You know… it’s just very interesting that I am so… different.

Everything about me is usually the opposite of everyone else, or at least the opposite from what I am “supposed” to be.

We were are a men’s retreat this weekend (yes, all 5 of us… therein lies the first oddity…) and I just thought, this is SO not me. I am not a man’s man. I am not like these guys. I don’t have anything to discuss with them… and it’s all because they were at a manly thing for men.

I am all fine with being a man and stuff… there are plenty of ways that I am “manly”… but somehow that particular homogenous group made me notice again how different I am.

And most of the time I am OK with that, but there are definitely times that I notice it more, and wish I was not always so… different. Not that I want to be like everyone else – I don’t think I ever have wanted that or that it is even a potential emotion for me… More just weariness of always being so … different.

But in the end, I think that is the beauty of God’s creation. No matter how many labels we make, no matter how many groups, classifications, organizations, cliques, brandings, etc etc etc… that we make… we are ALL unique. Every last one of us. We try to fit in (most of us) cause it somehow makes us feel like we belong. But really, we are all completely unique. And that’s a great thing!

There are those of us who are so weird that we can’t help but be noticeably different… (like me!) And there are some who blend in a bit better… but really, we are all different.

There is amazing depth to that. We are created in the image of God… so how can we all be so different? What does that possibly say about the character, personality, and “uniqueness” of God? Might it say that he is a might bit more VAST and varied and not-pin-down-able than we like to categorize him as being? Perhaps…

All I am saying is, sometimes I grow weary of being “different”… but all I have to remember is that is exactly who God made me to be and there is Joy in that… there is jaw-dropping joy. The sheer immensity of his creativity is mind-boggling.

I am creative like my Creator. I am also quite willing to think outside of the box — again, like my Creator. Today, it’s just good to remember that God uses my weirdness to reveal his kingdom around me. So long as my focus is on him, he will be right there with me, applauding my weirdness.

Yours too! So go on… be weird!

Just for fun… We just got back from tracking ALL DAY. Got all the electric guitar stuff done. It sounds great!!! We did a rough mix of a couple of the tunes, and wanted to share one with ya here. This is the title song, God Came. Most of it is done… need to do the real guitar and vocal parts, and perhaps a few more thingies… but sounded so good in it’s EARLY early stages, wanted to share… enjoy

God Came

(If you’re on dial-up, try this one)

I think that I am in a bit of a desert at the moment.

I am so stinkin’ busy, that everything I do is pretty much on auto pilot. I am numb to my surroundings. And I really, really don’t like that. BUT, the alternative is to think about all the things I need to be doing RIGHT NOW and lemme tell ya… that’s even worse.

So, my desert is just that I am not really experiencing life as I think I could be… I am just barely getting by – and actually missing a lot of stuff along the way.

But God gave me an oasis yesterday. Perhaps three. An oasis of encouraging words, and a glimpse at the fruit of my labor.

First, I received an email from one of my web design clients for no reason other than to say she LOVES their website and they get so many comments on it… “thank you for using your talents.” Not all of my web clients have been so nice…

Second, during our concert at the park last night, in between performing, running sound, being the emcee, and the general coordinator of EVERYTHING… I actually had a moment to look around, and I saw 150-200 people packing out the park smiling, enjoying, relaxing, having fun… together… I saw what I was hoping for had become a reality. I was reminded of why I was doing all this work in the first place.

Third and best, I got home and in my typical fashion (lately) missed most of this one. I was busy trying to figure out what I needed to do next. But then Ian said, “Dad when you come in next time (from unloading) look on the door at what I made for you…” And I started to look around and I had lots and lots of signs made for me. LOTS! All saying how much my family loves who I am.

That was cool. God is amazing. He just knows when we need it. My family knows too. And they were awesome to let me know how much they love me. And the moment in the park was a cool gift from God. A moment of clarity. And the email out of the blue was quite coincidentally timed… don’t you think?

“My father is always at work…”, Jesus said.

I saw that yesterday.

For my 150th Blog Post… I wanted to just write about how great God is… kinda like psalm 150… just, cause he is.

