new home

THIS IS MY LAST POST FROM BLOGSPOT!!!!!!

i have officially set up shop at wordpress. i’ll be blogging from here for the foreseeable future. much love. thanks for trying to keep up with my strange, strange life and musings…

shameless plug

hey guys, a good friend of mine, tyler lyle, just put out a new ep entitled "bare." if you are into singer/songwriter stuff, you should really check it out! the new record is on noise trade right now available for preview/purchase. noisetrade.com is a super cool site that allows you to decide how much you want to pay for a record before you buy it. check it out.

much love. thanks for letting me shamelessly plug an incredible artist!

torn

i am torn between all of the blogging sites. it seems that none of them are exactly what i want. it is as if they all get together and have conversations about how they can each offer a lot of things, but one site cannot offer everything i want. it's kind of weird to write a blog to complain about blogging websites. oh well.

discontent

i stayed up too late last night, but i'm pretty ok with that. a few axis leaders and i got into a 4 hour conversation about some discontents that we have about life/church. it was incredible to see the passion and desire in this group to become (more and more) true worshippers of Jesus. i am really thankful to be a part of a community that is not ok with the status quo and wants to push the envelope of how can we better follow Christ and bring others to Him.

what is your discontent right now? what are you doing about it?

grace

last night in my small group, we were going through the last chapter of paul's second letter to timothy, and we got into a conversation about grace. chris brought up the fact that almost every epistle in the new testament begins and/or ends with some form of the phrase, "grace be with you." as we discussed this, i realized that paul and i had something in common.

paul grew up in a jewish culture where it was all about what you did. the pharisees had great influence in this. it was all about rules. to a much lesser degree, i grew up (as the son of a baptist pastor) in a rules based religious structure. *this "rules based" religious system was not constructed by my parents, but by the people of the church creating a fish bowl in which i was to live and move and breathe. for much of my middle school and high school spiritual life, i acted out of fear of how i would be judged (by church-members) more than out of genuine love for JESUS... so, i understand why paul talks about grace so much, beginning and ending almost every letter with an affirmation of the grace we have in Christ.

i have to CONTINUALLY remind myself of this grace that changes things. everything. i want to live a life full of grace. i want to live a life that oozes grace to people i don't get along with, to my family, to my friends, to my co-workers.

rest assured in the overwhelming grace of God. give it/show it/live it to others.

"The Lord be with your spirit. Grace be with you." (2 timothy 4:22)

rise:stl

yesterday, we got back from a week-long mission trip to inner-city st. louis. we took about 30 high-school students and 10 adult leaders from our ministry. it was a great experience! we saw so much poverty. we saw so much need.

however, the most impactful thing that i saw this week was the passion and work ethic of our students. i was so impressed at how hard our students worked to further the work of a couple of churches in the city. they exhibited unbelievably positive attitudes no matter what work was put in front of them.

i've been on a lot of mission trips, as a student and leader, and i have never seen such good attitudes for the entirety of a trip.

it was really a blessing to be a part of.

folk music

i have been writing a ridiculous amount of songs this past week. most of these songs are written in the folk vein. weird. i didn't really listen to much folk music before a couple of months ago. my good friend tyler lyle is an excellent songwriter living in carrollton, ga (at the moment). a month or two ago, tyler exposed me to the beautiful music of josh ritter. since then, i've been hooked on the folk stuff. there's just a rawness/authenticity to it that i can't get enough of.

word to your mother.

soul pancake

i ran across an interesting site this morning. it's called SoulPancake.com. it is a site (created by Rainn Wilson [Dwight from the office]) where people can discuss openly the subjects of art and spirituality/religion. he posts questions and then allows people to respond and discuss their opinions and beliefs openly. i think this could be a great place for us to go and share TRUTH with people who are already open to talk about the BIG questions of life.

so, if you have a few minutes, click here and interact with a secular community asking honest questions and seeking TRUTH.

