Sunday, July 8, 2012
Gasp!
It is so hard to believe it have not posted anything since November of last year, but I suppose time truly does have wings. I am working on a new post, so stay tuned. In the meantime, check out my son Jacob's new blog: Walking In The Hills With God
Sunday, November 13, 2011
Some New Additions
Here are my latest additions to my Sidebar links. Lots of worthwhile reading and exchanging of ideas. Check them out and let me know what you think :)
Provoketive Magazine
Philosophical Fragments
Simply Church Journal
Simply Church
Provoketive Magazine
Philosophical Fragments
Simply Church Journal
Simply Church
Wednesday, September 14, 2011
Do You Know Someone Whose Soul Shines?
With three blog posts in less than a week after a four-month hiatus I am going to set the blogging world on its backside!
This is an awesome song that I only just recently heard. I love the lyrics, the sentiment, and I think it ties in with my two most recent posts.
Today's Assignment: Think of someone you know whose soul shines...and then let them know.
The Allman Brothers
Soulshine Lyrics
Artist(Band):The Allman Brothers
Transcribed by Sean Carpenter
When you can't find the light,
That got you through a cloudy day,
When the stars ain't shinin' bright,
You feel like you've lost you're way,
When those candle lights of home,
Burn so very far away,
Now you got to let your soul shine,
Just like my daddy used to say.
[Chorus]
He used to say soulshine,
It's better than sunshine,
It's better than moonshine,
Damn sure better than rain.
Yeah now people don't mind,
We all get this way sometime,
Got to let your soul shine, shine till the break of day.
I grew up thinkin' that I had it made,
Gonna make it on my own.
Life can take the strongest man,
Make him feel so alone.
Now sometimes I feel a cold wind,
Blowin' through my achin' bones,
I think back to what my daddy said,
He said "Boy, in the darkness before the dawn:"
[Chorus]
Let your soul shine,
It's better than sunshine,
It's better than moonshine,
Damn sure better than rain.
Yeah now people don't mind,
We all get this way sometimes,
Gotta let your soul shine, shine till the break of day.
Sometimes a man can feel this emptiness,
Like a woman has robbed him of his very soul.
A woman too, God knows, she can feel like this.
And when your world seems cold, you got to let your spirit take control.
[Chorus]
Let your soul shine,
It's better than sunshine,
It's better than moonshine,
Damn sure better than rain.
Lord now people don't mind,
We all get this way sometimes,
Gotta let your soul shine, shine till the break of day.
Oh, it's better than sunshine,
It's better than moonshine,
Damn sure better than rain.
Yeah now people don't mind,
We all get this way sometimes,
Gotta let your soul shine, shine till the break of day.
This is an awesome song that I only just recently heard. I love the lyrics, the sentiment, and I think it ties in with my two most recent posts.
Today's Assignment: Think of someone you know whose soul shines...and then let them know.
The Allman Brothers
Soulshine Lyrics
Artist(Band):The Allman Brothers
Transcribed by Sean Carpenter
When you can't find the light,
That got you through a cloudy day,
When the stars ain't shinin' bright,
You feel like you've lost you're way,
When those candle lights of home,
Burn so very far away,
Now you got to let your soul shine,
Just like my daddy used to say.
[Chorus]
He used to say soulshine,
It's better than sunshine,
It's better than moonshine,
Damn sure better than rain.
Yeah now people don't mind,
We all get this way sometime,
Got to let your soul shine, shine till the break of day.
I grew up thinkin' that I had it made,
Gonna make it on my own.
Life can take the strongest man,
Make him feel so alone.
Now sometimes I feel a cold wind,
Blowin' through my achin' bones,
I think back to what my daddy said,
He said "Boy, in the darkness before the dawn:"
[Chorus]
Let your soul shine,
It's better than sunshine,
It's better than moonshine,
Damn sure better than rain.
Yeah now people don't mind,
We all get this way sometimes,
Gotta let your soul shine, shine till the break of day.
Sometimes a man can feel this emptiness,
Like a woman has robbed him of his very soul.
A woman too, God knows, she can feel like this.
And when your world seems cold, you got to let your spirit take control.
[Chorus]
Let your soul shine,
It's better than sunshine,
It's better than moonshine,
Damn sure better than rain.
Lord now people don't mind,
We all get this way sometimes,
Gotta let your soul shine, shine till the break of day.
Oh, it's better than sunshine,
It's better than moonshine,
Damn sure better than rain.
Yeah now people don't mind,
We all get this way sometimes,
Gotta let your soul shine, shine till the break of day.
Monday, September 12, 2011
The C Word
C-words run the gamut. Candy. Cr@p. Christian. Some are repeatable, some not so much. Has anyone else ever played the game Dirty Minds? Okay, that was an inside joke :)
I used to joke around about the word "community." It seemed like such a catch phrase, the in thing to do. Everywhere I turned "community" popped up either actually or through inference. What does living in missional community mean? What does it truly look like? I remember reading books and blogs that expounded wonderfully upon on the idea - www.friendofmissional.org, authors Henri Nouwen, www.the-next-wave.com - and in the back of my mind I thought I was living what I believed.
I was wrong.
To live in missional community, to truly fellowship with one another, you have to open yourself up to people, something very uncomfortable for me. I have never trusted anyone enough to even begin to approach it from other than a truly academic point of view. It is great in theory, and in practice for others, but not for me. I open myself up this much and no more. There is too much of a danger in letting people see who you really are and what you are truly going through in life, your struggles,your inadequacies, your failings. When it comes right down to it, it is purely a pride issue - wanting people to see you as you want to be, not as you truly are. When you are truly yourself before others, you run the risk of being rejected. I can share with others and give of my money, my possessions, and my time, but to open myself up, to let people see past my defenses, is unacceptable.
