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Musings along the narrow way

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Posts tagged with "reality"

There are times...

Sunday, February 28, 2010 12:57:24 PM

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There are times when I wish things were different.
There are times when I wish I had chosen differently.
There are times when I recognize my own mistakes for what they are.
There are times when I lose hope and get frustrated.
There are times when I think the world does or, at least, should revolve around me.
There are times when I realize that life is messy.
There are times when I wonder how I let things get to be the way they are.
There are times when I just wonder.
There are times when I doubt.
There are times when I acknowledge that much in life is quite frail.
There are times when I lose sight of reality and spiral down into my own little world.
There are times when I don't know how to express or even identify what I'm feeling at any given moment.

...but...

Those times are temporary.
Those times are expected.
Those times are not without growth.
Those times are not without reasons for thanksgiving for at least something, somewhere.
Those times have their place in a larger picture and context.
Those times have been predicted from before the beginning of the world.
Those times have a predetermined end.
Those times have purpose.
Those times result in focus.
Those times result in a deepening.
Those times result in a realization that I am small and the world is quite large.
Those times result in either determination or surrender...each has its place.
Those times result in cutting through all the maundering piffle to what really matters.
Those times, if we allow the fog of our misperceptions/predispositions/bliks to be rolled back and blown away, result in a grounding in Reality: the way things really are.

...so...

Read the Bible.
Pray.
Ponder.
Evaluate.
Think.
Do.
Be.
Persevere.
Hope.
Have courage.
Hate Evil & injustice.
Love Good & pursue what is right.
Hold together.

See. Reality.

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Wordle: 2 Peter 1

Monday, June 23, 2008 4:04:15 AM

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Click the image below to see the original Java/better colored version:



Awesome chapter in an great book!

C.

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Josh Wilson: Three Minute Song in 2:59

Tuesday, May 13, 2008 3:03:32 AM

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Great song. The concept behind it reminds me of Chris Tomlin's "How Great is Our God". He talks about how when it comes to God, eventually, our human language runs out of words to describe Him...so we're left with that phrase: how great is our God.

Similarly, I like how Josh Wilson's Three Minute Song captures that same flavor. How much eternity, depth, breadth, width, justice, absolute perfection, wisdom, power, beauty, gentleness, joy, love, peace, grace, concern, knowledge, patience, hope, mercy, forgiveness, artistry, righteousness, justice, judgment, creativity, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, trustworthiness, Truth, nobility, surety, purity, wrath, loveliness, admiration and worthiness can you cram into three minutes when describing an indescribable God?

Answer: Not enough. Not. Even. Close.

C.

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Josh Wilson: Amazing Grace Loop

Tuesday, May 13, 2008 2:49:25 AM

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I love stuff like this. It's like performance art!

C.

9 comments

Walking alone in the dark

Friday, March 14, 2008 5:14:45 AM

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I picked this picture up in a Google image search that landed me here. Beautiful picture with depth and honesty.

C.

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Beauty from Pain

Monday, March 10, 2008 2:55:16 AM

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Beauty From Pain
-SuperChick

The lights go out all around me
One last candle to keep out the night
And then the darkness surrounds me
I know I'm alive but I feel like I've died
And all that's left is to accept that it's over
My dreams ran like sand through the fists that I made
I try to keep warm but I just grow colder
I feel like I'm slipping away

After all this has passed, I still will remain
After I've cried my last, there'll be beauty from pain
Though it won't be today,
Someday I'll hope again
And there'll be beauty from pain
You will bring beauty from my pain

My whole world is the pain inside me
The best I can do is just get through the day
When life before is only a memory
I'll wonder why God lets me walk through this place
And though I can't understand why this happened
I know that I will when I look back someday
And see how you've brought beauty from ashes
And made me as gold purified through these flames

After all this has passed, I still will remain
After I've cried my last, there'll be beauty from pain
Though it won't be today,
Someday I'll hope again
And there'll be beauty from pain
You will bring beauty from my pain

Here I am, at the end of me
Trying to hold to what I can't see
I forgot how to hope
This night's been so long
I cling to Your promise
There will be a dawn

After all this has passed, I still will remain
After I've cried my last, there'll be beauty from pain
Though it won't be today,
Someday I'll hope again
And there'll be beauty from pain
You will bring beauty from my pain

2 comments

Piper on the Prosperity "gospel"

Thursday, March 6, 2008 2:55:59 PM

Saw this at Justin Taylor's blog,Between Two Worlds. Powerful stuff.

