I didn’t get my first cell phone until I was in 10th grade and that’s all it was; a phone.  It didn’t surf the web, had no calendar, no music, and 50 text messages a month.  Who needs text messaging?  It will never catch on.  I remember the day when we all actually talked on the phone.  I would stay up super late, free nights and weekends, talking to my friends or girlfriend at the time about nothing.  Sounds boring, right?  For some reason, it wasn’t.  It was all we knew.  I remember even before that when all we had was a house phone and you had to talk to my parents before you talked to me.  You always wondered if someone was listening in on the phone in the other room.

I remember using the family desktop computer in our house to surf the web and talk on AOL Instant Messenger.  It was hard to sneak into the computer room and talk to my friends because the dial-up internet would wake everyone in the house up.  But if I wanted to check my email, see what was happening on my new MySpace page, or talk to my buddies, I had to go start-up the old desktop.

Today, we have everything at our finger tips, because our computer goes with us.  We have become dependent of our phones.  We don’t need to retain any knowledge because everything we need to know is a Google search away.  Now instead of a phone call, we have 7 or 8 ways to contact someone without actually having to hear their voice.  I can text you, email you, Facebook you, Tweet you, comment on your Instagram, Snapchat you, Skype you, or Poke you.  I’m sure there are many more.

I miss real conversation.  Because of social media, we have forgotten how to genuinely connect with people.  I understand that social media has made it possible for us to keep in touch with people all over the world, but it has gotten somewhat out of control.  I know it has its pros but I believe the cons are taking over.

Our phones are in our hands at all times.  We are on them when we drive, when we are walking down the street, when we should be listening to our spouses, when we should be playing with our kids, and when we should be enjoying a concert and not recording the whole thing to show our friends the “experience” we “experienced”.  We cannot put them down.  We have to know who is posting pictures, who is tweeting, and what the breaking minute news is.  All these things can wait!  Life is happening all around and we are looking at a small screen.  Seems ridiculous.

I can’t imagine having the technological power we have today back when I was in middle school and high school.  Our children are living in difficult days.  Temptation, in every form, is in our children’s pocket every day.  We put a cell phone in their hands and now even though you can get a hold of them at all times, they now can text their friends anything they want, they can be on social media all day long, and they have access to adult content with one touch on their phone browser.  I understand there are safety reasons for children having phones.  With anything, there is good and bad and too much of anything can be a bad thing.  I feel that we might be giving our youth too much freedom.

Social media and technology makes what I do for a living much easier.  I can type a  140 character paragraph and it reaches thousands of people instantly.  That wasn’t an option back in the day.  So I am appreciative of what the technology does. I am just nervous about what it is doing to us as a generation.  I know technology is impossible to stop.  It is only going to change and evolve into something even more accessible to us, so what can we do to protect ourselves and our children from living a life chained to our electronic devices?

Self-control.  It sounds simpler than it is, but I believe its our best shot against total defeat.  We don’t need to be on our phones all the time.  The email you are checking and the tweets you are reading will still be there next time you log on.  So even though you have unlimited access to your Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, set boundaries for yourself.  Give yourself a set time in the day to check these apps.  Turn off your push notifications.  Take a break from status updates and likes.  Do something else instead to take your mind off of your phone.

If your struggle lies more in the content you are looking it, there are many ways to fight against your temptations.  Put up road blocks for yourself.  You can put a password on your device or browser as a distraction.  There are also safe browsers you can download that will filter images and words that could cause you to stumble.  I don’t know what your thing is, but I know we all struggle with something.

If you have children, get involved now.  Even if you think your child is a saint, he or she WILL encounter temptation and I can almost guarantee it will involve a phone or computer.  We live in a different world where anything and everything you could ever imagine can be found through a simple web search.  Our kids are doing things on their phones that we would have never imagined doing when we were younger.  Kids are smarter than ever and because of that, they need guidance.  I’m not a parent so I am not telling you how to raise your kids.  Please don’t get me wrong.  It wasn’t long ago when I was a kid struggling with things that I was embarrassed to tell my parents about.  It happens.  But you have so much power as a parent to invest in your kids future as a young adult.  Be relational with your kids.  Hug them, talk to them face to face, and show them the example of self-control so they can win this generation back for good.

