Waynebo.com: Blog

I apologize for not posting this sooner...

The Afterglow EP is now available on iTunes, eMusic! and Rhapsody and some others...

please note: I have found out that there is a band called King Midas from the Netherlands. I don't know what I'm gonna do about this, but be sure that it's me you're listening to or downloading. They're a rock/blues band.

Happy New Year! 2008 is here! What a year 2007 was - tough, challenging & humbling for me. But blessed because I needed more humility, anyway. I thank God that he used the difficult situations in my life to speak to me about me.

I'm anticipating great things in 2008. My daughter graduates from high school and, God willing, My family will be out of our apartment and into a house this year.

2008 is also an olympic year - I am a HUGE fan of track and field - so I'm excited. And, of course, it's an election year; which brings me to my point. I don't intend to endorse or promote any particular candidate or party here, but I do want to bring something to your attention.

Outside of the Republican and Democratic parties, there are several legitimate candidates for president. They don't have the major-party money behind them so you won't be bombarded with commercials about them and -curiously- they never seem to get invited to any of the debates. I believe this has more to do with our corrupt and flawed system than it does with the candidates, but I won't get into that here...

I want to encourage you all to check these candidates out for yourselves. See what they stand for. Examine their ideas. If in the end you vote for the Democrat or the Republican, let it be because you felt they were the best candidate, not because they were able to use their money and the system to silence the competition.

At the top of my links section you will find a page of presidential candidates. You can use the links on this page to go to their respective websites and find out who they are.

I hope and pray that you will join me in making an INFORMED DECISION when you step into the booth in November.

Please Holla! back with your thoughts on the candidates or on this issue in general.

Ain't it funny how we so easily miss the basics? Most people I know would say that they have too much on their plate or at least that their plate is full. Most would say they don't have time for "quiet time". Many would say that they don't see the value in having "quiet time". They would rather do something "productive". Many of us need to feel "busy" in order to feel like that time has been productive.

Well, as always, God's word has something to say about this... After Moses died and Joshua assumed leadership of Israel, God gave him instructions: (joshua 1:8) "This book of the law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success".

One of the principles that God gives us here is that we must - on a regular basis - slow down and review the basics. We must come back and refresh ourselves on what we're supposed to be doing, and why we're doing it. We must refresh our minds on our plans and goals and motives. Look at the pattern laid out in that verse: meditate everyday > do what you've meditated > prosperity and success!

As we pursue our goals, may we never be "too busy" to do what will actually bring us the success we seek

Remember how our parents would scold us with the words "you know better!"? Well, those words still resonate with me to this day. Have you ever thought about how much better your life would be if you just did everything you knew you were supposed to do? So many of us jump at new information about how to improve this, that, or the other. How to be wealthier, happier, thinner, sexier, more at peace... the list goes on and on. Well, as always, the word of God has the answer: Phillipians 3:16(NLT) says "we must be sure to obey the truth we have learned already". Wow! That is so simple and obvious that is just smacks me upside the head!! James 4:17(NLT) hits it from a different angle - "it is sin to know what you ought to do and then not do it".

Now, I'm not saying we shouldn't seek to increase our knowledge; the bible tells us to do that too (2 Peter 3:18, 2 Peter 1:5, Psalm 1:1-3, Joshua 1:8). What I'm saying is we all must, on a regular basis, stop and take the time to make sure that what we have learned actually becomes part of our daily lives. If we don't, we remove the power and cancel the value of that knowledge. Knowing better means nothing if it doesn't translate into doing better.

I can easily look at my life and see several things that are jacked up that wouldn't be if I had only heeded this simple instruction.

If you are interested in any of my music or would just like to contact me, please send me an e-mail (see the "contact" section)

JAZZMYN: thanks for the "holla" and for reading my thoughts. Please e-mail me. I don't know how to contact you.

Wow! Time realy flies when you're busy, doesn't it? I feel like I've been running in circles for the last month. I realize that a large part of the problem is that I am seriously overweight. Now, I want to be cute just like most people, but the real issue I see is that I am much more tired and moody and obviously God cannot use me the way he wants to when I'm in this state. A fat, tired cranky husband & father is not as nice to live with and I want to give my family better than what they've been getting.

2 weeks ago I was at an all-time high of 231 lbs. (It hurts me to even type this). My goal is to get down to 170 lbs. (I'm 5' 8" by the way). When I get there I will post before and after pictures. I pray that as I push myself in this area, that the discipline I develop will spill into the other areas of my life that need it. This is definitely an area where I will need to be consistent in prayer. I'll keep you posted and I would love to hear from any of you who are fighting this same battle.

Before you read this, I encourage you to read my last post from 3-11-07. It will put this one in proper context.

Let me share something with you. It was written by Deitrich Bonhoeffer.

"Why Should I Pray Every Morning?":

The morning prayer determines the day. Squandered time of which we are ashamed, temptations to which we succumb, weakness and lack of courage in work, disorganization and lack of discipline in our thoughts and in our conversations with other men all have their origin most often in the neglect of morning prayer...