C.

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Dave & Clym: Campus Life

Tuesday, March 4, 2008 5:21:11 AM

Here's an excerpt from a teen devotional book (Reality 101) that contains part of an interview that Dave Tweeten & I did with Chris Lutes from Campus Life Magazine last century.

It's good to remember God's grace.

C.

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The Problem with many Evangelicals

Sunday, February 3, 2008 6:32:22 PM


The scriptural advice is good here: Let us test ourselves against the standard of Scripture. Real-ly.

C.

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Tough Love for the American Church

Thursday, January 24, 2008 7:30:12 PM

This is more than worth the time to read, ponder, pray over and live differently because of the base message. It's hard to read on my blog, but click the tiny icon in the upper right hand corner of the document below and it will launch full size in a separate window.

Be blessed by it after you're hurt by it.

C.

____________________

Update: here's a youtube video of the actual message.

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Jellyfish life

Monday, January 14, 2008 1:46:14 PM

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This is the fruit of some stream-of-consciousness-surfing.

On a devotional site I read periodically, there was a link to an interview with Phil Vischer (of VeggieTales fame). It seems that God has brought him through a particularly tumultuous path. At some level, it's something that we all can relate to. It's worth the read: Talking with Phil Vischer

That article linked to Phil's new company, JellyFish. The preceding link goes directly to the "About Us" portion of the site. I found the thoughts around why they chose "Jellyfish" as the company name/approach as well as his story to be profoundly challenging.

That site linked me to his personal blog...which is filled with good stuff from what I've seen so far.

It was there that I found a link to a good article about The Golden Compass. I've not read the books or seen the movie. I've read bits and pieces of interviews with the author and articles about the books and movie. I author of the Christianty Today article brings up some good things to consider. Good read.

Gotta get to work now...

C.

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Les Miserables: Bring Him Home

Sunday, December 23, 2007 7:50:05 AM

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This song from Les Miserables is my favorite from that entire production. Once, Jodi and I were fortunate enough to obtain amazing seats (something like 4th row off center) in Chicago. I distinctly remember tearing up at this song. There's just something about the scenario of a father (which I am) praying (which I do) for the husband of a daughter (which I've been doing since before our girls were born...even though right now my daughters are FAR, FAR, FAR...FAR away from the age of courtship).

I appreciate and resonate with the simplicity and humility of the prayer song. An honest request to God for healing and blessing from one generation to another.

1 comment

Song of Love - Rebecca St. James

Monday, November 12, 2007 8:12:27 AM

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Okay, I'm like on blogging-fire today or something...or I have insomnia. Could be either. Could be both.

I checked out this teaching video. I kind of liked this song as it was played on the radio. I think I thought it was another "Jesus is my boyfriend"-types of songs -- you know, the kind where you can't really tell if it's a song about/to Jesus or if it's a song about someone you're dating. There is a difference between those two types of relationships and there should be a difference between how the two are written/sung about. Why? Because it's God, the Creator, Sustainer & Orchestrator of the Universe, not just some boyfriend.

However, after I've actually seen/spent some time pondering the lyrics, heard what was behind the song and heard how it sounds acoustically...I like it a lot more! There are some really good themes buried in "pop" worship song. If I had heard it acoustically first, I think I would have paid more attention to the lyrics/theme of the song.

Aaaanyway, here's the chord chart to the song. Enjoy & praise!

C.

