I used a vacation day today at work so I could run basic errands that I can’t during the regular work week.  Like a lot of people I’m at work before businesses open, and I don’t get off work until they close.  

So my first order of business today was meeting a guy that was selling something on craigslist.  Buying stuff on craigslist is always an adventure, but I was up for it.  We met at a neutral/public location at 10am.  I inspected the item and then made him an offer.  I probably low balled him a little, but I knew he had been trying to sell it for a while so I thought I could get away with it.  He countered, and instead of fighting tooth and nail over $20 I went ahead and agreed to his price.  I figure at the end of the day if $20 prevents my name from being associated with the term “tight wad” or “terd ferguson” it’s probably money well spent.  

On the drive home I started to get upset with myself.  I started thinking, “Why did I let that guy get me for $20!?”  I know that I know that I KNOW I could have gotten it for that!  What the crap?!  I should have just driven home and passed on the whole darn thing… ”  

It was about this time I saw flashing lights in my rear view mirror so I start to slow down, and then I realize… I WAS BEING PULLED OVER?  I seriously had no idea why… I had my cruise control set at 65 mph (5 under the speed limit), my tags, lights… every thing’s good.. what the heck?  So…., I pull over…  I take off my hat, roll down my window, grab my license and registration and wait for the highway patrolman to get out of his car.  

HP:  Do you know why I pulled you over sir?

Chet:  No sir I don’t.

HP:  Do you realize the law in the State of Kansas requires that you move to the opposite lane when passing a emergency vehicle on the side of the road?

Chet: Yes sir I do.

HP:  Did you see me on the side of the road?

Chet:  Yes sir I did.  

(At this point he headed back to his car with my information and started filling out the paperwork… I’m not happy about this.  I’m steamed actually… I haven’t lost my composure, but I’m definitely steamed.  I now know why some people cry when they get angry…  I didn’t cry, but I definitely felt like I was riding coach on the emotional plane to suck town.

I thought back for a moment and recalled passing him.  He didn’t have anyone pulled over at the time.  So I guess I thought that didn’t count?  He was just sitting inside his patrol car with his lights flashing.  I guess it does count.  Dang.

So after Mr. HP finished writing the declaration of independence he returned to my driver’s side window with my citation in hand…)

HP:  Unfortunately Mr. “Koofer” today is a very expensive lesson.  This is a $294 ticket, but it’s a small price to pay to save some one’s life.

Chet:  Sir, I understand you’re just doing your job.  I also know that you have probably the most difficult job in the world.  I know I made a mistake, and I’m really sorry.  I have a CDL, and I do know the law.  Is there any way you can let me off with a warning this time?

HP:  You think $294 is too much to pay to save me, or one of my fellow officer’s life?!?!

Chet:  No, no it’s not too much to pay.  

HP:  Me and my fellow officer’s can’t safely do our job without this law!!!

Chet:  I’m just asking.  I’m really frustrated, and I made an honest mistake.  I’m just asking if there’s ANY way possible to let me off with a warning this one time.

HP:  ………..

Chet:  …………

HP:  Ok, I’ll let you go with a warning this ONE time….  

Chet:  Thank you so much sir.

HP:  STAY IN THE OTHER LANE!!!

I then put my car in drive, peeled out, fired 6 shots in the air, and longingly kissed the greeter when I got to Wal-Mart.  

Once you realize what you’ve been saved from, it’s amazing how much everything else pales in comparison.  

John 8:32-36 (NLT)

³² And you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”

 ³³ “But we are descendants of Abraham,” they said. “We have never been slaves to anyone. What do you mean, ‘You will be set free’?”

 ³⁴ Jesus replied, “I tell you the truth, everyone who sins is a slave of sin. ³⁵ A slave is not a permanent member of the family, but a son is part of the family forever. ³⁶ So if the Son sets you free, you are truly free.”

So who gives a flip about $20?!  I’m FREEEEEE!!!!

Hi,

I have a post called “update” that is probably what you’re looking for. There isn’t any bad blood. Just no longer where God wants me to be.

Thanks for caring/asking. Have a blessed day.

-Chet

“Lash meets Henley.”