I don’t know where this whole idea came from.  It’s just some random thoughts I have been having.  All I know is I am thankful for life and hands on experiences.  I’ll never forget riding a bike for the first time, learning piano, holding hands for the first time, and kissing my wife on our wedding day.  I don’t need social media to remember these things.  God gave us eyes, a heart, and a brain.  I pray that even though iPhones rule the world, we won’t forget Who is in control and that we were created to live life with our eyes open to the world around us.

If you like a challenge, try not checking social media for a week.  Or even a day.  Take the control back.  Let us practice self-control so that we may be better equipped to have meaningful conversation and real life experiences.

Okay, I’m finished.  Computer…off.

I tried to move forward but laziness crept in and I gave in to complacency.  This can be a very dangerous place to be.  The more you let life pass by without interacting with it, the more you lose confidence in yourself and you become unmotivated to do anything.  When I was younger, I was very outgoing and wide eyed.  I never met a stranger.  Now I have to fight harder to be social.  I have moments when everything is great and feel like I could talk to anyone. Then there are times when I take the backseat and allow everyone around me to shake hands with life while I just watch.  It is one of my biggest struggles.  I think as we grow up, we actually have to work hard to interact with the world around us.  There’s a part of me that loves being alone.  I think that is healthy at times.  But if we never engage with people and work towards community and relationships, we will never grow.

I’m not sure if you have ever felt any of these things in your life, but I’m sure you can relate in some way.  It may be interacting with people, laziness, complacency, or it may be not feeling confident in your own skin.  Whatever you’re struggle may be, I want to encourage you to talk to someone about what you’re going through.  I believe that God places people in our lives that can walk with us when we are in that place of need.  Sometimes that person is right around the corner and you just need to start the conversation.  Other times, it may be that you are doing okay but a friend needs to hear from you.  They could be too scared or stubborn to ask for help.  I think its important to know that we all go through the valley at times.  If we stand close to the ones we love, the waves may hit us, but they are less likely to take us under.

I feel so much better than I did at the first of the year.  The small things that you allow to get you down, grow and grow and become big problems that are hard to compete with. But I am fighting hard and looking up.  I am thankful to have great friends in my life that walk me through the good and the bad days. Everybody needs a support system to help them when times are tough.  If you don’t have that, I  encourage you to seek those people out.  Maybe its just one friend that you call once a week and you talk about how you all are doing.  Or maybe you get together with a group, grab coffee and just talk about life.  I don’t know what will work for you but as the great Solomon Burke once said, “Everybody needs somebody to love.”

Be love and be a friend.  Someone is counting on you.  Open up and let someone in.  You’ll feel better when you do. ( <——I unintentionally rhyme all the time.)

Josh

What inspires you?

This may sound crazy to you. But I’m going to say it anyway so bear with me. Sometimes, when I really try hard to focus, I can zoom out of whatever situation I am in and see life from a different vantage point. I try to take a bird’s eye view of how God sees His creation. We view our lives in first person, seeing things through our own eyes and minds. Imagine though if we could view ourselves in third person, where you are almost peeking in to see yourself doing your normal daily routine. You watch yourself drive to work, eat lunch, hang out with friends, and do whatever else it is you do, all from the outside looking in. In first person, you see what you want to see. If your eyes don’t go look at something, in your mind it probably didn’t happen. Like a tree falling in a forest, if you’re not there to hear it fall, who says it made a sound? From the outside looking in though, we see everything. We even see the things we don’t want to see. If you were looking in on my life, first off, you would probably be super bored with me. But even more than that, you would see things that would upset you, let you down, and maybe even break your heart. My sin can get the best of me. From a fly on the wall point of view, I would probably disappoint you. Actually, I know I would.

