Don’t Let Me Forget: The song on the radio in a room called “Remember”
This week I've been pondering, as many have, the end of this year. The spiritual practice of "Remembering" has become a helpful and comfortable place for me over the years. Like broken in jeans, or shoes, or that piece of furniture that has become contoured to your shape over time. I've recently been thinking of a Frederick Buechner book entitled, "A Room Called Remember." The book is introduced and themed around a dream that Buechner had. He had a dream where he was staying in an incredibly euphoric hotel room but when he left it he found that he couldn’t find it [...]
Praying a Prayer of Peace for Today
I remember when I first learned of Francis of Assisi. I was a student at a Lutheran university when the choir that I was in sang a piece that was an arrangement of the words from the Franciscan attributed "Prayer of Peace." Eventually through research I found that there is no evidence that Francis himself wrote the prayer, nevertheless I was captivated by the story of Francis (he did, after all, personify that prayer). It radically impacted my heart. Having been to a third world country out of high school, I returned to the U.S. unsatisfied by what the U.S. culture offered [...]
Learning to Be Still in Chaos
"Be still and know that I am God." Psalm 46:10 It's safe to say that there is plenty of chaos right now. “Be still and know that I am God.” It sounds great, doesn’t it? But this is more than bumper sticker theology. Something resonates in our hearts when we hear it, but when the reality of life rushes in, there can be a ‘yeah, right?’ response that is like a knee jerk reaction in our heads. “But doesn’t God know what’s going on in my life?!?” “How on earth am I supposed to ‘Be Still’??” “My whole [...]
Clinging to God
"Knowing God's intentions is what we need to hang on to when there's times of pain and suffering." - Dr. Jim Wilder on Susie Larson Live Recently, I shared a message on the posture of 'clinging to God' at the church where I serve. The topic that we are on is "Recalculating: when plans change." As I thought about this in my own life I have been humbled. From the high desert of the Navajo Nation, to sleeping on couches throughout my late teens and early twenties, I am thankful for all those who opened their hearts and homes to me [...]
You Captivate: throughout the seasons
Seasons. I've heard it, and used it, for years. "I'm just in 'a season of...'" and fill in the blank. It has become a part of the 'christian' sub-culture's language. But as I've walked, ran, trudged, and crawled through this journey called life, I have seen literal seasons of weather so extreme (from Arizona to Minnesota) that when I use the metaphor of seasons, I do it thoughtfully. I love nature, and I've used the imagery of nature in my music often. "You Captivate" is a simple song of seasons. Whether the extremes of life feel dry, like the arid, hot desert, [...]
In This Hour
Prayer. It all comes down to prayer. I've noticed over the years that many of my songs are prayer songs. Maybe because music is the easiest way to express my emotions, and of all else, most of what I have to say is to God. In a world that tries to divide life into secular and sacred, I disagree with that temptation to divide, and agree with Wendell Berry, who said something to the affect of: "There is no secular and sacred, there is only sacred and de-sacred." And I think it is the poets who live in the place of [...]