.

Well, I overcame the resistance and pushed through and went to class. I am really glad I went because the pieces of the puzzle started to come together and I was able to see a bigger picture last night of this entire journey of learning the guitar.

The idea of resistance is present in our lives in different forms throughout our day. If we push through we know that it will be worth the energy, but in the face of resistance we often want to take the path of convenience.


How do you overcome personal resistance in the face of convenience?




(Photo: porah)

The Art of Forming Calluses

Last Monday night was a crash course into the basic of reading music. I have never been trained in any music nor do I understand how to read music. I am not sure if I am musically inclined or not. If I hear a song a few times and focus in on learning and hearing the notes, in general terms I "know" the song. Well, at least I know how to sing the song or possibly even lead the song in a worship context.

In my adventure to learn how to play the guitar one of the annoying things is developing calluses on my left hand specifically my fingers. If you have ever attempted to play the guitar or consider yourself a guitar player than you know what I am talking about. Attempting to play the right chords one must press down on the strings at the right fret. Not enough pressure and the note does not resonate. Every guitarist refers to the fact that you must develop calluses in order to move to the next level.

Calluses are a must if i desire to take my guitar abilities to the next level, but it takes time and dedication to work through the pain. Once the calluses are formed I will be able to play without discomfort.

I typically do not desire calluses in my life. I typically wear gloves if I do manual labor to prevent blisters or calluses from forming. I have minor calluses from working out either with Crossfit or P90X, but calluses play a major role in very few areas of my life.

However, I must be aware of any calluses that may be forming over my heart or mind. Just as in playing the guitar, it is slow process and sometimes you may not even notice the calluses being formed in your life.

Ephesians 4 refers to this process as "hardening of the heart" and "losing all sensitivity."

The point of a callus is not to have sensitivity.


Do you have any calluses that need to be softened?


May our eyes and heart be opened to the calluses that need to be removed.


(Picture: sofamonkez)

A New Adventure

A new adventure always has inherent risk, failure, joy, and excitement.

In 2001 I signed up for a guitar class at LCU and for some reason dropped the class a few days prior to starting. I have regretted dropping that class on a few occasions over the last 9 years.

A few weeks ago I signed up for a 5 week class on Monday night at UNLV to try this whole guitar adventure again. Well, tonight is the first night.

I look forward to new adventures, but fear the risk of diving in. However, this is not a short term goal, but as I wrote in my 2010 story that this is a life long adventure to learn the guitar.

What fears do you have in starting a new adventure?



(Picture: uyo14)

Genuine Christian Artist

The other night at the Matt Maher concert I was encouraged not only by Matt's new CD, but his great humility on stage. He displayed not only his talent to sing the Truth, but to speak the Truth. I normally get really annoyed when artist start speaking, because most of them are not speakers that is why they are in the arts. Matt on the other hand has a way to speak with humble boldness into the lives of those who were at the concert. This is his second CD and I would highly recommend buying both of them for your iPod. If our memory is right I think we heard him several years ago (3-4) at a youth ministers conference. Jessica has written a brief blog if I have not convinced you.

And no I am not earning any commission. I believe in passing on great things to you, my readers.

Crowder Tickets

Earlier this summer we ordered tickets for David Crowder's Band upcoming Church Music tour. The concert is in October for first come first serve seats, however we ordered tickets early for the same price, but we get to have early entrance to VIP seats. We are so pumped. So in honor of our tickets arriving here is video Wednesday with David Crowder.

Listen to this Song

I have listened to this song 5 times today.

New Creation from Pace Hartfield on Vimeo.

Never Let Go

Sit for a brief moment and pray for God to reveal his faithfulness to you through this video.

Nashville Star

Flipping channels the other night I noticed that there is a reality show that appears to be trying to find the next big country singer. Coffey Anderson who I ran across (on the net) a little over a year ago was on the show. I did not get to watch him perform due to watching another show with Jessica. However, Coffey Anderson would be a great person to cast your vote for if you are watching Nashville Star. 

Check out this video.