The Desperate Need for Accountability
How Impossible it Seems to be Found
Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay
Ac.count.a.bil.i.ty
The fact or condition of being accountable (required or expected to justify actions or decisions;) responsibility.
It is not uncommon that people are subconsciously striving for the simple desire to be held accountable. The desire to stay on top of the actions in order to maintain responsibility is exhausting, and has become even more difficult to achieve with the distractions we face in the world. Cell phones, social media, YouTube, television, and so many more technologically based distractions will often pull us away from where we need to focus.
According to several studies, technology can have several negative neurological effects including reduced attention spans, dopamine-drive rewards where we receive pleasure from simple things like social media likes, texts messages, or other alerts we may receive on our phones.
The impact technology has on our brain also includes things such as how it effects our memory, giving us an overreliance on external digital tools for information retrieval, diminishing our ability to retain and recall information. It even has been show through MRI scans that technology has show altered brain structures.
I use technology as an example not because technology itself is evil. I use it as an example because it can pull us the hardest from the responsibilities we hold in our day to day lives. For example, when the kitchen needs to be cleaned the common response has become “ill do it, after one more episode, one more TikTok video, one more meme…”
Why we need Accountability
Because we have been struct with so many distractions that draw on dopamine highs, keeping us away from the responsibilities we have, one of the best things we can do is find some form, or someone who can help us stay accountable. This can seem impossible to accomplish. Finding someone who can help stay accountable is nearly dead, because someone who commits to it often is distracted from the responsibilities of their own lives and fail to maintain their own responsibilities such as the commitment they made to hold you accountable to your own.
With each moment we have no form of accountability, we fail to maintain our responsibilities, and the quality of our careers, relationships, status of living and more continue to fall apart, little by little. It may not be major chunks that fade away, but eventually those little cuts, turn into massive tears in the fabric of living.
What is the Solution
You may be asking, “What is the solution?” and the answer no one likes, there is no one set solution for everyone, and the foundation of every solution is simply to have and maintain the conscious desire to accomplish accountability of your own actions, and responsibilities, which adds another level of responsibility in maintaining that conscious effort to remain accountable.
It is an evil, never ending loop. Here are a few common recommendations to try,
Disconnect from technology, spend a period of time fasting whether it be an hour, several hours, or even days. Whatever you need in order to reprogram your focus and regain accountability of yourself. (You will go through technology withdraws as your dopamine high crashes.)
Find someone you can be accountability partners with, remember this adds responsibility to both you and the other individual, for you BOTH to maintain in order to keep each other accountable.
Use the enemy (technology) to keep yourself accountable. Set reminders on your phone, alarms to keep you on track, and messages telling you why you want to stay on top of your responsibilities.
At the end of the day, there is no one size fit all solution (there never is).
What are ways that you use to keep yourself accountable?
Determining the Priorities of my Life
The most important decision I ever did in my life was deciding to determine the priorities of my life. Though discovering these priorities was the easiest part of this endeavor, establishing and following through was the most difficult. You learn a lot through this process, including who you can and cannot trust, who truly valued you or rather just wanted to use you, and so much more.
The most important decision I ever did in my life was deciding to determine the priorities of my life. Though discovering these priorities was the easiest part of this endeavor, establishing and following through was the most difficult. You learn a lot through this process, including who you can and cannot trust, who truly valued you or rather just wanted to use you, and so much more.
My priorities are simple. God first, me second, anything and everyone else third. The order of priorities has really been my thought in how I should address my priorities for some time, but what I have lacked is the follow through in truly treating my priorities as such.
I have gotten caught up in the mindset of doing anything and everything to impress others, which often meant lacking in the ability to say no, and always submitting to what someone else wanted even if it was not something I wanted to do, invest in, or felt was the healthiest for me to pursue.
I would often claim to set boundaries, sometimes the simplest such as a regular sleep schedule, but the moment something came up that seemed like it may be, “fun” or it was something that “they” wanted to do, I would crumble and sacrifice that precious sleep that my body so desperately needed.
