March 2011
8 posts
1 tag
Bird of Passage.
I’m sitting here in the office while my women are in the other room playing Angry Birds.
That’s kind of it.
February 2011
24 posts
2 tags
Back in Black.
http://thegospelcoalition.org/blogs/justintaylor/2011/02/26/rob-bell-universalist/
The division bell.
2 tags
These Are the Things That Dreams Are Made Of.
A drive in the snow. A bowl of soup. A snowman in the yard. A warm fire. A handful of popcorn. The new Cut/Copy album. Cat’s asleep on the couch. Unwrapping caramels for brownies. Recording drums and basslines. Looking out the window at all the white. And gladness is swelling inside.
See title.
2 tags
Super Trouper.
I found discouragement to be a lot more prevelant than encouragement this week. No matter who I talked to, there seemed to be a black cloud hanging in the balance. And that is the ebb and flow of life. Glass half full, half empty, optimist, pessimist, realist, surrealist….we are all faced with the reality of our circumstances and sometimes they’re not lovely. Or maybe we get more...
1 tag
Hungry Like the Wolf.
“Not to brag, but……”
It’s interesting how many conversations I’ve been in recently that at some point seem to have this line thrust into the middle, whatever the context. We seek validation like HUNGRY WOLVES. Yet Ephesians says “so that no one may boast” because we are “His workmanship”. Christians are not owners, but our sinful...
Vanity Fair.
I had a “kids” version of Pilgrims Progress that I read religiously growing up. For some reason I thought of it recently and remembered how much I loved the story. The character of Christian inspired me and I remember thinking about him often and his “every man” struggles through the fantastical trials of life that are portrayed in the book. I need to reconnect with that...
White Chalk.
The day started clear and cold, but was blanketed in white by the afternoon. I always thought of myself as one of those people who didn’t do well with changes, but I think something changed years ago. I think I became someone who doesn’t do well when it feels like things are never going to change or progress. I think that’s more accurately called impatience, but I don’t...
Piper at the Gates of Dawn.
Watched Finding Neverland with Beth tonight. We’ve seen it periodically since it came out years ago, and once again I’m reminded that it’s probably my favorite film. There’s a timeless combination of magic, love and sadness that is inexblicably deep, profound and almost overwhelming.
How am I supposed to sleep now?
The Song Remains the Same.
A lot of songwriters work in isolation, and I’m no different. Because I’ve essentially been a soloist in the studio all of these years, my “inspiration” usually hits when working in the solitude of my own space. It’s come as an unexpected surprise and joy that my Beth has become a songwriter and we’re now spending time together working on her songs and recording...
A Means To An End.
I stacked wood today with a friend and was reminded of how much I like repetition. I think of all the things we do in life that repeat, and then I’m reminded in scripture that we’re to be steadfast in all things, because it’s the repetition of life that sometimes depletes us. I always think about Moses and how God took FORTY YEARS to prepare him for ministry. He thankfully takes...
Bigger than Us.
I got nothing. Truly. So here is something better than I could ever write from The Valley of Vision, a Puritan book of prayers.
Holy Lord, I have sinned times without number, and been guilty of pride and unbelief, of failure to find Thy mind in Thy Word, of neglect to seek Thee in my daily life. My transgressions and short-comings present me with a list of accusations, but I bless Thee that they...
My Funny Valentine.
It’s a tricky day for men. Most of the time I hear the typical cliches of ”it’s a greeting card holiday” or “it lacks emotion and is contrived if I do something nice just because it’s Valentines Day”. It’s funny that we don’t use that same criteria on birthdays or Christmas, so I wonder why there’s such a push back with doing something...
A Sort of Homecoming.
It was exactly a year ago that we came to Ashland, Ohio to see about a possible move to a new church and new life. I know that time seems to go faster as you get older, but I can hardly believe that it’s been a year since we got off the plane on Valentines Day weekend, wondering what on earth might happen. I remember being touched at how nice John and Joy Jentes were as they opened up their...
We're Looking for the Whales.
But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. Matthew 6:33
The concept of seeking God first is a completely foreign state of affairs to our natural, sinful, wretched hearts and minds. The second part of the verse is not. It’s the “and all these things” part that we continually build on, stress over, and do our darndest to...
Friends.
Yeah, I know, I missed a blog yesterday. I also lost a bet in the process. I could also give a list of excuses, but there’s really only one, and it’s the same reason I missed my Jan. 1 blog, too. It’s all because of my good friend…..almost-famous author and D-almost-C list gospel celeb Ted Kluck. On Jan. 1 the Mrs. and I were making rather merry at the Kluck household so I...
For Your Love.
I think about worship often as I wrestle with it on emotional and practical levels.
I like what Harold Best has to say:
We were created continuously outpouring. Note that I did not say we were created to be continuous outpourers. Nor can I dare imply that we were created to worship. This would suggest that God is an incomplete person whose need for something outside himself (worship) completes...
Hope Has A Place.
Peter asks Jesus, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.”
Like Peter, it’s an odd yet logical quandary to find yourself in. There are other people and places to go to. In fact, I find myself going to them often. But no other person, place, idea or object contains the words of life.
I will forget that again, but I remember it now.
Melt With You.
We never stop dreaming of what might be. I remember wondering with unbelievable impatience about who my wife might be before I met Melissa. I remember wondering who my son or daughter might be if I was ever blessed with one.
Today, my wife and daughter showed up out of the blue and brought me coffee. When I got home we joked around the table together about some hilarious nonsense. After that, we...
When the World Sings.
Feeling nostalgic last night so I listened to an old record I produced back in ‘99 from one of my dearest, most enduring friends. A lot has changed in the eleven years since work was started and completed on “When the World Sings” by Fine China. We were all completely enveloped in a music scene that by and large doesn’t exist today. The late night recordings, the endless...
A Spoonful of Sugar.
Some things I’ve been reading:
Brokenness (Nancy DeMoss) - The title says it all. Amazing book on becoming broken before Christ and others. A game changer.
Shadowplayers - A bio on the history of one of my favorite record labels, Factory Records.
Humility (CJ Mahaney) - An essential and convicting read.
On Being a Pastor (Derek Prime & Alistar Begg) - Insightful, practical read on...
Surfing on a Rocket.
Going through the channels tonight and I stumble on this program called That Metal Show. Not a metal or heavy music guy by any stretch (I know, shocking), but I do love the history and mythology behind it. The show features three guys ranting and raving about all things metal before two legendary metal guys, Bill Ward and Glenn Danzig come on as guests. And now they’re talking about The...
Fool on the Hill.
The amount of driveways and parking lots I’ve been on that resemble ice skating rinks has reached a record high in the last two days. I’m taking it SLOW, but you feel those little slides, and it sends your heart racing into a panic that seems way out of proportion to what would really happen, which is…umm…falling. I can’t possibly be more careful, but I’m...
This Momentary.
The town I live in basically shut down today. The weather conditions were so bad that school closed, businesses closed and everyone essentially stayed inside and watched the snow flurries. This is a new experience for me. In California, nothing ever stopped. Nothing ever slowed down. The weather stayed in the 70’s and 80’s most of the year, so whatever frantic pace you found yourself...
Icicle Works.
Ice is a new experience for me. I look out the window this morning to see a thick blanket of it over my windshield and know what lies before me. I bundle up, grab the scraper, and start scratching and clawing my way through this crystallized barrier. Halfway through, my fingers burning, my arms ready to fall off….I think…how on earth did it turn into sheet metal so quickly? It’s...