Have you ever thought about how God sees us? He looks down at us and sees the good, the bad, and the in between. He peers into the window of our hearts and sees everything. If you are like me, it is kinda crazy to know that someone is watching at all times. But the reason why it is weird is because my perspective is out of focus. When I center my focus on myself, it seems as though I am in control. I can do and say whatever I want, when I want with no consequences. But when I turn my focus towards Him and realize what life is really all about, I begin to see clearer the perfect picture He is painting. When my perspective and identity is seen through the eyes of Christ, I don’t want to be in control. Knowing the truth, should make us want to run to what is holy. There is no need to hide when we fall, for He knows it all. We are going to mess up, but knowing our struggle, and gaining perspective, causes us to depend on God’s grace. Our main goal should not be perfection, but a greater dependency in the one true God. Dependency in Christ leads to a life that is led by the spirit, rooted in the word, and focused on Him. When we allow ourselves to zoom out and see life for what it really is, I believe we gain a better understanding of our place in this beautiful story. A story with so many flawed characters that only a perfect author could weave it all together for His glory and for His fame.

I want to live the rest of my days looking up, knowing that life is not about me. As we learn to depend on Christ, we should take heart knowing that our trust is not placed in something or someone that can let us down. Our eyes are fixed on the One true God who is able to deliver and rescue just as He promised. I pray we take the focus away from ourselves and place our trust in the only One who is worthy of it all.

I graduated high school in 2003 and immediately after that, Josh Jordan and I went to work for a summer mission camp in Florida for 10 weeks. Josh (Yoda if you know him by that nickname) and I had been friends for years and played in a couple of different bands throughout middle school and high school.  We traveled to Florida in my green Ford Contour, packed to the brim with guitars, luggage, and snacks.  I learned a lot that summer about ministry, people and definitely music.  After that, we both decided that we weren’t going to stop until music was our jobs.

Josh Henderson and I went to middle school and high school together.  We played little league baseball together too.  I wasn’t a very good athlete.  I was normally in left field kicking dirt and writing songs in my head.  Josh (Bobby if you know him by that nickname) was always one of the best players on the team.  Not only was he great at sports but he had character, and I always wanted to be just like him.

After Yoda and I returned from Florida, I called Bobby and asked him if he had ever played an instrument.  He said no but sounded interested.  So we went to a pawn shop, bought a bass, and he played his first show a week later.  He was a natural and became one of the best bass players I know.  He was in choir in high school so he knew music.  Jensen Cornelius was also in choir and had been a friend of ours for a long time.  He joined the band, playing percussion and some keys.  Once again, never played an instrument.  I was also giving guitar lessons at the time to a 15 year old wiz kid named Anthony Chapman.  He joined the band too but was only around for a little while.  He was very young and needed to finish school.  Still one of the most talented guys I know.

Dylan Martin has always been the guy behind the scenes making things happen.  Even in high school, he was the guy that could fix anything or had knowledge about anything and everything sound/tech.  He was also the guy behind the scenes giving me relationship advice, often being the middle man between me and my girlfriend at the time.  He was always there to fix it.  We became best friends really quickly.  When we started traveling, he had an interest in speaking so he came on the road as sound tech/speaker/road manager/everything else.  We couldn’t have done what we did without him.  He was always right there, encouraging us and getting things done.

We met Kirk Wynn through a church in Corryton where he was playing drums.  I saw him play in high school and thought he was one of the best drummers I had ever heard.  When the position became available in Driven, I started calling around to get his number.  When I got it, I called and asked him if he might be interested in trying out for the band.  We were leaving for a mission trip to the Bahamas the next week so I asked him if he wanted to go on that too.  He said no.  I think I freaked him out.  But he did join the band.  We did a photo shoot with him before we ever played together.

From 2004-2009, we did more than most independent bands our age could do.  We played almost 75 shows a year across the United States, were house bands at 4 different churches weekly, did a 10 week camp together as staff/band, did several crusades and retreats, recorded 2 studio albums and a live DVD, and started Consumed Ministries, organizing mission projects throughout the South.

