Why We All Love Vintage

A while back, I was staying at my family's cabin in Colorado for a few days over the summer. It's an old cabin, built in the early 1900's with two bedrooms, a kitchen, a bathroom and a living room. It has the smells of fresh aspen and mountain air, making it better than living inside of a candle. It's full of squeaky floorboards, absent of cell phone reception and hooked up with tons of old mountain memorabilia. Frankly, it's one of my favorite places to go "get away" from everything.

Another thing this cabin has is an old rotary telephone. I don't know if you've ever seen one of these before, but essentially, it's a phone with circular dial board that, in order to dial, you have to place your finger in each number's place and slide it around the circle until the number you want dialed hits the end of the circle. Now, these kinds of phones are pretty old (I say that not to offend anyone that's lived in the era of rotary telephones, but to state just how far technology has come). They're old enough, in fact, that I went through life without knowing how to use one, so when it came to using the rotary phone at this cabin, I was clueless. I just thought, like most phones now a days, you just had to press the button where the number was you wanted to dial, and it would work; that's not the case. Needless to say, the first time I tried to use the rotary phone, I sat there for several seconds wondering why the phone wasn't dialing, ringing or connecting me call. For the first time in my life, my parents knew how to use a piece of technology that I didn't know how to use. For the first time in my life, I became aware that something so old could seem so new.

Old things seeming new is an interesting phenomenon. It's 2016, and we're all obsessed with things from 1916. Our culture loves vintage, retro, throwback and old-school memorabilia. We're intrigued by the nostalgia, the uniqueness and, frankly, the awesomeness of things from days past. Whether it's record players, vintage clothing or typewriters, we all love things from the past, and a lot of the things we love from the past can teach us something in the present. 

Past things, no matter how old they are, tend to hold some sort of relevance today, and past things, no matter how old they are, can seem brand new to us when in all actuality, they're quite old. Just how old things seem new,  the Bible is the same way. It was written hundreds of years ago, yet still, somehow, it speaks newness to different people all over the world every day. Just like I was able to learn something new from a 50-year-old telephone, I'm able to learn from a thousand-year-old book. No wonder we all love vintage; we learn things from it.

-Cliff

Cliff's Note: Don't discount anyone or anything because of age or place in time. There are things to be learned from the past.

Listen: Lord Have Mercy

Much of the heart behind this blog is honesty. I like to be honest in everything I say, write and encourage. I like to be vulnerable and I like to be able to share hope, fellowship and struggles with others so they know they're not alone. With that, I want to leave you with this song. It's a song of vulnerability, and it's a song that's an honest, humble approach to receiving mercy. I hope it can mean as much to you as it has to me.

When I come to You in prayer, Lord have mercy
And when I wonder if You're there, Lord have mercy
When I cannot find the way, Lord Have Mercy
Should my heart my heart begin to stray, Lord Have Mercy

When I lay me down to sleep, Lord have mercy
And when the road ahead gets steep, Lord have mercy
When I falter, when I fail, Lord Have Mercy
May Your kindness still prevail, Lord Have Mercy  

When I see Your promises, Lord have mercy
Knowing well that I am blessed, Lord have mercy
Oh may I never cease to ask, Lord Have Mercy
Til' I breathe my very last, Lord Have Mercy

How great, how great is Your faithfulness, 
Oh Your faithfulness

-Cliff

Cliff's Note: Lord, have mercy. We need it.

The Light at the End of the Tunnel

Life is made up of mountaintops, valleys, clear paths and tunnels. We all walk through the valley of the shadow of death sometimes, and we all see glory from the top of mountains other times. 

When you look at life this way, you begin to see it as an adventure, and just like most adventures, not everything goes right all of the time. You have to overcome obstacles, and you have to look for the light at the end of the tunnel to keep pressing on sometimes. It's that little light that gives hope. 

Keep pursuing the light at the end of your tunnel, no matter how far away it may seem. Press toward the light in life because it's the light that casts out darkness.  

-Cliff

Cliff's Note: Resist the dark and pursue the light.  

The Truth Behind 'the Older Ya Get, the Faster Time Goes'

I never really believed it until now, but I think it's true; The older you get, the faster that time goes. The seasons change faster than ever before, with leaves falling off and then returning before I can even get used to the cold weather. 

When I was younger, time seemed to be ran by sloths. It went so slow! I remember how it seemed like an eternity just waiting for my birthday to roll around each year. Now, that's not the case. First it's another new year, then before I know it, it's another birthday, and I'm one year closer to 100. It's a phenomenon that I don't quite understand.  

