You don't really want to change. Neither do I.

You don't really want to change. Neither do I.

I can keep coasting along through life, and be just fine. But, something happened today...this overwhelming feeling to dig deeper. I don't want to go deeper because it forces me to be vulnerable. And when I'm vulnerable, God asks me to do things I don't want to do. Reading God's Word produces change. And when there is change, God will ask me to do things that make me uncomfortable. I'm serious. It always happens this way. This is exactly why I believe in Jesus Christ. This is why I believe in everything the Word of God has to offer. When I dig into the Bible, I am not the same person. It's not just like I become a better person and start doing "good" things. It changes who I am, how I see others, how I see the world, how I love, how I react, how I interact, how I talk, how I think.

You cannot dive into the Word without getting soaked. It changes the parts of you that you don't even know exist. You can go on living and get along fine, but Monday still comes every week, and Friday is the only thing that gets you through. Keep the routine. Keep rotating in this cycle. You'll be fine. You won't be changed. You won't see a different day until the day you see Jesus. Jesus changes every day. And dangit, sometimes you don't want him to. Stop changing me. Stop exploiting the worst parts of me. But, this only happens through Christ Jesus. True change. You have to embrace it. God is love and love is everything. If we have areas where there is not love, God will make it known. And love is not a free pass to do whatever you want. Love knows no wrong. This love is different than the love you've seen and heard.

So, ask me why so many Christians don't love the unloved. Yeah, that's a problem. That's not love. Ask me what I think about the sinners who drink too much, swear a lot and have sex whenever they want. Ask me what I think about homosexuality. Ask me what I think about smoking. Ask me about the worst sins you can think of. Try to shock me. If you've heard a message that says one of these is worse than the other, if you've heard an outcry against one of these sins over another, it's not the message of Christ.

This is the message of Christ: I have sin in my life, I want to remove it, and there's only one way to do it. When you notice something different in me, I'll tell you my story, point you to the Word of God and watch it change you. Trust me, it will.

A few words on Rice

Wanted the noise to settle before posting anything. Ray Rice was wrong. The video is shocking. The punishment is fitting. Let's make that clear. A man should never, ever, lay his hands on a woman with intent to harm her. That seems to be a standard we can all agree with. Before you fire bullets at Ray Rice....ask yourself....have you ever done anything to harm a woman? Have you looked at pornography? Have you looked at a woman lustfully? Desired to do things with her you shouldn't do? Desired to do things with some random woman in a photo who may not even want to be in that photo? A woman who was forced into something she didn't want to do....and now she's just another photo floating on the internet. It's not an outward physical act maybe, not something caught on camera, but you are defiling that woman. And, if you're in a relationship or married, you are directly harming your partner. An unfaithful heart is like a knockout punch to a woman, to your wife. You have to come to grips with that. Anything less is a double standard. Ray Rice is dealing with the consequences of his worst acts, caught on camera. What if your deepest darkest moment was caught on camera? What would the punishment be? 

Can't believe I'm saying this, but for once, I agree with a Steelers player. Troy Polamalu nailed it: "Unfortunately, I've seen the video, but I have a lot of issues of my own that I deal with. In truth, I couldn't judge him on anything, because I'm defiled by as many passions and sins and more than him, most likely."

"I have my own struggles. And, obviously, he's got his own struggles. And we all have our own struggles. So, I can't look past my own struggles to judge him.''

Put the pitchforks down. Look at yourself first.

Then, pray that Ray Rice comes out of this a better man. Redeemed. Made whole. Pray for him and his wife. Just a thought. 

A Glance into the TV Life

It was just a few months before the wedding. Laura was sitting on her pastor's porch in Kentucky, while I was on the phone in Georgia, where my television career began. Both of us waiting on Reverend Dean Cook's decision. After what felt like the longest conversation in my life, this God-fearing man said to Laura, "I think it's best that you follow Jeremy's career." This meant Laura giving up everything she had ever worked for, and breaking a commitment with PriceWaterhouseCoopers. I knew what was coming. Shortly after our meeting with Rev. Cook, Laura called me and unloaded all of her frustration. I didn't say a word. Meanwhile, her mom and dad watched her throw everything away. They stood silent while their little girl committed to a life on the move, following a guy who would make much less money for a career in local TV. The storm clouds seemed to be rolling in, but amazingly, after that day, Laura never spoke of it again, at least not in a resenting way. She moved on and said she would support me no matter what, and that God would work it all out for the better.