I went to a night of worship last night at a church I visit from time to time to get “re-filled,”  I would highly recommend anyone who is heavily involved in their home church to find their own “vacation” church as well.  Sometimes you need to just receive ya know?  It’s not selfish, sometimes it’s just what we need.

During a time of prayer a gentleman said, “He paid the price so that you could freely receive… what the Lord freely gives.”  I know we’ve probably all heard those words before, but somehow it struck me in a new way last night.

“He paid the price.”  Let’s think about that for a second.  Have you ever saved your money so you could purchase something that you wanted really badly?  Worked all summer, saved up every penny for your first car, new guitar, whatever… can you relate to that?  Have you ever worked really hard in order to achieve a goal?  To achieve an academic goal, athletic goal, musical goal?  Does that resonate with you?  Well imagine working harder than you’ve ever worked in your entire life in order to acquire something… and then giving it away.

Often times people in pursuit of goals will put up posters to remind themselves of “the prize.”  Posters of the championship team before them.  Pictures of an artist(s) they admire and whose careers they hope to emulate.  Reminders to keep the fire burning when they’re discouraged and want to quit.  I can’t imagine there not being a time when Christ at least considered quitting.  The Bible even states that he didn’t want to do it (Luke 22:42).  Imagine… if the posters in Christ’s mind that kept him going were pictures of you, pictures of me.  He didn’t quit because of YOU!  He didn’t quit because of ME!  His love for us kept him going so that he could pay the price for OUR souls. 

That is honestly a king of love that I can’t begin to understand.  It’s a kind of love that isn’t natural.  A kind of love that blows my mind.  A kind of love that will change your life.

i can’t remember if I replied to this or not, but regardless I wanted to say thanks for your kindness.  I really appreciate it.  Please be blessed in all that you do.  God is good.

Love,

Chet

I heard a testimony earlier this week from a man who was about as close to a modern day Job as I have ever heard.  Repeated tragedy, and then blessings…. tragedy, and blessings over and over.  He shared how one particular evening he was praying to God for the protection & safety of his two young children (sounds pretty normal right?) and he felt like the Lord said, “Don’t pray for their safety, pray for them to fall in love with me.” 

That quote really struck me.  If we had it our way we would all live in a cute little bubble.  We want to be safe from EVERYTHING.  We want God to guard us from ever getting bumped, bruised, booed, knocked around, or anything remotely close to uncomfortable.  We (myself included) want us and the ones we love to live in a lovey dovey spiritual utopia of heaven on earth.

The fact is this…  (insert Chet sports analogy here) if you’re going to play in the game you’re going to get dirty.  We’ll use football as an example since fall is just around the corner.  If you’re playing football… you’re going to get hit.  You just will.  It’s part of the game.  If you don’t get hit, then you must not be playing.  If you’re jersey isn’t dirty… you must not be trying very hard.  Have you ever watched a football game that was played in the rain?  At the end of the game it’s pretty darn easy to tell who played and who didn’t. 

If you don’t want to get your clothes dirty there are ways to do that.  If you want to live in a bubble there are ways to do that.  It’s called sitting on the sidelines. 

Please know that I say this to you not because I’ve got it all figured out.  I’m just sharing what I feel like God is trying teach me right now. 

Sitting on the sidelines isn’t what God made us for.  We were born to love.  We were born to live.  So Go!  Be!  Live!  Love!

Life is a race.  Every day is a lap, and each lap brings you a little bit closer to the end of the race.  Someday the race is going to be over…  I know from experience one of the worst feelings in the world is finishing a race thinking… “Wow, I had too much gas left at the end.  I could have ran faster….”  I also know from experience that there are few feelings greater than finishing a race knowing that you ran your guts out.  You made it to the tape, and couldn’t have gone another step with out losing consciousness.  You know that all your training, everything that built up to that race was not in vain.  The gun went off, and you remembered, & executed everything you were supposed to.  You get carried off the track (because you can’t walk on your own strength) knowing that you did what you were supposed to do, and you did the best that YOU possibly could have done.