The faster time goes by, the farther behind I feel. I don't feel caught up with where I'm supposed to be in life, and I definitely don't feel like I'm 24 years old. It's still 2008, and I'm still 17 in my mind. 

Where does time go? It seems like just the other day my biggest concern was graduating high school, and now my biggest concern is about how to prepare for a family. It's crazy. 

I really believe it's true though; I think time moves faster the older you get, not literally, but seemingly. I think time goes by faster the older you get because the older you get the more perspective you have on time and just how precious it is. The older you get, the more you realize the truth behind the idea that time is a person's most valuable thing.

As you ring in the New Year tonight, take a moment to reflect on just how crazy it is that another year has come and gone and just how fast it happened. If you feel like time is flying by, it's because it is and because you're beginning to realize just how precious life is. It's something to celebrate.  

-Cliff

Cliff's Note: Time feels like it's flying by because it really is. 

Why Being Humbled is Like Being a Nobody

It's funny how small you feel when nobody knows who you are. ​

You may have experienced this feeling if you've traveled to another state or another country by yourself. Heck, you may have experienced it your first day of college walking into a classroom with no one you knew in it. It's this awkward, humbling feeling of, "wow, I'm literally a nobody."​

I experience this feeling the first time I moved out of state after college. I moved to Seattle, WA from Stillwater, Okla. In Stillwater, people knew me. I was a successful college student who knew a lot of people on campus, in church and in the community. I'd established a reputation, if you will. However, as soon as I moved to Seattle, I was a nobody. No one knew who I was, no one knew who 'Pistol Pete' was, and hardly anyone even knew where Oklahoma was. Talk about a humbling moment when your fun fact is, "I used to be Pistol Pete," and the person looks at you like you're crazy and asks who that even is. ​

It was even worse when I moved across the big pond. People thought the idea of anyone carrying a gun, much less a mascot, was a crazy idea. People had no idea who I was, where I was coming from and could hardly believe I'd never been to our nations capital because, "doesn't everyone have to go there?" There's nothing that makes you feel small like moving away from home. ​

Feeling small and moving away from home have their perks though. It's like you get a clean slate. People don't know you, so you kinda get to start over. I'm not talking about in a way that you should change who you are, but more along the lines of the opposite. You're in a place where you don't have to try to be someone you're not anymore. You're in a place where you can truly be you (hopefully you're already truly being you, but if you're not, it's a fresh start). 

There's also something about needing to be humbled. I think it's something we all need to experience- I sure did. I was up on my high horse thinking I was all that and a bag of cow chips when suddenly, I was no one. I needed that. I needed to be reminded that the world is big, I'm small, and I'm only here for a short period of time in a small place ​in a big world. 

Sometimes God humbles you Himself, and sometimes He has His creation do it for him. 

-Cliff​

Cliff's Note: The world is big. You're small. Be humble. ​

4 Keys to Developing Discipline into the New Year

Waking up in the morning can be a chore. So can making your bed, exercising, cooking, reading and other things in life that, in the long run, are really good for you to do; however, these things take time and take effort, and they all have one thing in common; They require discipline.

Lately, I've struggled with taking the lazy train to life. I've slept in longer than I've wanted to, making getting to work on time stressful, I haven't exercised in who knows how long, and I can count the number of meals I've cooked for myself over the past month on one hand. Needless to say, I'm not happy with where my discipline level currently is, so to celebrate the New Year and New Year's resolutions, I've come up with a few keys to help myself get back to being the disciplined person I like to be. Maybe you'll find them helpful, as well.

1) Set a Schedule
In order to start practicing discipline in your daily routine, you have to set a schedule and start at the basics. Whether you're looking to eat healthier or start exercising regularly, it's important to set aside some times throughout your day to do these things. Even if it means just waking up 15 minutes earlier to make a fresh salad to take for lunch, rather than hitting up Taco Bell at noon, setting a schedule and planning a head is a key to start living a more disciplined lifestyle.

 2) See Discipline as a Means to Dreams
We all have goals, whether it's to complete an 'Iron Man' Triathlon or just to simply wake up by 8 a.m. every morning. Goals come in all shapes and sizes, but one thing all goals have in common is that they all require discipline. If you want to accomplish something, it's going to take effort, and odds are, it's not going to happen over night. View discipline as the helpful means to your dreams. Without it, it's unlikely those dreams will unfold, and you can bet that anyone who's doing what you one day dream of doing got there with lots of time, effort and discipline.

3) Start Small
Disciplining yourself isn't easy. If it was, it wouldn't be called discipline. If you're looking to start making improvements in your life that require discipline, start small. Don't set yourself up for 'failure' by promising to do a lot of life changing things all at once. Start with something basic, like exercising twice a week, and build up some victory confidence, and then move forward. It's easier to practice discipline with a winning attitude, rather than a losing once. Take the small victories and go from there!