We’re Not Perfect…
Now it should go without saying that there are times in which our priorities will need to shift for a moment. While yes I am doing better in trying to establish my day in starting off with time with God, whether this is in prayer, reading His word, fasting, or meditation, there are obviously days where that just doesn’t happen. Something simple such as Dexter (My Labrador) needs to go outside earlier then normal for the beginning of his day. Maybe I woke up with a migraine and the last thing on my mind is spending time with God, but rather how fast I can get to the tylenol. Or maybe you have those days where you receive a call for help such as your brother being in a motorcycle accident, that makes you shift your priorities just a little bit.
This is okay. It happens. That is called life, and we are FAR from perfect. I choose not to seek perfection, but rather to do my best, and when I make a mistake in not following my priorities and it was something that I did have control over, I learn from it and try to make changes to avoid the same mistake again (guess what sometimes that same mistake happens several times before I find the right change).
What Happens When You Follow Your Priorities?
When we follow our priorities, it feels amazing, and it can also be miserable at the same time, especially in the beginning. When we choose to take care of ourselves that often involves us having to say no, putting our foot down in enforcing that no when they don’t believe that we are actually stepping away. Finding out how horrible of a person we are because we don’t want to go out drinking and partying every night anymore, and waking up hung over before work every morning. We’ve established we don’t want to work the just barely over minimum wage, office job and want to take the time to invest in establishing a well built career for ourself, which means investing our time in better places then getting wasted after work everyday.
We don’t make ourselves available to “help” others, in ways of letting them use us and our truck to go get another gallon of beer, move another couch, or go on another road trip to help them forget another break up. We refuse to settle in to the world of insanity, of performing the same action over and over again. We want change, which means we are stepping out of our comfort zone, and doing new things, doing something different.
Sadly this introduces us to discover who are true friends are, or just how many we truly lack in having. When you don’t have the friend that supports your goals, dreams, and ambitions because they don’t think you can do it, and believe that the first few weeks of effort you put in will end because you arn’t smart enough, or don’t have the ability, skills, knowledge, or intelligence to do it. They don’t want to support you because it will make you move a step ahead in something in their own life, something they don’t want to put forth the effort to do in their own. When you decide the bros night isn’t for you anymore, it makes you a horrible individual that doesn’t love them anymore, or makes you never a true friend because how dare you put your own well being first.
Setting your priorities is easy, initiating your priorities hurts, maintaining them is exhausting, the reward of them is a blessing.
Never Give Up
So let this be a simple message to you. Everyones priorities are different. The ones I share are very general. God first, me second, anything and everyone else, third. But that simplicity gives me the general wisdom of when I face different situations every day to give me a foundation in which to base my decision of in how to approach or deal with the differing decisions I must make everyday.
Is it for God? Is it for me? Is it for someone else? Do I have the time to invest in this? Is it of value to invest in this? Where would investing in this lead to?
Does it follow my foundation of priorities which my life is already invested in to?
God first. Me second. Anything, and everyone else, Third.
Creativity is Instant…
Development is an Investment.
How it flows, like a smooth river resulting from the roaring waterfall of thoughts, ideas, suggestions… Creativity is a pure, clean, valuable state of ideas. The ability to capture ideas in our mind, and present in a wide variety of opportunities for the rest of the world to see, enjoy, and love in their own unique ways.
Creativity is the ability to generate new and original ideas or solutions, those which may be influenced by experiences, by influences, or motivations in which one has in their life. It involves using imagination and thinking in a way that helps to produce something that is both new and valuable. In this way, creativity is instant, the idea is immediate.
With this creativity can be manifested in a variety of forms from artistic expression to problem-solving and innovation. Forms of taking the thoughts of creativeness from ones mind and making it presentable to others in a visual form include painting, writing, composing music, designing, producing media, writing a book, and so many artistic forms of creativeness. It can be used in problem-solving such as developing a new marketing strategy, designing an efficient workflow, or finding a solution to a complex scientific problem. It can be using to create a unique recipe, finding a new way to organize your space, or devising a clever solution to a minor inconvenience. It is through the investment of time, and resources, that the presentation of creativity is born.
In essence, creativity is a fundamental human capacity that allows for the generation of ideas and solutions, driving progress and enriching our lives in various ways.
Creativity holds significant value. It’s not just about artistic expression but also about developing essential skills like critical thinking, adaptability, and open-mindedness. Creativity enhances our ability to find novel solutions, adapt change, and connect with others on a deeper level.
Creativity is instant. Development is an investment.
How are you creative?
