I’m at Birkdale in Huntersville looking for a little inspiration from anywhere. For those who’ve never been here, it’s pretty cool. It’s a self-contained outdoor mall with uber-cool apartments above all of the stores. In the middle is a roundabout that’s large enough to have a small “waterpark”, if you will. There are fountains shooting out of the ground from everywhere which mom’s bring their kids to play in and benches under large white arbors surrounding the play area for the mom’s to relax and talk while enjoying a reprieve.
Normally I wouldn’t think twice about this scene since I’ve sat here hundreds of times before and seen the same thing countless times. (Jo & I lived across the street from Birkdale our first year of marriage and this was probably my favorite place to chill out.) But something along the same line from the weekend brought it to my attention. A couple from our small group threw a graduation party for their oldest daughter and there were a ton of families there. There were toddlers, tweens, high-schoolers & graduates. In the field out back about 20 kids in their late teens were playing ultimate frisbee while younger kids played in the backyard running & doing flips & cartwheels.
A guy named Bruce from our small group was sitting in a chair in the backyard silently, when I asked, “What are you doing man? Why don’t you come join the adult party?!” He said, “I’m just enjoying watching all of the different age groups. There’s something so awesome about watching these kids have fun like this. Those young guys playing frisbee can run so fluidly & have no clue that they’ll one day move rigidly like me. But, the little kids have no clue that they’ll one day be able to run so fluidly instead of having short wobbly steps.”
They don’t think about the future much at all. They just enjoy being able to do what they’re capable of to it’s fullest extent. It’s innocent. The teens aren’t saying to themselves, “I’d better enjoy this now before I start having hip surgeries” And the small kids aren’t saying, “Well, I can’t run like the big kids, so why even try?” Enjoyment at it’s purest.
So these kids run through fountains at Birkdale in much the same way, chasing one another & screaming with delight. They fall down from time to time, get picked up by their mom, shed a few tears & within minutes join the fray once again. Their lives were meant to be enjoyed & they intend on doing it to their fullest ability.
Categories: Interesting · Learning · Men
I found myself reminiscing the other day about what it was like when I was a teenager and had no cellphone, no Facebook, no Twitter, no IM & only about 12 channels on television. Believe me, I love my phone & really love Directv! But I sometimes feel numb to it all. I like knowing that I can keep up with people in ways that were never possible before. As far as it maintaining real relationships, that’s all smoke & mirrors. It’s nice to be in contact nonetheless.
My main difficulty is in being so sucked in. We talk about being bombarded with media & advertising, but we are the ones that allow it. I told Jo the other day that I was sick of looking at my phone through all of my favorite websites just to see if something has changed in the past 30 minutes. What if it has? What will it change in my life? It’s a little of why I haven’t blogged quite as much. I found myself looking to see how many people had looked. How many care? Will anyone comment? If they do, will it be worthwhile?? Most things I say aren’t worthwhile. There’s no difference.
To add to that, I’ve had very little to say lately. I feel like the Lord has been growing parts of my life that don’t need any extra distractions. So, I’ve been quiet and saving some things for myself. Not everything is for everyone. There are things that I could write on here in my best efforts to be “real” and they would honestly just tweak most people and make me look like a freak in their eyes. I look at some of the things that Rainn Wilson (Dwight from The Office) writes on Twitter and think, “why would you write or say some of those things??” Some things should just be left alone. Even if it’s remotely funny, just leave it be.
So, quiet has been a staple lately & it’s refreshing. Just listening to worship music, reading, writing in my journal, & listening to sermons. Don’t get me wrong, I’m still checking my sites, but I want to replace some things. Bit by bit. My life is too short to be worried about someone I don’t know all that well eating toast for breakfast or driving in the rain. My life is mundane enough as it is. I don’t need to take on someone else’s monotony too. I like reading blogs that really dig deep, but I’m feeling exhausted with one sentence, compartmentalized glimpses into people’s lives.
Sorry, just rambling….
Categories: Belief · Blogs
Put a “Genius” playlist of Being Here by The Stills on the ipod today.
-Everything I Build by The Stills
-Sing the Changes by The Fireman
-Bodysnatchers by Radiohead
-The Shock of Lightning by Oasis (Manchester boys…even if they are City fans)
-Jager Yoga by CSS
-I Sing I Swim by Seabear
-Glass of Water by Coldplay
-Ragged Wood by Fleet Foxes
-Cath… by Death Cab for Cutie
-He Doesn’t Know Why by Fleet Foxes
-The Heinrich Maneuver by Interpol
-Challengers by The New Pornographers (i hate their name…good song)
-My Eyes by Travis
-Olympic Airways by Foals
-Gideon by My Morning Jacket
-It’s My Own Cheating Heart That Makes Me Cry by Glasvegas
-Intervention by Arcade Fire
-The Weight of the World by Editors
-Rest My Chemistry by Interpol
-Chinese Translation by M. Ward
I do these genius playlists a lot, but few are quite as good as this one was. Genius got it done today!