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Song of Love - Capo 4
[G]Jesus, King of my heart
[D]Father, my peace and my light
[D][C]Spirit, the [D]joy of my soul you [G]are

[G]Jesus, to You none compare
[D]Father, I rest in Your care
[D][C]Spirit, the [D]hope of my heart You [G]are

Chorus
[D11]The heavens [C11]declare You are [G]God
[D11]And the mountains re-[C11]joice[G]
[D11]The oceans cry [C11]allelu-[G]jah
As we [A]wor-[G/B]ship You [C]Lord
[NO CHORD]For this is our song of [G]love

Jesus, You saved my soul
I’ll thank You for evermore
Jesus, the love of my life You are

(Back to chorus)

Bridge
Jesus, [D]I am in awe
Of the [C]love that [G]You have shown
Jesus, how [D]precious You are to [C]me, to me

(Back to chorus)

-- D11 & C11 are the G-shape 320033 (relative to the capo) but up on
the (absolute) 14th & 12th frets respectively.
-- Also, the A is played as 002033 (relative to the capo)

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New Song Cafe Archive

Sunday, November 11, 2007 2:36:15 PM

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Here's a great page that gives direct links to various New Song Cafe instructional videos. It's sorted by artist.

http://www.shbcmusic.com/newsongcafe/videos.htm

I hope you find it as helpful/encouraging as I do,

C.

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From the Rising of the Sun, by Viola Grafstrom

Sunday, November 11, 2007 2:17:35 PM

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I just found this video stream of Viola Grafstrom teaching how she plays her song From The Rising of The Sun. I've not heard of the song before, but it sounds beautiful and totally God-centered. It's prayer song that strikes me as being good for the heart of a worshipper.

Check it out: http://boss.streamos.com/wmedia/emicmg/newsongcafe/video/wma/300/0317.wvx

Unfortunately, in the 5 minutes that I searched, I wasn't able to find a chord chart or lyrics for this song. I'll track it down later and update this entry.

C.

________________________
Update: here's the song's chord chart in ChordPro format:

From The Rising of The Sun - Capo 2

Intro: [D][Cadd9][D/F#][G][D][Cadd9][D/F#][G]
[D]From the rising of the Sun
[Cadd9]even [D/F#]to its [G]going down
Shall your [A7sus]name be [A7]great
[D]Through all the Earth
[Cadd9]among the [D/F#]nations we [G]give you praise
Your [Bm]name is [A7sus]high [G]above all [A7sus]other[A7]
[D]gods[Cadd9][D/F#][G][D][Cadd9][D/F#][G]

[D]Jesus, [D/F#]lover of my [G]soul
[Gmaj9]You alone my [Em7]King worthy of my [A7sus]praise[A7]
My [D]worship [D/F#]I give to only [G]one
[Gmaj9]Oh Lord my heart I [Em7]bring when to [C2]you [G/B]I [A7sus]come[A7]

1 comment

Willow Creek repents & refocuses

Monday, November 5, 2007 1:01:02 AM

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I picked up the link to this article "Willow Creek Repents?" from Dr. Lake's blog...no, not THAT Dr. Lake...the other one...his son, Stephen smile.

Jodi and I met while volunteering with a high school youth ministry that was closely modeled after/alongside the Willow Creek ministry. After we were married, we ended up leaving that church because various things that just didn't seem right. One of the major reasons was that while we were serving and teaching students...we weren't really being taught things that deepened our faith much. Don't get me wrong, there was much sharing of past experiences and pain along with how God carries us through such things. But there wasn't much being taught in terms of spiritual disciplines beyond reading Scripture & praying. Critical lessons on how to study scripture, develop a Biblical world-view and think critically, Biblically were sorely missing in those days. Now, that church is a different church now and we've heard things are changing for the better. Praise God!

One of the touchstone realizations we had back in the days when we were working through staying or leaving was that there was such an emphasis in the ministry at the time to have a huge event and build up to it with the challenge to the students to "Bring your friends! Bring your friends!" The problem was that after the friends were brought, there was a bit of a Gospel message given, but there was a resounding "Bring your friends! Bring your friends!" feel to it.