Over the last two years, I have had to deal with life circumstances from a variety of directions, blindsided in some sense of the term. My normal routine would have been to put up walls so no one would know what was going on in my life, attempted to pick myself up by my proverbial bootstraps, and deal with the situations. This time I took a different approach. I took a chance. I opened myself up to people I know and trust. I was open and honest about the circumstances in my life. Instead of presenting things in a cleaned up vernacular, I presented the unvarnished truth - this is who I am, where I am, and what I am dealing with - and instead of finding an additional weight of fear from doing so, I felt relief and freedom. I do not have to do it on my own. I live in a community of friendship, people who love Jesus, and in turn love me. I have seen theory turn to practice, and it is a beautiful thing.
"Two people are better off than one, for they can help each other succeed. If one person falls, the other can reach out and help. But someone who falls alone is in real trouble." Ecclesiastes 4: 10-11
James Taylor's "You've Got A Friend" seems to beg to be associated with this line of thought, but frankly it seems too cliche and so yesterday. Coldplay's "Clocks" conveys my conviction.
I used to joke around about the word "community." It seemed like such a catch phrase, the in thing to do. Everywhere I turned "community" popped up either actually or through inference. What does living in missional community mean? What does it truly look like? I remember reading books and blogs that expounded wonderfully upon on the idea - www.friendofmissional.org, authors Henri Nouwen, www.the-next-wave.com - and in the back of my mind I thought I was living what I believed.
I was wrong.
To live in missional community, to truly fellowship with one another, you have to open yourself up to people, something very uncomfortable for me. I have never trusted anyone enough to even begin to approach it from other than a truly academic point of view. It is great in theory, and in practice for others, but not for me. I open myself up this much and no more. There is too much of a danger in letting people see who you really are and what you are truly going through in life, your struggles,your inadequacies, your failings. When it comes right down to it, it is purely a pride issue - wanting people to see you as you want to be, not as you truly are. When you are truly yourself before others, you run the risk of being rejected. I can share with others and give of my money, my possessions, and my time, but to open myself up, to let people see past my defenses, is unacceptable.
Over the last two years, I have had to deal with life circumstances from a variety of directions, blindsided in some sense of the term. My normal routine would have been to put up walls so no one would know what was going on in my life, attempted to pick myself up by my proverbial bootstraps, and deal with the situations. This time I took a different approach. I took a chance. I opened myself up to people I know and trust. I was open and honest about the circumstances in my life. Instead of presenting things in a cleaned up vernacular, I presented the unvarnished truth - this is who I am, where I am, and what I am dealing with - and instead of finding an additional weight of fear from doing so, I felt relief and freedom. I do not have to do it on my own. I live in a community of friendship, people who love Jesus, and in turn love me. I have seen theory turn to practice, and it is a beautiful thing.
"Two people are better off than one, for they can help each other succeed. If one person falls, the other can reach out and help. But someone who falls alone is in real trouble." Ecclesiastes 4: 10-11
James Taylor's "You've Got A Friend" seems to beg to be associated with this line of thought, but frankly it seems too cliche and so yesterday. Coldplay's "Clocks" conveys my conviction.
Saturday, September 10, 2011
The Soundtrack of my Soul
Whenever I begin to ponder a subject, the majority of the time there is a song that pops into my head mirroring the subject, the current circumstances. In some way it is like having a continuous soundtrack to my life. The people I love, the situations all have a parallel song playing in the background.
For instance, Howard Jones "No One Ever Is To Blame" = Graduation 1986. Elvis' "Trilogy" will always be associated with just about any time I went out with Susan Harris because Elvis was a mainstay. "Comfortably Numb," before being given a redneck rendition courtesy of my good friend Neil Partyka, was associated with strange happenings while cruising around with Tracey May. Robin Mark's "Revival" brings joy to my soul because I got to rock out with a fantastic group of people. I truly believe that angels were singing and dancing with God Himself smiling as we played together.
The current soundtrack of my soul - I will title it "Transformations" - looks something like this:
1. Grace - U2
2. Hands of Time - Groove Armada
3. Come Home, Sweet Child - Samm
4. Thank You - Led Zeppelin
5. Yellow Ledbetter - Pearl Jam
6. Faithful to Me (Prelude & Reprise) - Jennifer Knapp
7. In a Little While - U2
8. Strawberry Swing - Coldplay
9. Trinity - Jennifer Knapp
Coming soon to a blog near you: The C Word
For instance, Howard Jones "No One Ever Is To Blame" = Graduation 1986. Elvis' "Trilogy" will always be associated with just about any time I went out with Susan Harris because Elvis was a mainstay. "Comfortably Numb," before being given a redneck rendition courtesy of my good friend Neil Partyka, was associated with strange happenings while cruising around with Tracey May. Robin Mark's "Revival" brings joy to my soul because I got to rock out with a fantastic group of people. I truly believe that angels were singing and dancing with God Himself smiling as we played together.
The current soundtrack of my soul - I will title it "Transformations" - looks something like this:
1. Grace - U2
2. Hands of Time - Groove Armada
3. Come Home, Sweet Child - Samm
4. Thank You - Led Zeppelin
5. Yellow Ledbetter - Pearl Jam
6. Faithful to Me (Prelude & Reprise) - Jennifer Knapp
7. In a Little While - U2
8. Strawberry Swing - Coldplay
9. Trinity - Jennifer Knapp
Coming soon to a blog near you: The C Word
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)