Monday, September 27, 2010

Steve Post Again...Shorter this time :)

It is so nice that Fall has finally arrived.  I think.  After the heat and humidity of this past summer I am truly ready for some cooler weather, pretty fall colors, and some great SR shows!  I cannot believe that it is almost October...soon the Holidays will arrive, another SR season will come to an end, and we will all take a break...until January, when we can start the 15th year of SR!  I cannot believe how far we have come, how many struggles we have overcome, and how many lives we have changed.  There are still struggles out there...especially as we fight the economic mess that our country is in, and like any other business, find ways to minimize costs and maximize money coming in to pay bills...especially travel since it just keeps going up, adding fees, etc...but doing Whatever It Takes and Never Giving Up we will survive, just like we always have...and you know why?  Because of our GREAT DRUMMERS, all ages, across this country!  I just cannot believe the terrific folks that make up this SR family...how much you love it, look forward to it, talk about it, live it, and share it with others...it is because of all of you that fighting the good fight is ALWAYS worth it.  Everyday you make me smile, laugh, think, and thank (God) for bringing you all into this drumming world.  This weekend, seeing Hopkinsville and Nashville drummers light up the Hopkinsville International Festival Audience...seeing people from all over the world smile, laugh, dance, clap, and then, come talk to us about how great it is to see people TRULY having fun together...it speaks volumes to what you all have to offer the world...to make it a better place...and to bring something positive into a very negative and bleak society that sits out there.  People need SR's energy, love of life, and compassion more than ever...so Drum On...and know that everyday, somebody who is down feels a little bit better.  BECAUSE OF YOU.

That is all for this one...must go catch my flight home.  Off to Green Bay, WI from there for a full day of shows in Bonduel, WI tomorrow...that is a full day of If I Had You :)

And while we do that, know that Adam himself is singing If I Had You for huge audiences in Singapore to incredibly rave reviews...boy has he come far this year!

Thursday, September 23, 2010

Steve Post: A day late, but connected to Colleen for sure!

Hey Bloggers,

Sorry about my delay...I was going to get this up last night, but there was a really bad storm where I was staying, and the next thing I knew, the entire internet went down...and well...there went my blog.  So, I am now in Detroit, at the airport, en route back home (before heading right back out to fly to Nashville tomorrow)...and my blog was going to be about how people are getting more and more isolated, disconnected, and selfish with each new innovation in "communication", and VOILA, I get on here to see Colleen and I had connected through some sort of mental telepathy...all the way from Salt Lake City to Warren!!  Good job Colleen!

 Colleen, your comment about eye contact was amazing.  I have always been a firm believer that you must give people eye contact when you talk with them AND when you listen to them.  It not only marks you as a sincere person, who cares about who you are talking/listening to, but more importantly, it allows you to find out how sincere/insincere the other person is as well.  It does not mean you have to stare at the other person...that is disconcerting.  Instead, it means you look at them, listen to them, and connect to them.  It is one of the things that I hear from a lot of folks in the audience who come to talk to me; they always say what a "great connector" I am...because I am always looking at them while talking.  (and drumming!).  Again, I don't stare; I look in all kinds of places, but one of the places I look a lot is UP and OUT...at others.  Remember our New Step 6: to Do Good?  In the last 3 mos I have added to it quite often the words "for Others".  I believe that Doing Good means your goal is for ANOTHER person.  It goes back to what Jovanna posted in her brilliant Blog...about whether or not you are a work in progress.  I never did get a moment to comment on that, so I will hear.  Personally, for myself, I believe I am still a work in progress mainly because I think we are ALL works in progress.  For me, the journey in life...God's journey, is never finished, because you never know what is in store the next day.  However, to succeed in that journey, you need remember what Step 6 is about...you must remember that to Do Good means with another in mind...you should always try doing your best for someone else...not for yourself...not to "feel good"...but simply to serve...because God calls us all to serve, and one of the easiest ways to do this is to truly connect to someone else.  You don't actually have to do anything...simply showing respect, compassion, caring may help someone have a better day...and in doing so, you have Done Good for another person.

In today's world it seems that doing anything is too often directed inwardly, and selfishly.  Jovanna, I loved your example...How are you?  Good?  You?  Good?  End of conversation.  Although I always ask how people are, the difference is, I ask because I care.  I want others to be happy, excited, enjoying life, enjoying human interaction, and I try to do my best to help with this anyway that I can.  That includes my favorite question...What is new?  I ask this not to be generic, but because I actually care to hear what people have been up to...what they have been doing...since we last talked in person.  My 2 biggest pet peeves are...(1) hearing NOTHING.  Sometimes this is true...and that is OK.  But, when it is the only answer, my feeling is that "Oh, you cannot be bothered to tell me what you have been doing...or ask me what I have been doing."

