I had a great time in Breckenridge over the long weekend with family and Britt. I hadn’t snowboarded in over a year, given the fact I live in Scottsdale, AZ. I took a nasty spill day one. I honestly don’t remember how I fell on the side of my head because it happened so fast. The medic said I could have a minor concussion. Needless to say the next two days I was much more tentative down the mountain. I feel like this happens quite a bit in life, fear holds us back from certain situations because of previous experiences replaying in our minds. Perhaps a future post brewing. Regardless, we had a great time up in those snowy Colorado mountains!

Last night President Donald Trump stood and gave his State of the Union speech. Honestly, I think I heard about 5 minutes of it, as my political tolerance is lacking. I will say that the few days in Breckenridge, coupled with last night’s annual speech, got me thinking about The State of My Union. I’m referring to my relationship with Christ. That’s the most important UNION we can have in my opinion. The Surrender Project is nearly 300 days and counting (almost 1 year- wow!). I decided to make Surrendering a daily part of my life via my Surrender Prayer, coupled with a mindset of trusting God over obsessively trying to control my life. Yet the Surrender Project was about more than just Surrendering to God. I set out to have a new way of LIVING LIFE. There are a few mottos I created last May when this project took form, and I wanted to give an honest update on each via this post: The State of My Union.

First, I do want to discuss Surrendering. My prayer of giving my life to God is a daily reminder of the importance of shifting my mindset from control to trust. The prayer often extends beyond the prayer you can view on this site. I am learning that Surrendering isn’t just a prayer said once a day. In fact, sometimes I say it several times per day. In Breckenridge, at over ten thousand feet, I said it before snowboarding down the mountain while looking at the incredible view of the Rockies. I also find myself Surrendering specific areas of my life throughout each day: relationships, work, stress, family, money, the future, etc.. I find myself Surrendering when stress, fear or uncertainties creep in. The State of Surrendering could still be better. I still get caught up in old habits of trying to control outcomes when distractions and the world take hold. I believe Surrendering will be a lifelong discipline for me, even a battle at times. I pray I’ll be stronger over time, yet realize that the enemy used to have me in bondage living in fear and anxiety. This means that I need to continually up my Surrender game! I need to continually have a mind, heart and spirit that are willing to Trust God over succumbing to fear!

How about my motto: Live with No Regrets. How am I doing? I took that road trip last year, talk about a way of Living with No Regrets! The only thing I haven’t done is plan my next one, which will be shorter this summer as I write my first book: Burning my Suits. I’m also doing guitar lessons 3 times per week. I’m committed to being a musician in this life given my deep down love and connection spiritually with music. I absolutely LOVE a song that feels connects with my soul. Why shouldn’t I write a few songs and play guitar? I honestly feel like I’d regret never knowing how to play music, as well as not singing or writing my own songs. Deeply regret in fact. How about this blog? How about hiking the Grand Canyon in a day! How about being committed to running my first 1/2 marathon this year! How about limiting alcohol this year, as this can be a real light dimmer! What about reading one book per month (at least) to become a better version of myself by continually learning! These are all things I’m doing. Yet I still feel like I could be better. I’m looking for more ways to Live with No Regrets! I pray I’ll always have the mindset to be the good kind of committed, to take the good type of chances, to fully live this life!

How about my motto: Be the Good Kind of Crazy. How am I doing? I made a decision to forgo wearing suits every single work day this year. I find it funny the double-takes I get from clients who’ve known me as the clean cut, suit-wearing man I was; who now get to see me with my beard and polo shirts. I’m a midwest guy at heart, and I’ve never felt like my true self putting on a suit for the world (a costume); so I decided not to do it anymore. The crazy part- clients don’t care! Some even say “good for you.” I even sense some feel more comfortable being genuine in our conversations because they see me as more of a normal person. I’m working out 20,000 minutes this year with my dear friend Ben Newman (IG: @continuedfight). I guess most people consider this crazy. Some also think this Blog is crazy. They think I’m going through some kind of 1/3 life crisis and am blabbing aimlessly. I love when people think I’m crazy, as it only serves as a reminder that I’m doing something right. I am different. We all should be, as God created us this way. I love celebrating Being the Good Kind of Crazy. The only problem- how can I be even more Crazy Good? I tend to get distracted, stressed and pulled back toward worldly needs and desires, which can fog this lens. I want to be even CRAZIER! This is also a daily discipline- to view life through a lens of this question: “is this me being The Good Kind of Crazy?” I don’t think much is worth doing if the answer is no.

What about my motto: “Chase JOY.” How am I doing? This is the area I feel like I need the most help. You see, it’s hard to Chase JOY when it doesn’t align with the expectations of the world. I believe JOY is DIVINE. I believe we all have a Divine PURPOSE, a Divine CALLING, and our JOY is our compass to finding this in life. I believe God places a spark in all of us, and we have to chase this spark within. I believe too many of us aren’t Chasing the JOY via His SPARK! Do we settle for the money? Do we settle by pleasing others? De we settle for comfort and security? This topic is one I’m still meddling through and will continue to write about it in future posts. I wrote a post called 95% JOY that dove deeper (again about my friend Ben), so check it out if you haven’t. Bottom line- I believe we all have the opportunity to choose JOY in life. I believe we can choose the Divine spark if we simply tune in, lean in and let God guide us to our true purpose. How am I doing? Well I’m writing on this blog, right? This blog gives me JOY, so I Chase it and honor Him by continuing to follow His lead. How else am I Chasing Joy? Musically as mentioned above, as it gives my so much JOY to sing along and I have a funny feeling music is a big part of my future (who knows though)! I also feel compelled to announce another big part of this Surrender Project: a podcast coming later this year with my good friend Tony. We’re Chasing JOY together on a mission to help people overcome struggle, to heal, and to fully live! My belief- we can CHOOSE JOY, CHASE JOY AND SETTLE FOR NOTHING BUT JOY if we have our hearts set on God’s Divine purpose for our lives. Settle for nothing less, ever! When we tell ourselves we can’t Chase JOY, we’re thinking with our conditioned minds, not our spirit-filled hearts.

So there it is. The State of My Union. The SURRENDER PROJECT update. The check-in nearly 300 days into this life altering project. I vow to continue to bring my life back into focus via these lenses: Surrender ALL to GOD, Live with NO Regrets, Be the Good Kind of Crazy, and Chase JOY. I am excited to continue learning. I am excited to be the version of me God created, not the one conditioned by the world. I’m excited to continue Surrendering. I’m excited to continue being crazy good. I’m excited to fully chase JOY. I’m excited for life. How about you?

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