So, we left and went to a different church that did emphasize those spiritually deeper, developmental things. Quite candidly, that church wasn't perfect either. Jerry Root used to tell us

There's no such thing as a perfect church. And if you find one, don't go there...you'll mess it up.

:)_ So true!

Aaaaanyway, coming from a ministry that followed Willow Creek's lead and hearing Bill Hybel's honest admission is actually quite encouraging to me. It's good to hear that their ministry is going to take a serious, prayerful look at how to create a body of believers that while it may be 100 miles wide...will be more than 2 inches deep, spiritually speaking.

Speaking of digging deeper...I've got some work to do myself,

C.

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Questions to ask your kids

Tuesday, October 2, 2007 5:01:57 PM

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I stumbled on these while looking through the Desiring God blog. They referenced some questions that John Piper found helpful. After following a string of links, I found the list on Justin Taylor's blog.

Here are the questions to ask & consider:
  • How are your devotions?
  • What is God teaching you?
  • In your own words, what is the gospel?
  • Is there a specific sin you’re aware of that you need my help defeating?
  • What’s daddy most passionate about?
  • Do I act the same at church as I do when I’m at home?
  • Are you aware of my love for you?
  • Is there any way I’ve sinned against you that I’ve not repented of?
  • Do you have any observations for me?
  • How am I doing as a dad?
  • How have Sunday’s sermons impacted you?
  • Does my relationship with mom make you excited to be married?
  • (On top of these things, with my older kids, I’m always inquiring about their relationship with their friends and making sure God and his gospel are the center of those relationship. And I look for every opportunity to praise their mother and increase their appreciation and love for her.)
Good & tough stuff to consider soberly,

C.

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John Bunyan -- Hitching, kicking & spurring...

Friday, September 28, 2007 6:43:58 PM

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Here's a link to a message on the life of John Bunyan by John Piper. Some really helpful things.

http://www.desiringgod.org/ResourceLibrary/Biographies/1480_To_Live_Upon_God_that_Is_Invisible/

One very memorable Bunyan quote that Piper references is this:

Bunyan's suffering made him passionate about these things – and patient. You can hear his empathy with strugglers in these typically earthy words in a book from 1678 called Come and Welcome to Jesus Christ: "He that comes to Christ cannot, it is true, always get on as fast as he would. Poor coming soul, thou art like the man that would ride full gallop whose horse will hardly trot. Now the desire of his mind is not to be judged of by the slow pace of the dull jade he rides on, but by the hitching and kicking and spurring as he sits on his back. Thy flesh is like this dull jade, it will not gallop after Christ, it will be backward though thy soul and heaven lie at stake."

Hitching, kicking & spurring this dull jade of flesh,

C.

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A Small List of Good Books

Tuesday, September 25, 2007 7:01:49 PM

I stumbled upon this blogger's post of the same title and have to agree. Of the books he's listed, I've read or am familiar with 4 or 5 of them and each of them were excellently helpful. Longman, Bounds, Piper, Henry, Packer, Sproul, Ferguson, Stott, Zacharias, Lewis, Colson, Guinness & Spurgeon -- each of them offer solid & helpful guidance. Now I have more books to add to my ever-increasing-never-decreasing list of books to read...

http://www.newcitypres.com/blog/?p=31

Here's an excerpt of the books he recommended (read the actual post as it explains what he was thinking of when he came up with this list).

