Chris Burkmenn's Blog

In life I am learning the dreams that are inside of me will not be achieved without the hard work it takes to get there. For each of us that will look different, and neither road will be easier. We all must overcome something to get where we are going in our life journey. You may be working a dead end job that may seem as though it will last for ever. Someone beside you may come from a family that is financially secure, but has to overcome obstacles of being discounted their entire life.  Others may be required to set their pride aside for the sake of their job. It may be assisting someone, working for free, and the list can go on. We all must walkthrough less than ideal circumstances, but the reward shall be greater than anything we had ever hoped. For the heart of a servant shall be greatly rewarded. When we seek nothing for the work we do, but just to be a light in the dark. Be the great example the world needs, and not in your own strength. Rely on the Lord, and you w...

In life I can tend to take things for granted, and one of those being my health. Something that seems to always be there in my life. Something that I don't always thank the Lord for. Most days it as though it's expected as the routine in my life. I get up in the morning and just assume that everything will go my way through the day. That I will be able to go as quickly as possible at my serving job, and be at my maximum activity level in my working out. Also composing myself to settle down for the evening to sleep. Today I was at my job in Cool Springs where I work as a server. I was going through the normal routine, when I was going much quicker on the job than I should have. When I was filling the ice tea urns, and my co worker noticed that the tea was much lighter than it should have been. Thinking to myself, I wonder what is going on. Before even wasting another moment, I quickly grabbed the basket which holds the filter and tea package. The basket was full of boili...

Image available at mattdelarosby.com  Have you ever visited the doctor and the office has been so swamped with people. Feeling as though you have been waiting for hours to see the doctor. Seating in this white room and looking through the same magazine 15 times. Even though you have already looked through it once, you are so bored you think you might have skipped something that might be worth reading. Then you sit growing very anxious to get over with this waiting, so that you can see the doctor. You begin to get frustrated because you can't help but think, what is taking so long. Tapping your leg with the overgrowing thoughts in your mind. Finally having your name called and getting up to be taken back to see the doctor. Lately my life has felt as though I am in waiting. So many things have required me to wait: Paychecks, Goals, and living situations. All things that I am unable to control, but are something that I need in order to proceed. Today I was driving when it al...

As I live I learn that my life is a work in progress. There are times when I wish that I was further than I am, but that leaves room to grow. If I was where I wanted to be right now where would I go from there. How could God work in my life to show me his amazing grace and compassion to get me there. As an actor you are constantly searching for that defining role. Something that will bring the dream to life. Most of us spend our whole life chasing it. We are all constantly on the journey to arriving who we are to be. We all have the opportunity in front of us. Each decision we make is shaping us into that person. Don't fear about making the right or the wrong decision because there is no rule book. There are guidelines and that is Bible. It's kind of like if you were a car, and you came with an instruction manual.  Giving you the understanding of how your car works, and what you need to do to take care of it. If you don't obey the rules you will still run, but you w...

Walking in the journey of my life, I am learning through everything the Lord wants to keep me humble. No matter how much success I may think I am experiencing, He constantly reminds me that nothing I have ever been given was earned in my own strength. I have walked through so pretty amazing opportunities the last 4 years of my life. Starting by stepping out in faith by moving to Nashville, and then most recently leaving my full time job to pursue my dreams of working in the industry. To make ends meet I serve at Logan's Roadhouse. It has been such an extreme blessing, and gives me the opportunity to be very flexible with working in the industry. I am able to have someone cover my shifts or request off if I know a terrific opportunity is coming. That is a true benefit of being a server. It also is a ministry in it's own right, I get to the hands and feet to Jesus. I consider it a great honor. I learn daily that no matter what I go through, people don't care. They wan...

Along the journey of your dreams, you will gain little victories that will make it worth every bit of the struggles. For me I had one the other day. Since I have moved to Nashville I have been trying to start a show of my own. The vision for what I wanted to do has stayed true, but small things have changed along the way. I was asked last month to start a webisode with Aud Co Nashville as I have discussed in past posts. The last one we taped was great content, but the video quality was nothing I could use to add to my reel. This past Tuesday September 17th we shot our second "The Chris Burkmenn Experience" with Jenn Bostic. The results blew my mind. Jenn always brings the energy everywhere that she goes. She had just arrived back to the states from the UK. What an amazing trooper she is! Jenn wasn't feeling very well, but she came and helped me anyway. She marched through her performance with flying colors, and met with everyone in a meet and greet with a big smil...

As I lay awake in bed with so many racing thoughts in my mind, the only logical thing I could thing to do was write. Lately life has been so crazy, and it's not even always that exciting. I have had so many decisions that need to be made in my life and sometimes I just don't want to make them. In my acting journey I started a new project which came out of nowhere. I work for AudCo Nashville, and we have been trying to get audience to our CMT tapings for quite sometime. People love to meet entertainers. They want to meet artists that have stories to tell, and songs to be heard. They don't really care if there famous, but they love the possibility that they could. Through that need we were able to create a webisode, and I was asked to host it. Which is so funny because in the past when I had great ideas they always seemed to fail, but this was my co-worker Mistys idea. She said that I should host a show and stream it on the internet. I thought WOW! What an incredible ...