On our wedding day, storm clouds rolled in once again. Like, literally. We decided to get married on the beach in Emerald Isle, NC, a place where it never seemed to rain, but on August 14, 2009, it was pouring. Just two hours before our wedding, I was standing on the front porch of our beach house worrying about how the wedding was going to go down. Laura didn't have a worry in the world. Amazingly, the rain stopped just before the wedding. The skies opened up and I got to see my beautiful bride walking down the sandy isle towards our life ever after.

After the wedding, we moved to Pataskala, Ohio, where I would begin working at WHIZ-TV in Zanesville, making a 40 minute commute to work every day. We chose Pataskala because it was 20 minutes from Columbus, assuming Laura would find a job in the city and have a closer drive to work than I did. When we moved to Pataskala, Laura was still taking her CPA exams. We were paying for an apartment that we couldn't afford, and expecting that Laura would get a job within a few months. Crazy, right? It seemed like Laura had just finished the final leg of her CPA exam when Ernst & Young called her up, and offered her a job. I'll never forget that night after I got off of work. Laura and I danced to "Mighty to Save" in the living room. God never fails.

After working in Zanesville for about one year, I began the job search. And so begins the process of waiting for jobs to be posted on tvjobs.com and other useful sites. There is so much that goes into it. For those who don't understand the process, local television works in market sizes based on ratings and viewing area. For example, market 210 (Glendive, MT) is the smallest market. New York is the largest market. Zanesville, OH, is market 203. My goal was to somehow make a jump into the top 100, which is where I focused my search. For about six to seven months, I was sending out my resume and reel to different TV stations all over the country. The majority give you no reply. No emails. No calls. Nothing. It's a weary process. Finally, in February 2011, I got a random call from WICS in Springfield, IL, market 83. The news director says, "We'd like you to come in for an interview." I remembered applying at WICS in December, and hadn't heard a thing for two months. It was totally out of left field. So, after spending one year and seven months in Ohio, living close to family, going to my home church, and being around great friends, we packed up and moved to Illinois. Laura, once again, was willing to follow my career and Ernst & Young was gracious enough to keep her employed.

Now, after almost two years at WICS, my contract is coming to an end, on May 31 to be exact. I have been in job search mode for quite some time. Of the countless places I've applied, I've only had a few bites. My first interview was in Milwaukee (market 34), it didn't work out. Then, I had an interview in Louisville. I imagined how amazing Louisville would be for Laura. It's only 90 minutes from her family in Wilmore, KY, and she loves the city. I wanted it so bad, but really wanted it for her. She deserved it. The job came down to me and another guy, who was much older than me and used to work at the station. Laura and I had already met with a realtor in Louisville, and were dreaming about the opportunity to buy a house. Then, I got the call. The first words from the news director, "Well, this was tough." Ballgame.

So, here we are, almost one month away from my contract ending. We want to be closer to family. We want to buy a house, and start our own family. I've been in the business for almost five years, and it's been a pretty successful ride. And once again, it feels like the storm clouds are rolling in. What are we going to do? Time is running out. I've applied at another station in Louisville. I've applied in Memphis, Pittsburgh and Cincinnati. But there are no real prospects. What if I don't get a job offer by May 31? Everyone tells me that I'm good enough to make it at the next level. I want this all to happen, not just for me, but for Laura, the amazing woman who has been with me through all of this. The woman who is always there right beside me encouraging me and helping me press on. We are ready to settle down for a few years, start our own family and stop feeling like we're on the move, but time is running out. Everything will be fine, but time is running out! I feel like a wild chipmunk is running around my brain kicking my worried cells. Stay positive. Press on. Live in the moment. But....time is running out!

And then God reminds me of our wedding day, and when He gave Laura a job at Ernst & Young, and when he blessed me with a job at WICS.

God is able. His timing is perfect.

Six-Letter Curse Word

There is no such thing as a six-letter curse word, until now. Or in reality, until about 9:30 p.m. (Eastern standard time zone) on Thursday, July 8, 2010. For years to come in Cleveland households and across Ohio, the word 'LeBron' shall be declared as undignified as any other four-letter swear word. Statewide, mother's will shutter in terror when their child lets those six painful letters slip, 'LeBron.'