¹³'You will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart. (Jeremiah 29:13)

unpack

i have a tendency to look towards the next step ("always thinking one step ahead; like a carpenter who makes stairs." ha. i love the office.). i don't think it is bad to think/plan ahead. however, it is wrong to live for tomorrow. or even worse IN tomorrow. this is exactly where i am in my life right now. the end of my internship is in sight. scary and exciting. i have no idea where the next step will take me. but i really want to go ahead and get there. there is something about the human condition that moves us to avoid attachment. to avoid pain. we choose the easiest path. it's a coping mechanism. so much of our decisions are made on the understanding of which option will be less painful, and that sucks.

i moved in with a new family. my room has been full of boxes/suitcases for 2 weeks. today, i unpacked. i have been super busy the past couple of weeks and was just not able to carve out the time to do it before today. *part of me didn't want to unpack, because i know i will just be packing everything up again in a couple of months. however, as long as my things were all in suitcases/boxes, i couldn't enjoy my room. too much stuff everywhere [not very homey (sp?)].

i know i live my emotional/spiritual life the same way a lot of times. i don't unpack anything/open myself up to real relationships, because i know it won't be too long until i'll be moving along in life, and it will hurt to leave. BUT YOU HAVE TO UNPACK TO EXPERIENCE TODAY. it's not easy, but it's necessary. so, let's unpack. let's live today. let's make our choices not based on the avoidance of pain but on the pursuit of significance, the pursuit of a Savior.

God would never choose for us safety at the cost of significance. God created you so that your life would count, not so that you could count the days of your life. -Erwin McManus

just a thought

i never realized how much my body missed the sun until the past two days. thank you illinois.

thoughts on friday

it is 11:24pm on a friday night, and i just finished cleaning my room after working all evening. trying to remember what it's like to look forward to friday nights. when you work all weekend, friday is actually more like monday, and monday is the new friday.

[these are my thoughts as i try to figure out "a place" for everything in my room instead of just throwing it all in the bottom of my closet.]

love and grace

i've been thinking a lot about grace lately. it's so much BIGGER than i can understand. as i've been studying scripture, i've just been overwhelmed with the extent of the grace and love of God. Romans 5:8 says, "But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us." that's what grace means, i think. grace is giving unconditional love and acceptance to someone who does not deserve it. to someone who has wronged you. or someone you simply don't like. we were hostile towards God. we were against Him, and He chased us down just to show us how He loves. unconditionally.

we don't have the capacity to understand the full extent of God's unconditional grace and love. and that is ok. but we are called to live it out and to share it just as God has shared it with us.

i think it is time for the church to chase people down, to pursue people, just to show them how much we love them and more than that, how much they are loved by God.

do something crazy to show the world around you just how great the love of God is.

everything is amazing and nobody is happy

this guy has great perspective.


everything is amazing and nobody is happy

3 records i can't live without (this week)

i have had 3 albums on constant rotation this week on my ipod, and i figured that i should share them with all of you!

1. the killers- day and age. *one of the most creative rock albums i've heard in a while. quite funky.

2. kings of leon- only by the night. *they are effortlessly modern. and timeless. a seamless combination of indie and their southern roots. great vocals.

3. jon foreman- spring ep. *it reminds me that spring is coming. beautifully simple.

what are three albums that you are stuck on right now?

presidential inauguration

if you've ever wondered what a 1474 megapixel picture looks like, you should check this out. david bergman took this series of pictures of the presidential inauguration on tuesday using a robotic camera called a gigapan. check out the results here.

some confessions

i am addicted to caffeine, but i didn't know it until last tuesday.

i cut my hair off on a whim in mid-january while living in northern illinois. cold.

i have problems shaving regularly (i blame this on no shave november).

i love to write/write music more than almost anything but rarely find time to sit down and do it.

i have a hard time reading books on spiritual formation slowly enough to actually harness the wisdom therein.

i miss my creative writing classes from college.

i read the classics for fun.

i thrive when in real community.

i despise working retail.

i don't hate the cold as much as i thought i would.

i am scared that my writing will never be as good as it was at the back corner table at jittery joe's coffee shop @ five points in athens, ga.

i don't know where i'll be in 5 months. and that is ok.

new year's resolutions

so, this may be a little late, but here are the resolutions that i have landed on for 2009:

i want to read the bible all the way through this year. i think that i have probably read the entire thing. however, i have never used a method that ensures that i catch every word. i'm really excited about this one!

