Rythmic Reclamation

You have to read The Polyphonic Poet. This is how the church stays alive. Evangalism invites converts into the culture of our house, but we are too often content leave the walls bare. Steps are being taken to reclaim culture.

Hello My Friend

Hello my friend,
We meet again,
On this blessed morn.

To eat and drink
And merry make,
Never more to mourn.

Come dance with me,
Beloved one,
In disciplin'd accord.

In rise and fall,
Give and recieve,
Show deff'rence to the Lord.

Let halls resound
With harp and voice,
Praises raised with skill.

While aged look
To see the young
Rejoice among the hills.

Well met, and glad
With you, my friend,
Upon this mount to stay.

The Lord is glad,
His people blessed,
On this, His sabbath day.

Sitting Amongst Giants

There is nothing quite like being in the midst of a couple hundred men, joined harmoniously in unity of hymn and song. The uplifting prayers of these saints must surely be heard at that moment. But stronger yet is the Amen stated emphatically at the end of the hymn. It is a plea and appeal, let it be so. But it is also a proclomation and affirmation, it will be so. The prayers of the saints, however faltingly mumbled in the highest earthly forms will be translated to the throne room of heaven, and the case righteously pleaded by the great Intercessor. Amen.

So, I sit, participating, and then listening and learning. As I sit, I get to view things from the shoulders of giants. Men bring the Word of God, and as the Word it cannot go without returning having accomplished its purpose. There may be mistakes uttered, but the Word is there. I sit among giants. They are giants, however, because they understand their insignifigance. What is any man before the God of all creation? Infintismally small. But, as Christ taught, the least become the greatest. I sit among giants, I sit in the Church of Christ.

Blessed Fellowship

In a constant persuit of adding to my 'visited states' list, I have proceeded, along with a number of folks from my church to Monroe, LA, for the Auborn Avenue Theological Conference. This it is focusing on the Church. While things are just getting underway, already we are spiritually encouraged and bolstered. It took eight hours or so to get here from MO, and what a blessed eight hours it was! Sitting there, reading C.S. Lewis, studying, mulling, and then, joy of joys, discussing ideas with each other. Not debating, not patting each other on the backs with indignant self-agreement, but fellowshipship, indeed discovering wonders about our Lord and Savior, that led the heart to worship Him. Indeed they were discussion whose natural end demanded worship and rejoicing in the one and only Lord and savior of the world.

Tagged

Or, 101 things you never wanted to know about and were too afraid to ask. I have been tagged, not with one set of questions, but with two. Without further ado, here I go.
Set #1:

QUESTION #1: Seven things I hope to do before I die

-Memorize at least one Testament
-To learn to read the NT in Greek, and OT in Hebrew
-Go snowboarding
-Build a house
-Become Self-Employed
-Marry a Godly woman and raise a house of Godly children
-Write a book

QUESTION#2 Seven things I cannot do well:
-Car mechanics
-Organize my things
-Handle teasing
-Sing
-Photgraphy
-...Anything without a deadline
-Many things that I can do moderately

QUESTION#3:Seven things that would attract me to my spouse.
Her...
-Heart
-Liver
-Spleen
-Lungs
-Kidneys
-Pancreas
-Lymph Nodes
(We all know that true beauty is more than skin-deep, hence...)

QUESTION#4:Seven things I say often:

-Oh Gosh
-Shoot
-For real?
-...the subjective and arbitrary fashion of the psuedo-intillectual coffe-shop culture...
-Get outta town
-How 'bout them Card's?

QUESTION#5:Seven authors, books or series I love
-C.S. Lewis
-The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
-Charles Dickens
-Jane Austen (ha)
-LOTR
-Laddie
-Redwall

QUESTION#6:Seven movies I watch over and over again:
-Man from Snowy River
-Last Samurai
-The Patriot
-Kate & Leopold
-Count of Monte Christo
-Spiderman
-Master & Commander

QUESTION#7:Seven people I want to do this: TBA

Set #2:

QUESTION#1:
What is your favorite dance?
-Swing
or in Contra dancing
-Posties Jig

QUESTION#2
What would a perfect day be like for you?
-Gathering together with the Church, worshipping the Lord, taking His supper together, feasting, and dancing.

QUESTION#3
Name 8 of your quirks!
1. I drink lots of coffee
2. I have an insatiable appetite
3. I can eat like a horse and not gain a pound (I've tried)
4. I love hats
5. Ironically, I'm paranoid about my hair
6. I do very dirty work, and I love to be clean
7. I can't stand anyone to read over my shoulder, not matter what I'm reading or writng.
8. I have been within 30 miles of the East coast 5 times, and never seen it.

QUESTION#4
What was one of the most vivid dreams you have ever had?
-It was a recurring nightmare.

QUESTION#5
Quote your favorite childhood prayer.
I'm going to change this to bible verse, as I never memorized any 'childhood prayers'.
-"The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly." John 10:10


QUESTION#6
List 8 items that you would put in a time capsule to be opened by your great, great, great grandchildren.
1. A Bible
2. Wedding Photos
3. Autobiographies of my parents, my wife, and myself
4. A family tree
5. My favorite hats
6. My Sword and pocket knife
7. Tools
8. My wedding ring

QUESTION#7
List 8 things you do to relax!
1. Pray
2. Play my fiddle
3. Juggle
4. Run
5. Go for a walk
6. Read
7. Write
8. Call a friend

QUESTION#8
Finish these 8 incomplete sentences.
1. Some people think it is amusing when I.... turn swing moves into country jigs.
2. Compared to me, most women/men..... have more facial hair.
3. I get excited when..... Katie makes dessert.
4. I would like to make myself..... finish writing a short story
5. Mothers can't...... stand their kids being gone.
6. My friends dont understand why...... I speak in incomplete sentances.
7. I am confident that...... He who has planned the end has planned the means.
8. If people only knew how...... much freedom there is in the supreme soveriegnty of God.

Round Here We Stay Up Very Very Late

I would like to see science try to explain my new year celebration. "The rythmic motion and cooperation of complex bio-organisms resulting in high levels of emotion-causing endorphins and adrenilins, lasting long past the solar cycle." Maybe I'll put it my own way. I danced the night away, and it was totally awesome. Of course, I wouldn't have been there had there not been a we. There was a plurality. We celebrated, we danced. The joy came in the origins of that plurality. We, Christian friends, brothers, sisters, came together to glorify our Maker through fellowship, feasting, and dancing. We worshiped our Redeemer, celebrating the unity found in our redemtion, revelling in the life in the gracious gifts of our maker, and making merriment together. It makes one glad that we are not a gnostic religion.

So, what do a bunch of young people, under the full blessing of their exhausted parents, do when they are full of celebration and persueing an antithetical culture? IHOP. The fun didn't end with the dancing. Several of us proceeded to the home of eternal breakfast, apparelled in our historic garb, to continue the persuit of fellowship. We created quite a stir, all walking in looking like half-worn rejects from the stage adaptation of Gone With the Wind. When asked how many were to be seated, we did not lie by replying "14, but we need room for 30." So, we sat, we talked, and we ate. Most of us even maintaned intelligent conversation until 3:30 (AM). We finished our evening (ha) around 4:30, and got home around 5. We decided not wait for the sunrise, as we had plans to make church. Our plans were succesful, and I even stayed awake the whole time (on three hours sleep). It will take a reasonable two weeks to recuperate, but there is reason to rejoice in the fatigue.
God has mercifully given life, which we remember with the coming of the new year. He has graciously given friends, with whom to celebrate His gracious gifts.