Glog

6 years ago I set out to make a YouTube channel. I got really frustrated because I wanted it to be perfect but I never thought it would give me any returns. So I gave up.
6 years later I've realized that this could be a great way for me to just express my random odd humor in a way that is not perfect. Just something fun. So I'm doing it. No worries.  I don't care if the people I'm closest to like it. It's for me. Something fun. Free from standards.
My first series I'm starting is called "glogs." It is guitar logs. Check them out and say something mean if you don't like! At least I'll know you saw it.
-D
Glogs

Early

I live in a house with four girls... it is loud. My daughters are curious and passionate and excitable. Their always moving and blowing my mind! I love it.
Mornings like this one make me appreciate it that much more.. I'm up early and the house is still. The only sound is my roaster turning over beans.
They are all at peace.
There is nothing more beautiful than four girls sleeping. It's like a focusing power that guides me. It reminds me of the "who" behind everything I do. It gives me a chance to reflect..
I am blessed. I am wealthy.
Thank you God.

Super. My Thanksgiving Post.

This is how it goes. Life takes a dump on you and it stinks. Most people say how they are thankful to God even for the bad things. But I don't.  I'm not thankful for the fact that after a long horrible day all of my really nice video equipment was stolen. That's like saying, "thanks for demons. I know there bad but I'm still thankful!"
No. God knows my heart and He knows I'm pist. It's an upsetting thing to have all your business taken away and have almost no way to recover. The insurance isn't covering enough to get me back to where I need to be. As far is I can tell my video production is at a stall.
I could look at this as a defeat.  A closed door. A dead end. But it's not.
No. God knows my heart. He knows my weakness and my strength. And I know He didn't give me a passion just so I could give up on it. He gave me a direction so when I came up to that closed door that was between me and where God wanted me to be I would take out His Word. In scripture it is called the sword of truth.  In my case it's an ax. After kicking the door and springing my ankle I'm picking up the Ax of Truth and  busting down this "closed door". Screw looking for a window. Screw saying, "I guess it wasn't God's will." After all, this isn't a door it's opposition.  And opposition comes to those who are doing what's right.  And in this case the opposition is getting an ax to the head, Rick Grimes style.
So what am I thankful for this Thanksgiving blog post? I'm thankful God gave me the strength to see this bad thing and not give in to it. Not to fold. I'm thankful He is letting me be on His side and to show the world that God is in control even when evil robs all we have. God has the final say not my self pity.  God knows the way and I just need to push forward through the oceans of doubt. The walls of lies. The armies of terror.  God know they are there and He is in control and His plan to glorify Himself through the opposition is what I am thankful for.
So I'm asking you to do the same. Identify the evil in the world and thank God for the victory over it instead of folding and assuming that this is just how it is and whatever demons that come your way win and you will be content and thankful. God has bigger plans. Are your plans a reflection of His power or your understanding?

Forgetting How To Fail

I once had a dream to be a YouTuber. That is, I wanted to be someone who makes YouTube videos for a living. So I set out to do it and it was a lot of work and it wasn't motivating. So after about a year of trying to make videos that other people might like I gave up. I was making videos I didn't like so I didn't want to promote them. I couldn't really get the word out.
I gave up because I couldn't figure out how to change what I love into something others would love too. And that is the way of art. If you do what you love you will love doing it and even if no one else likes it at least you do. It doesn't always lead to a carrier but if you allow yourself to be happy with what you do than can't you carry it over?
I've decided to change my tactic. I'm going to make something I'm proud of and that I like. and then I'm going to have the confidence to promote it. It's simple but even if it doesn't sell at least I will have something to cherish for myself. So really, with that how can I fail? I can't, and I won't.

Hope and Be

Over the last seven years I have heard a lot of discouraging things. I've lived a lot of discouraging things. So many of them have made a deep impression on me.. I don't think I'm alone in this. I think you most likely can relate. So I'm hoping that you might hear this simple plea and that it might transform your outlook. The plea is this "Hope in what is good and be what is right."

Hope in what is good...

Hope often refers to what we want. We want good things to happen. So we say things like, "I hope so!" when people tell us something good that might happen. "I might get a promotion." Response "I hope so."  

So often that hope is full of doubt. We live an oxymoron. Hope and doubt can not coexist in our plans for the future. If you think "well I'm just being a realist" your right. As long as you doubt yourself you most likely will not get what you want. That will be your "real" reality.

Be what is right...
Sometimes "Hope" is outside of reality. My question is "can you dream?" It's those dreams for what is right that take lives of discouragement and turn them into lives of fulfilment. Martin Luther King Jr. lived a life of fulfillment because he served a dream that he believed in. His hope was real. He died by the opposing view.

When our opposition kills us we normally view it as a failure but I don't know many that viewed MLK Jr's life as a failure. His hope and his dream were fulfilled by his faith that was made known by his passion. He believed despite a life of what could have been discouragement.

If you really dwell on the opposition MLK faced every day you wouldn't blame him if he doubted. And I'm sure he had his moments of weakness.  But his hope carried him through along with so many others even after his death.

Hope and Be...
Do you have hope? I do. I realized that the biggest obstacle in my life was self doubt. This year I realized that God wants what is good and right for my life. And by realized I mean I believed it. It is giving me the hope I believe God wants for me. That is an authority that I can stand on. It's not just a hope in myself it's a belief in God's word. He said he wants good things for me and I believe it!

Most importantly this hope is giving me the strength and self confidence to help others have that same hope. I hope this simple idea can give you the strength to overcome the discouragement of this world too.

