Coming home to the Father is the goal. So a man who calls himself a Christian, attends church, and has some hope of heaven when he dies has not received the lion’s share of what God intended him to receive through the work of Christ. He will find himself living still very much alone, stuck in his journey, wondering why he cannot become the man he longs to be. He has not come into sonship.
There’s that road that seems to lead towards an unknown yet more fulfilling path. Many people call it “The road less travelled”. The one that few people seem to walk on. Why? Perhaps it’s fear of the unknown. Perhaps its the fear of what’s required of one who will undertake such a journey. Perhaps it’s doubt in oneself to make it through. Maybe it’s just simply that not everyone is taking that road. Continue reading
There’s no way to describe the effect that music has on me. The closest way I could describe it to you is to show you this video of an elderly disabled man responding to hearing music from his era. His name is Henry.
Music, the “Quickening Art” – Kant
This is true and if you steer away from it, you fail. I had an interesting encounter recently with a drummer that enjoys doing being off in his own world when it comes to playing with a band. Needless to say, the band sounded less than average, yet all of them were very capable musicians. It only takes one person with a selfish attitude to make the dream difficult to accomplish. Do not work with these people! Save yourself the trouble and find a team player.
Even Kobe Bryant needs a team to win the game. On his own, I doubt he could win against the worst team in the season.
“The great paradox of life is that those who lose their lives will gain them. This paradox becomes visible in very ordinary situations. If we cling to our friends, we may lose them, but when we are nonpossessive in our relationships, we will make many friends. When fame is what we seek and desire, it often vanishes as soon as we acquire it, but when we have no need to be known, we might be remembered long after our deaths. When we want to be in the center, we easily end up on the margins, but when we are free enough to be wherever we must be, we find ourselves often in the center.
Giving away our lives for others is the greatest of all human arts. This will gain us our lives.” - Henri Nouwen
I don’t know about you but I love awkward silences and dead spots in conversation. I think they’re supposed to happen and we’ve become uncomfortable with those moments. We innately feel to fill the uncomfortable void with words to cover up the fact that we may feel awkward about not having anything to say in that moment.
Yet there’s something so human about the moment, nay even spiritual about it. The end of our breath. The silence of the moment. The absence of something. The uncomfortable awareness of reality and mortality.
I believe it is incredibly powerful in conveying the fact that you are ok with who you are and even ok with the dialogue coming to a halt. It says a lot more about you then you think.
Movies cuts the awkward silences with music soundtrack. Comedies cut awkward silences with Laughter. TV and Radio cut the awkward silence with Commercials. Have we become so accustomed to filling the silence with “noise”?
Silence makes us aware of everything. From the tiny sound of a cricket to the presence of the wind. Perhaps it is there that we will hear the still small voice of……..
During this transitional season of my life I’ve felt it all. The trials that come with knowing that you’re being called into the next stage of life, yet feeling the mixed feelings of joy and grief that come with the end of a season. The challenge of doing a Master’s degree after being away from Uni for 4 years. The feelings of being misunderstood by people who you thought would understand you, support and release you. Coming to terms with all that, and wanting to do the right thing by yourself and others.
Chaos & Confusion is part of any transitional period because it is learning to adapt to new ways of thinking and living. When you grow, you must get rid of the old self and learn to adapt to the new. It takes a while to get used to, but it is worth it. I’d relate it to the way a Child goes from the comfort of his/her mother’s womb to having to fight to survive in the world. The environment completely changes, but that baby must adapt in order to gain something far greater than can be provided for it in the womb.
God is really in the Chaos and Confusion. It’s during these times I realise that God can bring the Calm just as he brought the Storms in the Bible to a halt. The most important thing to remember is to hold onto Christ. To draw near to him more than you ever have before, because he is the cornerstone in which you can be anchored in life.
Life has its ups and downs, but God is the Anchor which stops us from being swept away.
Last Friday we had our annual Church Youth Ministry fundraiser event “Reach Gala Night” and we needed to pull together a musical item to represent the Young Adults of our Church. As I was thinking of a song to do a few weeks before the event, I had to consider what it is that young adults are and what they love. This is what I came up with
We needed something which involved these elements with the main focus of Fun, Creative, Fresh and Challenging. We chose the song “Tightrope” by Janelle Monae. This is how it came out.
It’s amazing to think that a Volunteer Music Team can pull that off! Here are some of the reasons why I believe it succeeded.
I learned that people will work hard and succeed at difficult tasks if you believe in them, nurture them, care for them and work alongside them to succeed. I learned a lot because I needed to also work hard! People see right through you and know whether you actually care. You can’t fake that stuff. If you’re going to do anything significant, I believe the first thing you must have is the ability to care about others. If you have that, then I believe you can accomplish anything challenging!