The Heart of Worship
Originally Shared on Medium: Jul 30, 2025
The Loss of Prayer
I recently had to make the hard decision to step back from co-leading a night of worship due to realizing I had overbooked myself not in the sense of their being too much on my calendar, but more in the sense of my physical health was already feeling overwhelmed from the hot and humid, mid-western days, plus the allergy battles I was constantly dealing with as the combination began to trigger severe asthma attacks sometimes several times a week.
On top of all of this I had a surgical procedure involving getting my right shoulder replaced (a procedure I already had done once with my left shoulder, and would soon be happening with both of my hips shortly after), that was putting my level of overwhelmingness physically at a severely high level that if I Was not careful could end up triggering a severe seizure response from my body. Something I did not want to push myself into doing. So I spoke with the co-leader, and we agreed to have another one of the members of this event step up and take my place.
The Frustration of This Setback
Needless to say this triggered some frustration inside of me. You see I use to severe on several worship teams across ministries, churches, and in other means. But with several physical, mental, spiritual, and relational issues that I had at one point faced I walked away not only from worship ministry, but I also walked away from music for nearly a decade. The co-leader of this worship event had done some decent work in getting me to even consider returning to the music life, though this started out by me helping them publicize their first written song by playing drums for them at an event at their church. I then proceeded to take on the role of being their producer for their first single (which as of writing this is still being produced).
That frustration for me though was the fact that I had indeed moved back into the music world. I forgot how much I loved it, how much it meant to me, and how much in ministered, counseled, and was therapeutic to me directly. My love of music not just in listening, but also in playing had been rebooted, re-fertilized, and grown strong, and quickly through the weeds that once held it back. This frustration, was having to step back from this event, which would of been the first time I would of led worship since the strike I went on sometime ago. This didn’t just frustrate me, it also opened up my mind to God reminding me what it truly means to worship, not just from the church perspective, not just the biblical perspective, but how it worked and what it meant with my relationship with God directly.
How Worship Works for Me
If I were to address to the church how worship worked for me and what it resulted in for me, I would say this:
“Worship is more than just singing. If you are here today and are just singing during service because that is what everyone else is doing. You are not worshiping, you are simply going through the motions of looking like you belong. In Matthew it is made clear that Worship is not just singing, but it is an action. It is to love God with all of your heart, mind and soul. In Romans it talks about how worship is to is the idea of offering our bodies as living sacrifices, meaning that what we do with our bodies, the actions we take, the words we speak, when done for God’s glory, is worshipping Him.
Worship is a response to the character and actions of God, acknowledging His ways, His Truth, His light, and that all He does though we may not understand it, is an action of Grace Love, Mercy, and His Glory. Worship through external actions (such as singing) is not alone Worship. Our Worship needs to be combined with our inner-self. Our Worship is aligning our affections, our thoughts, and our actions with God’s will in showing and surrendering to Him our love, our sacrifice, our strengths, our actions, EVERYTHING!”
Prayer with Praise & Worship
I truly believe that Praise and Worship are of lesser value without prayer. Yes, there is a time to acknowledge God with affirmations of faith, and acknowledgment to God, and the generalization of surrender to Him is of value too.
Prayer is directly communicating to and with God.
We pray / speak with God when we are showing Him adoration, the action of expressing reverence, love, and awe.
We pray / speak with God when we confess that which we need to seek forgiveness for, our thoughts, and actions.
We pray / speak with God when express gratitude to God for His love, mercy, gracy, and blessings.
We pray / speak with God when we are seeking protection, and strength.
We pray / speak with God when we are praying for others, whether it be for healing, blessings, direction, protection, and deliverance .
When we are worshipping, we are praying, so why do we not combine the direct intention of the two as they are meant to be? Are we not speaking to God both in our praise or worship to Him, as we do when we have a conversation with Him?
The Fear of Prayer as a Conversation
I believe the the biggest reason why prayer has become so weak and detached from being recognized as a form of praise, and worship is because we fear recognizing prayer as a form of conversation. Within this form of conversation with God there is several types of prayer that often go unnoticed today, that only a few pastors have I ever heard acknowledge when teaching.