A few week back, I entered an online contest for ABC. It was such a funny thing on how I got the information. My friend facebooked me and said she thought I should enter and gave me the link. I thought, huh why not. So I read over the contest rules and prizes. ABC was giving away a 6 month contract for $10,000 or a year contract with 25,000. I don't know if your an actor, but the possibilities that this opportunity would have were incredible. Just think, a contract with ABC studios. I mean becoming a success isn't a guarantee, but I am certain many doors would open just from signing their contract. The contest was not publicized and it was very low key so the odds of winning were ever in your favor(writing this I intentionally used the Hunger Games made me laugh.) I just truly wanted to win this because it would give me an escape of my current situation. I work at Logan's Roadhouse full time, and let me tell you it is not a very glamorous job. I know many actors can ...

The Bible mentions several times about being the least, humbling yourself and becoming a servant for the sake of Christ. Jesus set an example in the Bible because He was God in the flesh and yet, he humbled himself continually and served those around him. Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, ... -Philippians 2:5-11 This is contratary to what the world tells us that we need. The today being obcessed with youtube and finding over night success by becoming the next viral sensation. Giving us the self-gratification the by people knowing our name we are becoming somet...

As we begin our celebration of Thanksgiving, the travels to our cities or by staying where you are. The eager anticipation of being with loved ones. The feeling of gratefulness for what we have as it floods your soul. Soon coming together at the table and sharing the blessed meal, turkey, mashed potatoes, dressing, and gravy. Let us not forget the amazing pies that will be consumed. We should be in a life of Thanksgiving. Counting the wonderful blessings in our life. The air I breathe, the eyes I see with. Thank you Lord for the ability of speech. Let the thankfulness go through the year and not ended after one day. We have so much to be thankful for! As the Christmas season approaches and we all begin to spend remember the best present of that we can give is time. Time is something that we can not use it again whether it is with a loved one or serving. Whatever you decide to do with it spend it wisely.  Remember, you can earn more money, but when time is spent it's gone fore...

Through life I have come to realize this truth. Friends and Mentors have helped me to come to this realization. I hope it helps you today!

In a world where our excuse is time, and that we don't have much to give. We get to a place where we can almost become desensitized to the world around us. We tend to think that we should live our lives and we should be the only ones that are benefited from it.  I believe that we have the ability to change, to change the course set in the past. Just an excuse cannot cut it anymore. We have to stand up and say I can't go, but I can support those who have been called to go. We must do a little bit to support a bigger cause than ourself. If we were to give a little it would go so much further than giving none. I am guilty of believing that if I can't give something big then I probably can't do anything at all, but that is so not the case. $5, $10, $20 can make a world of difference in Cambodia, Thailand, Africa. Our third world countries need our help, but let us support our fellow friends and send them and support them on the call that God has placed on their lives...

Driving point to this post is that Purity paves the way to intimacy. Then the Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper who is just right for him.”  So the Lord God formed from the ground all the wild animals and all the birds of the sky. He brought them to the man to see what he would call them, and the man chose a name for each one.  He gave names to all the livestock, all the birds of the sky, and all the wild animals. But still there was no helper just right for him. So the Lord God caused the man to fall into a deep sleep. While the man slept, the Lord God took out one of the man’s ribs and closed up the opening.  Then the Lord God made a woman from the rib, and he brought her to the man. “At last!” the man exclaimed. “This one is bone from my bone, and flesh from my flesh! She will be called ‘woman,’ because she was taken from ‘man.’” This explains why a man leaves his father and mother...

As I think about my life, and reflect on all that God has given me the ability to do. So much has changed over the last couple of years, and what would make me think that things would stop changing because it is inevitable that things will continue to change. I look at my life and I am so thankful, God has given me so much and I truly believe that He has blessed me with so many amazing new opportunities! I have been blessed by my church, and the amazing family it has provided me. I have been given the ability to speak into peoples lives that I never would have thought would be possible. I am so humbled because that was never a goal for me, and yet it has blessed me beyond all words. Lately God has started to shake things up a bit for me as well, and I am still learning that I have so far to go. I am learning so much about where I am that it is crazy. But I am loving that God is providing so many people to speak into my life and stretch me so that I do not remain complacient. I ne...

How powerful something is when you believe. The miracles that are produced by Faith. The passion inside yourself when you strive to achieve great things!  I watched October Sky yesterday, and I must say it so much inspired me about dreaming. The story is about a boy that faced so many obstacles in his path towards a dream that he had. He grew up in a coal mining town where almost everyone stayed except for the Football jocks because they were given scholarships. His journey starts with one woman who believed in him more than he believed in himself, his teacher. His friends thought he was crazy, and his family did not give him much support with his fascination for rockets. Except for his mother, she believed and supported him in anything he did, much like our mothers do. His father was scared because he wanted him to take over the family legacy in the coal mining field. His dreams were put to a halt when the police said he started a fire and told him that he could no longe...