Freedom

To be honest, this has been a year of hell for the Edmondson family. In addition to the usual 10-12 emergency room visits that our boys grace us with, the stress from travel and the business have taken their toll on me. I haven't had a true vacation or any appreciable break all year. The number of events the company participated in ran into each other, meaning the ability to take a break has been impossible.



It's gotten to the point that I think I'd forgotten how to laugh. I've caught myself being more negative about almost everything in general. Cheri—my wife—made that observation the other day. I think her statement was "I don't think you're a negative person. I just think your work has caused you to become jaded, and that's bleeding into the optimistic person I once knew." Ouch! Words can hurt.



So I started my vacation on Friday. It was the first carefree day I've had in a long time. It felt great. No stress. No pressure. I turned off the ringer on my cell phone and ignored it rang all day long from people trying to reach me.



Then this weekend it snowed here in KC. When we woke up today the sun was beaming in the cloudless sky. I looked out the back window across the open field blanketed in white and I felt the outside calling me to come play. Unfortunately, commitments we'd made to others prevented me from getting out in the snow with my boys until mid-afternoon. I bundled them up, grabbed our Wham-O® snow discs (nothing sleds better!), and took them to our secret sledding hill. It was incredible. Just us and the open hill.



It was Brady's first time sledding. I was a little worried my two year old would be afraid. I mean this hill is no small deal—steep and a bit treacherous. But like the brave little trooper he is, the Pidgy climbed right into my lap and trusted me to keep him safe the whole time. He threw care to the wind, his hands flapping in the air as if he were a canvas-covered eagle, laughing as hard as he could throughout the ride. "Dat wath awethum, Daddy!" he shouted at the conclusion of our first ride down the hill. And yes, it was "awethum!"



It was on our third trip down that we rolled off the sled together into the snow and I belly-laughed as well. Flat on my back I stared into the blue sky, tears in my eyes, embracing the moment fully, realizing that this was how life was meant to be lived—fearless, risky, free, passionate.

This was the best day I've had in recent memory. I owe it all the example set by a two year old. Sometimes we just underestimate what we can learn from children. Today I learned to laugh again. And that, if I hold onto it, is enough to get me through any day.

I'm Tattooed

OK, everyone. Many of you have heard the news that I was getting a tattoo. For my birthday on Saturday, I finally took the plunge. After 41 years on the planet, I finally threw caution to the wind and got inked! Just couldn't put it off any longer. You can see the result in the photos on this entry.

To answer the questions of those friends who haven't gotten a tattoo:

Did it hurt? Not really. Like getting a sunburn smacked.

Why so big? Because I didn't know if I'd go through with another one beforehand, so I thought I'd make this one count. After the process I'm already thinking of where my next one will go and what it will be.

What is it? A Trinity symbol surrounded by a wreath of Scottish thistle. Trinity for Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Thistle to represent the Edmondson heritage.

Do you like it? No. I love it! I can't believe I've waited so long to get one.

Where did you get it? Mercy Seat Tattoo in Kansas City, MO. Chris Orr was my tattoo artist. He is awesome. If you live in the KC area and are looking for a great tattoo studio, go there. They are very professional, polite, and treat their customers with a great deal of respect.

For those friends of mine who have thought of getting a tattoo and have wondered whether or not they should, let me highly recommend it. It was truly a spiritual experience that I do not regret one bit. In the words of a young friend of mine, Jason Sivewright, "We have one life and one body to decorate as we choose. Why wouldn't we decorate it in full color?" I completely agree.

Now, on to bigger challenges!

Hello Again & Christian Bash Sligh!

OK, it’s been a while. Quite a while as a matter of fact. To the point that friends who have followed my Gutsy Faith blog have resorted to threats in order to get me to start blogging again.

What can I say? Life has been crazy? Things have been busy? Time has been short? I could give you lots of excuses why the long hiatus, but in the end they would be pointless and would not really matter. The point is, I’m back in the saddle and I’ll endeavor to keep up with the blogging, at least on a biweekly basis, if not weekly.

As many of you know, I’m a long-time American Idol fan. Love to tune in weekly and see young talent trying to make it to the big time. Love to watch Simon Cowell be brutally real about their performances. Love to yell “Ah, shut up! Let the man talk,” at the live TV audience from the safety of my living room as they boo and hiss Simon’s all-too-accurate assessment of the contestant’s performance.

If you followed my Idol blog last year, you’ll notice that I haven’t been doing it this year. The two-fold reason why is:

1. If I don’t have time to keep up with my primary Gutsy Faith blog, how do I have time to do my frivolous Idol blog? And…
2. There’s not much to blog about on this year’s season, right? (That is unless you really want me to be heartless about Sanjaya, and even I can’t bring myself to go off on the poor, misguided child. Bless his heart!)
   

But this past week, one of my coworkers sent me the following link about Chris Sligh, who regrettably didn’t make it through another week.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/17706687/from/ET/

True, he didn’t have the talent to win this year’s competition. But he has more talent than a number of the contestants still in the running. And quite frankly, I just liked the guy.

If you clicked on the above link and read the story, you know that it’s talking about people who are down on Sligh because they were “disappointed with the direction he has gone musically.” Their reasoning is that, since Sligh is a Christian, should he be singing non-Christian music?

While the article didn’t delve too much into the background details, and really only quoted one person to represent those disappointed that Sligh was not singing Christian songs, the reality is there are probably lots of fundamentalist Christians out there who are hacked that he calls himself a Christian and yet sings secular music.

What bugs me is that the Associated Press found this issue to be newsworthy enough to put it out on the wire. The fact that his Christian status would even be questioned because he’s on a secular show singing non-Christian music is the ultimate absurdity. And Christians are the ones who are making the stink about it. Can someone please explain to these dear brothers and sisters who are on the Chris Sligh warpath that it IS possible to be a Christian and not sing Christian songs. Just because he’s not trying to get a record deal from one of the Nashville Christian record labels doesn’t mean he’s a retched backslider. Ever wonder what the music industry would be like if more Christians took the path that Sligh has chosen? I sure do. I’m betting it would be a lot cleaner, that’s for sure.

My closing opinion: If the Church ever wants to be relevant to this generation, the folks who think Chris Sligh is wrong for what he’s doing should check their dogma on the doorsteps of their local congregation and start praying for a little less piety.

And that’s my two cents worth!