When has this happened before?

When has this happened before?

I'm sitting in my living room.  Reese is asleep.  Nicole and her girlfriends have just headed out garage-saling for the morning.  I'm alone with my coffee and an unfortunate access of Tastefully Simple cinnamon mini melts.  There was a great storm last night, and has lingered into this gray morning.  The dampness is seeping in through the open windows with the fresh new air.  Birds and critters are adding their songs to the atmosphere.  I wonder if they're rebuilding nests, scavenging for food, or just excited about the new day. Anyway, it's nice to be sitting in a quiet place (sans distant traffic and jet sounds) for a change.

I'm sure my Mentor Gathering friends can agree - as can any of you who have gone to a great retreat, conference, or even vacation - I've not had much time to put into practice what I was so hoping to adopt from my time away from "life."  When I returned from Ocean Grove it was back in the groove, back in the swing of things, back on the horse, back to life back to reality.  So today, 3 weeks later, this unexpected margin is a very welcomed change of pace.

To not lose any more precious time, I'm gonna log off quickly and I'll expand on the idea of Silence & Solitude later.  A few thoughts for now:

Brennan Manning stated over and over again that the most important spiritual discipline in his mind was silence and solitude.  It was spending time in quiet reflection and meditation on God, His Word, and His character.  I know we've all heard that before.  However, I think (hope & pray) it really sunk in this time.  Even in the hustle and bustle of married life, full-time ministry, and parenting a 2-year-old, I am compelled to do this.  It may not be for an hour a day.  But even 10 minutes of quiet will do me good.

My hope is (if I get a full night's sleep) to get up at 6:30 and find some time then.  I was able on the retreat to get up at 5:30 and catch the sunrise.  So 6:30 shouldn't be to difficult, as long as Reese sleeps like she is right now!

OK, more later.

Abba, I belong to You

I got the great privilege of spending a few days with some amazing people last week at Ocean Grove, NJ.  About 30 worship pastors, artists, and leaders got together to encourage, retreat, study, and worship.  That alone was a blessing.  Being with folks who have served faithfully for decades, who have blazed trails, who have scars and chevrons.  I was truly humbled to sit and learn of how God has used them and continues to do so.

We were blessed immeasurably to spend a few mornings with Brennan Manning, who was honestly the reason we all signed up to go on this retreat in the first place.  Knowing his books and a small part of his story, we all anticipated God to speak through Brennan in an amazingly profound way.  Our time together was profound, indeed.  To describe it is to describe the Grand Canyon.  Words will fail.  Pictures revive memories for those of us who were there.  And though a picture is worth a thousand words, it still does not do justice to the SMILE that fell over our time in Thornley Chapel, the Great Auditorium, and the streets and porches of OG.

"Abba, I Belong to You" was from Brennan.  It is the prayer he prays "100 times a day."  In his words,
It gives me a core sense of identity, a core sense of belonging, I belong to the Abba of Jesus...When you pray, you are to say ABBA. What an extraordinary intimacy we are called to with the living God. 


As I try to figure out where I'm to go with all of this, I plan on starting with this prayer.  There is so much to "unpack" from mountaintop experiences like these.  We all want to find the application, to find the "take-home," to see that we've grown a few inches taller than the notch on the door frame.

If I learned one thing this weekend, it was slow down, listen, ponder, wait, and be loved.  We were allowed the opportunity to do that with Brennan and each other.   He graciously loved us.  We together, broken & bruised, our pride removed, worshiped.  And it was all possible because of the Grace & Love of Christ. 

Two is better than one

So in my last brief post I admitted that I'm a bad blogger. Actually, I think it's more fair to say I'm an inconsistent blogger. That's the challenge with self-proclaimed deadlines and goals. If they're not the main goal, then they continually get pushed to the side. As most of the non-blogging world states - I've got lots more to do than sit down and write about something that not many people will read. Still, I feel that I do have something to say if I have time to say it. So we'll see how well I can keep up. If you have randomly found me and are following OotO then thanks! If you've purposely begun following me, let me know. And keep me accountable for new posts, at least weekly.