4) Don't Be Too Hard on Yourself
Like all things in life, sometimes there's failure. Pursing discipline is no different. There are going to be days when things don't go according to plan and that the discipline you're chasing after turns into a touch of laziness. When that happens, don't let it get you down. No ones perfect, and we all need rest. If your pursuit of discipline takes a trip on the lazy train for a day, don't beat yourself up. Get back on track and pick up where you left off. Don't give up and don't ditching your discipline.

With the New Year approaching and everyone starting their New Year's resolutions, start a simple one for yourself; Look to live a more disciplined life in at least one area you want to improve on. For me, it's going to be getting my butt out of bed before the sun comes up. Will it happen over night? No, but that's what discipline is for. Good luck on all of your New Year's Resolutions, and feel free to share some below!

-Cliff

Cliff's Note: Discipline is the means to dreams. 

The Normalization of Narcissism

If I went back in time 15 years and told someone that in just a few short years, 1 out of every 5 people on the entire planet would have a webpage dedicated to themselves, I wonder if they would believe me? 

Honestly, it still kind of blows my mind, but according to an article I was reading on IBT, Facebook has somewhere around 1.39 billion users. That's crazy! . . . especially when you compare it with the number of people in the world living without electricity or clean drinking water. It's mind blowing that so many people, myself included, basically have websites dedicated to ourselves. I'm not saying that these websites, Facebook pages or Instagram accounts are evil, but there's certainly something to be said for the world containing as many Facebook pages as there are people that have access to any form of electricity.

We've all created pages, essentially, dedicated to ourselves that keep our eyes glued down to ourselves, rather than up and looking at others. We take photos  and become good at storytelling, but bad at storyliving. We post those photos of ourselves and our experiences, and when we get a better photo, we post that one. We obsess over what will get us the most likes, and when we sit around with our friends, our phones are in hand, and sometimes the only conversation that happens consists of asking the question, "What should I caption this?" 

Yours truly is guilty first and foremost of all of this, which is why I'm asking the question, am I a part of the most narcissistic generation?

Narcissism is, at its core, loving oneself. It's self obsession and infatuation with, not just one's appearance, but one's self importance. Narcissism is the driving force behind my need to check social media, not to see what other people are up to, but to check to see how many 'likes,' comments or compliments I, personally, have received. Rarely am I checking because of what other people post, but I check it because I want to make sure other people have seen what I've posted. Essentially, I love myself, and I want to make sure other people do too. I've become so focused on making sure that the stories I'm telling on my social media accounts and blog are exciting that I've forgotten to focus on the exciting world and people around me. Pretty sad, huh?

Confession: Even writing this will fuel my narcissism. I'll post it on MY website, link it to MY Facebook and Twitter accounts and then I'll check on it every hour or so to make sure I'm getting good feedback on MY thoughts. Narcissism at it's finest, but even worse than that, all of what I just said, frankly, sounds normal. Narcissism has become normal.

The scary thing about all this is that there's this verse in the Bible that warns us about narcissism becoming normal in our culture. 2 Timothy 3:1-5 says, "But understand this, that in the last days there will come times of difficulty. For people will be loves of self. . .  having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power. Avoid such people."

This scares me because it sounds just like me and just like a lot of my generation; however, at the heart of my generation, I don't believe we're aiming to be narcissists. I believe we're aiming to be good storylivers and good storytellers; it's just that often times, we get too caught up in telling our own stories, rather than listening to other people's stories. So, next time before you press the 'publish' button on your social media account or pull up your webpage to see how many 'likes' you've received, focus on something someone else has already published and what's being published right in front of you in real life. Don't pursue self-love, but instead pursue sacrifice.  

-Cliff

Cliff's Note: Don't let narcissism become normal. 

'When It's Always Winter But Never Christmas'

It never fails, Oklahoma weather is confusing no matter the season. Christmas Day felt like a beautiful spring afternoon, and now it's two days after Christmas and, it finally looks and feels like Christmas.

It will probably feel like winter for at least two more months, with a few warm days mixed in here and there, making the cold months drag on. There's just something depressing ​about this. When it's cold outside with nothing to do, it's just kinda sad. The grass and trees lay dormant giving the landscape and 'dead look,' and the nights come super early. Basically, when it's just winter and the Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's holidays are over, the cold weather just kind of loses its appeal. 

