redemption

My fall in Lawrence was somewhat redeemed tonight. Congratulations to the Wildcats for their first win over the Jayhawks @ home since 1983!

My favorite text of the evening:

'Go Cats! Nobody beats us 25 times in a row!'

YEAH. THAT'S RIGHT!

worship

I've been absent from blogging. I apologize. Other good things have been filling my mind and keeping me up.

In a conversation with a friend the other day, I was reminded of the words of Don Chaffer (Waterdeep) which are found on the back of You are So Good to Me.

A few months ago, I was down at Bridgeway; Don and Lori were there having the iTunes release concert/party of their latest album, Heart Attack Time Machine. (no, this isnt found anywhere on amazon.com, and yes im sure some smartass is going to find it and post a comment about how they found it and I didnt). As Lance was coming up to teach, he turned to Don & Lori (Don had been helping lead worship that morning) and simply thanked them for who they were and their friendship with Bridgeway. He went on to say that he felt the prophets of today are the musicians, speaking truth and hope and power to the masses. As I've thought about that perspective, I've come to agree (Derek Webb & U2 quickly come to mind).


And so, may these prophetic words wash over our souls, and call us to worship from the midst of real life:

There are seasons of life in which we wake up each morning with the fulfilled dreams of victory, love, satisfaction, and resolution ringing in our ears. The morning air rushes in with the promise that anything can happen, God is nearby, and we are really loved. Worship is, at these times, a gift – a way of saying thank you. Thank you, God because whether I was aware of it or not, whether I sought You through this experience or not, I see you in it now, and I am so grateful for Your kindness toward me.

There are other seasons of life, however, whether we're comfortable with admitting it or not, in which it feels like we're at the bottom of a well- deep, dark, and muddy. In our worst moments, we can no longer see the mouth of the well, and we sometimes wonder if there even is one. Worship, at these moments in particular, becomes a rope. Even if we have no strength to climb it, our cold and lonely fingers wrapped around its braid become a symbol that we are still connected to something, someone, in the world above- the world with skies, tress, rivers, and kind people whom we miss terribly.

And then there are seasons in which we feel that perhaps nothing is terribly wrong, and nothing is terribly right. We are somewhere on the plains, in the middle of the country, looking for miles with no trees to break our view, no valleys, no mountains. We are well air-conditioned, well fed, well attended by people who neither agree with us too passionately, nor disagree with us too strongly. We are happy, we guess, but we don't think we remember how happiness feels, or whether it is what we thought it was. Worship is, at these times, a bell. It rings to remind us that life, while it may seem vapid and featureless, is truly a tremendous affair. It is birth and death, suffering and resurrection. The clear sound of that bell on the winds tells us that the lull of comfort does not mean that God is far off or irrelevant. He is always near and always in love, always holy, and always coming… He is coming. He will finish things here, and begin a new kind of kingdom- a world without end. He will reign over His subjects who have been changed to be like Him, full of love, peace, and joy forever and ever. May this King be praised. Amen.

Don Chaffer / 08.16.00 / Wichita, KS

in-breaking freedom

Last year, our prairie village house church watched Martin Luther King Jr's I have a dream speech in its entirety. Despite immense familiarity, I couldn't recall hearing all of it before.

May it remind us of latent passions for equality and peace. May we act today, this day, in forgiveness and confession. May we come together as one and bring about a better world for ourselves and the generations of our children.

my latest musical obsessions

in the last couple of months, i've gotten into the habit of sharing what i've been listening to. typically these songs come from albums i have on repeat, but the songs i share always get two or three extra plays per round.

when a song captures me, i tend to listen to it over and over. wonderful for my soul as i explore the meanings and ideas, torture for my passengers who think the song absolutely sucks.

this time around...
i've been loving Hey Jude and Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds from Across the Universe Soundtrack, but particularly, Blackbird has grabbed me:

imagination

a few days ago, i finished reading the Golden Compass. i started it saturday morning and finished it sunday evening. the ability to read quick and an airplane ride aided in my feat.

i'm not sure how i weigh in on all the fuss (then again, i haven't opened book 2 or 3: the Subtle Knife and the Amber Spyglass, respectively), but overall i really enjoyed it. in a world often stripped of imagination and wonder, i am drawn to anything that makes our eyes sparkle with possibility and reminds us that the way of humanity is not fear and self-motivated hedonism, but instead love and sacrifice.

or as C.S. Lewis reminds us in the Weight of Glory:

The books or music in which we thought the beauty was located will betray us if we trust to them; it is not in them, it only came through them, and what came through them was longing. These things - the beauty, the memory of our own past - are good images of what we really desire; but if they are mistaken for the thing itself, they turn into dumb idols, breaking the hearts of the worshipers. For they are not the thing itself; they are only the scent of a flower we have not found, the echo of a tune we have not heard, news from a country we have never yet visited. Do you think I am trying to weave a spell? Perhaps I am; but remember your fairy tales. Spells are used for breaking enchantments as well as for inducing them. And you and I have need of the strongest spell that can be found to wake us from the evil enchantment of worldliness which has been laid upon us for nearly a hundred years (emphasis mine).

my new loves.

in the last months, i've discovered my new outdoor loves. interestingly, the all start with S-N-O. nope, that's really not interesting at all.

in a particular order:
1. SNOrkeling

2. SNOwshoeing

3. SNOwboarding (a distant third)


now all i have to do is find a tropical climate that has blistering cold winters with mountains nearby. or do a lot of travel.


here's the gang snowshoeing last saturday. so amazing.

(L to R: JD, Tyler, Amanda, Me, Paul & Nicole)

i suppose i'll share my answers

Luke tagged me on this. i'm pretty certain it's blogging etiquette to comply, but I dont think this will be nearly as much fun since Luke named half the books I was thinking of on his list. I think we influence each other too much.

One book that changed your life:

the Wisdom of the Enneagram. the Power of Full Engagement. Renovation of the Heart. and, of course, the friends that introduced them to me. (yes, that is 3 books. i change rules to my advantage as much as possible.)

One book that you read more than once:

Actually, for the first time last week, I ended a book and then immediately started it over: the Challenge of Jesus. Also, the Ragamuffin Gospel is a multi-read through. It has to be.


One book that you would want on a desert island:

Probably a survival guide. This one looks adequate.


One book that made you laugh:

I am America (and so can you) and I haven't even read it. It's that good.


One book that made you cry:

Tragically, I'm not much of a crier; I'm working on it. So when my eyes get damp while reading a book... I'm basically letting it all go! I remember a story in What's so Amazing about Grace getting to me, as did some of the climaxes in the Harry Potter epic.


One book you wish you had written:

In the Name of Jesus: Reflections on Christian Leadership... merely because I wish I believed & lived 25% of what Nouwen says. Brilliantly refreshing.


One book you are currently reading:

Freakenomics. Any book that has a chapter titles: 'why do drug dealers still live with their moms?' and then explains it... is amazing!


One book you have been meaning to read:

the Brothers Karamazov. Yes, Luke. You gave it to me 2 Christmases ago. I still haven't read it. I did pick it up and read a little bit, but comeon, it's terribly difficult reading! I'll get to it soon!