When I was a young boy, anytime a word considered tasteless spewed out of my mouth, mom would have a bar of soap handy to literally clean out 'the profanity' from my mouth. By my calculations, if the same approach is taken to this newly found six-letter swear word, "Dial" soap might just see its biggest boost in sales since the revolution of 'everyday showers/baths' in America (circa February 22, 1963 - I think).

Imagine the ways in which the 'former king of Cleveland' will have his name used. For example, in a regular bar fight one man will tell the other, "You steaming bag of horse-LeBron," or "LeBron you!" In summer softball leagues, players will plead after a poorly called strike, "What the LeBron was that?" Or in my opinion, the absolute worst one of all, "You son of a LeBron."

Now, this is not the first time a six-letter word has plagued the city of Cleveland. Those of you who were around in the nineties might recall a guy with the last name 'Modell,' As in Art Modell. That six-letter word moved the Browns to Baltimore in 1995. But this recent egotistical path that the so-called 'king' took to his own Miami glory, simply incomparable. The Browns are back in Cleveland (without Modell I might note). LeBron can never come back. Not in six years. Not in 20 years.

Cavs owner Dan Gilbert perhaps said it best in his letter to the fans, "The self-declared former 'King' will be taking the 'curse' with him down south. And until he does 'right' by Cleveland and Ohio, James (and the town where he plays) will unfortunately own this dreaded spell." It's a well-known fact that C-town has had more than its share of bad luck in sports history. The 'curse' Gilbert speaks of refers to THE SHOT, THE DRIVE, THE FUMBLE (google it). And now with the son of Gloria James, THE BETRAYAL. While he may have taken the 'curse' to South Beach, and I hope he has, there is no relief for the pain Cavalier fans feel with his departure.

Much like a house fire, it is difficult to realize the damage done to the place you call home in the moment. But in the morning, once the ash settles, reality sets in that all of your memories, dreams and valuable items from the past have burned to the ground. It's going to hurt for a while Cleveland. It's going to sting. It's going to burn watching top ten highlights of LeBron on SportsCenter, every single night, in a Miami Heat uniform.

But there is hope Cleveland. LeBron James and the Heat must travel to Quicken Loans Arena this season. And when that day comes, purchase your tickets, fill up 'the Q,' and chant with me, "Piece of LeBron! Piece of LeBron! Piece of LeBron!" Hey, at the very least, we can hope he gives the same effort as the last time he played in Cleveland.

Sing Along

In the wake of the USA’s glorious win over Algeria Wednesday, criticism has surfaced about the way in which the US won the game. Yeah, I know the United States shouldn’t have put themselves in that position in the first place. I know they may have underachieved in falling behind early in the first two games of group play. I know Algeria isn’t a team that anyone would like to say USA made history against. But since when did we become so enamored with a need to pick apart and criticize that we can’t enjoy great sports moments like that of Landon Donovan’s game-winning goal in the 91st minute Wednesday.

In the age of twitter and blogosphere’s galore, anyone and everyone can have a platform, a soapbox, an opinion. It’s a beautiful thing. It’s the American dream. But more often than not, in a sportswriters world, the soapbox is a platform to exploit the bad in the good. Going down the page of sporting events on the biggest stage, and merely inking red marks on every great achievement. I myself have even fallen victim.

Imagine riding in a car with a group of friends when a great song comes on the radio. Everyone sings along at the top of their lungs while the one passenger decides to become the critic…analyzing everything that’s wrong about the song instead of singing along.

Have we become this? Is this who we are America? A culture never satisfied…never pleased…never content? A country analyzing every note of the beautiful lifesong playing around us? What Landon Donovan did Wednesday was historic. It was glorious. Scoreless for 90 minutes, the United States World Cup hopes nearly dashed, his putback…put back the Red, White and Blue into contention. Giving USA its first group win since 1930 - the very first World Cup. Enjoy it! Live for moments like this! Welcome them in blissful joy! After all, it took 80 years for a moment like this in US soccer history.

Saturday, the United States take on Ghana in the round of 16, and I can only hope the story gets even better. And if the US win in dramatic fashion again, don’t analyze, sing along.