Early December Update

Wendi goes in tomorrow (Tues. Nov. 27) early for knee replacement, myself her main nurse the next couple of months (pray for us both plz!) and of course physical rehab for several months.

Hope (if you’re in the U.S.) your Thanksgiving was as sweet as ours!

Knowing we’d be doing her knee opp. right after Thanksgiving we decided to get our Christmas decorations up the day after, so yahoo, earliest ever! These are but a little taste of ’em.

My book project is moving along, the new solo blues project a bit on the back burner along with appearances until end of January re. my needing to help Wendi.

When I can I’ll update here and via my Twitter and Facebook accounts. I have a couple of blogs I’d written earlier in the past several months and can tweak them a bit and send ’em up when I have a spare moment. The real issue for me is sleep because in these times Wendi tends to need a lot of attention and neither of us gets much due to the pain she has to navigate.

Please know- we are both super grateful she can get relief on the other side of these operations as we’ve seen it re. the first three!

And here comes Advent! CHRISTmas! Yes! So we will enjoy Him and the holidays with family as she’s able.

I have a plan for 2019 involving more appearances within short driving distances of Illinois state prisons as I’m convinced I must do a lot more of those in this new year. I’ll put that post up later.

We’ve had our first serious snow (last night) and it’s quite beautiful outside at the moment 🙂

Many thanks for your prayers -and may you and yours know the peace of the Prince of Peace in this season!

As always, thanks for stopping by! -Glenn

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THANKSGIVING 2018- St. Wendi

Yes, I indeed live with a saint.

At the time of this writing we’ve shared ups and downs, the highest heights and some of the lowest valleys of life together going on 47 years. We were both 19 years old when we married and are both 65 as I write.

Some of what I’m saying here will greatly relate to some of my readers, some not at all -and some will relate in your future. I put it out in love and testimony, for reflection and hopefully growth.

Wendi was sexually abused by her pastor grandfather, uncle (who became a pastor later) and pastor father. The first two (two-week episode) did this when she was very young, the second when in her teens.

As she came to saving faith in Jesus she forgave them and over the years only rarely has allowed the incredible pain and side-affects rob her, us, or others of her compassion, grace and servant heart of love.

Over a span of three years she (we) lost her incredible mother (Dawn- amazing Mom, Mom-in-law, friend, mentor, pastor, teacher, encourager, example) and father-in-law (Curt- see what I just said about her Mom!).

Wendi went from stages all over the world fronting (with me) Rez Band, recorded 16 records sharing love, grace, truth, deliverance into thousands of lives via song lyrics, after-show chats and prayers, countless interviews and articles as well as blog posts via now-defunct Cornerstone Magazine and online, teaching brilliant, honest biblical and practical seminars on relationships, dating and sexuality for years at the now defunct Cornerstone Festival. The woman is quite the theologian and more than scholar, example of her beliefs.

She has been and remains a giving, loving servant who can cook your shoes -and you will LOVE the flavor when she’s done!- creating memorable holidays and everyday meals, special occasion care, child-raising and baby-sitting for our family (several kids!) and grandchildren (a lot more kids!) time and again.

In our band years she traveled the world and hit the stage with rock ‘n roll passion and beauty like very few I’ve ever witnessed -and most nights doing so with little sleep due to itineraries.

During those years to the present she dealt with asthma and recurring muscle cramps, excruciating pain, vertebrae issues, a broken leg, and two high-risk pregnancies.

For the past twenty or so years she’s dealt with a form of crippling arthritis along with these other ailments and we are about to attend to her final major joint replacement, her having had both hips and one knee fully replaced due to extreme pain via arthritis, now comes her final full knee replacement.

Meanwhile she’s had to live with me through all of this…

For whatever love and grace and servanthood I can manage, the fact is that her main love language is Service. I’d be lying to say that’s mine, but I’m still learning and growing, hopefully, in these latter years of our journey towards heaven.

Now where did I read “By love serve one another”? I’m still working on this, believe me!

Here’s the deal:

Living with a gorgeous, loving woman of God with so much wisdom, so many talents and such a daily ready-to-help-and-nurture heart and practical service life is CONVICTING as well as stimulating to an often self-centered, sometimes complaining and on occasion deer-in-the-headlights-what-do-I-do-now?!! person… like me!