We didn’t have a van or bus.  Every weekend, we were calling around borrowing our parents car, friend’s SUV, or a van from one of our churches.  My church let us use their trailer and we overloaded it with our gear.  There were many trips where I didn’t know if we would make it.  Whether it be travel arrangements or money, God always provided.  There were many nights where we would all be on our faces, praying that we would always keep our focus and perspective.  We loved music, but the ministry is what kept us going.  We got to see God do some amazing things during those years, and I will never be the same.

I just wanted to write this blog to say thanks to anybody and everybody that was involved in helping Driven/Consumed Ministries do what we did.  We were young and naive but I think that’s what made it great.  We didn’t know any better so we went after it with everything we had.  I still talk about the experiences we shared and the people we met.  It was a special thing to be a part of.

We spent a lot of time in the mountains at Wa-Floy retreat in Cosby, TN.  We did several church retreats and songwriting retreats there.  During a band devotion at one of those retreats, we tore a dollar bill into equal pieces and passed them out to every member of the band.  We wrote a date on it, 10 years from that day.  On October 1, 2014, we are going to go back to that little chapel in the woods with our families to reflect on these years and spend time together again.  I look forward to this day more than anything and wouldn’t miss it for the world.

I feel like this can be a good picture of how we are sometimes with God. We love living for God if that means playing in the shallow end or being lazy on the beach. Just enough of God to get our feet wet. But when it comes to the deep end of the ocean, we don’t know what is out there and we are too scared to find out. So we live careful lives without risk.

I heard an interesting statistic recently. 1 out of every 1 person dies. The odds of you dying are pretty good. For some reason we are so scared of what death means for us, that we play it safe and don’t do the things we are created to do. We are called to the deep end. This is where true life is found. If you never leave the beach, and always wade in the shallow end, you will only experience a small taste of what God has for you. Living in the “deep end” of life could ultimately lead you to your death. It did for Jesus too. And he was only 33.

Sometimes I fear that some of our churches have also built their foundation on the beach, too weak to ever withstand the crashing waves of the ocean. Pastors, rise up and lead your church into the ocean head on. Church, love ALL people. Serve ALL people. Do more than you feel you are required to do. You are the light for the darkness around you. If you don’t shine, the people around you may never clearly see the Beauty that is in you. The ocean is filled with those that have never experienced the grace of God. The reason why you are living and breathing on this earth is to tell them. And so many of us at times, including myself, swim in puddles and never really live outside our “quiet times”.

I don’t know everybody by name that may read these blogs. I’m sure not everybody that reads this shares the same faith views that I have. And that is okay. The reason why I write is to share what is on my heart. Sometimes its pointless blabber that only I find interesting. Other times, its me sharing what music I’m listening to. But sometimes, like today, it is a call to action, for myself and you the reader to live life to the fullest. I believe in a God whose ways are vast and deep. His love never fails even when we fail Him. I mess up all the time and it amazes me that He never sees me differently. There have been times in my life when I have gone weeks without talking to Him, and yet when I finally speak, He listens. Every time.

Are you living out your life’s purpose? If the answer is no, then why not?

I pray that we will learn to live in the unknown, unshaken by the crashing waves that try to take us down. God is not small and boring. Just like the ocean, He’s complex and mighty. Beauty and power flow in and through Him like a hurricane, swallowing up everything is its path. There is no need to fear though. Because the same power that raised Christ from the dead lives in those who trust in Him. He invites us to live life in the deep end, where risk and purpose collide.

“I also pray that you will understand the incredible greatness of God’s power for us who believe him. This is the same mighty power that raised Christ from the dead and seated him in the place of honor at God’s right hand in the heavenly realms.”

Ephesians 1:19-20

So instead of writing whatever I was going to write, I am going to ask you to do something.  Take the time that you were going to spend reading this blog and do something that matters.  It could be praying, calling a friend to catch up, spending time with the ones you love, going and kissing your husband/wife/kids, or just sitting in silence without your Facebook news feed in front of you.  We waste so much time and energy on things that will not last.  Let’s do intentional things that really matter.

I have lots of things to share with you, and I’ll get to them one day.  But for now, I’m going to go kiss my wife instead.  Have a great Sunday!

