Another Hot One for Patreon

I done did it again. At the beginning of October I ate a very spicy wing while trying to talk about my Patreon, and the results were very embarrassing.

This time I asked my friend and former youth pastor Glyndon Greer to join me! I tried to warn him about how bad it would. I TRIED to get him to only take one bite. But the man just wouldn’t listen.

There was too much great footage to pack into one video. One of the side effects I did not expect from this trip to Spicy Town was that both of us LOST OUR MINDS. It’s like we got drunk on wings or something. We were delirious. I edited together a little bonus video of us at our loopiest.

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You Were a House on Fire

I don’t normally like the genre of white dudes screaming emo poetry over music but this song melts my heart.

The lyrics are so beautiful and fit so well with themes I’m passionate about: confession, vulnerability, and being open with someone you trust.

I listened to it again tonight on my way to a show. This is who we’re to be for each other.

“I'll repeat it and repeat it until you believe it
You're gonna be okay!”

Don't Pursue Peace

Viktor Frankl on happiness:

Happiness cannot be pursued; it must ensue.

He compares it to humor. If you want someone to laugh you don’t just command it. “LAUGH! NOW!” Instead you give them something to laugh about. You make a joke.

The same is true for happiness. You don’t just scream “BE HAPPY!” you give them something to be happy about. Pursue something worthwhile and you’ll find happiness along the way.

Some times I think we get screwed up because we think the way we stop worrying and having anxiety is by telling ourselves that the Bible says “don’t do it.” As if that’s all it takes.

“The Bible says not to do this so I can’t do this. STOP IT!”

But passages about worrying and anxiety are more than that. They tell us WHY we shouldn’t worry. God is in control.

Instead of trying to force ourselves to have peace, we need to pursue something (or someone) who gives us peace.

I’m feeling anxious. Are there any reasons why I shouldn’t feel this way?

Yes.

God takes care of birds and grass and he loves me so much more than grass so I know he’ll take care of me. God will never leave me or forsake me. God is in control. I can go to God and cast all my fears on Him. He wants me to lean on Him.

3 Night Comedy Event in Little Rock

I’m speaking in Little Rock tonight through Friday. Crystal Hills Assembly of God is hosting my 3 night outreach events (I need to come up with a good name for this thing).

Tonight I preached on confession.

Tomorrow night I’ll do a very simple training on how to handle conversations on confession.

Friday night is a big fun comedy show that ends with a message. It’s the perfect event to bring friends and family who might not normally attend your church.

I really love getting to do the 3 night event. It gives me the chance to really connect with and invest in the church where I’m performing. Tonight was all about sharing the heart behind the outreach and getting people excited about inviting their friends. Tomorrow night we’ll equip the church to be prepared for the response that could happen, and it’s all leading up to Friday.

It’s the best. I say it a lot but I really think it’s the most effective way to use comedy as a ministry in the local church.

Want to bring this to your church in 2019? Contact me.

Japan's Answer to Loneliness

Conan’s travel episodes are always incredible.

He just went to Japan where he tried out the VERY REAL SERVICE available there where you can rent a family. That’s real.

We have a loneliness epidemic across the world and Japan is tackling the issue in some really weird ways (weird to me). You can pay $80 for a visit to a cuddle cafe where some random stranger will cuddle with you for an hour. Women can pay over $100 for dinner at a host club where a male host is paid to make conversation, entertain, and just give you attention. They’re not a prostitute. They’re not a stripper. Nothing sexual happens. It’s just human contact with no strings attached. You pay for your time and then there’s no mess and no fuss when it’s over.

We love quick solutions, short cuts, and life hacks. Real change takes time. It happens little by little. It’s easy to trick ourselves into thinking that treating the surface level problem is enough but there’s no way that can last. We need real connection, real intimacy, real vulnerability if we want to cure our loneliness. It’s not for sale.

But if I’m being honest, I’d pay for a cool japanese grandpa to hang out with for an afternoon.

Crying is Cool

I CRY ALL THE TIME. I tweeted the other day that I’m not emotionally prepared for Christmas and I was not joking. There’s something about the holiday season that makes me so sensitive to just how beautiful everything is.

I'm going to cry through this entire Christmas Eve service because I can't handle how beautiful Christmas is.

— Taylor Johnson (@taylordson) December 24, 2015

On my house show tour, one of the first questions I’d ask to break the ice during a show was “how many people here do you think have cried today?” Usually we’d get pretty low guesses like 2 or 3. I’d say “you don’t have to say why but if you cried today would you just raise your hand?” and we’d usually get 7-10 hands up.

We all cry! We cry all the time! It’s nothing to be embarrassed about. Sure, you look really ugly when you do it but so does everyone. No one looks attractive when they cry.

Shame tells us to hide our emotions but there are trustworthy people in your life you can share your most vulnerable moments with. You don’t have to choke back those tears all the time. There are moments you can let them fall freely!

I used to feel so weird about crying. I hated it. There’s a whole track on my album, Don’t Panic, all about why I hate crying. But I’ve completely changed.

Crying is not just ok. Crying is cool.