She has suffered (like many reading this and many who will in time) chronic pain like I’ve never thus far. She has done so with deep faith in a loving, gracious heavenly Father, an enduring trust in and love for the God Who IS Love, trusting in His compassion for her and family in a sinful, fallen, imperfect, pain-laced world.

Wendi is a constant reminder to me of what an authentic, loving, compassionate CHRIST-FOLLOWER can and should be.

Is it always easy, fun, a joy-ride living with such a saint?

Am I in every moment sufficient in expressing God’s love and practical help and grace to her in her needs?

Do we not share in the joys and beauties as well as deep disappointments and at times excruciating pains of this world sharing life together?

In order, sadly no and no -and gratefully YES. Thankfully yes 🙂

What… no WHO am I most thankful for this Thanksgiving (and always)?

-For Jesus Christ and the Very BEST gift He ever brought into my life: my Wendi.

As always, thanks for stopping by! -Glenn

 

Make a License Plate Guitar

A friend recently asked for input on this, so here’s just one recipe for using an old plate as the top (face) of a 1, 2 or 3 string (of course you could make it a 6’er) slide (again, could add frets if you wished) guitar.

Note, I’ve not added tool list and etc., nor directions on how to create a bridge or nut (those 2 pieces the strings cross over at bottom and top before entering tuners) nor tailpiece (the thingee you secure the strings with/in at the bottom of guitars) but going to http://www.cigarboxnation.com and simply searching for that info. or even looking at the many photos you can get it pretty easily.

This is one I made years ago, play on occasion in concert and never fully finished. My daughter had an old busted shelf she asked me to toss and as I was headed to the dumpster got inspired. Never even cut the extra glue away from the “nut”, over-compensated for the width of the plate, etc., etc.. Sounds cool, plays great!

Christmas is coming, who knows, you may want to try building one. If it works out gift someone -if not, keep it and re-do, fix up and just have fun!

As always, thanks for stopping by. -Glenn

A LICENSE PLATE GUITAR RECIPE

Measure plate, create 4 wooden sides as deep as a cigar box or however thick you wish the “body”, and cut them to match length and width of your license plate

Those 4 wooden sides would best be between 1/4 and 1/2 in. thick because in that thick part of the sides is where you’ll screw the plate into place as the “top” or “face” of the guitar

Create either a 1 or even 2 piece wood bottom which you can eventually glue or screw into place when the rest of the guitar is finished – or use another plate for the bottom, or even leave it totally open-backed -your choice

Use good wood glue and clamps to assemble the 4 wooden sides making sure they’re set even (place plate to be sure before gluing/clamping up) and to thoroughly dry

Pre-drill through plate in at total of about 10-12 inside edge spots all around (perhaps 4 places per each long side and 2 or 3 places up top where neck will join frame and 2 or three on bottom end as well

When glued wood is fully set consider what you’ll use for a neck, measure, pencil, then carefully cut away the 2 wood slots you’ll need to embed the neck into the top of frame

Finishing that, insert neck flush into both slots and if building the typical way where we allow the neck to stick out 2 inches or so below bottom of guitar, pre-drill the 1, 2 or 3 holes for string slots

Pre-drill starter holes right through plate holes you’ve already drilled and slowly screw small round-headed wood screws through plate holes affixing the license plate to the frame

There are lotsa ways to create some sort of tailpiece or just use bottom of neck as per my mention of it above

There are tons of ways to create a bridge and nut, again, see http://www.cigarboxnation.com for that and all things related to building, tuning and so on -and no, I don’t work for ’em, just love Ben, Shane and the folks and what they offer including more parts than you can imagine

You can pre-drill and screw 2 tiny screws right through the license plate and into the neck to hold the neck in place

Regardless  of how you build and use some sort of bracing or not, acoustic tone in my view has more to do with string gauges, reflection off the plate itself and actual bridge and nut material and placement of bridge than any other factors

There are a number of ways to add a pickup and this of course will completely affect the tone via an amp or p.a.

