JamSmooth.com

Dear Family and Friends,

I hope this finds you doing well.

As many of you know, I have attended Buckhead Church for nearly 4 years. I am writing to let you know I will be going on a short-term mission trip with my church to Cambodia this spring, April 29th through May 8th. Our church has partnered with the New Life Church in Phnom Penh. I have been so blessed and this is a way for me to give back. I feel the call to return to Cambodia this year and I am thrilled to be going back.

This year our team will be constructing a classroom for New Life Orphanage in Phnom Penh. Last year in Batdambang, Cambodia we built walkways for the orphans there. Here are some photos from that trip: http://www.flickr.com/photos/jamsmooth/sets/72157617640000670/

The reason for my letter is to create a support team who is willing to pray for our team, give towards this project, or both. We need wisdom as we travel to another culture and seek to meet their needs. Financially I need to raise $3,200 to cover the cost of expenses and airfare. I will be contributing at least $500 to this trip.

I will need all funds by April 9, 2010. Checks should be made out to Northpoint Ministries with Cambodia Construction – Phnom Penh – April 29 – May 8 in the memo line. Please write me at jam@jamsmooth.com if you would like to mail a check. All donations for this project are tax deductible. Also for tax purposes, please do not write my name on the check.

You may also donate securely online at https://ssl.northpoint.org/ssl/globalx/. Choose “Cambodia – Phnom Penh” from the country list and choose “Cambodia – Phnom Penh Construction – 4/29/10 – 05/08/10″ If you donate online then please type my name in the individual field. No amount is too small.

As I did last year, I will share each day of our trip through Facebook, Twitter and my blogs so that you may follow the journey.

Thank you for partnering with me in this amazing journey. If you have any questions please contact me.

James N. Staubes, Jr.

Happy New Year? Yes Happy New Year! What has changed? What will you truly do different this year? Will you travel the same roads to work? Watch the same TV shows? Hang out with the same friends? Fall prey to the same bad habits?

Truly what is different other than the number of the year? All that is happening is the passing of time. It’s just another day. I don’t mean to sound morbid. I’m challenging all of us, myself included, to use the symbolism of a new year to truly make a new start.

What must change is our minds! One of my favorite scriptures is from Romans 12:1-2. Paul writes, “Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.”

Whether or not you believe in God and the Bible or not that’s sound advice. Unplug from the old. Get into the new. Don’t do what everyone else is doing. The challenge is there. Let’s do this.

Last night I watched the historic live YouTube broadcast of U2’s show in Pasadena, California. U2 has always inspired me. All 4 of them at some point gave me the impetus to pick up an instrument and play music.

As I watched I got inspired again. I thought, “Why can’t I do what they do?” Now granted I’m not supposing I can be in the biggest band in the world. They’ve worked at it for almost 30 years. Still the dream and the inspiration they gave me are both real and tangible.

For a while now I’ve had this idea of starting an Internet TV show about music. The idea has gone through different versions. It always comes back to me talking about what I love, music. I have enough contacts in the music biz to make the show interesting. Once I got momentum who knows where it would lead?

Then I think, “Wait, I want to be The Edge or Larry Mullen, Jr.! I don’t want to be interviewing those making music, I want to be making music!” Ok then what am I doing to further that? Dear readers I admit, my passion for making music has waned to deep sea levels. My songwriting ground to a halt once I stopped taking voice lessons.

When I was playing with Kevin Spencer he challenged me to practice and to become a better drummer. Last week I watched a show with Morning Lights at The Masquerade that I’d filmed. At the time of that show I was practicing about 30 to 45 minutes a day. My fills, my groove, my tone and my confidence were impressive, to me! Clearly this states that I have discipline, ambition and excellence within me. All I need is desire. Aha! Desire!

What do I desire? Where are my gifts best used? Why did I lose my passion? Does the Lord want me to use music to glorify Him? Am I a guitarist or a drummer? Does it matter? Who am I doing this for? Have I missed my chance? These are the questions that swirl around in me head from time to time.

I believe that when I set out with a clearly defined goal, I will accomplish it. What’s it gonna be Jam?

Friday I got promoted. It took four and a half months. Here’s how I did it.