(By the way, I think it probably rhymes in Hebrew or Aramaic…)

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How great is our God

So full of mercy

So full of life

Every time I am empty, I end up revived

My body grows weary

My soul bellows with exhaustion

My heart is longing for You – but so easily distracted

Just by my every day to-do lists

My life is for You

My life is in You

I am praise to You just by every breath I take

I am the masterpiece of heaven

I am God’s workmanship

I am nothing – but what you make me

And you made me YOUR SON

I will praise you God forever

I want to use every ounce of life you give me

For you and for you only

Those are not just words

You are worth much more

But all I can give is my everything

You are great and amazing

Everything is yours

My schedule has been crazy

But I know this for sure

You are always with me

Even when I ignore

The God of Psalm 150

Worshipped more and more

Make my life a magnet

A strong and irresistable pull

To the Kingdom all around us

And the life that’s lived to the full

Worthy

Mighty

Powerful

Humble

Gentle

Loving

Merciful

Truth

Calming

Passionate

Faithful

Caring

Personal

Tender

Incomprehensible

Father

Brother

Friend

God.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!

Have you ever made or eaten home made vanilla ice cream? It’s so great! And a vivid memory from my childhood. My grandma was famous (amongst her grandkids at least) for her home made ice cream. We would have it everytime we’d visit! She’d get out the ice cream making bucket and the ice and pour that little mixture in the ice cream container and start the think a crankin! (Now, by the time I was around, Grandma had the electric kind, not the hand crank. She was pretty hip…)

So after 10-15 minutes of gears grinding and metal scraping through ice (the little metal bucket in the middle that holds the ice cream mixture turns around in the ice that is in the bigger bucket the container is in…) Grandma would pull the plug, and start dishing out the ice cream! We were all so excited to eat it we couldn’t wait! (Well, at least I WAS!)

I would dip my spoon in and get a bite in my mouth as quick as I could… and the first thing I noticed was…

The consistency. Not really the flavor, though that too was unique. The consistency was different than your store-bought variety. It was softer, but not like soft-serve. It was smoother, but not as creamy as some over-processed varieties… it was… different. And that made it awesome!

Last Thursday afternoon we got to make our first home made ice cream of the summer. Over the past summer or two, we have not had much luck in achieving that consistency. Mostly, we ate slightly thicker ice cream soup. But this time, I think we got it! The ice cream is creamy, not crystalized, and it was even pretty solid when it first came out of the bucket. SUCCESS!!

And I got to thinking today, that consistency is quite important in life. We want our food to be the way it should be in our mouths. The way it should feel. The right consistency.

And it doesn’t just stop at food. We want our life to make sense. We want our daily routines to be consistent. Consistent with the day before, the week before… just pretty much par. Life is easier with the right consistency.

But life is not consistent.

I try occasionally to make sure that I have a consistent morning routine, hoping that perhaps that consistency will create some kind of harmony in my life for the rest of the day. Most often… it doesn’t.

I try to pray consistently for friends and family going through tough situations where they really need help. That consistency not only helps me, but others too. I try… but I fail.

I try to be consistent in my attitudes in life. In how I take in my surroundings and how I dish out my in-takings… but… again… I am just not getting the right consistency…

Every once in a while I get it right… like with my ice cream. And it’s great. But, really, life is not about OUR consistency.

“Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever.” – Heb 13:8

He is our consistency. We are not. Family is not. Our routine is not. Our friends are not. Our jobs are not. The weather is not. Our favorite football teams are not. (Especially the Bills…)

There is a reason he is referred to as a Rock. He is just the right consistency in the middle of a bunch of failed attempts at home made ice cream.

I think today, I am going to keep my eyes open for His consistent-ness. And savor the rich, creamy, smooth, perfect consistency of his home made ice cream.

So we brought back a CD of the drums and a rough mix of the other stuff for the bass player and others to hear so they could be ready to come down and mix their parts for God Came (our new Christmas CD)… and we had a copy in hand to give to our bass player at church on Sunday.

That’s when it got crazy!

