Sending out letters

Over the last month I've really started taking pride in the rewards I'm making for my Patreon supporters. At first they were all just afterthoughts, everything was quickly tossed together. They were obligations.

In all honestly, all I really cared about was getting new people signed up. Once they committed to supporting me, I felt like I could ignore them, moving on to someone else who hadn't yet gotten on board.

This mindset sucked.

At $15 a month you get a Patreon exclusive podcast. I've started having a LOT more fun putting those episodes together, making it as entertaining as possible.

The monthly livestream is now a fun creative challenge. How do I keep this interesting every month?!

And today I mailed my handwritten letters. I love the idea of passing along the sweet thank you notes I get every once in a while. Like I say in the video, when they're thanking me, they're also thanking all my Patreon supporters.

Visit my Patreon page.

This is unrelated but I have to mention it. It was not until I looked at the thumbnail for this video JUST NOW that I realized how horrifically crooked all the picture frames are in my parents' office. That looks bonkers.

Starting a Patreon was a LEAP OF FAITH but I'm so glad I took it.

Summer's the Worst

It's getting hotter and hotter in Texas. Summer is here and I hate it.

I hate getting in to a hot car. I hate back sweat. I hate having to oil myself up with glob after glob of sunscreen.

When I went outside today all I could think was "summer's the worst." Immediately the Michael Leviton song with that name got stuck in my head and it hasn't left.

This was one of those sad songs for sad boys that I put on a lot of mix C.D.'s my freshman year of college.

When I looked up the video for this post I saw that this music video is 11 years old. I am old now. I'm an old grumpy man who much prefers the fall and winter.

The only good thing about summer is youth camp.

The Genie is Free

My friend Seth has been singing the Genie song from Aladdin every week for an entire year. Why? Because it's dumb and funny and no one commits to a goof better than him.

He just posted his 52nd video. It's been a full year. He did it. He stuck with it. I am in awe.

For his final performance he went full genie.

Congratulations, Seth. You are free.

If you missed it, you should also watch Seth sing Katy Perry's Firework.

Love and Control

Donald Miller has this thought in his book, Scary Close: do you want to impress someone or do you want to connect with them?

Love is vulnerable. Love gives up control. You can't control your image, hiding all that's less than perfect so you appear as impressive as possible. You can't control the other person, like Terry Crews is saying.

LOVE IS TERRIFYING.

People are messy.

I know Crews is specifically addressing what he sees in modern masculinity, but I think this can be a pretty great critique of the church too. We're to love those in the family of Christ and those who are far from it.

What does our love look like? Does it seek to control? Is it really love then?

Watch the whole interview with Terry Crews

Goodbye Paris

I was in the Paris newspaper (the Texas one) on Friday. I can’t get over how silly that is. Look at my dumb face trying to pass as “newsworthy.”

My long weekend is coming to a close. I knew it was going to be exhausting when it started (that’s why I already planned out my Sabbath) but I didn’t know it would be like this.

Isaac, who has traveled with me before, came to help out on this trip, and I'm so grateful he did. I don't know what would have happened to my brain if I had been here alone.

Tonight after the last service I spoke in, we bought a $5 basketball from Wal-Mart and played Around the World at the basketball hoops next to the Texas Eifel Tower (it's smaller in person). For most of the weekend if we weren't at church, we were eating, and if we weren't eating, we were sleeping. We needed to do something different.

Basketball was Isaac's idea. I feel like that's obvious. Sports is never my idea. I'm terrible at anything athletic. When I shoot a basketball I look like a toddler trying to catch a butterfly.

It's all over now.

I am so thankful for Kent Kirby, the youth pastor who thought to bring me in for this weekend. He used a lot of the ideas I give in my COMEDY OUTREACH EVENT info packet and I think they worked well for him. That's exciting.

Now I have to finish getting ready for camps.

And then it's Sabbath time, baby!

Best Part of School Assemblies

Yesterday I spoke in two school assemblies. One was for a jr high in Paris, TX and the other was a jr high in Hugo, OK.

I know pictures like the one above are good for social media (and my ego) but this other picture is the type I want to print out and hang on my wall to remind me what I'm really doing,

When I'm on stage it's easy for me to focus on who's not paying attention, not taking it seriously, joking with a friend and distracting other people. I can get so caught up with them that I miss the faces in the crowd who are really engaged. But after the assembly those are students who want to come up and talk. They want to tell you what's going on their life, what part really connected with them, and they want to say thank you. It's the best part of speaking at schools.

I know I'm not special. They're not coming up to talk because I'm the greatest speaker who ever lived. It's the message that's special. That's what's connecting with them. I'm just the messenger.

It's nice to hear from them. It's nice to be reminded that the message still needs to be shared.

"You're not alone."

Planning my Sabbath

I’m speaking 6 times over the next 3 days in Paris, TX.

2 school assemblies

a leadership training on confession

an outreach event

Sunday morning service

and a high school senior banquet

This weekend is going to be really great but also REALLY EXHAUSTING. I’m an introvert so in order to “recharge” I need time alone and after this much time performing I’m going to need a lot of recharging.

I’m already planning out my sabbath for next week.

“Sabbath is a day when you act like the work is done, even if it isn’t.

Sabbath is when you spend a day remembering that efficiency and production are not God’s highest goals for your life. Joy is.”

I LOVE this explanation.

It’s so easy for me to get caught up in how much content (I hate that term) I’m creating and how many dates I have booked on my calendar. It can become my worth, my identity, my ultimate goal in life.

I know there’s going to be a real temptation after this weekend with an insane schedule to push through, hustle (I hate that term too), keep going, don’t sleep, and crank it out (even worse term).

