advent (essentials red)

For the Institute of Contemporary and Emerging Worship Studies, St. Stephen’s University, Essential Red Online Worship History Course with Dan Wilt.

I just finished reading the chapter on Advent in Ancient-Future Time (Robert E. Webber). He ties the historical and personal contexts of Isaiah, John the baptist, and Mary (mother of Jesus) into the advent understanding quite excellently. As I think about this season of the Christian Year, I begin to think that it would be a worthy discipline to consider this season on a daily basis. 

There are always areas of my life that live in the desparate expectation of God’s appearance. I know He’s ‘here’ (reality) but I need Him ‘here’ (work dilemma, life questions/doubts, marriage, etc.) As Isaiah mentions, it is important for me to be honest about where I am if I am going to engage in his plan to redeem and restore me. Man do I need restoration!

I look at it this way: If an area of my life were fully restored and alive in the way that His kindness directs I believe I would see and interact with him all the time in that area (this is redemption to me). However, it is without doubt that I can share that in the areas of my work, casual interactions, intimate relationships, and private life I only occasionally stumble upon His perfect love. May the Advent never end in my life as it is ever needed!

So here I am,

Only a visitor to the Extensive Provision that gives me breath

A casual passingby toddler to my Mother and Father’s home. 

He is so undeniably good.

So these are my next steps. To keep on continuing the discipline of meeting with Him in new places.

To ask him what his redemption/restorative promises are to me in the areas I await Advent (Isaiah)

To continue to contruct my life in simplicity to more intentionally love and believe in his appearance (John the baptist)

To believe his promise when it comes and experience his incarnation (mary)

What I’ve previously mentioned is taking this advent paradigm and applying it in a personal way. It is important to apply it outside this… I felt God say he has that Advent tension in his heart as he looks at the world around me: at certain people’s lives around me, at current world affairs and injustices.

It would seem that I need to place my concern or stress from these situations in Him and his own expectation and longing of his own Advent in these specific situations. He has specific intentions he wants to share with me and participate with him.

With this came a reminder that because of his closeness I can consider these different tragic situations and not have to ignore them because of my own inabilities to help. Rather, as his child, I am married to the restoration of these situations and can be part of His much needed coming, only by loving and abiding in His good love.

sounds like good news

time & space (essentials red)

For the Institute of Contemporary and Emerging Worship Studies, St. Stephen’s University, Essential Red Online Worship History Course with Dan Wilt. 

I’ve been thinking about my own practice of worship in regards to time and space and have decided a couple things: as far as me becoming disciplined to create ‘times’ of worship in my own life it has become very apparent that creating a space is fairly important.

My art/music room contains some fantastic inspirations: a ridiculous amount of good music, a yamaha cp-80, my acoustic, 100′s of songwriting attempts, my fretless bass, my new genz benz shuttle 6.0 head (it’s ridiculously good sounding), blank paper, and nice wood floors. 

However its a mess and somewhat difficult to enter. So this last week I’ve begun to at least place things in such a way that I can freely enter the room. Already, this has made a difference; I’ve been entering more (three nights in a row and counting). I’ve been picking up my acoustic and writing new attempts. I was doing some leading for worship sing-along last Sunday and I actually practised before! Having a space is important it would seem.

As long as I have a space I like I don’t think making the time will be a problem. I’m sure this principal has some other application… When I create a space, I’m invested and identified in that space; it makes sense I would want to go there.

A few thoughts stem off this: God is making us his art space. How can we include/facilitate our worship community to communally create a space?

I’m on a journey of simplifying my life; complications come from trying to do a lot to be productive and eventually you become automatic. Simplifying means creating space to do what you can and it still be intentional and meaningful. I find it great comfort that God doesn’t seem to demand of me a lot of results just one or two good ones.

Finally Started

Alright finally got this started… I still find it remarkable that my last name is so rare I could use it as my blog name.