Transparent Christian Magazine

My wife took our two children and left me. Ok…she went on vacation, but she’s been gone a LONG time. I just looked at the calendar, and it’s been 12 days, which is the most consecutive days we’ve been apart since 1993.

She and the kids are on a magical trip in Key West, Florida. Shelli’s parents rented a travel trailer about 20 feet from the coast and they have all lived a vacationer’s life for over a week. (Cue the Jimmy Buffet cd). I have been hearing stories of dolphins, manatees, alligators, snakes, stingrays, coral reefs, snorkeling, swimming, rock climbing, movie watching, trampoline-ing, star gazing, sand castle building and fishing (for the record–the first time out, Kianna caught 10, Logan 7 and Grandpa 3). The kids and I have talked and prayed together most every day, and I could feel their excitement crash through the phone in waves. Shelli told me she’s never felt closer to the kids, and she feels SO blessed to share this experience with them.

I would have gone, but I started a new job in November, and I’m just hitting my stride. Shelli wanted to go for more than 10 days, and I didn’t feel right about taking that much time off work (we’ve got something else planned for this summer already). We prayed and felt comfortable with the time apart. We tend to give each other lots of breathing room in our relationship.

I’ve kept busy. Really busy. Over the last few weeks, I’ve seen four live music shows, including a cd release party, and met some really interesting people. Also, I am putting together a concert event in Hendersonville to raise money for a charity. One of the headliners for the concert (Brad Reynolds) won a Momentum Award this weekend for Independent Christian Song of the Year, and I went to the awards show last night. This excellent song is called “Anyway” and you can watch the video below.

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[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-EpH0WdaLKQ]

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The cat and the dog have acted rather odd since Shelli and the kids have been gone. The dog doesn’t want to come in the house and the cat (Jazzy) won’t leave me alone. Shelli told me that Jazzy would be all over me because the kids typically give her more attention than she can handle. Her purring in the morning is loud enough to wake me up from a deep sleep, and just to make sure I’m up, she “kneads” my head and chest until I feed her. It reminded me of the cartoon below!

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[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lqf5f765NL4&hl=en]

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This weekend I saw amazing performances from many of the Christian artists that were up for Momentum Awards. These awards are victories or milestones for these groups, that Impact their ministries and their lives. Many times, just being nominated for an award in your respective field gives you ‘momentum’ and credibility in the eyes of your audience or industry, and can open doors for growth.

This weekend, I realized that I have experienced some mini-victories and spiritual milestones myself.

Since Shelli has been gone, I have not watched any movies/tv or viewed anything on the Internet that I would be ashamed of…I can tell where I am with my spiritual walk, when nobody else is around. It’s much easier to participate in positive habits and behaviors when you have your friends and family close by. The true test (for me anyway) arrives when nobody is looking! (I’m not sure how alone I am anyway…Proverbs 5:21 says “For a man’s ways are in full view of the LORD, and he examines all his paths.”)

How do you measure your spiritual milestones? What do you do when nobody is watching?

Love ya,
Jason