Things are changing... that shifting feeling is coming back and people are getting antsy and... what's the word when you keep remembering old times? Well, that word, when I think of it.
I'm excited for everyone on their journeys. God had big plans.
Sunday, May 31, 2009
Wednesday, May 27, 2009
Studio Time
Trailerpark is really coming along. I've been hearing good things about the progress, and listening to the music they have been recording today, it sounds good. I missed the sitar player unfortunately... but it sounds good. All the people on the audio team are incredibly talented and I'm blessed to be on the team with them. The whole crew is talented. I can't wait to see how all of them are going to use their gifts after their time at Ohio University. I have no doubts in my mind that they are all going to be successful.
Anyways, if you have time, check out the sweet-looking new-ish website here.
Here is the studio currently, with Tim, our composer's hand...
Anyways, if you have time, check out the sweet-looking new-ish website here.
Here is the studio currently, with Tim, our composer's hand...
Monday, May 25, 2009
Saturday, May 23, 2009
Fun.
Perhaps not in this heat, but any other day this would be so fun.
The clapping is the best. Look how much fun everyone is having!
Wednesday, May 20, 2009
Right Now...
I am sitting up on college green. It is perfect outside, God made it so beautiful.
One of our traveling-preacher-friends is sitting all by himself up here in his normal spot. He tried yelling at people, saying "I know you can hear me..." but no one listened and now he's not saying anything. The theories hold-true, that if there is no one to listen to them, they won't say anything. Perhaps he'll leave.
I've had so many visitors this week. My friend Jeff, my friend Jim, and my parents left this morning after they made the trip down here for the awards banquet for the scholarships I won for next year. God is a provider. I knew I received one, but not two... such a blessing.
Gates
As Cities Burn
One of our traveling-preacher-friends is sitting all by himself up here in his normal spot. He tried yelling at people, saying "I know you can hear me..." but no one listened and now he's not saying anything. The theories hold-true, that if there is no one to listen to them, they won't say anything. Perhaps he'll leave.
I've had so many visitors this week. My friend Jeff, my friend Jim, and my parents left this morning after they made the trip down here for the awards banquet for the scholarships I won for next year. God is a provider. I knew I received one, but not two... such a blessing.
I've been looking for a new chorus,
A different way to say your name, to hear your voice,
I gotta find new chords.
Oh how my new body, it shines...
Somehow your blood made you blind to our divide.
I am all yours.
We will wear compassion,
we will wear it.
And the gates of hell won't stand against it.
We will wear compassion,
We will wear it,
And the gates of hell, they won't stand against it.
Gates
As Cities Burn
Tuesday, May 19, 2009
Depending.
Growing older does put a different spin on life. Relationships with people as friends turn into things completely different then how I saw them as a child. I miss that on occasion. My entire life, well... from when I had an actual personality, I have been a relational person. Deeply sensitive to other people, what they are feeling, how they treat others and them-self, etc... and while it worked as an adolescent, I am finding it is becoming more and more difficult to devote time and energy into people who may not view friendships, or perhaps our friendship the same way. I like being able to give myself to that, allow people in, there is a connection, a sharing, and when Jesus is involved, there is so much deep fellowship with others that can happen, allowing both parties to grow in Him and in the friendship.
I like being like that with people, but perhaps it's too much. Perhaps boundaries must be drawn with how much people should be let in, and how much of me I invest in others. Perhaps I need to surround myself with more people who will not take what I have given them and not care. Perhaps I need to protect my heart with friendships too.
How do I do that? How do I change what has been an intrinsic part of how I relate to others? What are the steps I need to take to stay protected and not break every time there is evidence of not-caring from the other party? It hurts twice as much when our friendship was based around Jesus, there can be a lot of confusion... do I pray for strength? Wisdom? That God send me more fellowship with people who truly love Him? That he remains my only strength? All of the above?
Not to sound self-pitying. I am asking for other's knowledge on the subject.
God is good and I need to depend on Him. Hearts are going to be broken, but He is here to heal them.
