YONDER BREAKS

I've been spending time with some artists lately and heard one of them describe his art as a pursuit and a longing. He said that he used to think he could write a song that would sum it all up, ending the pursuit and satisfying some sort of lack in his life; but later he realized that this would never be the case, and that life would be a never ending pursuit of satiating this nondescript longing. As an artist myself, I can relate. I have an overwhelming desire to write, tell stories, make music and shoot movies; so much so that any free moment needs to be filled with one of those pursuits. What's worse, is that the ideas keep coming, but the time to flesh them out is rarely there, and so I'm left with a constant feeling that I'm behind and may never catch up. So what would happen if I never told all of those stories, or wrote all of those songs? Would the world be any worse without my art? Would I be any better or worse of a person because of it? Or is all of this j...

They say entitlement is a problem with my generation, and I believe it -- I know I've had my moments. I think you could even say that it is  more  of a problem amongst Christians. In my mind (and probably the minds of others too), this is the way it works: I serve God, the Creator of everything, and He loves me, so why wouldn't He just make everything work out in my favor? In a way, I can even support this with scripture ( Romans 8:28 ). The problem with this thinking though, is that things don't work out all the time, just the way I want them. And then what do you do? I was thinking this weekend about how nothing is ever perfect; not in a defeated, self-pitying way, but just realizing that life rarely works out 100% the way I want. For instance, I've wanted to work from home for years, and by work I mean write things I want to write, make music I want to make, shoot movies I want to shoot...and get paid for it! Well, we had a daughter this year and I was able to bec...

Have you ever been sitting in the lineup and waiting for a set when, out of nowhere, a giant bulge of water comes at you like a miniature tsunami? You're in line for a normal set, but this is something different, breaking farther out and bigger; and so you have to make a split-second decision to either paddle and beat the wave, or sit and duck dive six feet of white water. You choose Option 1: Paddle, as fast as you can! The wave is growing, becoming dark, ready to double over. You're close, just a few more strokes away! The wave crests and you thrust your board down just in time to avoid taking it on the head. When you come up on the other side of a miracle, you look back and watch boards and heads pop up in a massive pool of sea foam and whitewater, gasping for air and hoping there isn't another one on the way...but there usually is. This is the story of a standout set, my friends, and knowing how to handle these are key for a successful surf session on a big day. ...

They say  pride comes before a fall ...but they didn't mention anything about the washing machine tumult  after  the fall, followed by gasping for air and a long swim in. Last winter was a big one for me in Southern California, with waves in the 20+ foot range at some breaks. As we head into this winter, I thought I'd share a couple stories of some of the bigger days from last year, and the lessons learned past the aftermath. Surfing is a progression , and so calling a wave "big" can be a relative thing. That being said, I spent last winter paddling into progressively bigger surf, and as I had been thrashed and also conquered, my sense of what I could handle grew. And as it grew, I have to admit that a little pride creeped up in my water-logged brain.... February 2014:   Massive swell coming through . My friends and I shared bloated surf reports through texts and social media leading up to the weekend, excited for the potential glory ahead. But deep down, a tin...