The things I like about cold weather tend to revolve around the holidays, like most people. I enjoy the Christmas feeling, snow, fireplaces and flannels, but after New Years, I'm just kind of ready for it to be over and ready for spring. ​

Today is a prime example. There's a north wind of 30 mph, it's sleeting and it's 30 degrees outside. Every inch of me is ready for spring, but that's just not how things work; however there is that longing for spring. 

I'm not sure what I would do it I knew in my mind I had zero hope for warm weather ever again. If there was no hope for green grass, blue skies and baseball games, I think I'd go crazy. It's that little ounce of hope that keeps me going and keeps me bearing through the winter season because it is just that, a season. ​

I want to look at life more like this now too. I want to be able to look at it in a way that has hope for new seasons if I'm in the midst ​of a tough one. It won't always be winter, and life won't always be difficult. There are seasons and times for everything, and it's the hope of those new seasons that keeps us all going. 

-Cliff​

Cliff's Note: "It's always winter, but never Christmas." ​

Why Nostalgia Hurts

Every time I go home, I get this really weird feeling. It's called nostalgia. ​

It's all over the walls in the pictures, it's in the home movies in the cabinets and its in every room in the memories. Honestly, I'm not a fan. 

Nostaligia kinda hurts. It can be full of people who have come and gone in your life, full of regret or what ifs and full of old memories that have come and gone. It's difficult to handle in big doses, and personally, can seem unhealthy at times. ​

For me, when I experience too much nostalgia, it physically makes me sick. It puts my stomach in knots and makes my mind race. It's like an adventure back to old relationships, friendships and family members that are no longer in my life making me wonder what happened to everyone and everything. People move on, in this life and the next, and it's just super weird to think about. I'm now old enough to mourn over things I used to be to young to mourn, and sometimes just seems to hit all at once. 

I'm not sure why nostalgia is a thing or what it's purpose is within the human emotional palet, but maybe it is for the whole mourning and learning from the past. It hurts, but it's good. I think it's good to be able to mourn and reflect on things past that maybe you were once too young to understand. Maybe it's good to have some nostalgia, even though I think it sucks sometimes. ​

Nostalgia can hurt, but it can also helps, and I'm thankful that when its hardest at home, I am at home with the people I love most. ​

-Cliff​

Cliff's Note: Nostalgia, embrace it. ​

3 Ways to Avoid Awkward Family Holiday Experiences

The holiday season is a wonderful time of year, but it can also be . . . Awkward. 

That's right. There's just something about spending 3 or 4 hours with family members you only see once or twice a year. I realize I'm a day late on this, but after facing the awkwardness myself, I decided to come up with 3 ways to casually avoid the awkwardness that only holidays can bring. 

1) Don't be an adult.  

Literally, don't be an adult. Be almost a child. Not like in a way that craps your pants, but in a way that doesn't know awkward silences exist. Speak your mind, make dumb jokes and eat lots of dessert. As a kid, you wouldn't recognize the awkwardness of certain situations. You would only take every opportunity to have fun. Try it. Have fun with your family and don't be afraid to sit at the kids table. 

2) Respectfully decline conversations concerning salary, politics and what's in the casserole 

What can be worse than discussing you're current relationship status or when you're going to have kids? Politics, salaries and who made the not so tasty casserole. Avoid these conversation topics at all costs because they can often only go south. Instead, pick conversations that are extended but not limited to puppies, Star Wars (no spoilers) or the weather (excluding global warming). If you stick to these conversation topics, you can rest assured that the most awkward part of your family holiday experience will only be holding hands during the family prayer. 

3) Handshakes, not hugs

I don't care if your grandma is coming in hot with arms wide open and you haven't seen her in five years. This is strictly business. Shake her hand. You don't want to try to figure out who to give side hugs to, who to give full frontal hugs to or who to give bro hugs to. Stick with the handshakes. 

There you have it. If you follow these three steps, you'll be guaranteed to not have an awkward holiday. You may not seem human, you may get a lot of weird looks and no one will like you by the end of it, but you will have pushed the awkwardness off for another year. Cheers, and have a very merry, unawkward Christmas and New Year!

-Cliff

Cliff's Note: Don't follow this list.  

The Day We Turned Jesus' Birthday Into Our Own

May 15th is a special day; it's my fiance's birthday. This year, I already have in mind what I'm going to do to celebrate with her. This year for her birthday, I'm going to take her fishing. She doesn't really like fishing all that much, but I think it will still be a good time. We can have some good conversation while we're waiting for the fish to bite, and I can give her some nice compliments and tell her how beautiful she always looks while we're sitting there. It should be a great time. . . for me. 