Found out he could not do the Tuesday that we tenatively scheduled for him (tomorrow…) in fact, he could not do ANYTHING this week!!! Unfortunately, we have to have the bass done this week to meet many other deadlines.

So we had a problem.

Well, he offered to do it TODAY (Sunday, I mean…) I thought… don’t you need to hear this nice CD I made for you? He said it was the only day he could do it… so we went.

Oh wait… we need the studio engineer!

Called him… he was busy all day… BUT, he could come over and get us set up and we could do it! I asked our guitar player if he wanted to come help with that… but he too was busy… so… away we went.

We got set up around 4:00 or so and just started hammerin’ away at the songs. Ben (the bass player) did awesome! I had fun messin with the buttons… and in the end, we have 10 great tracks of bass and drums! We closed up shop around 11:45pm. Not bad for under 8 hours!

So, this week we will finish the guitar, add electric guitar and perhaps some keys (there is a cool synthesizer intro to Joy To The World… wait till you hear it!!) And the following week we add the vocals and the other finishing touches, and then we start mixing it! Whoohoooo!!!

(Mixing, by the way, is where we put all the tracks together so they sound like one unit, rather than a bunch of individual instruments.. very cool…)

Planning to have the CD in early October… plenty of time for everyone to get some Christmas gifts for friends and family.

After an intense weekend in a couple studios… I am very excited about the project, and just wanted to share that with ya.

More blogifying later.

We were supposed to record on Thursday night. We had scheduled a session to begin tracking the drum parts. Sometime around 5 or 6pm. I had been calling the studio engineer (a friend of ours) to verify that appointment, but to no avail.

Until, about 10am Thursday morning…

“We did?! Oh man!” Those were not the words that I wanted to hear…

So, with MANY calls and much frustration, we managed to schedule a session on Thursday and Friday with another friend who runs a studio somewhat nearby. He was the engineer for our Come As You Are project.

So, Davd & I proceeded to Dansville, NY to track the drum parts at The Illuminata – a new studio right on Main St there in town. And we get there and catch up and hang out a bit as we are setting up… and in the process, I think I saw how God had arranged “bad” to be good.

Jesse had experienced an emotionally and physically draining week… he was busy, but also had some news that was hard to swallow. And he said that night that we were a big encouragement to him.. us being there, recording out of the blue, just getting to re-connect…

God works all things together for good for those who love him.

Jesse loves him. I love him. Dave loves him. I think all in all, small as a couple studio sessions are… God was at work for all of us. Turning a bad situation (messed up scheduling) into a great connection of people to encourage each of us.

And, the drums sound great!

So when things are frustrating you… stop, take a breath, ask God to show you where He’s working, cause you know He is…

And then take a look around and watch Him work all things together for good for those who love Him.

16 years old, strong, energetic (mostly… he is a teen-ager!) Parents who love him, a baby sister who might admit to that, family and friends. Life is full of potential and goodness, despite anything that might try to dampen that… life is good.

And then it ends.

Some friends of ours just lost their 16-yr old son to a hunting accident. He was with some friends in Alaska, visiting his Uncle, and details are not completely known as of yet, but those are not so important as a life cut short.

I can not imagine the pain of losing a child. I have three so far, and we are hoping for more, and I hope that God lets me see them live a great life full of loving people and serving him. To see that cut short (even knowing the joy of being with Jesus is the alternative) has just got to be super hard.

Somehow death and severe hardship have not touched my family. Jen’s brother died shortly after we were married… that is as close as I have come. God has somehow protected my family as a whole. That is cool… but maybe not?

“Consider it pure joy… when you face trials of many kinds” – James 1:2

Hard things in life WILL come, and God wants us to accept them as tools to shape us, and tools for Him to use for His Kingdom around us… and just as a way to understand our need for and to deepen our trust in Him.

It is also quite clear in Scripture that while it is a blessing to live a long full life here in this life, this is not the end, and there is much more and much better life to come. So enjoy this life to the full (Jn 10:10) but know that there is something much, much better. (Too many references, but Titus 1:2, 3:7)

So, I am quite saddedened at hearing of the death of our friends’ son. Yet, I know God will bring good from this for those who love him (Rom 8:28). And I know that there is hope of something much better for those who are in Jesus. And this family is.

