January 2011
30 posts
Glittering Prize.
Awards show season is peculiar. Every weekend leading up to the Oscars there seems to be some kind of second-tier-red-carpet-self-congratulatory-love-fest for the Hollywood elite. And they kind of rope me in every time. I’m mildly fascinated by the idea of people getting together to tell one another how brilliant they are, and then televise it for the less fortunate to see. It’s really...
Everyday is Like Sunday.
My two cats are asleep. My kid is watching an Anne Hathaway biography. My wife is reading a book. The view from the window is white and bare. It feels a bit deja vu from the day before, but today I’m motivated about music, ministry and the future. I also feel motivated about strawberry shortcake, but that’s not a reality in my life today.
Always needing to seperate what is, and what...
My Room in the Trees.
A sleepy Saturday in the fog and snow. I remember how I would dream about having days like this not so long ago. Slow days, where you drift from a book, to a conversation, to a cup of tea, to a little project, letting the hours take care of themselves and giving your thoughts time to collect.
Kind of glorious.
The Colour of Spring.
One of the major flaws of my heart is the tendency to pour over the past and at times despair over the consequences of the decisions I’ve made on the roads that I’ve travelled. I think the word for this is typically called “regret”. I always find it mildy amusing when I read an interview with a celebrity type who has had a less than desirable run of events in life and they...
Eternity Road.
One of the most astonishing books I read last year (or any year for that matter), was A Severe Mercy by Sheldon Vanauken. In fact, I would say that the opening chapter of the book may be the most beautiful, heart wrenching, equisite description of the past that I’ve ever read. More than that, it’s a love story written about the life of Vanauken and his wife, both of whom experienced...
Us Kids.
Going to the movies is timeless. You walk in the theatre, there’s the curtains, the dim lights, that weird popcorn smell, and all of sudden it could be any year of any time in your life because you’re in a moment that’s remained constant for as long as you can remember. I remember standing in a line that wrapped around the theatre twice back in 1977, waiting to see the first Star...
Obstacle 1.
Nights can be daunting. Like everyone in the known world, I go to bed in hopes of falling into a steady, restful sleep. The trouble starts when, four hours later, I’m staring at the ceiling frustrated, exhausted, and fully awake. It’s like a battle. Thoughts are literally raging a war within my mind. It’s a loss of control.
What do I do? I don’t know. I get up, I read, I...
Frankly, Mr. Shankly.
“You need to post more than a sentence or two”.
“What do you mean?”
“I mean, you’re not really blogging….you do like two sentences”.
“What do you mean ‘not really blogging’? I’m posting something every day. It’s blooming hard.”
“Yeah, but it’s so short.”
“Hold on…..you’re...
It is Well With My Soul.
Drawing comfort from God’s grace so that we’re able to meditate on his goodness was preached to me this morning before I had the privilege of closing our service with this tragic, yet glorious hymn:
When peace, like a river, attendeth my way, When sorrows like sea billows roll; Whatever my lot, Thou has taught me to say, It is well, it is well, with my soul. That we would...
Disorder.
Reading a book called “Shadowplayers - The Rise and Fall of Factory Records”…a fascinating look into what happens when people love and become obsessed with passions and pursuits other than Christ and Christianity.
On a more positive and less obscure note, I’m hoping the order of my day promotes family, relationships and the desire to grow further in God’s grace.
I...
Tonight is Forever.
Italian food. Friends. Driving on dark highways. Conversations about the past, present and future. Thoughts on where God has lead and is leading us. Hopes and fears. And then the night comes to a close.
Never sad to be home.
Touched By the Hand of God.
Grabbing this R.C. Sproul quote from Melissa, who grabbed it from www.theresurgence.com
God just doesn’t throw a life preserver to a drowning person. He goes to the bottom of the sea, pulls up a corpse, takes him up on the bank, breathes the breath of life into him, and makes him alive.
This is GRACE.
Take the Long Way Home.
It was a long day, but I’d still be where I’m at right now if it would’ve been any shorter.
Talk Talk.
Communication is a fragile proposition. Anything can affect the state of it’s progress. A shrug of the shoulders, an expression of the eyes, a slight nodding of the head, or a reactionary response can either build up or break down the delicate balance of understanding. Words can be uttered as easily as leaves falling from trees in autumn, but can touch down on the listener with the weight of...
Heartbreak Beat.
God creates out of nothing. Therefore, until a man is nothing, God can make nothing out him.
Martin Luther
None of us are really very clever, are we?
Construction Time Again.
I got nothing. Truly. Watched the Golden Globes, talked with friends, and enjoyed a rather low key Sunday thinking partly about Monday.