I like being like that with people, but perhaps it's too much. Perhaps boundaries must be drawn with how much people should be let in, and how much of me I invest in others. Perhaps I need to surround myself with more people who will not take what I have given them and not care. Perhaps I need to protect my heart with friendships too.
How do I do that? How do I change what has been an intrinsic part of how I relate to others? What are the steps I need to take to stay protected and not break every time there is evidence of not-caring from the other party? It hurts twice as much when our friendship was based around Jesus, there can be a lot of confusion... do I pray for strength? Wisdom? That God send me more fellowship with people who truly love Him? That he remains my only strength? All of the above?
Not to sound self-pitying. I am asking for other's knowledge on the subject.
God is good and I need to depend on Him. Hearts are going to be broken, but He is here to heal them.
Tuesday, May 12, 2009
It's That Time Again
The leaves are finally on the trees, people's faces are brighter (and tanner), and the familiar shouting of the various traveling preachers can be heard across campus. It's springtime in Athens again.
Every spring, for about a two week period, there are various traveling preachers that come and spew hatred and hellfire as they stand in the most beautiful area of campus, where there is a lot of foot-traffic and lots of wary ears to hear. It's an interesting juxtaposition, looking at the beauty of this world, the intense green of the trees and grass, the constant smell of lilac all over the greens, that was lovingly made by a God who loves us enough to make all that for us, being pocked with people shouting about a fictional god of hate and smite. It's a shame that those shouting can't point to that as proof of His love instead of point to a few verses in the Bible out of context proving that everyone is going to burn in hell.
Why did Jesus die? As I recall, in John is says 'For God so LOVED the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever belives in him shall NOT perish but have ETERNAL life.' (Emphasis added by me). Thats is such a joyful message! In my experience, people don't respond to positively to being personally insulted, being threatened, being looked at as less-then-human, when in reality, God IS Love (1 John 4:16), there is hope, and we are all equals because we are all loved children of God who have equally messed-up hearts. There is only one judge (James 4:12); there is only One who is perfect. It's the way it is.
My heart is broken for those who shout hatred because they are missing an integral important part of Jesus' message; that there is an ultimate love that can encompass your heart until there are internal changes, one of which is being able to see other as God sees them, as He created them, with Love, among other things. There is a peace that cannot be described, there is Joy and so many other beautiful words that burst open in your heart when you truly live for that Love.
Don't get me wrong, I am not trying to judge them. I admire their gumption. Being able to share is an important part of living this Love, but it needs to come from a place of openness and vulnerability and it needs to come without judgement, and should be a natural flow of everyday life, personality, and relations. That is what I have found anyway.
In Velvet Elvis, Bell compares Christian spirituality to a trampoline. He says there are people who want to make it into a brick-world, 'brikianity', solid walls, enclosed, cut-off, etc...and that needs defending when attacked. He talks about how Christian spirituality needs to be more like a trampoline, bending and stretching to fit to the current reality, and then he goes on to say that
Talking about beliefs is important, but it needs to spawn out of a place of love and a desire for others to experience what you experience. Its like the post I posted last year by David Crowder, if you have some time, please look it over, it is quite fabulous. 'O Praise Him'
I have come to appreciate when the traveling preachers come. I find that it is much easier to talk to people about the real way Jesus lived because everyone knows that what these people shout is not reality. I pray that, one day, I can have the gumption these preachers do, and I pray that the real peace of God floods over their hearts and opens their eyes to a life of love that is so liberating.
Molly Wolf
Every spring, for about a two week period, there are various traveling preachers that come and spew hatred and hellfire as they stand in the most beautiful area of campus, where there is a lot of foot-traffic and lots of wary ears to hear. It's an interesting juxtaposition, looking at the beauty of this world, the intense green of the trees and grass, the constant smell of lilac all over the greens, that was lovingly made by a God who loves us enough to make all that for us, being pocked with people shouting about a fictional god of hate and smite. It's a shame that those shouting can't point to that as proof of His love instead of point to a few verses in the Bible out of context proving that everyone is going to burn in hell.