Categories: Music
I’ve had a pretty interesting couple of weeks, I have to admit. I’ve been fairly busy with driving here and there & then last week I was playing for our church’s worship team, so I had lots of practice, rehearsal and the weekend itself. Aside from that, the Lord has made some pretty interesting things come about.
I’ve had some pretty sobering conversations with some guys recently that have experienced some of the same things that I have. I wrote recently that the Lord was allowing those types of things to happen & he still is. The whole thing of sin being exposed to the light has been recurrent with me lately.
Also, I found myself going into this whole experience with worship praying that none of it would be about me, but it would be solely focused on the Lord. As I prayed that on Thursday I thought, ‘The Lord is gonna let me gonna screw up this weekend to humble me! Dangit! Why didn’t I just pray that everything would be awesome or something like that??’
Sure enough. I had to lead my song at the end of the service after the pastor was done praying. I was playing & singing, so I when I got on stage I had to setup my mic stand, music stand (since it was my first weekend), hook up my guitar & turn it on, and hook up my ear monitors. The ear monitors are soundproof, so all you hear is what’s coming through the system. People were standing in the way, so it took me longer to set up my mic & music, then I put on my guitar, hooked it up & heard the 2-count. I sang on 3. I tapped the tuner with my foot to turn on the guitar on 2 and just played a couple of bars to lead myself in. No one knew the difference with that. But, I was forced to play it by memory & worst of all, my ear monitors weren’t plugged in. I couldn’t hear the band. I couldn’t hear the other vocalists. I could only feel the vibration of my guitar and my voice sounded like someone inside a box with a sock in their mouth. It sucked!! I kept looking around at the other vocalists for some kind of reaction to let me know if I was even relatively close to the right notes. They in turn thought that I was looking at them because they were hitting wrong notes. When the song ended people clapped & I automatically plugged the monitors in. People told me that it sounded awesome, but I couldn’t judge whether or not they were just being nice. The band leader told me it sounded great & when I told him what happened he almost crapped. So, the Lord humbled me. Nice & solid, from the outset. I texted Jo later & told her I was sweating like Reuben Studdard.
It seems a little dumb in one way, but it’s been awesome to see the Lord working. As nerve-racking as worship was it’s kind of put me on a high to know that the Lord has been laying things before me and having my back along the way.
Categories: Belief · Church · Learning · Music
I took down the “Stuff Christians Like” link, mainly because his humor was repetitive, and put up the original: “Stuff White People Like”. I used to love that site and recently checked it out again. Thought some of you may get a kick out of it. I was originally turned on to it by Steph who sent me the one about white people liking soccer….mainly so they could wear scarves.
Categories: Blogs · Comedy
I went to church last night and the pastor brought up three other guys that had gone to Honduras with him two weeks ago on a mission trip. It was good and took me back to my Urbana trip. Then, at the end of the service Mike started talking about a guy who has passed away to cancer in the past few days that lead worship for the youth and just completely loved Jesus. One of the things that he said that I had actually thought about myself in the past few weeks was, “life is not measured by length, but intensity.” It made me think about how I live obviously, but more than anything it made me think about the goofy things I distract myself with.
How do I live my life in a way to express my love for Jesus most deeply? I often used to think about ministry or missions, but my addictions have been a huge hindrance in being able to serve. I am beginning to see how the low points I’ve been through are gradually being used more and more in regards to those around me. I’ve often hated things that were happening in my life; things that I’ve allowed or not. But, God has started showing me how He redeems those experiences. He’s redeemed them within me, but He’s also started redeeming them by allowing me to walk alongside guys struggling with the same things. I want to make myself available. I want to be used as a tool to glorify the Lord. Only He has the ability to take what He’s shaped me into and use it for good. Alone, I would screw it up. But, He’s placing people in my life that are in need of Him and don’t know what it is that they actually need from Him.
If I lived ten more years and ran the race as well as I possibly could would I say it was a waste just because I didn’t live 30 more years? I would if my perspective was wrong. But, I want my perspective to be right and want to live like my candle won’t burn forever. While I’m here I want to live a life that is diligent, consumed & deep!
Categories: Belief · Jesus
May 5, 2009 · Enter your password to view comments
Categories: Music
May 5, 2009 · Enter your password to view comments
Categories: Uncategorized
April 27, 2009 · Enter your password to view comments
Categories: Music