1. Get a Mentor. Look at who’s the best, who’s already successful. Ask them questions. Implement what they say.
2. Read books. Taking some advice from Brian Tracy I started reading 30 minutes a day. I’ve finished 5 books already. The result is a new hunger for knowledge and a desire to read as many books as possible.
3. Look and listen for opportunities. Keeping my ears open to conversations as I walk through work gives me ideas. Just one snippet is enough to fuel several ideas.
4. Follow Through. For me this is the most important of all. Ideas are useless without follow through.
5. Do what they tell you. Don’t be a lemming. However, if a superior with experience and knowledge says you may want to work on this, then work on it.
6. Always stay positive. Condition yourself to be positive and upbeat regardless of what’s happening in your life. Don’t bring your personal stuff to work. We all have bad days but do your best to power through the negative emotions.
7. Pray. Pray all the time. Pray whenever you think of it. Pray especially when you’re in an interaction that is challenging, frustrating and demanding. Ask God to give you the words and actions that will be the best solution for that situation.
8. Self-promote. Tell the right people what you’re doing. Figure out a diplomatic way to stand out from everyone else.
9. Say yes. If the higher ups ask you to do something, do it. Be seen as agreeable and adaptable. Don’t be a pushover but do your best to step up. Be seen as a “go to” person.
10. Warm up. Pro athletes don’t play the game without warming up. They throw the ball around. They practice their shots. Do the same. Visualize your game. Use affirmations to create the day/game you want. Walk into the job believing that you’re the best and the game is yours to lose.

Tomorrow I leave for Sandestin, Florida and my 4th Labor Day Retreat. Looking forward to getting out of town for a while, playing some volleyball, relaxing on the beach, meeting some ladies and most importantly great worship time.

I won’t wuss out like I did last year and not have a report. As always you can keep up real time with me on twitter.com/jamsmooth.

Have a great Labor Day!

This is how offering should be done! Are you a cheerful giver of your income?

NOTE: I’m making an effort to get JamSmooth.com back on track and having a least one or two (hopefully more) posts a week from now on. I got a extraordinary e-mail from a reader this week which gave me a new fire.

I wrote about how great it is that I can watch TV whenever and wherever we want. However is what I’m watching helping me? Does it fill my mind with crap, negativity, lust and envy? Is what I’m watching the best use of my time?

I watch shows like Entourage, True Blood, Party Down, Mad Men, Californication and Arrested Development. These shows make me laugh at loud which is saying something. I’m pretty jaded. However most of them frequently have female nudity, swearing and characters portraying decidedly Non Christ-Like behaviors like infidelity, doing drugs, getting drunk, not encouraging one another and lots of insecurity. These behaviors lead to great comedy but at what expense? Would Jesus watch these shows? Should I stop watching them? Are these shows having a negative affect on my spiritual life? Are they wasting my time? As a follower of Christ I am called to higher state.

Paul writes in Philippians 4:8, “Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.” Watching those shows is definitely not thinking about pure things. I’m watching others commit sin after sin.

You could say, “Well Jam, it’s just entertainment. Are you doing the things depicted in the shows? Are you wanting to be like the characters? Why are you being so uptight?” Valid questions. Honestly I can say that I haven’t felt the Spirit telling me I should stop. I don’t feel like watching these shows is affecting my relationship with Christ. Yet am I missing it? Is there a hidden, subconscious effect?

Sometimes I ask the question not what would Jesus do, but what would Andy Stanley do? Andy Stanley is my pastor and leads 30,000 people in Atlanta. I doubt that Andy watches these shows. You could say, “Well Andy has a family and doesn’t have as much time as you. Plus he leads a huge organization.”

True but Andy is no better than I. Andy is called to the same level as a follower that I am. I think it all comes down to this, are you attached to things of the world or things from above. Think about these verses, 1 Corinthians 10:31-33, ” So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God. 32 Do not cause anyone to stumble, whether Jews, Greeks or the church of God— 33 even as I try to please everybody in every way. For I am not seeking my own good but the good of many, so that they may be saved.”

If others know I am a follower and watch these types of shows they’ll think it’s ok, right? What if someone else watches these shows and it does cause them to sin? Am I at fault? It doesn’t matter if I’m leading a huge church. If I cause one person to stumble I’m going against God’s commands clearly.

Again I feel confident that these shows are not affecting me. It’s entertainment for me. Now I’ve told you all about these shows. You may watch them. What if watching them causes you to sin? For that reason alone should I stop?

Waiting has been in a big part of my life for many years. I know it will continue to be as long as I’m here. There are so many things I’m waiting on: a wife, a job, the house to sell, a move, answers to so many prayers.

