“But thou art holy, 
O thou that inhabitest the praises of Israel.”
_ Psalm 22:3

November’s challenge was simple – the month most commonly associated with gratitude and thanks would be the perfect time to practice the long-lost art of the thank-you card.  My goal was to handwrite thirty notes – roughly one a day (although it never worked out that way) – each one a chance to encourage and thank someone else for the influence they’ve had on my life.  I’ve written to pastors and authors, radio stations and bands, bosses and friends… and even one dead guy. 

In Psalm 22, David writes that God inhabits – He lives within – the praises of His people.  Who can argue that gratitude is truly a taste of the divine?  As I’ve gone about this month, specifically focused on being thankful for all the blessings the Father has bestowed, I’ve found myself drawn nearer to His heart – it seems an unconscious consequence of gratefulness.

We may give it brief airtime before we carve the turkey, but we don’t live in a thankful world.  American culture is built on a bedrock of pride; the way our friends and neighbors perceive us is point number one – and so we’ve learned to embrace the false gospel of getting – we work overtime, max out credit cards, and take out loans to have the nicest car, the biggest house, the slickest phone, the hottest wife.  We’re not only keeping up with the Joneses, but with the Smiths, Clarkes, Browns… and the entire rest of the block as well.  All the while, outside our shrink-wrapped lives, a homeless rabbi is calling us to join a kingdom that is truly countercultural – instead of getting, he teaches us to give; instead of wanting more, he instructs us to turn our hearts toward thankfulness. 

If anything, this month taught me that I’ve misunderstood the blessing of God.  The preachers on TV talk about it in terms of rising bank accounts and summer homes, health and wealth, but that’s not the whole picture.  Can God give us those things?  Absolutely.  And yet, although I’ve prayed for God’s blessing on my life, I still have to check my bank account before I go grocery shopping to make sure I don’t spend more than I have.  Is God’s blessing passing me by?  Have I been weighed and found lacking in His sight?  The Father isn’t ignoring my prayers – instead, He’s answering them in the most valuable way possible – with other people.  I may be scrimping and saving every dime, but my loving Father has poured out more wealth on me than I ever thought possible – with friends and family that support, encourage, and cherish me and my faith. 

To close out this month’s challenge, I’m writing thank-you notes to encourage five people who’ve done the same for me throughout my life – people I’m sure I’ve never appropriately thanked before.  First, my parents, Tim and Louanne Mathis, who, more than anyone else, have prepared me for the adventure of marriage I’ll be undertaking in just fifteen short days.  Another letter goes out to Jamie Ward, my middle and high school youth minister – as a stuttering sixth grader, he looked me in the eye and told me I’d be a leader in the church.  He believed in me, and today, I find myself waist deep in vocational ministry with a youth group of my own.  My third letter is going to Johnny Collett, a friend from my days as a high school science teacher.  When I was on the fence about leaving education and pursuing ministry fulltime, he offered words of insight and encouragement that propelled me forward.  Like my youth minister years earlier, Johnny believed in me… and that helped me believe in myself and the calling God had placed on my life.  My final two letters go to people I’ve never met, but whose lifestyle inspires me everyday:  the hardworking and enthusiastic Mr. Sparkle Car Wash Sign Guy (his real name’s Daryl) and the Christian hip-hop group Beautiful Eulogy.  Everything about both of them screams humility and genuineness – and while coming from very different worlds, they both manage to offer me daily inspiration. 

And while those five letters bring me to the end of November’s Thirty Days of Thanksgiving, I certainly don’t expect them to signal the end of my attempts to embrace a lifestyle of gratitude. 

But before I move on to anything else (like December’s challenge), I’ve got to find my stamps.      

Today, I celebrate the four men who, in exactly sixteen days, will be standing beside me when I undertake one of the biggest adventures this life has to offer – marriage.  Technically, only two of my four groomsmen are my brothers, but the way I feel about these guys blurs those lines significantly.  Without a shadow of a doubt, I wouldn’t be the man I am today without their godly influence, their belief in me, and their never-ending support.  The birth certificates may say different, but I consider myself blessed enough to have four brothers in this life.  And like every member of my family, they’ve all got their own nicknames – Lips, Goaf, Bode and Sherm – and I’m not even going to try to explain those here. 

On December 14th, the night before my wedding, each one of these men will receive a gift bag from me.  Its nowhere valuable enough to be able to truly represent what they mean to me and Janie, but tucked inside each one will be a heartfelt note – the only way a writer can truly thank the people most important to him. 

