I'M AN AMERICAN DANGIT

I recently was messing around on Facebook, and came across my buddy Campbell's "About Me" section. Check it out at this link: (http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1502746940#/profile.php?id=1502746940&v=info&viewas=1422693116). You may have to be his friend to view it, but if you're not...nevermind it...just read mine! He was stating many of his political views, and they encouraged me that I needed to get some things off my chest. This is going to be unpopular amongst many of my friends, but oh well.

Regarding politics (which can be very controversial) I agree with much of what my dear friend Campbell stated. I'm neither Republican nor Democrat...I'm an American! Did anybody hear me out there? Let me say it again: I'M AN AMERICAN DANGIT! Regarding voting party lines...I think anybody who votes party lines only are not only closed minded, but are blinded by the fact that it's not the 80's anymore. Ronald Reagan is not the President anymore...God rest his soul. I wish his legacies would return to Washington D.C., but as much as our representation in the Republican party like to brag about what a great president he was, they sure do have a hard time living out his legacies. I'm sure Reagan is flipping in his grave disgraced by his followers in the GOP. What the heck happened to them? With all the corruption in the Republican party today, how can an American not be open to considering the other side. It doens't mean you have to vote the other side...just hear them out. Consider their views on various topics, then make an educated decision by your own convictions...NOT PEER PRESSURE! I could go on all day about my problems with the Republican Party today, but I'll stop right there.

Regarding the Democrats...don't get me started on the Democrats! They've become blinded by overtaking the Presidency. WHERE ARE ALL THE BLUE DOG DEMOCRATS TODAY? I know you're out there. I know there are many elected officials that are Blue Dogs. TAKE YOUR PARTY BACK FOR THE LOVE OF PETE! If the Democratic Party was to write a game plan, I'm sure every single chapter, paragraph, and sentence would start with "It's George Bush's fault". If you spend as much time focusing on what's best for America as you spend time trying to undermine George Bush and continue to smear him...you might just get something done. SHUT UP ABOUT HOW GEORGE BUSH RUINED EVERYTHING! Quit worrying about smearing his name and making him look bad...here lately he's done a fine job doing that himself, so he don't need your help. CONCENTRATE on your own job!

I'm not a news columnist. I'm not a professor. I'm not a politician. I'm an American! As an American I have the right to express my opinion, so here it is. Here's "The Problem" according to Chris Andrews. The problem is that us as "Americans" are freaking lazy and will do 1 of 2 things:

THE PROBLEM BY CHRIS ANDREWS

A SUB CATEGORY OF THE ANDREWS PONDERINGS

1.) We choose to stay home on election day. Listen closely...if you don't perform your civil duty and vote, you should just keep your stinking mouth shut if you got a problem with the way things are. Too many people have given their life for America for you to just "pee" it all away on the couch playing video games, watching DVD's, surfing the web, and not giving a rip about voting. You don't have a problem running your trap when Bush ticks you off...or Obama...or Palin...or whoever makes you mad, BUT you do have a problem getting out and voting because..."I'm tired"..."It's raining"....whatever. SHUT UP AND VOTE YOU WATER HEAD!

2.) We won't do our own responsibility as Americans and do our homework on the candidates. Instead, we simply just succumb to peer pressure when it comes time to vote. I've heard it all..."well my Gramma was a Republican, so I'm voting for McCain"...or "My Great Grand Pappy was a Democrat, so I'm voting for Obama". Well I have news for you...my fathers brothers nephews cousins former roomate was an Independent, but I "ain't" voting for Nader. Listen here...YOU have your own brain...you have your own voice...you have your "God" given right to vote for who "God" convicts you to vote for. If you don't believe in God...it's ok...God still gives you the right to vote anyway. He's cool like that! He loves you anyway. He's a BIG GOD! Before CNN and Foxnews started telling people how to vote, people made their own mind up. You don't have to choose your favorite news program or radio show in order to figure out who to vote for. You have the only tool you need...a brain. It's time to excercise it.

This has been one of my longer posts because I'm very passionate about it. I love following politics, and I love America! I can tell you without regret that come November, I'm thankful that I get to vote. I already know (mostly) which candidates I'm voting for...I did my homework. I even prayed about it...as a matter of fact, that's the main ingredient I use when determining my candidate. There's many candidates here in Sumner County Tennessee up for election that I'll be voting for. Most are Republicans...one of them is a Democrat. I did my civil duty...did you?

