A Different Path

Carman Licciardello left this world this week at the bequest of his Father. He was a unique talent in an industry full of cookie-cutters and pretenders. You may know him as the Christian musician, "Carman". His style was unapologetically pro-Jesus and he never deviated from this path. He sold thousands of records, holds the record for the most concert attenders for a Christian concert, (over 71,000 in Texas) and was doing music videos before MTV became a reality in the 80's. 

But I remember him for a far different reason. In the 80's and 90's he toured Chattanooga on a regular basis and you could count on two things at a Carman concert, one, it would be free, and two, there would be a clear presentation of the gospel of Jesus Christ. 

The Champion

 In honor of Carman who got promoted yesterday. More to come on this man of God. 

To My Daughter

 

The Battle of Our Stuff

Well, this week I'm in the middle of moving offices where I work. Like many of you there are not many more things that I would rather do than spend my time packing up stuff that I don't even remember acquiring. Let alone sometimes remembering what they are . . . 

My wife would tell you that I have a fondness for keeping way too much of what has passed through my hands. I would argue that I find it difficult to discard items that at some point in my life I deemed valuable enough to keep. (Hoarder, no. Official in charge of archiving valuable mementos of my life on earth, yes.) 

Yet I'm being forced to come to terms during this experience that I have accumulated way more than I need over the past decade at work as I sift through my stuff. And this exercise is also teaching me that there is freedom in purging your life of stuff that you find you no longer need. 

Randy Alcorn has a great quote about this topic, "Every increased possession adds increased anxiety on to our lives." 

Possessions do add stress to our lives—because they need to be cleaned, organized, and cared for. Everything we own becomes our responsibility to deal with and take care of. Possessions are not passive, they are not just acquired, stored, and forgotten while they care for themselves. They require our attention. Everything we own takes up physical space in our home and mental space in our mind.

Which brings us to this less recognized truth, "Owning less means living more."