Symbolism

i already find myself being blown away quite frequently this year-through unexpected genorousity, circumstances, new thoughts from old thoughts, brazilian jazz (check out CeU), and, just yesterday, symbolism in church.

Before i share the story from yesterday i want to highlight something from the new thoughts category... if you've talked to me recently you know i can't stop bringing up two books: "Crazy Love" & "Organic Church." i would love to hear your thoughts on the ideas brought up in them... 

Okay.Yesterday...

A friend invited us to a church they have been attending. This church has a vision that everyone in greater Austin will hear the Gospel, and they are SERIOUS. They are planting churches all over town... they hope to plant hundreds!

They were officially planting two yesterday. 

One church is less than a mile from my house and they have already baptised 47 people from their efforts of relational missional living. 

They called all elders and the planting team onto the platform and lit a candle for the new church. As we beagn worshipping with the song below, each of the teammembers had their individual candle lit. Halfwy through the song they were worshipping with the candles above their heads... like a city on a hill, their light was shinning bright. Then, towards the end of the song, they walked from the front of the room out of the building with thier lights held high. When this happened we were singing "Great things are still to be done In this city" and now clapping and shouting praises to God.

It was very moving to see a church reproduce, a church sold out on Jesus, and God's people with a clear vision and purpose who are going forth in the name of Christ.  

"God Of This City"

You're the God of this city
You're the King of these people
You're the Lord of this nation
You Are

Bridge:
For there is no one like our God
There is no one like our God

Chorus 1:
Greater things have yet to come
Great things are still to be done
In this city
Greater things are still to come
And greater things are still to be done here

Verse 2:
You're the Lord of Creation
The Creator of all things
You're the King above all Kings
You Are

You're the strength in our weakness
You're the love to the broken
You're the joy in the sadness
You Are

Chorus 2:
Greater things have yet to come
Great things are still to be done
In this city
Where glory shines from hearts alive
With praise for you and love for you
In this city

Greater things have yet to come
Great things are still to be done
In this city
Greater things are still to come

And greater things are still to be done here  

Goals

Hola, buenas dias!

i hope you are ready to rock today!

we recently played at a big festival, which is a story about lessons learned that i will share another time, but in the pics i was shocked.

My perception of myself was different from reality... i looked different in the mirror than what i looked like outside... which made me think, where else do i fool myself? where else is my perception better/worse/different than reality?

how about you?

so begins the examination...

how did i get to this point? (insert random thought) how did our economy get here?

In my humble (wait for it)....... but very accurate (ahhh)...... opinion, i would say, in part, the responsibility lies in two areas:

1 Entities trying to do good wander from strong/good practices and with good intentions end up practicing bad habits

2 Lack of oversight and correction

My random thought is actually a thinly veiled analogy for my conclusion as how i got here...

So... i'd like some help with a portion of number 2 today, we'll tackle the remainder and number 1 in the coming posts...

Working backwards, i cannot oversee or correct my behavior and/or practices without having benchmarks/a set of goals to establish what my priorities and focus should be.

Open floor time…

What are some of your goals?

I would love to hear about your short(daily), medium(2-5 years), and long term goals and bucket list items.

Just to prime the pump, here are some goals and bucket list items I’m thinking about:

Run a marathon
Give more money away than I spend on myself/ my family
Be Christ to my wife, neighbors, city…
Reduce waist by 12 inches
Be focused on others not self
Carry more weight around the house when it comes to chores
Bench over 300 lbs
Run a 5k
Be 100% debt free, including house
Quit being a perfectionist and finding negative things
Become fluent in a new language
Have children, hopefully at some point a boy!!!!
Watch less TV
Discipline to follow and maintain the plan/schedule/diet
To treasure the journey, not just the destination
Earn industry designations, increase my knowledge

Lay it on me… what do you say? I will check this for the next year, so don’t be scared…help me out!

find what you seek

Alot of people constantly ask me how they can improve their life/find true love/be happy in life...

the answer is simple... good music.

Check out these artist that are wearing my ipod out!!!!! Enjoy!!!
Amos Lee
Iron and Wine
Band of Horses
Ed Young (come on, get your preach on)
Paolo Nutini
Jason Mraz

I have to confess that Amos Lee is the coolest person that no one has heard of. You need to jump head first into the coolness that is his music.

My ringtone for my wife is "I'm Yours" by Jason Mraz.

I also assume that you all have worn out Ray Lamontagne's "Til The Sun Turns Black"-start there...