There is no certainty of our next day, or moment or even our next breath. But live life to its fullest, live it with your Creator, live if for him, and things will go well for you. No matter what it looks like on the outside.

“Now this is eternal life: to know you the One true God and Jesus Christ whom you sent.” – John 17:3 (said by Jesus)

That’s it. This life WILL end – we don’t know when… BUT, we KNOW eternal life is knowing God – living it with him.

Let’s do it.

I was thinking again this morning on a topic that I had previously discussed with a friend of mine. We were debating what exactly “Thou Shalt Not Covet…” means.

My friend, you see, has been accused of every thing under the sun in the sin category, because he has involved his heart deeply with a married lady who is actively working to change her marital status (and who has also involved her heart deeply with my friend). So, some (including me) have wondered if my friend (we shall call him Icharus, cause that’s just a cool name…) was crossing the boundaries of coveting… because the scripture specifically refers to “your neighbor’s wife”.

The conversation then proceeded to try and define the word “covet”. Many people contend that the verse is much like command 7 (I think it’s 7…) just sorta reinforcing the adultery thing… but I don’t think so. And Icharus felt that the thrust of the scripture dealt with the force with which you desire something… like, there are levels of desire, and at a certain point you cross over into coveting. And he also mentioned the “possessive” nature of the word covet… more than desiring, it is the desire to possess or control.

I, on the other hand (wait… how many hands did I already mention? AHH!! I’m a mutant!!!) I thought that the gist of the whole thing was really our desire for more. The sin of the 10th commandment is not lust or greed (necessarily) … really, it’s ungratefulness, dissatisfaction, discontent… and the desire for what we do not have. Even the whole “waiting upon the Lord” thing… just waiting for God to take care of us, instead of doing things our way… God reminds us in lots of places to be thankful, grateful and to wait on Him… and the opposite of that would be sin.

OK, so that was a really big set up for what I was thinking about this morning.

I just recalled all of those things, and thought how silly it is that we try and define and qualify and figure out lines for what sin is and when we actually are sinning. I completely understand why we do. I do it. It is much nicer to think that though we KNOW we are sinners, that we may get reallllllly close to the line, but we never really cross it.

But it’s still silly.

Jesus talked about anger being the sin of murder and lust being the sin of adultery, not to mock and laugh and belittle and put more chains on us… he wanted us to see that sin is not about the lines we cross… it’s a way of thinking… more than that, it’s who we are and inescapable. The law was designed to point out that we are sinners (and does a FINE job of that, I think…) not to be debated to the most miniscule detail so that we can flirt with the line and “not sin”.

The line is in our heart. When we try to define the line, we are most likely sinning. Just trying to make ourselves feel better about it. When we say that coveting is more about the possessiveness of the word, not really about the desiring… we’re just adding to scripture to help ourselves or our friends.

Sin is sin. We need to call it what it is, and know that Jesus has defeated it forever. It’s not a bad thing to be a sinner…. only because that is precisely who Jesus came looking for and gave up his own life for! I am glad to be counted among the sinners because…

God made him who had no sin, to be sin for us, so that we might be come his righteousness.

Whooohooooo!

No matter what we call it, or how we define it… if God says it’s sin… it’s sin. The best thing for our hearts is to stand with God on it and ask for his help on it… and keep pressin on. His grace is amazing. There is a line of one of my songs that is so true in my life

“I’m livin’ every day because of grace.”

Today I just remembered that, and I thank him for that. Thank you God for your grace, and your truth. Help me to honor both with my life.

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(FOOTNOTE: I do not condone Icharus’ behavior, by the way… nor do I condone the behavior of his accusers. We are to deal gently with brothers and sisters whom we see trapped in a sin so that we can restore him or her. (Gal 6:1) Accusing of sin is not all that helpful, debating sin is not either… we are all in this together – all of us are sinners, no matter how much redefining we may try to do – and finger-pointing and accusation will not help the Kingdom or people who need to know about the Kingdom.)