With that said, I'm going to take today and focus on another blog. This one isn't exclusively for me. And there's a deadline, so it's going to be a bit higher on my "to-do" lists. In the near future, watch for links to a Worship Mentor Blog. I'm a part of the Worship Mentor Network, an aspect of Worship Foundations International.  It's goal is to create a platform and a structure that can help connect experienced worship leaders and artists with up-and-coming worship leaders and artists. 

I'm looking forward to serving WFI & the WMN in this small aspect.  Check back soon for details, encouragement, resources, and other info.

Bad Blogger

So this is just to admit that I've been slacking. Had a great breakfast today with Leadership Westerville discussing Social Media. Need to get back on it. So more to come soon! I promise!!!

What did you think He was going to do?

Sunday was Palm Sunday - the Triumphant Entry.

Matthew 21:6-11
 ⁶The disciples went and did as Jesus had instructed them. ⁷They brought the donkey and the colt, placed their cloaks on them, and Jesus sat on them. ⁸A very large crowd spread their cloaks on the road, while others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. ⁹The crowds that went ahead of him and those that followed shouted,
   "Hosanna^[b] to the Son of David!"
   "Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!"^[c]
   "Hosanna^[d] in the highest!"
 ¹⁰When Jesus entered Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred and asked, "Who is this?"
 ¹¹The crowds answered, "This is Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth in Galilee."

Such a jubulant celebration.  Over the top, almost.  It was enough to get the attention of the whole town.  But only few knew how Jesus was going to save them.  Most had their own presumptions.  There was such angst and vitriol against the Romans.  There was corruption within the Temple Leadership.  Society needed a re-boot and Jesus had been gaining a reputation.  Many were willing to follow him, to fight for him, maybe even to die for him.  But they didn't realize that Jesus was willing to die for them.  In fact, he meant to.



Who do we presume Jesus to be?  Who do we want him to be?

HE IS CALLED	WE WANT HIM TO BE
The Great Provider (Genesis 22:13-14)	The limitless & free Vending Machine
The Lord is Peace (Judges 6:24)	One who makes everything easy and stress-free
The Strong One who Sees (Genesis 16:13)	One who Tells Us All He Sees, except what might make us uncomfortable or sad.
Savior (Genesis 2:4)	The Eliminator of the Difficult, Painful, and Inconvenient
Consuming Fire (Heb. 12:29)	Wrath Bringer, only to really bad and evil people.
Creator (1 Peter 4:19)	The Divine Being who may or may not have started the chemical processes that produced Earth, the universe, and all living things.
Deliverer (Romans 11:26)	See Savior, but with more urgency.
Faithful & True (Revelation 19:11)	One who is who We want Him to Be and Tells us What We Want to Hear.
Judge (Acts 10:42)	Judge of everyone Else.

OK, a bit over the top, but really, not too far fetched sometimes.

It amazes me how much we are alike the people of Jerusalem - praising Jesus on Sunday for who we think He is.  And then as the week goes on we're more and more shaken (and stirred) on who He really is, how He really wants us to live, and by Friday we've all but denounced and disowned him.

I'm so grateful Sunday comes around again each week.

And then there's Monday.

Mountain Music Part 2: Wander & Wonder

So it's been a few weeks.  I meant to get to this within a week of the first post.  But life is crazy!  I know we're all waiting for the next thing to be done so we can get a break.  But then that new next thing comes up, right?!?  Anyway, let's get on with it.

So in watching the PBS Series on National Parks it occured to me that we don't take time to wander and wonder any more.  At least not outside (more on this below).  The fact that there are camping campaigns like goRVing.com tells you that it's not in the forefront of the American Mind to "rough it" for a few days.  And for those that do "tent-camp" you can have ceiling fans, AC power, and fully inflatable furniture to make you feel "at home."  Even at summer camps there are air-conditioned, carpeted rooms with bathrooms & showers in the "cabins" (which are more like hotel suites in some cases).  But this is not about venturing into the wilderness with a knife and burlap sack.  It's more about venturing at all.