Spiritual Disciplines

  • E.M. Bounds, “Power Through Prayer”
  • John Piper, “A Hunger for God”
  • Donald Whitney, “Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life”
  • T.M. Moore, “The Disciplines of Grace”
  • Matthew Henry, “A Method for Prayer”
Devotional
  • J.I. Packer, “Knowing and Doing the Will of God”
  • Arthur Bennett, “The Valley of Vision”
  • Charles Spurgeon, “Morning and Evening”
  • John Piper, “A Godward Life” (Book 1 and Book 2)
  • J.C. Ryle, “Expository Thoughts on the Gospels” (Matthew, Mark, Luke, John)
Church History
  • Earle E. Cairns, “Christianity Through the Centuries”
  • S.M. Houghton, “Sketches From Church History”
  • Bruce L. Shelley, “Church History in Plain Language”
  • James Eckman, “Exploring Church History”
  • Kenneth Scott Latourette, “A History of Christianity” (Vol. 1 and 2)
  • Justo L. Gonzalez, “The Story of Christianity”
Introduction to Theology
  • J.I. Packer, “Concise Theology”
  • J.I. Packer, “Knowing God”
  • Thomas Watson, “A Body of Divinity”
  • Bruce Milne, “Know the Truth”
  • Sinclair Ferguson, “Christian Life: A Doctrinal Introduction”
  • R.C. Sproul, “Essential Truths of the Christian Faith”
  • R.C. Sproul, “Chosen by God”
  • James Montgomery Boice, “Foundations of the Christian Faith”
  • Michael Scott Horton, “Putting Amazing Back Into Grace”
  • John Piper, “The Pleasures of God”
  • D. James Kennedy, “Truths that Transform”
Christian Living
  • J.C. Ryle, “Practical Religion”
  • J.C. Ryle, “Holiness”
  • John Piper, “Desiring God”
  • J.I. Packer, “God’s Plans for You”
  • J.I. Packer, “Rediscovering Holiness”
  • Jerry Bridges, “The Pursuit of Holiness”
  • Jerry Bridges, “Discipline of Grace”
  • Jerry Bridges, “The Gospel for Real Life”
  • C.J. Mahaney, “Living The Cross Centered Life”
  • Joshua Harris, “Stop Dating the Church”
Basic Bible Study Helps
  • Tremper Longman, “Reading the Bible with Heart and Mind”
  • Tremper Longman, “Making Sense of the Old Testament”
  • Alec Motyer, “The Story of the Old Testament”
  • John Stott, “The Story of the New Testament”
  • R.C. Sproul, “Knowing Scripture”
  • Philip Comfort, Ed., “The Origin of the Bible”
Evangelism and Missions
  • J.I. Packer, “Evangelism and the Sovereignty of God”
  • John Piper, “Let the Nations Be Glad”
  • Will Metzger, “Tell the Truth”
  • John Stott, “Christian Mission in the Modern World”
  • Joseph Alleine, “An Alarm to the Unconverted”

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Rolling River Ride -- Century!

Thursday, August 23, 2007 5:15:21 PM

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Jodi and I are going to do the Rolling River Ride 100 miler this Saturday. We're both looking forward to it as it should be a lot of fun as well as quite an adventure. If we hadn't been riding regularly, I'd be really worried. At this point, I just know we'll be a sore (a little or a little more than a little) the next day.

Ken Delo just passed on the best advice I've received (okay, the only advice I've received) for this ride: just make sure we stand up regularly just to keep the blood flowing. That's really a conscious thing that I do now to minimize any numbness on our 18-40 mile rides. So, I'm looking forward to the "Century" experience.

One byproduct I'm hoping for is that it'll help make the 40 milers seem like no big deal comparatively. I know that when we do our 38-40 mile rides, it makes our 18-25 mile rides seem like a quick sprint.

Perspective, it's a good thing.

I heard a neat quip on the radio where a gentleman shared how while he was despairing over a wayward child to a friend, his friend said something to the effect of "Man, it's only the 5th inning. There's no reason to give up hope." I like that. In one sense, our lives are a 2 second slice of time in light of eternity and our time is short. However, in another sense, especially when things are hard, there's no reason to give up and lose hope -- as long as we're still breathing, there's time and that means that there's hope. To me, that just underlines God's immense and deep grace. It reminds me of a poem by John Piper:

Not grace to bar what is not bliss,
Nor flight from all distress, but this:
The grace that orders our trouble and pain,
And then, in the darkness, is there to sustain.

God will not always shield us from trouble and difficulty. Although, as I think back over my life, I think he shielded me from a whole lot that could have been much worse than it was. The gracious realization is that He's promised to walk with us through difficulty. We're never alone and that's a good thing. That helps me to keep plodding on. Gradatim Ferociter!

Striving to keep the long-view,

C.

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