Another big Question

my friend luke norsworthy asked in his blog "why are you a Christian today?" Luke answered by saying,

"The reason I am a Christian today is that I know Jesus does life right. Jesus embodied what people are intended to be and when I follow him I am being what I am called to be as a person. So today I remind myself that I am still following Christ because Jesus is the way."

i really like his answer, but at the same time i struggle with a perception i grew up perceiving.

to be clear, i do not put Luke into this category. i have just seen other people in my experience say things like this and be complacent in their actions/attitudes/lives.

i'm turned off by seeing believers appear to act right, while having a wrong focus or motivation...

i'm turned off by believers not maturing, not being changed, not loving like Jesus...

so what if you were wronged, so what if someone believes something differently-with grace we should forgive in the same way we expect to be forgiven...

will they know we are christians by our love? or by our judgmental actions and attitudes... what are we doing to the name of Christ, to his bride the church?

right now you are probably thinking "wow, where is he going, how did he get here, what time of night did he write this?"

and here is my answer, if one doesn't act like Christ, or have the mind of Christ, if the things that are the very most important to Christ, are not important... can that person truly claim the name of Christ? is that person really following Christ, or is that person lying to himself?

Have i died to the world? i say i believe that Jesus is the way, but does my every decision/thought/action reflect that belief?

where is my time spent?

where is my money spent?

am i truly any different than other nice people with good intentions that don't claim the name of Jesus? are you?

Luke started with the question, why are you a christian today, but sometimes i feel i have to ask...

am i really a christian today? are you?

(on a side note check out this lesson on holiness from Francis Chan-listen or watch... i can't get the following thought out of my head-you can't sing "Lord save us" on Sunday, when all week your actions are shouting "crucify him")

Quietness

first of all, sorry for being quiet in this blog...

i realize that if anyone was checking/reading my blog i've been quiet for long enough to GUARANTY that they have definitely stopped checking in...

how hard it is to break bad habits... (i think of smokers...) how easy it is to fall away from good practices (in my life i can instantly think of 5 things without breaking a sweat, not to mention that gym membership...)

I wonder how long it would take us to sorely miss things if they went quiet in our lives... TV, family, spouses, always being busy, food, money, insert your response here...

also, after we got over the shock of missing something, i wonder what i would actually not miss anymore...

the crazy question is why don't i dismiss the items i really wouldn't miss anymore/that really should be quiet in my life?

Oren Lavie

I love mellow grooves with a little grit or underproduction. I'm even more drawn to surprising uses of instruments not usually used in modern music (see my first post about x. rudd).

More on this in a second...

Tivo. God smiled when TIVO was made. Because of my DVR i've been able to escape so many annoying commercials about Adult Diapers, Erectile Dysfunction, or the latest greatest thing that i really don't need but after some cool graphics and an excited announcer i find myself strangely desiring... So thank you TIVO for aiding in the attempted escape from materialism.

However, there are certain events that have to be watched "Live"... like a college basketball game, more specifically, when the LONGHORNS destroyed Stanford and their interesting drunken tree mascot.

And when you are watching something live you are subjected to commercials, which, for the most part, is when conversation can resume, or you should make that long trek to the fridge. This one could not be ignored. After the first 5 seconds i knew i had to find and buy this song, enjoy:



I'm completely changed after hearing this new song. i wish i could say that i'm super underground and i'm down on what's being sold on the street corners in Berlin(only a few months ago this is what Oren was doing)-but alas i can't.

I can't believe that i found my new favorite song, and potentially my new favorite artist on a TV commercial, a TV commercial for a CHEVY MALIBU. I mean come on, a Malibu? Is this going to lead to me having to watch more commercials?

Check out Oren Lavie, he was even as cool as to personally reply to a question i asked him on myspace... he is my new Favorite Artist.



www.orenlavie.com
myspace.com/orenlavie

check out the song "Her Morning Elegance" to get your feet wet.

Ash Wednesday + 1

I’ve never really held a high view of ancient liturgy. I usually gravitate towards and value the immediate and spontaneous experiences in my journey. But my appreciation of the ancient traditions is growing.

My previous view of the high church was that it was lifeless, not as relevant, that they were just going through the motions, maybe not being open to the spirit, stuck in the middle ages. I didn’t see the values in the ceremonies.

But the meaning and symbolism is rich, and powerful. My favorite idea right now is how the season of lent defines and reminds of us how we need a savior-that we cannot and will not do it on our own.

Even the decoration of the ancient churches leading up to Easter is a massive symbol. Everything is grey-all color is removed. (Much like ourselves outside of Jesus.) Then finally on Easter, the building is filled with flowers, banners, color, life and celebration because of our Savior’s victory.

I don’t know yet what I should do for lent, I have a few thoughts, but nothing that seems great. Give up Sugar, TV, every liquid except water, meat, coffee, being negative or critical, not purchasing anything except food and gas… on Father Ted (a tongue and check comedy from the UK) each priest gave up something special-cigarettes, alcohol, and rollerblading (the withdrawal effects were hysterical).

What would you give up for 40 days to focus on your need for a savior?