Why did Jesus die? As I recall, in John is says 'For God so LOVED the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever belives in him shall NOT perish but have ETERNAL life.' (Emphasis added by me). Thats is such a joyful message! In my experience, people don't respond to positively to being personally insulted, being threatened, being looked at as less-then-human, when in reality, God IS Love (1 John 4:16), there is hope, and we are all equals because we are all loved children of God who have equally messed-up hearts. There is only one judge (James 4:12); there is only One who is perfect. It's the way it is.
My heart is broken for those who shout hatred because they are missing an integral important part of Jesus' message; that there is an ultimate love that can encompass your heart until there are internal changes, one of which is being able to see other as God sees them, as He created them, with Love, among other things. There is a peace that cannot be described, there is Joy and so many other beautiful words that burst open in your heart when you truly live for that Love.
Don't get me wrong, I am not trying to judge them. I admire their gumption. Being able to share is an important part of living this Love, but it needs to come from a place of openness and vulnerability and it needs to come without judgement, and should be a natural flow of everyday life, personality, and relations. That is what I have found anyway.
In Velvet Elvis, Bell compares Christian spirituality to a trampoline. He says there are people who want to make it into a brick-world, 'brikianity', solid walls, enclosed, cut-off, etc...and that needs defending when attacked. He talks about how Christian spirituality needs to be more like a trampoline, bending and stretching to fit to the current reality, and then he goes on to say that
"...you rarely defend a trampoline. You invite people to jump on it with you. I am far more interested in jumping than I am in arguing about whose trampoline is better. You rarely defend the things you love. You enjoy them and tell others about them and invite others to enjoy them with you."
Talking about beliefs is important, but it needs to spawn out of a place of love and a desire for others to experience what you experience. Its like the post I posted last year by David Crowder, if you have some time, please look it over, it is quite fabulous. 'O Praise Him'
I have come to appreciate when the traveling preachers come. I find that it is much easier to talk to people about the real way Jesus lived because everyone knows that what these people shout is not reality. I pray that, one day, I can have the gumption these preachers do, and I pray that the real peace of God floods over their hearts and opens their eyes to a life of love that is so liberating.
"And the, when we're broken and helpless as babies once again, we find ourselves being tenderly held and released into a new softness and gentleness and trust, where we can be free and loving once more, and truly, resiliently strong, no longer rigid. Paradoxically, the more we allow our walls to be broken, the more we find how little we really needed them. The more we die, the more alive we become. The more we trust, the less reason we have to be fearful."
Molly Wolf
Sunday, May 10, 2009
Made Too Pretty
We bear your name,
And you let us say
You are something that you're not.
As if you were made after we saw our own faces,
And knew we were gods enough.
I think we were made too pretty.
We're caught up in a stare we cannot break.
We know nothing changes too slowly.
Someday we might come down,
But who's to really say?
And if we are the body,
How'd the pretty men get so ugly?
How'd he get all these spaces between each limb?
And if there is one thing bigger than my head,
That's the distance I've been mislead.
'Cause I think we were made too pretty.
We're caught up in a stare and we can't break.
We know nothing changes too slowly.
And someday I might come down,
Oh, I don't wanna come down.
I think we became too pretty.
We don't want a God we don't see in ourselves, don't see we're in need.
We don't want a God we don't see in ourselves, don't see we're in need.
I think we were made too pretty.
We're caught up in a stare and we can't break.
I think we were made too pretty.
Yeah, so much we don't see it yet.
We don't see it.
We know nothing changes too slowly.
Made Too Pretty
As Cities Burn
Sunday, May 3, 2009
Bursting
I am just going to ramble here....
I find myself out of apathy; being down and out, being low and forgetting, He sends something, people, a message.... that Hope. It comes and it frees me and I am made whole again, or reminded that I am whole in Him. I can breathe again, I can see again, I am free to Love people for who they are because what they do does not define them. God's love is worth screaming from the mountaintops. I don't want to be a salesman; like they said at 707 tonight, Jesus is not a product. He is life, He gives life, He takes away that death that we are supposed to go through so that we can fully live that life He is intending for us, which consist of true Love. A Love as He Loves, which is pure, without motive, without the bait n' switch, without looking at others faults... Love. I want so badly to love others like that, I want so badly for everyone who is important to me to feel this Hope, and this Peace that I cannot describe no matter how hard I try. It is so good. 'Good' doesn't even come close.