TO MY BROTHER JASON...

This blog is dedicated to my brother Jason. He recently made a life choice to turn his life around. You see, just like many people in the world today, he was a suffering alcoholic. He reached a point in his life that it was sink or swim if he didn't make a decision to dry up. With the help the greatest Uncle a guy could ever ask for....Big Daddy Uncle Steve...Jason decided to clean up. He went to California, got himself some help, and has been sober for about 1 month now. People have no idea how much fortitude and guts it takes to clean your act up once you've hit bottom. In the past month, my brother has shown more guts than most people can comprehend. Imagine this...some people get addicted to coffee...some to sodas...some to cigarettes...some to TV shows...etc., etc., etc....the list goes on. Alcohol addiction is one of the most dangerous addictions in the world. Many great people have lost everything to alcohol. Many innocent people have died because someone made the choice to drive a car they had no business in. Alcohol is dangerous. Alcohol is one of the biggest deceptions and liars there ever was. It has the ability to convince people that..."everything is OK...it's peachy." They convince themselves that they don't have a problem...they got it....listen to this..."UNDER CONTROL." If I can speak plainly to those who feel they can abuse alcohol and remain in control...here's a news flash.....BULL CRAP! I don't care who gets mad...I speak truth on this topic. I used to drink. I never abused alcohol, but I made the choice to follow God all the days of my life. Do I think a drink can send someone to hell??? YES I DO! Do all drinkers go to hell? I don't believe that, but why take the chance. Anything that puts my faith to the test isn't worth having. The point I'm trying to make is this...many many people suffer from alcohol abuse. If you don't...you probably know somebody that does. Here's where I bring it home...as long as there's air in your lungs...you have a chance to turn over a new leaf in your life. GIVE IT TO GOD MY FRIENDS! My brother was at the lowest of lows...and he made a CHOICE to clean his act up. There's always a choice. Jason...brother...you made the right choice. I'm proud of you...I love you...and when you get back to Tennessee...I'm here for you when you find yourself struggling. My final thought for you brother is this...let's look at what Paul wrote in Ephesians chapter 2. "As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our sinful nature and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature objects of wrath. (JASON LISTEN TO THIS PART) But God, because of his great love for us, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved. And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus.

BEING A DADDY....IT'S A BLAST!

So I've been so busy lately with everything from work, to church, to school, to everything else that fills in the time in the middle. So busy that Brianna and I haven't had that Daddy/Daughter time we enjoy so much. We've been together, but it's been together with other people there. Nothing wrong with that, but I cherish our time together just the two of us. Anyway...last night I wanted to do something special with her. I try to be creative to surprise her, but I realized that she's not interested in my creativity...she's just interested in time with me. We cooked spaghetti together last night. That's it! Nothing more! I can say that was one of the funnest things we've ever done together. Nothing flashy...real simple. I pulled a chair into the kitchen for her to stand on, and away she went. She got a little overboard with the garlic salt on the bread, but it was a laugh. We both laughed for a good 45 seconds over that one. Parents...it doesn't take money to impress your kids. It takes you spending time with them to impress them. I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that 20 years from now...we'll both remember last night, and how much fun it was. If I could offer any encouragement to parents/future parents, it would be this simple phrase. "It's about quality...not quantity." The quality of the time you spend with your children is what matters when parenting. The quantity of toys, money, vacations, etc. is meaningless if the quality isn't there. If you're a parent, I challenge you to look into the relationships you currently have with your kids. Could your quality of time be better than it is??? Here's a corny line in closing. Will Smith said it in the movie Hitch. "Life's not about the amount of breaths you take. It's the moments that take your breath away." Last night was one of those moments for me. Now it's your turn! God bless.

DRINKING THE SAND...OR DRAWING A LINE IN IT?

There was once a story of a man who got lost in the desert. After a couple of days he began crawling because he was so thirsty and weak. Just when he lost hope, he saw water. The problem was that it wasn't water...it was a mirage. Once he got to there and realized it wasn't really water, he began drinking the sand anyway.