I love finding out what makes people cry. One time at a house show a woman told me she cries every time she watches The Price is Right. Whenever the announcer calls someone down from the audience to play, she cries because she’s so happy for them. Isn’t that so sweet? I wish I cried about cool stuff like that. I mostly just cry listening to podcasts.

Sometimes I Wonder if I'm a Mistake

One of the most powerful moments from the Mister Rogers documentary, Won’t You be My Neighbor, is when they discuss the song “Sometimes I Wonder if I’m a Mistake.”

Apparently on the show Rogers would use his puppet Daniel Tiger to his express his own personal childhood fears and feelings and I think you can feel how real that is when you see Daniel sing this song. It is clearly expressing very real emotions.

Someone in the documentary comments on how much they appreciate the fact that the song is a duet. Daniel opens up about his insecurities, and Lady Aberlin tries to comfort him. But the song doesn’t have a nice and neat resolution. We end with both singing their parts at the same time, competing, conflicting with each other, just like how we often feel when we’re at our lowest. It’s not resolved so easily. We don’t always immediately believe the comfort offered to us.

I was looking on Youtube for a different song from Mister Rogers when I stumbled upon this BEAUTIFUL cover of “Sometimes I Wonder if I’m a Mistake.” The two performers are so talented and I love that it was a part of a church service.

Best Books I've Read in 2018 (so far)

At the beginning of the year I was so jacked up and excited for the power of reaiding. I put the Goodreads app back on my phone and set the goal to read 45 books this year. It’s already December and I’ve only read 24. I’ve got a lot of catching up to do.

But the ones I’ve read have been INCREDIBLE!

Here are my favorite books of the year:

Man’s Search for Meaning by Viktor Frankl

If you let me, I can talk about this book for hours. Man’s deepest desire is to find meaning and purpose. When you have purpose, you can survive almost anything. That’s the theory Frankl, a psychologist, had before spending 5 years locked in concentration camps. Frankl talks about his experience with the most unimaginable suffering and how it showed him just how true his theory is. I know it sounds depressing but this short little book is one of the most inspiring things I’ve ever read.

Columbine by Dave Cullen

This book is fascinating. Now that all the dust has settled— we’re far enough removed from the hysteria surrounding the Columbine shooting— Cullen puts together all of the facts and evidence to give a clear picture of what really happened. He does such a good job mapping it all out and showing how/why misinformation spread in the media. There’s so much that we think we know about the shooting that isn’t actually true. There’s one passage that particularly beautiful about how Christian parents handled the tragedy.

The Power of Habit by Charles Duhigg

It’s not a self help book. It’s science! Duhigg is a journalist who researched some of the most fascinating stories of how habits form and change who we are in our personal lives, in business, and in society. I learned SO MUCH. His podcast, Change Agent, is also worth checking out.

Out on the Wire by Jessica Abel

Do you love narrative journalism podcasts like This American Life, Serial, Reply All, or RadioLab? This graphic novel is the closest thing you’ll get to a textbook on how to make a show like that. I’ve listened to SO MANY Ira Glass interviews but this thing has some of the best advice he’s ever given.

How to Think? by Alan Jacobs

I’ve written about this book before (The Courage to be Wrong & Stop Arguing, The War is Over) and I’m sure I could keep writing about it for months. Feeling discouraged because of all the Facebook fights you keep seeing? Have you given up on paying attention to politics because it doesn’t look like anyone will ever change their mind? Jacobs does such a great job diagnosing the problems with our discourse and disagreements and gives very simple explanations for how we can fix things. Loved it.

I thought about making this post a list of things I’d recommend as Christmas presents but I realized most of them are actually pretty big bummers and wouldn’t be good gifts. No one wants to wake up Christmas morning to a brand new book about Columbine or concentration camps.

But books are great gifts none the less!

I Found Big Foot

The hunt for Big Foot is over and I’ve got some bad news.

Surprised I Haven't Given Up

this is the bed i could be sleeping in right now but instead i’m writing this stupid post

I’m in Sycamore, IL for the weekend. We’re doing a big youth outreach event Sunday night. Tomorrow I’m speaking to the FCA at the local high school. 

This will be my bed for the next few days. 

I’m so tired right now. Yesterday I woke up at 5 am to catch a plane to Milwaukie. Did a youth service last night, stayed up until 1 am hanging out with the youth pastor, who is a very good friend of mine. Woke up at 7 today to drive down to Sycamore, IL. I’ve felt bonkers all day. I’m exhausted. I want to be asleep.

But I committed to blogging every day this month. This post from Austin Kleon really convinced me why you should try daily blogging. I’m even using Kleon’s 30 Day Challenge to help keep me focused and on track.

The month is almost over and I’m surprised I’ve actually made it this far. I’ve posted something 28 days in a row. That’s amazing. I really thought I would have given up by now.

I’d love to give up right now. I’m so tired I’d sell my birthright to my sneaky brother Jacob for 10 hours of sleep.

But just like Forrest Gump, I’ve made it this for so I might as well keep going. It would be so dumb for me to go 28 days and give up when I just have two more to go. This isn’t a very good post but I thought I should record this moment. I’m so tired. I have to be up at 6:30 to go speak to this FCA. I could be asleep right now, but for some reason I haven’t given up no this goal.

If only I could have this sort of dedication when it comes to eating healthy.