However, that is NOT my biggest pet peeve...it is the person who is either telling you what they have been doing OR listening to you, and then their phone goes off...and they grab it, and start attending to it.  I HATE THIS beyond belief, because it is so rude.  No ONE of us is so important that a message (text, email, voicemail) cannot wait until we are done with the actual in person communication that we are doing.  I know I get a lot of grief from people because my phone is either OFF, or in the car...and NEVER on me.  But, my theory is...I will get to the digital communication AFTER I am done with the human communication, because it must come first!  I used to snicker at what I see in the mall today, but anymore it makes me plain sad...teenagers "hanging out" by walking shoulder to shoulder NEVER talking TO each other, but rather, texting to someone in digital land...never actually enjoying the human companionship they have right by their side.

I honestly can say I fear this trend, and that it is going to keep getting worse.  When I hear of all the "great things" coming for cell phones...how they will someday turn on/off your lights at home, allow you to watch your home security camera from anywhere in the world, replace YOUR CREDIT CARD AND BANK ACCOUNT with a digital code that you wave through the air to buy things, be your entertainment hub (like on my 3.5 hour flight today, where the guy next to me watched almost 2 full movies on a 2 inch screen that he held about 6 inches from his nose...how "FUN" can that really be?)...I fear that someday, life will be just one big CELL PHONE (well small phone actually) where we all sit ALONE in a room and text nonstop to people we will never know in person.

What can SR do about this?  We MUST keep human connection alive; we must remember that one of the things that makes SR so special is that we look forward to spending time...at shows...at practice...eating apple dumplings (and cherry floats!)...TOGETHER...making memories that I hope will not only last a lifetime for all of us BUT also remind others watching that you can have so much more fun WITH someone in person than simply by digitally existing.

So, I will add this rant to what Colleen posted and let you all chatter away about both things.  And, while you are at it, ask Dee what SHE did to my spoon in my cherry float last weekend!  URGHH the pain of that memory.  HAH!!

Wednesday, September 22, 2010

SR Uber Wootin' Writers Blog #6 -Colleen-

Okay so i guess that Steve was supposed to put up a post today but didn't so....im going to put my post up today. :) 

     Okay so everyone knows in high you have to take some kind of "Own Your Own" or "Home Ec." class. Well for my class this year we started talking about communication and how it effects the way people interpret the way we feel. Now when you look at someone have you ever noticed that they dont look at you when you talk? it happens to me all the time. Have you ever had that one person who just does not like you even though you have never had a conversation with them?

     They could be thinking these things cause of the way you look when you think about something really hard or because you have a different crowd of friends.

     okay what i would like all of you to do is answer these questions: Do you feel that the communication in the world has gone downhill since our grandparents were born? If so what can SR do to try and improve the communication the world?

Tuesday, September 14, 2010

~SR Uber Wootin’ Writers Blog #5- Amanda~

Hey everyone!!! It's Amanda. Sorry I had to post this song like so bad. The lyrics are...lets just say amazing. A few of you I know you will know it. Steve is the one who showed me this song and ever since I have totally fallen in love with this song. This song is called Hold On, Be Strong by Maria Haukaas Storeng. Here are the lyrics, and do me a favor go on youtube or something and listen to the song.

Love can be hard sometimes,
yes it can catch you off guard like bad crimes
Yes, it can make you depressed and angry
make you say why me, why would anybody try me?



You might be saying ooh, I don't wanna' be lonely
Ooh, I don't wanna' be by myself.
Ooh, don't wanna' be lonely
Why ain't anybody loving me?
But there's always someone out there, who'll be there for you
There is always someone out there who will care for you
There's always someone out there who'll be true, true, true.
Hold on, hold on, be strong



Love can go away for ever if you're pushing
And you have to, remember; don't rush it
If you're thinking right it is wrong
And you'll be crying; why me, why won't anybody try me?




You might be saying ooh, I don't wanna' be lonely
Ooh, I don't wanna' be by myself.
Ooh, don't wanna' be lonely, no no
Why ain't anybody loving me?
Now but there's always someone out there, Who'll be there for you
And there is always someone out there who will care for you
There's always someone out there who'll be true, true, true.
Hold on, hold on, be strong




And yes, there's always someone out there,Who'll be there for you
And there is always someone out there who will care for you
There's always someone out there who'll be true, true, true.
Hold on, hold on, be strong.
Hold on, hold on be strong.
               My child hold on, hold on, be strong!






Okay so now after you read the lyrics. How do you think we can apply this to our lives?? What do you think the main message that Maria is trying to get across.






