Bucket List

Never made one of these before, thought it might be fun.

1. Skydive
2. Bungee Jump
3. Get a tattoo (at least one)
4. Get a motorcycle
5. Own/DJ for a pirate radio station on a boat anchored off shore
6. Play in a professional band
7. Attend Hillsong church in Sydney
8. See Top Secret Drum Corp play live in Basil, Switzerland
9. Visit Brouch, Luxembourg and drink a beer there
10. Go back to Turkana, Kenya
11. Visit all 50 states
12. Get Packers season tickets
13. See the Cubs win a World Series
14. Write a song
15. Write a poem
16. Learn to surf
17. Ride a horse
18. Run a marathon
19. Become nonallergic to cats
20. Backpack across Europe (so cliche)
21. Set a world record
22. Set a Guinness Book of World Record
23. Become a scratch golfer
24. Go on a missions trip
25. Live happily ever after

Hope I didn't miss anything...

Roarin'!!

Let love explode and bring the dead to life
A love so bold to see a revolution come.


Now I'm lost in your freedom this world will over come.

My God's not dead, He's surely alive

And He's living on the inside roarin' like a lion.

Let hope arise and make the darkness hide
My faith is dead I need a resuuection somehow.


Let Heaven roar and fire fall, come shake the ground with the sound of revival.

These lyrics hail from the most recent live DC*B recording on the newest Passion: Awakening CD. Daniel Bashta is the individual who was blessed with these words. The first time I heard these lyrics, my emotions had the same reaction that Miss Shields had to Ralphie's theme during his day dream in A Christmas Story; "shear poetry."

What would love exploding look like, bringing the dead to life, opening people's eyes and ears and hearts to true life. Or hope arising casting out darkness, removing the veil from our eyes and opening out hearts to the glory of God.

My God's not dead, He's surely alive. 

Our God is not dead and he surely is alive. That line is great in itself, but then the chorus gets better.

He's living on the inside

God is living inside of you and me.  Isn't the holy spirit amazing?  That God can come and live inside of us. Then my favorite part.

roarin' like a lion

I love that imagery. God is inside us, roarin' like a lion, wanting to know and rescue all who have fallen and to be known intimately by everyone. We have the God of the universe, inside of us roaring.  This sounds cheesy, but it's so true. We do not worship a silent, passive God. He is active and vocal, and when we allow him to dwell in us, his presence is unmistakable.

You can listen to it here:   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dmXD52oogRI


What do you think?

Jealousy

Since going to church this morning, there has been something that I've been thinking about all day. The opening line from the song "How He Loves," originally written by John Mark McMillan and most recently recorded by the David Crowder Band. The very first line of the song is as follows:

He is jealous for me

What an amazing thing to think about. The God of the universe, creator of everything, all knowing, all powerful, the one who knows each one of more intimately than we ever could, is jealous for us, for you, for me. He loves us so much, he feels jealously towards the petty things in this world that we fill up our time with rather than spending time with God. We have pushed our savior to jealously and still he loves us unconditionally and wants nothing more than for us to come to him. A simple task, yet we are to scared to leave our comfortable lives that we have built for ourselves instead of pursuing God and living an even greater life than we could imagine.

In case you haven't seen this, here is the link to the David Crowder Band music video for the song. While the video itself is entertaining, pay attention to the words too. I hope they grab your heart like they have grabbed mine.  

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TJyW55AXJAk&feature=related

What do you think?

Motivation

This is some good motivation...


http://www.breakpoint.org/commentaries/14358-preachers-and-podiatrists

What If...