In the days when there was still "back country" in the US, people loved going out and exploring.  The National Parks were designed to allow people to experience nature - the landscape, the scenery, the vegetation, the wildlife - as closely untouched as possible.  And people did it!  They hiked trails, crawled through crevasses, rode horses down riverbanks and up mountains.  At first, due to the expense of the travel, the wealthy and aristocracy were the only ones to experience the unforgettable.  But the vision of the NPS was to be accessible to the entire public, and eventually they all came.

Through most of the 1900s, it was a family tradition, a right of passage, to load up the family car and drive 1000s of miles to visit national parks.  (Note the picture at the top when they drove a car on the fallen Redwood!) The first interstate roadways in the west were created to facilitate the traveling tourists.  Even into the latter part of the 1900s it was tradition for the family to take 2-4 weeks and hit the open road, stopping at scenic pull-off spots on the road to gaze across the horizon at rolling hills, snow-capped peaks, and rainbow colored canyons.  The agenda was getting there, and eventually getting home.  Not much more.  The trip and the experience was worth it.

Think of vacations today.  The itinerary is set online, probably prescribed for us.  We go from garage to parking garage to shuttle to airport to shuttle to hotel to shuttle to amusement, flustered if any leg of the journey isn't smooth and uneventful.  At our destination we walk only to strap into new seats, watch bigger screens, experience simulated "adventure" and escape into fantasy for 3-5 minutes, preceded by a 3-5 hour zig-zag line of waiting.  (Of course you can always pay more for those speed-passes which get you in.) Sometimes we actually get bored and leave early!

But if we slow down enough and choose to head to one of these parks - or to a local nature preserve, state park, or even city park - the unpredictable awaits every time.  Why wait in line for 3-5 hours when you can hop in the car and watch as the landscape goes from trees to fields to hills to mountains to shoreline?  I've found that when you slow down enough to look to the left and the right, the world becomes infinitely larger.  Most times our pace is so brisk that we don't dare look to the side for fear of falling flat on our face!  But hiking through unfamiliar terrain causes us to watch our step, examine our surroundings, and observe in greater detail the greatness that has been created for us to enjoy.  We find ourselves not thinking about the inbox, not worrying about the DOW average, not pondering politics.  It is the one time we use technology to express our wonder at what we cannot create, or recreate with technology.  We can only do what people have done for decades - take a photograph and reluctantly share it with others knowing that the 2-D depiction, no matter what resolution, cannot truly express the grandeur of it all.

We find time to stop.
We find time to breathe.
We find time to smell.
We find time to listen.

This whole phenomenon got me thinking: Do we think of God's majesty (from the enormous to the intricate) anymore?  Do we really take time to reflect and take in all that God is?  Do we ever slow down and experience him with all the senses?

One thing about national parks is that you can't just go for an hour.  Even if that's all the time you plan for, you'll stay for a day, or a week.  Do we ever really experience God this way?

Is our agenda so packed that God only fits within a 15minute commute?  Do we multitask God-time? Do we take time to wander and wonder with God? To God?

Part 3 will come soon.  Thanks for taking the time to read!

Mountain Music Part 1

Purple Mountain Majesty

For the past few weeks my wife and I have enjoyed watching “The National Parks: America’s Best Idea” on PBS.  It’s been a fascinating story about the initial inception of the park network in the mid 1860s all the way until today.  There were personal accounts from naturalists, zoologists, scientists, park rangers, and visitors – all sharing their perspective on the parks, what they meant to them personally, and what they meant to the country as a whole. 

If you’ve ever been to one, especially one out west (where most originally were) you understand the majesty and wonder that is a National Park.  From the snow-capped mountains, to the mile-deep canyons, to the millennia old sequoias, to the lush expanse of the Smokies & the Everglades – there is so much to behold in the natural panorama of America.

I’ve only had the chance to go to two national parks and a few national forests.  But they are amazing.  It is one thing to see the great photography of Ansel Adams, or to watch Ken Burns’ films, or even to catch an IMAX experience.  But to be there in person, to hike up and down and around and through for miles, to be in the center of a National Park’s magnificence is a bit mind-blowing.  To experience the animals and plants and landscape with all your senses overwhelms you.  You are small, and yet while not insignificant, your consequence is put in its place.