I like to fish, and in reality, if I were to really take her fishing for her birthday, she'd be pretty upset with me because:

1) she doesn't like to fish all that much
2) going fishing would be more for me than it would be for her
and
3) it's her birthday, not mine

When it comes to birthdays, it should always be more about celebrating the other person and doing what they want to do, rather than celebrating and treating their birthday like it's your own birthday. Birthdays should be times of selfless celebration of someone else. In my fiance and I's case, celebrating her birthday would look more like me taking her shopping, then out to a nice dinner followed by some spontaneous, adventurous activity. I would want to celebrate it in a way that was best for what she wanted, not what I want.

I feel like Christians, myself included, struggle with this same issue when it comes to celebrating Christmas, aka: Jesus' birthday. When it comes to celebrating Christmas, we try to turn it from His birthday into our own birthday just like Jesus turned water into wine. We easily become wrapped up in how we want to celebrate His birthday, more so than how He would want us to celebrate His birthday. It's so easy to take Christmas and turn it into our own party. We become obsessed with what we want, getting all our shopping done and what foods we're going to eat. None of these are bad things, but at the same time, they're things that become more about celebrating us than Him on His day. We become content with going to a service on Christmas Eve and saying a family prayer before the big meal, and then we're good to go. It bothers me just how much I've removed Christ from Christmas, as cliche as that sounds. 

When it comes to Christmas this year, I want to be able to slow down enough to put into practice the answer to the question: How would Jesus want want His birthday celebrated?

I think Jesus would want His birthday celebrated by us serving others, just as He came and served us. He came and "though He was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but made Himself nothing, by taking the form a a servent, being born in the likeness of man" (Phil. 2:6-7).

This Christmas, try to remember that you aren't celebrating your birthday; you're celebrating His. Try not to get wrapped up in how perfect you want everything, and instead get wrapped up in delighting to be a servant to those around you. 

Have a Merry Christmas Eve, everyone!

-Cliff

Cliff's Note: Don't be that guy that tries to turn someone else's party into your own. 

How Real is Jesus?

Think about the word 'real' for a moment in a way that describes yourself. You're real. You can feel your surrounds and you're alive. The screen you're reading this on is real. The clothes your wearing are real. They all exist. Now, answer this question:​

​Have you ever thought about Who Jesus Christ really is in your mind, and do you believe He's real?

I have, and I do, but often times when I do, I almost think about Him in an imaginary way. ​Think about it, when you picture Jesus, do you picture Someone that used to live a really, really long time ago in a place, time and way that almost seems almost make believe? Do you picture a white man with long hair and a beard smiling all the time and walking around the countryside with lots of sheep? Or do you picture a man who was and is fully God that just happened to make His human appearance some 2,000 years ago, but that is still literally just as real and alive today as He's always been? For me, I usually picture the almost make believe Jesus. Not on purpose, but because that's almost how my mind has been trained to think. 

Ever since I was little, I've always been taught Who Jesus was and what Jesus has done. Not as much Who He is and what He does. ​I've almost always been taught in a past-tense form. Sure, I've been taught God is love and Jesus does save, but what about that Jesus didn't just feed 5,000 but that He currently feeds millions? What about that Jesus didn't just heal the blind, but that He heals the blind?

Personally, I've just had a hard time connecting Jesus with reality in actual life. It's so easy to say it and say I believe, but to actually believe it and actually live, pray and know that He's ​REAL opens up a whole new realm, life and way of thinking. Realness changes things. 

I can say I believe I'll make a million dollars one day, but that may or may not really believe that to be true. If I ​really, honestly believed in the realness of making a million dollars one day, my life would totally change. I would live completely differently because I'd had full faith in that idea. 

Shouldn't that be the case with Jesus too?​

If we really believe in that fact that He's actually real, shouldn't we actually live in a real way that supports that? Not just a way that says, 'I believe?'​

It's some food for thought. I've been eating on it for a while, so I thought I'd share some leftovers. ​Enjoy.

-Cliff​

Cliff's Note: If Jesus is real, we should really treat Him like He is. ​

When Working Over the Holidays Gets You Down

This year, I feel a lot like Santa. This isn't because it's been nearly two months since I hit the gym or because I've been eating two of my mom's Christmas cookies before bed every night; it's because for the first time in my life, I'm having to work over the holidays.  

At first (and still at times) it seemed like a major downer having to work over the holidays. Knowing that while all my friends and family would be enjoying their time on vacation I'd be sitting at work bummed me out, as it would most people. All I could think about were the things I would be missing out on: the time with family, binge watching the Harry Potter series or ABC Family's 25 Days of Christmas and sitting in front of the fire place late into the night in my PJs. These are the things I've done on my Christmas holidays for years, but not this year. This year is different. 

