I’m a fan of Brian Regan’s (comedian). I blame him for the rest of the Captain Me Planet posts here on the site, LOL.

In one of his acts (view here), he jokes about people wasting their time watching fishing. They’re not even fishing, but I guess at least they’re gathering some food to survive! I could relate to this today when I found myself watching the Masters golf tournament. I’m watching golf, I’m not even playing golf!

I’m in transition (like the rest of the world) and fail often when it comes to loving other people, but when I watch golf I’m always very thankful that I don’t enjoy the sport. Not only does it seem pointless to show a small dimpled ball that you can control it, but a good amount of the golfers I know are talented at escaping from community or making other people feel like they’re worthless when they have no choice but to hang out with them. Escapism is nothing short of dulling the pain, almost like getting drunk or doing drugs in an attempt to not have to deal with the challenge of loving others.

That’s what God has me dealing with today as a creative / geek. Me and my computer. Helping a few people along the way, but for the most part trying to show a shiny gadget that I can have my way with it. If I need your help and prayers, it is that this Digital Disciples network continues to flip my soul upside down. That a few years from now I’ll look back and be disgusted with the geek that wasted a good amount of his life, and thanking God for showing me just how much people matter. How does this make you feel?

I stumbled on this guru infographic today from a Facebook post that I saw from Jim Kukral today. Apparently I’m not the only one who is skeptical when someone starts labeling himself / herself as a “guru”. It got me asking myself, “What’s so wrong with someone thinking they’re all that when it comes to things like social media or Twitter?”. You know you’ve seen them, and maybe you’re friends / online friends with a few of these ego trips? I almost forgot that a post like this definitely deserves to be in the Captain Me Planet category, thanks to the one and only Brian Regan (who I believe deserves to be a labeled a comedy guru, LOL).

So, what’s the big deal? Why are people not comfortable with these gurus? Maybe they don’t think they qualify. My opinion would be that none of us deserve to give ourselves titles that beam pride. If others want to think that we do something well, they’re entitled to their opinion. But the critics are allowed as well. It’s a pretty confusing part of life, trying to figure out who to learn from or listen to and whose words need to go in one ear and out the other. It shouldn’t be a shocker that God’s Word has something to say about all of this. I’d suggest you read Philippians 2:3 over and over. The verse sums it up in a few words, when it took me two large paragraphs. Do you agree with the stats from the infographic? For some reason, now I’m thinking it would almost feel like an oxymoron speaking at a GURUS Christian / tech conference, LOL.

…and not expect to learn a lesson or two! That’s what happened to me tonight. Just so happens that the three women are my daughters (Marla’s away for 4 1/2 days). It’s Friday night, and most of Columbus is out on the town. Now that the girls are old enough, we’re not going to opt for just chilling at home. Tonight’s not going to consist of playing on our iPods or cleaning windows you can’t see through after being covered by gads of Crayola Window Crayons. So we hit the streets, blazing a party trail in our white mini-van!

I remembered hearing about a “dollar theater” maybe twenty minutes away. Just so happens to turn into a “two dollar theater” on the weekend. The $8 was well worth The Princess and the Frog, holding our 4 year-old on my lap the entire movie so she could see, and learning a big lesson. Like most other adults, I really do believe silence is golden. Loudness usually annoys me, unless I’m at a Skillet, Red, or TFK concert.

But you don’t have a choice when you’re walking into a theater full of dozens of young children. You’ll be lucky to observe an entire minute of the movie without noise. The phrase “oh – to be young again” sometimes really does make lots of sense. What’s with us adults? All up-tight and self-centered. Expecting not to have to deal with the rest of the world when we enter a few hours of leisure after a long week? Blind to the fact that places like theaters are public and not by invitation only, LOL. Another Captain Me Planet lesson I guess! After a few minutes I realized the evening was going to be much more enjoyable if I thanked God for giving me a few hours to spend with my three little princesses.

Apparently God doesn’t stop with these $8 lessons until we get the hint? Have you found one that costs $7? If so, I’m there!

The Captain is back – oh great! We all can probably agree that finding faults in our own lives isn’t the most enjoyable thing in the world. But I know it’s necessary, and publicly admitting your weaknesses can be good medicine. If you’re not familiar with “Captain Me Planet”, you can catch up by reading this previous post from back in January.

I don’t give God credit for everything. More clearly, I probably don’t give God close to enough credit for what goes on in life. That’s about as blunt as I can be. I glorify and thank Him for the necessities like food, health and weather. Those things that most Christians pray over every time. But what goes on beyond that? What else needs to be pointed back to Him? 1 Corinthians 10:31 is a verse I’ve known for quite a while, but making it stick is seeming to take way too long.

I see God at work every day. Providing new clients who need websites or blogs designed just in the nick of time. Twisting up my schedule just enough to make it chaotic, yet possible. Not knowing when the next payment is going to arrive from a client in another state or country. New friends that enter our lives when we couldn’t have needed them more. Sometimes how He lets go of things is just as amazing. Family members that don’t really offer much love distance themselves before too much verbal or emotional damage is done. Showing us that something we own is taking up too much time, and God makes it almost too simple to get rid of it.

How have you learned to give God credit, and not believe the lie that you made it happen? This Captain Me Planet sure has.

PRAYING that I do a better job at letting our children see just how involved God is in our every move. PRAISING Him for providing and guiding when it seems like we need it most and least.

There are a few things that are weighing down on me regarding technology these days. One of them is the comparison and approval that is taking place online. People are quick to offer criticism or advice for every single thing under the sun. Including technology and creativity, and everything that goes into them. What seems to be the core issue (after failing myself many times) is that we accomplish something, feel good about it, then go on with life trying to push everyone else into the comfortable box we’re sitting in. Maybe without ever realizing they don’t belong there!

1 Corinthians 12 speaks to the fact that we are all made uniquely and with our own unique purpose. So why do we try to suggest that other people should use Twitter, blog, design, write, photograph, or do anything else online just like we do? Sure, it’s great that we find tools that help us best manage our time or be most productive with it. But many Christians on the web throw out advice that seems to suggest that everyone should be doing it all the way they are.

If we want to truly be like Christ online we must put the person over the practice. How we interact with them is much more important than which technology we used to do it with. Why would someone want to hang out with you if they had to always meet you at the park or at church to do so? We have an American mentality of them coming to us, rather than us going to them. It really does annoy the heck out of me when I see Christians holding tightly to their megaphones, shouting advice and not just wanting to be heard, but wanting to be copied / duplicated. Let’s put the megaphone down and be in community with others. I’m guessing the less we’re shouting, the more we’ll actually engage! Does this kind of thing annoy you as well?

PRAYING for those of us that practice this without realizing it. PRAISING God for giving us so much freedom. Freedom that always brings us back to needing to hear from Him.