Sorry I went out of turn but I just had to post this. I think it could help more people then just me. I will post a link for a video with the lyrics on it in the comment box.

Thursday, September 9, 2010

~SR Uber Wootin’ Writers Blog #4- Jovanna~


Finished works in progress.

Okay, before you read any more, I want you to think about what the above fragment might mean. And why would I put it there? It just seems so contradictory, doesn’t it? How can a work in progress be finished? What does it mean to you as a Christian? And, by extent, what could it mean for Sheltered Reality? Now, stop reading and post your thoughts below. Then you can come back to read the rest.

“Finished works in progress” is my school’s theme for the year, and I think it would be beneficial for us all to look at what such a statement could mean in our own lives. What would it mean if I told you that you are a “finished work in progress?” Or that I am a “finished work in progress?” Breaking it into two parts, we can better make sense of it.

First: “Finished.” This refers to our salvation. When Jesus died on the cross for us, he triumphed over death and claimed us as His own. We only have to recognize Him as our Lord and Savior, and it is Finished. Nothing can take God’s grace from us.

Second: “Works in Progress.” Our salvation may be complete or finished, but that does not make us perfect. That does not mean we no longer sin or make the same mistakes again and again. As Christians, though, we try to be as “Christ-minded” as possible, working towards that “Christ-like perfection” that none of us will reach in this life-time. We are not perfect. We are “works in progress.”

Here’s the thing, though—there’s another side to this whole “Works in Progress,” and that, I believe, is what Sheltered Reality is all about. Ephesians 2:10 says, “For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them” (ESV). Do you see it? God has prepared for us good works! “Works in progress” that he has given us the ability to complete! Not only that, but He prepared these works for us “beforehand.” Long before we even know there is something to be done, God is planning it. And He sets us up to succeed in these things.

What are these good works? I believe they can be things as simple as sharing a smile with a random stranger who needed a lift. And to think—God put you on the sidewalk to share that simple smile. WOW! Mind blown.

Are you a finished work in progress? You better believe it. I know by this point you’ve already posted once, but I want you to go back and do so again. What are some of the “good works” you’ve been called to lately? What about the reverse? What has someone done for you lately that God had a hand in? And, finally, what are some of the good works you’ve seen God prepare for Sheltered Reality?

Monday, September 6, 2010

Steve Post :)

Just wanted to finally get on here for a minute...to update you all!  Had a nice relaxing drive to Phoenix and back...took 8 days doing it...and Jordan and I got to see all kinds of new things...including Pie Town, NM (and great pie there) and Roswell, NM...complete with aliens galore.  If you don't know about the history of Roswell...look it up...some very interesting science and history there to learn about.  Got back from that, and straight to Ohio to do practice in Warren and Toledo AND 4 shows...for over 10,500 people...school show, community show, baseball game show, and family camp show.  The latter was for about 60 people, and was the best of the bunch!  What a great time!  We met so many great new folks, and if all works out, we will have our 3rd OH site in Avon Lake, OH sometime before 2011.  YAAAY!  During the OH trip, If I Had You was finally finished...and it rocks!  Great last minute choreographic ideas from everyone...and some new things for the blue sticks (so get 'em if you don't have them already)...all in all, a great trip.

THANKS to all who are working up great posts on the blog...they are FUN reading for sure!  Keep it up...and keep the connections growing in SR...because it is all about that...who we connect with and how we can empower each other.

More soon from me...and you guys...Rock On!

Wednesday, September 1, 2010

~SR Uber Wootin Writers Blog #3- Kristen~

First off I want to say that I hope you all are enjoying your first couple weeks back at school or if you work I hope you are enjoying work!

It took me a realllllly long time to figure out what exactly I was going to write about. But I finally figured it out!!! I decided to write about something that applied to not only my life right now as a college student but to your lives in your schools, work places, and communities. 

There are so many times when we underestimate the word "friend." At times we think someone is a really good friend but soon find out they aren't. Or we think someone is a terrible friend but soon find out they are better than that good friend you thought you had. The dictionary says that the word friend means someone who gives assistance; supporter. This is so true. In my opinion, a good friend is someone who wants to spend time with you to get to know you, and that will always be there for you no matter what happens. 

Here in college I have had to make a whole new group of friends. I came on August 18th not knowing anyone but my roomate. I reached out and used the "be a friend" step to success and made many new friends. I also made a friend and thought she was a good friend but she ended up being extremely hateful to me and my friends. So you just move on and make new friends. You can tell when you walk to classes and tell who is upset and needs a friend. Just reach out to them as God has intended for us all to do. :)

So here is a question or two for you...What in your opinion is a good friend? How can you reach out to people and become a friend?!?