What a downer; however, while most of my thoughts about working over the holidays were on the negative side of things and the things I'd be missing out on, my thoughts should've instead been on the things I'm getting to do, things like feel like Santa.

The job that I'm having to work is rather 'North Pole-ish.' I'm not giving toys away to thousands of children or riding in a sleigh anywhere, but I do get to help bring the spirit of Christmas to tons of children, couples and families. Essentially, I'm helping manage an event in Tulsa called 'Winterfest.' What's more North Pole-ish than that? I'm helping run a Christmas festival full of lights, hot chocolate, horse & carriage rides, and ice skating. These are all things that do nothing but fill people with the holiday spirit and put smiles on their faces, just like Santa. 

You see, the interesting thing about Santa is that he has to work on Christmas Eve and Christmas too. Weird, huh? The one guy you'd think should get some time off on Christmas has to work. He doesn't get to sit around with Mrs. Clause by the fireplace watching Harry Potter either. Instead, he spends his holiday working and bringing joy to others.   

Maybe you feel a little bit like Santa this year too. Maybe you got stuck working a shift at the hospital, or it's your first year at a company so you don't have any vacation time. Whatever the situation is, you've found yourself working throughout the holidays, and so far, you've had no reason to smile about it. Until now. I want to give you a reason to smile about it. 

If you're working through the holidays this season and start to cry every time, "I'll be Home for Christmas" comes on the radio, I've got good news for you. You're not alone; you're just like Santa, and just like Santa does, you get to have the opportunity to spread some Christmas joy with people on a day when everyone deserves to be filled with some Christmas joy. It's a pretty sweet opportunity when you think about it. Yes, there will always be the things you're missing out on, but there are also things you're getting to be a part of that not everyone gets to do. One of the coolest parts of the Christmas season is having the opportunity to serve others, and you'll have just that. So, if you're working this holiday season, take heart and know you're not alone, and that you're getting to play Santa Clause for someone who probably needs it.  

-Cliff

Cliff's Note: Even Santa won't be home for Christmas.  

Pressure: Stop the Bleeding

There's one, basic thing everyone needs to know when it comes to stopping a cut from bleeding: apply pressure. This is the one medical thing I can remember learning from a young age, whether it was dealing with a cut I got from playing outside or a bloody nose. I was always taught to put a bandage of some sort on it and apply lots of pressure. 

Tonight, this is exactly what I did. It's become a natural instinct now. I was hanging up some metal signs on my wall when I caught the edge of one on my hand and seared a nice gash on my left ring finger. It was one of those cuts that was deep enough to fold the skin over and watch blood poor out (sorry for the graphic detail). Anyway, my point is that it was one of those cuts that needed pressure to stop bleeding, and it needed a lot of it. I had to hold a paper towel on it for at least 20 minutes and then bandage it after that, and it still wasn't done bleeding; however, the pressure eventually did the trick, and it stopped. After minutes of pressure and bleeding, it finally cauterized.

Wounds and pressure are funny like that- they ultimately take force, weight and pressure, to begin to healing. The pressure is good for the wound.

This made me think about how applying pressure to some sinful or life wound can also do the trick sometimes. Whether it's dealing with some sort of struggle or issue or dealing with tough decisions, there's something about applying pressure to those situations that begins healing. I'm not talking about an intense, peer kind of pressure that forces bad decision making, but instead I'm talking about a pressure that comes from mentors or teachers that's applied in order to make us think, make us respond and make us begin to deal with the wounds we're currently dealing with. It's a pressure that comes from caring, and a gentle pressure that's supposed to stop the bleeding.

There is something to be said for a healthy amount of pressure and constrictive criticism coming from people who care about you. It's that kind of pressure that will, not only begin a healing process, but also identify where the bleeding is coming from. It's not peer pressure; it's productive pressure.  

-Cliff

Cliff's Note: Pressure is needed to cauterize any wound, whether it be physical, spiritual or emotional. 

When God Sat in Mary's Womb

Yesterday, I asked and prayed for some rest, encouragement and creativity, and today I received all three. Basically, it's amazing what hearing from friends and going to church can do for you. Realization: there's something about hearing from your Creator that sparks creativity. 

Today's message at church was one of the most creative messages I've ever heard. It was a Christmas message, but it was unlike any other Christmas message I'd heard before. It was unique. It was a message not just about Jesus being born, but also about the obstacles that God Himself had to overcome to be born.  

Essentially, the pastor talked about what it must've been like for the God of the universe be in Mary's womb.  He talked about the vulnerability, the humbleness, the sacrifice and the complete transformation Jesus went through to go from the super-natural realm to the natural realm. This blew my mind because it was something I'd never thought of before. The pastor had some great points.

