Too Much Yellow

Tonight I can't seem to get a message I heard earlier this week out of my mind. The guest speaker at our sectional Minister's gathering on Monday told a story about a time when he had 28 days out of 30 filled with church activities on his calendar. When he boasted about it to a Pastor friend, his friend told him quite frankly, "you're sinning."

Ouch.

On my calendar, I highlight each day where there is something important I need to remember, like a special speaker at church, a doctor's appointment, watching my god-children, etc. Lately though, there's been a little too much highlighting going on. This week, my body finally told me that enough is enough. I've been sick and tired with very little energy. And the problem is, I know better. I wrote the book on it.

No seriously, I did. When I tapped out my first book, Picking up Stones, I wrote a chapter on what I call, "Servanthood Burnout." It happens when you're doing so much for so many that you become no good to anybody. What you're doing may be admirable, but if you don't take care of yourself then you are eventually going to crash and burn. Friends, we weren't made to run 24/7. Any machine, no matter how well it's made will eventually reach it's breaking point. And besides, God commanded us to rest. We need a break. It's not a sin to say "no" once in a while.

Yes, people may be depending on you. Kids and family might need you. I'm stretched in about 30 directions myself right now, and if the candle had a third end to burn I'd be torching it. But I'll be paying the price for it. The problem is, so will the people who depend on me.

So if you need a break, take one. That's all... just take one. Get away. Go somewhere. Lock the door for a while. Grab yourself a Coke, crank up the Bobby Darin and....

...hey, it works for me all right?

"These Go to Eleven"

Yesterday, I presented the ten songs that quite frankly, make me want to hurl. So today, we turn to the positive with the top songs I have to crank as loudly as I can whenever I hear them. From praise and worship to meaningful to just plain fun, these are the songs I would have to take with me if I were stranded on a desert island with a CD player and batteries. Because after all, where do you plug in on a desert island?

By the way, I couldn't narrow this list down to ten.

11. The Great Divide - Point of Grace
It's obvious enough that POG has the most unique and endearing sound in all of Contemporary Christian Music, but the words to this song are amazing. There's a cross to bridge the great divide... a way was made to reach the other side... the mercy of the Father cost his Son His life...
It's a river of tears every time. And speaking of rivers...

10. Moon River - Andy Williams
Andy was, and is a singer's singer. They just don't make 'em like Andy anymore. Bobby Darin does a great cover, but Andy owns this song.

9. Take My Hand - The Kry
The best song you've probably never heard. Look it up on YouTube and you'll understand. It's one of those songs that has brought me through a difficult time more than once.

8. Centerfield - John Fogerty
The best "crank it up and roll down the car windows even if it's 20 degrees" song ever. This song could make an Eskimo think it's summer.

7. Moonlight Serenade - Glen Miller Orchestra
No better song to dance to - or so I've been told.

6. Then Came the Morning - Guy Penrod
I would listen to Guy sing the phone book. Backwards.
In Swahili...

5. Come Sail Away - Styx w/ Dennis DeYoung
If it ain't Dennis, it's just a lousy imitation. This song was also the theme of my High School prom. Also a great song to dance to, or so I've been told.

4. He's My Son - Mark Schultz
Just as we learned my son was diagnosed with autism, Mark hit the airwaves with this song. No other song I've heard has felt like it was written for me as much as this one. I pray for the day when he starts writing songs like this again.

3. Above All - Michael W. Smith
With a nod to authors Paul Baloche & Lenny LeBlanc, thank you for an amazing praise and worship song. Why don't we sing it more in church? Because this Pastor can't get through it without choking up. What a marvelous picture of what Christ did for us on the cross.

2. Do You Hear the People Sing? (Finale) - Colm Wilkinson
From the best musical ever (don't argue me on this point) Les Miserables', comes the song that will be sung at my funeral. If not, I'm a-comin' back to haunt somebody.

1. Mack the Knife - Bobby Darin
From the undisputed king of music comes the #1 song of 1959, from the #1 artist of the century, Mr. Bobby Darin. His life was cut short by heart disease, but what a legacy of musical talent he left behind. A nice little family number about a gangster who goes around whacking people, Bobby never sang it the same twice. And he always nailed it perfectly.

May I Just Say... Yum?

Someone, somewhere, on some blog I recently read had a very interesting essay on the identities we create online. I'm not talking about some idiot stalker who pretends to be someone he or she is not, but rather how we can mold or shape our own identities into who we would like to be; who we would like others to think we are. Are we truly honest with others, and to a larger extent, with ourselves now that social networking has shrunk the world even smaller?

Years ago I worked for an "oldies" radio station where I created my own on-air persona just for fun. I had our listeners absolutely convinced that I was the world's biggest fan of Bobby Darin. We played it up, too. We raised money for charity by urging listeners to have me sing "Mack the Knife" on the air. I would always introduce Bobby as the "Undisputed King of Rock n' Roll." Bobby's official web site dubbed me, "The Most Dedicated Darin Fan Ever." We even built a Bobby Darin shrine in the studio lobby. A pregnant listener swore she was going to give birth to her baby there. I don't know why. She didn't.

A few years later, I moved on to a country station, where I supposedly fell in love with Sara Evans. I made it an on-air quest to meet her, which I finally did when I bought myself backstage into a meet and greet that lasted all of 30 seconds. I got front row tickets to another concert where I wore a t-shirt that read, "Yes, My World Really Does Revolve Around Sara Evans." And to our listeners, it probably seemed that way.

As a Youth Pastor, it was Mark Schultz. Don't even get me started on that one. My youth group must have known human videos to nearly every song he recorded.

But here's the thing. Those "identities" really did creep into my personal life. I have more Bobby Darin, Mark Schultz, and Sara Evans CD's, photos, autographs and assorted stuff than I know what to do with. I still listen to Bobby and Sara regularly. It's hard to let go of the fun of it all, even though I'm officially retired from radio.

So is it any wonder that now, in this vast world of social networking, there's a whole new identity? Really, I didn't expect the pancake thing to take off like it did. A certain someone we'll call "The Drama Queen Who Shall Not Be Named" tacked the nickname "Pancake Head" on me. Not very original I know, but it's the best she could do. I suppose it was easier to spell that "Pancake Connoisseur." At any rate, the identity stuck, and here I am. Problem is, like Bobby and Sara, I've adopted the identity. I've come up with more odd ways to cook a pancake than Bobby Flay has to barbeque a hot dog. And you know what? That's okay. It really is. You see, when I die I hope people gather around my ashes before my wife sprinkles them off the top of the White River Lighthouse and say, "You know, Pastor Tim was a hoot. He sure enjoyed a good pancake, didn't he?" And then they'll laugh. I hope they laugh heartily.

That, my friends, would be an awesome legacy.