MEMORY RESIDUE

Too Good (Live)

This song, as part of my Morning and Night songs, and it's a fun one. I wrote it on my cigar box guitar that was made for me. As I wrote it, I just kind of heard a bluesy, almost primitive, slide driven melody. So, I wrote this song, and when it came time to perform it, I was thinking "I have no idea how to arrange accompaniment for this song," but the guys in the band did an awesome job at bringing out textures for this song. Lyrically, this song is based around one of my favorite Buechner books, and excerpts. In his book Telling the Truth: the Gospel as Tragedy, Comedy, and Fairy Tale. He [...]

By Joel|2018-01-23T04:03:01+00:00September 8th, 2017|In The Margin, Morning and Night, Music|

Learning to Sing and Dance: a ragamuffin blessing

My deepest awareness of myself is that I am deeply loved by Jesus Christ and I have done nothing to earn it or deserve it. - Brennan Manning, The Ragamuffin Gospel A blessing that I categorize as a 'dangerous blessing,' is one that Larry Hine, Brennan Manning's spiritual director, gave to Manning at his ordination. I kiddingly call them 'dangerous blessings,' because, as I mentioned in my post "A Beautifully Uncomfortable Blessing," it's not that they do harm, but they courageously embrace what we would normally consider desolation for the purpose of the greatest consolation: experiencing the Love of Christ more deeply. The thing that resonates with me regarding these 'dangerous blessings,' is that they embrace an [...]

By Joel|2020-05-23T22:00:31+00:00July 18th, 2017|Prayers and Blessings, Spiritual Disciplines|

Cultivating Silence

For God alone, O my soul, wait in silence, for my hope is from him. Psalm 62:5 Something that has been impactful to me in my walk with the Lord has been integrating quiet/silence into my life. It hasn't been easy. Life get's busy, and it's an odd thing: I've found that when you intentionally seek to create more quiet and silence in your life, you discover how much noise is continually crowding in, and sometimes (oftentimes), it is from within us that the noise comes. Silence is something that we need to cultivate. In Psalm 62:5 we see a word in Hebrew for the kind of silencing of oneself that I'm referring to, it is: dâmam. [...]

By Joel|2019-05-16T04:57:03+00:00June 26th, 2017|Spiritual Disciplines, Spiritual Formation|

Consolation, Desolation, and the Examen Prayer

He who goes about to reform the world must begin with himself, or he loses his labor. -St. Ignatius of Loyola Something that has been paradigm shifting for me has been the Examen prayer. As a husband, father and non-profit worker, the Examen has been impactful for me, for self-awareness as well as for my spiritual development in Christ-centered discernment. I've found that it's a useful tool to see where God is at work, and is calling me to Himself throughout the day. Along with this prayer (that I'll share below), there is language (terms) that Ignatius introduces us to, called: "consolations and desolations." Generally put, a desolation is the experience of situations or circumstances that [...]

By Joel|2019-05-16T04:54:28+00:00June 15th, 2017|Prayers and Blessings, Spiritual Disciplines, Spiritual Formation|

Memoirs of a Visitor

Too Good (Live)

Learning to Sing and Dance: a ragamuffin blessing

Cultivating Silence

Consolation, Desolation, and the Examen Prayer