So run every day with all your might.  Leave nothing behind.  Keep seeking the prize so at the end of the race YOU WILL HEAR, “Well done, my good and faithful servant.” (Matt 25:21)  How sweet will it be to hear those words someday?  I can’t hardly wait.

Love,

Chet

Seasons come and go during our life on this earth.  Some are memorable and fruitful.  Some are equally memorable, but seemingly less fruitful at the time.  That being said I thought I should let my friends know that a fruitful season of my life if coming to a close, and I am about to embark on another one. 

The Abandon Kansas show this Saturday will be my last show with the band.  I am extremely thankful for my time in AK.  It has been nothing short of a pleasure to work with them this past year.  The friendships that I have built with Brad, Brian, and Jeremy are friendships that I hope to continue to maintain. 

I would like to thank all the amazing people I’ve had the pleasure to work with along the way during my time with AK:  Brad Moist & everyone at Gotee Records, Mark Lee Townsend, Dave Hagen, & Chad Bscherer.  I’m a better man for having known all of you.  I want to thank all the different bands we had the pleasure of sharing the road with during the day, and the stage during night.  I want to thank everyone who ever fed us, gave us a place to sleep, helped us load/unload, promoted a show, ran sound, worked the door, took part in a van dance party, or welcomed a sweaty post show hug.  Thanks especially to every fan who spent their hard earned money to come to a show and buy our records & t-shirts.  Thank you so much for your kindness & support.  I hope you will continue to support AK in the future.  I hope I’m not forgetting anyone if I am I sincerely apologize.  If I could list you all by name I would. 

I am currently planning on spending the rest of 2011 at home working, writing, recording, and spending time with my family.  Musically I’m not sure what God has in store next, but I’m definitely looking forward to it!

Love,

Chet

p.s. The Creator of the universe loves you, knows you, and wants to hang out.

When I was in college I used to house sit a lot. One time in particular I house sat for a family who had a little rat terrier named Raef. The first time I visited the house to get all the basic instructions for taking care of the estate it became quite obvious that Raef completely hated my guts. I knew from the get go that I was in for an interesting 2 weeks.

The home I was taking care of was out in the country. It had a big front yard, garden, barn, and about 10 acres full of wild life (deer, turkey, raccoons, coyotes, bobcats mountain lions, etc.). The home owners were very entrusting to me. They said I could essentially do whatever I wanted while I was house sitting, with the only exception being two very specific details in regards to their dog Raef:

1) Make sure Raef comes inside the house each night so he doesn’t get eaten.

2) The house is for sale, so if anyone comes to look at the house put Raef on a leash and take him for a walk so he won’t harass prospective buyers.

The first day I went outside to call Raef in for the night he promptly arrived at the garage door, and then began to pace back and forth growling & barking. It was very obvious that he felt like there was not enough room in the house for the both of us. A ten minute stand off ensued consisting of me baiting him with food, ridiculous baby talk, and making promises I couldn’t keep. After that proved unsuccessful I thought that maybe if I was out of his sight maybe that would help so I went into the living room and left the garage door open for him. Twenty minutes passed and he still refused to come in. Fail…. I closed the door, and decided I would try again in one hour. Fail… I tried again an hour after that. Another fail… I kept trying each hour, on the hour, and each hour passed to no avail. Around 11pm I got to the point where I would just turn on the garage light, call his name, open the door and leave the doorway for 5 minutes. If he didn’t come in after 5 minutes I would close the door and try again an hour later. As the night progressed I began to hear a pack of coyotes howling. As each hour passed I could hear the coyotes getting closer, but Raef still refused to come in. He & I played this game of cat & mouse well into the wee hours of the morning. Around 2 am, when I called Raef, within seconds I could hear him sprinting my way. He zoomed across the driveway, into the garage, through the laundry room, and into his pet taxi. As I slowly approached the taxi he growled at me like a rabid animal with a serious Napoleon complex. I said, “Goodnight Raef,” and closed his taxi door. I even locked it because I wasn’t 100% sure he wouldn’t try to slit my throat in my sleep. He & I continued to play a slightly different version of this game every night that entire first week.