For Jesus, being fully God, to come to earth, be mortal, be vulnerable and become fully dependent on humans to take care of Him sounds completely ludicrous. He literally went from speaking galaxies into being into having to cry in order for His mother to know when He was hungry. He went from having all authority over all nature to shivering and having to be wrapped in a blanket. Jesus went from being in a place where He was completely understood and worshiped as God for Who He truly is to a place where He was completely misunderstood and hardly treated or worshiped as God. This blows my mind.

To have my mind blown today was exactly what I needed. It was just the boost of creativity and thought I needed to get my mind centered on what it should be centered on.  After all, what better boost of creativity is there then to know and think about the Creator of the entire world becoming a baby and living as a human? 

-Cliff

Cliff's Note: There has been no greater obstacle overcome than the one that God overcame when He went from sitting on His throne to sitting in Mary's womb. 

When Joys Start to Feel Like Jobs

I'm really tired.

You know that feeling you get when you just don't want to do anything? That feeling that that makes you feel useless, uncreative and flat out lazy? Well, that's me lately, and let me tell  you; it's a struggle. 

I don't want to work.
I don't want to be intentional with people.
And I definitely don't want to write.

It's not really a sleepy tired; it's more of a mindless tiredness that makes me feel all used up. It's like I need a burst of something new and a refresher, but I'm just not sure what of.

Lately, life feels like it's just been wearing on me. I'm having a hard time finding the motivation and creative sparks I need to do what I love to do both at work and in my free time. This is extremely frustrating because, at times, it takes away the joy I have from creating the things I love to create: community and writing. These things feel more like jobs lately, rather than joys.

When joys start to feel like jobs, it might be a symbol of tiredness. Joys should be just that, joyful. Granted, not every day is going to be easy and not everything you love is always going to come without any effort, but sometimes life just begins to wear on you and the things that should be making you happy just seem to become something you 'have to do.' (Yes, I'm subliminally speaking of blogging right now, which is my example).

I'm not sure, but I believe that just like being tired and overly sleepy isn't healthy, neither is being creatively tired and sleepy. Lately, that's how I've felt. I've felt like I'm on my last drops of creativity, and I'm in need of a refill.

So, I'm asking for one. If anyone has any creativity overflowing from them and wants to lend some my way or help me refill my own, I'm bone dry and I'd love you're help. My joys have started to feel like jobs.

Thanks in advance.

-Cliff

Cliff's Note: Don't overflow so much that you forget to get refilled. 

What's Stealing Your Time?

I check social media a lot. I check it for blogging feedback, for likes and comments and I check it for work. It's something I'm constantly connected to, whether it's my Facebook, Twitter or Instagram. I'm always checking it, even when I have nothing to check, It's kinda sad, really.

Do you have anything in your life that you wish you didn't really have? It may be a good thing, but slowly and surely it just seems to take over your life. For me, this thing is social media and the idea of always having to feel connected. Part of it is because it's my job to reply in a timely manner to inquiries we have regarding events at work, but the other part is just out of pure habit. If there's nothing to do, I check social media; If I'm walking down the hall, I check social media; If I'm trying to think of what to blog about next, I check social media (hence, this blog). It's become such an idol in my life, and I hate that. I hate that it's so hard for me to disconnect.

Social media has become the thing in my life that I wish I didn't really have because it's the thing in my life that steals away from so many other things in my life. It steals away from special moments because instead of just enjoying the moment, I become more interested in getting cool pictures to get more 'likes,' it steals away from my work because it's at such easy access while working at a desk job, and ultimately, it just steals away from my time. I spend valuable seconds, minutes, and in total, hours looking at it when I could instead be doing so many more productive things. Social media has made me anti-social.

If we're honest, I think we all have one of these things in our life that we wish we didn't have because it steals away our attention from more important things in life. Maybe it's a job, maybe it's a hobby or maybe it's even a relationship. Whatever it is, it's a thief, and it might be stealing from you. I'm being pick-pocketed by it day in and day out, but I pray that changes soon. I don't want my time here stolen from me, and neither should you.

-Cliff

Cliff's Note: We all have a thief in our life, but before we can catch it, we have to identify it. 

The Secret Behind 'Happy Holidays'

You don't need me to tell you that Christmas time is a special time of year. There's so much going on, so many parties and so much joy, it's no wonder that it's every other person's favorite holiday. Why is it so special though? There are other holidays out there like St. Patrick's Day, Labor Day and Thanksgiving, so what is it about Christmas that makes it so special?