I find myself out of breath; excited that Jesus came and left us with this message to tell people, that it is worth telling people; excited that I get to experience this world with His light shining in it and that all the beauty He has for us here, all the Joy that can come on this earth from Him is only a minute little sliver of the fullness of that which can come when I finally let go of these needs, these dependancies on others, these insecurities, this pride, this wanting to figure life out myself first... when I give into my thirst for eternity, that is so quenched by his cool and embracing hold on my heart.
I am sitting here and I find myself out of words that are able to describe the state of my soaring heart at this moment.
I find myself out of apathy; being down and out, being low and forgetting, He sends something, people, a message.... that Hope. It comes and it frees me and I am made whole again, or reminded that I am whole in Him. I can breathe again, I can see again, I am free to Love people for who they are because what they do does not define them. God's love is worth screaming from the mountaintops. I don't want to be a salesman; like they said at 707 tonight, Jesus is not a product. He is life, He gives life, He takes away that death that we are supposed to go through so that we can fully live that life He is intending for us, which consist of true Love. A Love as He Loves, which is pure, without motive, without the bait n' switch, without looking at others faults... Love. I want so badly to love others like that, I want so badly for everyone who is important to me to feel this Hope, and this Peace that I cannot describe no matter how hard I try. It is so good. 'Good' doesn't even come close.
I find myself out of breath; excited that Jesus came and left us with this message to tell people, that it is worth telling people; excited that I get to experience this world with His light shining in it and that all the beauty He has for us here, all the Joy that can come on this earth from Him is only a minute little sliver of the fullness of that which can come when I finally let go of these needs, these dependancies on others, these insecurities, this pride, this wanting to figure life out myself first... when I give into my thirst for eternity, that is so quenched by his cool and embracing hold on my heart.
I am sitting here and I find myself out of words that are able to describe the state of my soaring heart at this moment.
Friday, May 1, 2009
Our Hearts
The hovering damp smell of rain is heavy as I begin to feel a light mist on my cheeks and ankles.
I missed the bus but it's alright.
It's been a beautiful few weeks, not just the weather, but internally. God has been so apparent, or my eyes have been opened to see his apparent-ness, and I am so filled with joy that I've had that time to grow in that.
Summer plans:
I will be interning with Natural Sound Studio in Minneapolis. They do all sorts of recording, and also live-sound regularly.
With pretty much a free place to live with a friend, family in the city, and only a four hour drive to the cabin in WI, it's been really a blessing. London was a struggle, scraping to get it ready, being let down again and again... God asked me to let go, and He gave me this internship.
I miss the fellowship I have at home, but I know that even this is preparing me for the summer and for my time after college. I know that He is enough... He is everything.
Talking to a friend at the coffee shop the other day, we were just sitting there in awe and gratitude that this Love, that His sacrifice is so amazing that we yearn to live in that, that it is worth shouting from the rooftops. No other love is as encompassing and worthy of constant reverence and awe.
I missed the bus but it's alright.
It's been a beautiful few weeks, not just the weather, but internally. God has been so apparent, or my eyes have been opened to see his apparent-ness, and I am so filled with joy that I've had that time to grow in that.
Summer plans:
I will be interning with Natural Sound Studio in Minneapolis. They do all sorts of recording, and also live-sound regularly.
With pretty much a free place to live with a friend, family in the city, and only a four hour drive to the cabin in WI, it's been really a blessing. London was a struggle, scraping to get it ready, being let down again and again... God asked me to let go, and He gave me this internship.
I miss the fellowship I have at home, but I know that even this is preparing me for the summer and for my time after college. I know that He is enough... He is everything.
Talking to a friend at the coffee shop the other day, we were just sitting there in awe and gratitude that this Love, that His sacrifice is so amazing that we yearn to live in that, that it is worth shouting from the rooftops. No other love is as encompassing and worthy of constant reverence and awe.
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