Lastly, the license plate needs to be firmly screwed into the slides and bottom to avoid buzzing -and that can also occur unless the strings are nice and tight going over whatever you use for a bridge

A last-resort but easy fix for any plate buzz is placing tiny metal or even thin rubber washers under the screw heads that hold the plate against the wood

-Glenn Kaiser

“Blessing”?

I woke up this morning with one thought: There is a massive world (perhaps lifetime) of difference between us asking God to “Bless what I do!” and God saying “Do what I bless!”

In terms of theology an extreme Calvinist may blow it in thinking most every desire was predestined and the plan of God for their life while an extreme Arminian may wrongly decide most any desire was automatically a matter of their sin nature and therefore God couldn’t be stirring them to do X, Y or Z. Extremes -false balances which are not balanced in the first place.

Plenty of Christians are troubled by Paul’s comments in his first letter to the church in Corinth. But before we look at that, have a look at this:

Unless the LORD builds the house, They labor in vain who build it; Unless the LORD guards the city, The watchman keeps awake in vain. -Psalm 127.1

I suspect this was in apostle Paul’s mind as he wrote about the people exalting and putting down leaders in their church. In fact the entire chapter is written to help them think that through, the folly of glorifying one Christian leader over another when all were dependent on the grace and work of God for anything to be of significance much less part of God’s plan. Some of Paul’s conclusions are what may upset us when he writes in 1 Cor. 3:

11 For no man can lay a foundation other than the one which is laid, which is Jesus Christ.
12 Now if any man builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw,
13 each man’s work will become evident; for the day will show it because it is to be revealed with fire, and the fire itself will test the quality of each man’s work.
14 If any man’s work which he has built on it remains, he will receive a reward.
15 If any man’s work is burned up, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire.
16 Do you not know that you are a temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?
17 If any man destroys the temple of God, God will destroy him, for the temple of God is holy, and that is what you are.

“No big deal, I’m saved by Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross, HE justifies me, not any sort of “works” I do. I cannot be saved by my works!” All true- except the “No big deal” part. In this part of his letter Paul isn’t talking about how he, Apollos or those in the church at Corinth were being (or not being) saved.

Any concept of “God doesn’t care about what I decide, what I build, what I do with my life while in this world” is in many, many biblical texts just not true. On the other hand the idea we can simply make whatever choice we like best because we like it or like the idea of it therefore God is cool with it so “just go for it”… nada.

At this very intersection many who one professed being Christians no longer will. Their will versus His will is the issue.

Some will argue “Glenn, this text is all about eternal rewards, nothing more, not about our relationship to God in Christ” and I’ll say I disagree. Read Psalm 127.1 again. Vanity is selfishness at core. It is worse than ignorance because it is arrogant. Such is never God-serving but self-serving. Vanity, the fact something is foundationally vain means it’s about US, not Him. The motivating factor -or in this case person… is not the Lord of me… or in another sense, it IS the “lord of me”… it’s me, myself taking the place of my true and eternal Lord Jesus Christ.

Granted, not every choice, not every road we take, not every mission, ministry or area of service we work at in or outside the church or mission field is a matter of drawing closer to or farther from the One we call our God… or is it?

At what point might are we possibly separating our relationship with Him from our choices, daily labor? This is a massively important matter because that relationship is core and more essential to what we pursue in life. Just as many have stated, our character is more important than what we do -equally true is that our relationship to Him trumps our works. To therefore conclude what we do with our time and life isn’t important to Him is patently false.

Back to theology very briefly.

Both extremes (Relax cuz it’s all the will of God vs. Freak out cuz nearly nothing is His will) or even fretting over our eternal rewards is in my view, folly, useless, even besides the point. In reality such focus on rewards rather than relationship with God is likely more of a rampant individualistic, capitalistic worldview than based in a living relationship with Jesus.

My choices based on:

• sincere prayer, seeking the Father’s will and mind on ANY major decisions I make
• studying and applying HIS Word rather than my desires to careers, hobbies and you-name-it
• getting sage advice from godly folks who know Him and know me and willingly speak the truth in love to me as I make decisions about my life and paying attention to His voice in these 3 areas as well as via:
• practical doors opening and closing
• even the supernatural (dreams, visions, prophetic utterance)

-though I’ll tell you that last area is one I’m extremely careful  with.