During the weekend of that first week I received a phone call from the home owner’s realtor letting me know that they would be coming by early next week to show the house. The first thought I had when I heard this was, “Ok, I gotta make sure I’m home when they get here so I can put Raef on a leash.” The second thought I had was, ”How the heck am I going to get Raef on a leash?!” The day the realtor arrived Raef greeted them, and their client, barking and snapping like only his congenial self could. To this day I’m not really sure how this worked, but somehow by the grace of God I managed to sneak up behind him and attach a leash to his collar with out having to sedate him.

Once Raef was on the leash I took him down the long driveway and headed west along a quiet gravel road. Raef didn’t know where we were going, but he was extremely determined to get there way before I did. His blind determination was causing him to slowly asphyxiate himself. He tried to run as fast as he possibly could in any, and every, direction, but his diminutive 20 lb. frame was incapable of altering my pace. At one point during the walk I completely stopped and said, “Listen Raef, we’re going to stay on this road. We’re not going to chase cows, cats, or squirrels. We’re not going to dig in brush piles. We’re not going to run a 4 minute mile. We’re going to walk, and it’s going to be a lot less painful for you if you’d just chill out and slow down a little bit.” I started walking again, while Raef resumed his attempt at a frantic pace. Eventually Raef started foaming out the mouth. No matter what I tried Raef simply would not stop trying to run. Finally, Raef collapsed…

After my initial, “Crap, I just killed the dog…” statement, I knelt down next to him, and started petting him. Raef laid there in the road panting like crazy while I talked to him quietly and tried to calm him down. I bet I spent 30 minutes sitting in the middle of the road waiting for Raef’s spirit to return to his body. Shortly after the realtor’s car left the driveway Raef decided to stand up and start looking around. He & I walked back to house in unison like nothing had ever happened. He was completely 100% OK.

From that day on I was Raef’s new best friend. Every night when I’d call him, he would come running. Instead of running straight to his taxi, he’s leap right into my lap on the couch. I’m pretty sure he and I watched “Regarding Henry” four times that week. Eventually, I was even able to take him on walks without putting him on a leash because I knew he’d come when I called, and he did. If he was snooping somewhere he wasn’t supposed to be I would call his name, followed by a stern “NO,” and he’d leave it alone.

I don’t know if Raef ever could have learned to trust me with out me almost killing him first, but it sure seems like it would have been a whole lot easier for him if he had.

Sometimes I think we all learn a lot like Raef.  

[Excerpt from the film Tommy Boy]

Tommy: [Trying to copy his father’s quote] Hey, I’ll tell you what. You can get a good look at a butcher’s a$$ by sticking your head up there. But, wouldn’t you rather to take his word for it?
Mr. Brady, Customer: [confused] What? I’m failing to make the connection here.
Tommy: No, I mean is, you can get a good look at a T-bone by sticking your head up a butcher’s a$$… No, wait. It’s gotta be your bull.
Richard: [embarrassed] Wow.

[saying it correctly]
Tommy: I can get a good look at a T-bone by sticking my head up a bull’s a$$, but I’d rather take a butcher’s word for it.

………………………………………………………………………………………………

I was talking on the phone with my mother a couple of days ago when she was kind enough to remind me of this parable:

“A man is on top of a roof during a great flood.  A person comes by in a rowboat and says “get in, get in!”  The man on the roof replies, “No I have faith in God, he will grant me a miracle.”

About the time the water reaches the mans waist a person piloting a motorboat comes by and tells him to get in their boat.  The man responds that he has faith in God and God will give him a miracle.  Once the water is about chest high, an even bigger motorboat comes by and offers to rescue him, but he turns down the offer again because, “God will grant him a miracle.”

With the water at chin high, a coast guard helicopter throws down a ladder and they tell him, “Grab a hold!”  Mumbling with the water in his mouth, he again turns down the request for help.  So he drowns…

He arrives at the gates of heaven and says to St. Peter, “What happened? I put my faith in God and He let me drown!”  St. Peter responds, “We sent you three boats and the flipping coast guard!  What more did you want!?”

How often do we pray for miracles when all we probably need to do is use a little common sense?  Sometimes, we (myself included) make things way more complicated than they need to be.