Almost a year ago I asked my movie-star-song-writing buddy what the secret was to writing a great song. His answer? 

"Tell the truth…they're dying for the truth." 

For me and the rest of the Second Mile gang, the truth is we live in abundance. We don't really worry where our next meal will come from. Or if we'll die from malaria. Or if we can get clean water to drink. We worry about getting a new iPad. Or new shoes. Or updating my cell plan so I can have unlimited data. Instead of worrying about starving to death, we worry that we're too fat. 

But our friends in Kampala, Uganda have different worries. They actually NEED clean water. Food. Mosquito nets. So our plan is simple. From now thru May 20, ALL of the proceeds from CD sales will go directly to Rafiki Africa Ministries, so Joseph and Sara can care for the children in the Rafiki orphanage. Every time you download a song or purchase a $5 CD, that money will go directly to the care of the children on the right. 

Psalm 82 tells us to "Defend the weak and fatherless…the poor and oppressed", and you can participate in that! For $5, you not only get your hands on the debut Second Mile CD,  you can also help feed, clothe, immunize, educate, and take the gospel to the children of Kampala!

You can download our CD from iTunes, from Amazon Music, from CD Baby, or order a physical CD (free shipping)! 

And in case you missed it, here's the testimony video I did featuring a couple in our church community. Enjoy! 

Click here to view the embedded video.

2012 is just around the corner. What are your plans? Dreams? Goals? Aim at nothing, and you'll hit it every time. I'm reminded that there are only two kinds of pain: the pain of discipline and the pain of regret. Choose wisely, my friends.

Until December 25th, you can pick up our latest Second Mile CD, as well as a paperback copy of ‘My Beautiful Idol’ (regularly $12.99), for only $5 each. (I know. Crazy, right?!?)

You can hop over here on iTunes and give a listen to it!

And you can check out some reviews of ‘My Beautiful Idol’ .

Then you can simply click the PayPal button below and order while supplies last! (And if you have any special requests with your order, just let me know in the comments of the PayPal page…)

Click here to view the embedded video.

My wife and I were having a conversation about reconciliation. Making things right. But not just relationships in our lives or with people we know. We were talking about what it would looks like when God makes all things right. That would be nothing short of awe-inspiring. Awe-filling. 

In the most literal way…that would be awesome. 

But, of course, that has to start with me. 

So in the week that followed, we wrote a song titledLove Wins and the band recorded it on our latest CD. If you haven't heard it, you can listen to it below. (And you can order it by going here.) 

Be encouraged. When we surrender, when we tap out, Love wins. 

Love Wins

Curious? Listen –>Love Wins

You can purchase it via PayPal by clicking the 'Buy Now' link below, or

pick it up in the mall of our worship center each week!

Or you can email me at tom (at) tomcottar (dot) org and I'll snail mail you one!

 

booking/contact info: 

tom@tomcottar.org

It's been too long since I've posted…and there are many reasons for that. I'll spare you the boring details. But beginning at 8pm on June 30. I will be officially fasting from Facebook, Twitter, etc. for ten days while on vacation. 

Count 'em. Ten. 

The Cottar Crew will be UPALO (unplugged and logged off) and enjoying some sequestered time on the beach chasing waves, getting sunburned, and being silly. 

In the meantime, I hope you can take time to reboot. Recreation is re-creation. Rest is NOT a second-class use of your time. Take time to worship the Creator and enjoy His creation. I get the strong sense that, on my deathbed, my regrets won't be  the relationships of family and friends I've been blessed with! And, just for kicks, here's a sermon I gave a few weeks ago titled, "Worship: What Matters". I'd love to get your thoughts!

(Thanks to Bob Kauflin, CJ Mahaney, and Louie Giglio for helping me grow in this..). 

It is one thing to study the war.

It's another altogether to live the warrior's life. 

-Telamon of Arcadia, 5th Century mercenary

According to Steven Pressfield, author of 'The War of Art' and 'The Legend of Bagger Vance', it's the thing that 'keeps us from sitting down'. For we'd all do what we'd love to if only we'd just sit down and do it. Don't think so?

Ever quit a diet? Or quit smoking more than once? Do you own a treadmill that doubles as a clothes rack? Do you have the heart of a writer, but never write? A painter who doesn't paint? An entrepreneur who never starts a venture?

Then you know Resistance. "It's the root of more unhappiness than poverty, disease, and erectile dysfunction." (The War of Art, p.12) It deforms our spirit. Stunts our growth. Dwarfs what we were/are born to be. In all its evil, Resistance prevents us from the life God intended when He endowed us with life itself. Resistance is faster than a speeding bullet, more powerful than a locomotive and harder to kick than heroin.

Look in your heart. Some (many?)of you may have a dream of doing something else. Living a life different than what you've settled for. Unless I'm crazy, there's a voice in your head telling you, like a thousand times before, that you have a calling. No one has to tell you. You know it. But you don't quite believe it. And unless I'm crazy, you're no closer to taking action on it now than you were yesterday…or will be tomorrow. You think Resistance isn't real? Resistance will bury you.

You know, Hitler wanted to be an artist. At 18, he took his inheritance, moved to Vienna, went to the Academy of fine Arts (and to the School of Architecture). Ever seen any of his paintings?

Neither have I. Resistance beat him. My guess is that it was easier for him to start World War II than to face-off with a blank square of canvas.

What do you want to do? What calling has God put in your heart? What dream is so big, you're afraid to even say it aloud?

Talk to me.