I keep waiting and waiting. Most of the time I deal with it ok. I send up a prayer and ask God to get me through this moment. Other times I feel like an impatient 2 year old crying and throwing a tantrum.

Lately I hear God saying, “Wait some more, it’s not time.” Recently we wrapped up a great series at church called The Waiting Room. In the series Jeff Henderson talked about how Abraham and Sarah waited for years and years for God’s promise of a son to be fulfilled. Then Jeff challenged us to remember the times when God has been faithful in the past. Lastly Jeff challenged us to remember it’s not what or when we should put our hope, but who. That who is God.

This is personal stuff but I know we’re all waiting for something. We’re all waiting for answers. So many of us are hurting right now. We just want to know when will it be over? When will we get a break? How do we deal with all the pain, the questions, the irritability and the monotony? Sure it’s easy to say, “I put my trust and hope in Jesus.” Seriously what does that look like?

I think it looks like us doing our best each day. We get up, pray, call our contacts, pray, eat, pray, help someone else, pray, send an e-mail, pray, watch a movie, pray, exercise, pray…you get the idea. We do what we’d normally do but just pray a whole lot.

I have times where I doubt. I’ll be at work and I wonder how much longer? When will it rain again?

Call it faith, hope or wishful thinking but I know that it won’t always be this way. There will be a time when I look back on 2009 and remember all the challenges I faced. I’m not perfect. Could I pray more? Yes. Could I spend my time more wisely. Yes. However, I’m leaning on the everlasting arms for now. One day I won’t be waiting on a wife, a job or a move. Something else will replace them. Could be waiting on a baby to born or waiting for healing. I know there will be something.

For those that will, lift me up. Ask God to give me patience, to wait for His plan. The last thing I want is get in the way and stop what He has planned. I’ve been waiting a long time so I can wait some more.

NOTE: Jeff Henderson referenced Tom Petty’s song, “The Waiting,” in his series and then at the end of the service as we left they played that song. I love when Buckhead Church does that.

I loved Kenya and I want to go back some day. Cambodia affected me in a much different way. The country reached down in my soul and stirred up a lot of questions and misgivings about America, or more specifically Atlanta. I just don’t want to be here. I don’t know where I want to be anymore. For so long I’ve talked about southern California. Maybe that’s where I’m supposed to be? What about Cambodia or even Singapore?

What I’m experiencing is normal. It happened when I returned from Kenya last summer. You come back to America and see the wealth, complacency, entitlement and the fast pace of life. You feel out of place and wonder if those around you realize how good they have it living here. You feel like you need to make big changes in your life. After a while you slip quietly into your old routines. You live by the clock and your calendar. Then you lose it, that feeling of grace and appreciation. Nobody wants to lose it but it happens.

Our Cambodia team leader John talked a lot about purpose leading up to the trip. He said, “Once you’ve tasted purpose it’s hard to go back to meaningless living,” or something like that. I’m experiencing that too. The past few days I’ve been fixing my laptop. It works. My phone is broken but I’ll fix it today. It seems so pointless. I love movies but I can’t justify sitting on my butt for 2 hours when I could be doing something else. Reading the news reinforces the soul-sucking purpose of the media.

Don’t mean to be a Debbie Downer. I know I’m painting with wide strokes and meandering a bit. This is where I am. I’m confused. The main thing keeping me in Atlanta is the house my brother and I have. It’s for sale. I’m not leaving until it’s sold. I want to be free and clear from any responsibilities here when/if I leave. The other things keeping me here are my friends and my extraordinary church.

I am reminded of the main point in Experiencing God, which is join God where He is already working. Is God working here in Atlanta? Absolutely. That doesn’t mean that my heart isn’t yearning for something new, for a new adventure. However, have I finished what God has planned for me in Atlanta? I don’t know. I guess no since this house is not sold.

Am I being a little hard on America? Maybe. Am I coming down from a mountain top experience? Most definitely. I’ve tasted purpose though. I worked with Cambodian orphans who taught me more about love and affection in 5 days than in my entire life. I will see them again. There is no doubt I want to return to Battambang and experience the love of Christ.

Hey everybody.

Hopefully you’re following me in Cambodia on Twitter and at our team blog. The links are in the post below.

There is so much to process and think about already in the short time we’ve been here. I think it’s safe to say that everyone on this team is getting wrecked by these kids.

I just wrote a post about how these kids shower us with affection all day long. Go check that out and see what the other team members have written as well.

Thanks again for all your support and prayers. More to come.