I think of Psalm 144:

 ³ O LORD, what is man that you care for him,
       the son of man that you think of him?
 ⁴ Man is like a breath;
       his days are like a fleeting shadow.

Even the trees live for hundreds of years, the rocks thousands.  How long will the rivers continue to run into the see after I’ve gone? 

Still, Psalm 8 reminds us.  Truly majestic is the One who created the wonders.  And we, although finite in this seemingly infinite world, are but a little lower than He, and tasked with the stewardship of all that is seen. As Howard Zahniser, primary author of the 1964 Wilderness Act said, "We are guardians not gardeners."  What a humbling, yet empowering task.

I love nature, but am not a complete naturalist, per se.  This post is not intended to be a soapbox for the Sierra Club or Green Peace or even the National Park System.  It is the first of 3 blogs that I’ll share as I have begun to reflect on the National Parks and how they ultimately can help us in our understanding and response to who God, and our perspective on worship.   Come back soon for part 2!

LENT - from "The Complete Library of Christian Worship" Robert E. Webber, ED.

The Christian observance of Lent may have originated as a period of fasting for candidates for baptism at Easter; the period varied in length and could be as short as one of two days.  Mention of a general forty-day period of fasting occurs in the fourth-century Canons of Nicaea, but the Western church did not settle on the present scheme until the seventh century, when the beginnings of Lent was moved back to Ash Wednesday so that Sundays (which could not be fast days) would not be counted in the forty days.  (The Eastern church still spreads the season over eight or nine weeks.)  The association of Lent with Jesus’ forty days of testing in the wilderness (Matt. 4:2; Luke 4:2) is acknowledged by liturgical historians to be an afterthought that did not affect the development of the season.  The name “Lent” comes from an Anglo-Saxon word meaning “spring,” the “lengthening” of days with the approach of the vernal equinox.

            Lent offers the opportunity for the observance of certain biblical disciplines.  In Israelite religion, fasting or “humbling the soul” was directed for the Day of Atonement (Lev. 23:27, 29).  It was an act of mourning (Josh 7:6; 1 Sam. 31:13; 2 Sam. 1:12) or penitence (1 Kings 21:27; Joel 1:14) and was also practiced by prophets seeking direction from the Lord in Crisis situations (Moses, Deut. 9:18 and Elijah, 1 Kings 19:8; both forty days). Jesus assumed his followers would occasionally fast (Matt. 6:16-18), though he did not command it, and his disciples did not fast, as did the Pharisees, while he was with them (Luke 5:33-35).  In recent years the liturgical churches have moderated the strict fasting formerly associated with Lent, and evangelical Christians have never consistently observed it.  Fasting as a means of seeking direction from the Lord is often practiced in charismatic churches but not in association with any liturgical season.  Most Protestant communions that observe Lent have done so with emphasis on additional times of worship or special disciples of devotion and on self-denial in order to redirect funs toward worthwhile causes.  While the Christian life-style of self-denial should characterize the walk of the believer throughout the year and not just during one season, the discipline practiced during Lent has particular value in leading the church to a deeper experience of Christ’s passion in preparation for the more joyous experience of Easter.

- From Webber, Robert E. "Lent." The Complete Library of Christian Worship. Vol 1: The Biblical Foundations of Christian Worhsip. Peabody, MA: Hendrickson Publishers, Inc, 1993. p 200

Meaningful Traditions?

So it's the national "Blog about LENT" day, apparently.  So I must fulfill my role as a blogger.   My wife and I were talking about Lent last night.  Actually, she was talking and I was listening.  Lots of folks are sharing, tweeting, posting, and updating their status on what they're giving up for Lent.  This brought up a lot of questions.  Rather than give a direct opinion, let me share some questions I was thinking about.  I'm sure if you follow my train of thought, a perspective will come out eventually...