Because I have limitations, possibilities are not endless.
Winter Kills.
On an average day, I probably get asked at least five times how I’m “liking the snow”, followed by sort of a nod, wink and smirk. I mean look, I get it. I was a California native, so people have to wonder how much I’m “hating” this cold, arctic torture known as winter. And everyone assumes I must hate it. But here’s the thing….I like it. I really do....
Memories Fade.
The past is ever lurking behind every corner, isn’t it? Some of us can’t escape it, some of us don’t want to escape it, and then there are those who have chosen to live a life that points onward and upward. Everybody “believes” in forward motion. From jobs, to finances, to relationships, to football, to taking a casual ride in the family jet….our intent is to...
Eleven O'Clock Tick Tock
Very tired, but blogging duties must be attended to. My daughter painted a picture last night that I love. Its a beautiful scene of a boat, on a lake, at night, with the moonlight shining on the face of the water. There’s also a rather lovely tree on the left.
I will frame it and put it on my desk because paintings astound me.
I Love You But I've Chosen Death.
Today I am torn, as I’ve been for months, with loving things more than the things I should love more. It’s the equivalent of swimming under a blanket of ice when you can see the opening of light right next to you. The light draws you out but the lack of air is somehow intoxicating.
I will reach the light when claustrophobia stops providing comfort.
Fox in the Snow.
My wife and I walk a lot, and talk a lot while we walk, and pour over the various happenings and events of our lives. We have faced dilemmas, solved problems, settled debates, planned futures, offered wise counsel and opened our hearts to each other over miles and miles of terrain. I can’t remember what we did before we started walking years ago, but it’s what we do now. In the snow.
...
Wait For Me.
For reasons unknown even to myself, I recently watched a six part interview with Moby on You Tube after buying his latest album, “Wait For Me” a few months ago. I like the simplicity of Moby. I like that he records everything in his home studio. I like that he has a very down to earth persona. I like that he doesn’t over analyze the songwriting process, but simply states “I...
The Courage of Others.
Two pastor/couples from our previous church in Southern California came and visited us this afternoon. They just moved to Ohio about three weeks ago to start a church plant in German Village. For me, moving to Ashland, Ohio last June was probably the bravest thing I’ve ever done, but it kind of pales in comparison to the uncharted steps of faith our friends have taken. I want them to do...
Decades.
For decades I’ve been toiling away, creating sounds on analog synthesizers and sequencers that are completely devoid of emotion, and then trying to combine those emotionless soundscapes with melodies and words that are swimming in emotional melancholy. Apologies if that sounds dramatic, but that’s about as straighforward as I can be to describe a process that has held a grip over me...
Life in a Day.
I struggled for years with staying at home for the day on my days off….unwinding, doing productive things, collecting my thoughts, having conversations, etc. It’s not that I don’t spend a lot of time at home or have conversations…I do a lot and love it….but I always have this tendency to want to go ”out” before settling back into the house for the rest of...
Gentlemen Take Polaroids
Falling headfirst into stereotype by watching “Dreams” (a Japanese foreign film) with Bethie tonight. I guess words like “surrealist” and “imagery” should come next, but I’m just too tired.
Can’t I just like the pretty pictures on the screen?
Digital.
I love reformed theology because I love the doctrines of Grace. Grace equals clarity, and clarity is a most welcome friend to the sometimes dark, cluttered, murky, leanings of my miserable heart. I want to love the God I serve, and hate the objects I’m enslaved to, and then rejoice because both of those things we’re even revealed to me.
Clarity is progress.
Hey there, sport.
One of my great failings in life is that I’m not a sports guy. My Dad was, my two brothers become SG’s, and every friend that I’ve ever had except one have all been SG’s. I’ve always wanted to like sports, honestly I have. I’ve always wanted to be the guy who couldn’t wait until football season started knowing that there couldn’t possibly be anything...
Dorian Gray
Some thoughts going through my head at 4am on January 3rd, since I unfortunately wasn’t dreaming about anything.
Blogging seems to be a bit like painting a self portrait, and I’m mildly fascinated at why some of us are consumed with finding ways to portray ourselves to whoever will listen. It’s not a new or inherently bad concept either, as artists, writers, musicians, poets,...
Whatever, I'll Go An Extra Day in 2012.
So, here’s the deal. I’ve tried on 3-4 different occasions to start a blog, and every single time I’ve “started”, I just kind of don’t do it for a variety of otherwise pointless, meandering and boring reasons. SO, for 2011 I’ve decided to do one blog post a day for the entire year, all “Julie and Julia” style. Um, hey genius, it’s January...