Does this sound familiar to anybody? Not the drinking sand of course, but just wondering about hopelessly. The question I have is "what was the man doing wondering around in the desert?" That's just an unwise thing to do. The part of the story that we didn't hear was how many people warned him...."DUDE, don't go off in the desert...it's too dangerous!" Instead he decided to follow his own idiotic judgement rather than listen to reason. He got so lost in his own problem, that he began seeing things that weren't really there. He saw water, but it wasn't water....IT WAS SAND! What did he do....he settled for the sand! How many times do we try to see things that aren't really there...just to please ourselves? How many times do we try to make things different than what they really are...just to fulfil our wants? When we realize it isn't what we thought it should be, we settle. You see, the guy didn't drink the sand because he was thirsty. He drank the sand because he didn't know the difference. He was so lost that his mind started playing tricks on him. That's what happens when you wonder about in the desert. What's your desert? Are you settling for whatever's there? Proverbs chapter 3 says "trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight." Read ahead a little bit and it talks about how he will bless you. Let's evaluate ourselves today. Are we drinking the sand? Or are we drawing a line in the sand by saying I will TRUST the Lord!!!

MEMOIRS OF A JEDI: THE FALL OF ANAKIN SKYWALKER

It wasn't that long ago in HSYM that we did a 3-week series titled "God In The Movies". We took real life issues that Christians deal with, and compared them with major blockbuster movies. Pastor Rick is on vacation this week, and I'm going to be continuing that series with a message titled "Memoirs of a Jedi: The Fall of Anakin Skywalker." I'll be speaking out of 1 John, and dealing with the choice of walking in light or walking in darkness. This illustrated sermon will include almost 30 minutes of footage from Star Wars Episode III, Revenge of the Sith. If you're in HSYM, please invite your friends out to hear this. You won't want to miss it!

READ THE INSTRUCTION MANUAL YOU DUMMIE!!!

So I just got finished leading my first Connections group. For those of you reading this blog who are not familiar with what Connections is, let me explain. Connections is a bye-weekly Sunday evening Bible study that ROCKS!!! It's about....are you ready for this...."connecting" with people. That's why we call it Connections. We (my church) have several small groups that meet across Hendersonville for a time of food, fellowship, and the Word. I meet at my friend Ricks' house. Rick is the Youth Pastor at my church. He is on vacation right now, so I'm holding down the fort for him while he's gone. Anyway, it was a good time. Attendance was way down. We usually run around 30, but were down to 8 tonight. Our study was centered on Colossians chapter 3. Verse 16 talks about how we should let the Word of Christ dwell in us richly. That somehow led to me telling a story about how important it is to get into the Word of God. This past Christmas, my daughter got one of those 3,000,000 piece toys that require a team architectural engineers to help in the assembly process. Without having such a team handy, I was left with two choices. I could either do it myself...or read the instructions. Being a guy, of course I tackled this project without cracking the manual. I figured that I would have it together in about 15 minutes. So I'm sitting there 30 minutes later stewing in my own "testosterone field" of rage. I'm about ready to turn 3,000,000 pieces into 6,000,000 pieces. Bottom line was that I was in a HUGE MESS. I began to get a stress headache just about the time I looked across the room to find the instructions. I thought to myself for a minute and finally caved. I opened the instructions, and spent a very short time reading them. 10 minutes later, Brianna was playing with her new toy with a beautiful smile on her face. Moral of the story? Had I just read the manual prior to tackling this project, I wouldn't have gotten into this HUGE MESS. That's what the Bible is. It's the instruction manual to life. Let's use wisdom, and crack it's pages prior to taking on the "project of life." We should read it...apply it...and let it dwell in our hearts richly for future projects. Should we choose not to read it, then you might as well guarantee that at some point you will find yourself in a HUGE MESS. Whether you do it up front, or at the time of a HUGE MESS, you're going to have to eventually crack the pages anyway. Just save yourself the hissy fit and be proactive in your life. READ THE INSTRUCTIONS FIRST.

JOHNSON KISSES THE BRICKS!

Two-time Champ Jimmie Johnson wins his 2nd Brickyard race today! This is sweet redemption from his narrow lose at Chi-Town 2 weeks ago. Many have written off Johnson to 3-peat as champion as Kyle Busch is running so well. All I gots to say is never write off Johnson as we close the summer out, and head into the Chase. Johnson is most successful the 2nd half of the season. So all of you band waggon jumpers....let me remind you that Johnson won from the pole. How's that for domination!