• Why do we share what we're giving up for Lent?
• Why do we give anything up for Lent?
• When we end - or break the fast - do we celebrate that we made it through Lent by indulging in what we gave up?  Is it like the end of a marathon?
• Is Lent for Us or for God?
• What is Fat Tuesday all about?  Is it the indulgence before the abstinence?  Is that the point?  Isn't that the opposite of what Lent is really about?
• Have we reduced something intended for spiritual focus to a religious, or even non-religious practice?
• Aren't there many events and practices of Spiritual nature that we've reduced to religiousity, or even a secular replacement?
• Christmas?  Easter?  
• Why are Christian traditions the only ones that continue to be retained as secular versions, and be stripped of their Spiritual intentions and meaning?
• Do Christians add to this watering down of tradition?
• Have churches thrown away liturgy and tradition because it has no meaning, or because those that still practice [Lent] do it for strict religious purposes, and not to grow in their Faith.

Hmmm....OK, you've followed me down this rabbit trail.  I know there are movements and intentional steps by some to brush the dirt and dust off of Ancient practices.  Back when they were designed, they had specific and profound spiritual purposes.  But what have they become?  What have we become because of them?

I read today in Matthew about how the Pharisees ridiculed Jesus and the disciples for not ceremonially washing their hands.
Matt 15:1-2
 ¹Then some Pharisees and teachers of the law came to Jesus from Jerusalem and asked, ²"Why do your disciples break the tradition of the elders? They don't wash their hands before they eat!" 

It brings us to the same question.  Why do we do what we do?  I think that is the question of the day.  Not what is Lent, or what are you giving up for Lent, but Why do you practice Lent?

I'll probably have to visit this again soon.   For now, I'll let it linger and settle.

All systems go?

Social Mediums (would the plural be Social Media?)
Connecting them and making posting easier.  Is it working?

I'm trying to get twitter, facebook and blogger.com all working together.  We'll see if this post hits all three sites!

NEW TITLE, NEW ATTEMPT

Hi Friends,

If you're reading this, then some how you've found out that I'm jumping on the blogwagon again.   Blogging's a good thing if you can keep it up.  It makes me slow down and thing about what's going on with me.  It forces me to verbalize my thoughts and get them out there.  Hopefully what I write will relate to someone else.  Maybe even someone that stumbles onto this blog.

About the Title:
For the past few years now, an old phrase has begun echoing around me.  "Out of the Overflow"  It stems from two different, yet related scripture themes:
Luke 6:45 says The good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For out of the overflow of his heart his mouth speaks.  (It's also in Matthew 12:34).

My hope is that this blog will be an honest representation of what is overflowing from my heart, and that it is pleasing and glorifying to God. 

The other theme is similar, yet a bit different. 

Psalm 119:171 May my lips overflow with praise, for you teach me your decrees.

Romans 15:13  May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.
Ephesians 5:18b, 19 be filled with the Spirit. ¹⁹Speak to one another with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs. Sing and make music in your heart to the Lord, 

I'm reminded of the old VBS song "Oh fill my cup (Fill my cup let it overflow)."

As a worship leader, I grabbed hold of a similar phrase "Worship out of the Overflow."  It comes from the idea that we are to be constantly and continuously filled by the Holy Spirit.  (In the Ephesians passage, the verb "be filled" should really be translated "be being filled." It's a perpetual act.)  Specifically for worship artists, worshiping out of the overflow means that we hopefully have been filled by the Spirit and our overflow is what others are seeing and hearing.  Our expressive worship, our light shined, our fruit produced is that overflow.  We don't have to perform or create enthusiasm and energy.  It is truly not us, but the Holy Spirit oveflowing out of us.

So, taking this thought out of the worship leader context, I really pray that this is how I can live - out of the Overflow.  The reality is, something will always be flowing out, and that will be the reflection of what is filling my heart. 

So this blog is me, overflowing onto your screen, out into the ether that is the internet and blogosphere. 