(Just in case you’re keeping score at home – no, I did not make a math mistake.  I have four groomsmen, but am only counting three thank-you notes toward my month’s goal because, a few days ago, I wrote a note to one of my groomsmen for his help in getting my book published.  The rules of this month’s challenge specify only one note per person… and you can ask Janie, I’m a stickler for the rules.)

One day left in November and five notes to go – its back to the writing desk for me.  

When you start describing your life using scenes from Lord of the Rings, it’s a safe bet you’ve reached the pinnacle of all nerddom.  And although this will certainly cost me what meager amount of “cool points” I may have left, that’s precisely what I aim to do.

Lord of the Rings tells the story of Frodo Baggins, a hobbit whose been given a most important quest – one that will result either in the salvation or utter ruin of all the lands of Middle Earth.  By chance, Frodo’s come into possession of a magic ring, one which gives its bearer unlimited power.  An evil force has risen in Middle Earth, hell-bent on obtaining the ring and using it to conquer their entire world.  The only answer to the rising tide of darkness is for Frodo to destroy the ring by casting into the fires that first created it, deep in the heart of Mount Doom. 

Frodo’s adventure starts easy enough, but the farther he gets from home, the more perilous it becomes.  In order to reach Mount Doom, Frodo and his party are forced to cross enemy territory and accept advice from a treacherous guide.  Dodging orcs, evil humans, and the all-seeing-eye of Sauron isn’t enough to guarantee safety, however, for Frodo carries no ordinary ring.  From the string around his neck where he keeps it, the ring affects his mood, plants evil thoughts in his head, and even physically weighs him down.  With each footstep closer to Mount Doom, the ring becomes heavier, until it nearly cripples him under its weight.  Only steps from being able to destroy it completely, Frodo collapses – his friend and traveling companion, Samwise, picks him up in his arms, carrying him the rest of way; carrying him to his destiny.

Three years ago, I went on a road trip with my friend Pat.  After returning home, I sat down to write a few blogs about our experiences, mostly as a way to grab hold of the lessons God had taught us along the way.  The more I wrote, however, the more I realized I had to say.  The blogs got longer and longer, and one night, I stumbled upon what would be my adventure (and my obnoxiously heavy ring):  writing a book. 

I worked for nearly a year finishing the manuscript, spent three months editing it, and in May of this year, submitted my first draft to a self-publishing company.  Since then, there’ve been more reedits and additional read-throughs than I’d even care to remember.  So many times I’ve wished to give up, but with the encouragement of a few specific people, I kept plugging away… and yesterday, it all paid off.  About 8:00AM, I found the strength to throw my ring into the fires of Mount Doom, submitting the final copy of my book for publishing.  Already, I feel as if a major weight has been removed from my shoulders - the words still out, however, on whether my book, like Frodo’s ring, will destroy all forms of evil in the world. 

But this moment isn’t about celebrating my accomplishment (which technically isn’t complete yet anyway), but about the people who’ve helped me get here.  Just like Frodo, who in his darkest hour was literally carried by his friend Sam, I am certain I wouldn’t be in this place without major support from a handful of friends.  First and foremost, my almost-wife Janie, who is a never ending source of encouragement when it comes to my dream of being a writer – when I’m ready to quit, she picks me up again, carrying me once more toward my destiny.  But, technically, I’ve already written her a thank-you note, and the rules of this month’s challenge say I can’t double up.  So today’s thank-notes will be going to four other people who’ve also inspired me to keep pushing toward my dreams.

First, my friend Fink, who is a constant source of encouragement for my writing – on the days I think no one but Janie is reading my blog, she always seems to come through with a positive word.  Another letter goes to my friend, Sarah, who gave her time and abilities to create some awesome cover art for my book.  It’s a shame you can’t judge a book by its cover, because if you could, I’d already be on the New York Times bestseller list.  A third letter goes to my good friend Jarrod, who dedicated nearly three months of his life to proofreading and editing my first draft – he helped make my disjointed thoughts and comma-spliced-sentences readable.  Everyone who reads the book owes him a letter of gratitude as well.  And finally, my last thank-you note goes to Sam at Westbow Press, who has proven to be a most valuable member of my publishing team – helpful, knowledgeable, and patient, he’s made the oftentimes confusing and complicated world of publishing much less threatening. 

Fingers crossed, my book should be available in early 2013… and if you should happen to read it, and find any part of it enjoyable or enlightening, let me know, and I’ll pass on Janie, Fink, Sarah and Jarrod’s addresses – I’m sure you’ll want to thank them as much as I do.   