But God says “rest.”

Next Wednesday I’m doing absolutely nothing. I’m going to sit around. I might read. I might go to the movies. I might play videos games all day. WHO KNOWS?! But I won’t check e-mail or post on Twitter or make any phone calls.

That’s the plan.

Oh, and the really great Sabbath quote from early? It’s from Rob Bell’s book How to be Here. I finished reading it last night. Is it the best book ever written? No. But there were definitely a few lines worth underlining. Like that one.

I know how some people feel about Bell so I wanted you to enjoy the quote before you found it was his. If I started with “Rob Bell says…” I know a few of you would have gotten defensive and screamed “WELL THIS OUGHT TO BE GOOD.”

My dream to be a clown

I FOUND PURE GOLD AT HALF PRICED BOOKS TODAY! IT'S PRETTY MUCH A MANUAL FOR HOW TO BE A CLOWN.

This is a big deal for me.

Almost every time I run into my old children’s pastor from my home church, she’ll bring up (and make fun of) the fact that my whole childhood I knew when I grew up I wanted to be a clown on a cruise ship.

Why a cruise ship? Why so specific?  When I was little, my family went on a cruise and part of the ship’s entertainment was a couple of random clowns. They’d MC the big shows at night, do little street performances around the ship, and even hosted a few clowning workshop. I was OBSESSED WITH THEM. I followed them around everywhere. They taught me how to juggle. I didn't know this was a real job a real adult could have. This is their whole life? They get paid to goof off on a cruise ship?! I WANTED THAT TO BE MY LIFE.

I was probably in 5th or 6th grade when my family went to the Ringling Brothers circus (RIP). There was a clown who I remember absolutely STEALING THE SHOW! I was obsessed with him too. His whole act was strictly physical. He fell down like a pro. My parents informed me that a lot of hard work went into his performance. All those falls? He had to practice those.

I’m sure my parents were trying instill in me some lesson about hard work and dedication but all I heard was “Taylor, if you want to be a clown you need to fall down more!” That night I went to my room on the second floor and practiced falling down for half an hour. Then my parents yelled at me for making so much noise. 

I knew was there was a clown college in Florida. That’s where I needed to go if I really wanted this be my life. My heart was set on it until one day somehow the news got to me that the clown college was on “hiatus.” That must have been the first time I ever heard that word. Hiatus? I was heartbroken and eventually gave up on the dream.

You know what? Now that I’m thinking about it, this part of the story doesn’t make much sense. Where would I have heard the news about this clown college? Who would have told me that? I wonder if it’s a lie my parents told me to get me to shut up about being a clown. 

I still think (most) clowns are cool. I respect and admire the craft.

When I was at Half Priced Books I was looking for anything in Mister Rogers (he's the current obsession). I was in the entertainment section when I stumbled on to a HUGE shelf of magic and circus books. I had no idea this corner of this story even existed. This clowning book caught my eye and when I started flipping through the pages I knew I had to have it.

Here’s the coolest thing about this: someone highlighted parts of the book.

THIS BOOK WAS PREVIOISLY OWNED BY SOMEONE REALLY LEARNING TO BE A REAL CLOWN AND I GET TO SEE WHAT LESSONS FROM THE BOOK WERE IMPORTANT ENOUGH TO HIGHLIGHT. 

I’m so excited to read this.

Learning how to podcast

I’ve been slowly working on a podcast idea I’ve had for almost a year. This came in the mail today. Because I ordered it. Obviously. It wasn’t some random coincidence where a FedEx truck blew up in front of my house and a bunch of audio equipment Baja blasted through my window.

I’m interviewing a pastor on Thursday for this project. Nervous. Hope I don’t screw this up. It’s kind of “you’ve got one shot...one opportunity to seize everything you ever wanted...” those are Eminem lyrics. I’m living Eminem lyrics.

Out on a Wire is a great book I read in January about how podcasts like This American Life and Radio Lab put their stories together. It was full of so much great advice I need to put to use now.

The Turnaround is a podcast all about interviewing , hosted Jesse Thorne. I should probably listen back to that too. There’s a lot to learn.

But the only way to get better is to make more. So that’s what I’m going to do. 

The moment I fell in love with Superorganism

I had never heard of Superorganism before but when I saw their tiny desk concert I immediately fell in love. I’ve watched it 4 or 5 times in the last few days.

Here's why I love this

1. (ONE.) They’re clearly having fun. There are few things more important in a live performance.

2. (TWO.) When you do a tiny desk concert you have to make some sacrifices. You’ve got this tiny space (it’s in the name!) so you might have to pull back on the instruments, make it an acoustic set. Superorganism pulls back but there’s NO REAL SACRIFICE. You still get this layered and detailed sound that comes from shoes, soda, blowing bubbles, clapping, and apples. 

3. (THREE.)  It doesn’t feel showy. It’s not tongue in cheek, ironic, "look at us being weird!" You know when you see someone who is dressing “different” and it’s so clear by the way they hold themselves that they’re just doing it for attention? They’re wearing sweatpants and an Abe Lincoln hat. They’re standing at the mall with the WORST poker face and you can just tell tell in their head they’re screaming “STARE AT ME!” Yeah. That’s not this band. They’re doing this totally unique performance because that’s who they are.

4. (FOUR.) Their performance is still so strong and tight. It would have been so easy for them to be like “let’s play weird a bunch of weird nosies,” not really practice or think about it and the joy would be in the chaos. That’s what most of us would do. But they PULL IT OFF. You could think this is just what their band does. BUT IT’S NOT.