-Josh

When I was kid, my main goal was to entertain. When family would come over for holidays or birthdays, I would usually sing and bang on our piano until my parents told me to stop. Sometimes, I would even talk my sister and cousins into joining in and we would put on shows for everyone. This was the norm in the Lovelace house. (I have the home videos to prove it)

Each afternoon when school let out, my grandmother (Gran) would pick me up and usually take me to my grandparents’ house where she watched me until my parents got off work. When we got there, we always turned on Sharon, Lois & Bram’s Elephant Show. If you are unfamiliar with the show, it was a children’s program in the late 80′s/early 90′s that featured 3 folk singers, neighborhood kids, and a dancing elephant. It was absolutely my favorite show. I knew every word to every song. They made music fun. From a very early age, I decided that I would be a musician when I grew up. I haven’t looked back since.

Gran was always the one that would sing along with me, any time I asked. I remember listening to Sharon, Lois & Bram in her car and driving to the library to find songbooks or more records to listen to. She was always teaching me new songs and rhymes that she learned as a kid. My grandad (Pops) would sing with us every now and then too. My favorite times growing up were singing with my grandparents. The song we sang the most was called “Side By Side” which SLB recorded on one of their early records.

in 1995, Gran became sick with cancer. I was only 10 years old so it was really hard for me to understand. I remember when she was getting worse, I bought her a Sharon, Lois & Bram cassette tape, thinking it might help her feel better. She passed away in September of that year. After that, my family gave me the tape back and said that she would have wanted me to have it. It wasn’t much, but it made me realize how important the trio’s music had meant to our relationship over the years. After she passed, I began collecting Sharon, Lois & Bram memorabilia. I collected tapes, videos, books, LPs, posters, etc. Every time I found something, it reminded me of Gran. I feel a part of her is always with me through their music.

Last summer, we played a concert in Toronto on a tour we were on. I knew it would be a long shot, but I sent a message to Sharon, Lois & Bram’s management. I told them that I was in town, playing a concert and that their music had meant a great deal to me. I just wanted to invite them and their families out to the show so I could tell them that in person. I got a response back. They weren’t able to come to the show, but Sharon graciously met me for coffee. It was one of the best visits. I finally got to tell her how much their music impacted my life. Without them, I don’t know if I would be doing what I do today.

Ever since last summer, Sharon and I have kept in touch. Saturday, we were in Toronto again for a headlining show. My wife was out with us as well and we got to do one of the coolest things I’ve ever done. We got to spend the afternoon with Sharon, Lois & Bram. We spent almost two hours talking about music, family, life, food, and traveling. After coffee, we said our goodbyes to Sharon and Lois and then walked with Bram back to his house. Once we were inside, he brought out some SLB memorabilia for my collection which included a record that had never been released. I couldn’t believe it. It was such an amazing afternoon for Whitney and I. As if the day could have gotten any better, Sharon stopped by our show, and got to see us play. It was standing room only in a packed out rock club but she still came by. I was and am still blown away.

I tell you all of this for a few reasons. First of all, it is a peek into my childhood. A lot of who I am today is found in the songs and lessons I learned through Sharon, Lois & Bram. As funny as it may sound, I feel like I am a better person because I tuned in. I learned to always live with eyes wide open, letting myself be amazed at the simple joys of life. I’ll always be a kid at heart. And the neatest thing is, when Whitney and I have kids of our own, I have a great big collection of amazing music to share with our family.

One more thing. Family is important. So hug the ones you love a little tighter, say I love you more often, and make family a priority. If you are a parent, invest into your kids. If you are a kid, talk to your parents. Spend quality time together and make memories that will outlive you.

Saturday was an experience that I will never forget. It meant so much to me that 3 people that I admire so much would make the time for Whitney and I. I hope one day I can pay forward what they have given to me. If you have kids, you should check out SLB’s music. They will love it.

Thanks Sharon, Lois & Bram for sacrificing almost 35 years of your lives so that families can communicate their love for each other through song. You deserve to be honored.

Skinnamarink.