What if the armies of the Lord
Picked up and dusted off their swords
Vowed to set the captive free
And not let satan have one more

What if the Church, for heaven's sake
Finally stepped up to the plate
Took a stand upon God's promise
And stormed hell's rusty gates

What if His people prayed
And those who bear His name
Would humbly seek His faith, yeah
And turn from their old ways

And what would happen if we prayed
For those raised up to lead the way
Then maybe kids in school could pray
And unborn children see light of day

What if the life that we pursue
Came from a hunger for the truth
What if the family turned to Jesus
Stopped asking Oprah what to do

What if His people prayed
And those who bear His name
Would humbly seek His face yeah
And turn from their own way

He said that He would hear
His promise has been made
He'll answer loud and clear, yeah
If only we would pray



From What If His People Prayed by Casting Crowns

My Favorite Song

This is, by far, my favorite song.  Check it out.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1mvewRB9CN4



What's yours?

Always Yours

I was watching TV this evening when an Overstock.com commercial came on and the background song playing was "Always" by the band Switchfoot.  The lyrics of the song were being used to make you think that you can have whatever you want. Anything can be "always yours" as the lyrics of the chorus say.  But these lyrics have been sadly taken out of context.  Rather than explain to you, in my own words, what the lyrics mean, I'd like to share with you the explanation of them by Jon Foreman.  He wrote the song.

"I am continually searching for meaning in my life. Why am I here? Why is there so much pain? This cold, dark stream of sorrow runs through my life. Why does it run alongside of the warm beautiful waters of joy and beauty? Why do the two rivers collide and intertwine? The dark and the light. The death and the life... Most of my songs become outlets for these questions. The music becomes place for the cognitive dissonance to chew away at something other than a broken heart or an ulcer. The music becomes a place to sort through the dark and the light. I love crosswords, sodoku, solitaire- games with a simple victory that allows me the momentary thrill of setting the world right. But song- writing feels like a similar discipline to me. A puzzle of letters and math, theory and rule, expression and passion.

The lyric of this song attempts to start at the womb and follow a human soul through life. And so it begins: the heart beats, the eyes open, breath floods the lungs for the first time- what incredible experiences! What extraordinary sensations! I wanted to write this from a father's perspective, from the eyes of the father of life. One look into the eyes of his son and the father is smitten for life. The possession that the young infant has over the father is complete. Always yours. The second verse speaks of the pain. This pain is always with us. We are born into a world of pain, the pain of losing a child, the pain of rejection, of racism, sexism, fears... these experiences rip us to pieces.

Everyone feels pain. I look to those who have been through more pain than I will ever know for guidance on the subject. The Austrian neurologist and psychiatrist Victor Frankl survived several Nazi concentration camps with his life and his hope intact. He lost more than I'll ever know... his wife, his parents, and his family did not survive. His understanding of pain is in direct opposition to our western world that is often found running from pain at all costs. Frankl’s “Case for a Tragic Optimism” speaks of turning suffering into human achievement and optimism in the face of tragedy. The memories, the pain, the scars, these are yours. Yes, the things that you and I have lost. These are yours and they have meaning. No, these could never be The Ultimate Meaning in our lives, but let these scars drive us towards "turning suffering into human achievement and accomplishment."

The bridge in the song is the acknowledgment of my own shortcomings. As a man born into beauty and pain, there is a moment of surrender where I lay down my life. This is a free volitional action, a gift, just as the father's love was given to me- this became the response. A simple surrender to the Infinite Maker of The Finite acknowledging that I need his love. The meaning in my life is often found in surrender rather than mastery."

It is unfortunate the the lyrics and meaning of this song have been misunderstood and misused. Rather than being used to express that fact that God is always ours, it is now being utilized to portray that we can have whatever worldly things we want. I hope that people will be able to see though the veil and understand what Mr. Foreman is trying to say and truly realize that God is always ours.  What an incredibly comforting thought.


Here are the lyrics for your reference and a link to the song:


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=85vi2pB1T5c

This is the start
This is your heart
This is the day you were born
This is the sun
These are your lungs
This is the day you were born

And I am always yours

These are the scars
Deep in your heart
This is the place you were born
This is the hole
Where most of your soul
Comes ripping out
From the places you’ve been torn

And it is always yours
But I am always yours

Hallelujah!
I’m caving in
Hallelujah!
I’m in love again
Hallelujah!
I’m a wretched man
Hallelujah!
Every breath is a second chance

What do you think?