Up and Coming Weekly is a weekly publication in Fayetteville, NC and Fort Bragg, NC area offering local news, views, arts, entertainment and community event and business information.
Issue link: http://www.epageflip.net/i/547689
JULY 29 - AUGUST 4, 2015 UCW 17 WWW.UPANDCOMINGWEEKLY.COM Fayetteville's CONCERT CONNECTION HILLTOP HOUSE 1240 Fort Bragg Rd. • 484-6699 www.hilltophousenc.com Thursday Live Music HUSKE HARDWARE HOUSE 405 Hay Street • 437-9905 www.huskehardware.com July 31 Tommy King Aug. 1 Tommy King Aug. 7 Tommy King Aug. 8 Tommy King KICK BACK JACKS 5081 Morganton Rd. • 223-7676 Friday LiveMusic THE CROWN COMPLEX 1960 Coliseum Dr. • (910) 438-4100 www.crowncomplexnc.com Aug. 14 WKML's New Artist Showcase Aug. 29 J. Cole featuring Big Sean Sept. 4 Anthony Hamilton Oct. 3 Miranda Lambert Oct. 9 WIDU Anniversary Quartet SPECIAL EVENTS Festival Park Aug.14 Army Ground Forces Band Kid's Night Concert Aug. 28 Fayetteville After 5 Two words. That's what we need to find peace. Two words. If there were a single piece of advice we could all benefit from today it would be found in those two words. Look around you – we are a culture consumed with challenging social norms, a culture where people of every age and ethnicity demand their rights and privileges, while waging street wars over our allegiance to this flag or that. We even see attempts to rewrite American history to fit the whims or perceived pain of one vocal and politically correct minority after the other. Excuse the oversimplification, but it all seems to be little more than a dis- traction from the root problem: Contentment. We have become obsessed with knowing, going, having and being more today than yesterday. The high school senior trip and 25th anniversary celebrations have been replaced by destination weddings, live entertainment at parties for our 3-year-old, and Kindergartners crossing the stage in cap and gown. Oh...I almost forgot. The advice? The two words? Be content. It's not my place to judge the difference between anyone's wants and needs, but as I watch a mother give in as a child throws a public fit because she can't have both the red and the blue shoes I wonder if anyone else can judge the difference, either. Before I wander right off the edge and into the deep end, I have to tell you — there's hope. I'd be remiss in telling you I've seen 10-too-many rebellious children stomping their feet at what they don't have without telling you true joy and peace are within reach. Problem is that too many people don't want to hear it. The solution itself has been stifled and trampled everywhere from the schoolyard to the courthouse. Its namesake has become little more than a punch line at the end of a joke, and in many cases, the subject of the joke itself. Brace yourself — it's Jesus. The hope, that is. True followers know that Jesus is far more than the judgmental picture painted by some. Nor is he a fix-all for the woes of this world. Most of what I see portrayed in TV and movies about Jesus and "church people" is simply inaccurate. The Jesus I follow is the one in the Bible. He taught principles of love for one another, peace in the face of adversity, and the power of forgiveness. Embracing those principles has given me a better and brighter outlook on life — even amid the craziness unfolding in the world around us. Living out those principles makes it easier to be honest and handle the consequences of being wrong. But that's not the whole of it. Principles alone won't make bad people good, but knowing the Jesus who taught them will. It brings people who are dead inside back to life, freeing them to love, and eliminating the need to have everything or to utterly van- quish everyone who doesn't agree with their stand. Finding Contentment by DAN DEBRULER In a world full of distractions and temptations, contentment is hard to find. DAN DEBRULER, WCLN Station Manager, Contributing Writer. COMMENTS? Editor@ upandcomingweekly.com. 910.484.6200