This is how I’ve lived out my days. This is how God’s grace in planning and decision-making has come my way and I’m convinced it has kept me from adding to the (already long list) wood, hay and stubble I’m certain I have also produced next to the gold, silver and precious stone service He has performed in my life.

Again, verse 15 is clear- this is NOT about salvation but it IS about our works while on this earth. There is no escaping the fact God cares deeply about our choices. Are they HIS or ours? Do we seek Him and to the best of His confirming information (see those bullet points above) sense His voice and direction or are we simply spreading fingerpaint on someone’s wall because we have access to the paints and the wall, in truth because we “just feel like it”? Gold, silver, precious stones or wood, hay, stubble?

I’ve not only made mistakes but sinned and every day must trust Jesus alone for my sense of peace with God, salvation, eternal destiny with the Father and all the saints. At the same time it’s not simply a shrug and “who cares?” attitude I take as I pray and make choices about what to do with my time and life.

May God grant you and I grace to pay attention and not overlook or worse, ignore what HE deems important in our life decisions.

Jesus Christ is my Savior -and it is His will and mine that He is also actively my Lord!

As always, thanks for stopping by. -Glenn

End of The Road

Thinking of Autumn and Winter today. So here’s a little something I wrote several years ago. As always, thanks for stopping by! -Glenn

AT THE END OF THE ROAD glenn kaiser

put on your cap

take this path or that

follow the sun or the wind

let the mood flow

go where you go

and sooner or later my friend

all things stop

the harvest of the crop

it all gets added up

all things sleep

the soul runs deep

here it comes ready or not

time winds down

country or town

sun sets over the hill

moving or still

no matter the will

all returns to the ground

at the end of the road

there’ll be no turning around, no no

at the end of the road

Veteran’s Day 2018

I offer heartfelt thanks to all U.S. Veterans on this day. As I often say, like you, I did not order each deployment and have not always agreed with the suffering so many faced with such, but I Thank you and your families for your sacrifices and service.

I wish you the Peace of the Prince of Peace Jesus Christ!

“The soldier above all others prays for peace, for it is the soldier who must suffer and bear the deepest wounds and scars of war.” – General Douglas MacArthur

As always, thanks for stopping by. -Glenn

A Core “Christian”(!) Hypocrisy

One key argument I regularly hear is how professing Christians call others out on the basis of shirking responsibility -and by this absolve themselves of personal responsibility.

“They’re just reaping what they’ve sown” seems to equal “Don’t ask me to do anything to help them, it’s not my job.”

Uhhhhh, except Jesus says it is on several levels but hey, let’s find an exit while judging and blaming others for supposedly taking one?! This is not only painting a lot of “those people” with a wide brush, judging “according to the flesh” but worse, it’s hypocrisy wrapped in “christianese”, religious language that fully ignores a ton of Jesus’ Own Word about how we treat our neighbor, even our enemies.

Yeah I know, I’m an old school, Greek-based modernist so logic and binary thought processes count me out… see, you may have just done what I’m talking about.

That “None is righteous, not even one.” still fits us all. But for the grace and mercy of God… but for our trusting in Him and that grace and mercy, humbly receiving and SHARING these with others, we each often share in the very blame we cast.

Mercy is the need: for each of us! CHURCH: how are we doing in extending what we want to reap?

As always, thanks for stopping by. -Glenn

Chicago Cigarbox Guitar Festival 2018 Report

It was another extravaganza-cool event by my friend Brian Rogan and volunteers in a great venue. What a cast of players, builders and fans at the Friendly Tap in Berwyn, Illinois!

Great atmosphere, response of crowd at both stages and just general cool peeps as usual at these affairs. That night a bit of rain and some wind blew in on the streets but it was sure enough cookin’ inside!

Here are a few pics -and if you happen to be a Facebook friend you’ll find a live clip of my last couple songs of the night from Brian’s smartphone on my timeline. Or- via the Tube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CGczLQK5pq4

Finally meeting up with Stacy Puckett and yet another friend -major harp-ologist Jeff Stone who tore it up with new friend, brilliant bluesman Mississippi Gabe Carter, all of this was a real treat!