I know I'm not alone. What awesome things have encouraged you to rise above the daily discouragement? I don't check my blogger comments very often so please send me a message on twitter or facebook because I am looking for an encouraging group of friends to help build each other up. twitter @danielsanchez20

Thanks guys for reading. I'm looking forward to this next year!
~DS

Communicate or Lose

I've always been told that I like to argue. Most of the people that have told me that haven't ever cared to actually understand me. With most of their comments they have communicated to me that I'm frustrating and that I'm a problem. Once some one told me "You know what your problem is Daniel?" At this point we had been discussing predestination and I was exploring calvinism and arminianism so I wasn't really sure how my problems related. I think it was rhetorical any way so I waited for the finish of this unexpected interruption to the conversation. "You never pick a side. You always just want to argue." I can't remember what my response was but I think it was something like, "oh". I was hurt. But it was at this point I realized what they had been saying to me all this time. Which lead me to explore my own communication and what was I trying to tell people about myself.

I bring this up because after my last few post I realized that people were listening. Which is great! but I don't want people thinking that I am solely set out on arguing with every idea. I want to explore every idea and some time that means poking holes in ideas and questioning them. I want to communicate with people so that I can keep my own ideas accountable. It's not about agreeing on everything it's about being able to talk about everything.

I also wanted to say to you all right now as gently as I can that if you ever just wright "You're wrong" I will make you explain yourself but only because I love you and want to make sure you know why I'm wrong. If you don't know why I'm wrong then I will help you come up with an answer. I had a conversation like this out side of the blog where I ended up proving my self wrong with no help from the person I was talking to but it help me understand my own ideas so I was great-full for the one sided conversation either way.

To me ideas are something we must all be questioning/exploring all of the time with each other. Even if we come to the same conclusion every time we talk. Biblically we are commanded to remind each other about the salvation of Jesus which means we must be exploring that idea. Not just knowing it and moving on. Ideas are important and working them out is important as well. I have had a so many bad ideas that when I worked them out with other people turned into great ideas. No one ever agrees with all or any of my ideas but my friends are willing to listen and question with me.

If any of you do know me you know that I do argue. I've realized that when I argue it is to win. I like to win when people look down on me. It's pride that compels me to do it and so I have been repenting of that. It's a work in progress. 

And Finely
Communication is something deeper than talking. I feel like sometimes talking is a way of putting distance between my self and the people I'm with. A conversation can lead people away from what might actually be going on around me. "How are you doing?" me:"Good!" with a smile. I can say that any time even when I'm not. Arguing is another way people think they communicate. Communicating to me, however, is something more beautiful than a well structured idea or a flowery conversation, it is the heart of what we all want. Communication to me is uniting with others in a deeper way than we were before we communicated... it's learning about each other and and understanding each other. "Listening" is the fancy word people use I think. Learn, listen and with love it is completed.

Another day, another ramble. Thank you all for listening : )

"I Don't Know. Get Married." ~Tyler D.

What's right, what's wrong and what's religious?
Once upon a time a man went around giving little slips of paper out. If you bought one from him you could get out of purgatory. Was it right to do that? How did we figure out if it was wrong?

I ask the question treading on some very odd territory for myself. I have always believed in the institution of marriage. However, now that it has been so nailed down as a religious act I have started to wonder why non-Christians do it. Is it right for non-believers to marry? What does it even mean to marry? And finally, the question that I struggle the most with is this: If a boy and a girl love each other and make that known to others, commit to being with each other forever and consimate that love are they living in sin? That is, are they sinning if they never get it down on paper or kiss in a chapel?

This thought exists in my mind because more and more people are choosing this option. They have given up on the institution of marriage. Their parents got married and they got divorced in record numbers.. I laugh when religious institutions say they are trying to defend marriages from homosexuals. They obviously don't seem to think about the fact that divorces in the "Christian nation" has already destroyed the practice. Marriage, in it's current form, has lost. It's a casualty of our un-Christian and crappy-Christian culture.

So I ask. Is it wrong. If you celebrate Christmas all year long but not on December 25 is it sin? Maybe you are just sick of all the fuss made over it? Think about it. White dress: $500-$4,000. Suits: $100-$1,000. Venue:$1,000-10,000. Photographer: $200-$8,000. anywhere from 6 months to years of planning. The wedding industry is great for the economy but is it really good for us? I'm starting to wonder..

My friend has been talking to me about his girlfriend and how he is committed to not marring her. But he doesn't seem to be a flake or uncommitted to her. He just hates marriage and in a world that is completely un-committed to the act I don't think he always sees the benefits. I definitely don't always see them in the world. I will say that I do see them in my own marriage and I love being married but I don't like what we have done to this thing called marriage. It's a sad joke it seems and our children are the ones suffering for it.

I will say this with conviction: Divorce is and will always be wrong. In the case of abuse or cheating it is necessary but it is still wrong. NECESSARY! but sadly wrong.

So what is marriage? After you take away all of the religious practices? (Which I like ceremonies so don't get me wrong.) It is pure and simple.  Marriage is when a man leaves his past behind and becomes one with his wife. Oddly the wife comes before the marriage (Gen 2:24). I like the idea though. My wife was always my wife, I just finally caught up with her and committed.

So as you all can see I have confused and scattered ideas on the whole thing. Let me know what you think. And, for now, if you have a friend as I do who isn't married to his wife maybe stop condemning him for it and instead encourage him to be faithful and committed to her. Who knows, they might be better off than your some-day-divorced friends.

Seriously though. Call me out. I realize I'm pushing some boundaries. Or just comment. With the divorce rate where it is this topic deserves some thought.

Reference
www.psychologytoday.com/basics/marriage
The quote in the title is from Fight Club the movie.
Listening to "It's All Understood" by Jack Johnson