MY BLOND NEIGHBOR

The other day my neighbor, who is blond, came running up to me in the driveway jumping for joy! I didn't know why she was jumping so excitedly, but I thought "What the heck?", and I started jumping up and down along with her. She said, "I have some really great news!" I said, "Great. Tell me why you're so happy." She stopped jumping and breathing heavily from all the jumping up and down, and told me that she was pregnant! I knew she'd been trying for a while so I told her, "That's great! I couldn't be happier for you!" Then she said, "There's more!" I asked, "What do you mean more?" She said, "Well, we are not having just one baby. We are going to have TWINS!" Amazed at how she could know so soon after getting pregnant, I asked her how she knew. She said...."Well, that was the easy part. I went to Wal-Mart and they actually had a home pregnancy kit in a TWIN-pack. Both tests came out positive!"

LETTING GO OF THE HAND RAIL

Remember those times in life where you just fell flat on your face...spiritually speaking. I sure can. God was always there to help pick me back up, as I'm sure He was there to pick up you too. Well, I'm coming out of a period of time where I didn't fall....I just had to grap the hand rail so to speak. I needed help keeping my balance. We've all felt the "blahs" before, but this was different for me. I truly felt the Lord leading me to Chicago. I know...wasn't that a month ago??? I asked myself where I missed it. I truly don't know that I missed a thing. I just consider it another journey in my life. I don't speak candidly about my private life except to my closest of friends, but I'll speak this. I was sad about leaving everything in Hendersonville. The friends I have...my church...etc. Brianna was still set to be a huge part of my life, and I would still get to spend a lot of time in Hendersonville, so that numbed the sadness. I was excited about a new adventure in Chicago. I was mostly excited about spending the rest of my life with the woman I love...Stephanie. The job and pay raise was secondary to me. It was the idea of having a family that was at the front of my mind. When I decided to stay, I know it was the "God" choice. The sadness I had about not being able to be with Stephanie set in after a couple of weeks. Of course I was happy about staying...again, that helped numb the sadness. I'll never say I was depressed. Let's just say I began to feel sorry for myself. I got in a "funk". My spiritual life went into "maintenance" mode. I didn't fall...I just had to keep myself from falling. June was a hard month. July began on the same note. I was losing my "passion" for growing. I guess it was about a week ago, that I just woke up and said enough is enough. God has blessed me tremendously here in Hendersonville, and He's going to continue to do that as long as I "stay on the road". I can't afford to take an alternate route on my journey. I look at the things God has blessed me with. My wonderful daughter who is nothing except joy in my life. The best friends a guy could ask for. I serve in the greatest youth group in the world. I have a family here. GOD IS AWESOME! I'm reminded of the passage, "Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it." The cool thing about the narrow road....the hand rail sure is a whole lot closer to get to when you lose balance. For those of you going down the wide road....there's a hand rail there too. The best way to find it is by falling to your knees. Talk 2 u later!!!

Andrews in the blogosphere.....dear Lord, we're in trouble now.

To be honest with you, it took me a minute to think of what to blog about for the first time. I was going to blog about how much I hate allergies. Mine are absolutelly killing me right now. I love Hendersonville, but I never had this problem in the O.C. Then I thought I would blog about Chuck Norris. He's a beast!!! Then I changed my mind. There's the Dark Knight...but everybody else was blogging about that. I'll just say that Ledger has earned an Oscar nomination at the very least. It finally hit me. I want to talk about lazy Christians. Things have changed since I first started going to church only 10 years ago. It was everybody's priveliage (I hope that's spelled right) to serve on any level. Whether it be on stage in the "lime light" or off stage busting down tables and chairs. What the heck happened? Did people just wake up one day and think that they did their time, and they finally arrived to a place where they could just do nothing? I'm not saying that they no longer believe...they may have just as much faith as the rest. They may pay as much in tithes and offerings as the rest. They may pray and get into their word as much as anybody. What is it that the bible said....hmmm....what was it??? OH YEAH...."faith without works is dead" (James 2:20) I'm not talking about anybody particular, nor any group in particular. This was just a thought I was having. Let me encourage everybody today....now more than ever, God is wanting to do a work in "EVERYBODY". This is a very serious time, and it's going to take hard work from God's people to pull together for the cause of Christ. Let's remember what was said in Matthew 10:13-14. "You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled by men. You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden." Let's be "salty" Christians again. I love you all even though I may have made enemies due to this blog. This was just a pondering.