There’s talk of extending things next November including perhaps a cigarbox git building workshop and such… stay tuned 🙂

As always, thanks for stopping by! -Glenn

Falling Leaves, Lives?

Sitting in one of my happy places looking at the burning bush just outside our window.

It’s autumn again, and only God knows how many left for any of us- time to give thanks (always is!!!) for breath, life and grace to experience it. U.S. Thanksgiving Day coming around again the end of the month.

Years ago a friend (rightly so) told me I all-too-often talked about where I’d come from, what we Christians call our “testimony”. He was correct in that I go to that all too often when I speak and of course I do not always mention it either.

When I’m in front of people behind bars and various other groups I find it important because of course addictions are massive most anywhere you go in our time -and that’s where I came from back in the day.

Like the beauty of the fall colors, the world keeps turning, temptations keep coming and we either turn down dark streets with next to zero light not knowing or not caring where we’re going… sometimes thinking in a quite mis-guided sort of faith that we’re “bullet proof”.

Then the day comes the leaves are off the trees and it’s freezing, we’re outside of everything without a coat, hat, gloves or a fire, without anyone to help us survive much more experience love, peace and warmth.

One of the most distressing things for we who hit such walls in life (often self-induced but not always completely via our own stupid choices) is when those who claim to love God and express on some level, His love, we find harsh, aggressive and condemning attitudes, words and facial expressions.

Why would anyone want to hang around such people? What “fragrance of Christ” comes from such a person, at least when they’re in that mode? I mean, they may love dogs (so did Hitler it seems) but is it “Good News” or “you piece of filth -you’re garbage and that’s what I think of you”?

It’s one thing to bring tough, needed words, to call for repentance (to turn around, fully going the other way) and faith in the Lord, another to blast, jerk and without genuine care and compassion just unload on someone “in His name”! Trust me, I’ve been guilty of it and hope to have grown in spiritual maturity and simple kindness over time. “Mercy triumphs over judgment” says the Book many claim to follow.

Also- I am not by myself “the church”. The very term at core has to do with “us”, “we”, that is people and not only individuals who have been found, seek and follow the risen Savior Jesus Christ as our Lord. Organized as you may or may not wish isn’t the point though some of us in our foolishness, ignorance or “superior intellect”, perceived “revelation” and such may deem it so.

You may not even believe in Him or consider a relationship of love and trust in Jesus an impossible myth. There are many reasons why people end up in that mental/emotional place and therefore take such a position of  unbelief as truth.

One of them of course is the lack of genuine self-giving love nor even simple kindness in their experience with of those of us who constitute “church” or “Christianity”.

Kindness has taken me a lifetime to even begin to channel, and indeed I believe it to be God the Holy Spirit, Jesus Christ my Lord and God the Father Who “works and wills in me” to do His good pleasure including growth in the very things I’m writing about.

My “good pleasure” isn’t always even close to good… and very nearly killed me back in the day. Self-righteousness and harsh “put ’em in their place”… “MUST WIN the argument” stances are not virtues, no way near evidence of God working in our lives, nor through us in “ministry” to others!

As we approach election season here in the U.S. and just witnessed yet another mass murdering of “the other”, this time congregants in a Pittsburg, PA Jewish Temple -these thoughts have come to mind.

We all crucified Jesus as it were. Our sins. Our lack of love. Our demand to “have OUR way”.

The beauty of autumn is that after it comes winter and eventually another spring. Jesus said “I AM the resurrection and the life” and I am convinced He indeed IS exactly these and so much more.

“Church” is simply any two or more assembled Christ-followers (called-out ones) who in humility and grace seek and follow Jesus and His teachings. Church is comprised of all who believe in heaven as well as currently on earth, the “church universal” as theologians put it.

It is how I, how we confessing Christians love (or do not love) our neighbor that comes to mind nearly every day of my life.

All the “sound doctrine” of the church exists that we might mature into deeper, more authentic, sacrificial lovers of God and truly love our neighbor as ourself.

The repeating question is “How are we doing church”? It should and must be continually asked!

By the grace and love of God, in our interactions both with those around us in and far beyond the church, may we one day hear the answer to this and like questions:

“Well done good and faithful servant, enter into the joy of your Lord”!

As always, thanks for stopping by. -Glenn