Archive Page 2 of 67

« Older Entries
Newer Entries »

The Simple Things

Published
by
Dave
on June 15, 2009
in General
. 0 Comments

Late night inspiration brought about these 12 things that “I love”. Well, I don’t love them like I love God or my wife, but love as in I really like them. Aside from that, they’re all pretty much based on life experiences, so it’s really just insight into the simple things that make life just that much sweeter.

1. I love the power of the internet- how limitless knowledge is at my fingertips. I hate that it entices me so much that I burn countless hours staring at nothing.

2. I love the quietness of my town when I go outside late at night/early in the morning….sometimes it’s the closest I can get to pure silence

3. I love looking up to the stars above and being reminded of how small I am.

4. I love the heart that Jen has for animals, the innocent, and the underdog.

5. I love that she screams one minute at a bug, yet the next insist that it not be harmed

6. I love her new found joy of cooking and experimentation. whether the food is good or bad, the experience is always worth it.

7. I love the freedom i have with a few close friends to be unguarded. to truly speak from my heart with no fear of what they might think.

8. I love art. how it moves me and makes me feel emotions, even if it is sometimes painful.

9. I love getting phone calls from long time friends, especially those that have drifted away geographically. I cringe at the phone calls from relatives and acquaintances in which I know are only calling because they need a favor

10. I love the potential of the unknown future- dreaming about what might be and how fulfilling everything could become – yet I am fearful of not knowing the details of how exactly it’s going to happen

11. I like to plan things out and know what’s going to happen ahead of time, but I love it when things don’t go as planned and end in an unexpected adventure.

12. [I just experienced this one for the first time today] I love going into a good produce section and breathing in all of the smells and flavors and just thinking about how all of them are separate, incredible gifts of flavor and beauty.

Psalm 116:12

Published
by
Dave
on May 17, 2009
in General
. 0 Comments

For the past 4-5 months I’ve been leading worship at “The Gathering” [20's thing at my church]. Not a role I’m unfamiliar with, but not one that I’ve actually lead consistently before. Like anything, it’s a change that has really ended out changing me. I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about what makes a good or bad song, what the true meaning is, and why we sing at all to begin with.

The one thing I’ve realized through this process is that there is nothing I have to give to God that he doesn’t already have. When you think about giving a gift to a loved one, you’ll likely find a list of things they want or need…or maybe you’ll find something that you just think fits their personality. When it comes to God, there isn’t exactly a place to go for that gift. Which is where Psalm 116:12 comes in…it says this [from the Message]:

What can I give back to God
for the blessings He’s poured out on me?

You may be familiar with that passage, since Bono of U2 has been using it as a prelude to “Where the Streets Have No Name” in concert. The counter part to that passage I found in a song that we sang tonight at The Gathering called “I Will Not Forget You”. Here are the words of the chorus:

A grateful heart I give, A thankful prayer I pray,
A wild dance I dance before you
A loud song I sing, A huge bell I ring,
A life of praise I live before You

So, in that song is the answer- Get crazy with what you got. I know the church shutters at the word “dance”, but man, I just love the idea of truly dancing before God. Not for men to see, not for men to judge, but for the one that gives you breath, for the one that gives you a song, for the one that gives you rhythm.

Sing it, dance it, shout it, live it.

That’s what we can give back to God for the blessings he’s poured out on us.

Non-Tradition

Published
by
Dave
on May 16, 2009
in General
. 0 Comments

I’ve realized that the longer my posts are, the less likely I am to actually publish. Therefore this will be brief.

I went to a wedding tonight that was very different from most. For starters, it wasn’t in a church and it wasn’t outside. No live music, no singing, no unity candle. But…it was still a wedding. In essence the young and nontraditional couple did things their way, but still held onto the real things that make a wedding. Loved ones were there, they exchanged rings, vows, and kisses and that was that.

I’ve been home for a few hours now and I just had an observation about it- that wedding was very symbolic of the coming generation. Give us what’s important, leave the rest, and we’ll figure it out.

I often think about the wall of books that set in my pastor’s office. It’s literally busting at the seams, there are books piled on the floor, others scattered on desks and furniture…almost all of them in someway related to the bible. [How is it that we can write volumes out of one simple book? Maybe that's a topic for another day.] When you crack open one of those books off of the shelf, what you’ll likely find is a story about a person or organization that defied the odds. They went against what was normal, what was expected, what was easy, and succeeded. I guess it’s only natural that our response to those stories is “oh, we’ll if they can do it, we can too!” So we come up with some contrived formula to make their ways fit our ways…

…but we’ve missed the point.

The point isn’t to try to copy what they’ve done, but rather to be inspired by it.

That’s what I loved about the wedding tonight and that’s what I love about my generation. We’re not going to do things your way just because. We’ll take what is necessary, what has meaning, and we’ll make it our own.

Give us what’s important, leave the rest, and we’ll figure it out.

There is No Why

Published
by
Dave
on April 12, 2009
in General
. 0 Comments

Tonight I pulled up Netflix instant play and watched this documentary “Man on Wire”. It’s about a french man, Philippe, who back in the 70’s made it his obsession to walk on a tight rope drawn between the World Trade Center towers. The film is exceptionally well put together, with amazing photography and tons of actual footage of the days leading up to the event. What instantly drew me in was his undying passion for his art. There’s no way to explain it without just watching the film. In his words he said, “It is impossible that’s sure, now lets start working”. I just love that. How many times have you said that yourself? It’s impossible, but lets try it anyway? It seems like it’s a growing trend that we say, “eh, I think it’ll be a little too hard, lets try something else”.

anyway, that’s not really where I want to go with this. There was another quote (the title of this post) that I want to get to. After successfully going back and forth between the two towers, the cops arrest Philippe and as he walks by the reporters they shout out, “Why did you do it!?”. Philippe simply replies, “There is no why.”

There is no why.

As an artist, I love this statement. It seems too often that the things we do must have a reason. Everything is based on logic, control, reasoning… Why can’t we do things just for the sake of doing them? For the experience, for the expression, for the freedom that comes in actually creating something! Creating is something that I believe we’re all drawn to in one way or another, but most of us stop when we ask ourselves the questions “why do I need to create this or that?” or “What will I say when people ask me, ‘Why did you create this?’” I guess simply tell them there is no why.

I’m learning more and more everyday about myself. About what I should or shouldn’t be doing and the one universal truth I have come to is that I must be creative in what I do. I must create art. My problem is that I am trapped into feeling like I need a reason for it. I guess what I learned today is there doesn’t have to be a reason. There doesn’t have to be a why.

« Older Entries
Newer Entries »