The Thanksgiving holiday may have come and gone, but the thank-you note writing campaign has not; if anything, its only increased – I’ve got five days left to reach my goal of thirty notes before the end of the month.  I’ve got my work cut out for me. 

Technically, my job title with the youth at my church is Creative Arts Pastor, which means most of the work I do involves worship experiences, student praise bands, videos and creative support for the middle and high school pastors.  I love what I do, but deep down, I’m a teacher – luckily, I also get the chance to flex those muscles from time to time.  With our middle school pastor out of town for the Thanksgiving holiday, I was excited to get the opportunity to teach the middle schoolers this morning at our student worship experience.  As I worked this week to prepare the service and my teaching, I couldn’t help but be filled with thankfulness for the crew of adult leaders who work tirelessly, week-in and week-out, to make our middle school services a success.  These six people show up, nearly every Sunday, and fully engage the process – they bring enthusiasm for the students, excitement for the ridiculous games we play, and support for the lessons we teach.  I can face the 70+ students we’ll have this morning because I know these six people have my back and will be there, ready to help out in anyway I ask.  Because they aren’t paid for the work they do, it’s tempting to call them volunteers.  But they’re so much more than that – they are leaders, the heartbeat of our church’s youth ministry.  

“If I were not a physicist, I would probably be a musician.
I often think in music. I live my daydreams in music.
 I see my life in terms of music.”
_ Albert Einstein 

We’re nineteen days into the month of November, and to date, I’ve written thirteen thank-you cards.  If I hope to reach my goal – thirty notes of gratitude before December – then I’m going to have to get on the ball.  Anyone, besides Mr. Einstein, know how to slow down time?

I was lucky enough to be born into a very musical family.  Growing up, my house was filled with it – my grandmother playing piano, my father singing and doing the same, records spinning round and round in the living room.  My parents love to tell the story of how, as a toddler, I’d dance and sing to Betty Lou’s Got A New Pair of Shoes for whoever was present – no shame!  Other kids grow up on rinky-dink children’s music, but not me and my brothers – we could sing along to the Beatles, CSNY and the Allman Brothers Band before reaching kindergarten.

Over the past twenty-seven years, this love affair has only grown.  Just like my father before me, my own house is now constantly filled with the sweet sounds of music – right now, its Dylan’s Blood on the Tracks (on vinyl.  I know, I’m so hip.)  Today, I’m sending out three thank-you notes that are music related.  Here’s a quick rundown:

WUKY – 91.3 FM 
If you’re not listening to NPR, you’re wasting your radio.  Easily the best and most diverse radio station in Lexington, their mix of music, news and original programming is completely enthralling.  I got into NPR a little over a year ago, after nearly giving up on the radio – every other station I’ve ever listened to plays the same 30-40 songs over and over and over and over and over and over (you get the point).  But things are different on 91.3.

If you’re into music, from 9:00AM – 4:00PM, Rock & Roots will introduce you to be best sounds around.  Where else in Lexington can you hear Arcade Fire, the Avett Brothers, Bob Dylan, Mumford, Norah Jones and Coldplay, all on the same station?  It’s ridiculous how good this music is.  

At night and on weekends, WUKY airs original public radio programming (you know, like TV shows, but on the radio).  Wait, Wait, Don’t Tell Me is a hilarious news-based game show (Saturdays at 10:00AM, Sundays at noon), Garrison Keillor’s variety show, A Prairie Home Companion, will transport you to Lake Wobegon, the fictional Minnesota town “that time forgot and decades cannot improve” (Saturdays at 6:00PM, Sundays at 1:00PM) and Snap Judgment features storytelling that will literally glue you to the seat of your car (Saturdays at 1:00PM).  

If you’ve given up hope on radio, make the switch to NPR.  Who knows, maybe next year you’ll be writing your own thank-you note to your new favorite radio station.  


Page CXVI
I grew up in the Southern Baptist church, and still have a deep affection for the theology and history of the ancient hymns.  Page CXVI is a band whose focus is reinterpreting songs for the Church – you can think of it as hymns remixed.  And my goodness, they are absolutely beautiful.   

Here is their take on that hit single from the 1700’s, Come Thou Font.

Or one of my personal favorites, a more recent “hymn” entitled How Deep the Father’s Love.

If you like what you hear, visit their website (www.pagecxvi.com) to download full albums, or you can pick up their B-sides album (which includes both of the songs above) for absolutely free!  Come on, you know you want some new music!

*side note:  the band takes their name from the page in the first Chronicles of Narnia book, The Magician’s Nephew, in which Aslan creates Narnia – through a song. 