Multiple Forms of Prayer
Pastor Kurt Barnes explains how Elijah gives us a good example of the several ways in which Prayer is like:
Word-Based Prayer
“Elijah’s prayers were rooted in God’s promises. Both the drought and its end were foretold in Deuteronomy 11, where God warned of the consequences of idolatry and promised restoration upon repentance. When we pray according to God’s Word, we align ourselves with His will and purposes.”
Spirit-Led Prayer
“Though God had promised rain would return after repentance, the timing was not specified. Elijah discerned through the Spirit that now was the moment. As believers today, we have the Holy Spirit to guide our prayers and give us insight into God’s timing and purposes.”
Unglamorous, Slow, and Persistent Prayer
“This is perhaps the most overlooked aspect of Elijah’s prayer. While the contest on Mount Carmel was public and dramatic, the prayer for rain was private and persistent. Elijah bowed low to the ground, his face between his knees, and prayed repeatedly. Seven times he sent his servant to look for signs of rain before the smallest cloud appeared. This kind of prayer is often unseen, unglamorous work that requires perseverance and faith.”
Audacious Prayer
“Even when the first tiny cloud appeared, Elijah acted with bold faith. He sent word to Ahab to prepare for a deluge, demonstrating unwavering confidence in God’s answer. This audacity culminated in Elijah outrunning Ahab’s chariot to Jezreel — a supernatural demonstration of God’s empowering strength.”
The actions of Prayer in which Elijah executed, brought Praise and Worship to God, in Elijah’s obedience, and faith in which he practiced.
Prayer and Fasting
Pastor Phillip Anthony Mitchel discusses the importance of prayer, and recognizing that we are called to pray often, and for long periods of time, and in fasting which often goes mis-defined and practice out of context.
“…Fasting is not just getting rid of things such as social media, that is a lazy fast. Fasting is not just getting rid of music, that is a punk fast. Biblical fasting is the abstinence of from food for a period of time for the sake of consecrating the heart to grow closer to God through prayer. It is not a hunger strike. It is the denial of the thing the flesh wants most. Food and pleasure. No food, no sex. No food, no social media. No food, no fill in the blank. It is telling the flesh ‘I have authority over you! And I will deny you what you want most for a period of time. I will weaken you so that who I really am, a spirit inside of a body, can grow strong in intimacy with Christ.’ And when you fast, you hear God more clearly.”
The Struggle of Prayer in Life
We as children of God have become so distant to the fact that prayer is not just something we do before breakfast, lunch and dinner. Prayer is not just something we do when someone says “I need prayer I feel down today.” Prayer is not just something we do when we will the need to ask God for something. Prayer is so much more than any of that, prayer is rooted in the foundation of every aspect of our life, and yet we do not recognize it.
This is why we do not understand the concept of how the thoughts in our mind control how our future will proceed, and we do not understand that how we speak controls those thoughts, and we speak when we pray, and we are having a conversation with God when we PRAY!
Getting back into prayer can be a real honest struggle. Fear NOT, you can start simple. Pastor Phillip continues to speak about prayer stating,
“…Practice His (God’s) presence . Get visions of Him raised and visions of Him glorified, and fire in His eyes. Think about the person you are talking to, think about where He is seated. Just sit in His presence for a little while and just warm up yourself to Him… Every now and then when you go up to His presence get a flashback of where He has brought you from and to where you are today. Like man you took me Lord from dirt, You took me from the street, You took me when I was a knucklehead, You saved me. Just get a flashback of what He has done for you…”
He continues to speak about how what you may feel like was 15–20 minutes that you were skeptical you would have anything to say during, suddenly becomes and Hour or more. Because you are having a conversation, you are thanking God, you are seeing how you got from point A to point B, and are able to converse about it with Him.
Start small, and grow into longer conversations.
Honesty within prayer, explaining how you truly feel to God about your job, about your family, about your relationships, friendships, health, and so much more, speaking these things with God is one of the best ways you open up to let God speak with you, work with you, open or close doors for you. — Source
Conclusion
I could continue on and on about the importance of studying God’s worship, praise, worship, fasting, and so much more, but the key part of our lives, is to be able to pray because prayer is in the foundation of all of these things, and without prayer we will move a lot slower than we would with prayer. Because when we do not pray, we severely limit the amount of communication we have with God, and when we do not take action in multiple methods of prayer, when we choose to not fast and pray, to hear God better, to speak clearer to God, to surrender more to Him, we lose a part of our opportunity to grow closer with Him.