This really hit home for me. I can think of more than one thing that I have struggled with for a long time that I have not really prayed about. The bible tells us in many different places that prayer should be a part of our daily life - Phillipians 4:6, Proverbs 15:29. Psalms 55:17, 34:17, 69:33, 116:1-2, 145:18 are just a few of the examples. GOD WANTS TO TALK TO US ABOUT OUR LIVES EVERYDAY.

I want to encourage and challenge all of you to join me in this: choose 1 issue in your life and commit to praying about it everyday for the next 30 days. It can be 2 minutes in your car or 30 minutes on your knees at home, just do it everyday. And when you pray, remember, don't do all of the talking. I look forward to hearing what The Lord reveals to you.
An important note: Hebrews 11:6 says "...he who comes to God must believe that he is and that he is a rewarder of those that diligently seek him". You must go into prayer believing that God will hear you - and ready to receive his response even if it isn't what you wanted to hear. Read my last post - God knows better than we do, trust him.

"Holla" back. Or send me an e-mail. Or give me a call.

Have you ever stopped and thought about how things look from God's perspective? He has a view our minds can barely grasp. Scripture tells us that God's lifetime is "from everlasting to everlasting". It also tells us that God is both omniscient and omnipresent. Scripture also tells us that God sees our hearts and knows our thoughts. That means that God sees every minute in the life of every person on earth. Also, remember God is an eternal being who lives outside of time so he sees it all at once. To expand further, God sees every minute in the life of every person who has ever lived, is alive now, and ever will live - all at once!

So what does that mean to you? It means that since he sees it all, he knows where you are supposed to fit in. He knows your path from beginning to end - in detail. And here's the best part: God loves you, so you can (and should) trust him.

In the book of Isaiah (55:9) God says to us "For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts higher than your thoughts" - God's wisdom is far beyond ours. Psalms 23:2-3 tells us "He makes me to lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside the still waters, he restores my soul..." - God may lead us through rough times, but he doesn't lead us to rough times. James 1:5 tells us "If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach and it will be given to him" - God's wisdom is for us, he wants to share it.

What's in it for us? Jeremiah 17:7-8 tells us: "Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord and whose hope is in the Lord. For he shall be like a tree planted by the waters which spreads out its roots by the river, and will not fear when heat comes but its leaf shall be green; and will not be anxious in the year of drought, nor will cease from yielding fruit". Wow! Who wouldn't want to be strong like that?! Only the wisdom of God can lead us into that kind of strength and stability.

Trust God. Study his word. Receive his wisdom.

Holy Hip-Hop. Gospel Rap. Christian Rap. Whatever you wanna call it, thank God it's here. (and since I am a HUGE fan of house music, thank God for Gospel House Music too!) Why? Well, first of all because I do love hip-hop music. However, most of what we hear on the radio is filled to the brim with foul, ungodly lyrics that promote an immoral lifestyle. Really, take some time and actually listen to the lyrics and break them down. Pay attention to the principles that are being promoted. And remember, music is powerful because the natural thing to do with it is to meditate it. Think about it, when you like a song you rehearse it over and over in your head, learning the words, letting the rhythms and melody sink into your mind. Those of you who listen to urban radio, think of all the songs that you can quote the lyrics to off the top of your head right now. Now think about what those lyrics really mean and stop fooling yourself into believing that you can marinate your mind in that material without being effected by it. The point is, we all should make some conscious decisions about what we fill our minds with. What we read, what we watch, and what we listen to DOES matter. It impacts how we see the world, how we see people, and how we think. The point is, I encourage everyone who reads this to check out some gospel rap or some gospel house music. A few years back, you could say that most of it sounded corny, but not anymore. Some of the hottest rappers out there are spittin' for Christ! I have a few sites in my "links" section that I hope you will check out. I will also be adding a page to my music section called "tracks U Need 2 Hear" where I will post some gospel rap tunes for you to check out. By all means, go to my "holla!" section and holla back at me with your thoughts.

Okay... so much for " come back to this section once a week". Wow, it is truly amazing how much resistance life can conjure up when you begin to get close to accomplishing something. Maybe I will discuss the spiritual warfare that this represents later. It has been a busy month, but thankfully in the midst of all the hustle and bustle God has seen fit to bless me with some good ideas for things I can do with this site. Keep your eye on the music section, I'll definitely be doing some things there.

Everyone should take some time to examine why they are doing what they're doing. Don't just freelance your way through your whole life. If you know where you're going - and why you're going there - you will know what to say "yes" to and what to say "no" to. With that said, I'll put my money where my mouth is. Here is the Exodus Music Mission Statment:

In the book of Exodus, God used Moses to lead the children of Israel from one way of life (bondage) into another way of life (freedom). It is the mission of Exodus Music to use the joy, energy and power of music to draw attention and build relationships – primarily with people who are unwilling to go to church or listen to a message preached by a pastor. Through these relationships, God will use Exodus Music to deliver the gospel and lead people to a new way of life - freedom - based on a personal relationship with Jesus Christ and grounded in the Word of God. To God be all the glory!!

So now you know where I'm coming from and I know where I'm going. I can't wait to see how God takes me there. Holla back later!

Be sure to come back to this section at least once a week. I will be sharing my life insights and perspectives. I hope to make this section something useful for your life.