Todd Clayton
This is a more personal note – but a few months ago, my church hired a new worship leader.  As I think about the music I’m thankful for, I can’t help but write him a little note, expressing my gratitude for his heart and authenticity.  He’s a great guy, you’d really like him.


That’s it for today’s notes.  What’s next for me?  More thank-you cards, of course – these things don’t write themselves, you know.    

“What really knocks me out is a book that,
when you’re all done reading it,
you wish the author that wrote it was a terrific friend of yours
and you could call him up on the phone whenever you felt like it.
That doesn’t happen much, though.”
_ Holden Caulfield
The Catcher in the Rye

Stick around long enough, and you’re bound to hear me talk about two writers – C.S. Lewis and Donald Miller.  Like Holden, I wish I could call them up on the phone and tell them both just how much their books mean to me – but that’s not really an option.  For one, authors don’t post their personal phone numbers on the Internet, for the precise reason that some hairy fellow in Kentucky might find it and bother them with a phone call (on a side note, I had Snoop Dogg’s phone number in high school; it went straight to voicemail).  Secondly, it’d be a little awkward to call Mr. Lewis, seeing as he’s been dead for nearly fifty years.  So the best I can do is to write them each a thank-you note, and send it through the mail to their publishing companies.  Maybe they’ll forward Mr. Miller’s; as for C.S.’s, I have no idea where that’ll end up.   

If you’re keeping score at home, that’s ten thank-you notes; twenty more to go.  

Philosopher, poet and bling-blinger Kanye West once eloquently stated (or I guess, more precisely, rapped) that “if you admire somebody you should go on ‘head tell ‘em / people never get the flowers while they can still smell ‘em.”  And since I’m a sucker for advice from guys who’ve dated supermodels, posed as Jesus on the cover of Rollingstone and publically disparaged an ex-president, I thought I’d begin this week by taking Mr. West’s advice. 

A preacher’s kid, I’ve been around churches my whole life – unfortunately, it’s not always the picture of health and vitality you’d hope.  Just like any workplace, feelings get hurt, people make mistakes, and tempers can flare.  A public high school teacher for two years, I also know what its like to be part of a large staff – to experience the animosity between social groups, the backbiting and rumors that occur behind closed doors, and the mutual disdain for leadership that can unite even most the divided front.

For the past year and a half, I’ve been working with the youth ministry at my church, part of a much larger staff that serves the entire church population – and its easily been the healthiest workplace I’ve ever set foot in.  It sounds cliché, but the staff of twenty-five or so people truly look at each other like family – which means we do have disagreements and arguments, but they are always followed up with apologies and hugs.  I could easily justify writing a thank-you note to each staff member, but that would bring my challenge to a very premature end – so as I walk to work this morning, I’ll be carrying just five notes. 

Today, I find myself extremely thankful for the student ministry team I have the pleasure of working alongside – the director that is a fountain of wisdom; the high school minister that overflows with encouragement; the middle school minister who took me under his wing; the intern whose hard work makes my life easier; and the administrative assistant that makes us all look like we’ve got our crap together.  Forget Patrick Ewing and Larry Bird, this is the real dream team.  Last June, they took a chance on an ex-teacher with no professional ministry experience, and in so doing, helped set the course for the rest of my life – and for that, I am most thankful.    

As the nursery rhyme goes, the month of March is supposed to come in like a lion.  I can’t recall if that was true of March this year, but I do know one thing:  November’s giving it a run for its money in the “rockiest starts” category.  This month began with back-to-back-to-back tragedies that rocked my church to the core, followed by enormous highs as we celebrated our twenty-fifth anniversary at Heritage Hall in downtown Lexington.  But a huge service like that doesn’t just happen on its own – loads of volunteers, and the entire church staff, spent all day on Saturday unloading trailers, setting up rooms, and preparing for the party.  It was a good kind of exhausting, and for many of us, a way to “work” through the pain of the days before.  We barely had time to breathe, though, as two days later the nation went to the ballot box; a day after that my church opened its doors to host a three-day conference on discipleship.  That conference, which I’m attending, will end tomorrow afternoon.  I’m feeling a bit like Dorothy, lost in a whirlwind, watching pieces of my life fly in circles around me.  Yeah, I’m pretty sure March’s got nothing on November.  

As you can imagine, I’ve been a bit preoccupied, so my thank-you note writing didn’t begin till yesterday.  When I finally found time to settle into this challenge, I began by knocking out three notes – to God, my fiancé, and my step-grandmother.  I hand delivered Janie’s; I’m planning on burning God’s (the closest I can get to an Old Testament sacrifice without killing anything); and I’m set to dig through my desk to find a stamp for that last one. 