Today was my company's 'Holiday Party.' Yes, like most of the culture around us, we have to be 'careful' and 'politically correct' when it comes to Christmas terminology. We have to be careful to say 'Happy Holidays' in our signage, our media and most of our content, but still, there's something about 'Happy Holidays' that has a lot more joy behind it than 'Happy Columbus Day,' and I think it's because we all know that 'Happy Holidays' really means 'Merry Christmas.'

At work, we may have had a holiday party, but, secretly, I really think it was a Christmas party. There was too much joy for it to just be a holiday party. Everyone was stoked. It didn't really matter what dirty Santa gift they got (minus the girl who got the $10 pizza I wrapped from Pizza Hut), if they won a raffle prize or not or how much vacation time they would be getting over the next couple of weeks. Honestly, everyone was just really happy, and that made me happy. It was a kind of special, unnatural happy that you only see around this time of year. It was a Christmas happy.  

Christmas is funny, what it does to people. It shows us something: for one day we can all come together, and somehow, someway, we show the whole world that we all know how to love one another. Every year on Christmas, that special day, the world shows that it knows how to love. People smile at one another, wave at one another and care for one another. There's this other-wordly joy, and I think it's because at the center of all this other-wordly, Christmas joy is Christ.

-Cliff

Cliff's Note: Christmas has it's miracles, but the biggest one may be the joy and love the whole world seems to experience.  

When God Humbles You

My life currently feels like a mess.

I've spent the past week battling the flu, moving into a new house, working 50+ hours, getting into a car accident and sleeping less than 5 hours a night. This is not my idea of peaceful.  

For a while, it seemed like everything was going great. I was enjoying the transition into a new job in a new city, connecting with lots of friends and zipping all over the place without a care in the world. I felt like I was in the fast lane, and frankly, I was becoming selfish and dependent on myself. It's around about these times that God usually chooses to knock me off my high horse and remind me Who's really in charge.  

God humbles the proud. 

God has this special way of disciplining His children who often forget that they're not the ones controlling everything. As often as I can remember, this is how He's worked in my life; One moment I'm living the dream, without a care in the world or a thought toward my Heavenly Father, and the next minute He knocks me on my butt and reminds me that I'm not in control of anything and that He is.  

When God humbles you, it's for a reason. It's for your own good, and more importantly, His good, whether you like it at the moment or not. He's going to remind His children who they're dependent on, and He's going to remind them that every good and every perfect gift does indeed come from above. 

Whether it's good health, good rest or a functioning car,  all good things come from Him and all good things can be taken by Him just like that. He has a way with teaching His servants how to refocus their eyes on Him, and I'm glad He does. If God Himself didn't humble us and remind us Who's boss, I'm not sure who would. 

-Cliff

Cliff's Note: "Every good and perfect gift comes down from the Father of Lights." 

Knowing Co-Workers Outside of Work Makes Work Not Feel Like Work

The workplace environment is a really weird place. It's just kind of awkward, honestly. People tend to be rather surface level in conversations and really conservative with what they choose to share and choose not to share. Honestly, it's just a hard place to get to know people for who they really are and what backgrounds they're coming from.​ Guards are up and work is the focus. 

If you really want to get to know someone, outside the work environment is the place to do it. Work is finally set on the back burner, there isn't as strict of a 'professionalism' code and conversations can last longer than a casual, "Hey, how ya doin?". It's almost a neutral zone the drops people's comfort, work-safe-environment bubble. It's great. 

I'm about two and a half weeks into a job in Tulsa that I just started, and tonight was one of the first nights I really felt like I got to know my co-workers. ​After an evening of hosting clients at a business party, we all got to go out for drinks and get to know one another past the point of, "How was your weekend?". We got to know one another's musical tastes, stories from childhoods past and tales of adventures we'd all been on. Come to find out, we actually all had quite a lot in common. It was a special moment, and honestly, one of the realest, most special moments I've had at this job. 

There's something to be said for knowing who you're working for and who you're working with past the point of, "How are you?". It's important. After all, these are people you spend 8+ hours with a day, five days a week. It's important to actually know the people you're surrounded by and working with because why? Because it's important to be able to know how to love your neighbor. In order to do this, it takes being intentional and getting outside of the work environment to know someone, either that or being extremely intentional with the time you do have in the work environment. 

Maybe this is just coming from someone who's new to a job​. Maybe I'm wrong; maybe you do get to know people on another level after working with them for so long. I don't know, but I do know this- I'm a lot further along getting to know my fellow co-workers tonight than I was 24-hour ago. 

Get to know someone in your work place this week outside of the workplace. See what happens. ​

​-Cliff

Cliff's Note: The workplace is made to be a place of intentional relationship. Intentional relationship produces successful work. ​