Sunshine and Lucy

How fresh does it feel when the sun finally comes out after a few days (or weeks) of clouds and grey? I think it feels amazing. I frequently see the sunrise thanks to my dog, Lucy. At first it was the worst way to start the day - grumpy, tired, cold, and getting dragged around my apartment complex by a 50lb 1-year old. But I've come to a new conclusion. 90% of the time, when Lucy and I are taking our stroll, no one else is around. The birds have returned to sing in the arrival of green and spring. I can finally wear sandals outside, even if my feet get wet with the dew. I've begun to look forward to those moments when the sun crests the horizon and shoots through the trees. It's fresh, new every morning.

It has challenged me to make sure that I rise with the Son every day. What an over-used comparison, right? But I've realized that I can either wake up and wait for a shower, a cup of coffee, and noon until I wake up and become affective to the world and for Christ, or I can welcome in the chill of the morning air and be grateful. The same way, I can either trudge through the day and eventually pick up scripture, or mumble a prayer, or listen to some Christian music and eventually be reminded that I'm a child of God. Or I can begin each morning with the Son shooting through the pages of the Bible. I can breathe in the fresh breath of Life as the Holy Spirit infuses me with a purpose. I can walk freely [barefoot even] with God and know that He will always love and cherish me. His compassion is new every morning.

So I'll look forward to the sun. I'll look forward to the dew. I'll look forward to what the Son will do. And I'll still look forward to coffee.

Worship & Sin

Sin and worship are opposites. Sin separates us from God and destroys our relationship with him. Worship connects us with God and renews our relationship with him. Even when we sin against others, we're not honoring God, which means that we're doing the opposite of what He has called us to do. And Grace is the gift that covers our sin and allows us to Worship. It is Grace that lets us enter God's throne room. It is grace that has caused the reunion between Father and child. It is grace that has saved us through Jesus Christ and is sacrifice of mercy. And it is Grace that allows us to return back to our Father when we sin. Not that we should keep on sinning so Grace can increase. But we must keep worshiping and giving honor and glory to the source and giver of that Grace. We must never take for granted the intimate relationship that God wants to have with us. Even when He is just and wrathful, his mercy and grace are still available for us and allow us to repent and return to Him.

The difference between SIN and SING is one G. Let that G be Grace.

It's been forever

Moving is fun, but being done with moving is better.

Looking into podcasting.

I need to utilize this blog.

I think I might.

How many days

How many days can it rain before you lose all resistance to mopiness?

How many soggy steps can you take in the grass before you begin to leave footprints?

How many clouds can you let fly overhead while dodging their shadows?

Laying it all down

The paradoxes of Christian Faith are sometimes easier to accept if you don't try to figure them out.

Surrendering sets you free. What an amazing truth. By giving up control, decisions, problems, desires...you gain a freedom and a peace not found elsewhere.

The human injustice of the Crucifiction is non-existant compared to the divine justice of the Cross. Man's wrath was placed on one Man so that God's wrath would not be placed on all men.

Enough for now. Later.

I'm glad I have Monday's off

Jumping into work on Tuesdays is a bit easier than Mondays in some ways. I don't have horrible headaches on Sunday night. I get that extra rest and mind break. It's good.

But, I also sit down on Tuesdays and think that I've got to sprint to the finish every week. I'm a run hard, rest hard type of guy.

People who take naps for 15 minutes, or 30 minutes...I don't get it. A nap is at least as long as half of a football game. Or maybe a LOTR disc.

The ballance between it all is still being connected with the Spirit. Not completely checking out when I'm "off" and not pushing right past the moments when I'm "on."

hopefully today I can find the inbetween. I don't want merely to get things done. I want to complete the tasks set before me.

OK, off to more working.

TAKE 2 off

The end of a week. Friday is here. Enjoy your first non holiday weekend for a change.

Look Up.
John

Let's See How Long This Lasts

Hello there friends and strangly curious people.

This first post is going to be short. Just like me. Check out my details if you'd like. Basically, a friend started her own blog, and it inspired me to do the same. Sometimes my thoughts will be profound, sometimes they'll be disjointed. Sometimes they won't even be original.

But, I hope this is at least a good procrastination tool.


Look Up.

Chili