Three down, twenty-seven to go – all in all, not too shabby a start.  Take that, you lion.  

Challenge:  To both practice gratitude and encourage others through the daily writing of thank you notes during  
                    the month of November. 

Why:  Life is fast-paced, leaving little time for thankfulness, something increasingly viewed in our culture as archaic 
           or outdated.  Yet throughout the scriptures, God’s people are commanded to give thanks – it appears 
           (in one form or another) seventy-three times in the King James translation.  This month, I seek to make     
           giving thanks a daily practice in hopes of experiencing a deeper sense of gratitude and connectedness to the 
           Giver of all good things.

-----

                                                “Give thanks to the LORD, for He is good;
                                                          His love endures forever.”
                                                                   _Psalm 107:1


Tonight, I’m sitting in a hospital room.  It’s quiet, but only in the way a place that never really sleeps can be.  Just outside the open door, nurses move up and down the hallway, slurping coffee, delivering medicine and checking on patients. 

Yesterday, my grandfather – the one I’ve helped care for over the past two years – was rushed here via ambulance.  At the time we were afraid he was having another stroke, but up to this point there’s been no definitive answers; everything’s pending test results.  Some of the medical staff seems to think it may have been an episode of temporary paralysis.  We hope to know more in the morning, but for now he’s resting well and, by most accounts, seems to be doing fine.  At this point, there’s not much else to do but wait.  

I’ll be spending the night here, giving my mother and grandmother a chance to go home and get away from the hospital for a while.  I don’t have to tell you this isn’t an ideal situation, but as he sleeps, and I listen to the clock on the wall tick-tock the night away, I’m acutely aware of just how much I have to be thankful for – a family who cares enough to sacrifice for each other, a grandfather who’s fought to regain the normalcy of his life fifteen years after experiencing a debilitating stroke, and a Heavenly Father whose continued to prove Himself faithful, day-in and day-out.  We may only be a week into November, but this month’s already been fraught with devastating tragedies for my church family and close friends – and yet from those ashes, I’m beginning to learn the lesson of Job, that no matter if the Lord chooses to give or to take away, His name will remain blessed nonetheless.  That lesson, however simple, isn’t one mastered easily.

If the chill in the air and the color of the leaves weren’t a dead giveaway that we’ve made it to November, then Facebook would be.  If your mini-feed’s anything like mine, you can’t escape the bevy of people participating in that ever-faithful end-of-the-year-phenomenon, the Facebook thankfulness challenge.  I can’t even begin to count the number of my “friends” who are using social media as a way to express their appreciation, taking up the task of posting a “I’m thankful for ___________” (fill in the blank) status every day this month.  Answers have ranged from the serious (family, a cancer-free diagnosis, salvation) to the silly (duct tape and not having chest hair), but the sentiments are all the same – before we gorge ourselves on turkey and mashed potatoes, lets pause to remember, reflect and respond with thankful hearts.  In a nutshell, that’s exactly what this month’s challenge is all about.

Of course, just posting a Facebook status each day isn’t challenge enough for me – I never let myself take the easy way out – so I won’t be sharing my thankfulness virtually; I’ll be kicking it old school instead, resurrecting the long-lost art of thank-you note writing.  As is the case with the Facebook posts, some of those notes will be serious, expressing my gratitude for friends and coworkers who’ve been supportive and inspiring; others may go out to artists whose work I appreciate or nonprofit groups helping to make our world a better place – and, if I’m feeling extra saucy, maybe I’ll even write one to Duct Tape as well.  You gotta admit, that stuff is pretty fantastic.

But before we go any farther, let me set a couple of ground rules.  1) Seeing as these notes will be the personal property of the receiver, I won’t go posting full transcripts of what I’ve written (though I may give a vague overview).  2) I will, however, give updates from time to time on the who/what/when of my thankfulness.  3) As the month goes on, I hope to offer some reflections on how practicing gratitude affects my daily life.  4) I may not write a thank you note every single day, but I do plan on having written (at least) thirty by the end of the month. 

Back in August, I tried to follow the laws of the Old Testament – and, if you were keeping score at home, you know that’d it be generous to say I failed miserably.  Apparently a glutton for punishment, November finds me back at it again, this time trying to fulfill God’s repeated command for His people to give thanks.  The second times a charm, right?    

A little preview of November's challenge - look for the first blog in the coming days!