i want to make a great effort to observe a sabbath day each week. with my work schedules right now, this is no easy task, but it is already proving worthwhile!

i want to have 12 original songs that are ready for recording by the end of 2009. *this is going to be the hardest one, because i'm ridiculously critical of my own writing/music. so, it is really hard for me to get to the place where i'm ready for my art to be heard by others...

so, there they are. now, they're official. ha.

anyone else have any interesting resolutions that you're working towards or have already failed at???

rest?

i must say i'm experiencing a bit of a culture shock being back in GA. it is 60 degrees outside, and i have absolutely nowhere i have to be right now. with all my endeavors in the great state of illinois, i really just don't have much time to figure out what to do with. most of my time is pretty much planned out for me (by my work schedules). so, i'm having a little bit of a problem. i feel like i should be doing something. i don't have anything that i really need to be doing. but i feel like i should. i'm not sure if this is just a natural response to a vacation away from a busy schedule or if this is God telling me that i've forgotten how to rest. i wonder if somehow i've tied activity to worth/importance somewhere in my mind and am now experiencing the backlash.

i'll be in GA 8 more days (most of those days' activities not being particularly scheduled out). hopefully, i'll learn to embrace this rest so that i can really enjoy every bit of time i get to spend chillin' with my awesome family and friends!

no better place than now

i've come to the end of my first of two semesters here at willow creek mchenry county. it has been one of the most challenging experiences i've ever had to face. there is something about taking a risk that allows you to be in the place to accept the GREATEST reward. moving to the away from all of my family and friends was not easy. moving away from every ministry connection i have ever had was not easy. moving to the arctic tundra in which i currently live was not easy. but it was necessary. it took moving away from everything i ever knew to realize all that i had been missing.

one of the biggest things that i've learned from my time here has been the immediacy of the gospel. in my life. in your life. now. i think i've always just lived with a sense of tomorrow. God will do great things tomorrow. i'll push into who God really wants me to be tomorrow. i'll be love to a broken world tomorrow. this way of thinking is so prevalent in the church today. and in me. but it is so TOXIC. if there is no URGENCY in the gospel, then there is no gospel. TODAY is the day of salvation.

annie dillard said, "how we live our days is how we live our lives."

i have found that this statement could not be more true. i've seen it in my life. i think that this principle applies to the urgency with which we live our lives. so, looking forward to the holidays, take advantage of the opportunities you have everyday. with the people that you don't see that often. with the people you see all the time. with the people you're mad at in traffic or at the mall. let us be a people who live our lives with urgency and purpose. today. now.

ode

today, i miss athens. here are some things that make the list:

jittery joe's @ 5 points, park hall, cine, blind pig, barberito's, north campus, downtown, 86f, the fam, courtney and k thor talking about 6 girl, milledge avenue, wesley, watkinsville fbc, will's mom's house, the fire pit at the farm, christmas tree hunt, the 40 watt, swat, jon's house, yin yang mocha, waterfall, the elephant dance, main library, practice rooms at the school of music, the botanical gardens, trapeze, tasty world, milkshakes at the grill, inoko express, beechwood chickfila, rafferty's with chris black, hamburger sauce, georgia theater.

yesterday, i ran across this poem that i wrote about a regular at jittery joe's 5 points.

A Jittery Joe

Each note from his guitar ministers to his surroundings. The song in the tree above him flies away but continually returns. Her home is the tree that shades his favorite place. His home is the bench between the outdoor restroom and the front door. The two garage doors at the front of the building, almost imperceptible, reveal that his favorite coffee shop used to be a service station. Now, from open to close, it is a home. It is his home, but I’m not sure he ever goes in. Hushed. The calm intensity adds to his mystery. Everyone sees him there, but no one says hi. I’m not sure he sees us. But I see him. I see him there, hazy sunlight peering through his horn-rimmed glasses to squinting eyes. His eyes are lines of satisfaction on a sun-dried face. A gentle voice leaks from parted lips, chapped by the ever present breeze. The indiscernible notes that result, minister to the addicts around him, seeking their daily fix. With every strum, the wind whips in approval around the ancient façade of the bustling landmark, satisfied with his tranquil ministry.